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› 17 › second chances

"hey..."

a shudder goes through my spine as i hear nini let out an excited, semi-flirty "hey!" not unlike the one she gave me that night in the tree house...

i shake the thought off. thinking about that night never does me any good.

"it's been a crazy few weeks, hasn't it?" she laughs in front of the phone propped up on the coffee table.  "sorry for leaving you guys hanging."

it's scary actually - before she went live, an irritated expression was still painted on her face. but the moment she went on air, she immediately lit up with the smile i used to be so familiar with.

her voice is in the exact same enthusiastic tone she used to always have. but knowing who she is now makes it more off-putting than comfortable for me.

"after three albums and tours, i just thought i needed to breathe, you know?" she smiles. "but! that doesn't mean i'll be gone forever. you know me; i'm always making music."

i silently scoff. the first two things she said about the past few weeks being crazy and feeling tired after all the success are true - but the last part about her still making music? a lie.

what a coincidence. two truths and a lie.

"i want to thank you all so much for the immense support over the years," she says. "i'm so so grateful for everything you've done for me. with you guys, i wouldn't be where i'm at right now. so this isn't a goodbye. it's just...a see you next time. love you all so much!"

she waves goodbye and blows a kiss at her screen. her winning prom-queen smile stays plastered on her face until she presses a button on her phone.

almost immediately that perfect smile fades.

"finally that's over," nini groans and stands up to walk over to her kitchen counter.

"tired of spending time with your fake fans?" i ask sarcastically as i move towards her, pulling up a stool and sitting on it.

she opens up a cabinet and grabs a bag of potato chips. "i'm not taking this from the guy who has meaningless friendships."

"why do you think they're meaningless anyway?" i ask, ignoring her bluntness.

nini rips open the package and sits on a stool across from me. "the wannabe-cool one cares about nothing while howie has always been half-baked. they're both the type to leave you alone when you need them the most."

"that's a bold statement coming from someone who's falling out with her best friend."

she tenses for the slightest second before casually popping a chip into her mouth with a shrug. "doesn't make me any less right."

"uh huh," i force a chuckle. "but why did you lie to your fans?"

"lie?"

"you said you were making music. that you were coming back."

"that wasn't—"

"there isn't a single musical instrument here besides the one gathering dust at the end of the hall, neens," i say sternly. my expression softens immediately after. "is there something going on with you? you can always talk to someone. you can always talk to me, if that helps."