Sunsets

˗ˏˋ Chapter Seven 'ˎ˗

Elaine was staring out the window, watching raindrops hit her window and the ground. Elaine liked being inside when it was raining, the sound of raindrops hitting the window created a cozy atmosphere. Elaine had to go get a coffee and a lunch though, which meant she needed to walk to the cafe in the rain, and she didn't have an umbrella. Elaine headed to the cafe and ordered herself a coffee. As she walked back, a takeaway cup of coffee and a croissant in hand, she noticed someone walking next to her, with an umbrella. Elaine quickly noticed it was Camille. Camille looked over and noticed Elaine didn't have an umbrella or a very good jacket.

"Do you want an umbrella?" Camille asked softly, catching Elaine off guard.

"Sure," Elaine replied and smiled.

Camille handed Elaine her umbrella and the two walked quietly. They eventually reached the school.

"Thanks" Elaine thanked Camille, handing the umbrella back.

Camille nodded and went her own way. Elaine was confused, since when was Camille this nice? She shrugged it off and ate her lunch while drinking the coffee. After her music class, Elaine went to the school bathroom, to find Camille in front of the mirror, seemingly wiping tears or touching up makeup.

"Are you okay?" Elaine asked.

"I'm fine," Camille said and walked out of the bathroom, leaving Elaine confused.

After Elaine's classes for the day finished, she walked down to the local library. She needed a few new books to read. Elaine made her way to the classics section of the library, her favorite kind of books to read. As she was looking through the books, she noticed another person looking at the same shelf. Next to her was a dirty-blonde, wide-eyed, gorgeous girl. Elaine smiled softly at the girl and kept on browsing the library shelf. Elaine's eyes kept scanning through all the books until she found one that seemed interesting and reached for it. As she grabbed the book the other girl did too, making their hands touch. Elaine looked at the girl and the girl looked back.

"I'm sorry," The girl said, handing Elaine the book.

"Oh no, it's okay, I'll find a different one," Elaine insisted.

Elaine felt her cheeks flush and her palms suddenly felt clammy. She smiled shyly at the girl and continued browsing the books. Elaine looked back at the other girl again, the girl's dirty blonde hair in a messy braid.

"What's.... What's your name?" Elaine asked, with a slight stutter.

"My name is Valerie," The girl smiled, "You?"
"I'm Elaine," Elaine replied.

The two girls talked for a while and exchanged numbers. Elaine found a book and left the library, Valerie still plaguing her mind.

That night, Elaine couldn't sleep. Her thoughts kept running in circles. Valerie, Valerie, Valerie. What was wrong with Elaine? She had never felt like this before. Why was she feeling so giddy? Elaine couldn't get the girl out of her head. The messy blonde braid, the wide innocent eyes, the acne spread out on her face, the chapped red nail polish reaching for the book... Elaine couldn't get her out of her head. Elaine was trying to sleep until her phone got a notification. She picked her phone up and saw a text from Valerie. Her heart skipped a beat and she sat up.

The message read: "Hi! This is Valerie, I was wondering if you'd like to grab coffee sometime?"

Elaine felt a rush of energy and texted back, "Sure, does tomorrow at 5 work for you?" She was so excited, and she didn't know why she felt this way. Valerie sent her a thumbs up and they made plans. Elaine tried to sleep again. This time her mind finally drifted off.

The next day, Elaine went to the beach for a quiet morning walk and was met with a ground of loud boys. She noticed two familiar faces, Louis and Vincent. This was confusing, Jules and Camille hated each other but Jules's boyfriend and Camille's brother were seemingly good friends. Something wasn't adding up in Elaine's mind. She finished the walk along the beach and went back to the main school building for her classes. Now, focusing on school wasn't the easiest when you had a person like Valerie on your mind. Elaine managed, hardly. She got some test scores back in her literature class and discretely compared them to Camille's. Elaine got a higher score than Camille, as expected in this particular subject. Elaine saw Camille glancing over at her test too, there wasn't any denial for the rivalry the two had.

Elaine ate lunch with Louis and Jules as usual. She was eating but remembered her question from earlier.

"Hey, Louis, you're friends with Camille's brother?" Elaine asked, curious.

"Oh yeah, Vincent is a great guy," Louis replied.

"So you like him but not his sister, then?"

"Well, Camille is so much of a bitch that her own brother hates her," Louis said, reaching for another bit of food.

"He doesn't hate her, just some deep-rooted sibling rivalry," Jules explained.

Elaine nodded, understanding. The three kept talking and somehow Elaine brought Valerie up.

"Well, there's this girl and I can't get her out of my head, it's so weird. I met her at the library yesterday and we're meeting for coffee today" Elaine said, smiling absentmindedly.

"Are you in love or something?" Jules asked.

"Me? No, I don't think I even like girls like that," Elaine scoffed but it left a question in the back of her mind.

Was she in love? She had read so many romance novels and watched so many sappy rom-coms– maybe she was in love. No, that's absurd, she would've known if she liked girls, right? Right?

Later that day, Elaine went to a coffee shop in town. She had dressed up more nicely than she would've to go out casually, yet not overboard. She met Valerie at the coffee shop and the two started chatting. Valerie was wearing a white flowy dress, reaching her knees. She had the same messy braid as the day before and bracelets covering her wrists. Elaine ordered an espresso and Valerie ordered a cappuccino. They talked about diverse topics, what schools they go to, their families, books, favorite subjects– just anything they could think of. Valerie made Elaine's heart beat a little faster, her smile a little wider. This feeling was so unfamiliar to Elaine, yet it felt like something a protagonist in a romance novel would feel like. Oh no, was she in love? No, no way. It couldn't be.

Elaine went back to her room. She sat on the balcony and watched the sunset as she hummed along to soft music and did her homework. She revised her notes from earlier and unwinded for the night. After eating a sandwich, she brushed her teeth, washed herself, and went to bed. She tried to fall asleep but the thoughts about Valerie and love were plaguing her mind. There was no way she was falling in love with a girl. She had always admired the men in books and movies, she had never even looked at another girl like that. Elaine tossed and turned until she fell asleep late into the night.

Words: 1210