⨈𝖎𝖑𝖉 ₲𝖎𝖗𝖑𝖘

Chapter One

Ilise and Lea had been friends since the fifth grade, when Ilise moved to Walla Walla Washington. Lea never really had friends before, since she was so violent and defensive. Ilise was new, and needed protection. They both quickly gravitated towards each other, and by the time a week had passed, they were besties. In seventh grade, they met Harper. Lea and Ilise were assigned to show Harper around the school, and they quickly befriended her, adding her to the small friend circle. No one else will talk to them, so all they have is each other. Lea was still violent, Ilise was quiet and shy, and Harper scared the shit out of people. They were in ninth grade now, and close as ever, especially since they had come out to each other.

"Hey, are we still going out to the woods after school?" Harper asked. They were in the hallway before last period. She was speaking loudly so that she wouldn't be drowned out by the noisy drone of the students on their way to their classes. A few people nearby jumped at the sound of her voice.

"Yep," Lea said.

"Noice," Ilise replied.

"I wish they would stop jumping like that," Harper said.

"I think it's cool. You scare people, and Lea can beat the crap out of them if she wanted. The only skill I have is that I'm good with my hands," Ilise said.

"In what way?" Lea said with a smirk.

"You know what I mean. And not in the presence of a cinnamon roll!" Ilise exclaimed, covering Harper's ears.

"Hey! I'm 14, same as you! I'm not a cinnamon roll!" Harper argued.

"We should get to class," Ilise said.

"Yeah, you're right," Lea said.

"Wait, we're not done here!" Harper exclaimed.

"See you guys after school!" Ilise called. Lea was already walking as fast as she could towards her next class.

~time skip brought to you by jumping spooders~

RINGGGGGGGGGGG!

It was the end of the day, and the bell had just rung to dismiss students. The halls were crowded with people, pushing each other as they tried to be the first one out. The three girls were gathered outside of the school, grabbing their bikes, and pedaling to the one road out of town.

Harper loved the feeling of the wind on her face, pushing her hair back, and the sound of it howling through her ears. The sound of the bike crunching over the gravel helped drown out the guilt about not telling her only two friends about her home life. It had started a few years ago, when her mom started drinking, right before she was dragged out here, Middle of Nowhere, Washington. But for now, all Harper could do was ignore the feelings and the bruises, hoping that the beatings would stop, and hoping that if she ever told her friends about it that they wouldn't leave her.

Lea was drowning out the world with her music. I tell her that it's me, But she doesn't recognise. A lyric from the song blasting through her headphones. If I killed someone for you by Alec Benjamin. Her playlist was filled with songs similar to that one. Panic Room by Au/Ra. Oxygen by Beach Bunny. Invisible by Anna Clendening.Teenage Dirtbag by Wheatus. Cavetown. girl in red. There were happier ones, like Maroon 5. Some made her feel like a complete badass, such as Doja Cat, Megan Thee Stallion, and Cardi B. But at the end of the day, it was the sad songs that Lea defaulted to. This was how she dealt with her confusion about how she felt. But she knew one thing. She loved someone who didn't like her back.

Ilise was pedaling so fast her legs were about to fall off. She wanted to just get to the place, start building stuff. Today's classes took more out of her than usual, and all she wanted to do was run. She was confused. She had been getting a strange feeling from Lea, and hoped that nothing happened that would ruin her friendship with the other two girls. So she just kept pedaling towards the woods, the escape from humanity, where all their problems were gone, where they ruled the world.

After about thirty minutes, they arrived. The girls let their bikes crash to the ground and ran into the woods. The girls sprinted, hurtling logs, racing over bridges. The air was fresh with pine needles and laced with the faint sweet scent of vanilla. The girls went on without tiring, finally free after the restlessness of school. Soon they girls, their feet flying over the ground, reached the final obstacle. The lake.

There was a tree house and an underground bunker on a small, unoccupied island in the center of the lake. Ilise had built the tree house, but they had no idea what the bunker was doing there.

The three girls dropped their bags, stripped to just their bras and underwear, and jumped into the lake. It was currently June, so it was warm enough for them to swim across, but during winter they used a canoe that they had pooled their money together to buy. They broke the silence that had settled over them, and were now laughing and splashing each other as they paddled over to the island. Soon they had reached the island, squeezing the water out of their hair. The girls walked through the woods, tired out from the run and swim. Eventually, conversation had started.

"Hey Ilise, truth or dare?" Lea said.

"Dare," Ilise replied.

"Dammit, I was hoping you would pick truth. I dare you to walk backwards the rest of the way there, I don't know," Lea said.

"Wow, that has no tea. Bor-ing!" Harper said, giving Lea a playful shove.

Then everything went wrong. Lea fell forward into Ilise, who then fell backwards.

Leaving Lea laying on top of Ilise.

With their noses almost touching.