Reeda stands next to me, hotdogs in hand, as we stare out into the ocean. “Here babe.” She says, nudging me and offering one. “Thanks, fluff.” I smile, taking the offered food. She steps up and leans into me as she takes a bite of her hotdog. “Ya know… I’ll admit. Comin out to the boardwalk was a great idea.” She says with a full mouth. “I’m glad you think so.” I say with a hint of smugness. “Yeah yeah, don’t get cocky. Ocean’s pretty, that's it.” “Not as pretty as you.” I say looking into her eyes as a slight blush crosses her face before she erupts into giggles. “This isn’t a chick flick! Don't be so corny!” She says as she slugs my arm. “It’s the truth though!” “Uh huh… Cmere.” She brings a hand up to my shoulder and pulls me into a kiss. It’s a beautiful scene, we hold each other as the ocean waves crash behind us and- My eyes shoot open and I gasp, going into a coughing fit. It takes a few moments for me to recover, laying back in bed I realize what happened. A dream. We kissed and I held my breath. Damn. I slowly sit up and yawn, glancing over at my alarm clock. ‘5:49 AM’ Nice… I flop back down on the bed and close my eyes, trying to remember the dream I just had. Reeda and I standing on the boardwalk, eating hotdogs together. Calling each other pet names. ‘Fluff’ huh? Where’d that name come from? After a few minutes of thinking it comes to me, her tail. That has to be it. …I guess it would be fitting. … ‘Reeda: where u @’ ‘Me: omw’ ‘Reeda: *thumbs up*’ I slide my phone into my pocket as the school building comes into view, handfuls of students walking up the main stairs. One specific student stands out, a pink raptor wearing a blue hoodie sits on the bottom step, staring at her phone. “Aren’t you gonna be hot in that?” She looks up and meets my gaze. “I’ll take it off if I need to.” She says with a flat tone. Her attitude unnerves me slightly like I shouldn't have mentioned it. “...S-Should we go in?” I ask, trying to rebound without spilling spaghetti. “Sure.” She puts her phone away and grabs her backpack, standing up and waiting for me to lead the way. We make our way up the stairs and through the doors, staying silent the whole time. As we reach her locker we both agree to meet in math class, I wave bye and walk to first period. I walk through the halls and eventually reach Mr. Tsuki’s class, pushing through a group of students standing in the way and looking over to my desk as a horrible sight comes into view. Naomi switched seats with the guy next to me. I walk over to my desk and set my backpack down on the floor, maybe if I just don’t acknowledge her she’ll go away. “Ignoring me won’t make me go away.” She says with an uncharacteristic snarky tone. “So… You broke up with Fang?” She asks I did NOT want to have this conversation today. “I did, don’t see what that has to do with you though.” Her eyebrows raise as she crosses her arms. “No need for the attitude, just wanted confirmation from the source. I do hope you know what trouble you’ve caused for Naser, he’s barely even focusing on himself now, that worthless sister of his is taking up his whole life.” “It’s none of my business now.” Will she fuck off already? “I’m sure it isn’t…” She lets out a sigh. “I hand you a girl to fix, and what do you do? Screw her up even worse.” Even with her vomit-inducing sweet voice and layered personality, she can’t help but let her voice waver a bit. I can hear her heavy breathing as I stare straight ahead silently. “What about Naser huh? He’s been running around to try and find out where Lucy even is! And he’s dealing with his Dad pressuring him even worse than before!” For the love of God. I turn my entire body around to face her, looking her dead in the eye. “Naomi. I do not care. Now will you fuck off?” She stares at me for a moment before grimacing, clenching her teeth, and slamming her hand down on the desk. “You selfish prick!” She stands up and walks to the teacher’s desk. “Excuse me, Mr. Tsuki, the student council calls.” He raises a hand in acknowledgment as she walks out into the hallway. …That was… Something else. I let out a sigh as I digest her words. I do feel bad for Naser, I can’t imagine how he’s handling the situation with Fang. I doubt I’ll ever forget the trouble I caused him, especially after seeing her scream at him in the hallway a few days ago. But I also know Naomi, and I would bet money most of that anger towards me is because I ruined her perfect little high school relationship. A small smirk crosses my face as I think about it. Fuck you, Naomi, if Fang’s life got messed up because of me, yours should too. _____ Anon waves goodbye as I unlock my locker, once he passes the corner I sigh. No, I don’t wanna wear this Anon. Yeah, it’s gonna be a hot day. Thanks for bringing it up. As I swing open the locker door an envelope falls onto the floor. I pick it up and look over it, nothing on the outside… I shrug and stuff it into my backpack, I’ll look at it later. After I switch out a few textbooks, I close the door and click the lock closed before turning around and heading off to first period. … “AND SHE CALLED ME A SELFISH PRICK! ME!” Anon throws his hands in the air as he recalls first period. “Graduation is in a day and she’s still trying her bullshit.” I just nod, taking a bite out of my 3rd mystery meat quesadilla. He slouches in his chair, seems all that venting tired him out. He grabs a quesadilla and bites a chunk out of it. I chuckle slightly, reaching out for my thermos… That isn’t there. Of course it isn’t. “Something wrong?” He asks. “No… It’s fine. Just forgot my thermos is all.” My bluff pays off and he simply nods, returning his attention to the quesadilla. I let out a small sigh and continue eating, ignoring the guilty feeling bubbling up from lying to him. A few minutes of silent eating later and Anon excuses himself, grabbing his backpack and heading off to the bathroom before the next period. I reach into my backpack and finally take out that note. I rip open the envelope with a swipe of my nail and peer into it. A few polaroids and a small torn piece of paper float around loosely inside. I dump the contents of the envelope out onto the table, before tossing it aside. As I scan over the pictures a sudden sickening feeling comes over me. “What the fuck?” _____ … ‘Me: are you alright?’ … ‘Reeda: im fine’ … ‘Me: alright. See you tomorrow then?’ … ‘Reeda: *thumbs up* … I lay my backpack on the floor and set my phone on my desk, moving over to the bathroom for a shower. Besides the whole Naomi thing, today was pretty uneventful. No Fang or Trish, I guess they aren’t worried about attendance anymore. And Reeda left sometime after lunch, sending me a text to let me know. I hope she isn’t sick for graduation… Although she doesn’t seem all that excited about it anyway. She just seems… Tired. I turn the shower off and step out, drying myself off with a towel and walking out into my bedroom. For the first time in a while, I actually stop and look around the room, taking it in. This is the first, and the last home I’ll have in Volcaldera. It feels... weird... to know I won’t be back here, and the friends I made will live their lives without me. They’ll survive, of course. I’m sure I’m not the only thing they live for. That thought puts a small smile on my face. Even Fang and Trish will be alright, I’m sure. If anything they’ll be better off with me out of the picture. …Will Reeda be okay? Will she make it without her friends? I let out a sigh and move to my closet, grabbing out a pair of boxers. I put them on and walk over to my bed, climbing in and pulling the blanket over myself. I really hope Reeda makes it out fine. I know I fucked things up for her too after all, if I hadn’t ruined my relationship with Fang, they would still be friends. ...And she wouldn’t be relying on me for company.