Aces [#NANOWRIMO2017]

Seraphine Plans A Trip To Disney World With Her BFF and Her BFF's Worst Enemy

Mᴏɴᴅᴀʏ, Fᴇʙʀᴜᴀʀʏ 12

———

In my opinion, rule number one was and always had been: Love and be loved.

That was my belief, at least. Everyone deserves second chances; be willing to give those out and you'll be well on your way to forming relationships that last a lifetime.

Then again, that was the attitude that I carried to people who hurt me. People who hurt my best friend, on the other hand... well, that's another story. You so much as touch a hair on Lynne's head, I will hunt you down. I know some pretty good attacks, too — I used to take Judo lessons.

...for two months.

Then I quit, because I couldn't do a proper push-up.

Nevertheless! I am a firm believer in hearing both sides of the story. So while Lynne's revelation left me a little shell-shocked, I didn't want to jump to conclusions too quickly and put aside the (undeniable) connection between me and Ace based on something she said that he did literally a decade ago.

And, well, there was definitely a part of me that absolutely did not want to give up on Ace... even if he had done some pretty hurtful things.

I kept my head down, kept working on my schoolwork, and kept doing my best to silence the traitorous thought that kept flitting in and out of my mind: Lynne wouldn't lie to you. Ace is not a nice guy. You just want to stand by him because you think he's cute. What kind of friend are you?

The thought was just paranoia, of course. Defending a guy over my best friend of seven years, just because he's handsome? Nah, I'm better than that. I'm only giving him a second chance because that's what the decent thing to do is.

Just paranoia, I told myself again. And then I said it out loud for good measure.

"The frick are you mumbling to yourself about?" asked a random guy who was passing by.

"Ha, uh... nothing."

"Weirdo."

I walked with a spring in my step, every part of me doing its best to project a confident and carefree demeanor, although the slight wobble in my knees noticeable to only myself was certainly doing its best to give my nervousness away.

I was searching for a certain Mr. Renshaw, but this time around, I wasn't looking to have a friendly chat with him. No, I was going to confront Ace based on what Lynne had said. I needed answers, and I was determined to get those answers as quickly as I could — without causing a scene.

It had taken a bit of convincing for Lynne to agree not to sit with me this break... not. What with Scott having followed her around like a lovesick puppy any time he could and with Lynne obviously doing everything in her power to not drop whatever she was doing to make out with him, it was pretty clear to me that Lynne was planning on spending the break with Scott. After the bell rang, I didn't even try to find Lynne at the oak tree; I just stood in front of the doors, lying in wait for her to emerge from the school.

I ambushed her as soon as she came outside. "Sera!" she said, sounding a little shocked, a little sheepish. "I, uh... would it be okay if I... do you think that..."

I held up a hand, stopping her. "Lynne, I get it. Go ahead and sit with Scott; I'm totally fine with it. Go get your man!"

She blinked. "Wait, really?" Seeing me nod, she followed up with, "You're the best, Sera. Love you!"