Between Love And Hate

Chapter Fourteen

Janelle

I knew Raven used glasses. I didn't know it could get serious if she didn't wear them almost all the time.

Her dad was going to send Jeff over with her glasses. It wouldn't take more than twenty-five minutes to get here and I hoped he'd get here quickly.

I paced back and forth, my mum and dad trying to get me to sit down, Brit making short jokes to make Raven laugh, and Raven laughing at jokes that I didn't think were funny at the moment, her eyes a little red.

I calmed down when I heard the doorbell ring. Jeff was standing at the door. His usual smile plastered on his face, his beards newly trimmed.

"Evening, Miss Ontario. Here's Miss Grey's kit. Her glasses are in there, she's to take two of the blue pills and she's to use the eye drop. A drop on each of her eyes. And make sure she doesn't have strawberry that's not coated in chocolate."

He said all of that in a few seconds, I could hardly hear him. He checked his wrist watch and handed me a small transparent kit. I took it from him.

"Well, you better get to Raven before her eyes go red. She looks funny whenever that happens." He gave a small bow, "G'night, Miss Ontario. I have short time. I have to go." I watched as he walked away.

I closed the door and rushed back inside, placed the kit on the table. "Rave, can you look at me? I've got your eye drops here."

Raven didn't budge. "I hate that thing." she murmured. My mum chuckled.

"Oh C'mon Rave. It couldn't be that bad. Your eyes are getting red. And I know they're itchy too." Raven sighed softly, turning to face me.

I made her take the pills too. According to her, only Kat could force her to take them. And now, I was on the list too.

I watched as Raven ate her chicken. Her eyes had stopped getting red. They were clear now. She looked adorable with her glasses on, pushing it up the bridge of her nose every ten seconds.

Ugh, stop the Raven thing. I'd been thinking about her alot lately. Talk more of the dreams.

After dinner, we had apple pie with custard for dessert. I couldn't wait to get done so I could drag Raven upstairs to my room, away from my parents and kid sister.

I could count how many times dad had complimented her button up long sleeve shirt, which she'd taken time to fold up to her elbow. And how many times Brit had told her she looked funny when her eyes had gone slightly red. My mum wasn't so harsh with her after all.

I remembered last year like it happened right here.

"Are you Raven Grey?" mum had asked her. She didn't say anything, she just stared at me.

"I asked you a question young lady." Mum was surprisingly calm. Maybe cause she'd seen that Raven was calmer, quiet and reserved. She didn't look like someone who would want to spill cold slushy or hot coffee on someone. She didn't look like any of those high school bullies.

But she was Raven Grey after all, hot cute mess of a girl. She was on the school basketball team and had an all girls fan club. Still, she was a straight A student. She was everything anyone would want.

My mum must have realized Raven was still quiet. She pulled me out from behind her. We were at the school parking lot. And Raven had just got out of her car, Kat right behind her.

Kat pushed Raven, and for the first time in the few seconds she had stood with me and my mum, she blinked her eyes. "I'm sorry, I'm not sure I know you."

"No you don't. Hell no you don't. But you're not exactly what I expected to see. I thought I'd be meeting some stupid kid who transfers their aggression to others by hurting them. You're different from what I pictured." I knew from the sound of my mum's voice that it was laced with hidden venom.
"your parents would be thinking they've raised a well behaved child. But look at you, bullying someone else because you can't control your pent up anger."

All this while, Raven was quiet, even Kat stood awed next to her. Raven would never let anyone step on her feet. She looked away from my mum and dragged her eyes towards me, she pushed her glasses up.

"The next time this happens, I may not be so nice to walk up to your school to have a talk with you. I'll be at your house, talking to your parents, next time." But Raven said nothing. She turned to stare at Kat, who walked slowly to Raven's car to get a cup of coffee. Scalding hot coffee.

"I know I've been wrong, but never once have I transferred aggression. My grandparents would not hear of it, talk more of my parents. I sincerely apologize to you and Janelle. I'd decided to stop-" she paused to stare at me, "whatever it is I'd been doing before now."

She turned to take the cup from Kat, turned back to face me and my mum. "Come here, Janelle. Take the cup from me. I want to feel exactly how you feel when I spill coffee on you. Please." Her eyes seemed to be pleading with me.

And so I did it, I watched the hot coffee sip through her button up shirt, she'd always loved wearing button ups, and this one seemed quite special. I felt her pain when she flinched a little. She turned to face my mum with her coffee soaked white shirt.

"I'm sorry. I really am." with that, she left, walking straight into school, Kat following right behind her.

I started thinking differently about her from that day, even if Ren didn't like her. I still thought she was pretty cool.

"Hey, you've been stuck in your head for minutes. You okay?" I smiled at Raven.
"I am fine. I'm just thinking about how well you and my mum got along after what happened last year."

She chuckled. "I know right. She's cool. And she's quite protective of you." I agreed with her.
"Did you ever get the coffee stain out of your shirt?" I asked, without looking at her. I was a bit curious.

"I never did. I left it the way it was. As a reminder that you fought back. That you always fought back. Who knows how many of your clothes I destroyed."

Maybe, if we were never enemies from the start, we'd have been great friends, best friends. Maybe, just maybe.