More than Anything

Brielle

    Everly is already gone when I wake up. Good. I don't want to see her right now. I don't want to see her ever. She said that she used a spell on me just to see me struggle, and now, I hate her more than I ever have. Last night, I thought I was actually going to kill her. I felt an overwhelming rage that I could barely fight back. I guess I should be happy that I did.
    I step into the bathroom and start getting ready for the day. I quickly braid my hair, and brush my teeth. My uniform is a crumpled mess on the floor. I try my best to smooth it out before putting it on, and head down to breakfast.
    Millie is already there when I arrive, and waves me over to her table.
    "What happened yesterday?" she asks.
    I don't want to do this now. Whatever she heard about yesterday is probably true, and I don't want to explain the entire thing to her. Everly put a love spell on me in class. It's not that hard to understand.
    When I don't answer, Millie sighs. "Please tell me."
    I'm reminded of what happened last night with Everly. She pointed her wand at me and forced me to tell her the truth. What if Millie does the same? I know she wouldn't do that, but I flinch all the same.
    "Brielle," she says gently, putting a hand on my shoulder. "What happened?"
    I sigh, knowing that I can't hide this from her. She's my best friend, and I can't keep keeping secrets. I didn't tell her about meeting Everly in the library. I didn't tell her about my plan to save the missing students. I need to stop.
    "We practiced love spells in Magic Words class," I say slowly, still unsure if I want Millie to know about this. She probably already knows. "Everly was my partner."
    "Who cast the spell?"
    "She did." I sigh. "It was so strange and wrong."
"I'm sure it was," she says. "But it's over now! So, let's leave it behind us."
I nod, and take a bite of a scone. It won't be easy to forget about this, since the entire school knows what happened, but it'll be alright. Eventually, no one will remember that day in Magic Words class. Everly will stop using it against me, and things will be sort of okay.
    "I wish you had been there," I say. "I probably wouldn't have ended up in that situation."
    Millie laughs, and rolls her eyes. "What did I say about putting this behind us?"
    "Fine," I say, shoving any thoughts of being in love with Everly out of my head.
    "We should hang out today," she suggests.
    I've been wanting to spend more time with Millie, but this year has been really hectic. In our past years here, we always found time for each other, but this year, we haven't seen each other as much. I miss her.
    "I think that's a great idea," I say. "What do you want to do?"
    She shrugs, but I know that she has an idea. She's just afraid to say it. "I was thinking we could see the theater club perform Romeo and Juliet. It's opening night, and I've always been interested in Shakespeare."
    "No," I say almost immediately.
    Everly's in that play, and I will not watch her act. I refuse to see my enemy on the stage. She'll probably be the perfect Juliet, and I will not willingly see that. She's my enemy! I can't go see a play that she's the lead in. Millie has to understand my reasoning. If Everly sees me there, she'll never let that go. She'll make it seem like I was there to support her, and tease me about it forever.
    "Why not?" she asks. "Don't you want to spend time together?"
    "I do," I say. My excuse seems silly now that I think of it, but it's enough to keep me from seeing the play. "It's just Everly's playing Juliet."
    She quirks an eyebrow. "And you're jealous of her?"
    "No!" I don't know what to say that'll make Millie agree with me. She probably doesn't think that this is a big deal, but she doesn't have to deal with Everly constantly. She doesn't know what it's like.
    "Then what's stopping you?"
"Because she's Everly, Millie!" I shout, drawing everyone's attention to our table. I sigh. "Great. Now everyone's watching us."
Millie rolls her eyes. "You're letting your hatred for Everly come between us, Brie. It's affecting everything you do!"
"You're wrong," I say.
Everly does not affect my life this much. I make my own decisions, and my hatred for her does not guide them. Not at all. Okay, maybe a little. But, everyone does that sometimes. If you don't like someone, you're going to try to avoid them. That's what I do, but Millie seems to think it's wrong.
"Stop lying to yourself."
"I'm not," I say.
Why is Millie saying things like this? She's my best friend, and best friends understand each other. She should understand that I can't go see Romeo and Juliet! Instead, she's accusing me of lying to myself (I'm not lying to myself). Does she seriously think that Everly affects everything I do? She doesn't. I can prove it if Millie wants me to. She shouldn't even need proof, but if she wants it, I'll give her proof.
"Then come see the play with me!"
I shake my head. "I can't."
"She probably won't even know you're there," she says.
I guess she's right, but I can't risk Everly noticing me. Why can't Millie just understand? If Everly weren't in the play, I would gladly see it with her. It's not that I don't want to spend time together—I really do—but I'd rather not risk running into Everly.
Before I have the chance to reject her idea again, she speaks. "I think you can risk being seen by Everly to spend time with me."
    I sigh, knowing she's right. I'm not willing to lose my time with Millie just because Everly is in the play. I'll just pretend that she's not there; that'll work. I'll pretend that I don't know her. I'm not sure how long I can pretend it's not my enemy performing on the stage, but I'll try. I'll do it for Millie.
    "Fine," I say.
    Millie gives me a surprised look. "Really?"
    I nod. "I'll watch the play with you."
    A grin spreads across her face, making me feel better about my decision. Even if I do run into Everly, it will be worth it. I made Millie this happy just by agreeing to watch a play with her. If Everly has a problem with it, that's not my issue. Everly can't affect what I do. She's not that powerful.
    "It starts at four."
    I smile. "I'll be there."