Hange Zoe Short Story Collection

Line Without a Hook (Part 8)

"Was it something I said to make you feel like you're a burden? Oh, and if I could take it all back, I swear that I would pull you from the tide."

Hange frowned at the sky, the cold wind causing them to shiver. Three hours had passed, yet (Y/N) hadn't shown up. They had been planning on showing her something cool that they had found in the woods, but it seemed as if she wasn't going to stop by anytime soon. Had she stood them up?

A couple of minutes after Hange had made up their mind to leave the area, they heard rapid footsteps and turned to see (Y/N) headed their way.

"I'm so sorry!" She gushed. "I had a late shoot, and then Nanaba wanted to go get some drinks and—"

"Nanaba?" Hange raised an eyebrow. Nanaba had been the girl that the two of them had always despised. Why on earth was (Y/N) getting drinks with her?

"Oh yeah, she knows the director of my new movie," (Y/N) waved a hand. Her role as a supporting character had hit off, and she was now cast as the main character for an anticipated movie. "She's not that bad, you should come with us the next time we hang out."

"No thanks," Hange frowned, remembering all the times that Nanaba had teased them relentlessly.

"Well, what was it that you were going to show me?"

"A frog's habitat..." Hange trailed off, suddenly feeling dumb. Would (Y/N) even want to see that? She had become a rising actress, she spent time with fancy, rich people...why would she care about a frog's habitat?

"Oh! Let's go see it," (Y/N) offered earnestly, motioning towards the woods.

"How about we watch a movie instead?" Hange asked. More than anything, they wanted to show her their discovery. But they also knew that it would bore her. Hange was already seeing less and less of (Y/N) because of her shoots and commitments to all the famous people. If they continued to drag her to do boring activities, then she wouldn't want to spend time with them at all. They had to change in order to keep (Y/N) near them.

"Are you sure?" (Y/N) tilted her head. "You were pretty excited about the habitat..."

"I'm also excited about binging all of your favorite movies," Hange said cheerfully, tugging (Y/N) towards the direction of their house. "The frogs can wait. This is your only free time for the week, right? Let's make the best of it!"

"Okay!" (Y/N) grinned, happily going along with Hange's plan.

The two didn't realize it, but that would be the last time they both binge-watched a favorite show together. Soon, (Y/N) would get swept away by fame and fashion, yearning to be one of the greatest actresses of all times. Soon, she would trade her best friend for materialistic things.

The following week, (Y/N) had felt the most stressed in her life. She hadn't felt this stressed when applying for colleges or completing the SAT. Her reputation and Hange's feelings hung on the line. Which one would she be willing to sacrifice? Which one was she going to throw away?

(Y/N) groaned and buried her face in her pillow, wanting to stay in bed the entire day. She hadn't gone to school or tutoring, instead opting to have an existential crisis in the comfort of her bedroom. Why did her life have to be so hard? Why did she have to agree to being Nanaba's friend? She was beginning to realize that befriending Nanaba had been a mistake. The only reason why she was excited about college was to move away from Nanaba permanently. She'd finally regain some sense of freedom that way.

The bell to the gate rang, its melody chiming through the big empty mansion. Her parents were always away for some sort of meetings with rich, fancy people. They too had taken advantage of her fame and wealth.