They're My Girls

chapter one

"surrounded and / up against a wall

I'll shred them all / and go with you

when choices end / you must defend

I'll grab my bat / and go with you"

my blood

twenty one pilots

{ chapter one }

"Avery, let's go!" I holler into the house as I search for my purse.

"I'm coming!" Avery yells back begrudgingly as she plods down the stairs.

I sigh in relief after moving one of Avery's favorite blankets on the couch to find my purse hidden underneath it.

"You know, we don't have to be there at six-thirty every time," Avery tells me as I lock the door behind us.

"It's a tradition Ave," I respond as we make our way to the car, "And, you know me."

No matter the occasion, I have to be either early or on time. It's mostly my anxiety that has made me this way, but it really hasn't been a bad thing since I'm always on time.

I turn the car on and pull my seatbelt over my chest. Then I glance in the rearview mirror to check if Avery has her belt on and smile, satisfied to see her with her belt on and gazing out the window.

I pull up in front of Emilie's apartment and send her a text telling her I'm here. She suddenly exits the building in a slight frenzy and hops into the car.

"Go! Go! Go!" she exclaims and buckles herself in quickly. I drive away quickly, but not too quickly, and glance over at my best friend who is watching the dorm we just drove away from.

"Who you running from today Emilie?" Avery asks and I can't help but let a giggle slip out.

"Dan," she exhales, "He was coming out of the elevator and I haven't replied to his last snap."

"And how long has it been?" I ask, pulling into the parking lot of the local diner where I also work.

"July," Emilie mumbles, exiting the car as quickly as she had entered.

"Emilie!" I gasp loudly before she shuts the car door.

It was now the second week of classes, so no more introductory group exercises or letting us out early because the professor went over the syllabus in ten minutes. Lectures were in full swing. At least they were for Emilie and me, Avery was having a great time in second grade.

We enter Julia's Diner with Avery holding my hand as Emilie and I bicker about ghosting someone who I thought she really liked at the time. She tends to do that frequently.

"Hey, girls," a happy hostess greets us, "The same booth?"

The three of us nod excitedly. On the first Tuesday of each month at six-thirty at night we have dinner at the diner, it was a tradition we've kept up since our freshman year. I had to bring Avery along and that's when Emilie learned that I'm her legal guardian.

The server grabs three menus and looks at the seating chart, her smile falling. "Oh girls I'm sorry, the new girl must've seated someone in your spot."

We glance over to our booth in the back of the diner and see a group of college-aged boys.

"But..." Avery's lip starts to quiver and I pet her head.

"It's okay bug, we can just sit in the booth next to it. No biggie," I nudge her and she nods sadly.