Sophie felt bad about lying to Haley, but she knew she had to remove herself from the situation before she did or said something stupid. Not seeing her would be hard, but right now seeing her was even harder. A part of her felt silly, a small voice in the back of her head telling her that she should go for it. Yes, Haley had been drunk, but there still had to have been some truth in that confession, right? Another voice gently reminded her of when her best friend in college told her that if Sophie was a guy, she would be the love of her life. After Sophie had asked her why she couldn't be the love of her life as she was her "best friend" left and never spoke to Sophie again. She didn't want to make that mistake again. She just needed a few days alone to feel normal again, to detox. Let herself get to a point where she could look at Haley and not begin immediately picturing herself having a future with someone who didn't even want a present.
Thankfully she had plenty of work to keep her busy, and over the next few days it was the perfect excuse to escape when she ran into Haley while in town. If there wasn't much work on the farm to be done she would fill her days fishing, foraging, and plundering the depths of the mines. It was one late night, over a week later, that Sophie returned home to find a surprise visitor waiting for her.
"So she lives."
Sebastian was sitting on the steps of her porch. He took one last drag of his cigarette before putting it out in the dirt, placing the butt in the empty pack.
"I have a trash can, you know. What are you doing here this late?"
"Like I said," he stood, his hands immediately returning to their usual place within the pockets of his hoodie, "confirming proof of life."
"Ha. Ha. Seriously." Sophie removed her rucksack from her shoulder and began sorting through her current haul from the mines, tossing anything she didn't need into the shipping bin.
"I am serious. No one's seen you in over a week."
"That's no true, I-"
"You pop into town, get what you need, and run home without talking to anyone. Everyone's worried."
Sophie rubbed her face in frustration. "And like I've told everyone I'm-"
"You're getting ready for winter. Yeah. We know." There was silence between them for a moment, only the sound of the animals settling in for the night. Sebastian wouldn't say it, but Sophie knew that he knew that the winter preparation excuse was bullshit. "What happened with Haley?"
Sophie's lips pressed firmly together, forming a thin line, desperately keeping the words inside her. More than anything she had wanted to talk to someone about what had happened, but to do so felt like a betrayal to Haley. Whether it had been true or not, how could she go around telling people something so personal and vulnerable when Haley didn't even remember it herself?
"You took my bike, did you really think I wouldn't ask? Did she do something?"
"No," Sophie said quickly, maybe too quickly. She sighed. "She… Haley didn't do anything wrong." She came and stood next to him by the porch. "I'm just… sorting out my own shit right now."
"Been there." Sebastian reached for another cigarette, crushing the pack and returning it to his pocket when he remembered he was out. "Will you at least show up for Spirit's Eve tomorrow?"
It was Sophie's favorite holiday. She had already been thinking about making an appearance anyway. Sebastian's visit only confirmed that everyone would be suspicious if she didn't.
"Sam and Abby really miss you," he continued. "I guess I do too. Though I mostly miss your ability to wrangle the two of them."
Sophie laughed. It felt good to laugh. "Yeah. I already planned on coming anyway." It would be good seeing people again. And she knew she couldn't avoid Haley forever.
"Good. If you said no I was gonna drag you there by your little straw hat."
Sophie laughed again, rolling her eyes. "Whatever. Now get off my property ya hooligan."
Sebastian held his arms up in surrender, backing away towards the trail north of her home.
"Let those two know you're coming. We'll wait for you by the entrance to town."
"Fine. Hey, text me to let me know you made it home ok."
His back still towards her, Sebastian waved without saying a word. Slipping into the shadows as he made his way home.
She was equal parts nervous and excited as she walked past the bus stop into town. She didn't realize how much she really missed everyone until that moment. Even the anxiety she felt about seeing Haley again was mostly obscured by her desire for the return to normalcy in their friendship.
"Hey!"
"You're here!"
She looked up and saw Sam and Abigail, jumping in place and waving their arms wildly as if they didn't already catch her attention. Sebastian stood off to the side shaking his head, but acknowledged her with a faint smile. The moment she was in arms reach Sam wrapped her in a giant bear hug and then gripped her in a headlock.
"Took you long enough!" He said excitedly while tousling her hair.
She felt herself being pulled free of his grip and Abigail placed a kiss on Sophie's cheek, nuzzling into the nape of her neck. "It feels like we haven't seen you in forever!"
Sophie blushed, gently shaking herself free. "Okay, geez. It's only been two weeks."
"Well, they're like puppies." Sebastian approached the group. "They're sense of time is warped compared to normal people."
Abigail glared at him. "Hey! Who are you calling a dog?"
"Well this dog," Sam pointed at himself, "wants to hit the haunted maze!" He made finger guns at the mazes entrance, extending one arm and then the other back and forth.
"Oh, not the maze." Abigail grabbed the sleeve of Sophie's jacket.
"You know he's not going to let this go." Sebastian pointed out. Sam had not stopped pointing to the entrance.
Sophie nudged Abigail in the side. "Think of it this way Abby: The sooner we knock this out, the sooner we'll be done and you won't have to think about it for another year."
Sam pointed at Sophie, a silent agreement to her statement.
Abigail groaned, rubbing her eyebrows. "Ugh… fine. Let's get it over with."
"Yes!" Sam clapped. "Maze gang!" Without waiting for the others he turned and marched towards the entrance. Sebastian shook his head, but followed.
Abigail linked her arm in Sophie's and they also fell in line. "But I am absolutely not dealing with the spiders!"
The group had managed to navigate the maze with minimal trauma. Sam had run ahead of everyone, scoping out dead ends or yelling for the group to follow when he found the way forward. Finally, when Sophie felt they had to be reaching the end soon, Sam rounded a corner and yelled back, "Oh! Found the spiders! That means we're near the end! Last one out the maze is a rotten slime!" His voice trailing off as the remaining group listened to him run off.
"Don't run ahead by yourself you idiot!" Abigail had yelled after him, but it was too late.
"Uhh, I hate to add to the group's dwindling number," Sophie made a show of patting all of her pockets, "but I think I must've dropped my phone somewhere in the maze."
Abigail's face fell, "Are you serious?"
"Don't worry, don't worry. I'll just go run and find it and Seb can take you to the end so you can get out."
Sebastian's face turned red and he looked as though he could kill Sophie in that moment. Sophie stuck her tongue out at him when Abigail wasn't looking.
Rubbing his neck, he eventually held his hand out towards Abigail. "I mean, you're the big, bad adventurer so if anything you're the one who should be protecting me. But… spiders do suck, so I can walk with you. If you want."
Sophie noticed a light blush creep across Abigail's cheeks and she smiled to herself.
"I… I guess it's fine." Abigail slowly placed her hand in Sebastians.
"I'll be right behind ya." Sophie waved them off, Abigail leaning into Sebastian as they neared the end of the path and rounded the corner. She figured she would give them a five to ten minute head start. Sebastian had never confessed his crush on Abigail to Sophie, but she'd have to be blind not to see the way he looked at her or the way he lit up when he talked about her. For someone who exuded a somber, devil-may-care attitude Sebastian was actually incredibly shy, so Sophie did her best to create moments of alone time for the two of them whenever the opportunity presented itself.
She removed her phone from her back pocket, ready to kill time, and was surprised to see she had several texts and a missed call from Haley.
" Sophie!"
"Sophie I'm lost in this stupid maze! Please help!"
"Wait I think I found the way"
"A gross hand grabbed my leg so I ran away"
"I'm lost again"
Sophie smiled to herself, feeling a warmth spread in her chest. She punched at her heart. "Stop that, you." She dialed Haley's number.
"Hello…" For a moment Sophie thought she sounded sad, or maybe she was just tired?
"Sorry, my phone was on silent. You uh, you still lost?"
"I've accepted that I'm probably going to die in here."
"Now you're just being dramatic. Are you by anything or are you just stuck in a deadend?"
"I'm sitting near the water fountain." Sophie could hear the bubbling water in the background now that it was pointed out.
"Oh, then that's easy. Sit tight. I'll be there."
Sophie broke into a run, quickly retracing her steps back to the fountain, taking care not to trip over the tombstones and zombie hands in the cemetery. It only took her a minute to reach her destination. She found Haley sitting on the ground by the fountain, holding her knees to her chest. She stood there a moment, taking deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself. Once she was satisfied that Haley couldn't hear how loud her heart was beating she approached and kneeled in front of her.
"Found ya."
Sophie noticed the way Haley's body seemed to stiffen at the sound of her voice, but she never looked up, her forehead stayed resting on her knees. She stayed silent.
"Um," Sophie cleared her throat, suddenly feeling awkward. "You… want me to take you out of here or-"
"You left me behind." She cut Sophie off, still not looking at her.
"I…didn't even know you were here."
"That's not what I meant!" At that she did look up at Sophie. Her eyes red-rimmed as if she had been crying. "I mean," she started running her hands through her hair, scratching her head, "I don't know what I mean. I just…I don't know why I came after you in here. I only got myself lost and then you had to come save me… Again.I'm sorry I never thanked you for coming for me, and I've tried so hard to remember that night, but I can't. And I know I must've done something-"
"First off," Sophie interrupted her. "I would swim across the Gem Sea to come get you so don't ever stress about thanking me for picking you up or whatever." She paused and took a deep breath. "Secondly, nothing happened that night-"
"Bullshit! You've been acting so weird and avoiding me ever since then. I don't know if it's because I did something embarrassing or to you, but I know something happened." She looked like she was trying to hold back tears. "I miss getting a drink or grabbing dinner together at the saloon. I miss sitting by the river together. I..." She paused for a breath, taking both of Sophie's hands in hers. "I miss us."
Sophie was immediately overcome with guilt. She thought Haley would spend her time with Alex, or shopping, or whatever. Sure, she figured Haley would miss her, but only to the extent Sam and Abby had. It never occurred to her that she would hurt Haley. She had never wanted that. She squeezed Haley's hands and took a deep breath.
"You… asked if you could kiss me."
Haley's entire face turned bright red. "I- I did that?"
Sophie felt her own face start to become warm, but she kept it in check. "Yeah…"
"Did… did we?"
"No." Sophie flicked her on the forehead. "You were drunk. I didn't think you really wanted to." Sophie got to her feet, pulling Haley to hers, both of them wiping dirt off themselves.
"Did you… did you want me to kiss you?"
"Yeah. I did." There was a brief moment of silence between them as a light breeze blew through, rustling the leaves of the hedges. "I'm sorry I let work keep me so busy and that I was being weird, but I'm all yours from now on. You ready to get out of here?"
Haley only nodded and Sophie led her the short way to the mazes entrance. They never let go of each other's hand.
As soon as they stepped foot outside of the maze, Sophie caught sight of Sebastian, Sam, and Abigail. As she and Haley made their way towards them, she noticed Alex was standing with them now and when he saw Sophie he waved and pointed her and Haley out to the group.
"What took you so long? I thought we were going to have to send in the cavalry."
At the sound of Abigail's voice Sophie felt Haley intertwine her fingers with hers. Sophie tried her best not to blush, but she had a feeling she was failing.
"I just found something else I had lost."
"Are you okay Haley?" Abigail asked. "You look exhausted."
"You look like you've been crying." Sam butted in. Abigail not-so-inconspicuously stomped on his foot. "OW! What was that for!? She does!"
"That doesn't mean you say it out loud." Abby said.
Haley tried waving off the comments, "Uh, I mean, I did get a little scared in there and I am kinda tired, but I'm fine."
"Do you want Sophie to walk you home?" asked Alex.
"Why Sophie?" Sam interrupted again. "Aren't you her boyfriend? Why don't you wa-"
Sebastian stomped on Sam's other foot. "OW! What the fu-"
"Good idea, Alex." Sebastian shot Alex a thumbs up. "Sophie should walk Haley home."
"But Sophie just got here!" Sam once again tried to interject, but Alex grabbed him in a headlock and began dragging him back towards the maze.
"Actually Sammy, I want you to take me through the maze."
"But I've already done the maze!"
"Then the path through should still be fresh on your mind. You're the perfect guide."
Sam continued shouting the whole way until he and Alex disappeared into the hedges once again. Sophie pinched the bridge of her nose.
"I…" Haley spoke up, seeming just as embarrassed as Sophie was. "If you don't mind walking me, I think I would like to go home now, actually."
"Oh, yeah of course I don't mind." She looked at Sebastian and Abigail. "I'll find you guys later."
"Don't worry about us," Sebastian said.
"Just focus on this." Abby joined. They both had a knowing smile. Sophie waved at them both and led Haley in the direction of her house.
"Can I ask you a question?"
After weaving through town square to the cobbled road that led down to her home, Haley finally broke the silence.
"You can ask me any question."
"Well, I saw Abby kiss you earlier, and… I thought-"
Sophie couldn't contain the laugh that escaped her lips. "What, that we're a thing?"
Haley nodded "Or hooking up."
"Pah! No way. I've been trying to hook her and Sebastian up for ages. I mean don't get me wrong, Abby's cute and there was a point in my life where she was absolutely my type, but no, Abigail and I are not a thing in any way, shape, or form."
"Did it bother you when she kissed you?"
"Not really. I mean, it's not like I just go around kissing my friends, but I know she didn't mean anything by it and she was just really excited to see me."
They paused in front of the front door of 2 Willow Lane. The large sun emblem above the door staring down at them.
"Would it bother you if I kissed you?"
Sophie stared at Haley. Haley blushed and looked away, pushing her hair behind her ear before returning Sophie's gaze.
"I just- Well you're my best friend and I'm your best friend, right?"
Sophie could feel her head begin to swim. "Uh, right."
"So I just thought," she twirled her hair around her fingers, "that instead of just letting any of your friends kiss you on the cheek, that it could just be something we do…"
Sophie blinked. "You… want exclusive kissing rights… to my cheek?"
"I'd stop once you got a girlfriend! But… until then…" She finally let go of Sophie's hand, placing them atop her shoulders instead. "I guess I'm just feeling possessive of you."
The inside of Sophie's mouth went dry. She tried to speak, but no words came. All she could do was nod in response. Without saying another word Haley stood on the tips of her toes and placed a gentle kiss on Sophie's cheek, right near the corner of her mouth. Fireworks were going off in Sophie's brain, her heart was doing flips and to be honest she had no idea how her knees hadn't given out on her. It only lasted a moment, and when Haley pulled away a small whimper escaped Sophie's lips. She prayed to every deity that Haley hadn't heard her.
"Remember," Haley had quietly backed away and opened her front door, "that's just for me and you."
Sophie swallowed hard. "Yeah… me and you…"
Haley only smiled at her before closing the door behind her. Sophie wasn't sure how long she stood there like an idiot, gently touching the spot where Haley had kissed her with the tips of her fingers. "You're really greedy, Haley…" She couldn't help but smile to herself.