Chapter Eighteen

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Her ringtone cut through the still air like a knife.

Leafy looked at her phone quizzically through her tears. It was so late. Who would be calling?

The caller ID displayed their identity in big white letters: Pin.

She answered it immediately. She didn't even give Pin time to talk.

"Pin!" she yelled into the receiver. "Were you at Match and Pencil's party?"

Pin must have been taken aback. She paused, then stammered for a while before she answered.

"Well, yeah." Pin replied, shakily stuttering through her words. "I think you were the only one who wasn't there, to be honest."

Leafy ignored the second comment in favor of getting answers from Pin. "Did you see anything between Match and Firey?"

Pin's end went silent for a brief minute. She heard whispering. The redhead must be consulting Coiny, who frequently spent the night at her place.

It sounded as if they were debating whether or not to tell her anything.

"Well, there is a rumor." Pin's voice sounded oddly indifferent.

"Describe it," Leafy demanded. She knew she was beginning to get irrational. She took a deep breath to try to calm herself down.

"Some people saw Firey all over Match. It looked like he was kissing her neck. Then, they disappeared in her bedroom." Pin summarized briefly.

Leafy was silent. She didn't know how to respond to that.

"That's pretty much it," Pin added quietly.

"Do you believe it?" Leafy asked, despite not wanting to know the answer.

"No."

Leafy did not expect that answer.

"I didn't see anything happen," Pin continued. "And I saw Match around after. I'm not sure how this stupid rumor started. Maybe someone was just trying to sabotage Match or Firey."

That sounded logical. Relief flooded through Leafy like cool water. Reassurance was precious, no matter how little.

"Anyways, why did you call?" Leafy suddenly felt bad for not giving the other girl a chance to speak.

"Oh yeah!" The redhead also seemed to have forgotten why she called. "I wanted to ask if you had a bandaid."

Leafy blinked. "A bandaid? Why?" She quickly stood up, went to the bathroom, and rummaged through her first aid kit.

"Well, I accidentally hurt my hand, and it's bleeding," Pin stated matter of factly.

Leafy grew concerned. "How did you manage that?

"Well, I made spaghetti for dinner," Pin began.

"Uh-huh."

"And I had the spaghetti on a plate. So I grabbed a spoon to eat it-"

"You were eating spaghetti with a spoon?" Leafy quickly cut Pin off.

"Yes." Pin answered.

"Just a spoon? No fork or anything?" Leafy asked incredulously. If Pin ate her spaghetti with only a spoon, Leafy didn't know what to say. It was absurd.

"Just a spoon."

Leafy's worst fears were confirmed.

"And I gave myself a paper cut on my thumb," Pin continued.

Leafy was in disbelief. This story didn't add up. "Hold on. Where did the paper come from?"

"There was no paper," Pin quickly clarified through the receiver. "I gave myself a paper cut with the spoon."

"That's not a paper cut, Pin." Leafy wasn't sure if Pin was joking or not.

Suddenly, Leafy heard Pin scream for Coiny on the other end. After a few beats, Leafy heard the copperhead speak.

"What's up?" Coiny's voice sounded on the other end.

"Is this a paper cut?" She heard her ask him.

"Looks like it," she heard Coiny reply.

"It's a papercut," she heard Pin say to her.

Leafy stopped searching for the bandaid momentarily. "So you gave yourself a papercut. With a spoon. While eating spaghetti with said spoon."

"Precisely," Pin replied cheerfully.

"Well, I have a bandaid." Leafy told her, holding the article up in front of her. "It's my last one."

"Perfect!" Pin exclaimed. "I'll be over in a jiffy."

Since Pin lived only across the hall, Leafy heard a quick succession of knocks against her door only seconds later. She walked over to answer it.

Pin was leaning against the doorframe lazily, a grin stretched across her face. She stuck out her thumb in front of Leafy.

Leafy carefully removed the bandaid from its packaging and delicately wrapped it around Pin's thumb.

"Kiss it better?" Pin joked, pouting.

"Of course," Leafy snickered, then lightly kissed Pin's bandaged thumb.

"You guys are so weird," Coiny called out from Pin's apartment from the other end of the hallway. The boy, however, seemed to be amused by the events transpiring before him, judging by his voice alone.

The girls laughed, and Pin retreated back into her apartment with Coiny.

Leafy closed the door with a slight smile on her face.

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