Astoria, Anne, Diana, and Ruby laughed as they made it to school. They were talking while walking over to place their milk into the water whole to keep it cool.
"Have you ever noticed what cheerful things Brooks are?" Anne asked the girls. "They're always laughing."
"How sweet." Diana said.
"That sounds nice." Astoria agreed.
"Hello." Tillie greeted them, Jane right next to her.
The six girls bent down to quickly place their milk in the water, but before they could finish Billy and his group of friends decided it would be funny to pull up their skirts.
"Ah!" The girls yelled.
"Bloomies! Knickers!" The boys called, running away and laughing.
"Excuse me!?" Astoria yelled at them.
"Keep your hands off!" Anne exclaimed.
"Whoa." The boys said, faking fear.
"You best hope my brother doesn't come back soon and beat your ass again! Or maybe I'll do it myself!" Astoria tried running towards the boys, but Tillie held her back.
"You mustn't mind them, Anne and Astoria. They're just boys being boys. They love to torment our lives out." Diana laughed.
"I do mind. I mind a great deal." Anne responded.
"As do I. My brother has never done that, does that not make him a boy?" Astoria crossed her arms, Diana adverted her gaze.
"A skirt is not an invitation!" Anne told the boys.
They just laughed her off, thinking she was acting crazy. Astoria, on the other hand, walked over to them.
"You touch me, or my friends, again and I will make sure to drown you in the water hole." She told the three of them, slapping Billy for good measure.
_____________
Astoria sat at her desk, not engaging with her friends. She didn't feel in the mood to talk to people, especially people who find it alright to let boys violate you; except Anne, she was fine with her.
"Quiet, all of you." Mr. Philips called. "Settle down, ev-everyone."
They started off their day normal, Mr. Philips teaching in his monotone and bland voice while everyone listened. Astoria wrote equations out on her blackboard, humming to herself quietly.
When lunch rolled around, Astoria sat with Cole once again. They made nice conversation, Cole was drawing most of the time while Astoria read and hummed to herself.
"You have a beautiful voice." Cole commented.
Startled, Astoria looked over at her friend. A light blush of embarrassment covered her face and she cleared her throat.
"What- uh... Thanks." She sheepishly thanked. "I didn't realize I had started singing."
"Oh... It's not a problem." He replied, smiling before going back to drawing.
At the end of the school day, Astoria was dragged by Diana and Anne to play a game. She was worried about being home late, but the girls would not let her leave.
"Whomever the bottle points to... You are permitted to kiss. It needs to be boy, girl, boy, girl." Josie said.
"Where does that leave Cole?" Billy spoke up.
"Where does that leave you, Billy?" Astoria glares at him, sitting next to Cole.
"Jane, go sit next to your dumb brother." Josie told Jane. "Tillie, you're over there. And, Anne, switch places with Charlie."
"Billy doesn't know anything about anything." Josie whispered to Cole. "I'm glad you're here."
"Didn't have much of a choice." Cole replied.
"Neither did I." Astoria sighed.
Cole looked at her and gave a small smile, nudging her shoulder in acknowledgement.
"Who would like to spin first?" Josie questioned.
"Diana!" Charlie called.
"Uh..." Diana stuttered, spinning the bottle.
"Moody." Josie said as the bottle landed on him.
"Me?" He asked.
"Now you have to kiss." Josie stated. "On the mouth."
Everyone started laughing and giggling. Diana looked at Anne for help, but Anne didn't know what to say. Animatedly, Diana and Moody stood up and went to the middle of the circle.
"Good afternoon, Moody." Diana awkwardly greeted.
"Good afternoon, Diana." Moody awkwardly greeted back. "I'm going to kiss you now."
"Oh my gosh, this is so awkward. I can't look." Astoria whispered to Cole, hiding her face in his shoulder.
"It's done." Cole whispered to her after a few seconds.
"Oh thank Jesus." She sighed out.
Everyone started to clap and cheer for the two, laughing while doing so. Moody and Diana sat back down, then Josie looked at Anne.
"Your turn, Anne." She said.
-
A/N
<3
YOU ARE READING
Astoria Blythe
FanfictionGilbert and Astoria were twins. When their father grew increasingly more ill, the two knew that they had to spend as much time with him that they had left. This led to them traveling with him for a year. Once they get back, Astoria tells her brother...
