IN THE SHADOW OF OBLIVION

Chapter 3: The clown's date

The apartment was empty when Anntonia went out of her room. I was evident that Michelle was gone.

She could only sighed in relief and walked towards the kitchen, but was still a little mad at her best friend for taking such a low blow in their argument earlier, mentioning her ex. She was glad for the extra time she had to get her thoughts together.

At some point, still believe that she was confused about her feelings towards her best friend. For so many years, the two of them had been nothing but that and Michelle was nothing like any of the person she dated, and she too, was nothing like any of those women she brought home.

Last year, though, things started to change.

She remembered Michelle began dating this girl, named Rhian Ramos, who was just a little too perfect for her liking. And if she'd to be honest with herself, everything about Rhian annoyed her. The way the woman dressed and always matched her shoes to her outfit, her red lipstick - all of it was too much. And when she felt that first twinge of jealousy the first time she saw them together, she knew, then and there that she wasn't looking at her best friend the way she used to look at her. She wasn't plain in her sight anymore.

She knew it wasn't necessarily anything about Rhian that made her unlikeable. She was always friendly and smiled enough to make Mr. Rogers look like Cruella DeVille. LoL! It was the fact that Michelle saw so much in Rhian and she hated to even be in the same room as the two of them, and when her best friend told her she was actually in love with the woman, the empty feeling in the pit of her stomach clued her in to something she probably should have already known - she was developing real feelings for Michelle.

But she chose to disregard it, brush it off and decided to pretend like it was nothing. That nothing changed. And for a while, it was at least something she could overlook. Lately though, her feelings had been growing stronger and stronger and it didn't make sense to her. After all of those years of being best friends, what in the world could ever make her see Michelle in such a different light? How could she fall for someone that would never see her as anything more than her best friend and sister?

She flipped the light on in the kitchen and smiled to herself when she saw what Michelle had left.

Half of a veggie pizza and a bag of Peanut Butter M&Ms were sitting on the counter, with a Post-It note that said 'I'm an asshole. I'm sorry.' stuck next to them. Absentmindedly, she nodded as she opened the pack and popped one of the candies into her mouth.

"Yep, good to know you know it." she said to herself, chewing thoughtfully. She then grabbed a handful of M&Ms and wandered to the living room, where she flopped down on the couch and took her phone from her pocket, unconsciously smiling as she dialed Michelle's number, wondering where she'd disappeared to so quietly.

"Ha! I knew you'd not stay mad at me for long. Did you change your mind?" She heard the voice from the other line, sounding enthusiastic when she picked up the phone. That made her laugh, mostly to herself.

"Don't be so sure," she said, her mouth full of candy. "I was actually calling to see if you decided to just go ahead and go without me. That's what I was hoping, anyway."

"No way, Toowns! Sorry, but you're not getting out of it so easy. I left you a gourmet feast and I apologized for being an asshole. What more could you possibly want?" The woman chuckled as she sighed.

"You're impossibly stubborn, you know that? Where the hell are you, anyway?"

"And why'd you asked? Who are you, my Mom?" The woman asked but a smile is sounding in her voice. "I'm at Ruru's."