Title – What you leave behind
Rating - PG-13, just to be on the safe side.
Summary – Abby, John and Susan as teenagers. What happens when Abby moves?
Disclaimer – I don't own anyone
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"Abby! We have to get going. You know how Susan can get when someone's late!" John says, knocking on the bathroom door.
"I'm coming!" I reply, as I take one last look in the mirror before opening the door.
"Well, that's about time. I thought-" but then he turns around and stops talking. He just stares at me making me feel uncomfortable. Is there something on my face or something?
"What?" I ask him, but I don't get a reply. I shrug my shoulders and grab him by his arm, dragging him out of the room.
"Let's go. You said yourself Susans can get very unpleasant"
"Yeah, I mean.. Yeah let's go" he finally speaks, and he willingly follows me out of his room and closes the door behind him. I look down the staircase and I see his mom in the kitchen. I'd rather not talk to her right now. John comes to stand next to me and points at his mother and then he puts his finger on his lips, signalling me to be quiet. I nod my head, telling him I understand, and then we go down the stairs, as quiet as possible, getting out of the door unnoticed. We both breathe a sigh of relieve. I think we both didn't want to get another third degree by his mother since the last one we had this morning, and I also think we both know we're getting a third degree by-
"Hey Susan" I hear John say, pulling me out of my thoughts. I look over at the fence where Susan's sitting waiting for us.
"Finally you guys! I've been sitting here for almost 10 minutes you know"
"Yeah sorry about that" John says. "My mom's home and we had to sneak out. I really don't want to talk to her after this morning"
"Why? What happened?" Susan asks, suddenly intrigued, looking from John to me and then back at John.
"We'll tell you later. I think we better away from the house right now" I jump in, seeing as we're still discussing this in front of his house.
"Good point" John says. "Let's get our bikes quickly and let's go"
"Ehmm.. about the bike.." Susan says, raising her eyebrow at me, while John goes around the house to get the bikes.
"Owh right, I took your bike..." I say, remembering that now. But then.. "Did you walk here?"
"Yeah I did" Susan says with a painful look on her face, but quickly changes that when she sees the guilty on my face "…but that's alright, I could use the exercise. It's just that we're one bike short now"
"No, that's alright. Abby can get on my bike with me" John says, bringing both his and Susan's bike around
"I bet she can" Susan says, winking at John and me, before she gets on her own bike and races away. I look at John and smile, before I quickly jump on his carrier and we head after Susan.
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The rest of the morning went by pretty quickly. We went to a diner to get some breakfast and we talked about everything that had happened. I felt so good to be with the three of us again, just talking and laughing, not a care in the world. But we all know we had to get serious some time. Susan decides to talk about it first.
"So, what's going to happen now? Are you and Eric going back to Minnesota?"
"I don't know" I say. I really don't know what to do next. "I mean, I know I can't stay here forever, but I don't want to go back to Minnesota and to Maggie"
I look at them and they look at me with sympathy in their eyes, but I also know there's nothing they can do. We're all silent for a minute, as if we're all looking for a solution for my problems.
"You know.." Susan says suddenly, with a smile on her face.
"What?" John and I say in unison.
"Tonight is the dance. You should at least go there"
"No I can't" I say, before she gets all happy about it. I mean, I want to go to the dance. I've been looking forward to it for about a month now, but I can't.
"Why not?" Susan asks.
"Well, I can't leave Eric alone and I can't leave him at Ellen's for another night. I don't want him to be a burden. And also, I don't have a dress, so it's all not a good idea"
Susan thinks about this for a second. Her face lights up when she finds a solution.
"I can watch Eric. I don't have a date anyway. I mean, I was going with John, but I'm pretty sure he'd much rather go with you, and, no offence John, but I'm sure Abby'd rather go with you than I do, so.."
I think about it for a second. Would there still be a chance after all to go to the dance with John?
"But what about my dress? It's in Minnesota and I can't just go and get it and I don't have enough money on me to buy a new one"
"We're the same size right? You can wear mine. I'm not going to be using it anyway. It would be a shame to let a perfectly good dress go to waste" Susan says, now very happy, convinced she'd found a solution for all of the obstacles that are keeping me from going to the dance with John. I look from her to John, who hasn't said much, but looks back at me with a smile on his face.
"It could be fun" he says to me, smiling a cheeky grin.
"It wίll be fun! Come on, Abs!" Susan buds in again, almost bouncing in her seat. I smile at that. She really is a great friend that she wants to do all this for me.
"Are you sure it's alright with you?" I ask her, but I already know the answer.
"It's more than alright with me. You have to go, together. Please? For me?" she smiles at John and me.
"Okay, let's do it" I say, smiling from ear to ear. I can't believe I'm going to the dance with John. This is going be so great!
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Susan and I are standing outside the diner waiting for John to come out. He insisted on paying the check, since his parents are paying for him, and he had to use the restroom. I guess this is Susan's first chance to speak to me alone, which she uses immediately.
"So, tell me what happened last night! I've been dying all day to hear it" she asks me enthusiastically, apparently expecting a lot of exciting stories. I look at her and smile.
"Not much. I went to his house and we talked and then I fell asleep on his bed and then you called and- yes, I was awake" I add, as I see her confused look, "only John thought I was asleep so don't tell him. But anyway, he thought it was best if I stayed asleep so I stayed there last night and tomorrow we woke up, I took a shower and we went outside to see you. The rest you know"
"Yeah, okay, well that's all great Abs, but are you telling me that nothing happened? You just slept there?"
"Yeah, well, we slept together on his bed" I say, feeling a blush creeping on my cheeks as I think about last night, sleeping next to John.
"See! You're blushing! Tell me, what happened?"
"It was nothing, really Suz! We just slept. It's actually-" I begin to say, but then I change my mind. I don't know if I should talk about it.
"It's what? You can tell me" she says, seeing the hesitation in my eyes.
"It's just, I don't know, weird, I guess. I mean, we've been friends forever and now, I mean, I know how he feels and he knows how I feel, and technically we're together, but.."
"But what?" Susan ask, intrigued
"We haven't kissed okay?" I say, throwing my hands up in the air. I sigh and look at Susan. "It's like we both don't know what to do. I mean- no Susan, we know how to kiss" I say, as I see Susan raising her eyebrow at me "it's just… awkward, right now"
"Well, I wouldn't worry about that too much. I know for sure you both like each other and since you're going to the dance tonight..." she stops there. There's no need for her to paint the whole picture. I know what she means and I know she's right. We just have to wait for the right moment, and what is a better moment then a dance, right?
"You're right, thanks Suz" I say, and I reach over and give her a hug.
"Susan's right? Well, there's a first time for everything, right?" John says teasingly as he walks out of the diner.
"Yeah well, you'd be surprised" Susan replies with a devilish smile, which makes John look at me. I just shrug my shoulders, staying out of this.
"Well anyway" John changes the subject "what are the plans for now?"
"Okay well, Abby has to go see Ellen. She's taking my bike to get there, so I was hoping you could take me home on your bike" Susan looks at John, who nods his head 'yes'. "And after that, Abby and Eric'll come over to my house and I help Abby to get ready for tonight, so you can pick her up at my place say around… 8 o'clock?" she looks at John questioningly.
"Yeah, that's fine with me" John says, smiling at me. God, that smile. When he looks at me like that, I can do nothing but smile back at him. We must look really dorky. Susan apparently notices, since she clears her throat, getting our attention.
"As I was saying" she continues, smiling at the look on our now tomato-red faces, "after the dance Abby can probably sleep over at your place for one more night, and then in the morning she can come to my place to get Eric"
I look from Susan to John and then back to Susan. I though we'd agreed for me to go to her place after the dance. Why did she change her mind? I look at her questioningly, but she just smiles back at me and gives me a wink, before looking at John.
"Sounds like a plan?"
"Sure" John says, looking over at me, silently asking me if I'm okay with it. I nod my head.
"Okay then, great!" Susan says happily. "Well, Abby, you have to go to Ellen now. I'll see you and Eric later at my house"
"Yes, see you later" I say, looking at her and then at John. "See you tonight" I say to him shyly.
"See you then" he says to me, and then I jump on Susan's bike, heading over to Ellen, leaving Susan and John behind.
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It's almost 5 when Eric and I arrive at Susans house. I talked with Ellen and she said it was best for me and Eric to go home. I told her about the dance and how Eric could stay with Susan tonight. Ellen agreed that was a good plan, but I had to promise her to go back to Maggie tomorrow, and although I really don't want to go back, I know I have to. Ellen also said she'd give Maggie a call about Eric's and my whereabouts. I'm fine with that. I'm just glad I don't have to talk to her myself. I knock on Susans door and when she opens it Eric practically jumps in her arms. I guess he's missed her.
"Come on in" Susan says to me and Eric. Once inside Eric and I put our stuff down in the hallway.
"How are you Eric?" Susan asks him. "You look like you've grown a bit"
"I guess" he shrugs his shoulders. "Is Chloe home?" he then asks. Whenever I had to go to Susan and I didn't want to leave Eric alone I took him with me to play with Chloe. They get along great, which was very convenient for both me and Susan.
"Chloe's in her room. I'm sure she'll be happy to see you" Susan says with a sweet smile, just before Eric storms op the stairs to Chloe's room. Susan and I look after him, smiling.
"I think he's missed her" I say.
"Well, I'd say so" Susan laughs, before we pick up Eric's and my bags and we disappear in Susan's room. Susan immediately walks into her closet to get the dress. I remember us picking out the dresses and I remember her dress. It's very beautiful. It's a strapless, light blue, long dress. Susan gets out and holds it out to me. Jep, just as I remember it. I still can't believe I'm going to the dance tonight. I'm actually nervous about it.
"Well, don't just stare at it… try it on!" Susan's voice brings me back to world. In my mind I was already dancing with John. I smile shyly at her for zoning out once again, before I disappear behind the screen in the corner of her room. I loose al my clothes and then carefully slide into the dress. I'm so lucky that Susan and I are the same size. It fits me perfectly. I just hope it looks as good on me as it does on Susan, who looks beautiful in it. I step around the screen and walk over to the mirror. I can't believe what I see. I actually look good in a dress, if I must say so myself. I usually don't wear dresses but for this one time I'll make an exception. I look around for Susan but she's not in the room anymore. I didn't even hear her leave. Ah well, she'll be back. I look in the mirror one more time and make a small pirouette, causing my dress to spread out at the bottom. I hear a small squeak of, what I hope is delight, behind me as Susan walks into the room with two big glasses of coke.
"Do you like it?" I ask her. I'm curious to what she thinks. Her opinion is very important to me.
"God, Abby, of course I like it! How could I not? You look beautiful" Susan replies enthusiastically. I can feel a deep blush creeping up my cheeks.
"The only thing I don't like is that you look better in my dress then I do" she adds.
"No, that's not true" I say quickly, and I mean it. I like the dress on me, but Susan looks just gorgeous in it.
"Well, it doesn't matter anyway. Tonight this is your dress and it looks great on you. Seriously, I think John's going to faint when he sees you" she jokes.
"God, I hope not" I say laughing.
"You just have to put these on" Susan says, and she hands me the heels that I'm supposed to where under the dress. I put them on. I normally don't wear heels, so they're not very comfortable, but I guess I have to wear them. I walk around a little bit and I can feel my feet already.
"I'm not sure if these heels are such a good idea" I say to Susan, feeling sorry for my feet already.
"No, of course not, but you have to wear them. Beauty comes with a price" she says smiling at my painful face.
"Yeah well, beauty is overrated anyway" I say as I take them off. "Why do I have to wear them anyway? You can't even see them my dress is so long"
"True, but they look really beautiful on you and all other shoes you have are your sneakers, so…"
I look in the corner of the room and see my sneakers standing there. I've had them for about a year and they're very comfortable, but they don't go well under the dress.
"Fine" I sigh, as I put the heels back on. "I better start practicing now" and with that I start walking around in Susans room. Still two hours to go before John comes to pick me up, and I'm already nervous as hell. I hope everything is going to be great tonight.
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A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update. Mayor writers block and lack of time. This was supposed to be a longer chapter, but I decided to chop it into half. I'll try to finish the next one as soon as possible, but since my school started again yesterday, I can't promise anything. Also, English isn't my first language, so I'm sorry for any mistakes. I have tons of ideas for this story, but getting them on paper (so to speak) is not that easy. I hope you'll bear with me. Let me know if you liked it or if you have any suggestions. Thanks!