For Better Or For Worse | Rihanna

VI; August 22nd, 2002

"The only thing I want for my birthday is to go to the movies with you."

Those were the last words that were spoken between Robyn and Eden, up until this afternoon.

The pair had something of a squabble the previous day, brought up by Robyn's claim that she had barely seen Eden during the summer. The new school year would roll around in less than a month, and Robyn had seen her friend maybe twice since early June.

It had done nothing more than cause a wedge between the two, which Eden adamantly denied. Beyond the fact that she was unable to realize that had they made time for one another together, they wouldn't be in this situation. Eden accused Robyn of being the reason for this argument.

According to her, if Rob wasn't so busy with all the new activities she had picked up this summer, such as helping her mother with her clothing store and joining the local girl's singing club, then she could've made time for Eden.

A lot of things had changed for Robyn this summer. Her parents arguing and animosity had finally reached a tipping point, leading Robyn's mother to kick her husband out, once and for all. This was the precursor to the divorce papers being mailed to his mistress' house, where he had knowingly been sleeping at. The energy around Robyn had undoubtedly started to clear up. Her mother was happier, the house was quieter, and all three kids could feel a weight lifted off their shoulders. Robyn was more joyful now, she no longer suffered from pounding migraines, and she no longer felt like running away every other night.

Eden unfortunately, wasn't around to profit from her better moods.

Granted, Robyn's burgeoning love for performing and fashion wasn't the only reason for the lack of connection, and Eden knew that. She had called Eden out on her weird behaviour as of late, but even at 13, and today 14, Eden had become a master at lying and deflecting, no doubt thanks to the people who raised her.

Never in a million years would Eden explain to anyone, and definitely not someone she valued as much as her neighbour, why she would suddenly flake on plans they made together, how she had suddenly made friends with a questionable group of people, why she seemingly randomly found herself all around town, or even how she came to own a flip phone. It wasn't the expensive kind, but the probability that Miss Scott was using the little amount of income flowing through their house to buy her teen a phone was so low that the very phone's existence was quite puzzling.

Eden just wasn't as available to Robyn as she was accustomed to, and it was proving very hard for the Bajan girl to assimilate that.

Robyn eventually dropped the argument, after becoming aware that she wasn't going to win or get any answers. Eden refused to even consider that she was in the wrong, and it started to feel like Robyn was grasping at straws.

"I don't want to argue on this. Tomorrow's my birthday, and the only thing I want for my birthday is to go to the movies with you," Eden concluded, as a way of consoling her friend for her frustrations. It's all she could offer in lack of an explanation, a way to move forward, hopefully seamlessly.

And so today, August 22nd, Robyn walked out of her house ready to go celebrate her friend. Hopefully, it would go smoothly. Robyn was willing to forgive her and move forward because, in the end, all that mattered was that they were still okay.

Eden had insisted that they meet at the corner of their street and the main street, so they could walk up Westbury Road together where the movie theatre was located. The request was peculiar given that the two very well could've met on the street they shared but asking for clarification felt like poking the bear, so Robyn simply went along with it.

"Fenty!" She heard once she reached the corner.

Not far from her stood two girls. One who stayed lovingly familiar through all the bullshit, and another who wasn't so foreign either.