Comfy Closets

32|| Stares and Outbursts

I didn't know what I was feeling. The best I could describe it was like being suspended in air; floating yet pulled down by my own weight. Was this real? It felt like it, for sure. But it couldn't be.

I just wanted to continue floating, not wanting to pop this moment of sudden stillness in my mind.

But life didn't really care about what I wanted.

"Al..." the ebony-haired girl took a hesitant step forward. At her move, the stillness vanished, instead replaced by the bustle similar to our surroundings.

Taking an unconscious step back, I took a moment to look at her.

The silky hair that used to always fall down her figure was now tied up into a messy bun. That even looked nice on her. Those emerald green eyes were wide and pleading as she took another step forward, quickly closing the distance between us.

"Al, pleas-"

"Stop." That was all I could say in my shocked, frozen state. She did, her tense figure standing still a metre or two away. Her orbs were locked on me, unwilling to break contact, and unease started to creep up my spine. I could faintly register the busyness of the cafeteria around us, but my mind had pushed it so far away, we might as well have been in an empty building.

I took a shuddering breath in when I felt a hand clasp my elbow, bringing my attention to the blonde that was stood next to me. The warmth of her palm against my skin was reassuring, and it was what got me to do something.

"What are you doing here? Again?" I said slowly, my eyes blank and stony as my internal system tried to weave through the mess of my confused thoughts.

Isabelle bit her bottom lip and played with the ends of her jacket, which was surprising. I had never seen her so meek before; the confident and unperturbed girl I knew wasn't present. "You never called me."

I didn't know why, but that sentence triggered something. Maybe it was the fact that, at one point in our shared history, I was the one who had said that. Or perhaps it was the hurt I could see in her eyes, when she had no right to feel that, after everything she had done.

Suddenly, I felt a growing fire start to simmer, but as her words kept bouncing like an echo in my head, that fire started boiling with barely constrained rage.

My hands started to shake as I clenched them into fists, the control over my restraint rapidly slipping from me. This moment felt much like a slippery slope, where I knew I was going to lose my footing any moment to hit the ground. And once I did, it wasn't going to end well.

"Did you say I... didn't call?" I asked in disbelief, laughing without humour. I couldn't even make sense of this moment. The flame steadily grew.

Isabelle looked like she didn't know how to respond. "Yes...?"

Leah left my side to step in front of me, standing between us. "You should leave," she said authoritatively, no bullshit in her tone. The ebony-haired girl, however, didn't budge.

"No, I need to speak to Al."

"You're not welcome here, so get. Out." Leah was getting agitated; her voice almost growling the words out.

"You can't tell me what to do. I want to talk to Al-"

"STOP CALLING ME THAT!"

I couldn't stand it anymore, the way she said my name with such familiarity. Like she knew everything about me.

"JUST STOP! YOU DON'T KNOW ME ANYMORE, SO DON'T ACT LIKE IT!" I snapped. The girl stood stock still, eyes wide at my outburst. "Why did you have to come? Huh?! You love ruining shit, right!"