Let's meet in front of the Cinema.
12:00 PM.
Don't be late. ;)
I had stared at the text for hours the next morning. Saturday was only four days away, but it felt like a century's worth of waiting. I really wanted to see her again. I couldn't focus on anything else. All my free time was spent either sketching the memory of her face in my sketchpad or contemplating on what to wear for the big day. Then, eventually, the day arrived.
And all I wanted to do was hide.
I didn't realize how nerve-wrecking it would be to meet again. On top of that, my wardrobe was humiliatingly outdated. Besides my uniform, there was nothing new. I didn't want to leave a bad impression with my outfit, or worse, give the wrong impression if I wore anything too revealing. In the end, I had decided on a baby blue Henley, skinny jeans and my usual pair of converse.
Simple. Cute. And it covered the bruises on my wrist.
The bus took me into town. It was a ten-minute drive. I was dropped off at the supermarket, two minutes away from our agreed location.
I arrived just before the city clock hit twelve.
"Bonnie!"
Erin came rushing down the street, two minutes past our meet up time. Not that I cared. I would have waited hours if I had to. So long as I got to see her again.
"Sorry, sorry." she stopped in front of me, bending over to catch her breath. Her hair was tied up in a high ponytail. Gleaming deep black under the sun, just like her bomber jacket. I had never seen her wear it before. It had a dragon designed on the sleeves. She looked up at me with ruby lips that upturned, just like her winged liner. "Sorry for making you wait. I really wanted to be the one to get here first."
"Don't worry," I waved my hands. "I just got here too."
She stood up straight, her eyes glowing like gold. "You look cute today," she scanned my outfit.
My cheeks were burning again. "T-Thank you," I tucked some hair behind my ear. "You look nice too."
She leaned in close, "Just nice?"
"Um," I stuttered. "You look… amazing?"
She nodded with a smile and leaned back, setting her hands on her hips. "Much better."
"So, um…" I cleared my throat. "Should we head in?"
"To the cinema?" She cocked an eyebrow. "The film doesn't start 'till seven."
"Seven?" I blinked. "Then why are we—"
"I thought we'd kill time beforehand. Spend the day together." She pouted. "You said you'd give me Saturday. Don't tell me you made other plans?"
"No!" I blurted. "No, of course not. We can stay out 'till the sun sleeps, if you want."
"Great." Her smile rebloomed before she nodded at something behind me. "Then let's grab a drink. And maybe a snack or two, if you're starving."
"Famished," I joked. She chuckled, taking my hand as we headed down the street.
We stepped into a small café a few blocks away. She guided me to the far back, a table with window a view of an empty alleyway. Not the best in terms of scenery, but I enjoyed the seclusion. The privacy. It made things feel a lot more intimate.
"Order whatever you want. I'm buying." She insisted, handing me a menu she snatched after entering.
"Oh, thank you." I scanned the front page. "Then I'll pay for the tickets."
She opened her own menu. "Already paid for."
"Then," I tried again. "Can I pay for the snacks?"
Her eyes flicked up at me and she smirked before she said, "sure" and returned to her menu.
Seconds of silence passed as she contemplated on what to choose. I decided on the cheapest item on the list, Oolong Tea, and spent the rest of the time thinking of an icebreaker. I wasn't sure how to start a conversation with her. I didn't really know anything about her. Nothing but her passion for music.
Maybe I should start there?
"So, when did you—"
"Alrighty, kids." The waitress dropped in, interrupting the conversation before it could even begin. "What can I get you two? We've got some really great specials today. The bakery's also available for—"
"Strawberry Rose Tea," Erin slapped her menu shut and held it up to the waitress.
"So, the usual." The waitress took her menu and smiled, as if she was waiting for praise after remembering that single fact. But Erin only looked at me.
"I'll, uh," I closed my menu and handed it over to the waitress. "I'll have the oolong tea."
"No she won't." Erin looked up at the waitress. "Two Roseberry's."
"No, no, I'm fine with just the oolong—"
"Cheese foam on both," Erin insisted. The waitress frowned, taking our menus before turning back to the counter. I was almost sure I caught her glaring at me on her way back, but I was too afraid to check and confirm.
I might be receiving a lot of glares today.
"You really didn't need to do that."
"We're here to have fun, remember?" She laced her hands on top of the table, like a business woman in a board meeting. "We can't exactly do that if you're worrying about money the whole time."
"I just don't want you to waste any—"
"It's not a waste. It's an investment." She leaned forward, "I'm investing in our friendship. What's so wrong with that?"
"Well, nothing but…"
"But you're scared you can't afford to invest as much?" She guessed. It was dead on. "I got that impression when you tried paying me off for that ride to school."
I stared at my lap, "I just don't want to disappoint you."
She leaned over the table, trying to catch my eyes again. It worked. They zipped to her without hesitating. "I'm not expecting you to offer me anything in return, Bon. What you're doing is already enough."
I lifted my head, "it is?"
"Definitely," She sat back. "So long as you keep me company with less pouting and way more smiling."
I chuckled. "So you're paying for my smile?"
"Yes ma'am," she chuckled back. "I mean, it's a gorgeous smile. Who wouldn't pay to see it?"
I covered my lips to stifle a laugh. Strangely enough, the awkward tension was slowly diminishing without any effort on my part.
"What were you planning on asking me earlier?" She folded her hands on the table again, curiosity beaming through her eyes. "You know, before we got interrupted."
I clasped my hands on my lap. They suddenly felt very clammy. "Oh, it was nothing really. I just thought I'd ask more about your history with music. Like, what ignited your passion? How did you form your band?"
She sat upright, eyes practically glowing as she started, "Well, it's actually a really weird story. But it all started with our bassist player, Nate—"
"Erin!" The shriek of her name was followed by a pair of girls rushing to our table. They were giggling excitedly, shaking clasped hands against their chests. One of them was wearing a black tee with the band logo, BlackNest. "I can't believe you're here! I thought you hated traveling downtown?"
Erin turned her body to them, smiling. "Only when it's crowded."
"You should have told us! We could have all met up!"
"Yeah, yeah! When can we hang out again?" Said one girl in a fitted, burgundy tank. Twirling her curled, bubblegum hair. "I had so much fun with you last time," she slid her hand on Erin's shoulder, sneaking a quick glance at me. As if she were marking her territory, trying to intimidate me.
Sadly enough, it was working.
"Why don't we do a raincheck?" Erin suggested awkwardly. "I'm kind of booked all week. Today especially."
Both girls looked over at me. They forced a quick smile before they returned to Erin and nodded, "call us when you've got the time." One of them said, but I wasn't sure which one. I had shifted my attention to a stray cat wandering the alley behind our window.
"Sure, sure." Erin said as the girls waved goodbye and left. I waited for the bell at the front door to jingle before I could exhale. Erin did the same, but much louder in relief, "Sorry about that."
"Don't be," I returned to her. "You've got fans. That's a good thing."
"Yeah, I guess. I just wish they wouldn't hover so much."
"Well you better get used to it. I'm sure you'll have plenty more down the road…" My heart twinged at the realization of her soon-to-come success. "You'll be big and famous someday. You won't have any time to go out on outings like this in the future."
She chuckled, "I've still got a long way to go before that."
"Maybe not that long," I tried to smile, but the idea of her disappearing completely someday was a hard truth to swallow. "If I were you, I'd avoid getting too close to fans. It could cause a scandal. You wouldn't want that following you around."
"What do you mean?"
I shrugged. "It just seems like you spend a lot of time going out with, you know, fans like me…" My cheeks were burning up again. I wasn't sure where I was going with this anymore, but my disappointment was seeping through in the most obvious way. "Not that I'm not grateful. Out of all the people you could have called today, I feel really lucky you picked me."
"Bonnie, that's not why I—"
"Two Roseberry tea's," The waitress returned, setting our drinks in front of us before she drew out two straws from her apron and set them in the center of the table. "Cheese foam on both."
"Thank you," I smiled at her. I received another glare in return before she flashed Erin a smile and returned to her work.
"Thank you again for the drink," I smiled at Erin and reached for a straw. Erin was quick to catch my hand, seizing my attention again. A serious gaze held mine.
"Bonnie, I didn't invite you out here as a fan," she gently squeezed my fingers. "I invited you because I wanted to get to know you. I want us to be friends."
I gaped at hazel eyes. The only word I could muster up after seconds of nothing was, "Oh," before I pulled away with the straw in my hand.
"So open up a little." she took her own straw and leaned back. "You could start by explaining to me why you're enrolled at literally the worst school in this entire town?"
"It's not the worst," I ripped the top of the paper encasement and pulled out the straw to dump into my glass. "It's definitely not the best, but... it's a decent school."
"It's practically Hell on Earth," Erin commented after putting her straw into her own drink. "And I can say that, because I speak from experience. Why do you think I dropped out?"
"You dropped out?" I blinked. "Wait, you were enrolled at St. Maria's?"
"For a year," she admitted before she took a sip of her tea. "But everyone hated me there. Teachers included," she shrugged.
"I don't believe that. I mean, how could anyone hate you?" The words came out on their own. A big smile bloomed on her face.
"I'm glad you appreciate my awesomeness, but unfortunately, they couldn't appreciate it. I'm no saint either, that's for sure. If a girl even looked at me the wrong way or said something that pissed me off, I always took it out on her face."
"You were involved in fights?" I gaped. But that actually didn't seem all that unimaginable. Erin was pretty intimidating. I could see her as the type that would snap at someone if you pushed her too far.
"More like, I finished the fights. The whole school practically ostracized me because I refused to wear the girls uniform. But I wasn't going to be caught dead in those skirts. Not in those cold ass rooms." She shrugged again, "Plus, they assumed I was going through a punk-rock phase. Not my fault they weren't a fan of the genre."
"But didn't that stir up trouble at home? Weren't your parents upset?"
Erin's face went stiff. Her hands drew back from the table as she slouched in her chair. "Not really. Dad left before I was born. Mom bounced when I was seven."
"Oh," I paused after walking straight into a mine-field. I wasn't sure what I should or shouldn't say. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to—"
"Don't stress it," she smiled. It was obviously forced, but I pretended not to notice. "What about you? Little miss academia. What did your folks say about you coming out here today?"
"No folks," I shook my head. "Never met my dad either. My mom, uh…" it was hard to explain. The words felt like lumps in my throat. They didn't want to come out just yet.
"No mom either?" She finished for me. I nodded. That was the most I could do for now. "Well, not exactly the kind of thing I was hoping we'd have in common, but—" she lifted her drink to me, "huzzah to… orphanhood?"
I stifled a laugh. "Sure," I lifted my glass and tapped it against hers. "Huzzah."
"Huzzah!" She exclaimed again before bringing the glass to her lips for a quick sip. I did the same with mine, burying my upper lip into cheese foam.
I squeaked. The combination of sweet and saltiness surprised me in the best way. I set my cup down, covering my lips with an open hand. "It tastes incredible."
"Well, obviously. I have impeccable taste after all—" Her eyes dropped, squinting at something before she looked up at me. Furrowing her brows. "What happened there?" She nodded to my arm. It took me a second to realize she was referring to the bruises on my wrist. I quickly covered it with my sleeve and set my hand on my lap.
"Nothing," I lied. "I can be clumsy sometimes. I bruise easily."
Erin tilted her head back, nodding slowly. "Oh," I could tell she wasn't buying it, but she was kind enough to pretend like my lie was convincing enough to let the subject go. "I guess we'll have to be extra cautious today. I wouldn't want to send you home all bruised up."
"Right," I nodded.
We finished our drinks quickly after that. Erin took out her wallet and left some cash on the table before she got out of her seat and offered me her hand again.
"We still got loads to explore before that film starts. You up for it?"
I thought it was silly of her to even ask. Honestly, I would have taken her hand and followed her anywhere that evening. Out of state. Out of the country. Off the planet. Anywhere. So long as she held onto me, I wasn't afraid to go wherever she guided me.
"Sure," I took her hand.
And like that, we went off on an afternoon adventure.