I'm into Insomniacs (discontinued)

Roses

The golf cart bumped and shook with each roll it made over poorly-paved roads, my bangs bouncing in response. The streets were empty, still evacuated from this evening's 'bird epidemic', allowing for a care-free speed as I zipped along.

'Candy.'

My mind was pale, stationary and void as I thought of nothing but confronting her. My aching fingers cried in pain as I tightened around the wheel, my elbows turning outwards and shoulders bunching up.

I was going to give her a piece of my mind.

How could she do this to him..? How could she do this to anyone? It was one thing to manipulate someone with money and popularity. With beauty and love. With envy. With fear. With power. With whatever I thought Dipper hung around her for. But, I was wrong.

It was a secret.

My throat tightened, feeling the frustration build. I was a dummy. A complete dumby, thinking he'd be drawn to her otherwise. Thinking he loved her, or was using me, or trying to hurt me. For a moment. Yes. I thought that was the case.

I followed the mental map in my brain, now certain of her location, recalling my first time in her limo. A sharp turn before the diner. A stop light. Sixteen rows of driveways, as well as a moldy park and broken swing set. Past a strangely curved tree. Up a hill. Way, way up a hill, and stopping just in front of a golden gate.

I had never been so wrong in my life. Dipper hadn't been hurting me. Candy had been hurting him. Bad. Abusively, even. Convincing him to go along with her whims, whatever it was she wanted, without question or protest. Because, if he didn't, she would ruin his life. I couldn't believe I had been so blind.

I parked the golf cart by the gate's corner, walking over to what looked like a door bell. It was a black, flat, rectangular slab of metal, housing a single button and a blank screen above. Taking a deep breath, I pressed it and stepped back.

There was a pause, a slight vibration as the action was processed. The machine, monitor buzzing white with static, quickly snapped to life. A woman appeared on the screen, looking back at me with lidded eyes.

"Who is this?" She asked, hands lying in her lap as she stared blankly. Her eyes were set low, brows pulled up with a plastic shine, and lips snagged in a perpetual grimace. I patted away bits of dirt from my jacket, hoping to meet whatever expectation she had set for me in that instance.

"Oh-! Uh, h-hello! I'm Pacifica. Pacifica Southeast? I'm here to see Candy. Is she in?" I pulled a smile, feeling the soft slide of lips over braces, watching the woman with false casualty. In all honesty, I had no idea what I was going to say to Candy. What I was going to do. Part of me wanted to talk it out, understand why she had done it, and find some middle ground for us two. A very, very small part of me.

The rest of me just wanted to scream my lungs out.

"Yes, she's in. How are you two affiliated?" The lady on the other end leaned in on her monitor, face growing larger as she moved. I instinctively stepped back, though the glass kept us apart just fine.

How were we affiliated? How did I know her? Why did I know her? We were enemies, right? Definitely. Absolutely, we hated each other. Perhaps she had hated me from the very beginning. That would explain a lot, actually. And now, the feeling was mutual. I hated Candy. I hated her more than anything.

"We're friends." I rushed out, eyes brightening with a flutter. I clasped my hands together in an endearing manner, as though to reminisce on my wonderfully rich friend. I felt my lips quiver at the corners, ready to give way and fall into a scowl.