The door opened to reveal a very disheveled and tired-looking Georgia. Despite her appearance, smiled when she saw it was Fiona; however, the smile fell when she noticed the sullen look on her face and immediately held her arms out. Her new friend threw herself into the embrace. Georgia walked them backwards so she could close the door. She gave Fiona a few minutes to calm her sniffling before holding her out at arm's length.
"What happened?" she demanded.
Fiona scoffed once before answering, "I don't even know where to begin. I guess I kind of have good news and…weird news."
Georgia could only look confused at this, "well, then let me make us some tea. You go on into the living room and then I let you tell me all about, okay?"
Fiona gripped her own arm and nodded, her eyes on the floor. "Okay. Thank-you."
Fiona placed herself sideways on the couch with her knees brought; she had to wait a minutes for her friend to return, and she spent the time criticizing the interior design while she knocked her knees together like a scolded child.
When Georgia plopped herself on the end of the couch, she spoke but kept her eyes on the far wall, "I wish I knew what is wrong with me. Why can't I just be normal for once?"
Georgia scoffed. "What is normal anyway? A bunch of heteronormative people conforming to some vision of what people should be despite the blatant repercussions this stifled existence has on society." Her skyward rant was emphasized with hand gestures.
Fiona looked at her through narrowed eyes; her mouth was had opened just a little bit. "What…? This is about me remember?"
"I know. I know. What I'm saying is you shouldn't feel bad about not being like everyone else, they call themselves normal but they suffer for it. So you're a little more sensitive than most people—so what? I guarantee you that you'll get more out of life than those other people." She nodded primly before taking an elegant sip of her tea. Fiona wondered if she was starting to hallucinate now, of all things.
"Okay, so being sensitive may not necessarily be a bad thing, but you don't know what I've done this time."
"So tell me."
"Well it involves Holly J…" Fiona's eyes were back on the wall.
"That girl you have the hots for?" Fiona could hear the smirk in her voice.
The only sign she gave that she was not amused as a single quirked eyebrow. "I wouldn't put it like that, but yes the one I told you about. We were talking in the bathroom—I'm not sure what about. You see, I just sort of broke down or something, everything is rather hazy. Maybe I just don't want to remember breaking down and crying like that- it's humiliating."
"You don't have any idea why it happened?"
"Not really. I've done it before, you see. When I was thirteen I did something like this after they sent Declan to an all-boys school and me too an all-girls school. It was so bad they transferred us to the same school."
"What did your parents think?"
Fiona scoffed. "Why do think they treat me like a mental patient? And now Holly J also thinks I'm crazy."
Her face was a complete look of misery so Georgia scooted over and put an arm around her.
"I'm sure she doesn't. From what you told me, she really intelligent, surely she sees that there is more here than you being 'crazy'."
"She took me home, you know? She left school early and everything for me. She was going to stay with me today but I was so afraid of messing things up right when they were going well." Here she smiled once again." Suddenly, her demeanor changed—her eyes were brighter and she smiled a soft real smile. "She admitted she like me and wants to give me a chance."
"That's fantastic! You see, things are going to get better for you." She grabbed Fiona's arm in a reassuring gesture, but Fiona was still unconvinced.
Honestly, she thought, Georgia just didn't understand; she was speaking like her problems were temporary, but Fiona felt as though after all this time they must be permanent. She had been struggling through an ocean of despair for as long as her disjointed memory could recall and lately she had been feeling terrified that she might not have the strength to keep her head up anymore.
Then this person came along, a stranger on whom she could dump all the rotten feelings and worries without having to worry about them being repeated to her brother or parents. The ease of getting sympathy from an admiring stranger had initially given her hope, but maybe Georgia is just too inspirational and upbeat to offer substantial help.
Nonetheless, she was glad to have companionship aside from the bittersweet company that Declan provided; and anyway, Georgia never pried beyond what she Fiona was willing to give unlike her family and the nosy gossip-girls she had once tried to befriend. The warm arm around her gave her a comfort she had never imagined she would; she never realized how heavy her heart was until the weight was lifted by a comforting presence.
A/N: I bet you thought this was abandoned didn't you? Not the case girls and boys (if there so be boys reading this) this is still only the beginning, so if it feels sort of set-upy that's why.
Not only did I re-write this chapter five sad times but I was distracted trying tocatch all of the Pokemon, Yes, really.
Thank-you so much for the reviews—a few of you made me smile in that way that makes your cheeks hurt.