Octopus Lips

Girl Talk

It's past midnight by the time we arrive at Gordon's house. It a small white one tucked behind the other houses in his neighborhood, which suits him. I stand outside in my hoodie and stare at if a bit at Chase and Rosie start pulling out spools of yarn.

"You know, I've never actually been inside his house," I realized.

Chase paused and looked at me. "For real? Why?"

"He just always made up excuses to go other places. I guess I never pushed it too hard."

"Uh, you should have." Chase was taken aback. "That's shifty, Gwen."

I shrugged. "Whatever, it's not going to make much of a difference now."

My hands felt cold as I started tying string around different tetherable objects in Gordon's front yard. I looped it around his gate and back and forth in front of the door. Rosie quietly walked up and started working next to me.

"You okay?" She whispered.

I shrugged again. "I'm just.... angry."

"Is this any fun at least?"

I could feel her staring at me, like a bird, maybe a pink dove. It wasn't uncomfortable. Nothing about Rosalie was ever uncomfortable. She was just concerned, and that kindness flowed off of her like strawberry mist or bubbles from a can of Coca Cola.

"I'm having a little bit of fun," I admitted. "I'm glad that you're here."

Rosie grinned to herself, which was a rare sight for my very shy best friend.

"Are you having fun?" I asked, "Sorry, we kind of dragged you into this without asking first."

"Oh yeah!" She nodded enthusiastically, "this is great, I normally don't do anything wild like this."

"That's the spirit." Chase encouraged. "That's the point of all this really, to have fun and forget about why we're here, you know."

"I want to break a window." I admitted. "I want to rip up the lawn."

Chase and Rosie both shot me a look. "Whoa there, that's what we're not gonna do."

"I'm sorry I just..." I clenched my fists and yanked the sting around a lamp post with more force then was probably necessary. "I want him to hurt."

My two friends shared glances. Chase beckoned me forward and rested her hand on my shoulder. I caught Rosie's eyes flick down to my empty hand then jump back up to my eyes. I felt a little guilty, now that I was causing them concern.

"You don't want to become one of the crazy obsessed ex-girlfriends," Chase explained. "That's the very opposite of the vibe I'm trying to give off here."

"He..." Rosie seemed to struggle for the words, "he probably already is, Gwen."

I frowned at her. "Well it sure is hard to tell."

"Trust me, if I lost you I'd be devastated." Her voice was quieter then normal.

I got angry at myself again as I felt the tears well up in my eyes. "I... I don't even know if he really loved me."

"He did." Chase and Rosie answered at the same time.

I wiped my eyes and looked up a them. "Wh-what?"

"He definitely loved you," Rosie insisted. "Anyone with half a brain could tell. He's the one who messed up here, he's the one who made the mistake."

"You were so brave to cut your string," Chase added. "I'm... kind of jealous."

I stare at her hard. Chase Lisa? Objectively the boldest person I know? Jealous of me? She smiled almost shyly laugh slowly, like a lazy river, and brushed away the short dark har away from her eyes and tied her end of the spool, then cut it.

"Jealous?" I asked, as we walked back to the car.

"yeah..." She shrugged. "You're so... brave. That's the only word for it Gwen. You're like fire."

"Poetic." I mused.

"Shut up I'm trying to be sincere."

We laughed and under the light of the moon with the wind at our backs, it tasted sweet. A small part of me felt better. Chase was right, this had been fun. I couldn't shake the feeling of dissatisfaction, but for once it was easy to ignore under the guise of out girl talk and teenage nuisance. At least I was enjoying myself. Chase laughed faded faster then ours and it was then I noticed the spaced out look in her face that broke the surface of her face just then. She glanced up at the two of us, her dark blue eyes full of... something I had never seen in her before.

"Can I tell you something? You can't tell anyone else."

Rosie and I nodded at her. She stuck out her finger and made us pinky promise. It would have seemed immature if it had come from anyone other than Chase. She had a god-like ability to make anything cool. It just radiated off her in waves.

"Johnny's never seen his string." She said, after our lips had been placed under lock and key.

"Never?" I gasped.

"I know." She rolled her eyes. "I've tried explaining it to him multiple times but every time he's tried it doesn't work he just gets frustrated and tells me to forget it."

"Maybe he doesn't have a string?" Rosie suggested.

"You mean like a glowing heart or color eyes? Nah, his parents are stringed, and he was born here. He should have one."

"Weird..." I remarked. "I would never have guessed."

"Yeah, I think that's why he wanted to date me, to be honest, because he's really insecure about it. I'm just the cool girl who can save his reputation." Chase shoved her hand in her pockets and stared at the ground. "He's hot and all... but we were never going to work out. He needs someone who can love him."

"Is that not what you do? On a daily basis? In front of everyone?" I raised an eyebrow at her.

Chase smirked at me. "Don't get smart with me. Yeah sure I'll be there for him, I'll kiss him, but he doesn't want me to love him, that's the problem. He wants me to drown away his problems. When we're together... it feels like we're in a storm. He acts like a jerk ninety-five percent of the time except when we're completely alone. It's hard to imagine but he gets so quiet, sometimes he even cries."

"Is... he okay?" I asked.

Chase shrugged. "It's nothing he'll tell me about."

My heart clenches as those familiar words ring around in my church bell of a brain.

"Sounds like he trusts you." Rosie remarked, her voice was soft.

Chase scoffed. "He trusts me too much. I would never cry in front of someone."

"Why?" Rosie looks so confused.

"Because I'm Chase Lisa." Her words as cool as metal, sharp as steel. "Chase Lisa never cries."