TEA! (es)

CHAPTER SIX!

     Ferne sat quietly next to Velma, Ira sitting behind them. Ira's much more outgoing twin brother, Benji, was at the top of the bleachers, laughing loudly with his other band friends. Ferne noted that Ira envied this, the look on his face said so. He dyed black hair flopped in the wind, it being one of the only features that separated him and Benji. Ferne turned away, her attention looking towards the band. Oliver had made his way to their side of the bleachers, standing next to Ramona. They were laughing like the world was ending tomorrow. Ferne sighed, sitting in agony. On one hand, Ramona was her friend, and she had to respect her liking Oliver, but on the other hand, Ferne wanted nothing more than to be with him. It was an awful feeling that ate her alive. 

     "You okay, Ferne?" Ira asked, moving his head to see what she was looking at. Ferne quickly removed her eyes from Oliver's directions, instead turning to throw a false smile at Ira.

     "I'm good, no worries." She lied. Although she wanted to tell Ira what she was struggling with, she just couldn't bring herself to tell him. Ira was also Ramona's friend, and he would probably say something to her. It felt to her as though her friends were in a battle that they didn't even know about.

     "Do you think Tyler is here?" Velma suddenly asked, changing subjects. Ferne and Ira turned their attention to her, quickly scanning the area.

     "I think he was with Lisette," Ferne told her. Velma nodded, getting up to find them. Ferne sighed, not wanting to be alone with Ira too much. She was not oblivious to the crush he had on her, it was no secret. It made her a little bit uncomfortable, honestly.

     "Do you think she's ever going to realize that Tyler is really trying to get with Oliver?" Ira asked, bringing up yet another problem in Ferne's life. Tyler also liked Oliver. It seemed as though Ramona and Tyler were closer to being with Oliver than she ever would be. Ferne only sighed at first.

     "Maybe Tyler will have a sudden realization that he likes Velma?" She suggested. The hope was more for herself than it was for her friend, which felt wrong, but she also felt as though she deserved a little faith.

     "Maybe," Ira said, hopping down to sit next to her. Ferne felt herself tense up, an awkward tension between the two. Ferne sighed, uncomfortably shuffling herself around.

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     Halftime came, and Velma had run off to go talk to Tyler again. Ferna was grateful because this meant Oliver was alone. In a brief moment of both panic and courage, she decided to shoot her shot. She walked up to Oliver, sitting next to him. He was staring longingly at the field, watching the band set up.

     "Hey, Oliver." Ferne greeted, smiling softly at the older boy. Oliver turned his head, cocking an eyebrow at her. It wasn't like her or Oliver had ever spoken before. She doubted he even knew her name.

     "Hey... Ferne?" He asked rather than greeting. His voice was unsure, but he was kind. Something must have made him happy because Oliver Schermerhorn just wasn't a nice person.

     "Yeah. I know you don't know me or anything, I just figured I'd come and talk to you!" She stated, smiling. Oliver nodded, still seeming unsure of the situation. It made Ferne anxious, considering they had never spoken before so this was the first impression. To Ferne, this was a big deal. It could make or break her chances with Oliver.

     "Oh, okay. Well, cool. You're a freshman, right?" He asked, looking away from her and back to the field.

     "Yup!" Ferne's smile was bright enough to light up a room. Oliver knew more about her than she expected. To be fair, though, she expected him to know nothing at all. It made her feel a whole lot better about herself to know that he at least knew her name and grade level. She was surprised, however, because Oliver was surrounded by girls, and yet he could pinpoint one he had never met before. It meant a whole lot to her, more than what she could explain.

     "You're a little young to be talking to a senior, aren't you?" He asked her. 

     "There's an age restriction to conversations?" Ferne asked. Oliver laughed, throwing his head back.

     "You're funny. I like you." Oliver stated, glancing over at her. Ferne blushed bright red, looking away from him. She tucked some of her blonde hair behind her ear, smiling softly at the cold, metal bleachers beneath her. It was just beginning to get dark out. The band started playing, and suddenly, their conversation was over. They sat in silence until Ramona came back, stealing the spotlight. Ferne got up and went back over to Velma.

     "Hey, how did talking with Tyler go?" She asked, grabbing some of the fires off of Velma's plate. Velma rolled her eyes.

     "You mean how was listening to stories about Oliver?" She groaned, looking frustrated. Ferne felt bad for her. The day had fallen away, and it was a pastel blue out now. The stars could be seen just a tad. Ferne wondered if Oliver was looking at the sky, too, or if he could see the stars reflection in Ramona's eyes. She remembered Ramona had eyes that were something of hazelnut and onyx mixed, a beautiful, amber ember dancing in those fierce, taunting eyes. She knew then that Oliver could not see stars in her eyes, only a glowing fire, harsh and broken. Ferne smiled, thinking about how he could always see the stars, these stars, in her eyes. Ferne's eyes were the color of winter itself, icy cold, a sea outlining it, but soft at the same time. So clear that you could see a reflection. So clear so that you could see the stars.

     Ferne felt better knowing that she had something her competition didn't. The misty grey of Tyler's eyes, fogging all his emotions, clouding the way into his soul, it would never compare to a tsunami of reflections. The golden red of Ramona's eyes would always burn away anything she felt, making her a devil in disguise, only the river of Ferne's eyes being able to put out all the angered inferno. Then there were Oliver's eyes: waves of faded arctic blue, maybe even a touch of spruce and stone. Nothing compared to his eyes. 

     The sad part about knowing so much about a person by just staring into their eyes was that you would never unsee who that person is. You could never not know all that you know. It was painful to sit with. Their requiem for the broken pieces of them still played, so you always knew who they were. It never left them behind. The past couldn't stay in the past when it came to one's eyes.

     "Do you think it's wrong to hope someone doesn't get what they want?" Ferne asked longingly. She was referring to Oliver, of course. He wanted Ramona like the sun wanted to meet the moon, but that was the exact opposite of what Ferne wanted. This was in which Oliver was the sun, shining brightly down onto everyone. But Ramona wasn't much of a moon, more like a forest fire or a hurricane. The sun was still there, but it couldn't stop the destruction. Nothing could stop the destruction.

     "No," Velma answered simply. They both wanted the same thing; for their crushes to stop liking Oliver. They were one in the same. It felt good to know that without directly saying it. Best friends are cool like that, they can have telepathic conversations with you. Ferne looked away from her, smiling. It would all work out for the better, it had to.