still (v.h.)

The Old Neighbor

        "What...the fuck."

        "Georgia Christine you do not use language like that in our home! Do you hear me?" Her mother scolded. 

        God getting a new neighbor would be fine if it was anyone else. Vinnie was different. He and Georgia had been attached at the hip since they were taking their first steps. Until he moved 2,000 miles away. To be a fucking boxer.

        "Georgia I'm sorry I promise I wanted to stay but if I really want to get good at this I need to go to this guy in LA." he pleaded.

        "You can't just find another sport? Or..or maybe I can just come with you, it can't be that far, right?" 

        Ever since that day in third grade, Georgia silently grieved the loss of her better half. Now, that grief has turned into pure anger and hatred towards him. If Vinnie had stayed, maybe being friends with him would make her popular. Maybe she wouldn't be nearly as lonely as she was. But, he didn't stay, he left. To be a fucking boxer. 

        "I-I'm going for a walk." Georgia mumbled in response. Her ears were ringing with the faint voices of her parents calling after her. She could hear her breathing getting louder and louder inside her head and her heart pounded. 

        God, this cannot be happening right now.

        Legs shaking, she fumbled to the front door and struggled to grab and turn the knob. Finally ripping the door open, Georgia practically fell outside and inhaled sharply like the house was suffocating her. And to be quite honest, it was. There was only one option to get away from there.

        Run.

        So she did. She ran as fast and as far as she possibly could. Multiple times her lungs begged her to stop, but the pain of the situation wouldn't let her. Aimlessly running for what seemed like hours, Georgia's legs ached and her mind was running faster than she was.

        Oh my god, what if he wants to be friends again? No, you can't just forgive him for that. Jesus Christ what if he's just as good a guy as he was the last time I saw him? What if he's just as good looking as he was the last time I saw him? No. No no no you are not going down that path again. Been there. Done that. It fucking sucks. 

        Before she knew it, Georgia was at Ryan's house. She wasn't completely sure how she got there or when exactly she did, but there was nowhere else to go that wasn't home. And home reminded her of him. So, she couldn't be there.  

        Knocking on the door, Georgia had second thoughts about being there. Ryan's parents were so strict, she wasn't allowed to have friends over unless there were plans made weeks in advance. This struck worry in Georgia and she began to think sleeping on a park bench would be better than getting scolded by Ryan's parents. She took slow steps away from the front porch and began to panic until-

        "Georgia?"

        She whipped her head around to find Mrs. Deacus, Ryan's mom, standing at the open door.

        "What are you doing here at nearly 10:00?" she asked, "A-are you...crying? What happened honey?"

        Georgia was suddenly aware of the tears flowing down her face. She couldn't find words to explain how she was feeling. The only thing that she could choke out was a broken sob. Squeezing her eyes shut, she felt everything come down on her at once. 

        How was she supposed to deal with this?

        "Come here" she heard Mrs. Deacus say before she was wrapped in a warm hug, "It's okay, I'm here."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

        "Does your mom know you're here?" Ryan asked.

        "No, I should probably call her. I just don't want her to come pick me up, I can't be there." Georgia responded, "It's nothing my parents did, it's just that my house reminds me of..." she trailed off.

        "Hey, just talk to me about when you're ready. And if you're never ready, then I'll never know. And we'll move on with our lives." Ryan helped calm her down.

        Letting out a sigh, Georgia thought it was best that Ryan understood everything. 

        "No, no. I can talk about it." she began slowly, "Imagine that I was moving tomorrow to, say... Los Angeles. You had no idea I was moving so you have absolutely no time to process anything. Well, once I move away, I don't talk to you at all and I find completely new friends that are even better than you."

        "Ouch" Ryan laughed.

        "Exactly- anyway, yeah, I find better friends and basically forget about you entirely, even though we've been best friends since we were fucking babies-"

        "Uh, George, I'm pretty sure we've only been friends since we were in middle school." Ryan questioned.

        "Wh- oh right, yeah. Since middle school. So all of a sudden, after like ten whole years, I decide to come back and move into the house right next to you. So, even if you wanted to, you couldn't  escape me." Georgia explained.

        "Holy shit, you need to escape someone?" Ryan asked.

        "No, I don't need to. But, I want to." she answered, "Listen, I know it sounds stupid and I'm totally overreacting but this is the last thing I wanted to deal with right now." 

        "I get it, I get it. Well, not totally, but I can get it. If I try." Ryan assured her, "So who is this kid, anyway? And am I going to have to be friends with them?"

        Flashbacks ran through Georgia's head like it was a movie. The two of them laughing together while they gossiped about other kids on the playground. When the would have sleepovers on Friday nights. Their camping trip in his backyard. Then how they had to go inside because he was afraid of the dark. 

        God I miss him so much.

        "Vinnie Hacker." Georgia replied, "and one thing's for fucking sure. We are not being friends with him."

(a/n) 

hey guys, welcome to the Still family! I'm so fcking excited to share this with you guys, I've been planning it for a while now. 

uhh btw- the support on tiktok is much appreciated. bahah i mean yeah it like 150 likes per post but damn that's so much more than i expected.

feel free to comment on the actual book itself for suggestions or requests. PLS PLS PLS comment requests because they help make a better story and its literally so fun to look at all the comments. plus- i'll most likely reply to you so that's a bonus.

should i start including songs with each chapter? I've read a ton of ff's with songs and sometimes they help with he storyline. (fyi i love taylor swift so there WILL be a lot of her songs... more specifically from reputation ;))) if that gives you an idea of this story's vibes). 

what do y'all think of my oc georgia? I'm excited for you to see her with vinnie AHHH

let me know any other thoughts you might have along the way, i love to hear them!

xoxo, bolfgall

see u in the next update baes!