Love & Reason Keep Little Company (Freen x Becky)

Chapter 17

"Hi."

Becky stopped in her tracks as Freen greeted her outside the door of her last class of the day. She was smiling, but it didn't reach her eyes. Her usually dazzling brown eyes looked dull and flat. Becky hadn't heard from her all day, and yet there she was standing outside her class.

"Hey, P'Freen." Becky replied, adjusting the strap of her backpack on her shoulder. She took a step back as Freen reached out to take it for her. Freen let her arm drop and shoved her hands into the pockets of her blazer.

"Drive you home?" Freen offered, falling in step with the other girl as Becky made for the main exit.

"How was the dentist?" Becky asked with a huff.

Freen's smile fell away altogether. She ducked her head, her shoulders hunched in defeat. She'd hoped to have this conversation somewhere more private than the school parking lot.

"I think we should stop pretending." She said, her voice little more than a whisper. Becky stopped, the blood draining from her face as she nodded in agreement.

"Okay."

"Seng's got the message, so..." Freen trailed off, hot tears burning in her eyes. She discreetly wiped at her face with her sleeve while Becky stared at the ground. "So we should end things. I'll pick you up in the morning, but I'll skip lunch and we can tell people we broke up over the weekend. I think it's the right thing to do." Freen nodded, trying to convince herself as much as Becky.

"Whatever, P'Freen." Becky snapped, the venom in her voice surprising them both. "Don't worry about picking me up. I'll get a ride from Irin... and I'm covered for tonight." She waved at a truck that was pulling out of a nearby parking space.

It rolled to a stop in front of her, Charlotte leaning out of the driver's window. "Everything okay?" She asked, scrutinising Freen as the other girl glared daggers at her.

"Can you give me a ride home, Char?" Becky didn't wait for an answer before walking around the other side of the truck and climbing in.

"Sure..." Said Charlotte. "Does Freen need a ride too?"

"No. She's just fine on her own."

//

"Want to talk about it?" Charlotte asked as Becky sat staring out the window. The blonde shook her head, her hair falling in her face.

"Okay... but we're still gonna talk about it." Charlotte pulled over at the end of Becky's street and killed the engine. Becky finally tore her attention away from the window to look at her.

"Char-"

"What's going on, Becca?" Charlotte shifted in her seat to face the other girl. "Did Freen say something, or do something?"

Becky shook her head, biting her lip as she fought back fresh tears. "She wants to break up."

"Breakup? I thought you guys were faking?"

"We are... It's complicated. I thought we were getting somewhere, that she really liked me back, but..." Becky pinched the bridge of her nose as she heaved out a sigh which turned into hollow laughter. "It's crazy. We argued over you, of all people!"

"Me?"

"Yes!" Becky let out another bitter laugh. "She asked if we were close. It's like she knew about what happened over the summer... Did you tell her, Char?"

"What?! No! Why would I?" Charlotte snapped. Her look of indignation slipped away as she suddenly remembered something.

"What is it?"