Little Things

CHAPTER 11

“Do you know what makes someone beautiful? Confidence. You don't have to have this shape eyes or that shape lips. No one seems to be able to decide which shape is best anyway. You can have every kind of blemish. It's confidence that attracts people. That's what everybody's looking for. It's what no potion can really give you. And believe me, you've got it. You've got it if you want it.” --Daniel Nayeri, Another Faust.

~

Scarlett was sitting on the sofa staring at her phone, but not really paying attention to what her eyes were skimming through when Haley said “Are you mad at me?”

Scarlett looked at her childhood friend and blinked a few times. “No. I’m just thinking.”

Haley gave a brief nod. She knew that it wasn’t her place to prod some more. She asked “I think it’s time for me to leave now. But, I really wish I could have stayed until I can apologise to Autumn.”

Scarlett placed her phone next to her. She looked at the time, which was 11:00 p.m. and said “You can just stay, then. Take my room. I’m not going to sleep anytime soon, anyway. You can talk to her in the morning. Oh, and before you ask, yes. Yes, you can borrow some clothes.”

Haley gave a smile and asked “Sure?” Scarlett nodded her approval. Haley got up and went into Scarlett’s room.

Scarlett got back to thinking. She reminisced about the first time she had met Autumn. She would have never guessed that they would grow to become such close friends. She also thought about the first time she met Zayn. She had been absolutely shocked. There were only a handful of moments in her life when she had been speechless, that moment when she had realised that Autumn hadn’t been lying about a famous boy band member definitely topped the list.

As time went by, she began seeing Zayn and the rest of the band as normal boys, not just as some celebrities. She learnt a lot about their personality and, god save her, they had actually become her friends.

Her eyes moved around the hall, as she thought some more. They settled on a photograph that was three years old. It was a simple picture taken from a phone, Scarlett remembered. It was their first picture together. Scarlett pushed herself up and stood up. She strode to the photo frame and picked it up. It was a silver steel frame with the words ‘BEST FRIENDS FOREVER’ engraved on it, with a heart next to the words. Autumn had bought it because she thought it would be funny to use Scarlett’s dislike for cheesy words and hearts to annoy her. Scarlett had placed the picture in this frame and kept it where Autumn could see it every time she visited Scarlett’s dorm room. Since then, it had become an inside joke among the two. The photo showed them both sitting on their university campus, books in hand, legs crossed, sitting on the floor and smiling into the camera.

Scarlett suddenly felt an urge to call her best friend and see if she okay. So, she pressed a button to call the number that was first on her speed dial. The phone began ringing.

The ringing stopped but there was no reply from the other side, so Scarlett said “Autumn?”

“No…” A male voice said, causing Scarlett to stiffen. “This is Nathan.” The voice sounded unsure. It was evident that it was odd for him to be talking through Autumn’s phone.

“Nathan?” Scarlett asked. She was actually relieved to know that it was him. “Is everything alright? Where’s Autumn?”

Nathan quickly said “Yes, yes, she’s okay.”

“Then why are you answering her phone?” Scarlett asked, shifting the phone to the other ear.

“Uh…” Nathan began. “She’s not in a condition to speak on the phone.”