Mirror, Mirror | ✓

•Day 18• Ava

"Mom, what if she's changed?"

"Then you'll learn to love the new Shay."

"What if she thinks I've changed?"

"Then she'll learn to love the new you."

I clicked my tongue in frustration. "Mom, I need your help!" I groaned. 

She put her arm around my shoulder. "I don't know what you're so worried about. She's your best friend. Time can't change that much."

That was definitely untrue. Time could change many things. The reason mine and Shay's friendship had broken in the first place was thanks to time. If we hadn't not talked in over six months, we wouldn't have drifted apart at all. We were okay now, of course. But I couldn't help but feel nervous that perhaps we really couldn't pick up where we'd left off. 

Before I could overthink the situation any more than I already had, the doorbell rang, alerting me that my former-and-hopefully-still-best-friend had arrived. I turned towards my mother one last time and she gave me one of her reassuring smiles that just made me even more nervous. 

I opened the door slowly, then broke into a smile when I saw her. "Well, well, well. Look who we have here! If it isn't Shaylene Russell,"I said, then she attacked me in a hug. "Ava!"she squealed, holding onto me so tight that I could feel the breath leaving my lungs. 

I couldn't stop smiling. "I've missed you so much,"she gasped, when she finally let go. I blinked back oncoming tears. "Me too, Shay."

She hadn't changed a bit. Her light brown hair still fell just shy of her shoulders and her emerald green eyes still sparkled with excitement. She was dressed in a white lace dress with an olive green coat slung over, which really brought out her eyes, might I say,  and brown boots covered her feet. She was just as eerily fashionable as she always was. She looked the same, but I was just hoping that she thought and felt the same way too. 

We retreated to my bedroom a half hour later, after she'd finished catching up with my mother. Trust me, those two were soulmates. 

"Jace is at his grandmother's house right now. He thought he'd drop in and say hi to her, then meet us for lunch. Is that okay with you?" she asked. 

I grinned. "That sounds amazing. I'll just call Ted, Will and Holly and see if they can join us for lunch."

I called Will right then, but he informed me, to my dismay, that it was an Elody day. That meant I couldn't introduce her to Shay. I mean, I was least closest to Elody. It would be borderline awkward if I introduced them to each other without being able to provide her any context. However, I kept my fingers crossed that she'd be herself the next day. And if she wasn't, at least Daisy or Alora. 

"So seeing that it's just the four of us, now that Will cancelled because Holly isn't coming, tell me something about Jace," I said. 

Shay grinned at the thought of her boyfriend. I loved seeing her so happy. "Well, his name is Jason, but he calls himself Jace because he's obsessed with The Mortal Instruments."

I laughed. "Really? That sounds so cool. I'm sure he and Elody would've got along so well. She's such a bookworm."

"Sometimes it gets on my nerves, though. If we don't have anything to talk about, he'll start ranting about some scientific theory. I owe my A in Biology to that doofus."

"He is just like Will! You leave Will with someone for one moment and the next thing you now he'll be teaching them tips and tricks in math and how to ace the SAT."

Shay grinned. "They're going to get along so well tomorrow. Even if it's not a Holly day tomorrow, I'm forcing him to come meet me."

I loved how excited Shay was to become a part of my world. She wanted to meet my friends so badly and to know how much my life had changed since she'd left. I loved that she cared.

"Now tell me about your boyfriend,"Shay smiled cheekily and threw me a wink. I blushed. "Well, he's on the football team..."I started. 

She gasped. "Oh my God, is he hot?" Of course, that's what mattered to her. Don't get me wrong, Shay loved people for who they were inside, but at the end of the day she was still a teenage girl who stalked Connor Ball on a daily basis just to see his heavenly face. What? He was beautiful, okay!

"Well, yes,"I confessed, and Shay fangirled some more. I sighed. I really did miss being a girl sometimes. Hanging out with Will and Ted so much made me forget what it was like gossiping about boys in the middle of the night and giggling over some cute pickup lines. I missed having a girl friend. Of course I had Holly, but I was slowly losing her day by day. Soon there would come a time when she was everyone's best friend. We'd all have to share her, thanks to Mirror, Mirror. 

. . . . . . 

Lunch with Ted, Jace and Shay had been amazing. Jace was your typical nerd. Even more so than Will. At least Will was a chick magnet, what with his faint British accent and gentleman mannerisms. Jace.... well, I could see what Shay saw in him. He was the most friendly person I'd ever met. He wore a shirt that said 'May the mass times acceleration be with you'. I'd never seen a shirt that could better describe him. He was what I'd imagined the lovechild of Will and Elody to be. A perfect mix of textbook-nerd and bookworm. 

Shay stayed at her parents' house for the remainder of the evening, but came back to mine to spend the night. We still had a lot to talk about, but we had so less time. 

"Shay? Can I tell you something I've never told anyone before?" 

Shay rolled over on the bed to face me with a serious look on her face. "Of course,"she whispered back. 

"The day after Ted asked me out, I couldn't stop regretting it. I'd never been so spontaneous with a decision in my life. You know how much I overthink things. After that, I was okay with it and I came to terms with the fact that I'd committed to something and that I shouldn't back out without giving it a chance,"I admitted guiltily. "Yet, I still fear that one day those regrets will come running after me. What if I hurt him? What if I hurt myself?"

Shay looked at me strangely. I felt like something huge was happening in her mind and she didn't know how to express it in words. All she said was, "I've seen how happy he makes you. I've seen how good you are together. He cares about you, but if you don't think it's going to work out, break it off before either of you fall too deep."

I nodded, scared about what I was going to do next. I didn't want my relationship to end. I was just scared I'd mess it up for both of us. "However,"she started, and my mood perked up in hope. "I know you're just scared because you've ever done something like this before.

"Ava, I've known you nearly all my life. I remember back when we were fifteen, Skott and I were both in relationships, and you were so anxious to be in one yourself just to see how it felt. I think it was worth the wait, though, because now you've found the one. He's perfect for you, Ava. Don't let your fears take control of all the good things in your life,"Shay said. 

And all night, all I could think about was how right she was and how much I depended on her for my own happiness. She knew just what to say to make me feel better. I needed her back in my life. 

A/N This was more of a filler chapter so that you could have an insight on Ava and Shay's friendship. I hope you liked it!

~Via