Bleed me Dry

chapter twenty-five

♡

How had I not seen this coming? It was like an explosion inside, a sudden burst of affection for Danny that hadn't got much of an explanation, nor a meaning. Surely the Universe wasn't punishing me for trying to walk a clean path for once? Maybe I was only destined for solitude and a failing adulthood — and trying to divert from that path only made things more complicated than they needed to be.

I had to avoid Danny, at least for now. I knew that I'd asked him to hang out more often, but that was the thumpity-thump of my heart talking and not the Mae with her head screwed on. I had to push the feelings away, think of something else, do something else if it meant not ratifying that I obtained any form of emotion other than angst and sleep-deprivation.

And sure, this was a pain in the butt, but you know what was worse? Making eye-contact with your own flesh and blood, only for them to roll their eyes and stomp away — but not without slamming their locker and making a scene in the halls first.

Avril was getting on my nerves with the avoidance, the callousness and the general bitchiness, and the Twins of Doom weren't too much help to the cause either. Veronica threw me evils, whilst the other one, Valerie, looked at me in a certain way that said I'll pray for you. Yeah, nice one.

Perhaps I underestimated the damage that being friends with them could do to our sisterly bond, or maybe I had my head up my backside for too long with my own issues, allowing them to poison Avril against me. Whatever the reason was, it hurt.

"What's up with her?" asked Lexi as she pulled her hair up into a ponytail with a blue velvet scrunchie. "She looked like she wanted to murder you. Wait, don't tell me you took one of her tops again."

As she pulled the ponytail into shape, I couldn't help but smile a little. I wish it were that easy. Whenever Avril got pissed with me about taking her stuff, I'd buy her off with a new band tee or a stick of gum. But this? This was going to take a lot more than gifts to repair whatever it was Avril was going through.

"No, ugh, it's silly really. So you know I got into Drama and I told you about Bonita leaving the class, right?" I began, treading water so I didn't have to say it straight off the bat. "Well, that now means Drama is underfunded and so they're cutting the performance this year."

"Yeah, I heard a rumour about that in Science and I didn't know if it was true or not..." Lexi replied, delving deeply into her locker for the hoodie she had literally just thrown in there. "Is that who those girls were talking about in the changing rooms?"

"Yeah, but that's another thing I'm yet to resolve." I eyerolled.

Lexi's lips fell into a flat line. "Great. But wait, why would A be mad at that?"

"Because I rang my parents and asked them for money. And before you start telling me how much of an idiot I am, I already know. Of course they refused to help." I admitted, biting my lip and looking away from Lexi to avoid crying.

"Oh, Mae. Why didn't you tell me?" Lexi exclaimed, pulling me into a massive hug. Her hoodie was only half on her body, so her face slightly poked through the hole and it made me laugh a little, mainly because Lexi's face looked so concerned. "And for the record, I don't think you're an idiot. Parents are supposed to love you and there's no shame in wanting them to help when you're in need."