Clueless | DAERIN

14: evolving

h a e r i n
—

It has been three weeks since I last talked to Danielle.

Three miserable weeks.

I'm lying silently in my bedroom, just staring up at the ceiling with no background noise, just my thoughts.

Recently, I've been working on my toxic mindset while also trying to distract myself from the fact that my best friend is states away from me.

I've been thinking about her a lot more this past week, and I decided that I needed to shift my focus onto something else.

I don't think it's healthy for me to be thinking about her as much as I do.

I love her, but I don't want to be too dependent on her because, at the end of the day, we are two separate people with completely different lives.

"You're still in here pouting about your girlfriend?" someone rhetorically asks from my doorframe.

I turn my head toward the mystery person and smile when I see that it's Hanni.

I haven't seen her in a while.

"She's not my girlfriend," I sigh.

I sit up from my bed, swing my legs over the side, and stand up.

She raises an eyebrow at me, a smirk on her face.

"She's not your girlfriend yet," the twenty-two-year-old muses with a promising tone.

I instantly feel butterflies in my stomach at her statement.

Ugh.

That has been happening a lot these past three weeks.

Specifically whenever anyone mentions Dani.

It's very distracting.

"Well, yes, it would be incredible if she were to become my girlfriend, I'm not going to force her to do so if she doesn't feel the same when the time comes," I state.

I make my way toward the woman, walking past her and into the second-story hallway.

Hanni hums at my answer, following me down the hall.

"Great mentality. Wish I could say the same thing for Minji's ex," Hanni critiques.

I roll my eyes at this.

Minji seriously could not have picked a more annoying guy.

"Ugh, don't get me started on my sister's horrible taste in boys," I groan.

Hanni laughs as we descend the staircase.

"At least she has amazing taste in women," she teases.

Wow.

I scoff at this, rolling my eyes at her again.

"Please, you're too cocky for your own good," I tell her.

She gasps at this as we reach the first level of the house.

I walk away from her and into the kitchen before she can say anything else.

My stomach rumbles hungrily as I enter the kitchen, the wonderful aroma of our dinner wafting through the air.

Oh my goodness!

I glance at the kitchen counter and immediately spot an abundance of different foods.

There's a giant sliced ham in a roasting pan, buttered corn on the cob, golden biscuits, baked macaroni and cheese, homemade mashed potatoes with vegan gravy, vegan ham in a smaller roasting pan, roasted vegetables, and two different lasagnas.