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Chapter 13 - Feelings

Later in the day, I was laying on my stomach on the front lawn with The Hound of the Baskervilles in my hands, interrupting my reading by giggling every fifteen seconds, annoying Anne as she painted beside me.

"G!" she admonished me with a grin as she splashed more cyan blue on the canvas before her. "I know that book isn't funny. What is it?!"

L dressed as an innocent girl, I couldn't even imagine what kind of wig they had stuck on his head to complete the disguise. For some reason I kept imagining bunches. I absolutely hated that I couldn't tell Anne and tried to smother my laughter. "Nothing, it's nothing really." I deflected, resting my chin on my folded hands keeping the pages from fluttering. Makeup, I wonder if he wore makeup. I snorted and covered my mouth.

"You're driving me crazy today." Anne sighed, going back to her painting. I knew it, and tried to keep quiet. I was acting like a teenager with the senseless laughter over seemingly nothing. I had to admit it was rather fun.

I heard her moving the brush for precisely five seconds before she set it down again. "It's something L said, isn't it?"

"Why would you say that?" I asked nonchalantly, flipping the page.

"Uh oh, reversing the question. It's definitely something about L." my friend deduced triumphantly.

"Who's the detective here?" I demanded, finally looking up at her perched on a stool behind her easel.

"I live with detectives; I'm bound on picking something up about behavior."

"Well, I still can only draw stick figures." I grumbled, hoping she wouldn't find another way in to this query.

"Fritz said that our quiet loner housemate took you somewhere today. Somewhere that you needed to wear your boots..."

I slammed shut my book, annoyed. "Don't the kids here have better things to talk about then where I choose to go on a fine day?"

"Not when it's with L." Anne grinned. "So out with it. Where did you go?"

I let out a groan and sat up. "The pond. We talked and that was it."

"About what?"

"A case." I half-lied, hoping that would stamp out her curiosity.

Her knowing grin was too much to bear. "No you didn't..."

"Why do you sound so sure of that? Were you hiding up in one of the trees recording the conversation?"

Anne looked hurt after that and I rightfully felt guilty. "Annie, I'm sorry. I just don't understand the fuss."

"You never cared when we talked about Andy," she brought up then, sweeping more blue across her painting. She was making the skies in her picture cloudier then they were at that moment. "In fact, as soon as he'd leave, you'd be in my room going on and on about how much it bothered you that he fancied you and how you didn't know how to let him down. Now, you are so defensive if the littlest thing is mentioned. It's so different, Grace."

I sighed, understanding exactly how much Anne had dealt with all of this time. "Well, you don't have to worry about hearing my lamenting anymore. Andrew's gone for good, believe me."

Anne smirked satisfied. "Good. L was jealous of him, you know."

I'd had it with being coy. She was right, she was my absolute best friend in the world and I was shutting her out. She didn't deserve that. "Yes, I gathered that, and Andrew is rather jealous of L. In fact, he was angry that L was staying for a while."