𝐢 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮, 𝐢'𝐦 𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐲 ˢᵒᵈᵃᵖᵒᵖ ᶜᵘʳᵗⁱˢ

𝟎𝟏𝟑. ( worried about you )

❝we can never be best friends again and you know that.❞

ONCE SODAPOP AND ATHENA were on speaking terms again, they did everything together again.

the first thing they did, going to a book store. the boy never was a good reader and he had dropped out of school but he went because athena wanted him to go with her.

she grabbed a few books from the shelves and nodded to soda, signaling that they were done with their trip.

sometimes sodapop would catch himself gazing at athena from afar or up close. they weren't a thing, they merely were lovers who weren't official just yet.

that night, soda wanted to change that.

athena never noticed him sneaking looks at her, for she was too busy thinking about how her family wasn't really her real family. it felt like a thousand knives stabbing her in the back and she never could pull them out.

"soda?" she looked up as the pair walked down the main street. soda was already looking at her, feeling flustered that she had caught him.

"um—yes?"

"my dad had an affair before i was born." she admits, soda gives her a weird look.

"what're you saying? that your mother isn't your real mom?" he cocks his brows.

"basically."

"i'm so sorry, do you know who your real mom is?" soda asks softly, bringing the girl closer to him.

"no, my dad said she's dead."

"wait— you went to see your father?" soda let's go of the girl quickly, his eyes wide.

"yeah, why?"

"why? your dad is a horrible person! he doesn't deserve to be in your life anymore."

the silence was loud between the two, athena was confused and soda was feeling the same.

"it's not really your decision." athena mumbled, rolling her eyes. soda gave her a look of confused hurt.

"i'm just worried about you." soda grabs her arm to bring her in for a hug. she pushes herself away from him.

"yeah? well it's not your place to worry about me." she fights back, she doesn't know why this makes her angry, she feels overly defensive over the dad that sits in jail as they speak.

"you're my best friend, of course i'm worried about you!" soda exclaims, wishing that they could stop fighting.

"we can never be best friends again and you know that." athena replies sharply, turning her back on the boy and walking her own way. for some odd reason—he didn't follow her.

he kicked a pebble that sat alone on the cold gravel. as the day draws to a close, the sky transforms into a canvas of breathtaking hues, embracing the world with the warmth of a thousand blazing embers.

soda knew it wasn't his fault, he knows how much james meant to athena. maybe he overreacted and maybe she did too, he knew that they shouldn't end the day angry at each other, who knew when they'd see each other again?

soda rounds the corner, stuffing his hands in his pockets and kicking lone pebbles he found on the gritty gravel.

he was too late, once he found himself standing alone by a drug store, he was too late.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

once athena realized how she acted up, she knew it was her turn to apologize, again. she was afraid to talk to him after how she walked off. he didn't run after her and she didn't blame him.

maybe we're just not right for each other? she thought to herself, hugging her stuffed octopus to her chest, staring at the gray wall next to her dresser.

maybe serena is the right one for him, not me.
she wished it wasn't true, but she knew that they were perfect together, they just clicked. while her and sodapop, didn't.

athena had nothing else to turn to, so she started writing in her notebook. jotting down everything that happened that day.

it was a lot to write, half the things she wrote down didn't feel real whatsoever. but it was real and she couldn't go back and change a thing.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
i love how dramatic i made this
also, what's going to happen to sodapop 😱😱
-molly