DISCONTINUED

Chapter 39

Luna sat staring blankly out the bus window, then she closed her eyes and hung her head, bouncing it softly against the vacant seat in front of her. Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit. She was such a shitty friend. She was a shitty friend to Olivia for flirting with her boyfriend. And she was a shitty friend to Bo for leading him on like she had. She didn't know which of those offences made her feel worse. All she knew was that right now she felt horrible. Sick to her stomach horrible.

She held her face in her hands, welcoming her pounding headache. Bring it on. She deserved it. She deserved it and worse. She wouldn't deny it any longer, at least not to herself. She did have feelings for Bo. But she was determined now more than ever to bury those feelings so deep that they never ever threatened to surface again. She vowed to never again act on those feelings for as long as Bo and Olivia were together. She just hoped that it wasn't already too late.

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As Luna walked from the bus stop towards Olivia's house, she noticed Olivia sitting out on the front porch, which was weird because it wasn't exactly 'sit on the front porch' weather. Then again, she was quarantined and probably just dying to get some fresh air. Luna walked up the driveway towards her friend with a big smile, determined to put the events of this evening, and of the past number of months to be honest, behind them.

"Hi Liv!" she said enthusiastically.

Olivia just silently sat there. That was odd. Maybe she hadn't heard her... hadn't seen her yet? She was just about to repeat herself when she noticed Olivia staring right at her, looking none too happy. She actually looked like she might have been crying. Ugh, she must have really missed going to the dance after all, poor girl. Well, she'd downplay it as no big deal and then maybe she'd suggest that they order pizza or something, her treat, and watch a chic flick. Olivia always loved a good chick flick.

Luna flopped down in a chair beside her friend. "Well, there. We did it Olivia. We went to the stupid dance. I hope you're happy." She threw her head back, exhaling loudly.

Olivia turned to Luna, her face strangely unreadable. "So, I take it you guys had a pretty miserable time then?"

"That's an understatement. Look, Liv... no offence, but not only did you make me go to the dance that I didn't want to go to, but you make me go with Bo as my date. That's like, you know... cruel and unusual punishment or something."

"Right. Or something." said Olivia, staring at Luna.

Why did she suddenly feel like she was sitting in a small windowless room under the glare of a single light bulb? Luna squirmed a little in her chair. Clearly her guilty mind was manufacturing the weird vibe she was getting from Olivia. I mean, she hadn't done anything wrong... certainly nothing that Olivia knew about. Right??"

"So, did you guys even dance at all then?"

Luna screwed her face up and shrugged her shoulders. "Yea, a bit I guess."

"How did Bo like your - I mean my - dress?"

Why did it feel like Olivia already knew the answers to all her questions? "Oh, I dunno. He didn't really say. You know Bo. I doubt he hardly even noticed what I was wearing. Thanks again for letting me borrow it though."

Olivia smiled, almost believably. "Oh, you're welcome Lu. I was more than happy to pretty you up for my boyfriend. I'm sure you made a lovely couple."

Oh, good. They were finally back to joking around again. But Olivia's eyes... they still seemed to be searching her. Probing. She was obviously joking, right? Ah, it had to be her guilty mind playing tricks on her.