Avery Randolph looked like a typical, small town girl. Smart, pretty, soft. She was anything but, proven by going on joyrides on weekends, smoking pot and drinking when she had the chance.
But her domain is challenged when new girl Ginny Miller move...
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"HAPPY BIRTHDAY, YOU BITCH," greeted Avery, her smile wide. Ginny couldn't help but compare how white her teeth was to the dress she wore. It was a white, sparkly, satin dress with long sleeves and silver buttons on either side of her bosom. She wore a pair of white platform sneakers and her usual bag was swapped with a Marc Jacobs Tote in a beige color.
Ginny accepted the hug, as the Randolph squeezed tight. "Oh, I remember my Sweet Sixteenth. It was this summer. Dad rented out the bowling alley for our entire class. It was the best," said Avery, before letting go and fishing something out of her bag. "I have a surprise," she stated in a singing tone. Avery handed a small box over to Ginny, who took it, looking doubtful. "I promise it won't explode and give you horrible scars."
Marcus snorted and Max laughed. Ginny tentatively opened the box and then gasped softly when she saw a pair of heart earrings, studs, with diamonds inserted in them. "Aves, I can't take these." Avery smiled. "They seemed like you. And I wanted you to have them, because you only turn sixteen once. Besides, it was no big deal. I had a gift card."
Ginny put the earrings into her bag and then they began to discuss birthday plans. Marcus was reluctant to host a party at their house, because of what happened last time. Brodie swallowed his fish. Avery had almost torn the boy a new one when he did and Brodie had actually bought Marcus a new fish.
"Come on! It's for Ginny's birthday. Just do it for Ginny," pleaded Max, pouting at her brother. "Yeah, do it for Ginny," mocked the birthday girl. Avery rolled her eyes. "No pressure or anything like that."
Marcus narrowed his eyes, his arm over his girlfriends shoulder. "Fine." The couple walked away, with Avery giggling. "I'm making Brodie promise not to infiltrate your room. Ooh, maybe we could hole up in there and lock the door," she suggested, wiggling her brows. Marcus sighed. "Probably not possible if you also have to celebrate Ginny." Avery pouted. "For once, it would be nice to just. . . have a night for ourselves. God, we're like the parents with dreadful kids," she complained.
They sat down and then. . . much to MAANG's surprise, Hunter put on a dance number for Ginny. Avery and Marcus shared a look. "If you ever, and I mean ever, do something like this, again, I'm checking you into a mental institution. I'll even pay them to give you a lobotomy." Marcus snorted into her shoulder. "Okay," he agreed.
RIGHT BEFORE LUNCH, AVERY found Abby and goaded her into telling what was wrong. "It's the birthday surprise on saturday. God, why can't we have something like that?"
Avery shrugged. "Because our moms suck. My dad sucks sometimes, too, but no offense, it's nothing compared to yours." Abby scoffed. "Yeah. Dad's a total ass." Avery sighed and then hugged Abby, squeezing tightly. "I love you. I love you, I love you, I love you."
The blonde heard Abby sniffle. "I love you more."
"Debatable."
The two girls pulled apart and then went towards the cafeteria. "I know I say this every time, but come crash with me. It'll be like a sleepover that never ends." Abby chuckled mirthlessly. "Are you really quoting Brooke Davis to me right now?" she asked. "Did it work?" retorted Avery, flicking some blonde, curled locks over her shoulders. "Never," lied Abby.
The two girls walked arm in arm, a bag of chips each and a soda too, making their way over to where the rest of their group sat. Max and Norah pretty much ignored them. Avery raised a brow, as Ginny looked pretty apologetic. "Oh my god. Look who it is. Avoid eye contact or they'll think we want them to sit with us," began the Miller girl. Abby rolled her eyes as a small smile came onto her face. "Oh my god. That's, like, so embarrassing." Norah kept going with it, as Avery giggled. "Oh, gross. They're so disgusting. Oh god. They're coming over," fired Max, as the two girls sat down on Max's other side.
Abby's smile was still small, but it grew as Max affectionately kissed her cheek and then reached a hand over to touch Avery's.
Brodie, Hunter and Jordan soon joined them, with Brodie evoking some kind of silliness in Max that only Avery could achieve. The pair was like a stick of dynamite, ready to explode at any moment, but they were a hilarious duo.
AFTER SCHOOL, AT HOME, Avery went over her notes from the therapy session the day before.
She went over the first bullet point; feeling like she was losing control. Dr. Taylor had dished out breathing exercises like counting to ten or taking deep breaths, or gripping something soft very hard while taking deep breaths. Dr. Taylor also advised her to use the 5,4,3,2,1 method during a panic attack. Five things she could see, four she could touch, three she could hear, two she could smell and one she could taste.
The second bullet point was dealing with her anger in healthy ways. They had discussed rage rooms before, but Avery had never actually tried one. They had booked an appointment for it to be that sunday, after Ginny's birthday. The thing was, Avery never wanted to deal with her anger. She hated it with a passion. She'd rather evade it, but she knew she'd explode.
The third and last, was about Sofia, the ever elusive mother. Avery had clammed up almost immediately. Dr. Taylor, had taken out her notebook. Avery had narrowed her eyes as she sat on the couch. 'Oh, come on. Really? The notebook thing? Why? It's passive aggressive,' she'd said, her face almost in a sneer. They ended the session soon after.
Avery hated when she did the notebook thing, because it felt like a threat. Like Dr. Taylor wanted her to resist so it could be used against her. Talking about her mom wasn't the reason she even got a therapist in the first place. It was to deal with her anxiety. The mommy issues were just a bonus.
The blonde took a shaky breath and then closed the notebook, tossing it into the drawer underneath her desk. Avery sat back in her desk chair and then ran a hand through her hair.
All this therapy shit was a bitch.
Her phone started to ring in her bag and the girl took it out, scowling when she saw it was her mother.
Avery declined the call and then went on instagram, only to see she had gotten a DM from Gavin. She didn't open it.
Instead, she did like she always would when she ignored her problems and turned on The Walking Dead on her computer, moving over to her bed to sit down. She sunk back into her pillows and then watched from season 7, episode one, crossing her arms over her chest.
It was unhealthy, to lose focus of the real world and focus on the digital, but it was also easier, because Avery didn't have any real responsibilities in the digital world like she did in the real one.
A/N: Oh my god the ✨struggle✨ of getting through this chapter was unreal. And I may or may not have somewhat been inspired by dr. Raynor from TFATWS. . . oops. It's not as long as I would've liked the chapter to be, but that's mostly because the next chapter is Ginny's birthday surprise party and then chapter sixteen is. . . a surprise.
