It didn't take us long to get to the aisle we needed to go to. We held hands on the way there to 'assure' Fate's safety. Even though she was freakishly strong, she had no idea how to fight. Seeing that I could at least handle some random guy, I probably seemed safe to her. That's what I liked to think anyway. Once we made it to the aisle to get her new notepad, she quickly picked one out. I assume she had a favorite already in mind. Once we turned to walk out the aisle, someone was in my face. This time it was someone I knew.
"Hello Zoe. I see you are still hanging out with that Dulluhan...Fate if I remember correctly. You two look friendly...on a date with Fate." She then laughed at her own attempt at a joke.
"Hi Laila, no we are just out buying somethings...so you saw me with Fate last night?" This was a pretty important question, I'll explain why in a little while.
"Yes, you two were hitting it off pretty well. You even said some incredible things Zoe. I didn't take you for someone that had so much wisdom...Are you coming to the club tonight?" She asked while slowly backing away from my face. Fate squeezed my hand a bit tighter and it felt like she was tugging on me a little.
"Uhh, no, I have something to do tonight. I'll be there tomorrow though." Hearing that Laila smiled widely. She was probably just happy I would come again.
"I'm looking forward to it, mind if I tag along with you two? Some unpleasant people have been walking around this mall lately and I would feel a lot better having you around Zoe." I just sighed as I felt Fate start pulling me towards her, this time I had to turn down her unsaid plea.
"Sure, I just ran into someone 'unpleasant' so I can understand why." I felt Fate stop tugging on me and instead started squeezing my hand a little too tight. I just dealt with for now. Laila was important to me so I wanted to make sure she was safe. I'll be sure to affirm that I'll continue to take care of her with the best of my ability. Hearing what Laila said earlier made me honestly want to look at those words realistically instead of disbelief now. Again, I'll explain why later.
"We are about to go get some stuff for cleaning and for Fate. You don't mind do you?" Laila just nodded her head and smiled. Now I had a arachnid woman on one side and a dulluhan on the other. Yes, Laila was half spider half human. Otherwise known as an Arachne. She had red hair and was of the smaller variety. She had 6 eyes and a white spider body. Even then she was about my height, has been all our lives. I actually grew up with Laila so she was my childhood friend. She was also the barista at the club I frequented...the club I met Fate at. I always sat at the bar so I knew for certain that Laila heard most of our conversation, she was nosy that way, especially when it came to me for some reason. Honestly she was a bit too curious about me and at one point she was at borderline stalker levels. See, we met back in elementary school and the other kids used to call her big butt. Of course she couldn't help but having a body like that and I didn't like it when they teased the other kids about their bodies. I defended her and a few other kids quite a few times so they all took a liking to me and we hung out although I have to say that Laila spun the most time with me than the others...and still do. We've been through a lot but ultimately she could very well be close to best friend status. Max is still number one however.
We ended up in the hygiene aisle and Fate began gathering the things she needed. Laila began commenting on everything Fate was looking at. At first I didn't really think anything of it but Fate started being more aggressive with the object she was picking up and putting into the cart. When she got to the tampons, Fate crushed the box and I finally decided to say something.
"Hay Laila, you shouldn't be saying things like that. I might not come by tomorrow if you do." Just those words stopped Laila entirely. She got quiet and was obedient for now. Laila is a dear friend of mine and a very important clue to what actually happened last night. I'll ask her about what happened and the promises when Fate is not around.