Her Wish

Her Wish [Chapter 17]

Jennie allowed herself to be guided once more away from the group of friends that were never hers, dread increasing with each step she took. Although she and Elie had been friends for years, this was the first time Jennie felt entirely unsure of what was to come.

Regardless how many times others might have protested, Elie and Jennie had never fought before. Their relationship solely consisted of Elie talking and Jennie listening. There wasn’t much that could go wrong in such exchanges, especially since Jennie was never the type to take a strong stand on anything and pursue it.

Although she had watched from afar the countless times that Elie had used her bold and confident personality to intimidate other girls, she never would have imagined herself to become one of them. Perhaps that would explain the overwhelming emotion of fear that was overtaking her.

Her eyes were downcast as she followed a few steps behind her friend, keeping at a distance and wishing more than anything to stall for time, hoping that even a few seconds longer that the confrontation with Elie was delayed could make some sort of a difference.

But it was worthless; Jennie knew this all too well. The time would eventually come, regardless how long it took to reach that point.

Just like for all the others, Jennie’s questioning with Elie seemed to have arrived all too soon. Although she knew exactly of the hole she had been digging by accepting Danny’s true identity, she wasn’t so sure anymore if the consequences were ones she still wished to face.

All for one boy? All for one friend?

But she knew how difficult it was to find a person like him. She knew how hard it was to find a true friend.

“How was last night?” Elie finally asked, turned around and catching Jennie off guard.

Jennie wasn’t sure if it was just because she was paranoid or because Elie really did know what had happened but a sudden fear washed over her that Elie had found out that she lied. Still, she’d take her chances.

If you want to lie, then lie to the end.

Elie nodded to herself, then looked to Jennie uncertainly, “Was Danny there?”

She didn’t reply. Against her will, Jennie found herself inwardly cringing at her friend’s habit of asking for Danny, internal protests arising within her. But realizing what was happening; Jennie immediately suppressed these rebelling thoughts, scolding herself for betraying her friend.

“Are you and Danny… friends?”

She spoke the word as thought it was disgusting, taboo, forbidden. All at once, defenses within Jennie began to raise, though her reasoning and generally submissive side suppressed them, still wishing to avoid conflict in any means possible.

Even so, she found herself answering truthfully, “Yes.”

But because life wasn’t that simple, Jennie knew all too well that friendship was the limit to what she and Danny shared. There were other people such as Elie and George to take into account. Life didn’t work in the ways that fairy tales allowed some to believe it does. People don’t establish romantic relations with just about every person of the opposite gender they meet.

“That’s impossible,” Elie declared after a moment’s more of surveying her friend, as though hoping an alternative truth would materialize before her. “Danny doesn’t have any female friends besides me.”

Then why’d you ask in the first place? Jennie wanted to question, but she already knew the answer. Much like in the way Jennie had denied countless times that Danny was the boy she met by night even when all clues pointed towards him, Elie was in denial of Danny and Jennie’s new relationship. She refused to accept that Jennie had miraculously weaved her way into Danny’s life with such ease while Elie had had to go through others.