Seafoam //Completed//

Chapter 9

They left Lulu's bike behind the ice cream shop, hidden among old cardboard boxes, before they got into Ava's car and drove off. Ava's house was on the same block as Liam's house and as they drove by, they could see the crowd had already grown. Lulu looked down the street and spotted Matty's car already parked there.

Maybe she should have gone with him to the party. They hadn't hung out in a few weeks. School was keeping them both busy, but she knew he was also spending a lot of time with Gemma, and not just working on class assignments. Last weekend she had asked him if he wanted to go with her to the movies but he had already made plans with Gemma.

To go to the movies.

They got out of the car and walked inside. Ava's dad wasn't in town and the only other people in the house were her younger twin brothers, who had locked themselves in their room. Inside her room, Ava went straight to her closet and began pulling out dresses to try on. Lulu sat on the bed next to the vanity and looked around. It was much larger than Lulu's room but the walls were covered in posters of boy bands and celebrities Lulu didn't even recognize, making it all a bit claustrophobic. On the vanity, Ava had an assortment of picture frames of herself with different people. One stood out in particular to Lulu. It was of Ava, looking much younger, and an older woman wearing a red headscarf. Neither of them were smiling but the way Ava was looking at the woman broke Lulu's heart. Absentmindedly, she reached out and picked up the frame.

"That was the last picture we took together," came Ava's voice from the other side of the room, startling Lulu.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be nosey," she apologized.

"No, it's okay," Ava replied shaking her head, making her curls bounce. She had let her hair down and was wearing a navy blue strapless dress that looked striking against her ebony skin.

"It's been a few years now, I don't mind talking about her anymore. When she first went, I couldn't even mention her name," she said with a sad smile. "It hurt too much. I'm sure you know what I mean," she took the frame when Lulu offered it and looked at it sadly before returning it to the vanity.

"Yeah, totally" Lulu lied, turning back to the bed. The truth was that she wasn't sure if she really missed her mother, but admitting that would probably make her sound insane. Instead, she complimented Ava on the dress.

"Thanks! Do you want to try some on?" Ava asked her, already pulling out more dresses from the closet.

"I'm not going," she reminded her.

"You have to! All my friends ditched me today and I can't go alone. I need reinforcements!"

"Against what?" Lulu laughed. "Isn't your boyfriend going?"

"Michael's not my boyfriend," she replied with a frown. "But I'm sure he'll be there."

"Oh, no. I won't be ditched for a pretty face again," Lulu said shaking her head dramatically.

"No! That's why I want you to go," Ava explained. "I want a friend to be with me so I won't have to spend the whole night with him. I like him a lot but he can get kind of clingy. Besides you and I haven't hung out except for class and I just thought we could have fun," she shrugged.

"Wait, what do you mean again?" she asked suddenly.

Lulu tried evading the question by saying it was irrelevant, but Ava merely looked at her disbelievingly.

Sighing, Lulu gave in. Again, it felt good to talk to someone about what she was feeling. Maybe when she spoke to Zac about Matty, it hadn't been the best idea but she knew Ava was kind and wouldn't throw anything in her face. She told her about her feelings for Matty and everything that had happened at the party. When she mentioned her argument with Zac, Ava only narrowed her eyes and said, "Hm." When Lulu was done, Ava looked down at the mess of clothes in her hands and picked something out.