Lovebirds

MUCH THE SAME AS NEVER BEFORE

"I'm dying here!"

Edith's face is a little red when she plants her hands on the cafeteria table.

"Nice to see you too, Eddie," Spencer says, sharing a laugh with Felicity.

"This whole thing with Becca and Felicity and Dion is starting to slowly melt my brains. Like, Wicked Witch of the West plus water style."

Felicity's laughing subsides as her cheeks blush in embarrassment. She doesn't like being the focus of drama.

"Edith, it's fine. Becca's just worked up. She'll be over Dion in a couple weeks. When did she start liking him anyway?"

"I don't know. Sometime in the week before school, I think. When all the athletes were around for training."

"Well then Fe had first dibs anyway. No girl code was broken," Spencer reasons.

"Try telling her that—eck!" Edith pinches her fingers over her nose, greeted with the smell that seeps from the half-opened Tupperware container she'd placed on the table. "What even is this?"

Neither Spencer nor Felicity had any idea.

"Spencer?"

All three girls' shoulders go taught.

"Please tell me it's not—"

Hugo sits himself down next to Edith.

"Get the frick away from our table," and she tries to push him off his seat. Unfortunately, his muscle density is slightly greater than hers and he stays squarely on the small seat.

"I just wanted to apologize for the whole Instagram thing again."

"It's fine Hugo," Spencer's eyes staying determinedly on her food. She's still not over it, but gets that he's sorry. What else can he do? A grudge is a grudge.

But Felicity—rather uncharacteristically forceful—says a pointed, "no it isn't. Hugo, I think you should leave us alone for a while. Please go find somewhere else to sit."

Rather sorrowfully, he nods.

Spencer reminds herself that he's got enough detention to last him a lifetime; that justice has been delt and she need not feel so vengeful. But he still went and messed with her life...

"Why do all the evil ones have to be pretty?" Edith muses, looking over her shoulder at Hugo's departing figure.

A smirk instantaneously returns to Spencer's face.

"What happened to Dylan?"

"Uh, homecoming?" Edith shrugs. Spencer and Felicity look at each other again. "He was just my date. Besides, he was a little too eager to be more than my dancing partner, if you know what I mean."

Edith closes the Tupperware to pull four quarters from her backpack.

"Fe, can you come with me to the vending machine? I don't feel like looking at what other garbage my mom decided to pack."

With a wary look back at Spencer, she departs.

The second they leave, a small note falls over her shoulder.

I don't think it's fair that you get to look this beautiful all the time.

Save some of Aphrodite's favor for the rest of humanity, if you please.

"Vince," voice coated in appreciation. But she turns to see only Dion.

"He's not in this lunch period, but he asked me to give that to you." The hockey captain's expression is as focused as ever, but the slight flicker of his eyes to Felicity's abandoned seat gives him away.

Smiling, "she'll be back in a sec. Edith needed a buddy to go to the vending machine."

"I see." After a moment's pause, "would you give this to her then." He hands Spencer a large white box. No ribbons or note or anything.

"What is it?"

But Dion says nothing. Merely looks to his toes before nodding politely and walking away, following the path that Hugo had lain not five minutes ago.

Spencer takes a few bites of her sandwich, completely blissful. She pictures Vincent, studiously focused, scribbling notes in his notebook, completely unaware that he's just filled her day with so much joy.

"What's that?" Edith asks when they return, 'Uncrustable' in hand.

"This," Spencer holding it out, "is for Felicity."

"Who's it from?" Eyes wide with curiosity.

"From Dion."

Without another word, she pulls it from Spencer's hands. Opens it on the table to remove a brand-new Hillsdale Hockey Team sweatshirt. Dark blue, with violet letters on the back with Dion's number and surname.

Xavier

07

Edith almost spontaneously combusts.

Both girls sit down, Edith moving on to discussing how she'll hear about this from Becca later while Felicity tugs the sweatshirt over her head. 

What Spencer doesn't yet know is that, waiting in her locker, is a sweatshirt of her own, the back reading,

Sofia

824

For now, she smiles at her friends, feeling completely at home and perfectly content, wondering what the next turn of tides will bring upon her life. If they all end like this...

Bring it on.