Sole Mates

Chapter 6: Wannabe Hipster

Cover by roxieb12345 (((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o)))

Shelly and I went shopping the next day. We met at Starbucks which is near all the interesting thrift shops.

"What are you shopping for?" she asked me.

"Cacti!" I replied. Shelly and I had both started cacti collections in the ninth grade, which had quickly expanded, and now took up most of our window sills.

"Same," she said in the way that only high school girls do.

We walked around for a bit before stopping at Sweet Vine, a tiny shop filled to the brim with unloved knickknacks and a variety of plants. "How about this one?" I asked, showing her a small cactus with a few white flowers.

"It's perfect," she replied. "Which one should I get?"

"This one," I replied, holding up a cactus that appeared to have a spider's nest woven around the top.

"That's sketch," she said wrinkling her nose. "I like this one." It was similar to mine but had orange spikes instead. We paid and then left in search of another prize.

"Let's go to Goodwill and get some pots for them," Shelly suggested.

I agreed and we walked across the street.

Upon entering the dull grey store, we browsed until we found ourselves in the back where they housed the teacups, mugs, and glasses. I picked out a terracotta pot with a little sun embossed on the front while Shelly picked out a porcelain cup with tomato soup written across it.

"Oh dang, he is hot," she said, motioning to a guy our age. He had blonde hair and startlingly blue eyes. He caught us staring and smirked, at which Shelly dropped her cactus. He laughed and looked away as if he knew he was hot and was used to that reaction. She blushed and we moved to the checkout counter.

"I saw you checking out that guy," teased the cashier.

Shelly blushed even harder, "I was not!"

"It's okay, I was too," he winked.

With that, we left, laughing so much that our stomachs began to ache and tears leaked from our eyes. When we had sobered up, Shelly turned to me, her eyebrows raised, "So... You and Ajax huh?"

"No! Absolutely not! You are not shipping us together!"

"Oh come on! Tyck is so lame compared to Tax! Get it, Tyck Tax?" She laughed at her own joke.

"First of all, my two ship names should not be combined to create some candy, and second of all, I still like Zack." Shelly's eyes softened as she grabbed me and pulled me into a hug.

"Oh hon, I wish there was something I could say to make it all go away, but I'm just gonna have to hug you as hard as I can until I've squeezed your heart back together."

☀︎☀︎☀︎☀︎☀︎☀︎☀︎☀︎☀︎☀︎☀︎☀︎☀︎☀︎☀︎☀︎☀︎

We arrived back at my house exhausted and considerably poorer. "We're back!" I shouted, knowing nobody cared.

"Jackieeeeeeeeeee!"

"No dad, it's just Shelly and I," I yelled into our basement where he spent most of his time doing who knows what.

We walked upstairs into my room. "Your room is so tumblr," said Shelly jumping onto my bed.

"You're one to talk," I replied.

"Do you see this wall quote, these lights, and this string of Polaroid pictures? And you call me hipster?"

"Correction, I call you a wannabe hipster," I said smirking.

At this, she rolled her eyes and leaned back against the headboard stretching out her legs. I sat down next to her and smiled, this was the life.

"Do you believe in true love?" Shelly asked out of the blue, her eyes staring at the ceiling as if it held all the secrets to her love life.

"No se nada. I don't know anything. I mean, I believe that two people can work well together, but no relationship is perfect."

"That's not what I mean," she sighed and rolled onto her side, staring at me through her mascara coated lashes and thick framed glasses. "Do you believe that there is one person you were meant to be with, that you were made for, and nobody else could ever compare?"

"Maybe. If it is out there, I've never experienced it."

"Well I believe in it."

"Why?"

"Why not? Besides, I need to believe that I won't be alone forever and that there is someone just for me, you know?"

"Ya, I know," I said, picturing Zack. His soft dark hair and freckle populated face staring back at me. I had met him after Soren and I had become closer. I didn't believe in love at first sight, that type of love can only be based on outer appearances, but I was definitely attracted to him. From then on, I noticed him more and more. He was the type of person you could rely on and always complain to. He was kindhearted and never hurt anyone unless he could help it. He was real, never lying to me, which was a lot more than could be said for most people. It was an ambiguous love, lost in a torrent of confusion that was kindred with friendship and feelings. It was a seedling that never came to fruition. I realized then, staring up at my ceiling, that our relationship would never have lasted, and that Zack was not my soul mate.