She is not bad

Chapter 23 : Andrew

Beverly and Jane arrived early at school. Bev understood better why Jane was this tired at school, it must be hard to wake up this early to take a bus which needed one hour to reach the school. As they had some time, the two girls sat on the steps of the building to smoke a cigarette. Jane really liked Bev. She was feeling safe with her, like if she could count on her. She hoped she could because Bev could count on her. Jane was bad to make friends, but when she had one, she wasn't letting them down. Some early birds were arriving at school, slowly, but Bev wasn't expecting to see Joyce and Will walking in their direction. She felt Jane's body tensing. She knew Jane wasn't comfortable around Joyce, but she didn't know why.

- "Hey, Joyce. It's your first day?" Bev asked.

- "Indeed," the woman smiled. "Hello, Jane."

The brunette answered with a movement of her head before taking a long puff of her cigarette.

- "What happened to you?" Will frowned, seeing the bruises on the redhead's face.

- "Oh, uh..."

Bev was surprised. She was sure Joyce would have told her son about her new situation.

- "Is it her!?"

- "No!" Bev answered with a pinch of anger. "She is my friend!"

- "Really!? She punched your best friend!"

- "She didn't!"

- "How can you be sure of that!?"

- "I just know! Stop accusing her like that!"

- "Good job! She is against us now!" Will angrily said.

- "I'm not against you!" the redhead continued. "But I'm not against her either! You are my friend, and she is my friend too."

- "It's fine. Don't fight because of me," Jane intervened.

The brunette stood, crushed her cigarette against the wall of the building, and threw it in a bin.

- "Thank you for your support," Jane said with an upset tone to Joyce.

Jane walked inside the building alone which annoyed a lot Beverly who wanted to stay with her. She was still feeling bad, like if she could burst into tears at any moment or give up, but with Jane, she was feeling stronger. Bev clenched her jaw and looked down, boiling inside.

- "You bought a new skateboard?" Will said, trying to calm her.

- "No. (stands and grabs her stuff) Jane did."

She walked away without looking back, preferring staying with Jane than him. She knew it was weird, but Jane was understanding what she was going through, and she needed that right now. Will stayed dazed outside. He turned to his mother, hoping for an explanation.

- "She is going through a hard moment," the woman said.

- "Wait, you know what's happening? And you didn't tell me?"

- "She is the only one who can choose who can know and who can't."

- "And Jane can!? What the fuck!? She has been my best friend for years! But she prefers trusting a girl we barely know!? A girl who didn't hesitate to rob your store while you helped her years ago!?"

- "It's complicated. Don't be too hard with her," Joyce added.

- "I just want her to talk to us, not her!"

- "She will."

Will clenched her jaw but nodded. Joyce smiled to him and kissed his head before going inside for her first day as a nurse. The boy stayed outside, trying to not explode, and saw some of his friends a bit farther. Mike, Lucas, Gabrielle, and Dustin were talking when Will arrived with his angry face.