We'll Always Have Summer | Stefan Salvatore

Chapter Nine

1993 - Mystic Falls, Virginia

   One of the things Cher did when her parents fought was pack a bag, get in her car, and go to the Gilbert's residence. Which was how Florence found herself with a new roommate, and a plate of warm cookies her mother had bakes as soon as she opened the door to see the other girl she considered a daughter. The young Gilbert girl stared at her best friend as she paced back and forth in front of the bed, arms crossed, mouth moving as if she were chewing her tongue.

   "They were fighting because Scott's coming home," she said, her tone filled with irritation. Scott Gaines was the eldest child in the family, on his way to graduate from the MIT School of Architecture. "How can they fight when he's coming home after not being able to come for the past two Christmas's?"

   Florence shrugged her shoulders, unsure on how to answer her friend. "I don't know," she mumbled, pressing her bottom lip between her teeth. "But, Cher, are you okay?"

   "I'm fine," she said as she waved a hand. She stopped pacing and let out a sigh. "Florence, I'm just tired of having my parents fight over every little thing. Why can't they be more like yours?"

   "Like mine?" Florence stared at her best friend in surprise. If she were to be honest, she never imagined her parents as the parents other people would want to have. Her father was rarely at home and her mother was always there. Maybe that was why Cher wanted hers to be like Florence's, because one was never there and the other was.

   The young Gilbert gave her best friend a small smile. "You can stay here for a couple of days, if you want." She didn't want to talk about her parents, not even mention that her parents scream at each other when the sun was down and the stars were twinkling down at them. No, the screaming words of her parents belonged to her and the night. No one else needed to know about them.

   "Really?" Cher grinned widely. "That's great, because my bag has enough clothes for a couple of weeks."

   "I said days."

   "Weeks, days-it's all the same to me."

   "Fine," breathed Florence. "Want me to order some pizza?"

   The Webster dictionary defined no as used to give a negative expression, or a negative answer or decision. That simple two letter word appeared to not exist in Florence Gilbert's vocabulary when it came to her best friends, her family, or anyone. It was as if she was designed to always say yes, which was why she always followed her friends everywhere and nowhere. No was too negative for the too-positive girl.

   Florence ordered the pizza-meat lover's with a side of cheesy garlic bread and boneless chicken wings-and decided to put a movie on. She wanted to cheer up her best friend, and lucky for both of them, her father had taken her to Blockbuster a few days ago. The TV began playing The Lost Boys, both girls fawning over Kiefer Sutherland playing a vampire.

   "Thanks," Cher said as she munched on a slice of cheesy bread. "I don't know what I would have done without you, Florence."

   The Gilbert girl smiled generously. "It's nothing," she said, bumping into her friend with her shoulder. "Really. You should be expecting this since you're my best friend."

   "You know, sometimes I wonder what the hell would I be doing if you weren't my best friend," Cher sighed. She dropped the bread on the box and pulled her legs closer to her chest. "Sometimes, I think that if I've never met you, I would probably be going crazy."

   "In what way?" Florence's voice was quiet, soft, as if she were too afraid to learn the answer.

   Cher shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe I would be going crazy with my OCD," she said as she began to pick at her shirt. She suddenly stopped and cleared her throat. "Or, maybe, other things. You know, maybe I would have drunk myself to death. I do drink a lot. Too much for my own good." She turned to the Gilbert girl and smiled. "For a seventeen year-old, I do have a pretty shitty life, don't you think?"