The Invisible Princess of Everglen

Chapter 9: Talking Is Hard

"Can I talk to you?"

Biana's brain was screaming at her.  Her heart was pounding.  She really had no idea how hard it was to make words come out of her mouth.  Sophie, Dex, and Marella were all glaring at her now.  Well, not all of them.  Sophie just looked confused.

"Uh, sure," Sophie replied.  Part of Biana had been hoping that Sophie would've said no, and then Biana could've left and avoided this whole uncomfortable conversation.

Dex and Marella were making Biana 100 times more nervous.  "Can we go somewhere more private?" she blurted out.  Wow.  This is NOT how you socialize--just ask her if she can hang out!  IT'S NOT THAT HARD!

Sophie shrugged, glancing at her friends.  Biana took that as a yes and walked over to a deserted corner of the atrium.  She sure hoped she didn't seem as nervous as she felt.  She stopped walking, turned around to face Sophie, and crossed her fingers that this wasn't about to be the most embarrassing moment of her life.

"Um, what's up?"  Sophie asked casually.

Remain calm, Biana's brain ordered.  Speak.  "I was wondering if you wanted to come over after school today."  Nicely done.  Wait--today?!

To make matters worse, Sophie appeared utterly bewildered.  She didn't speak, and for a moment, Biana wondered if Sophie's brain was screaming at her too.  "Why?" she finally asked.

Biana wanted to die.  Yes or no, Sophie!  "I don't know.  I thought it might be nice if we could... try to be friends."  Her voice was so whispery that Sophie probably couldn't hear it.  It might have been better if she didn't.

"Friends?" Sophie asked.  Oh yeah, she was suspicious.  Anyone would be.  Her brown eyes narrowed, and she looked Biana up and down as if she hadn't seen her before.  "Did Fitz put you up to this?"

"No!" Biana said frantically.  "Why would Fitz care if--" No, her brain told her.  Shut up, take a breath.  "He didn't put me up to this."  Someone else had.  But Biana wasn't going to tell Sophie that.

"But... I thought you didn't like me."  The obvious distaste in Sophie's voice made Biana's heart sink.

"I never said that."

"You didn't have to.  It was pretty obvious."

Well, crap.  This was a lot harder than Biana had expected.  "Well, I'm sorry you felt that way.  I guess I'm not good at meeting new people."

Biana could tell that Sophie felt conflicted.  Angry, even.  Why would Sophie want to be friends?  She looked like she was going to say no when something seemed to occur to her.  "Fine," she relented, not quite meeting Biana's eyes.

"Really?" Biana asked.  She didn't know why she was so relieved--didn't she want to not be friends with this girl?

"Sure.  I guess it's worth a try."

Great.  Now what do I do?  Biana thought, panicking.  Sophie wasn't saying anything, and Biana had no idea what to do next.  She opened her mouth, realized that she had nothing to say, and closed it again before anyone actually spoke.

"So... what time should I come over?" Sophie asked hesitantly.

"Um, why don't you go home and change and come over after that?  You know how to get there, right?"  Of course she did.  Alden was obsessed with her, after all.  And she liked Fitz.  Obviously.

"Yeah.  I have been there before."

I know, Biana thought, quite annoyed.  But instead of showing her obvious displeasure, she put on a weak smile.  "Well, good.  I guess I'll see you then."

And with that, she walked away, her brain screaming at her yet again for the things she should've said.  That was unbelievably awkward, she scolded herself.

But... the worst of it was over.  And now all she had to do was figure out how to act like she genuinely wanted to be Sophie's friend.