Anastasia

8

"How strange; my heart has never beat this fast when I see you."

"Erm, Ellie, does this look fine on me?" Ana asked Danielle. Danielle shot her a death glare. "Don't call me that. That nickname was so overused when we were young. That aside, it looks perfect on you." She commented, resting her chin on her hand and scrutinized her best friend. A midnight blue velvet dress hung on her lean frame, the sleeves of the dress hung low, revealing her shoulders. It hugged her waist snugly and puffed out at the sides, reaching to her knees. The back of the dress was striped and crossed, such that it exposed some skin.

"Really?" Ana raised an eyebrow at her and turned to have a look for herself in the mirror. Indeed, she looked beautiful; as if the dress was made just for her. Danielle nodded, and placed the rest of the dresses back on the rack. "Guess we don't need those now. Let's settle for this."

Soon after, she walked out of the shop with a fancy paper bag in her hand, and a heart full of anxiety. What if she came overdressed? What if the dress she wore was too revealing? What if she forgot to change her footwear before going out of the house again? What if she only wore her new earrings on one ear, and forgot the other? What if she arrived at the wrong place?

"Hey. Stop overthinking. It's going to be fine." Danielle nudged her gently, giving her an encouraging look. Ana mirrored the expression back to Danielle, yet her hand that held the bag was balled into a fist, her nails digging into her palm.

"How did you know I'm overthinking?"

"Well, that's simple. You would look like you ate a lemon, your eyebrows would crease and mold into one thick uni-brow, your lips will look like a fermented prune, and - " she was cut off abruptly as Ana dug her elbow into her ribs. Danielle burst into laughter as Ana frowned at her, although a smile was already forming on her face.

"Seriously. There's no point in overthinking. You'll only worry yourself even further." She assured her while massaging the sore spot on her ribs. This girl hits like a bitch. Danielle thought, wincing. Ana nodded her head subtly, and added a smile to cover the doubt painted on her face.

"I'll try my best. Oh yes, could we go get some groceries for my mother? I feel bad for not getting them yesterday."

Danielle frowned. "That was the reason you left in a hurry yesterday? He finished up your food, for your information. 'I shan't waste food.'" she quoted. "What happened then?"

"That's how I met the flirt."

"Ah." she dragged out the word, her eyes in a mischievous glint. "You seem to have fate with hot guys."

"Sh-ut. U-p." she placed a finger to Danielle's lips, her lips pressed tightly against each other. Danielle smacked her hand away, opening that pretty lips of hers and started babbling again.

"How about you go with Zachary tomorrow to get them? That way, you guys can spend more time together." she winked at her, and leaned in closer to whisper in her ear. "You guys look like a cute couple." Astonished, Ana could only gape at her best friend, speechless.

"Can we go for some ice cream? I'm craving for some." Danielle grasped Ana's wrist and dragged her our of the mall without waiting for her reply. Ana smiled. Just like the usual.

***

Danielle licked her peppermint chocolate-chip ice cream, gazing into the distance. They sat on a bench full of carvings of couple's names in hearts and many other obscene profanities written next to the carvings.

Vandalism at its finest.

"So, how are you feeling?" Danielle asked Ana, who was enjoying her vanilla ice-cream mixed with oreo crumbles in a cup. She licked her lips in satisfaction and grinned. "The best by far. I've never felt so...relaxed and peaceful." She leaned back, looking at the golden outline of the trees. Time flies. She thought, her mind drifting away from reality as she stared at the setting sun hidden behind the canopy of leaves. In front of them, there was a pond. Thick, dirty green algae floated on the surface of the water, giving off an odd smell. She wrinkled her nose, bringing herself back into reality.

"I'm glad you've enjoyed yourself." She smiled. Ana turned to look at her then, and saw her upper lip stained with lime green peppermint chocolate chip ice-cream. A mischievous idea formulated in her mind. Smiling impishly, Ana dipped her finger into her ice cream and pressed it on Danielle's nose. Taken by surprise, Danielle jerked back, her eyes wide. Then, she laughed.

"My turn." Danielle wriggled her eyebrows. Ana shook her head slowly, giggling. She stood up from the bench as Danielle advanced towards her, her fingertips full of the melted sweetness of the ice-cream. She shrieked as Danielle pounced on her, and she took off running round the pond as Danielle tried to catch her.

"C'mon, you gotta accept your punishment." Danielle taunted, her knees bent in position for another round of catching. The two were on opposite sides of the pond, Danielle stopping to catch her breath. Adrenaline was pumping in Ana's veins; she felt like she could complete ten rounds around the university's field. "You can never run away from your problems. One way or another, you still have to face them."

"Don't yak at me, look who's talking." Ana answered. Danielle gave one look at her fingertips, the ice-cream making slow green trails down her fingers. "It's either I dirty this on your face, or on the new dress." She winked.

"Oh hell no, you filthy.....beanstalk!" Ana made a quick run for her shopping bag resting on the bench. Suddenly, she tripped on her loose shoelace and fell on all fours. Danielle yelled and rushed to her side, flinching at the sight of her knees. Several cuts lined the skin on her knees, exposing the white flesh underneath. Blood trickled down her wound, and Ana raised her elbows to see more abrasions tattooing her arms.

"Beautiful." She said sarcastically. "I'm fine. I can stand." She put a hand to stop Danielle from touching her injuries. She placed both hands on either side, and drew her knees toward her. The skin stretched and tore. Ana gritted her teeth in pain as she got up, and plonked herself on the bench. Danielle scooted closer to her and examined the wounds on her knees.

"Yeezus. Those wounds are looking pretty nasty. Let's get you home for a clean up." Danielle pulled Ana gently to her feet. She threw their cups into the trash bin nearby and hurriedly returned to Ana's side, hooking her arm around her waist and hoisted Ana to her feet. She leaned against Danielle, and she grunted under the extra weight.

"You heavy swine."

"Says you." She mumbled, then chuckled. "Funny how we still have the cheek to joke in such a situation like this." Danielle grinned, shaking her head. "I'm pretty sure you won't be laughing when we get back." Ana hissed as the skin around her wound stretched, throbbing as she limped on her good leg. "Let's just hope the dress could cover the scars."