Hello again! This is a prequel of sorts to "Comfort" which is part of my Hollingstwins series. However, reading that is not necessary in order to understand this.
This is based off of the final frames of 'Don't Look Back.'
The title is based off of a line from "Sister," which is one of Sara Waisglass's poems from her new book "The Art of Breaking Glass." The book is beautiful and I recommend it wholeheartedly.
"So I'm done talking. Bye. Forever."
The words kept echoing in Frankie's ears. Her and Winston were...over? But, that wasn't how it was supposed to work. They were supposed to beat the odds, and be the power couple of Degrassi, even if it meant stealing it from Zig and Maya. They'd go to prom together, and maybe, just maybe, get married a few years later. It was supposed to be picture perfect.
"There's no us anymore."
Frankie knew she had messed up, but she'd honestly thought she was doing the right thing. Logan had made her feel special, and it was all new and exciting. But she'd gotten caught up in his problems, and neglected how important Winston was to her. In the end, she'd lost everything.
Frankie looked around the beach. People were laughing, and enjoying themselves. Zig and Maya were sharing a passionate kiss. That could have been her and Winston. Miles and Zoe were walking together, reveling in each other's attention. That could have been her and Winston. Looking at all of her happy classmates only served to remind her how sad she was. She shouldn't be here, she didn't deserve it, not after all she'd done. Hunter had had the right idea, staying home.
Not wanting to bother one of her older classmates for a ride home, she instead decided to sit down in a spot that was relatively secluded from everyone else. Maybe she could just ride it out here until it was time to leave. She wrapped her arms around her legs and placed her head on her knees. She really didn't want to cry, not here, not now. She didn't want anyone, Winston especially, to see her weak. He'd only tell her it was her own fault.
Zoe had been pulling back lately, Miles knew it. So when she told him she needed to one more thing, he didn't hold his breath about her coming back to him. He knew, in his heart, that they were done, that Zoe truly wanted Grace. Miles understood, he would be lying to himself if he didn't admit he was still into Tristan. In some ways, they both used each other, but it was okay. Zoe had been a nice distraction over the summer, and Miles appreciated that even if they weren't meant to be lovers, he still had a friend in her.
Miles was left to roam the beach, silently rooting for his friend to get the girl, when he saw something that confused him. A curled up figure that looked strangely like his sister. But shouldn't she be out dancing and having the summer of romance she'd refused to shut up about? This certainly didn't look like it. Miles approached her cautiously, kneeling down so he was at her level. He noticed that Frankie was shaking a bit, and he spoke to her, concerned as to what was going on.
"Franks?" She grew nervous at the voice, but when she looked up, seeing it was only Miles, she eased up.
"Hey. Where's Zoe? Shouldn't you be parading yourselves around the beach, making sure everybody knows how happy you are together?" She sounded bitter.
"Nah, Zo and I are just friends. Nothing serious. But what about you? Why are you sitting here alone? I think I saw Chewy over there-"
"Winston and I- we're done. He...dumped me," she said, taking a deep breath so as not to start crying. Miles moved so he was sitting beside her. He'd been afraid of this, ever since the two had gone public. He didn't want to see either of their hearts broken, but it looked like the damage was done, and unfortunately, it was his sister paying the price.
"I'm sorry, Frankie." It was all he could think to say. He'd known Winston was frustrated with his little sister, but he hadn't known it had been so bad he'd decided to break up with her.
"It's okay," she lied, pausing before she continued. "He said it was goodbye forever. He doesn't want anything to do me anymore."
Miles had had his fair share of breakups, but he'd dealt with them in different, quite unhealthy ways. He knew he couldn't offer his little sister a smoke or a drink, so all he could do was put his arm around her in reassurance.
"Do you want me to talk to him?" Frankie contemplated it for a moment, mentally weighing the pros and cons in her mind.
"No, it's okay, thanks though. I don't think I can handle getting hurt again by Winston." Miles nodded, understanding where she was coming from.
"I don't know if it means anything, but you know, Chewy is probably just as upset as you are."
"Then why did he break up with me?" She looked up at him, and as much as Miles wanted to give her an answer, he couldn't.
"I really don't know. Love is a mysterious force," he said, truthfully, his gaze shifting over to a certain raven haired boy before remembering that this was about his sister, not him.
"I'm never dating anyone again." Miles rubbed her shoulder. He couldn't help but smile at the dramatics of her words, even though he felt bad for her.
"Oh come on, I'm sure by next week you'll have swept some other guy off their feet. It's the Hollingsworth charm," he joked with her, to no avail.
"I just wish I could take it all back," she said, sighing as she recounted her summer of mistakes.
"Frankie, you're hardly the first person to have ever made a mistake in a relationship. In fact, welcome to the club." He held his hand out for a high-five, which she halfheartedly returned.
"I thought Winston and I could work through it. But now he hates me," Frankie lamented, drawing a 'W' in the sand. Miles took her arm and gently erased the letter, preventing her from obsessing over it.
"He doesn't hate you. He's known you your whole life. Sooner or later, all of these feelings will fade." Frankie didn't seem to be comforted by that, so Miles tried again, rewording the thought.
"What I'm trying to say is, it might not be okay now. But it will be. I promise. You don't know what the future holds. Maybe someday, you'll find your way back to each other. Or maybe, you'll find someone way better. Either way, you're not going to be sad forever. And Winston isn't going to be upset forever either. Maybe you'll find you work better as friends," Miles told her, and that seemed to help a bit, judging by the slight smile on her face.
"Thanks, Miles. I'm sorry things didn't work out with you and Zoe."
"It's alright." He waved it off. "I'm still here with the greatest, most beautiful girl on the beach." Frankie's smile widened, and the duo felt grateful that through everything that had happened in the past year, no matter what they had lost, they, along with Hunter, had found a sense of sibling love for each other.
The conversation was cut short by music blaring loudly, disturbing anybody who wasn't from Degrassi. Miles watched as Tristan dragged Zoe to the source of the music. For a moment, he'd wished that was him being dragged by Tristan, but there would be plenty of time for that later. Instead, he had a broken hearted sister to watch over. Miles stood up, turning to her and extending his arm.
"May I have this dance, Miss Hollingsworth?" He asked, gesturing towards the stereo surrounded by people. Frankie looked at it hesitantly, but decided that she would have more fun dancing with her brother than moping alone. She took his hand and allowed him to pull her up.
"Why yes, you may, Mr. Hollingsworth." She smiled, and even let out a giggle as he gracefully led her in the direction of Tristan, Zoe, and the rest of their classmates.
Miles may have been surrounded by all his friends, but he was only focused on Frankie. He spun her around gently, determined to show her a good time. And, at least to Miles, it appeared she was having fun. Until they saw him.
Frankie saw Winston first, walking past the group of teenagers, still very obviously upset. She froze in place as the two made eye contact. Winston looked at her like she was a stranger, which only reminded Frankie of her hurting heart.
Miles noticed when Frankie stopped dancing. He turned around, still holding her hand. He nodded awkwardly to Winston before pulling Frankie just a bit closer to him. He wasn't going to hold a conversation with his best friend after he had hurt his sister. He would wait until later, when Frankie was asleep, to talk to him. Winston seemed to get the memo, and walked away, refusing to look back.
"Is this what it's going to be like every time I see him?" Frankie asked her more experienced older brother.
"No. Maybe for a while. But not forever. Everything will be okay. Besides, you have lots of people who love you, you don't need Winston's approval. I mean, look at him. You're out of his league anyway," he said, which made Frankie laugh. "Now come on. We've both taken dance lessons, it'd be a shame to waste that talent."
Frankie nodded in agreement, allowing Miles to twirl her so she was wrapped in his embrace.
"You're a pretty good guy, Miles."
"Yeah? Well, having little siblings will do that to a person," Miles said, a smile wide on his face as he danced, surrounded by some of the people he loved most.
Frankie finally was somewhat at ease, Winston fading from her mind. Her brother had matured so much over the past months, doing everything he could to make sure his family was as taken care of as possible. It was very clear to see why Winston and Miles were best friends.
However, the biggest, and most important difference between the two boys was no matter how many times she messed up, she knew she could always count on Miles to be there for her.
Why isn't there more Miles/Frankie? They're such an underrated duo.
Thanks to everybody who has read, reviewed, favored, or followed. It brightens my day!