little bird // r.keene

vii. a friend part one.

Robby thought about turning around twice on his way over to The Bookshelf, actually three. He had no clue what he was going to say to Wren. Apologise? Try and convince her to join Miyagi-Do? Ask her how his dad was doing? It was all a mess in his mind and Robby didn't know where he was going to start.

It was dark by the time he got there and the blinds in the front windows were shut.

He looked up. Her light was on. Her window was open. He thought about turning around one more time, she would never know he was there. But he swallowed his gnawing fear and called up.

"Wren." His voice was gentle at first, nothing. "Wren!" He called a little louder.
"What!" Her voice cracked through the dark but instead of seeing her silhouette through the window he spotted the top of her head poke up as she seemingly sat up on the roof.

"Wren?" He was a little caught off guard when he saw her sitting there on the roof, the top of her head illuminated by the moon shining down from the clear sky. But then again, little Wren did surprised him these days... "Can I talk to you?" He asked as she stuck her head over the gutter, her hair falling in tumbled over her shoulders.

"Can you not read the sign? We're closed." He heard her say flatly and pressed a cigarette to her lips. Then Robby watched as she pulled herself back up over the edge of the roof but before he could get another word out, she poked her head back over the side. "Tell me, are you still angry at me?" She asked playfully, taking another toke as she waited for his response. Robby took his hands out of his pockets, slightly concerned she was about to fall by instinct.

"I was never angry at you, Wren." Robby told her, still unable to see her face under the dim light. "I was frustrated and mad, yes, but not at you. Could you please get off the roof and talk to me." He asked and she seemed to dwell on this for a moment.

"You know where the key is." He heard her mutter thoughtlessly and Robby remembered the night she let him stay...

"Even if one day we're no longer friends. Just know you can. If I'm not here, there's a spare key under the left hand plant pot, second to the end." She paused, "Anytime you need, Keene."

And sure enough, there it was. Robby made sure to lock the door behind him and made his way up the stairs, making sure to knock before he went in.
"Come in." He heard Wren faintly call from the next room and he pushed the door open slightly, sticking his head in and was immediately overwhelmed by the smell of weed.

"Hello, pretty boy, to what do I owe the pleasure?" It took Robby a moment to spot her, she was still on the roof, sticking her head through the window from the other side.
"Jesus, Wren, get off the roof, please. You're high." Robby shook his head, shutting the door behind him again and making his any to the window sill.

"Well, no shit Sherlock." He heard her mutter, pressing the joint back to her lips, making sure to exhale slowly. "If I knew you were going to rain on my parade I would have left you downstairs..." She mumbled as if to herself and Robby pressed his palms to his knees before crouching beside the window. Wren was leaning her head against the frame from the other side, a few strands of her hair falling in her face, she blew them away. "Your arm is better. That's great Keene!" She beamed at him, forgetting any sense of hostility she had previously housed since the tournament.

"Wren, could you please get off the roof..." He asked her again, more firmly but equally as gentle, "Please, I'm sorry." Robby tried to reason but Wren pulled away from the window and instead sat with her elbows pressed on her knees, her back to Robby.

"Yeah... people always say that." He heard her mumble and Robby licked his lips before standing and climbing cautiously out the window, making sure not to bang his head and treading carefully before sitting next to her, their arms brushed together, resting side by side.

"This is dangerous." Robby found himself saying but Wren could only laugh in response.
"Sure, that's why it's fun." She retorted and let her giggles subside. "You'll be happy." She blurted, "Hawk and the others, they hate me now, Keene." He looked towards her, he had her head hung down, the joint pressed firmly between her index and thumb.

"I don't think they hate you, they're your team after all." He thought out loud and Wren turned to face him.
"Y-you weren't there. I didn't let him score one fucking point and he hates me for it." She breathed, "Not one." Her voice was quieter with those last two words...

Robby saw everything then, the deep red edges of her eyes couldn't hide the tears behind them that were burning to break free but Wren held them back. Her quivering bottom lip and shadows under her eyes told him she wasn't as strong as she led everyone to believe.

"Come here." He whispered and moved his leg, Wren pushed herself up on her knees and shuffled over to place herself lying down between his legs. Her back was pressed against his chest and he wrapped his arms around her waist. "Do you want to talk about it?" He asked softly into her hair, past the overwhelming smell of weed radiating from the joint she still held, Wren smelled of lavender and clean sheets, Robby held onto that as he waited for her to respond.

"Who am I kidding? I have absolutely nothing figured out yet..." Wren sighed, pressing her cheek to his shoulder tenderly, Wren raised her arm to take another toke but Robby plucked the roll from her fingers. "Hey!" Wren exclaimed, sitting up to look back at him but Robby just chuckled, raising it to his own lips. "Holy fuck, I knew I could corrupt you, that was too easy. I didn't know Robby Keene smokes?" She asked in disbelief, her eyes wide with shock.

"I never let my best friend do stupid things alone..." He joked and Wren punched his arm, causing him to cough and she burst into fits of laughter.

"Ow." He groaned when his lungs cleared, he could feel his sobriety slip away from under him as his senses blurred. He took another toke, then a third.
"Best friend, eh?" She teased, taking it back and lying back down.

"I know, I know...But it made you laugh... Jesus, that stuff is strong, is it even legal?" He asked, wrapping his arms bac around her.
"It's only illegal if we get caught. Didn't anyone ever tell you that?"

"Oh, I'm aware. Believe it or not Evans, before I met you I dabbled in crime myself." He said honestly and cast his mind back. "Before I met you, I ran with the wrong crowd for a while... It's not something I'm proud of." Robby confessed, swallowing hard but his throat felt like sandpaper.