I was sitting lazily at my counter, sipping from a mug of coffee, when my phone began to ring. I flinch at the sudden sound, my mind still half asleep. I pick it up and slide to answer.
"Hello?" I ask, groggily. A bunch of noise could be heard through the receiver.
"Hey. Did I wake you?" Liz asks.
I wipe my eyes. "No. What's up?" I ask.
"Patty made me drag her to the mall, and now I'm sitting here all by myself like a loser. I texted Tsubaki, she didn't answer. Crona wouldn't want to go. You care to join me?" She asks.
I try not to feel a little pain in the fact that I was her last option to invite. "Y-yeah. I'll meet you at the mall in 15 minutes."
"Great. Meet me near Deathbucks."
I dress quickly and run back downstairs to find my mom. She was in the kitchen, washing some dishes in the sink.
"Can I meet Liz at the mall?" I ask.
"Yeah, how long do you think you'll be there?" She asks. I shrug. "Well, don't forget you have to tutor today." She said.
"Yes, I know. I'll see you later, mom." I said, grabbing the car keys and kissing her cheek. I walk out the door and towards the car. I glance at Soul's house, and to my surprise, see a car pulling out of the driveway. I find Soul's white hair sitting in the passenger seat, and his mom behind the wheel. His head turns in my direction, and he grins when he sees me.
He rolls down the window, and I wave. "What're you doing tonight?" He shouts.
"Tutoring until 7 at school." I shout back. I see him shake his head, chuckling. I blush slightly.
"I'll be picking you up." He said. I raise an eyebrow, and he winks. His mom waves goodbye and they drive out of the block.
I found Liz immediately when I arrived at the mall, her long brown hair giving her away every time. She was already holding a beverage, a look of annoyance on her face. After I got my coffee, having never finished my cup from earlier, Liz and I began walking through the mall.
"I couldn't believe when Patty walked into my room this morning, demanding I take her to the mall! The nerve of that girl sometimes." Liz groans, collapsing on a bench. I sit beside her, looking around at the nearly empty mall.
"What is she even doing here? Most of the stores don't open until 10." I said, motioning towards the surrounding stores. With the exception of some, most still had their doors shut.
Liz shrugs. "There was some big sale at this one place she likes to shop." Liz explains. I make an O shape with my mouth.
Out of all the people in our friend group, I felt Liz was going to be the best mother. Despite her tough demeanor and coldness towards new people, she was probably the most caring and protective person I'd ever met. She takes better care of Patty than most parents do their own children. It shouldn't be a surprise; Liz was practically Patty's mom.
Liz and Patty's past was a mystery to me. Liz only ever shared small details that gave the basic outline. Apparently their parents hit hard times and abandoned the two girls at an orphanage in the sketchier parts of Death City. The two spent a few years there and were eventually adopted.
"What did you get on Ms. Mjolnir's test?" Liz asks.
"97." I answer. She scoffs, throwing her hands up in the air.
"How?! I got a 63!" She exclaims.
"Did you study?"
"Yes! Maybe? Sorta? Ugh, I hate studying." I give her a look, and she sighs, sitting back. She runs her hands down her face and groans.
"Once Sharon and Thomas find out, I'll never drive my car again. I've failed every one of my tests this week." Liz confesses. Liz never referred to her adoptive parents as mom and dad; only as Sharon and Thomas. It often took me a second to realize whom she was talking about when she casually threw them into conversation like that.
"You should come to the tutoring today. Not only do we review for school, but we also go over study and organization skills." I said, excitedly.
Liz scoffs. "Yeah, there's no way in hell I'd spend my Saturday night at school."
"Then what were you planning on doing?"
"I don't know, probably play some league at Kid's house." She said, referring to the online game the two were constantly playing. I roll my eyes.
"What's the deal with you and Kid? Are you two kinda like talking?" I ask.
Liz and Kid were practically joined at the hip. Even though they argued quite often, they were closest with each other and spent a lot of time together. I'd always speculated the two were something more than friends, but judging by the look on Liz's face, I'm completely wrong.
"Kid?! No! Absolutely not! Jeez, just cause you're friends with a boy doesn't mean you're romantically involved." She scoffs.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything offens-"
"How would you like it if everyone always asked if you and Soul were a thing?" She asks annoyedly. I gasp and look away, feeling my cheeks redden.
We sat in silence for a few moments, and eventually Liz sighs. "Sorry, didn't mean to jump down your throat. Just getting sick of being asked that. Everybody asks me that."
"I'm sorry, I know it's really annoying."
"It is! I don't even see Kid like that. And even if I did, I'd be out of luck."
"Why?"
Liz shrugs. "He likes someone."
I gape. "What?! Who?!" I exclaim.
"I don't know. He won't tell me, which is extremely aggravating." Liz said.
I don't think Kid was capable of developing romantic feelings for someone else. I thought the only things he felt passionate about was symmetry and student government.
"When did he tell you?" I ask.
"Last night, while we were playing. I kinda suspect that chick you introduced me to last night."
"Maka? Why?"
"Because he's never mentioned it before he met her." Liz explains. I make a face, and Liz looks at me inquisitively.
"Do you like her?" She asks, sipping her coffee.
I shrug. "I don't know, I've only talked to her a few times."
"But just now you looked so annoyed when I brought her up. And last night you were acting kinda weird around her; even Crona noticed it."
I open my mouth to argue, but sigh instead. Liz's hardened expression softens a little. "Hey, you can tell me. I don't even know her."
"She's not a mean or bad person... I think she's nice and means well. But I just..."
"Does this have something to do with Soul? Those two have been together every day at school." Liz guesses. I tense at her words, and she gives a knowing smile. "Ah, so it does have to do with Soul."
I look at the ground, too embarrassed to look at Liz. "She just waltzed in and took him from me." I said. I cover my mouth with my hands, in awe that I'd just said that.
Liz sits back satisfactorily. She grins. "I've always known you liked Soul. I called it." She said.
"I didn't realize my feelings for him until Maka came along. He talks to her all the time, and he's always flirting with her." I complain.
"You're jealous."
I sigh and put my head in my hands. "Yeah. I've got jealousy to the extreme."
Liz laughs and pats my back. "It's okay, Allie. Don't think of it as Maka being in the lead, just consider it competition."
I open my mouth to say something when someone yells. Liz jumps 10 feet in the air, screaming and hiding her face. The familiar blue eyes of her sister are visible as she laughs hysterically, pointing at her sisters cowering frame.
"You're such a scaredy cat, Liz!" Patty exclaims.
"Well, when someone comes and fucking yells in your ear unexpectedly, you get a little jumpy." Liz retorts, pushing her hair out of her face. Many eyes were drawn to us as Liz continues fussing and Patty remains in hysterics. It wasn't until she regained control that Patty noticed me sitting there.
"Oh, hey Allie! Didn't see you there!"
"Hey Patty, did you get anything at the store?" I ask, motioning towards her bags. She smiles and puts them on the ground, proceeding to show me every single thing she'd gotten at the store.
Patty Thompson wasn't as hard as Liz was. She was sweet and meant well, but was quite naive and acted like an airhead. I'm sure the maturity will come with age, considering she's still a sophomore.
"Oooh, I think more stores are opening now! Let's look around!" Patty exclaims, running into a nearby store. Liz sighs, standing from the bench. I follow her into the store.
I'd never been one for shopping. I don't like trying things on, I don't like sifting through racks and racks of clothes, I don't like annoying sales associates, and despite how hard I try to find clothes that are "trendy" or "cool", I can never find any. And wouldn't it be just my luck to be stuck with two girls who absolutely love all of those things.
"Well?" Liz asks, stepping out of the dressing room. She had on a flowy pink skirt. I sat on the chair in the dressing room, admiring the skirt, while Patty wrinkled her eyebrows.
"I like it. Very soph-" I began.
"This is the most maternal fucking skirt I've ever seen." Liz exclaims, unzipping the skirt quickly. Patty laughs as I sit there in surprise. I sigh and sit back.
"I thought it looked nice!" I exclaim.
Patty shrugs. "It looks like something Sharon would buy."
Liz walks out of the dressing room, holding all the hangers she'd brought over her shoulder. "Let's ditch. This place sucks." She said. Another customer in the dressing room shot us a dirty look, and I gave an apologetic smile.
Liz hangs her stuff on a rack and walks out, glancing around the mall.
"Liz! This place has prom dresses!" Patty calls, standing in front of a window display. Liz and I walk to the store, admiring the long gowns on the mannequins.
"Patty, you're not even going to prom!" I exclaim. But Patty had already entered the store. Liz chuckles next to me.
"No harm in trying, right?" She asks, walking in. I sigh, following her.
I hadn't given much thought to prom. After the disaster last year, a part of me really isn't interested in going, yet another part of me reminds myself it's my senior prom and I should go. Liz notices my hesitation as I stare longingly at the gowns.
"What are you thinking about?" She asks, shifting through some hangers. Patty appears beside her, looking at each as Liz moved through them. I shrug.
"Prom. I'm not sure if I want to go." I explain. Patty gasps.
"You have to go to prom, Allie!" She exclaims, her blue eyes wide. Liz looks at me inquisitively as well. I suddenly feel very conscious of the attention we're attracting in the store, and I feel my face heat up.
"I-I mean I probably will, it's just..." I said quietly, my gaze shifting to my feet.
"This isn't about last year, is it?" Liz asks, her tone gentle. I nod, still looking at the ground. I hear her sigh, along with Patty asking what we on earth we were talking about. Liz shushes her and ushers us all out of the store.
"We should all just go as a group, it'd probably be way more fun. Plus, I'd rather just do my own thing than worry about what my date wears or how we're getting there or when we're taking pictures... Would you be in if we just went all together?" Liz asks.
I smile and nod, and Liz smiles too. Patty sighs. "I wish I could go to prom too." She whines. Liz rolls her eyes.
"Next year, Patty." I said, smiling. Her face lights up at my words.
"Let's get a plan together with Tsu and Crona to dress shop next weekend." Liz instructs. I nod, pulling out my phone to set a reminder.
Patty jumps up and down next to us. "I wanna come, I wanna come!" She said, excitedly. Liz sighs, looking to me for help, but I just laugh.
"Maybe. We'll see. Anyway, while we're here, I'm in desperate need of shorts." Liz said, already starting towards a store. I sigh and follow, already wishing I'd stayed home.
After 3 hours at the mall, the only things I'd gotten were lunch, a t-shirt, and a headache. At the pace Liz and Patty were moving, I doubted we would even get through the mall. When we reached the exit, I practically ran to my car to avoid being dragged into another store.
I got home closer to 2, leaving me about an hour to relax before tutoring. I open the door to my house, the comfort of home making me relax. That is, until I saw my mom standing nervously by the doorway.
I drop my bag, looking at her with a raised eyebrow. "Mom? What's the problem?" I ask. She fiddles with her bracelet, a habit she did when she had bad news. I bite my lip, bracing myself.
"Remember a few days ago, when Ms. Evans was here? And I told you about the issues with her ex husband?" She asks. I nod.
"Well, her lawyer called her today. Apparently her ex husband is pulling a ton of false information and making accusations. She said it's imperative she get to Death City to straighten things out."
"So she goes into Death City for a day or so, what's the main concern?" I ask. My mother sighs.
"It's not as simple as a day or so, Allie. At this rate, he'll probably take her to court... And she'd be driving back and forth from here to the city. She'd have to get a hotel in the city an-"
"And leave Soul at the house by himself?!" I exclaim. My mother shakes her head.
"That's the problem. She has to go, but she doesn't want to leave Soul by himself." She said. I frown, thinking for a moment.
"He still doesn't know, does he?" I ask quietly. My mom shakes her head, making me sigh. At this point, Soul has to know. It was too serious for him to remain in the dark, to not know what's going on in his personal life.
"When does she have to go?" I ask quietly.
"Monday." My mom answers.
"Well, I'm sure Soul could stay at a friends house... But his mom is going to have to explain to him why." I said.
"I already offered the guest bedroom at our house. We'll see how it goes... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get you all riled up before you had to go tutor. I just wanted you to know."
"Thank you for telling me." I said. I give a small smile, and my mom wraps me in a hug. In a daze, I run up to my room and grab my backpack. I check the time, figuring it was time to begin heading to school. I said goodbye to my mom and walk out to my car, the sight of Soul's house filling me with guilt.
I felt this story was in dire need of some Thompson sisters :) please continue to support this story!
~Greenybean