I don't own it.
===Voices Carry===
Unfortunately for the trio, they all shared the same class. Because of Miranda's absence the day before, her average would be hurting if she missed too many classes, so she was sitting rigidly in the front row, the same position she'd been in when Lizzie and Gordo had found her in homeroom.
Lizzie was embarrassed about getting caught with Gordo. Not that crying wasn't okay, not that getting comforted by him wasn't okay, but she as she'd gotten lost in his gentle scent, she'd stopped thinking about Miranda and had started thinking about *him*. Gordo. And how she loved being hugged by him, and how she wished they could do it under different circumstances.
But she wasn't supposed to be thinking things like that. For one thing, it was Gordo, her best friend, and she wasn't interested in him like that. And for another thing, she had to worry about Miranda, and having Gordo hold her and liking him holding her was *not* helping Miranda in the slightest. So she took her usual seat, staring straight ahead, too ashamed to look at either of her best friends.
Gordo was suffering on his own. He was worried about Miranda, he was worried about Lizzie, he was worried about how he'd come across when he'd hugged Lizzie. He'd just been trying to comfort her, but holding her had felt so good...
Miranda hated them both. They were just so damned *caring*! She couldn't take any more of their niceness. Because before long, she would break, and she would tell them everything. Instinctively, she tugged at the sleeves of her sweater. There was no way to safely isolate herself from the both of them, unless she turned on the Bitch Factor, thus severing all ties. And while that was the best option, the safest option, she didn't want to do it.
They were her best friends. And she absolutely loved them. But she didn't want them to know. They *couldn't* know, not ever.
Mrs. Stebel walked into the room, and started a lecture on the Revolutionary War, causing the trio to sit up. Because they couldn't spend time writing each other notes like they always did, their history notes were the most extensive any of them had ever written (even Gordo). Immersing themselves in the pressures of school was easier than succumbing to the other pressures.
As the remaining minutes dwindled, however, Lizzie found her mind wandering. Gordo, Miranda, Miranda, Gordo...she didn't know what to do, not at all. She wanted to focus on one problem, try to fix that, but she didn't know which would be easier to tackle. Did she have feelings for Gordo? What could she even possibly begin to do about that? And why *now*, when Miranda was in trouble and needed Lizzie's full attention?
And if Miranda was in trouble, she certainly wasn't doing much to help Lizzie help her. Now Lizzie wasn't sure how she was supposed to behave around either of her best friends.
The bell rang, jolting the three from their anguished trains of thought, and the room was filled with the rustling of papers as students tried to flee the room before Mrs. Stebel barked out the assignment.
Miranda, in her mad dash out of the room, not only to escape the homework assignment but her two best friends, ended up running straight into Ethan Craft in the hallway. He was tall enough that her forehead bounced off of his collarbone. She grunted, rubbing at the bruise. "Geez."
"Whoa, sorry Miranda! You okay?" Ethan said, peering down at her.
"Ugh," was all Miranda could muster. Then again, what was one more bruise?
"I'm real sorry about that," he said, and when she looked up at him, there was sincerity in his eyes. Why was everyone so damn nice to her all of a sudden? Unable to help herself, she started to cry. Ethan looked alarmed. "I didn't hurt you that badly, did I?" he asked. "You wanna go to the nurse or something?"
Miranda was hiccupping, unable to respond. Ethan took her arm and steered her safely through the crowded hallway, and it was only when they were just reaching the nurse's office door that Miranda found her voice. "I don't need the nurse!" she gasped frantically, suddenly seized by panic. "Really. I'm fine."
"You're crying..." Ethan said helplessly.
"Not because of you," she assured him. "Really. I just...I just got a little overwhelmed, is all. You know? Things have been so hard...and then I just hit my head and it was just too much, is all. I'm sorry. Really. I'm okay." If she said that often enough, maybe she would start to believe it.
He was still looking concerned. "D'ya...d'ya wanna talk about it? Or something? Sometimes if I'm having a bummer day, I go boarding...but you can't skateboard, can you. So maybe you could talk to me. And I could, like, go boarding *for* you."
Miranda wasn't quite sure what to make of Ethan Craft. The guy was pretty, but he was also pretty dumb. But apparently he was also a pretty nice guy. And, God, did she ever need someone to talk to...
She glanced around the hallway. "Not here," she said.
Ethan screwed up his face, interpreting what she was saying. "Well, no, I can't board here...I'd get suspended. Or something."
"No, I mean, we can't talk here. Can I meet you for lunch, and we'll go somewhere private?"
"Yeah, okay," he said.
Miranda smiled, her first sincere smile in quite some time. "Ethan, thanks for everything."
===Voices Carry===
Unfortunately for the trio, they all shared the same class. Because of Miranda's absence the day before, her average would be hurting if she missed too many classes, so she was sitting rigidly in the front row, the same position she'd been in when Lizzie and Gordo had found her in homeroom.
Lizzie was embarrassed about getting caught with Gordo. Not that crying wasn't okay, not that getting comforted by him wasn't okay, but she as she'd gotten lost in his gentle scent, she'd stopped thinking about Miranda and had started thinking about *him*. Gordo. And how she loved being hugged by him, and how she wished they could do it under different circumstances.
But she wasn't supposed to be thinking things like that. For one thing, it was Gordo, her best friend, and she wasn't interested in him like that. And for another thing, she had to worry about Miranda, and having Gordo hold her and liking him holding her was *not* helping Miranda in the slightest. So she took her usual seat, staring straight ahead, too ashamed to look at either of her best friends.
Gordo was suffering on his own. He was worried about Miranda, he was worried about Lizzie, he was worried about how he'd come across when he'd hugged Lizzie. He'd just been trying to comfort her, but holding her had felt so good...
Miranda hated them both. They were just so damned *caring*! She couldn't take any more of their niceness. Because before long, she would break, and she would tell them everything. Instinctively, she tugged at the sleeves of her sweater. There was no way to safely isolate herself from the both of them, unless she turned on the Bitch Factor, thus severing all ties. And while that was the best option, the safest option, she didn't want to do it.
They were her best friends. And she absolutely loved them. But she didn't want them to know. They *couldn't* know, not ever.
Mrs. Stebel walked into the room, and started a lecture on the Revolutionary War, causing the trio to sit up. Because they couldn't spend time writing each other notes like they always did, their history notes were the most extensive any of them had ever written (even Gordo). Immersing themselves in the pressures of school was easier than succumbing to the other pressures.
As the remaining minutes dwindled, however, Lizzie found her mind wandering. Gordo, Miranda, Miranda, Gordo...she didn't know what to do, not at all. She wanted to focus on one problem, try to fix that, but she didn't know which would be easier to tackle. Did she have feelings for Gordo? What could she even possibly begin to do about that? And why *now*, when Miranda was in trouble and needed Lizzie's full attention?
And if Miranda was in trouble, she certainly wasn't doing much to help Lizzie help her. Now Lizzie wasn't sure how she was supposed to behave around either of her best friends.
The bell rang, jolting the three from their anguished trains of thought, and the room was filled with the rustling of papers as students tried to flee the room before Mrs. Stebel barked out the assignment.
Miranda, in her mad dash out of the room, not only to escape the homework assignment but her two best friends, ended up running straight into Ethan Craft in the hallway. He was tall enough that her forehead bounced off of his collarbone. She grunted, rubbing at the bruise. "Geez."
"Whoa, sorry Miranda! You okay?" Ethan said, peering down at her.
"Ugh," was all Miranda could muster. Then again, what was one more bruise?
"I'm real sorry about that," he said, and when she looked up at him, there was sincerity in his eyes. Why was everyone so damn nice to her all of a sudden? Unable to help herself, she started to cry. Ethan looked alarmed. "I didn't hurt you that badly, did I?" he asked. "You wanna go to the nurse or something?"
Miranda was hiccupping, unable to respond. Ethan took her arm and steered her safely through the crowded hallway, and it was only when they were just reaching the nurse's office door that Miranda found her voice. "I don't need the nurse!" she gasped frantically, suddenly seized by panic. "Really. I'm fine."
"You're crying..." Ethan said helplessly.
"Not because of you," she assured him. "Really. I just...I just got a little overwhelmed, is all. You know? Things have been so hard...and then I just hit my head and it was just too much, is all. I'm sorry. Really. I'm okay." If she said that often enough, maybe she would start to believe it.
He was still looking concerned. "D'ya...d'ya wanna talk about it? Or something? Sometimes if I'm having a bummer day, I go boarding...but you can't skateboard, can you. So maybe you could talk to me. And I could, like, go boarding *for* you."
Miranda wasn't quite sure what to make of Ethan Craft. The guy was pretty, but he was also pretty dumb. But apparently he was also a pretty nice guy. And, God, did she ever need someone to talk to...
She glanced around the hallway. "Not here," she said.
Ethan screwed up his face, interpreting what she was saying. "Well, no, I can't board here...I'd get suspended. Or something."
"No, I mean, we can't talk here. Can I meet you for lunch, and we'll go somewhere private?"
"Yeah, okay," he said.
Miranda smiled, her first sincere smile in quite some time. "Ethan, thanks for everything."
