Ivy

(vi) early february

8:22am

?: IVY I'M HOME ON SATURDAY

Ivy's brows furrowed at her phone.

I: who is this?

?: only your bffaa

?: your one true bestie

?: the avo to your toast (i love you but you kind of are that basic bitch)

At that last message, Ivy broke into a Cheshire-cat grin. This boy.

I: AARON

?: YES hi hello, texting you on kit's phone cos i'm phoneless thanks to my parents

So that seemed to explain his silence for the past month. She added the number to her phone as 'Kit/Aaron'. Kit West was his friend at Hawthorne.

I: whatttt so I can't call or text you anymore??

K/A: nah no point, i'll text you on here when i can though

K/A: but hey i can see you saturday if you're free

I: AYYY yes pls do!!

I: i've missed you idiot. christmas without you was lame

K/A: miss you too. a lot.

She had the feeling there was something more; something else he wanted to say. Then again, maybe she was imagining it.

I: so what atrocious act did you commit to get your phone confiscated?

Ivy had meant it as a joke, but it took Aaron considerably longer to reply, and when he did, it was anything but an answer.

K/A: does there have to be a reason with them?

She wasn't sure what to say to that, so she didn't say anything, instead quickly typing out that she had to leave to walk with Clara to school, and that she'd see him on Saturday.

With toast in one hand, textbooks in her arm and bag on her shoulder, Ivy headed out into a cloak of fog. It smothered the houses and scented pine trees, and seemed to swallow her whole. Clara, however, was spared. Maybe the fog didn't like her attitude, or maybe it was the sun-yellow parka that let her be spotted from quite a distance, even in the dense mist.

Ivy smirked as she approached her friend. "Georgie from IT? Hate to break it to you Clifton, but you're three months too late to be dressing up for Halloween." She couldn't help it; just being around Clara drew out the light-hearted sardonicism in her.

She crossed her arms as they walked, not before elbowing Ivy in the ribs. "You're just jealous that I can rock this." Clara gestured to her coat and twirled into the grey haze that surrounded them.

The darker-haired girl took a bite of her toast. "You know I'd never wear that colour." They turned right at the weeping willow on the street corner. "So guess what? Aaron texted me earlier. After going MIA for, like, a month."

"He did?"

"On a mate's phone 'cause his parents took his away or something. Anyway, he's coming home on Saturday! I haven't seen him in ages."

"It must be weird going that long without seeing each other."

"Yeah, I guess so. I've missed him."

Clara's gaze lingered on her friend's face, before travelling back down to the ground. "So, what's the deal? Do you love him or something?"

"What?" Ivy laughed off the sudden delve into interrogation. "Obviously not like that. But of course I love him. He's my best friend." As soon as the words left her, she realised what it sounded like and backtracked. "One of my best friends." She looped an arm through Clara's.