Hollow

ten.

EDITED - If you find any mistakes, that's what comments are for.

*

They hadn't said a word since Willow asked for a ride ten minutes ago. Roman hadn't even glanced in her direction. She wasn't sure what she had done, but he was going out of his way to avoid her or as much as he could when confined in this small space.

Pulling into the school parking lot, he abruptly yanks the keys after parking, but Willow's words stop him as his hand braces the door.

"Did I do something wrong?" She sounded so small and innocent to his ears.

He had to think before answering.

No...

No, not you. My parents have just been lying assholes since the day I was born.

Yes, why are you with such an asshole? Why are you doing that shit to yourself?

He said none of that, a silent minute filled the truck until he decided.

"No, and not everything is about you." Throwing open the door, he was gone.

As the door closed behind him, Roman felt whiplash. The harshness of his words stinging as they left his tongue. It wasn't her fault his home life was crumbling to pieces around his feet, no matter how hard his hands tried to mend the cracks. Destruction with bitter words and senseless lies, his head hadn't stopped spinning for the last month. Against his better judgment, Roman started walking, not even waiting for Willow to escape the car.

She felt foolish; unable to hide the surprise on her face. She shouldn't be feeling anything from his words. She wished for them to just slide off her body like soap in the shower, only affecting her for a moment. But her brain held on to every syllable. Her shaky fingers grasped at the door handle, hopping down from the slight drop on quivering legs. She didn't understand the residue of his rejection and the ache it left behind but all Willow could do was proceed like nothing happened.

It wasn't hard to catch up to Roman, not that that was her intention. She thought she was far enough away to be unassociated with him like he wanted, but Emilia proved otherwise.

"Willow, wait up! Introduce me to your new friend?" Her unmistakable voice yelled while running up from behind.

Willow paused at her request and Roman appeared distracted but stopped anyway. She shot Roman a confused look while awaiting Emilia's ambush. He didn't even give her an ounce of his attention, choosing to stare at the pavement.

Willow looked up at her best friend, instantly noticing her lavender hair traded in for a fire red. It didn't suit her near as well as purple, but Willow wouldn't tell her that. Putting on a smile, Emilia drew Willow in for a stiff hug before the awkward part began.

"Who is this fine specimen?" Emilia looked at Roman like a juicy steak fresh off the grill.

"Emilia, Roman. Roman, Emilia."

Willow could barely talk above a whisper. Déja Vu was hitting her hard, although this time she wasn't so medicated. The shakiness of her knees made it hard to stand still.

Emilia acknowledged Roman with a wave before he was interrupted by the vibration of his phone. As he stepped away, Emilia took the opportunity to pounce.

"So you finally talked to him?" She said with a wink.

Willow didn't even get a word in before the next question.

"Is he like your boyfriend? You know he's on the football team right?"

"No, we're no-..." Em abruptly cut her off.