Salty Licorice

Chapter 83

Liz's POV

For the past few weeks Avery has been very quiet since that fight with Tony. I don't know if it has something to do with that or if it's something else entirely. But she has been trying to win me back somewhat. Everyday she's brought me a flower and keeps going out of her way to be nice to me, like opening doors or pulling out my chair. She even insists on grabbing my art supplies I need from the back room so I don't have to get up. She compliments me everyday even if it's small and tells me she loves me every chance she gets.

Needless to say I've just about forgiven her but she doesn't know it. I may be trying to milk this as much as I can. I haven't outwardly told her I'm mad but the fact that I don't let her kiss me is pretty obvious and we don't go farther than just a few pecks here and there. Their State championship is coming up soon as well but she hasn't talked about it much except to say that Coach has been hard on them during practice.

I have a bad feeling something else happened that she isnt telling me. I ask but she just puts on a fake smile and tells me there's nothing to tell and everything is fine. Which is obviously a lie, but I can't push too hard otherwise she will just get even more closed off and turn whatever it is she's feeling into anger. Avery's anger is nothing like I've ever experienced before, she's violent but not towards one thing it's almost like is self inflicting violence. That's the part that is most scary, it's like she's angry at everything and nothing all at once. An internal battle with herself that only ever makes itself known through her quick outbursts. That isn't to say she scares me, it's actually quite the opposite, I'm more worried for her than myself.

But with that, she's going to have to crack and tell me sooner rather than later what's been bothering her. Honesty and transparency is important to me in any relationship.

I sit in art focusing on my final project of the year seeing as we only have just over a month before finals will be handed out and the end of the year will be here. Prom will be this weekend then state will be next weekend and Avery isn't excited about either. Marisa I already know isn't going to prom, but I thought maybe Avery would want to go and I was expecting her to ask me but no such promposals ever came.

I hear the chair across from me squeak across the floor as it's pulled away from the table before I catch the scent of strong perfume. I don't even have to look up to know who it is, she hasn't been sitting there often anymore. Mostly only when she has an assignment due and doesn't want to be bothered by her other friends in the class who she has been sitting with mostly. I feel bad for her in the sense of getting rejected but I don't feel entirely bad about how everything turned out. I don't exactly believe in karma but in this case it's hard to ignore it, karma was a bitch to her.

"Avery," Her voice surprises me, making me pause my hand that holds my charcoal. "I'm wearing a pale blue dress this year."

"Cool I guess," Avery mutters to her as she ignores her art project to do her math homework.

"Well I figured you'd need to know so you wear the matching button down," Emily speaks slowly.

"Don't care, not going," Avery doesn't miss a beat.

"Why would she be matching with you if she was to go anyway?" I feel a bit territorial.

"We were going to go together, we had this planned since freshman year." Emily smiles sickly sweet at me.

"Before you admitted to secretly being in love with her for years," I remind her of that rainy day. "And her turning you down, before we started dating? So if anyone would be going with Avery it would only make sense for it to be her girlfriend. Don't you agree?"

"You don't get it, we are friends Elizabeth," Emily says harshly.

"Used to be," Avery says.

"Excuse me?"