"Sometimes all you can do is smile. Move on with your day, hold back the tears and pretent you're okay."


ROSE'S POV

The next morning felt like hell.

Rose's head pounded with pain, and she felt sick to her stomach. Callie handed her a cup of coffee, before checking that the blinds were closed completely.

"Having fun now?" Callie asked dryly, plopping down next to Rose. In return, Rose groaned.

Sure I am, you stuck up little b–

"You know, I hope you never do something like that again," Callie sighed, plopping her feet on the coffee table.

"And what if I do?" Rose said snarkily, a headache spreading.

"I guess I'll have to stop you again," Callie replied with a smirk. Rose covered her mouth, vomit making her gag as she ran to the bathroom. Callie followed and held her hair up and away from her face until she was done, uncomfortable to the bone, Rose would guess.

"Do you really think I'm the one who always has fun?" Callie asked, watching Rose with a purpose.

Yes.

"I was wasted," Rose replied, looking away.

"You know it's not true?"

Of course it is, you always get to have everything you want; your dad loves you, you're rich, you're popular. You have guys chasing after you every day, and you can't even see that the best one is staring you right in the face.

"...Well, it looks like it is."

"UGH!" Callie growled, putting her head in her hands. "You always do this! Sometimes things aren't what they look like, Rose! WHY CAN'T YOU SEE THAT?!"

"Oh, stop complaining!" Rose hissed. "Like you have ever had something to worry about. Like you ever lost somebody. Like you weren't dumped in a crappy training program just because your parents wanted nothing to do with you–" Rose stopped for a second to catch her breath. Expecting Cali to respond, Rose readied herself for the biting retort that was soon to come.

"At least you have both parents!" Callie spat, throwing her hands in the air.

"Yeah, well at least you never had to meet your disappointment of a mother! I bet her slutty grace caught the attraction on your dad!" Rose screamed back, and both girls paused, awestruck by the last comment.

KNOCK
KNOCK

"What the fuck–" Callie groaned. "Why is someone knocking at our door?"

"Could be Ikol." Rose suggested. Callie creeped towards the door. Looking through the peephole, she let out a low growl.

"It's you boyfriend." She said flatly.

Boyfriend?

When did I ever-

"Hey, Rose."

Ben stood in the open doorway, dressed in casual jeans and black T-shirt.

"How did you find me?" Rose asked.

Oh my God. He's a stalker, isn't he.

"You gave me your address last night." Ben shoved his hands in his pockets. "So, I came here."

"Listen, buddy." Callie gave Ben a rough shove. "We're not interested. Go the fuck away."

"Woah." He huffed. "Language." Looking back at Rose, Ben smiled. "I was just wondering if you wanted to go out for some coffee."

"Really? Sure, I'd–"

"OH NO." Callie shook her head. "Nope. Nope nopeitty nope. There is no way in hell I am letting you go with this-" She glared at Ben. "Stalker."

"Rose gave me her address!"

"Oh, suuuure." Callie said sarcastically, before slamming the door.

"Callie!" Rose whined. "What the hell! Why'd you do that?"

"Because he's an asshole, Rose!" Callie yelled at her, her hands running through her hair. "Because we're all assholes, and you can't get wrapped up in that stuff!"

"What if I want to?" Rose retorted, determined to win this fight, no matter the cost. "What if I want to have… have sex with Ben, huh? What if I want to get drunk? What's so bad about that?"

Callie shook her head, tears of frustration rolling down her face. She does not make a move to wipe them off. "Because it's awful, Rose."

She had no reply. And Callie kept going, her voice barely above a whisper.

"It's awful. Everyone just lies, and drinks and has sex because it might dull the fact that we're empty inside. And we think we can just change that by doing the same thing over, and over, and over again. And we're just stuck in this loop that we can't escape from, trapped in a… a washing machine of life."

Callie looked up at her maybe-ex-friend, despair and hate and sorrow deeply set in her eyes. "It seems so fun at first," Callie whispered, "but so does everything ugly."

Rose herself was crying, for the first time, for her friend, who was stuck in a world that she hated so much she would stop anyone from joining in. She was crying because she had never asked Callie about her friends, her family, her life. Because Rose had always been focused on her own misery that she didn't even notice it right before her.

"Callie, I'm…" Rose tried to speak, but she was caught on her own words. "I'm just so sad. No one even cares about me." The girl stared at Rose, her hands in fists.

"You are a fucking idiot," Callie declared, running over and throwing her arms around Rose.

And Rose realised that this was her Callie, hers, who was smart and beautiful and would rather die than leave someone behind and was so imperfect and who was her best friend.

How could she have been so mad?

"Hey, I'm still here y'know." A voice came from behind the door.

"Seriously?" Rose managed to muster a laugh. "Please tell me you didn't just hear everything we said."

"Sure did. Anyway, are you still up for coffee?"

Rose gazed out the window, mindlessly watching the people walk by. The place Ben had taken her and Callie (Callie had refused to let Rose go unless she went along with them) was a small, cozy little coffee shop by Central Park. Prints of safari animals were hung out on the walls, next to shelves of labeled coffee beans.

"This place just screams hipster." Callie smirked, taking a sip of her iced tea.

"Well, it's the best place that I know of." Ben retorted. Rose flashed him a small smile before returning her gaze to the street. She liked how the people moved by in unison. It reminded her of ants.

"Can you believe what's been happening?" Ben said, running a hand through his hair. "I mean, who would have guessed we'd have a guy trying to enslave us all."

"It makes sense." Rose finally spoke up.

"What do you mean?" Callie cocked her head, casting a confused glance Rose's way.

"Villians are attracted to heroes. And with the whole Thor thing–" Rose sighed. "It's no wonder Loki's trying to hurt the Earth. Doesn't he hate his brother?"

"Who's Loki?" Ben asked.

He doesn't know.

Of course he doesn't.

He's a civilian.

"Oh my God." Callie's face suddenly went white. "Torrun. We forgot about Torrun."

"Who's Torrun?" Judging by the looks on Ben's face, he was getting even more confused by the minute.

"And they still haven't found his base, or they would have announced it on TV." Rose cupped her face in her hands. "He still has her."

"Has who? Holy shit, did one of your friends get kidnapped?" Ben gulped. "Here, I'll call the police-"

"NO!" Callie swatted at Ben's phone, dropping it into his coffee. "Just don't. Trust me."

"Hey!" Ben exclaimed, anger surfacing. "That was my phone–"

"Oh, buy another one, you pussy," Callie casually dismissed his complaints, grabbing Rose by the upper arm. "We have to get Torrun."