'til forever falls apart | gracie abrams

3 - packing while you're asleep

˖ . ݁𝜗𝜚. ݁₊

Much to Mia's delight, it did not take much convincing for Gracie to agree to go watch the state tournament. Mia wasn't sure what caused Gracie's sudden interest in volleyball, but she certainly wasn't complaining.

The tournament fell on the week before winter break, and classes had eased up since all the teachers had given up on trying to get students to pay attention. They just handed out homework and hoped for the best. Gracie appreciated it, because it meant she could spend the weekend sitting in the bleachers of some sports center watching a sport she had very little interest in without missing out on precious study time.

She could tell her friends were noticing something was up, though, namely Dimi. She was distracted every time they wanted to talk to her about a play Mia made or some shocking save by some other member of the team, but Gracie was only ever watching Amelie.

"Dude, are you even paying attention?" Ellie asked, waving her hand in Gracie's face.

"I am! I promise! See look, someone just got a block!" Gracie defended.

"Tell me the scores right now without looking at them," Ellie shielded Gracie's eyes from the scoreboard.

"7-9?" Gracie guessed.

"11-21," Ellie pinched Gracie's arm, "I knew you weren't paying attention!"

"Ow! That was entirely unnecessary!" Gracie flinched away from Ellie.

"Oh, she's paying attention alright," Dimi suddenly asserted, "Mia's just not the one she's paying attention to."

Gracie gulped.

"Why are you always talking crazy shit in code, Dimitra? It's exhausting-" Before Ellie could finish, Dimi cut her off.

Nothing new, but Gracie dreaded it this time.

"She's watching fucking Amelie," Dimi accused, "She has been this whole time! I can't believe you Gracie! How would Mia feel if she found out you only agreed to come watch these games because of fucking Amelie?!"

"Can you please lower your voice?" Gracie pleaded, the three of them were starting to draw in an uncomfortable amount of unwanted attention from the people sitting beside them.

"The fuck you mean, lower my voice?! You're not even denying it!" Dimi whisper-shouted, "You are unbelievable, Abrams. Come on, Ellie, let's go sit somewhere else."

"Dimi, wait-"

"We're not on speaking terms until you apologize to Mia and stop talking to Amelie. She stole her captaincy, Gracie! Mia confided in you! She trusted you to have her back, and you do this? I actually can't even look at you right now," Dimi turned to leave, and Ellie followed.

"Sorry," Ellie had mouthed to Gracie.

The brown-haired girl only nodded in understanding. The four of them were a group, but Dimi and Ellie were a package deal in themselves. Their endless bickering stemmed from a place of mutual respect and understanding because they've known each other since before they could even walk. Mia and Gracie were like that, too.

Gracie started to feel the guilt wash over her, and the reality of betraying one of her closest friends was settling uneasy in her stomach. She felt sick, but somehow, the thought of never speaking to Amelie again made her even more nauseous.

Gracie didn't know what to do. And for the first time in her life, she had no one to ask for advice. She felt like she was burning her life down one bridge at a time, and her infatuation with a blonde-haired, green-eyed, girl with an annoyingly perfect smile was the catalyst. She felt truly insane.