Miss Matched // Thomas Sangster Fanfiction

Chapter Five - Erica

Fleur POV.

You and Erica walk back to your dorm room together, absolutely buzzing from the excitement of seeing each other. Your reunion with your best friend earlier in the day had been brief, due to your grandparents' insistence on taking you out for an early dinner. Finally, your grandparents had delivered you safely back to Gandy to stay. They would be back tomorrow morning to take you to church with them and then they would be back on the road to their home in Phoenix.

Erica had become your best friend during your freshman year at Gandy, right after your parents passed away. She'd been a shoulder to lean on while you were grieving. There was just an instant click with her that you'd never experienced with anyone else before. Maybe it was because your mother's were both from a different country. Maybe it's because you're both short and could easily share clothes (Erica is 5'1). Maybe it is because you're both social butterflies.

Whatever the reason for the instant click of friendship, you knew you and Erica would always be friends. Always.

"You signed up for improv class too, right?" Erica asks as the two of you walk into your room together.

"Yep!" You answer, running in the room to flop on your bed. "I signed up for boxing and improv this year."

"Perfect." Erica sighs, sitting on her own bed.

You smile when you hear the hints of her Mexican accent in her voice. Teasingly, you ask her, "So, when did you get back from visiting your Mom's parents in Mexico again?"

Rolling her eyes, she smiles back, "I got back four days ago, thank you very much. I'm very aware that I picked up the accent again. Give it a few more days and I'll have reverted back to my north-eastern accents in no time. In the meantime, I'm going to revel in my Mexican heritage."

Born to a Mexican mother and a wealthy, American father (who was an incredibly skilled computer engineer), Erica grew up in a culturally, ethnically mixed household. Her parents moved their family from near the Mexican border to Delaware when Erica was very young, to be near his parents. Her father loved her mother very much, but her American grandparents are kind of racist, which made for an uncomfortable dynamic within their home. This resulted in Erica taking every opportunity possible to prove to her grandparents that even though she was being raised American, she would also always be Mexican.

Rolling over so you can lay on your back, you comment, "Honestly, I think Mexican accents are better than French accents. Easier to understand."

She hums, tossing her jet black hair over her shoulder, "I don't think so. When you mimic your maman's French accent you sound much more elegant."

"Agree to disagree then."

Erica gets up from her bed and pulls a few books off of her shelves, suggesting, "We should try to find some of our other friends tonight. I have no idea what room Ariana, Trixie and Yua are staying in."

You reach for your phone, offering, "I'll text them and ask."

"Good." Erica says, thumbing through her Dungeon Master's guide, "I want to go ahead and plan our next D&D campaign. I've been thinking about it all summer."

"I just want to hear about what everyone did over break," you mutter, shooting off a quick text. "Yua's parents always take her on a cool vacation and buy her a bunch of new clothes."

"Yeah, very cool." Erica says, clearly too distracted by her D&D books, "This year, let's not invite a bunch of people to play in our campaign. It's our senior year, and I just want to keep things in our little friend group, okay? And not just with D&D - with everything. I don't want to share with anyone."