Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
｡･:*:･★,｡･:*:･ﾟ☆
I WOKE UP THE NEXT MORNING TO THE FRONT DOOR SLAMMING, heavy boots storming up the stairs, Effy cussing as she walked past my room. I realized she'd reached her bedroom when she slammed the door, the loud bang causing me to get up, wondering what the fuck was going on. "Effy!" I shouted through the wall, sliding on my slippers as I shuffled out the room, heading outside Effy's bedroom door. "Effy? What's the hell is wrong with you?" I called through the door, and she clearly wasn't happy to hear me either. "Fuck off Aurora!" She yelled through the wood, yet I continued banging on the door, until finally, she swung the door open, staring at me as if she was plotting my murder. "What the fuck? I don't wanna talk." I smiled, shoving past her, sitting on her bed as she stood cross-armed, clearly wanting me out of her room. But I wasn't planning on moving. Something had pissed her off, and usually, Effy was never this angry.
"Come on Eff. Out with it. Who pissed you off?" I ask, and she closed the door, which I figured meant she was going to talk. "Pandora." I look at her wide-eyed, completely confused. "Pandora is the reason you're slamming doors and being an asshole?" Effy sighed dramatically as she sat on her desk chair, swaying slightly as she began to explain. "I went to see Pandora. To apologize. After what you said. And when I got there, I saw Cook and Pandora, him touching her up, her kissing him. He stayed. They fucked." I had nothing to say as she told the story, I was shocked, which led to her carrying on. "She said before that we're friends because you don't surf and turf my men. Instead, she made some stupid comment about something else and-" She trailed off, making me curious. "What? A comment about what?" She glanced around the room, avoiding eye contact with me as she spoke. "Nothing important. But she said I know nothing about her! And even when I said sorry, it wasn't enough. And that's when Thomas arrived-" This time I interrupted her. "What? Thomas is back. After she just had sex with Cook? No way." She shook her head, almost laughing, yet I could hear just how pissed she was. "I did call you, but you didn't answer?" She said, and that's when I realized I'd left my bag at Pandora's. "Shit. Looks like I'll be paying Panda a visit too." Effy nodded, mumbling something about how she had stuff to do, and so I left her room, heading to my own to get ready.
I knew I had a lot of other stuff to do today, like tidy my room, do my English coursework, and now go to Pandora's was on the list. I couldn't even call her to say I was coming, so I'd awkwardly end up standing on the doorstep, afraid if I knocked I'd have to speak to her mum. But I'd worry about that then. For now, I had to get dressed. I grabbed my mom jeans, putting on a small black halter neck crop top type thing, grabbing my leather jacket and chunky leather boots before rushing out the house, not a word to my mum who sat in the kitchen, sipping her tea.
When I closed the door behind me, I realized that I hadn't eaten yet; my tummy rumbling, trying to tell me to eat. I headed to my local Tesco's, grabbing an all-day breakfast sandwich, before heading to Pandora's, walking down the road bored. I had no music, no phone, and no one to keep me company. After what felt like hours, I finally got to Panda's house, finishing my sandwich as I arrived. Luckily for me, when I got to her house she was already outside, emptying the bins. She made eye contact with me and looked incredibly surprised to see me. And possibly scared; maybe she thought I would yell at her like Effy.
"Hey," I spoke quietly, and she smiled softly, clearly not having the best of days. "You okay?" I asked, and she nodded. "I'll be fine. What are you doing here Rory?" She asked, shuffling closer to me in her slippers. "I'm actually here for my phone, I left it here last night, I would have called you but you know, no phone." I laughed, trying to break the awkwardness between us, and she led me inside her house, which was a lot tidier than I remembered from last night. "Cook helped me. You know, with the mess." She said, answering my thoughts before I could even ask. "And some other things, from what I've heard." I giggled, and for a moment she looked ready to defend herself, so I reassured her I wasn't attacking her. "Before you panic and have a fit, I'm not here to defend Effy or anything. I'm just messing around with you." She sighed in relief as I spoke, leading me upstairs to find my bag with my phone. "I still can't believe you lost it to Cook." I giggled softly, and she shook her head. "He was such a dreamboat. Nice, actually. Played twister as well, we had a Whizzer time!" I laughed at how innocent she was, laughing at her excitement over twister once again. "Then this morning, Effy saw him leave and was yelling. I told her how Cook wasn't hers. Cook would never be anyones. That's why she doesn't really want him, he's not the one she really wants." I realized as she spoke that this must have been the comment Effy was reluctant to tell me. Last time I checked, Effy only wanted Cook. Guess I'm out of the loop. "Who does she really want?" I asked, wondering if Pandora would actually tell me, or if she'd need convincing. Yet she came out with it like it wasn't even a secret at all. "Freddie, obviously."
My brain froze for a moment, not quite taking in what Pandora had said. "Sorry, what did you say? 'Cause for a second there I thought you said Freddie..." I trailed off as it sunk in, Pandora nodding as I spoke. "Yeah, Freddie. Effy doesn't wanna admit it, but it's true. She knows Cook isn't hers. Maybe now she's seen him here, she'll go for Freddie." I nod slowly, picking up my bag as I thought over everything she just said. Effy. And Freddie. Oh god.
"You got your bag?" Panda asked, and I snapped out of my thoughts, holding up my little bag proudly, pulling my phone out to see missed calls and unanswered texts. Oh well. For now, all I could think about was Effy and Freddie. Effy usually gets what she wants, which worried me. I like Freddie. A lot. And I don't think I'd be okay if Effy began dating him. But at the same time, Effy would be so mad if she knew what happened between us.
"Panda, I gotta go," I said, rushing out of her house, all these thoughts making my head all dizzy. I heard her call out after me, but I kept going, rushing down the streets till I was safely alone, before slumping down against a wall, feeling as though I was about to vomit. My eyes welled up, overthinking and worrying, probably for nothing. As I controlled my breathing, feeling the nausea fade away, I stood up, running a hand through my hair, wondering what to do now. I didn't want to go home and face Effy, but I had homework to do, and as much as I usually wouldn't care, I was actually trying to pass English. But I couldn't do anything about it now, so instead, I decided to go to my old spot, on the roof of the shopping center car park, which was only a short bus ride away. It was where I went when I needed an escape. No one else knew about it. As far as I was aware, anyway.
When I got there it was empty, as usual. No car bothered to go up to the top floor, ever. Which meant it was reserved for me. I looked over the railings, gazing over at all the buildings, which now seemed so small. The college. My house. Even Pandora's. All so tiny I could squish them with my finger. I wish. I laid down on the floor, in my own parking space, headphones in as I focused on nothing but the clouds, a tactic I learned when I was younger to help keep calm; relax my mind.
What I didn't expect was to wake up on that same cold concrete floor hours later, the clouds disappearing into the night sky. I looked out at the purple and blue hues in the sky, grabbing a joint from my bag and lighting it as I checked my phone, seeing a few missed calls from my mum. I called her back, letting her know I'd be home soon, before booking an uber, instructing him to pick me up on the top floor of the garage. While I waited, I checked my messages, seeing a most recent one from Freddie.
TO RORY EFFY CAME OVER WANTED TO SEE THE SHED? FROM FREDDIE
A car horn interrupted my thoughts, tearing my eyes away from my phone to the uber in front of me. Rolling my eyes, I strutted up to the uber, clearly not in the mood as I hopped inside. "Aurora?" The driver asked, and I mumbled a 'yes' as I nodded, not really wanting a conversation, which I'm sure he could sense. He began driving, without uttering another word, leaving me to my thoughts as I looked out the window.
Effy made her move. Her pass at Freddie. Subtle, yet its intentions were clear, at least for a Stonem. Effy barely tried, it was rare. But when she made an effort, it was always subtle. Simple. You'd never even know, she'd just draw you in without looking like she made any effort at all. Except for a Stonem, it was easy to spot. I could always tell when Effy had concocted a plan, or when she was up to something.
