Page 42 of Friend
Chapter Nine
Questions
I was already on the way to her house when Bianca texted me.
Bianca:He said no.
I frowned as the lit screen reflected across my glasses. How exactly was I supposed to respond?
Me:Do you really want to go?
Bianca:Yes, and no.
What did that mean? Luckily, I didn’t have long to wonder—or even need to text to ask. I was already pulling into Mr. and Mrs. Geier’s winding driveway. There was a round pergola off to the left of the house, and she was there, looking out into the forest.
It must have been a bad discussion.
I parked the car and turned it off, and as I exited, briefly glanced toward the main house. I probably should say hello to Bianca’s parents first, but they’d understand.
“Bianca,” I briefly greeted as I stepped onto the covered shelter. “Why are you out here?”
“I’m angry,” she said, not raising her chin from her crossed arms.
I studied her, noting the tightness of her jaw and the stiff way she was sitting. She wasn’t just angry.
She was genuinely upset.
Damn it, was I going to have to try to sneak her into prom too? I would do anything to erase that look.
“Do you really want to go that much?” I asked.
She finally sat up, looking at me, and the anger fell from her expression. Instead, her features contorted in the most adorable look of confusion.
“Why?” she asked, her voice was so low that I almost didn’t hear it.
“Does it matter why?” I couldn’t look at her as I spoke, and instead glared at the pavers. “I just don’t get it—you hate him.”
“I hate him less than usual,” she answered. “But I don’t want to date him, if that’s what you’re worried about. I don’t like him that way.”
My face heated, and my hand shook as I touched the bridge of my glasses. “I’m not worried about that.”
But I was worried about that.
“Oh…” She sounded a bit crestfallen, but I couldn’t force myself to look at her yet.
“Why do you want to go?” I asked instead, focusing on the other issue at hand. “You’ve never cared about events like this before.”
She sighed as she leaned her back against the railing. “I just want to see,” she said after a short pause.
“See what?” I’d never been to a dance before either, but what was there to see? Who needed to deal with the aggravation of rowdy idiots stumbling over each other to impress their dates?
It was bad enough dealing with them on a normal school day.
“What it’s like.” She looked past me, melancholy heavy in her voice. Her hair danced along with the gently blowing breeze, but I didn’t think she noticed. But it was a reminder, to me at least, of who she was, and what she would one day be.
Mu controlled the wind, after all.
Of course, it was a coincidence, because with her medication, there’d be no way she’d be able to access her abilities. But sometimes it was easy to imagine.
