ADD IT UP ✰ RODRICK HEFFLEY x MALE! OC

MOTHER AND DAUGHTER (CH. 18)

        Susan looked through her front mirror to get a look at the young girl sitting in the back of her car. Only fourteen, but she had the appearance of someone that had aged twenty years in the span of a fortnight. Her matted curls sagged lankly around her face, her hand-me-downs graying with age— albeit, in Lyndsey's old clothes instead of her brother's. The girl spoke, her soft voice radiating quietly through the car.

     "Where are we going?" she asked, not breaking contact from the window.

      "I was thinking...you could use some new clothes. And a haircut, if you'd like."

       Bonnie stirred, slowly sitting up and making eye contact with Susan through the rearview mirror. "I'd like that. I hope it isn't too much trouble." She sighed, resting her head against the window once more.

     "No trouble at all, dear." Susan smiled, warmly, at the little girl, as she pulled into the parking lot of Plainview Mall.

      It was Saturday afternoon; the mall was filled to the brim with teenagers and families, the parents taking time off of work to spend with their kids. The white-tile floors and fake plants carried with them an overbearing smell of PVC, and, from the food court, the aroma of Auntie Anne's wafted aromatically into Susan and Bonnie's nostrils.

      They finally stopped at a hair salon close to the Hot Topic that Rodrick and his friends would usually frequent. A salonist greeted them, an artificial smile plastered across her face as she took Susan's request and sat Bonnie down in the salon chair. When Bonnie left the salon that day, all of the matting was gone, replaced by a head full of short, fluffy curls.

      "Where do you want to go next?" Susan asked, examining Bonnie's new haircut.

      "I really don't wanna be too much of a bother, Mrs. Heffley," she whispered. "But can we look around at Macy's?"

      Susan smiled at her. "Whatever you want, honey."

       The two of them disappeared into the sprawling department store, when Bonnie spotted a familiar face behind the coat rack. "Hey, Holly!" she waved. Holly's smile looked more like a strained grinance. "I'm really sorry I couldn't get ice cream with you and Rowley earlier. It's just that something came up, and—"

       Holly's smile faded. "Bons, it's alright. It's not the end of the world. Do you wanna go look around?"

       Bonnie took her hand, and the girls searched every which way, trying on dress, after dress, after dress, Susan tailing behind them. "I'll let you girls be up to your own devices," she said. "Bonnie, if you need me, I'll be in the food court."

      "So," Holly began. "You'll be in the neighborhood more often, I'm guessing?"

       Bonnie giggled. "Yeah, I suppose." She changed the subject. "I can't believe that your sister and Patty's brother got voted prom king and queen! They've only been dating for what? Two weeks?"

       Holly pretended to be shocked. "They're pretty popular over at Crossland," she shrugged. "Are you excited to go there in September? Heather says that being a freshman is basically social suicide. But she's probably just saying that to fuel her own ego. I mean, it's high school, right? How bad could it be?"

     "Pretty bad," Bonnie shuddered. "My brother got beat up a lot."

      "Really? My sister told me he was one of those pretentious 'hipsters' that play the guitar and write poetry," Holly air quoted.

     Bonnie exploded in a fit of laughter. "Oh yeah, he'd definitely wear a fedora on the daily if he could afford to buy one. And maybe grow a beard, if he could. You know, become one with nature."

      Holly browsed the selection of sky-blue dresses. "He's good enough to be Lyndsey Barlow's best friend, though. Heather was so jealous of him!" Bonnie looked at her, confused.

       "I thought Heather was jealous of Miles because of his thing with Greg's brother!" she exclaimed, shocked.

      Holly shrugged. "Oh, Heather hates him for both reasons. I think I told you about this already, but when Heather and Rodrick got back together, Heather had a huge crush on Wade Farrell, but she thought he wasn't into chicks so she tried to turn Rodrick into him instead," Holly laughed. "Clearly, it didn't work out, so somewhere along the line she tried to make things up with Lyndsey."

       "You're joking!"

       The two girls kept up the Crossland High gossip, giving each other a play-by-play of what their siblings would complain to them about, holding bags full of clothes. However, their conversation was interrupted by Heather, Melissa, and Victoria, the former of which grabbed Holly by the wrist.

      "We're going home, wimp," Heather muttered.

       Holly smirked at Bonnie apologetically, and Bonnie watched the four girls disappear behind the mountains of clothes.

✰

      "For the record, Bonnie, you look beautiful," Susan smiled, eyeing Bonnie's new outfit. She wore a bandana around her newly-cut hair, paired with a ruffled, blue top, a polite, white skirt, knee-high socks, and Mary Janes.

     "Thank you, Mrs. Heffley!" Bonnie exclaimed, her mood significantly better than it was that morning.

       "I'm Mrs. Heffley to your brother, but please, dear. Call me Susan."

      Bonnie nodded happily, walking over to the porch, where Greg and Rowley sat, evidently forced to go outside and stop playing video games.

       "You look amazing, Bons!" Rowley exclaimed, eyeing her new haircut. "You're almost as pretty as my mom!"

        "Rowley—" Greg hissed, but Bonnie looked at Greg, bug eyed.

       "That means a lot, Rowley, thank you," she laughed, her expression making her look refreshed. Free.

       Bonnie could get used to this life. And something told her that Susan could, too.

AUTHOR'S NOTE
I'm wrapping the book up with a couple lighter chapters, and then an epilogue :D
Like I said yesterday, though, this isn't the end of Miles's story. There just won't be as much of him in the sequel. I can't wait to see you all then.