F•R•I•E•N•D•S

T•H•I•R•T•E•E•N

Kennedy

The afternoon sun was always the best, in my opinion; it was nowhere near as blazing as it was when first rising and I loved it.

Dry leaves kicked up by the breeze swirled around my feet as I aimlessly walk around campus. All my classes were done for the day so I chose to spend my time taking in scenery. It was better than heading back to my room where Everly would sit on her bed and quietly tap away at her keyboard, oblivious to my presence.

Sometimes I think I'd scared her off, from what happened at the party. She said she was fine, that she was accustomed to having things go wrong when she's around but I didn't.
Even though it had only been three months, I loved her as much as a roommate can, but sometimes I longed for more.

I wanted somebody I can confide in, tell every one of my heart's desires to; someone who'd stay up with me all night to plan things that'll probably never happen but we do it anyway.
I wanted someone who wanted to be with me, to hang out with me, and who excepts me for who I am.

Maybe I was asking for too much though, because anyone who'd befriend me in the past, did it for the fame. Each time my heart had been let down.

My breath forms a faint cloud of smoke before me, it's wispy tendrils fading just as fast as they came. Fall had crept up on me and punch me in the guts one morning I'd woken up.
There I was, all sandals and tank tops but apparently, Mother Nature had different plans.

I had just turned the corner of a building when I heard an indistinct conversation happening nearby. There was a security booth way off to the edge of the brick pathway that had weeds decorating around it.
Once again, I heard the voice but only louder this time, angrier, and as much as I hated eavesdropping, I couldn't help but gravitate towards it.

"I told you Mother, I'll work harder next time!" A female voice strains. There's a ten second pause.
"We both know I'm taking this seriously! Why the hell would I come to a University if I wasn't!"

The suspension burned me like a hot coal fresh off the fire. I couldn't shrug off my nosey tendencies; I'd inherited them from my own mother.

Peeking slowly around the bend, I notice the same girl I'd gotten into it with at the party. She was plopped down on the itchy grass, plucking at blades furiously. She obviously didn't care for her pantsuit or else she would not run her palms tirelessly over her thighs.

"You're only saying that because Father left and somehow I'm to blame!" She shouts into the phone.

I see her hang it up, throwing it carelessly into her purse before crushing her hands into her eyes.
I watched, astonished at how this strong girl was now bawling her eyes out at the very back of the school, surrounded by bush.

This wasn't right of me; no one would want to be spied on in such a private moment like this. So I did my very best to back away, trying to make as less noise with my red bottoms as possible.
As fate would have it, a rotting stick seemed to be in my pathway and sounded a loud crack, giving away my cover.

"Who's there?" Her voice calls out to the open air.

Crap.

She was totally going to kill me! I never knew I'd die by the hands of a beautiful stranger, secluded from the rest of the world by an abandoned security booth.
Maybe if I ran fast enough she wouldn't even see me! I thought.

Unfortunately, just as my foot received message from my brain to hightail it, she storms around the corner, taken aback.

"You? What the hell are you doing here?" She hisses.

My mind goes completely blank; no words, no sounds, save for the birdsong.
She crosses her arms, waiting for me to explain myself.

"Erm.... well I was just in the area really," I started.

She scoffs, unbelieving. "Little Miss Celebrity going on a random walk and ends up by the old booth? I find that hard to believe."

"Hey, just because my family is rich doesn't mean I'm a snob," I counter.

The constant stereotypes sickens me to my core, leaving no room to myself. The fact that everyone expects me to be some prissy fool because of who my parents are irked me beyond imagination.

She rolls her eyes, relaxing her tense shoulders while flipping her raven hair over her shoulder.
"Whatever. Look, I don't have time for this."

The purse she had dropped off her shoulder as she pushes pass me. Her eyes were puffy and red and she had a runny nose, clear tell-tale signs of someone in distress.
Before she gets too far I call out to her quickly, hoping I was making the right decision.

"Wait up!" It only took several steps to close the gap in between us as I come face to face with her disdain for me.

"I know you don't know me, hell, you probably don't even like me," I begin.
Here she gives me a look that says she agreed with that part.

"But I can't just let you go off like that. Whatever it is you're going through is really eating you up. Do you want to talk about it?"

"I don't even know you," she laughs humorlessly.

"We'll get to know one another," I try again.

"No thanks, I know a lot of people already. My brain is full of names and song lyrics," she retorts, walking away again.

"You sure? Looks like you could use a friend."

I don't know what it was that made me stand here and almost beg to accompany her, but I know a hurting soul when I see one. Those kinds of people you never leave to themselves because their minds will eat them alive, and I mean that.

She faces me, looking skeptical at first but after a short while she sighs.
"Fine. But don't get too comfortable, I don't keep friends long," She chides.

Victoriously, I follow her, mentally patting myself on the back. I tried to contain myself but I'm sure the excitement beamed from me about a mile away.
I couldn't wait to learn all about her.