Oh, Heather

Chapter Twenty-Three

That afternoon, when Heather made it home, she noticed her mom was home, but her brother wasn’t.

“Hey mom, where’s Corey?” 
“Matt took him to the park.”
“Okay.” She said.

Matthew hadn’t done anything to them, but she still felt wary about him. She took a deep breath as she landed onto her bed. She turned on her phone to text Leo, but she was interrupted by a call. From Miley.

“Hey,” She smiled.
“Hi Heather.”
“Why did you call? I thought you were still mad at me.”
“I am,” She replied, “But this is more important.”
“What’s going on?” Heather asked.
“Can you meet me at the park?”
“Uhm sure.” 

Miley hung up as soon as Heather answered. She was confused, but she was happy that Miley finally talked to her. She might still be mad at her, but she didn’t seem to be too mad anymore. Heather threw on a thicker sweater and walked off to the park. Her mom didn’t ask where she was going, she just said goodbye. She made it to the park and looked around for Miley. She couldn’t find her, so she sat down as she waited for her to show up. A few minutes later, Miley ran towards Heather, throwing her bag down beside her.

“Hi.” She breathed, grabbing her side.
“Hey.” Heather replied.
“What’s up? You sounded worried.”
“It’s about Leo and Vance,” She said, “I know Leo said they were okay, but I just don’t think so.”
“Why? I know Vance went and sat with the football team today, but those are his friends.”
“He’s been doing that since they got outed,” She said, “Like since people started asking about them and stuff.”

Heather looked around as she thought of a reply. But something made her lose her train of thought. Jada was there. She ignored at continued talking to Miley.

“I get where you’re coming from,” Heather replied, “But he might just be scared. Getting outed isn’t fun.”
“I wouldn’t think him hanging out with his friends was a problem if they didn’t say the things that they say.” Miley said.
“What do you mean?” Heather asked, “None of them seemed to have a problem with it.”
“Me and Leo have Biology with most of the football team and they’re always like whispering and pointing and Leo and stuff.” 
“Do you even know what they’re saying?” 
“No. But Ryder came up to me a few days before the party and asked if we were going,” She said, “And when I answered he asked if I could make sure that Leo and Vance didn’t show up because they might ruin his party.” 
“Really? He didn’t seem bothered by it when he came up to me at the party.”
“What did he say?” Miley asked.

She thought, trying to remember the conversation they had, but she kept staring at Jada. No matter how hard she tried to focus back on Miley, her eyes always trailed over to Jada.

“He didn’t really say much. He just asked if they were gonna be there.” 
“But how did he say it?”
“I mean, there wasn’t really any feeling to his question. He just asked.”
“Mkay,” She said, “Maybe I am just overthinking it.”
“Just try talking to Vance. That might help.” She suggested.
“But what if Leo gets upset with me?”
“Tell him what you’re gonna do, and I doubt he’ll get upset or anything.”
“Okay,” She said, “But I gotta get home.”
“Okay. Bye Miley.” She said.

Miley nodded her head and grabbed her bag, waving goodbye to Heather. Heather thought about trying to talk to Jada, but she doubted that Jada would reply. She decided she would stay a little longer. It felt nice outside. She just sat, looking around the area, well mainly at Jada. She was dressed in a black, mesh long sleeve shirt with a black dress over it and she was wearing high heel boots. She wasn’t wearing that at school. Heather had never seen her in something like that. Even at the party, she wasn’t wearing a dress. She didn’t seem to be with anyone, she was alone. She looked happy that way. She shook her head and decided to try and talk to her. The worst she would do was walk off, or not reply. 

“Jada?” She said, watching her kick the woodchips.
“Hi Heather.” Jada replied, scratching the back of her neck.

Every thought she had seemed to disappear the second Jada replied. She had several questions to ask, but she couldn’t remember a single one.

“What’re you doing here?” She asked.
“It felt nice out.” 
“It does.”
“You can sit down, it feels weird with you just standing there.” Jada said, looking up at Heather.

She smiled, sitting beside Jada with a comfortable distance between them.
----------------------------------------
We're getting closer!!