The Girl Next Door

Part 29 - Iris

Part 29 - Everyone Has Problems

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"I swear, I will kill you if you don't wake up, Iris."

"Sophie, go away," I groan, but I don't mean it. I look up at her and she raises an eyebrow at me, holding a bag of stuff in one hand. I immediately widen my eyes in surprise and sit up. "Wait, what's all of this?"

"The reason why I'm your best friend and nobody else is." She stood with her pink tank top and sheer white blouse over it, half tucked into a pair of jeans. She had sunglasses on her head and her hair was pulled back into a bun. "Look at you, Iris, you look terrible. I'm handing you a bath bomb and you're going to get in the shower and relax without relying on sleep to solve your problems. When you come out, we're going to fix you up so you feel brand new."

"Sophie, it's not that easy. I—"

"I spent money on you, Iris." She came up to me and started pulling on my arm. "I will drag you if I have to."

"My dad probably used up all the towels," I say.

She keeps pulling, slowly inching me forward before giving up and sitting on the bed in front of me with a huff. "He doesn't shower, Iris. Don't be like your dad. I know it sucks but you have to start somewhere and I'm... forcing you to start."

"Alright, alright, give me a second."

After getting up, I make my way to the bath and take the bath bomb she hands me. "While you do that, I'll go make myself busy."

It is more relaxing than I thought it would be though, and by the time the glittery water starts to get cold I'm disappointed that I have to get out. When I do though, Sophie has made some of her tea for me and shows me what's in the bag — candy, a new blanket (a soft, light purple one), and a book.

"This either gives you a little motivation or just plain makes you feel more productive if you read while you do nothing. And you're a big fan of books so I thought you'd enjoy it anyway."

"Thank you so much, Sophie," I tell her with great appreciation. "I don't know what I'd do without you."

"I don't know either," Sophie jokes, shaking her head. "But um... You'll have to wait before you read the book because I have news for you."

"Alright, what is it?"

She takes a deep breath before starting.

"Julian and I are dating!" she whispers quickly with excitement. Why she whispers, I have no idea. "And oh my God, he's such a good kisser. He just makes me so happy and I'm so happy he feels the same way about me. What happened was — Okay, so I was doing my thing, going to a movie late at night by myself because... Well, I had no reason, but I wanted to! So I got there and he was with some group of guys, and then we kind of looked at each other, and the next thing I know he's sitting right by me! And afterwards he suggests we go meet up somewhere, and so we meet up at his place. Huge house of course, by the way. He had a pool so we ended up swimming... And then it got a little more serious, because this whole time we were just screwing around, but then we just ended up kissing right there, in the middle of the pool. It was romantic! And then he just, bam! He asked, 'I know we don't know each other a whole lot, but I'd like to get to know you more. Do you want to start dating?' And I played it cool, I said, 'Sure thing!' Except I didn't, I said, 'Y-Yeah,' because, ew, nerves are gross. We're going on a date tonight and I get that like... You know, 'Don't kiss on the first date!' But c'mon, Grandpa, we already broke that rule by kissing before the first date. And I don't just mean kissing, I mean making out. Full on."