Maybe Before Today

Chapter 13

     Much to my delight, the next Monday was the start of the October holidays, Ziggs had recovered from their cold (after taking a full week off of school for it, I'm not kidding) and we were going out for coffee.
     "Are you sure you're not gonna give me the plague?" I asked when I was a few metres from them.
     "Yes. Now hurry up and get over here."
     I hurried up and walked over there, then they nearly suffocated me in a hug.
     "All right, all right, I need to breathe."
     They released me. "So, did you miss me?"
     "I could hardly function! Please never leave me again!"
     "Don't worry, I won't."
     "So, what happened that made you take a week off for a cold? Are you living in the eighteenth century?"
     They looked to the ground.
     "Ziggs?" I asked, any trace of humour vanishing from my voice.
     "Let's start walking. I want my coffee sometime soon."
     "Okay." I went to slip my arm through theirs but they stepped away. "Is everything okay?"
     "Everything's... Everything's fine now. But... On Sunday, my dad took Perci to the vet."
     A jolt of fear went through me. Perci was Ziggs's dog and they'd had him since they were four years old. "Oh god, is he okay?"
     "He is now. We didn't think he was going to be, though."
     "God, I'm so sorry. Are you okay?"
     "Yeah. I will be. Especially if you agree to come Halloween costume shopping with Lex and I on Wednesday."
     "Are you seriously using this to make me come shopping with you?"
     "I need to do something fun. And it just won't be the same without my bestie there."
     "All right. Fine. I'm assuming Lex has already agreed?"
     "Yes. She agreed immediately."
     "Of course she did."
     "So, how was your week with her?"
     I thought spending more time with a person was meant to make you feel more comfortable around them. So I found it quite confusing that talking to Lex made me progressively more nervous around her.
     "Hope you didn't have too much fun without me."
     "Well, we did have a lot of fun."
     "You are on thin ice, Alice Woodward."
     "But it wasn't the same without you there."
     "That's what I like to hear."
When we got to Beanies, Paul was there again. He seemed to be going there very frequently.
"Hi, guys," they said when he saw us.
"Hey," I said.
"Hey, Alice, how's your dad?"
"Pretty good."
"Haven't seen him in quite a few days."
"Yeah. He's been working from home a lot."
"So he's driving you nuts with the obnoxiously loud musical soundtracks."
"He actually doesn't really play them at home."
Rage contorted his face and Emma started to laugh. "Are you serious?" they said quietly.
"That or he uses headphones."
"He owns headphones?"
"Yeah."
Emma leaned forward. "Paul, honey, you might wanna get to work before you're late."
"Yeah. You're right." They kissed Emma's cheek before turning to Ziggs and me. "It was good seeing you guys."
"Yeah, you too," Ziggs said.
"See you later."
"Bye."
After ordering our coffee (and making sure to leave a decent tip), we sat down.
"So, how have things with ... you know ... been recently?" Ziggs asked.
I sighed and shook my head, really hoping they wouldn't ask too many questions.
"That good, huh?"
"It's relentless."
"I'm sure it'll get better."
"I'm not."
"Well, you know Lex and I are here for you."
I nodded. I knew they were. So why was I so reluctant to actually tell them what was happening?

     When Wednesday came, I was getting texts in ten minute intervals from Ziggs, starting at six in the morning threatening to come to my house and make sure I was getting ready if I didn't reply. I wasn't even considering getting up until seven. But I couldn't ignore the buzz of my phone every time I managed to get back to sleep, so I ended up getting them up at half past six and meeting Ziggs and Lex at half past seven. That's earlier than I usually got up for school.

     "Well, nothing will be sold out if we get there early," Ziggs said when I met up with them and Lex outside their house.
     "You're going as Sandy from Grease. I don't think the wigs are going to sell out."
     "No, I changed my mind. I'm going as Daisy Buchanan from The Great Gatsby."
     "And the 1920s style dresses are in high demand this time of year?"
     "We read it in class, I bet a lot of other people did. Maybe it'll be a popular costume choice."
     "Nice try."
     "I thought you hated reading it," Lex said.
     "Correct. But I loved the movie."
     "Did you love the movie or did you love Leonardo DiCaprio?" I asked.
     "Did you not?" They raised a skeptical eyebrow.
     "Uh..." No, I didn't, I'm very probably a lesbian...
     I rolled my eyes and kept walking. "So, Daisy Buchanan. What brought that on? I thought Sandy was, like, your dream costume."
     "I'm saving it for next year."
     "Ah. Okay."
     "So, are you two still not gonna get proper costumes?"
     "Hey," Lex said, "I do have a proper costume. It's better than cat ears and regular clothes - no matter how cute the skirt is."
     "It is pretty cute," I said.
     "What colour is it?"
     "It's black and purple plaid."
     "I guess the colours somewhat fit the Halloween theme..."
     "Don't try to defend her, Lex, she does this every year."
     "Ziggs, when we were six I went as a bat and you got mad at me because people liked it more than your pumpkin costume."
     "I did not."
     "You didn't speak to me for a week."
     "I think I remember that," Lex said. "You had a huge fight about it during class and the teacher got really mad..."
     "All right, fine, maybe that happened. But that's when we were six. Alice hasn't put in any effort since and don't even try to say it's because of that."
     "I just don't get the appeal. It's so much effort."
     "That's the fun of it!"
     "Maybe for you."
     When we arrived at the mall, Ziggs immediately made a beeline for the wig store. And they immediately grabbed one.
     "This would be perfect!"
     "Were we watching the same version of Gatsby?" Lex asked.
     "I mean for Sandy."
     "What about Daisy?" I asked.
     "This is too perfect. It must be a sign."
     "Of course it is."
     So they bought the wig. Then dragged us around fifteen different clothes stores before they found the right outfit and shoes. It was almost lunch time by the time they were finished.
     After that, we decided to go and see a movie. It was a Disney movie, so the theatre was full of little kids in princess dresses who were clearly very confused to see us, but we had fun nonetheless.
     Then, after crying more than I expected to at a Disney movie (and a horrible attempt at hiding it from Ziggs and Lex) I got home to, again, a practically silent house. I assumed that my mum was out, but she wasn't. She was taking a call in the living room. So, I assumed my dad must have been out. But he had his laptop out in the kitchen. The lack of arguing was starting to freak me out.
     "Hey, honey, how was your day?"
     "It was okay. Ziggs got their outfit, then we went to see a movie."
     "Did you buy anything?"
     "Apart from a couple of books, no."
     "What books?"
     "The first two Shadowhunters books."
     "What are they about?"
     "They're kinda difficult to explain. But I just finished the Netflix series and it was good." Finished it in a week and a half. Having a limited social life had its perks.
     "Well, how was the movie?"
     "Surprisingly sad."
     He laughed.
     "How come mom's working from home?"
     "Oh, um, I'm not sure exactly."
     "Okay."
     That was a lie. There was something they weren't telling me.

~

(A/N: I headcannon Alice as a Shadowhunters fan and nobody can stop me)