Love Hate

15

Haven stood in the middle of Forever 21, Venus and Tyler by her side. Each looked through the many items of clothing being advertised at them. The previous afternoon, after Austin dropped her off at home, Haven thought about what her parents told her. And about Zion. There was nothing she could do to change his mind. He found her strange and not even a makeover could change his opinion. He made that clear. The girl decided that she wanted to give herself a makeover. Put more effort into her look. Not for Zion. Not for the 'it' crowd at school. Not for anyone. Just for herself. She needed to have a fresh start.

A start that didn't include Zion Kuwonu.

The girl had decided to not tell her best friends about what happened between her and her ex-crush. It was humiliating for her and she wished to never speak of it. So when the two got the text in the group chat, they were shocked. Never had Haven wanted to go shopping with them. They would plead the curly-headed girl to come with them, but she never budged. If she did go she wouldn't buy anything. This time she had a pile of clothes hanging over her arm.

Her fingers grasped the changing room doorknob. She stepped out into the hall to face Tyler and Venus. A pair of denim jeans with way too many holes in them hugged her legs loosely while a black skinny strap tank top hugged her torso. Her bellybutton showed; however, she tied a burgundy flannel around her waist to cover it. "So?" she questioned her two best friends. Both smiled up at her from their seats.

"It suits you," Tyler gave his best friend a thumbs up before looking back down at his phone. Haven just rolled her eyes and looked at V.

"You look so cute Hay," She paused with a bright smile. "But that is just one outfit, go try on more." With a light shove, Venus pushed the girl back into the dressing room to try on more clothes.

After trying about three more outfits on at Forever 21, the three purchased everything they grabbed before heading over to the food court. The smell of Panda Express filled her nose as she picked at the bowl in front of her. "Hey Hav," Tyler spoke up. Her coffee brown eyes met his own. 

"Yeah,"

"You never explained why you wanted to go shopping." Haven's entire body tensed up. She hadn't done it on purpose. One thing that everyone knew about the girl was that she was a bad liar. She couldn't keep a secret. Of course, she could hide it from someone until they asked about it. As soon as someone brought up an event or thing that she was trying to hide, she would end up blabbering.

"Yeah?" the other girl raised an eyebrow at her best friend. Both Tyler and Venus kept their eyes on the curly-haired girl. 

Swallowing her chow mein, Haven looked between them, "I just wanted to have a makeover."

"Bullshit," V laughed. Ty just rolled his eyes sipping his soda. 

"I'm being serious," Haven's voice cracked a little while the corners of her lips started to curl up: obvious signs of her lie. "There is no other reason. I just got tired of my baggy wardrobe."

Both of her friends knew there was more to the situation. It was blatantly obvious. But they didn't persist anymore. Haven wouldn't change for no reason. She wasn't the kind of person to do it out of nowhere. Something had happened. Something big. Something that changed her perspective. Venus and Tyler were smart enough to realize it had something to do with Zion. Although the girl refused to admit it, Z's opinion was everything to her. 

What her two best friends hadn't realized was exactly what happened. The makeover didn't come out of nowhere. They were correct on that. But the meaning behind it was for Haven's own reasons. She didn't want to think about Zion. She didn't want anything to do with Zion. She didn't want Zion in her memory. 

Zion needed to fade out of her life.

Haven needed to create a new life for herself. 

And this was only the beginning.