Insomniacs (#1)

18. bittersweet

Valencia was crying. In front of me. And I was frozen.

I'd walked into school and bumped into her by accident. She smiled at me, her green eyes a little red so I asked her if she's okay.

And the dam burst. Exploded, more like.

To say that I had no fucking clue what to do would be an understatement.

"I- Valencia? Are you-"

"Stop! Don't ask me that again. I'll cry!" A loud sob broke from her chest and my eyes widened, holding my hands out because again, I had no idea what to do.

"You're horrible at this!" She cried more.

"I'm sorry!" I said back.

Why are we both yelling?

I had no idea what to do in these situations. I'd never had any girlfriends asides from April. If me, Malik or Everest were ever upset, we drowned ourselves in alcohol and called it a day. Not the healthiest but it was the way we worked.

Valencia's eyes were all big and watery and sad. And she couldn't stop sobbing. It was an awfully sad sight.

"Here, follow me." I started walking around to the back of the school, which was always vacant.

She dropped down to the ground, sliding against the wall and her shoulders hunching as she sobbed more. I glanced around with wide eyes, not sure what I was even looking for. Help? Assistance?

Cautiously, I sat besides her. I reached out and patted her arm. Patted her arm like a dog. As you may expect, that wasn't the best course of action.

She looked up and at me, furrowing her eyebrows for a moment and then broke out into tears again.

I stopped patting her arm.

"Are you-"

"Aria."

"Yup." I nodded, "Sorry."

I sat in silence for a moment, pursing my lips as she cried. I did really feel bad but I don't think she would've appreciated me asking her if she was okay again. Or patting her arm.

"I'm a good listener. I'm horrible at this but I'm a good listener." I said quietly. I wanted to make her feel better, especially when she looked me in the eye.

She huffed out a breath, tucking back her blonde hair and tilting her head back on the wall behind us.

"I think Malik's gonna cheat on me-"

I spurt out a laugh. Why on Earth would she think that? I've never seen Malik so infatuated ever. He's the least likeliest person to ever cheat on her. Or anybody, really.

She was crying. Louder and harder and my eyes widened and what the fuck did I do?

"Oh my god. Oh god- I wasn't laughing at you. I'm so sorry. Shit, fuck- sorry." I winced.

You're a fucking idiot, Aria.

"Look," I turned to face her, "That's just the most bizarre thing you could've said. He's obsessed with you. He wouldn't hurt you. I'd swear my life on it." I mustered up my gentlest tone of voice.

"Why do you think he's gonna cheat on you?" I asked as she wiped her eyes.

"We had an argument. Because there was this guy that Malik went out with with a while ago in his phone. He'd been texting him." Her lip quivered the more she talked about it, her eyes getting watery again.

"Did he say what it was about?" I asked.

"No. I just got mad and then he got mad at me for getting mad. He said I should've trusted him and I do. I just- I don't know." She sighed, "Everyone loves Malik. Girls and boys adore him and everybody knows him. I know nobody."