That One Girl #Wattys2017

Chapter 12: Flashback

Alyssa walked into the little coffee shop that Eric and she were supposed to meet in. She felt an immediate warmth from the heat in the shop and smiled slightly at the familiarity of it all.

She headed to where she saw Eric and sat across him. He looked up from his mug and smiled at her politely. She didn't know Eric Thompson very well, only that he liked her best friend Ava back. Which was why she had met him here; to help him ask Ava out.

She smiled back and they sat in silence for a moment, light music filling in the background. She played with her fingers under the table while Eric took little sips of his drink.

"Pretty cold outside huh?" Eric started, glancing at her before moving his back to his hot chocolate.

"Yeah." She replied, smiling slightly at his try at a conversation.

"Ava loves this coffee shop by the way, so you could ask her here." She added, noticing that he seemed to be fidgeting.

"Oh! Alright, thanks." He gave another smile, stopping the bouncing of his leg.

She nodded and glanced around, basking in the smell of coffee. Alyssa looked back to Eric and saw that he was looking out the window as snow had started to fall and coat the ground outside.

"Do you like the snow, Eric?" She questioned, watching as a soft smile appeared on his face.

"Yes, I love it. I like watching it fall from the sky and seeing the faces of people as they see the snow drop on them." He answered, turning away from the window.

Alyssa remembered when Ava and she had played in the snow on the rare snow day. Shouts and giggles filling the air as they chucked snowballs at each other.

Eric then widened his eyes as he looked behind the reminiscing girl and at the door where someone had entered the shop, a beautiful smile gracing her face as she walked to the counter.

"Alyssa! Ava is here! What do I do?!" He whispered to her, looking at the counter every few seconds.

"Go up to her! You can ask to join her." Alyssa whispered back, trying to push him out of the booth and towards the brown haired girl oblivious to them.

Eric shook his head ferociously, honey curls bouncing on his head. He stumbled out of the booth as the brunette turned around to find a seat.

"Ava! Hey, what's up?" The boy asked, cheeks pink as he looked at his 1 year crush.

"Eric!" Ava exclaimed, a soft blush coating her cheeks as she looked into his green eyes.

Alyssa moved out of the booth and was on her way to the door when a voice called out to her.

"Are you both here together?" Ava raised an eyebrow, jealousy threaded into her words.

"She was just helping me with something. Right Alyssa?" Eric nudged her shoulder with his arm and grinned at her.

Alyssa simply nodded, cautiously watching her friend. Ava narrowed her eyes and her mouth molded into a scowl. She felt rather betrayed that her only friend who knew of her crush on the boy had been with him alone in a coffee shop as if on a date.

"It was just school things." Alyssa jumped into the conversation, smiling reassuringly at Ava. Fortunately, Eric nodded along and grinned at her stepping closer.

But before he could open his mouth to ask the question he had practiced so many times in the mirror, Ava turned away and stormed out of the shop with her coffee.

Eric's smile fell and he looked at the ground with his lips pressed together. Alyssa's stomach dropped when she saw how crestfallen the boy was and followed her friend to clear the misunderstanding.
***
Ava had never thought this would happen. She never knew that Alyssa had been dating Eric. Never knew that she liked the boy as well.

Never knew she'd be betrayed.

And maybe she was being dramatic but she had liked Eric since 6th grade, two years ago. She got the courage to admit it to Alyssa in 7th grade when they were doing homework together. She had gotten teased a bit, and had felt happiness spread through her chest when she realised talking about things wasn't bad at all.

Ava didn't ever like talking about her feelings. If she had a bad day at school she'd go up to her bedroom and listen to music to get her mind off it. They say if you suppress it, it'll explode one day.

Maybe this was her exploding.
***
Alyssa gave up on her search after perceiving that there were too many brown haired girls. She had headed home dejected, shoulders slumped and eyes on the ground.

She had curled up under her covers and slept, hoping that the next day she'd still have a best friend.
***
She entered the medium sized school building, not aware of the eyes that followed her, the dislike dancing in them. She strolled the hallways until she reached her classroom. She saw Ava with their other friends and walked to them, still oblivious to the eyes of her classmates.

"We're not friends anymore." Ava spit out, and moved to the other side of the classroom, her friends followed her. She could see the betrayal in her eyes, and it hurt Alyssa.

She sat down, numb to what was going on around her. She entered the cafeteria and the same had happened, she had to sit alone at the table near the bathrooms. They all watched her out of the corner of their eyes, judging her every move.

That was how Alyssa's life had changed. From a simple meeting in a coffee shop.
***
Hey! If you were confused this was back in Colorado, when Alyssa was in 8th grade. I wrote this in 3rd person P.O.V because I felt it was better for the scene.

Hope you liked it! Please point out mistakes, and vote and comment! :)