Guns and Roses

Three ~ Quinn

We walk into the shop and she stays close behind. "It's just behind the counter" I tell her as she stops to look around.

My eyes follow the same path hers do and I try to imagine what she's thinking whilst seeing this for the first time. The walls are covered in ivy curtain and every spare spot on the shelves that cover the walls is covered with some sort of brightly coloured plant.

Even in the low light, it's a happy place. The scent of freshly watered plants makes me calm and the natural colours makes the shop seem like the Garden of Eden.

I guess that's why Grandad called the shop Eden.

I make my way behind the counter and start to look for the sunflower. Grandad seems to have moved it. "Shit" I mutter as I stand up straight again. How am I supposed to find it now? He'll probably be asleep by now.

She's smiling when I look back at her. "Eden" she says quietly "It truly is" She notices me watching her and I watch as her wistful expression fades and is quickly replaced with a disinterested stare. So quick that I start to question if her expression was ever any different. "Eden was my mum's maiden name" she shrugs "I guess you already knew that though"

She folds her arms across her chest and sighs. I shake my head "I'm not from the area" I say softly, trying to coax out the person I barely saw seconds ago. "I barely know anything". I'm not lying, I hadn't thought about that story in years until it was mentioned today.

She scoffs "I can tell from your accent that you're not from around here"

I feel my face burning red. I had hoped that my accent wouldn't draw attention to itself. I had hoped that Irish was as similar to Scottish as possible.

She laughs "Don't be embarrassed" she says "I like it. I haven't heard an Irish accent in a while"

Her compliments don't help my redeeming face and I duck down below the counter once again to calm myself.

"I'm new too" she calls out "I've only been going to the school a few months"

Curiosity drags me out of my hiding place and I face her. "I thought you were from the area?" I ask.

She nods "I am. My uncle's thought it would be better if I studied from home. When mum came home she wanted me to have a more normal life"

I spot the sunflower at the corner of my eye and quickly rush across to get it. She takes my hasty movements the wrong way. "Look, I get it" she says as I duck into the back room to get her flower. "You don't want anything to do with me because of my parents. I'll take my things and go"

I grab her flower and bring it back to her. "No" I say as she reaches for it "That's not it" She takes the sunflower from my hand and sighs.

"I should get going" she says quietly. "My uncle's are waiting for me"

****

I watch her in woodwork the next day. She is sawing away at her piece of wood when she spots me. She smiles weakly and then blows sawdust away from her face.

I draw my eyes away and get back to the writing portion of my assignment. I hear her sigh as she scrapes her short hair into a ponytail that is nothing more than a spike at the nape of her neck.

The two of us are the only ones in the class. In the school I think. We've been held back to catch up as we started later in the year.

"Quinn? Isn't it?" She says finally.

I look up and smile at her "Yes. It is. Quinn Prescott"

She sighs and cracks her knuckles "I feel like we got off on the wrong foot last night" she says.

She's not wrong. She practically ran from the shop last night with the flower clutched in her hand with no thought of a goodbye or a thanks.

"I feel like a bit of bitch," she admits with a laugh "and I'd really like it if you have me a second chance. A fresh start"

A fresh start.

It would be rude to say no considering that a fresh start is exactly what I'm here for.

I study her face for a second. It's clear from her expression that she is not used to apologising and now that I think about it, she didn't really apologize at all.

"I get it you know" I tell her.

Her thick brows furrow together and she snorts. "Get what? Having two nutjobs for parents"

I stare down at the table "Yeah"

I can feel her frowning at me. "You're parents had and/or have a torture basement?"

Her response stuns me to silence for a good few seconds. I watch her lips tilt up into a smirk and I can tell she's enjoying watching me squirm. "No" I say pointedly "But my mum isn't what you would call normal"

She scoffs "I'm not the person to talk to about normal, pal"

I laugh at this. "No, maybe not" She puts down her saw and comes to sit beside me. "I just wanted you to know that I know what it's like. To have the whole school staring at you because if something your parents did"

She doesn't respond and for a second I think its because she's crying. I look up at her face and see her staring dry-eyed at the table. "My parents did bad things. But they're not bad people. Not to me at least. I'm sure your mum is the same"

She starts to fidget in her chair and I stand up. "So, did you like your note? Your boyfriend seemed pretty pleased with himself over it"

I walk over and start to pack up my things. She gets up too and starts to do the same "Yeah. He always does things like that. He's good to me"

She puts a smile on her face but her hand is pulling tightly on her hair. I watch as a few strands come free in her hand and she quickly drops them. It's almost as if she doesn't realise that she's done it.

"This was nice" I say "Can we talk again tomorrow?"

A flash of confusion crosses her face before being replaced with a genuine smile. "Yeah" she says happily "That's would be nice"

****

Thank you to Xx_The_DarkShadow_xX for the awesome cover!

Just to let you guys know, updates probably won't be so frequent for the coming chapters. Sorry about that.

Until next time,
Elle