quiet existence | toni shalifoe

one

14th March 2020

Anya Rivera wasn't anything special. She didn't have any particular talents, her only hobby was reading a book or drowning out her thoughts with music.

Most people didn't talk to the quiet girl, finding her weird and even boring, but none of them had bothered to properly get to know her. If you asked Toni or Martha, her closest friends, they would tell you that Anya was the sweetest and most selfless person they had ever met, yes she had some downfalls (like a fear of commitment) but didn't everyone?

Anya's Converse clad feet padded down the sidewalk towards her house. Her eyes darted around at her surroundings hating walking alone, her fingers anxiously playing with the bracelet that always remained firmly on her wrist.

Upon reaching her front door, she gently pushed it open. Tossing her bag to the side she stepped into the living room, Francesca Rivera, her mother was sprawled across the sofa with a book clutched between her hands. Anya glanced at the cover of the book,

"Joyland by Stephen King? Good choice." She smiled.

Francesca glanced up once she heard the voice of her daughter. "Oh, hi sweetheart. How was your day?" She questioned, before carefully placing her book down on the table.

"It was just a normal day, mom." Anya answered. "Nothing special."

"Come sit with me." Her mom gestured to the small space beside her.

Anya continued to just stand awkwardly. "Actually I was wondering if I could sleepover at Martha's tonight, Toni's gonna be there too." She asked.

"Of course you can, as long as Martha's mom is okay with this?" Francesca quizzed.

"Yeah I think so." She smiled. "Thank you, mom." She pulled her mother in for a quick hug before rushing to her room to pack her things.

———

Anya gently tapped on Martha's front door, tightly holding onto the strap of her backpack. She stared at her feet while she waited for someone to answer the door. Her eyes watched a group of ants scuttle around her shoes, a small smile pulling onto her face at the sight.

The sound of the front door being pulled open caused the girl to look up, her smile growing when she was met with the face of Toni.

"Toni, hi!" Anya greeted.

"Hey, come in." Toni smiled, gesturing Anya into the house.

The pair walked to Martha's bedroom, the loud sound of pop music blasted from the room. Anya walked in first.

"Hey Marty." She waved to the girl who was perched on the edge of the bed.

Martha jumped up, pacing over to the blonde girl and pulling her into a hug.

'Tonight is gonna be so fun!" Martha said.

Anya put her bag down by the door, throwing herself onto Martha's bed. Toni copied the girls actions lying down next to her. Their bodies were so close that if one of them were to move, their thighs would brush against one another.

"So what's the plan for tonight, Marty?" Toni asked.

"I thought we could watch a movie, maybe Twilight?" Martha suggested.

Toni groaned while Anya chuckled. "God, Marty not again." Toni joked. "You're killing me."

"I for one don't mind Twilight, Alice Cullen is hot." Anya smiled.

"Twilight it is then." Martha replied, before grabbing her laptop and sliding it onto the bed.

The opening scene of Twilight lit up the screen, as Martha squeezed onto the bed.

———

They were now half-way through Twilight: Eclipse, Martha was fast asleep while Anya and Toni watched the movie silently.

"You wanna do something else?" Toni suggested.

Anya glanced towards Toni questioningly, "like what?"

Toni pulled a bottle of Vodka from her bag, waving it in the air with a smile.

"What about Martha?" Anya asked.

"She's asleep, I'm sure she wouldn't mind." Toni replied.

"Okay, can we sit outside though?" Anya questioned. "I wanna watch the stars."

Toni nodded, as the pair carefully maneuvered themselves off of Martha's bed and towards the door. They quietly tiptoed through the house and out the backdoor. Anya gently slid the door closed behind her before following Toni down the steps towards a patch of grass.

The Shalifoe teen threw herself to the ground, while the blonde sat down in a less dramatic manner.

Toni began taking large sips from the bottle, wincing at the flavor. Anya reached her hand out for the bottle, copying Toni and taking a large gulp of Vodka and wrinkling her eyes.

This pattern continued for a while until the pair felt that they had adequately drunk enough.

Anya lay sprawled out in the grass, staring up at the stars. Toni watched the girl with a small smile, admiring the way her hair was sprawled out perfectly and how her whole face glowed in the moonlight.

The blonde teen broke the silence. "Toni?"

"Yeah." Toni answered.

"Can you come watch the stars with me?" Anya questioned.

Toni didn't respond to the question verbally, but she instantly got up to her feet and walked the small distance between herself and the blonde girl. She carefully lay down beside Anya, looking up to the stars.

"Aren't they so pretty?" Anya mumbled.

Toni turned her head to the side so that she was facing the girl. "Yeah they are."

Anya slowly turned her face to meet Toni's eyes, sucking in a small breath at how close their faces were.

Toni reached her hand up to brush against Anya's cheek, stroking it gently before she leaned in.

The pairs lips met, sharing a kiss.

Anya's hands trailed up to Toni's waist pulling her body closer. Toni gently pushed the blonde onto her back, not once breaking away from the kiss. She then straddled Anya's hips, gently playing with the hairs at the back of her neck.

Toni began to deepen the kiss, but was stopped as Anya pulled away. The pair stared at each-other breathing deeply.

"We can't do this." Anya reasoned, gently pushing Toni's body off of her own.

The Shalifoe teen sat in the grass dumbfounded at what had just happened, watching as Anya shuffled back into the house quickly.

"Shit!" Toni cursed, hitting her fist into the grass.

———

Unedited
Word count: 1031