YOU, ME, & SHE • |KTH AU| •

forty-three

“It was early evening as I was making my way home after a long day at work. As I rounded the corner onto my street, a commotion up ahead grabbed my attention. I peered closer to see a group of girls who I recognized to be members of this gang screaming and squaring up menacingly in front of some other girl — Jennie — cowering against a fence.

I guess there'd been a fight brewing between two of these gangster chicks over a guy they were both interested in — and then had Jennie swooped in and started trying to make bets on who would win. The other girls saw this as Jennie making light of their shit and wanted to teach her a lesson.

Even from a distance, Jennie stuck out like a sore thumb in her designer clothes and fancy hair. What was someone like her doing in these parts? For a moment, I considered leaving them to it. But the terrified look on Jennie's face made me rethink.

I sighed and strode over purposefully, keeping my tone even. "Come now, Skye, Aiko and all of you. This bitch means nothing. Don't damage your statuses over such a pathetic thing — don't you always say you're queens? Act like it."

Skye eyed me, her posture relaxing slightly. "She kinda has a point..." She grudgingly murmured to Aiko. "This stupid bimbo ain't worth the trouble."

Aiko hissed a final threat at Jennie and then they all turned and stalked off into the night.

After the coast was clear, Jennie stumbled over herself with thanks. I gave her a stiff nod and warned her again to watch her step before continuing home. But then, she started following me like a lost puppy.

"Would you get lost? Go back wherever you came from," I shot over my shoulder, picking up the pace.

Jennie didn't listen at all, all the way to my front door. I thought that'd be the end, but no such luck.

Next morning as I headed out, there she waited like she owned the place.

"What do you want??" I demanded, in no mood for games. But Jennie just shrugged. I stomped past her, but she started shadowing me.

She followed me around for the entire the day. She lurked at the gym where I worked as a receptionist, and also tagged along to my second job at a cafe afterwards. After a few more days of this, I was about ready to strangle her fancy neck. I tried everything I could to scare her off, but she wasn't having it.

And before long, I found myself softening to Jennie's chatter on our walks. She really exasperated me at times, but there was a charm about her. I started inviting her over whenever dad wasn't around, and as we hung out, she and Thea got to know each other.

We'd talk for hours, with Jennie would tell the craziest stories. With her around, my worries seemed to lift like morning fog.

But Jennie's rascally streak was a big problem. She kept on running away from home, trying to crash at my place before her mom's men came to drag her back. And more than once I had to intervene before her pranks got out of hand, like the time she tried to tag my workplace with spray paint. She was always itching for trouble just for kicks.

Then came the day my attempt to rein her in went wrong. Deathly wrong. And from that day on, nothing would be the same between me and Jennie ever again.

She showed up one afternoon with this roguish glint in her eye. "Come with me, I've got a surprise," She said mysteriously. No matter how much I pressed, she refused to reveal our destination.

My curiosity got the better of me as we walked through empty streets. That's when I realized with confusion: she'd led me to our high school, which was deserted since it was summer break.

"Wait here, I'm going to do something cool," Jennie smirked, pulling a box of matches from her pocket. Ice flooded my veins at the implication. Before I could react, she took off into the darkened building.