People are -gasp- reading this! Yay!
A shifting in the seat next to me woke me again. Acting on some instinct, I jerked up until my back was to the window and pulled my wounded arm to me.
The source of my disturbance soon became clear- a young blonde had moved my backpack off the seat next to me. I relaxed, and looked at her.
"I-I-I'm sorry. There a-aren't a-any m-more seats. Do y-you mind?" As she spoke, I was looking her over. Taller than me, with a seriously defensive posture. She had her shoulders bowed, with her arms wrapped around her middle. Idly, I wondered how she had managed to move my bag like that. All I could see of her face was her hair- she had her head down to cover herself up. She doesn't look too bad.
"Sure, go ahead. You just startled me, is all. You going to LA? I'm Willow, by the way."
She looked up and nodded once before letting her hair cover her face again.
Oh, she's shy. She seems nice, though. It could be nice to have a friend in LA. Thinking this, I laughed internally. It would be nice to have a friend at all, and I felt an instant camaraderie with the obviously timid blonde.
"Cool, me too. Hey, now I'll know at least one person there! Not counting the high school bitch queen's ex-boyfriend, cuz I didn't like him." Wow, Willow, lame much? You'll totally scare her off. Nice going, it's no wonder you're always alone. I groaned- it usually took longer for my demons to come back again after I- "What?"
"N-nothing, I-I was just s-saying that my old s-school had s-some people who moved h-here t-too. M-my name's Tara, by the w-way." I nodded, and involuntarily yawned, feeling like my jaw would come off. She seemed to curl farther into herself, probably thinking of how rude I was.
"I'm sorry, Tara, I haven't slept well these last few days. It's not that you're boring, really- cuz you're not. I mean, obviously I've known you for like two minutes, and so am not qualified to judge you, but I don't think you're boring. If anything, I'll end up the boring one here. And I'm babbling, and you should stop me when I do that." I finished sheepishly, looking at her and grinning apologetically. Moron.
"N-no, it's o-okay, really. I d-don't mind. A-and you don't h-have to l-listen t-to me, j-just t-tell me to g-go a-a-away." At this, I reached out and touched her hand gently, smiling at her. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew she had to be treated like that- gently.
"Not gonna happen." And it was true- I liked this shy, stuttering blonde girl. I had no intention of going anywhere.
She looked up at that, and I got my first look at her eyes.
Wow. They were the most unbelievable blue I had ever seen. I stared, not even realizing how decidedly stalker-ish my actions could seem. Sparks ran through my system, setting my nerve endings on fire. My mind raced trying to find something to compare that color to. She blushed gently, but didn't look away.
I wondered at my feelings. I hadn't ever felt like this before, and it was strange. I felt connected to Tara, even though I just met her. It was kinda scary- I had practically no experience with people, but even with my limited references, I was sure this wasn't normal. It felt good though, so I went with it, and just looked at her.
The spell was broken when a big guy with a lot of luggage stomped his way onto the bus. She flinched back, and her sleeve rode up higher on her arm. What I saw there made my blood run cold.
There were bruises all up her arm as far as I could see. That in itself was pretty bad, but one of them was distinctly a handprint. I couldn't believe it- who would want to hurt Tara?
I didn't understand any of it- not my instant affection for the blonde, and not my sudden protectiveness. It didn't matter, though. Right then and there, I made a promise to myself- I wasn't gonna let anything else hurt this girl.
I liked Tara. I mean, I really liked her. She was shy, and unassuming, but under all of her timidity and fear, she was wickedly smart and had a sense of humor that complemented mine.
We spent the next forty-five minutes talking about everything- from our plans in LA to our favorite bands. The only thing we didn't talk about were our reasons for leaving.
I knew she was running from something- the bruises on her arms proved that. It was her business, though. We hadn't even known each other for an hour, and I couldn't ask something so personal.
Also, I was afraid that if she told me her story, she'd ask for mine. If I told her, she would undoubtedly walk away in disgust. Hell, I disgust myself, so why not her?
"W-Wilow? You okay?" Oops. As we'd been talking, her stutter had gradually vanished. I figured it was a comfort thing. It reappearing meant I must have zoned out for a moment, and that meant she thought I was ignoring her. Crap.
"Sorry! I was thinking, and then my thoughts got all serious, and I zoned out. Nothing against you. Um. You hungry?" Not only was I trying to change the subject, I really was hungry.
The bus had been moving for hours by now, and I hadn't eaten at all. Looking at Tara, I guessed she hadn't eaten either.
Actually, looking at her, I noticed that even though she had a really nice figure, she looked way too thin. She would have some wicked curves if she was fed well.
She's gorgeous anyway, but- wait, WHAT? I think she's gorgeous? Well, yeah, she's a girl, I'm a girl, I'm noticing. It's purely friendly.
I was shook out of my thoughts once again by her voice. "Yeah, I haven't eaten yet. Um, I d-don't have any money, though. It's okay, I can wait." She looked down, hiding an embarrassed blush behind her hair.
Ooh, another piece of the puzzle! She doesn't have much money. I don't have all that much, either. Maybe we could help each other out?
"What? No! No, Tara, you shouldn't go hungry. Especially not on Thanksgiving. I brought sandwiches, no worries. We'll make this a good Thanksgiving. We're here, with turkey and friends." I nodded emphatically as I concluded. "Well, friend, anyway, but it's the thought that counts!"
She smiled happily, and agreed. We split the sandwiches, grateful there was enough for both of us. Just as I was about to take a bite, she surprised me by speaking up.
"We should give thanks. I know we don't have the most ideal of situations, but there has to be something good about our life right now, and it's good to acknowledge that." When I nodded, she started.
"In my life, I'm thankful for my freedom. I'm thankful that I'm here, with food and a future. And mostly, I'm thankful for you, Willow. You noticed me, and treated me nicely. So thank you, Willow. I'm grateful for you."
I was speechless. No one had ever paid attention to me before, let alone enough to be grateful to me. I felt a huge smile start to make it's way across my face. My heart felt light, like it was back on Kingman's Bluff, but this time when I jumped, I soared. It was a feeling that was completely new to me.
Before all of my mental faculties shut down, I replied. "I'm thankful for the opportunity I had in getting here. I'm grateful for my first Thanksgiving in my memory where I have someone who actually cares for me. And that leads me to my next point- I'm so, so thankful I met you, Tara. You're the only one in my life who cares about me, even a little bit. It's a new feeling, and on I hope I can get used to. So Tara, I'm unbelievably thankful for you." I finished up, smiled at her, and promptly passed out.
"Willow? Willow! Willow, please wake up. Oh, goddess, please wake up!"
I heard a voice through the blackness surrounding my consciousness. The voice was familiar, sweet and feminine. Swimming upwards through the fog, I searched for that voice. It was too scared, I had to make it better.
When I finally broke through the fog, the first thing I saw was Tara. She was wide-eyed and frantic, close to panicking. She also looked kinda… weird.
"I'm okay. It's okay, nothing's wrong, we're all good. What happened?" I was quick to reassure her, but I knew that something must be wrong- why else would I have passed out?
"Y-you fainted. I d-didn't know what to d-do! I was s-so worried. How do you feel?"
I thought. No major injuries, just a slight headache. I did feel really hot, but overall it was nothing compared to my little adventure on the cliff.
"I'm fine, just a little headache and some heat issues, but nothing major. Seriously, Tara, don't worry." I was beginning to worry about her. She looked like she was about to either burst into tears or run screaming from the bus. Neither option was good in my mind, so I sat up to comfort her. At least, I tried.
The second I moved, my muscles rebelled. "Oh, ow." I sank back down into the seat, then realized with some confusion I was horizontal. Oh. My head was in Tara's lap. Comfy. No wonder she looked so strange. The thought was banished from my mind as she started to cry at my outburst.
"You're not okay! You're hurt, or sick, and you're going to leave, and I'll be alone again! I don't want you to go!" I was amazed, again, at her caring. She'd known me for an hour at most, and already she was this worried about me. It was a nice feeling, to be wanted. I really did mean what I said when I gave thanks.
"Hey, hey, it's okay. I'm not going anywhere, I'm right here. You're safe, I'm with you." I felt a tear splash on my face, then another. I eased my way out of her lap, slowly and painfully. The blonde pulled back, wrapping her arms around herself again.
"I-I'm sorry. You j-just looked kind of… u-uncomfortable? I d-didn't mean-" Here I cut her off. I ignored speech, and just hugged her.
Tara stiffened in my arms for a second, but I stayed firmly where I was. I marveled at the softness of her, and the rightness I felt in hugging her, comforting her. It made me… incredibly happy. It was a good feeling. Comfortable, you know?
Finally, I felt her relax. Her arms came up and returned my hug. I turned my head into her neck and murmured, "You can't get rid of me that easily."
I felt her smile. "I wouldn't want to."
We stayed like this for a few more minutes, then I pulled back. I had an idea I wanted to discuss with her.
"Hey, Tara? I know you don't have a place to go in LA. I don't either, and rent isn't cheap. Would you want to go in on a place, um, together? I mean, you totally don't have to, I'd get it if you said no. I don't usually do this, trust a person I just met, and you probably shouldn't either, but it's different with you, I feel like I know you already. And, and, do you get it at all?" Wow, way to sound like a creepy stalker pedophile person.
She blinked at me. I an instant I was even more flustered than I had been. "I mean, it's good for rent at all, and we could split the cost, and have like twice as much money as we would. It would also be kinda nice to, you know, have a friend?" Now I was certain I sounded like an idiot. That's why it was such a shock to me that she smiled.
"I'd love to."
"Wow."
"Yep."
"I mean… wow."
"Yep."
Both me and Tara were struck speechless when we got off the bus in busy LA. It was so different from what I had come from- small-town Sunnydale, not so much with the bustle. Or the people. I didn't know where Tara came from, but I was betting it wasn't anything like this either.
Thinking about it, I realized I didn't know all that much about Tara. I mean, I knew she liked classic rock, and lemon-lime sorbet with caramel, and had a thing for kittens, but that was all surface stuff. The big things- where she came from, why she left, her last name- that was all a mystery.
I shut down the inquisitive side of my brain- it was her business, she'd tell me when she was ready.
"So now what? We're here, we have a plan, but where do we go? I mean, neither of us has an apartment here, and I'm guessing it takes some time to get one. Maybe we should get a motel room until we find a place. It shouldn't take that long, right?" This had been bugging me for a while. It was all well and good to have a plan, but putting it into action required a little more, well, action.
"A motel is fine, do we have enough money? I'm guessing jobs are needed." Oh. Crap. Another thing I had to think about. Tara was right, though, money was an issue. Unless…
"Well, there might be something I can do about the money thing. My parents left me, a trust fund you could say. It's not supposed to be opened until my eighteenth birthday, but if I could get the number of the account, I could hack into it, transfer the money to another account, and withdraw it all. Then we can open a new account and put it all in there but it would be usable this time."
It could work. The problem? It was A), illegal, B), tricky, and C), a possible trail that could lead anyone looking straight to me. I'd have to go somewhere else to withdraw the money, since the transfer could be traced.
It seemed Tara had similar thoughts. "Isn't that, um, illegal?"
"Well, yeah, but it's my money anyway, not like I'm cracking open some random guy's life savings. Although I could do that-" Here she raised her eyebrow at me, "-but I wouldn't, because it's immoral and wrong." I nodded decisively, then peeked to see if I was in trouble.
She frowned at me. I quailed, and started babbling. "I mean it! No random stealing for me. I wouldn't do that, really I wouldn't, and I probably couldn't even if I tried, which I haven't, and-"
Finally, her glowering exterior cracked. First a smile showed, then a grin, and all of a sudden she burst out laughing. I gaped.
"Oh, god, your face! You should have seen it, so priceless, I mean-" Her laughter choked her sentence off, and she doubled over.
"Ooooh, you evil girl, I'll get you for that!" I dropped my bags and pounced, grabbing her and ticking her mercilessly. Or at least I tried. In a move so smooth it seemed choreographed, she swung away and grabbed me.
"What was that you were saying? You'll get me? How'd that work out for you?" She smirked in my face. Her sudden closeness took my senses by surprise. I had NOT expected her to be in my face, and my mind reacted like a steel trap.
"Uhhh, huh?" I blinked. Then blinked again. Did she say something? "Oh! Actually quite well." I smirked right back at her, then latched onto her hands and tugged. Thrown off-balance, she landed smoothly in my arms, and I held on tight. "Yep, quite well."
I gloated for a second, then registered that not only wasn't she laughing, she was tense and trembling in my arms. "Tara? You okay?" I let go of her. She pulled back, wrapping her arms around her. Well, crap.
Suddenly, memory hit me like a slap in the face. Her bruises! I had completely forgotten them! Oh, god, she must be terrified of me! How stupid do you get? Grabbing someone who is obviously used to being hurt? God, you're a fucking retard, aren't you?
"Oh, god, Tara, I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking, and then the grabbing, and the pulling. Did I hurt you? I totally forgot about the bruises, you must be so terrified of me. I'll go now, I'm sorry." I picked up my bags, and turned to go.
"W-what? No! Willow, wait. Y-you saw the bruises?" She seemed even more scared now than she did when I grabbed her. Quickly, I moved to reassure her.
"Yeah, but it's okay, you don't have to tell me. It's your business, I won't push for details." I meant it, too. I hadn't let go of my bags yet, still worried she wouldn't want anything else to do with me.
"No, I want to. Um, can we get a motel room first? It's not so much a long story, but it's… hard, and I'd like to be comfy when I tell you. And the money thing? It's a good idea." And for at least the third time since getting on the bus, Tara stunned me. This entire day had moved so fast.
When I woke up this morning I was a girl with nothing, leaving home in secret. Now, just hours later, I had a future, a roommate, and most importantly, a friend who trusted me with an obviously painful past. I decided then, returning the favor was the least I could do.
"Sure, Tara. I'll find a phone book and get us booked in. And, um, I have some things I want to tell you too." Then we'll talk. And do I have some things to tell you.