Mirror, Mirror | ✓

•Day 17• Ava

"Riley, this is getting really complicated really fast."

Riley threw me a quizzical look with a hint of a smile. She wasn't used to seeing me this tense. I was emotionless Ava, for God's sake. I felt like I said this a lot, but what was happening to me lately?

"What happened?"she asked, the amused glint in her eye not fading. I shook my hands nervously. "Emma! Can't you tell? All day at school they wouldn't leave each other's side! even when Ace came to Emma for advice, she waved him off and told him to talk to her later. Ace. Her best friend in the whole world! Don't you see what's happening here?"

"Um... Alora's socializing at long last?"

"No, stupid!" Then I considered it. "Well, I mean yes, but it also means that she's slowly replacing me too! Before I know it she's going to have yet another best friend."

This was so out of character for me. I was becoming even more of an emotional wreck lately. Ever since Skott... left, Holly and her splits took on the role as my best friend. They were my support system. But now that I was losing them, I didn't have anyone anymore. Yes, Shay and I were finally making up for all the time we'd lost, but still. She wasn't a permanent figure in my daily life anymore. I wished she was, but she couldn't be anymore. Not until she came back home.

"So that's what you're worried about? Come on, Ava! Emma's our friend. I think she deserves to share Holly with us."

I wanted to scream and tell her Holly wasn't even hers to share, to begin with, and that it took me a long time to even accept that she was going through something similar to me. But I managed to keep it cool and accepted what was being thrown at me. 

Holly wasn't mine. She wasn't anyone's. She was a girl who needed help and here there were so many people who were willing to do that. I should've been happy for her. But all I ever thought about was myself. 

"It looks like Mirror, Mirror isn't just about Will anymore. It concerns all of us. We all play a part. And now, Emma's in too."

Riley rested her hand on my shoulder. "That's the spirit. Besides, Holly knows how much you mean to her. She knows all that you've done for her. Doesn't that count as something?"

I smiled. "You're right. I have Holly, you have Elody, Ashley has Daisy and now Emma's going to have Alora. We all mean something to Holly, at least somewhere deep down in her heart. She might never know that, but we do."

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Riley asked with a small smile. 

"We forget about all the crap I just said and steal Holly from them and share her between us?"

Riley punched my arm and laughed. "No! I was thinking we call them over and get to know them. Maybe we could even think about introducing ourselves to Holly. Me, Ashley and Emma, that is. With your help, of course."

I threw Riley an apologetic smile. "Hey, I'd really love for that to happen, but I have to get to Holly's support group right now. How about sometime next week?" I asked hopefully. I knew I couldn't do anything this weekend because of Shay's visit. I was really hyped up for that. 

Riley looked a bit disappointed, but shrugged it off and smiled. I really liked this girl. In many ways, she mirrored me. But in more, she was my exact opposite. "Of course. I'm looking forward to it."

I smiled back warmly. "Me too."

I left her house to find Ted waiting for me outside. I was pleasantly surprised. I'd told him I'd be at Riley's house that evening just to hang out with her for a while, but I was sure he would've completely forgotten about the support group. Turns out I was wrong. 

"Ready to go?"he asked, turning towards me with a smile that made my insides melt. I really didn't know what I'd do without him. "Ready as I'll ever be."

The moment we entered the room, I sensed a shift in mood. "Hi, everyone,"I said weakly, not sure why this was getting so awkward. And then I noticed. 

There she was, standing at her place, as if she'd been talking about something very important to her when we'd walked in. I mumbled an apology for the interruption and Ted and I took our places on the opposite side of the circle. 

"She's going to kick me out,"the girl said. "I can feel it. My mother is the most orthodox person out there. Her judgement is so clouded and she doesn't take anyone's opinions on anything. There's no way she'll accept me."

  She said this so sadly that I felt like giving her a big hug and telling her everything was going to get better so long as she gave it time. But I knew I wasn't in a position to promise her anything, or give her false hopes in any way. I thought I knew her. Trust me, we all did.   

I didn't even know the context of her little speech, and nor was I going to make any guesses. If she wanted me to know, she wouldn't have continued on like that with no details. She wouldn't have made it so unclear what she'd been talking about prior to this. She wouldn't have looked so nervous when Ted and I entered the room. 

I thought she was an open book the moment I'd laid eyes on her. She was so daunting. She didn't fear anyone and probably intimidated the crap out of everyone she met. She was independent and fearless and always spoke her mind. 

Yet here she was, broken and unarmed. The shell of the girl she was to everyone else had shattered. She was tearing, piece by piece, but she was still strong enough to put on her mask every morning before leaving the house. 

Finally, I caught a glimpse of the girl behind the mask. 

And that girl, was Emma. 

A/N Things are escalating pretty fast around here, am I right? But what can I say, there's so much left to this story. I can't keep filling in the pages with Will's rants or Holly's dad jokes forever, can I?

So welcome to the journey downhill. Make sure you hide away all weapons and tools (in case you decide to hunt me down when you finish this book. Don't worry- there's a long way to go, but I'm just warning you beforehand), have a box of tissues and some chocolate to cheer you up. 

Don't forget to vote and comment, because that cheers me up. 

Until the next chapter~

Via <3