Freaks

27 • party planner

❝an idea that is not dangerous is not worthy of being called an idea at all.❞
ｏｓｃａｒ ｗｉｌｄｅ

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"ＥＭＭＡ, you're a girl."

"Fascinating observation, Logan," I reply with a half smile and an elevated brow. "I never would have guessed myself."

Logan ignores my obvious sarcasm and presses on. "What do girls like?"

"That's a very broad question," I answer back, shrugging. "Different girls like different things."

"Well then," Markus says, cutting in, "what he means to say is what does Willow like?"

"You guys still haven't got her a present?"

"You say that like her birthday is tomorrow," Markus replies offhandedly. "We've still got plenty of time."

"Her birthday is in two weeks," I remind him.

Logan groans. "If we'd just waited a couple more months, I wouldn't have felt so obligated to get her one." He sighs, sinking further into his chair.

"Careful, Logan," Markus warns. "Keep talking and you may or may not end up with a flaming hole in your chest, from the way Emma's glaring at you."

Logan sits up straighter, looking alarmed.

"Willow is your friend, getting her a gift shouldn't feel like an obligation, it's your duty."

"Aren't duty and obligation synony—shutting up now." Markus begins to question before receiving an equally murder-y death glare from me.

"Besides, that feud went on for too long and got way out of hand. There was no way I was going to stay on a team with that ticking time bomb. Especially without...you know." Valerie. That name was getting harder to say out loud.

Logan and Markus shift uneasily in their chairs as we unconsciously lapse into silence.

Forget it. She's gone now, my brain tries to tell me. Yet, a part of me refuses to listen. It expects the worse. But what exactly is 'the worst'? Neither sides could answer that.

Logan clears out his throat. "So what did you get her? Willow. I mean. Not..." His voice trails off too. He couldn't say her name either.

"You know that book series that she's been raving about for months now?"

"How could we not?" Markus replies rolling his eyes. Turning to Logan, he adds, "Dude, you don't even know the half of it. Before you guys started sitting with us again, she'd never stop talking about it. And it didn't help that Emma here would always do a disappearing act, so I'd be stuck listening to it all. Alone."

"There, there, bud," Logan says in a dramatically sympathetic way, rubbing Markus's shoulder. "It's over now, you don't have to listen to it anymore."

"Anyway..." I say, "I found out she doesn't have the latest book in the series yet, so, I pre-ordered it earlier last month. I got my aunt to mail it over here — along with a cute, little bookmark and matching mug set."