Across From Me

Thirteen

Elizabeth turned her attention to her phone screen, groaning as she read the name of the contact, which was "Don't answer this".

I should really delete her number, Beth thought. She hadn't, and she still didn't. Maybe she held on a little too tight to the idea of 'the good old days' even when they weren't very good at all. She threw her phone to the side once more, and let herself sink into her mattress once more. It was a Sunday, and as she would do every Sunday, she did nothing.

Minnie was one of her old friends in middle school, and boy was she stubborn. When she found out that Elizabeth was going to a different high school than her, she started to cry. Minnie was a big softie, it's what made her a good person and an even better friend. But she was a bit clingy when it came down to it.

Beth wanted to distance herself from the events that happened in middle school, and Minnie was making it damn hard to do so. Minnie was a good person, she was when they first became friends. But as the years passed and they started growing into themselves, Minnie seemed to enjoy listening to the drama while Beth couldn't stand listening to another second of it.

Maybe Beth missed Minnie sometimes, but she wouldn't call her back. She decided that the second she became a high schooler.

The phone buzzed again, Beth didn't bother to check it, she already knew who it was. Her mind drifted from Minnie and to Clementine, and her face went a little hot remembering yesterday. It was the truth that Beth was not used to being touched as freely as Clem touched her. But usually, touch didn't make her skin tingle as it did with Clem. She got hugs from her mom, her sister threw her arm around her shoulder, and her brother would occasionally pat her on the back, but with Clementine it was different. It was nice.

Another buzz from the phone and this time Beth was getting annoyed. She moved to silence it, but she saw the name was not 'Don't answer this' but instead 'Clementine'. She opened the text, and it read, "Hey, come over to my house I wanna show you something!" And following that, "If you're busy then you don't have to btw"

Beth smiled reading it. It was nice to have a consistent presence of someone other than her family. But going over to Clementine's house meant that she was going to have to get dressed in actual clothes instead of basically pajamas.

It wasn't that bad, Beth had loose shorts on with a sweater. It just wasn't built for the weather outside, nor did it look like she was actually making an effort to look nice. But truly, what else was new for Elizabeth. She shrugged her shoulders for no one, sent a text back to Clem telling her she was coming over, and changed from shorts or leggings. She put her shoes on, brushed her hair, and left the house.

She informed her sister where she was going first because her mother could be a bit of an anxious person when it came to Beth doing literally anything.

Beth politely knocked on Clem's front door, and it took about 3 seconds until the door swung open to reveal a slightly scattered-looking Clementine. Her hair hung around her face, and her lips were turned down into a pout. The shirt she was wearing had traces of paint across it, and the loose sweatpants clung to her hips by the drawstring. It took Beth a few moments to process what she was seeing.

She smiled at Clem, "Hey, what's up?" She asked her, shoving her hands into her pockets.

Clem seemed to be doing the same thing that Beth was doing moments earlier, her eyes briefly scanning over Beth's entire outfit and face. Beth felt the need to say something until Clementine laughed, "Sorry, it's your hair, it's throwing me off."

Beth reached her hands to her head and realized she hadn't put it up into a ponytail or a bun. She wore them all the time, and that was probably the first time Clementine saw her without one. That thought made Beth want to laugh, it sounded so strange.