Adopted by Heathers: The Sequel

New Friend

It was a week before my sixteenth birthday and with my rotten luck, I had a blood test scheduled. It was my first blood test since around January, and with that, my fear of needles came back to haunt me.

"Hey, Sunshine." Elle said, taking my hand. "How about you go and see if there are other kids around while I talk to the doctor, okay? Maybe you can meet a new friend or something!" I nodded and got up off of Elle's lap. Despite me being almost sixteen years old, sitting on Elle's lap when I'm in the hospital was one of my main sources of comfort, and was one of the only things that worked, really.

Following Elle's advice, I walked back to the waiting area and then saw a girl with long reddish-purple hair tied back in a ponytail. She was wearing a Sprite T-shirt and a plaid skirt over a simple pair of black leggings and was wearing a flannel over her shirt. She was singing along to a random song while doodling in a notebook, and she was good. 

She turned back in the middle of her song, gasped, and dropped her phone.

"How long have you been standing there?" the girl asked. I laughed and said, "Just came here five minutes ago, kid. What's your name?"

The girl cleared her throat and said, "Fritz Marks. And before you asked, no, I was not named after Fritz from The Nutcracker. Also, I know I look like a sixteen year old, but I'm actually twelve. What's your name?"

"Catlynn McLemore, call me Cat." I said to Fritz, who smiled awkwardly. I could tell this girl was some sort of gay just by looking at her. 

"Hey." Fritz said, shoving her notebook back in a tan backpack. "What are you doing here? So sorry if that sounded rude." 

"My mom's talking to my doctor and told me to find some other kids, seems like I respected her wishes. You?" I asked.

"My mom works here. Has been since my older sister was born, so I basically grew up here. School's out, so time to spend my entire summer in a hospital." Fritz said.

Oh, Fritz. I know more than anyone how that feels.

"Sunshine?" I heard, and I swear I heard Fritz chuckle at the nickname. I turned around and Elle was standing in the entrance of the waiting room. "See you met a friend. What's your name?" Elle asked Fritz.

"Fritz." Fritz responded while slinging her bag over her shoulder. "My mom's calling me. Cat, can I have your phone number?" 

I nodded and Fritz handed me her phone so I could put my number in her phone. After I entered the number and gave the phone back, Fritz grinned, and I could see that she had braces.

I smiled too, showing off my own braces.

"You have braces too?" Fritz said excitedly. I nodded and said, "Yep! I've had them since freshman year. Oh, also, my last day of sophomore year is tomorrow and my sixteenth birthday is next week." 

"You're almost in college?" Fritz gushed. I laughed and said, "Well, not really. Two more years. And Fritz, enjoy middle school while you still can. It goes by fast." 

Fritz nodded and we went our separate ways.

___________

"Hey Elle?" I asked Elle after my blood test went successfully and we went home. "When can I see Fritz again?"

Elle cackled. "So...you're saying that you want to go to the hospital again to see Fritz? Don't you have her phone number? You can hang out without her outside of hospital trips, she's always welcome over at the house."

I nodded and then my phone vibrated. It was Fritz.

My mom says thank you for hanging out with me today. Wanna come over to my house this weekend

"Speak of the devil. Mom, can I go over to Fritz's place this weekend?" I asked. Elle looked at the calendar and nodded. "Sure. Tomorrow's your last day of sophomore year. I can't believe it. On Friday you're officially a junior in high school." I grinned. Two more years left of high school.

"I remember when I first met you as a seventh grader. Twelve years old, just starting off middle school. Now I'm almost done with high school." I said.

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" Elle asked. 

"I know this may sound horribly ironic, but I want to be a pediatrician." I said. "Well, maybe not a pediatrician, but I definitely want to work in a children's hospital."

"That's sweet." Elle said. "You don't have to decide just yet, but I fully support you in everything you do."

That reassured me.

Would Elle fully support me if I wasn't straight?

AN: Yay, a new character! I'm so excited! Fritz is 100% gonna be in future chapters, by the way, so hope you like her! Hope you enjoyed! Catch ya later!