sorry for the ending. i'm dead.
692 words, by google docs
Abby finds Leah laying in the grass, hair splayed out on the fresh green hill, right outside their school.
"Leah?" she asks. It's a way of testing the waters, to see if she'll respond, to see if Abby will be accepted.
Leah turns her head, and her eyes narrow when she sees Abby standing there. Without asking, Abby lays down right next to her.
"I'm sorry," Abby says, looking up at the sky. It's a clear blue, with fluffy clouds rolling lazily around it.
"For what?" Leah asks. She doesn't snap at Abby for laying down, which she's thankful for. Abby turns onto her side after watching to clouds for a moment longer. She can see Leah's chest raising and lowering.
"Stealing Nick from you."
The sentence hangs in the air for a moment, before Leah pierces it with a crisp laugh.
"You think you stole Nick from me," she notes. She doesn't look at Abby but continues to stare up at the sky.
"Yeah. I mean, I'm new and then he liked me instead of you," Abby sputters, trying to explain. She doesn't mean that it's like Nick's some type of object; he's a human, she knows. She knows a little bit about humans being treated like objects.
"You think I liked Nick," Leah deadpans. Abby falters.
"Well, yeah. You didn't?"
"No."
They're quiet for a couple of moments. Abby has no clue what to say.
"I mean, we hooked up once, in freshman year, but it never clicked," Leah says, breaking the screaming silence. "We've been friends for years. Nothing more. It never felt right."
"Oh." Abby doesn't know what to say. What can she say? She falls back onto her back, staring up at the sky again. "Does Simon know?" she asks, watching a fluff of clouds pass by. If she squints hard enough, it almost looks like Bieber.
"We never told him, but it's not like we lied to him. Simon's just…" Leah trails off, and Abby knows how she feels.
"Simon," she says, filling in the gap.
"Oblivious," Leah corrects.
"Same thing," Abby points out. She turns her head again, and she can see dimples on Leah's cheeks. "Why do you hate me, then?" she asks, turning her head back to the sky. There's a cloud that Abby can almost manipulate into looking like the drums Leah played at the talent show. Almost.
"I don't hate you." Leah's voice sounds rough, dry.
"Then what's your deal?"
Abby's question is unanswered, but she can hear Leah give a deep sigh.
"I'm not jealous of you and Nick," Leah says. "I'm really not."
"But?" Abby prompts, turning on her side once again, away from the sky and towards Leah.
"But I did have a crush on someone that made me upset at you," Leah admits. Abby can see her cheeks suck in.
"Who? Simon?" Abby asks, raising her eyebrows.
"Oh, God, no," Leah says. She still doesn't turn to face Abby, but Abby can still see her eyebrows go up. "Simon's like my dorky brother. Emphasis on dorky."
Abby chuckles. "Who, then?" she asks.
Leah takes a deep breath, before turning so that she and Abby are face-to-face. If Abby moves a tiny bit forward, their noses would be touching.
"You," Leah says, her breath hitting Abby's nose.
The single word lingers in the air. It's almost tangible. Abby breaks the silence.
"Oh. You're—"
"Yeah." They're quiet again before Leah turns back to face the sky. "I guess Simon was right," she says, giving out a nervous-type of laugh. "You are easy to come out to."
"Have you told anyone else?" Abby asks. She's still staring at Leah. She's not really sure what she's thinking because she's not sure what to think.
"Nope," Leah says, popping the 'p'.
Abby slowly sits up. Her mind is racing, but it also seems to be frozen, at the same time.
"Okay," she says, rubbing her eyes. "I should probably go and—" Leah nods as Abby stands up.
She knows that it's not much of a goodbye, but she can't even form a sentence right now. She has no idea what to think.