'til forever falls apart | gracie abrams

2 - this is what it feels like

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"I can't fucking believe it," Mia slammed her lunch tray down on the table.

"Okay, are we drawing straws? Because I certainly do not want to be the one to ask," Dimi piques, chewing on a spinach leaf.

"I dibs not it!" Ellie exclaimed.

"Hey! You can't do that!" Dimi accused.

"Well, I just did, deal with it," Ellie stuck her tongue out at her friend.

"Guys, maybe we should just let-" Gracie, of course, could never get a single word out when Dimi and Ellie are in the same room.

"I still say we draw straws. Whoever draws the shortest loses," Dimi suggested.

"No need, you already are the shortest, it's decided!" Ellie teased.

"That is so uncalled for!" Dimi gasped.

"Hey! This is supposed to be my freak out session! Shut up, all of you!" Mia whisper-shouted at her friends, "Coach Harrison decided that Amelie fucking Maples is going to be captain of the volleyball team next year instead of me. She promised me that that captaincy was mine! I worked my ass off for it!"

"What?! She can't just do that! You deserve that position!" Dimi claimed.

"So? What's the big deal? Less responsibility, sounds good to me," Ellie shrugged, picking at the grilled chicken on her plate.

"You're not an athlete, you wouldn't get it," Dimi rolled her eyes at the platinum-haired girl.

"Hey! I'm a dancer! I'll have you know that dancing is a competitive sport!" Ellie pointed her fork in Dimi's face.

"No it's not! It's like- a pseudo-sport at best," Dimi argued.

"Oh my god, those two are hopeless," Mia sighed, turning to Gracie, "You get it, don't you? I mean, you know how important this is to me."

"Of course I do, Mia," Gracie reached her hand out to hold her friend's, "Did Coach Harrison tell you why she changed her mind?"

"She spewed some bullshit about me not being a team player or something stupid like that. I mean, can she not tell that Amelie is the biggest ball-hog on the team? She's always going for passes that aren't hers or hitting sets that she knows are for the other front line players. She's the one that's not a team player, not me," Mia complained, "I can't fucking believe it. This was supposed to help me with college applications. My grades aren't gonna cut it, that's for sure."

"Hey, I'm sure it's gonna be okay. Maybe you can talk with Amelie? See how she feels about a potential co-captaincy?" Gracie suggested.

"Abso-fucking-lutely not! I'd rather quit the team than work alongside her!" Mia flinched at the suggestion, "Besides, she thinks she's way too good for everybody to ever agree to that anyway. She even looks down on the seniors because she thinks she plays better than them. Fucking hell, she's so goddamn annoying."

Gracie watched wordlessly as Mia sunk back in her chair, arms crossed in front of her chest in adamant and obvious frustration. Gracie bit her tongue.

From the corner of her eye, Gracie could see a glimmer of blonde bleed into the cafeteria. As if she heard her name from fifteen rooms away, Amelie appeared, clad in a basketball hoodie from another school that was no doubt from that stupidly perfect boyfriend of hers. Gracie knows that Amelie knows that wearing anything other than school uniform is against the rules, but she supposed if you were Amelie Maples, the rules don't necessarily apply. Her hair is loose this time, framing her face and descending down her back in glowing waves. Gracie's eyes followed her every movement as she grabbed a tray of food and sat down at a table with a redhead and a couple other girls she believed she saw at the game last Friday. Gracie's leg started bouncing uncontrollably under the table.