A GOOD GIRLS GUIDE TO MURDER ( oneshots ! )

This Is Me Trying

part 2 of All Too Well

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Pip nodded at her father, a sad smile on her lips that didn't quite reach her eyes.

She yelped as her friends pulled her outside, pushing her to Jamie's van as they all piled inside, Pip in shotgun since it was her birthday!

The five in the back dug through a cardboard box, pulling out a number of things, glinting in the moonlight.

One, a birthday crown - a tiara, rather, passed to Pip. She smiled at her friends, a bittersweet feeling in her chest as she placed it atop her head, making certain it was stable.

Cara smirked up at Pip as she pulled out several pale-purple feather boas, handing the first one - topped off with pink tinsel - to Pip, which she wrapped around her shoulders. Her smile spread into a grin.

Next, they all put on t-shirts over their clothes that read Pip's 21st Birthday Bash! in bright pink, her face on the back of them.

"Holy shit, you guys." She snorted, falling back against the seat of the car.

"Oh, and, uh, a little gift from all of us." Cara said finally, pulling out an envelope, pale purple like the boas, a golden wax stamp of a mirrorball holding it shut.

"What is this?" Pip asked, the curiosity unhidden in her voice as she gently pulled the envelope open.

They almost fell out of the envelope as her hand slipped and she gasped, smiling as wide as ever. "You guys are fucking joking. Oh my god."

Two tickets for the Eras Tour; her dream come true.

"NBD," Nat shrugged. "Happy birthday, big girl."

She smiled, laughing as she thanked her friends profusely; almost the entirety of the drive to the bar.

But, why were there two?

She didn't care. She was so happy. Maybe she'd take Cara; she knew how much Cara loved Taylor Swift, as well.

And then, just as fast as it had been built back up, it crumbled down.

She'd dreamed for months before about seeing a concert like this live with Ravi, and now she didn't have him.

Stupid. Good job, Pip.

Pip heaved a sigh as she and her friends stepped out of the car, and she braced herself. For this night, and for drinking herself to thoughtlessness.

She and her friends grinned - hers only a mask - as they walked inside, arms linked.

They found themselves seated at the bar, the plastic cushion of the stools sticky against Pip's thighs.

She cringed, but she went on to order her drink with a sigh.

Waiting for it felt longer than it should've.  Her head cradled by her fist, resting on it. Eyes staring down at the counter, finding shapes and faces in it, blinking them away when she saw his.

She couldn't deal with that, not right now.

To be fair, she knew this was her fault. She had pushed him away, and he wasn't the reason she was gone. It was her, not him.

"Hey, birthday girl!" Lauren smiled at her, sliding into the chair next to her. "How're you feeling?"

"Oh," Pip sat up, painting that smile back onto her lips. "I'm good."