When I realized it, we were already in mid-October, and if you asked me how time had gone by so fast, I wouldn’t be able to tell.

  Between csses, work and dealing with Abby’s shenanigans, there wasn’t a single day I hadn’t felt tired. Abby, I felt, was the biggest contributor.

  Every week starting from the moment we talked about it, she asked me to hangout during the weekend, but since we were still in a bit of a high season—not that anyone would be able to tell, seeing how empty the pce was all the time—I was working both shifts on Saturdays and lunch time on Sundays, while she had to spend Sunday at home, so that wasn’t possible. It was a pain seeing her so excited when asking only to see her defte every time I told her I couldn’t.

  Still, even if she was a pain, I couldn’t help but feel some gratitude towards her. Were it not for Abby’s help with homework, I would be buried in it every weekend. What little homework I had left, I was able to do in an hour or so. Also, as time went by, I came to appreciate her company. Although I appreciated the peace and quiet, I began to miss Abby whenever she skipped css and I had to endure the boredom and sleepiness alone. Not that I would ever admit it to her.

  Things finally slowed down on my workpce though, and so, this Saturday, we were finally going to hangout as promised.

  I looked fearfully at my phone screen. I was relieved to see there were still three hours until I was supposed to meet with Abby at the park. I still didn’t want to leave my bed. I had come te from work yesterday and all the excitement of having my first hangout got to me, so I hadn’t slept all that much. I really didn’t want to, but shouldn’t I get up? I would feel terrible were I to end up oversleeping, leaving her hanging. But if I got up, then what? It would only take me thirty minutes for breakfast and a shower. I didn’t even have to go through the agonizing process of deciding what to wear. It had already been decided way before, as I would be wearing the dress she gave me.

  Thinking back to that day, I thought I really had overreacted, hadn’t I? Ok, she did not let me go when I asked her to, but was it really ok for me to blow up on her? No, of course not. Abby had been super nice to me ever since she told me she’d be my friend. And even afterwards, she kept being just as friendly too, like that argument never even happened in the first pce. There was also the fact I was the one who hugged first. Was I really that happy just because of a dress?

  Am I just one of those girls?

  What was I thinking? Of course not! That dress just reminded me so much of the one I didn’t get to buy. Yeah, that was it.

  I really should try to be nicer to her.

  Blood was rushing to my cheeks as I thought that. It made me feel awake and the bed uncomfortably warm.

  “Ugh… Guess I’ll just get up.”

  After taking care of my bath and eaten, I ended up facing myself with the dress, feeling overly self-conscious. I liked seeing myself, but while wearing it, my arms always ended up covering my chest. There really wasn’t a reason for it. It’s not like it was see-through. What caused my embarrassment was me not wearing a bra. I felt naked. I could say I even felt a little dirty. For that, I could thank my grandma. Why did I even bother though? It’s not like I had a need for one.

  “Ah! I went and got myself depressed,” I whined.

  I was standing there, arms still crossed in front of me, head hanging down, when something snapped me out of that slump.

  My phone was ringing, and it wasn’t dad nor work who were calling.

  ???

  Could I say I knew Violet well? No, but I knew her well enough to know she was absolutely fussing about not being te to our pydate. Just now I could see her staring at her closet and worrying about what to wear.

  I’d be fine with it if she came wearing an old t-shirt and jeans, but Violet was probably pnning to wear the dress I gave her. Rather, “the dress I returned to her” sounds more appropriate since I was the one who bought it before she could.

  That was such a stupid idea anyway.

  It had been an impulsive buy. I hated wearing dresses. You can’t move in one the way I like to. This one, I had bought because I thought mum could perhaps approve and allow me to wear it on the less formal occasions at least. As anyone but the idiot me could have guessed, she did not, and I was left with it occupying space in a drawer. It’s almost like it was fate for me and Violet to have met.

  Pfft, yeah right. Like good things happen to you.

  The fact we were still friend after this long was nothing short of a miracle. It was only a matter of time.

  “…I’ll call her.”

  Being so depressive wasn’t my style, so calling to check on her was the best I could do right now.

  “He-hello?”

  Hehe, she sounds so awkward.

  And that was exactly what I needed to cheer up.

  “Hi there. What’s up?”

  “What’s up? Erm… Nothing much… just getting ready I suppose… Ah!”

  Two and a half hours until we were supposed to meet? Was she that excited to hang out?

  “Well…I suppose I’m a little… yeah.”

  The st part sounded to me like garbled whispers. Even so, I was able to make sense of them just fine.

  “I wasn’t expecting that,” I said, a bit lost for words. “Hmm… thanks Violet. I’m very happy to hear you say that.”

  I had expected her denying it, but instead she answered with sincerity. I was so happy, my heart was beating in a weird way.

  “Anyway, what are you wearing?” I asked before remembering how that could be interpreted and course correcting. “No, wait. That’s not it. What I mean is, what are you going to wear?”

  “Well, I’m going to wear the dress as we had agreed upon.”

  There was no need for that, especially if she didn’t feel comfortable wearing it in public, she was adamant on going out with it.

  “No! A deal is a deal. I’m wearing it.”

  “That so? Then, I can’t wait to…”

  I stopped, dad having knocked on my open door to ask if he could have a word with me. I told her that and that I had to hang up.

  “Oh… erm, it’s ok… thanks for calling me.”

  She sounded a bit sad, maybe because she didn’t get to hear me finish what I was about to tell her. Unfortunately for her, my dad was acting a bit impatient, so I really had to finish our call and there was still something I needed to tell her that was of great importance.

  “Please wear a bra if it makes you feel comfortable, ok? Otherwise, you will be stressing out and making a face I won’t be able to resist teasing until you get mad at me, ok? Bye.”

  “A-Abby!?” I hear her cry out before I cut the call.

  “Erm, what was—”

  “Ladies talk dad, butt off.”

  He nodded awkwardly, but seemed to get the memo. “Right, right. Anyway, don’t make any pns for lunch because we are going to the Dwaynes’ pce.”

  “What!? But dad!” I cried out. “I already had pns with a friend! Can I not go this time and this time only? Please?”

  “I’m sorry sweetheart, but since it’s the Dwaynes, there’s no way your mum will agree to it.”

  This was the worst possible scenario. I’d have to cut my pns short with Violet, I had only been told at the st possible minute, this was supposed to be the one day off I had, and it was at the Dwaynes’ house, of all other possible people we could go have lunch with. It just had to be at Marcus’ hadn’t it?

  “…I’ll see if I can convince her to give you extra free time tomorrow to compensate for today, so… cheer up, ok?”

  And what good would tomorrow do? Tomorrow we’d never be able to meet up anyway.

  Mopping around the house got boring, and I was sure Violet would be at the meeting pce earlier than what she was supposed to, so I got out of the house earlier. There was no point in staying shut in my bedroom throwing pity-parties, might as well try and enjoy the good times as much as possible, right?

  She was very easy to spot, and as I guessed, she had come too early.

  I was coming from behind her as she sat on a park bench under the shade of a tree, so I was already imagining different ways to prank her. I was just behind Violet when I heard her moan and stretch her whole body, leaving her sides completely exposed for a poke I couldn’t just resist giving.

  “Uhghweek! A-Abby!?”

  That was the weirdest squeak I had ever heard anyone produce. It was like she was going to shout, but the embarrassment of doing so in public caught on.

  “Pfft, ah-haha! Hi there! My, that was a funny—no wait… cute sound you just made,” I cackled as I sat by her.

  “Abby! You scared me half to death,” she huffed.

  I was sorry for scaring her to that extent, but how could I have resisted her exposed sides after so many times she’d tempt me before?

  “Before? What do you mean?” she asked, confused.

  “Every day during css, you’ve been teasing me by doing that. Today was payback!” I procimed victoriously.

  “Well, thanks for not doing it in css, I suppose,” she mumbled back.

  “Thanks. It wasn’t easy but I did my best!”

  “…I’m still a bit mad for your scare though.”

  I didn’t want our first outing to be marred by that, so I gave her an apology. “If I say, ‘you look good today’, will you forgive me?” were my exact words.

  “No, you don’t have to,” she stumbled. “I’m not really mad. I was just… trying to be funny.”

  Violet trying to be funny was funny enough for me to chuckle. Today Violet was full of surprises, wasn’t she?

  “Why are you being nice to me today?” I asked before quickly rectifying it to “I mean nicer. Why are you being nicer to me today?”

  She chose to ignore my absent-minded sly and stared down to the hands on her knees in silence. Maybe she was thinking about how she could dodge the question, but I knew Violet was too serious of a person to do that, so I kept staring at her, waiting for a response. There was no way I’d let Violet dodge it anyway.

  “Well, you are always acting so cheerful around me, but I’m always getting mad at you. I… I want to be a better… friend. I’m… sorry for getting so mad at you the day you gave me this dress…”

  Her honest apology was so heart-warming… She really was a nice girl. In fact, and despite her short fuse, she was the nicest person I knew.

  I had my eyes closed when I felt a bump on my shoulder from the side she sat. She was sitting very still, it was me who was rocking side to side. I always did that when I was happy with something, and by the way she was looking at me, I guessed she was reaching that conclusion.

  I confess, that feelings of her wanting us to be a better friends—first time she ever referred to me as such out loud—and that someone might actually understand me were inebriating. I thought maybe it would be ok to hug her, so I hopped closer to Violet, our hips almost touching, and put my arms around her neck, but the way she tensed up and kinda pulled back told me it was still too soon for that.

  “Rex, I’m not going to hug you,” I told her reassuringly.

  “Then… what is this?” she asked even more confused.

  “Since you get so embarrassed when I hug you, I decided to try this.”

  “No, no. I think this is way worse.”

  “That’s good. If you get used to this, imagine the possibilities!” I told her as I put my arms down.

  “How can you even say those things?” she asked, sounding more impressed than anything.

  “Simple! I’m a happy-go-lucky girl with no filter between her mind and mouth! Still…” I paused to give her a pyful smile. “Did I just hear you say I’m your friend?”

  “Y-yeah, I… guess so…” she mumbled while averting her eyes.

  I was going to ask her about that by the end of our meet up, but having her say it by her own will was way better. “Thank you, Violet” I told her very heartfelt before then adding, do you think you’ll ever call me your best friend? while giving her another teasing smile.

  She got all red and for a moment I thought she’d take off running. Maybe I had gone too far? I hadn’t been fair to her at all. I knew she had no other friend than me and that she was beyond shy, so posing such a question to her was far, far too much. Violet seemed to be struggling with a lot of thoughts in her head as guilt pilled up in my conscience. I had to do something.

  “Anyway, should we get going?” I asked, sounding upbeat as I hopped off the bench. “There is this pce close by where they sell a lot of different fvours of ice cream. All of them good!”

  “You are my only friend, so…”

  I could barely hear it. It was as loud as a breeze, but… I was sure I had heard her say those words under her breath.

  “Violet?” I called, feeling the corners of my mouth going wide.

  She snapped her head up, and I saw in her pained face the sheer dread of me having heard her.

  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath as discreetly as possible, trying not to give away the fact I had indeed heard her, but there was the spping of my hair telling me I was again rocking side to side.

  “Are you coming? Or is it that you don’t like ice cream?”

  “I-I do…” she said, ejecting herself from the bench.

  “Good. That might help you cool down a little.”

  “S-stop making fun of me!” Violet spat.

  “Nope. I won’t make that promise, ever.”

  I didn’t tease her more than that though. Honestly, I’ve had my fill for a whole year.

  Walking side by side, I enjoyed the environment around us. The company too, of course. It was funny how we were so evenly matched in our walking speed despite the mismatch in our hights. It was also so effortless to keep it that way.

  We were approaching autumn, but it still felt like summer.

  It was a bit cooler, but still pretty hot outside. The trees were still green too, but then again, we were at a park. Maybe they had pnted evergreens.

  Right, her st name is Evergreen.

  Her dress was for the summer, but looking at her, I’d say she was more like autumn or winter. Where we lived, it didn’t snow, but I had seen that before on a family trip, back when my family was still kinda good. Her skin reminded me of it, so pure and white contrasting with her pitch-bck hair. Looking at her feet, she was wearing brand new ankle wrap sandals she must have bought just for that dress alone. Only her satchel bag was looking a bit off, but she was looking so beautiful in that getup and with rosy cheeks, it was kinda breathtaking.

  “…You really are beautiful.”

  “S-Stop that!” she whined, shyly combing a strand of hair behind a tomato red ear. Her twisted smile was also very charming.

  Come on Abby, enough teasing. Let her rest for a second.

  She was just too fun and cute not to mess with, but I’d take my mind off that by thinking about what ice cream I was going to get.

  There were so many fvours to pick from. There were the conventional, like strawberry, vanil, chocote, but the store we were going to had some unique ones such as bubble-gum, marshmallow, tiramisu, mango and lemon, and so on.

  I was salivating quietly when I caught a glimpse of her leaning over to me.

  “Sorry, did you say something?”

  “N-no, nothing at all.”

  “So… is there something more you want to tell me?”

  “No, I was just wondering what had gotten you so quiet.”

  “Damned if you do, damned if you don’t,” right?

  I expined to her my conundrum as I stared to the sky, perhaps waiting for some divine inspiration or message.

  “Do you have any favourite?” I asked, in search of an idea.

  Violet didn’t sound too sure of herself, but coffee would be her pick. She sounded more like she was pying along than nothing else, to be frank, but I still told her I found it suiting her personality. “Hey, which one do you think suits me?”

  Now it was her time to look up to the skies in search of answers. It only took her one second, though.

  “Caramel and pecan nuts,” she said, sounding very satisfied with her answer. She probably was. This line of thinking really wasn’t something a no-nonsense girl like her would probably be doing that often.

  “Oh! That’s pretty good!” I cpped. “Yup, yup. Because I’m a sweety, clingy and nutty girl, right?”

  “Ah, sorry! I didn’t mean anything bad by it…” she urgently pleaded.

  “Oh, ah-haha! I didn’t take offence. Actually, I liked it a lot. In fact, I might write it down to make sure I won’t forget.”

  She didn’t like the idea of me writing it down, afraid I’d bring it up some other time to embarrass her. It was a fair reason, but I still argued we should do it anyway.

  “Why!?”

  “Why you ask? Hmm… wouldn’t you like to, in a year time or so, have a list of stuff we did together?”

  She held her mouth open, but didn’t offer any counter argument. She just got quiet and in deep thought. It sure would be nice if that happened, assuming we’re still friends in a year’s time. I’d like to think she was thinking the same, so I carried on with the conversation.

  “Well, regardless of your answer, I might still do it. When the time comes, I’ll let you decide if you read it or not.”

  “…There really isn’t any arguing with you, is there?”

  “You are starting to understand me, huh?”

  She was sent back to her deep thoughts.

  She was asocial, hard to approach, thought people were a bother, and as a result, right now, I had no idea what she was thinking after telling her that other than it was probably something super complicated. Unnecessarily complicated.