"... What were you supposed to do ? And then who says 'I love you' on the goddamn phone ? Even my bald boyfriend waited for us to be face to face ! It's completely normal to panic-"
"Mia." Angela interrupted with a sigh. "You're trying to defend the indefensible. I am in the wrong."
"I know." The brunette took the blonde by the shoulders and shook her a little by the side. "I'm just trying to make you feel less miserable."
The blonde sniffled and wiped her eyes before taking another scoop from her tub of ice cream. "Thank you, I feel a little better since you've been here."
"No problem." Mia replied, laying her head on his shoulder. "I'll always be here for you."
"Stop that." Angela rolled her eyes playfully. "You're going to make me cry again-"
The front door opened and the two girls turned their heads to see Paul walking in with a huge bouquet of flowers in his hand.
"Hey girls." He took off his shoes. "There's a flower delivery for you Angela."
"Who sent her this ?" Mia asked curiously.
Paul reads the little card with it approaching the couch where the two friends were sitting. "It just says. 'I'm sorry if I upset you.' There is no indication of who sent it."
"Okay, she's apologizing for saying she loved you." The brunette shook her head with a sorry expression. "You're a bad girlfriend."
"I know." Angela began to sob again, tears rapidly rolling down her cheeks.
Mia started patting her back reassuringly, shaking her head.
Paul rubbed the back of his neck embarrassed. "So you don't want to keep it ?"
"No !" She cried putting her head in a pillow to sob even harder.
Mia clicked her tongue and gestured for Paul to cut the flowers by running her thumb under her throat.
--------------
The next day at school was horrible. For both of them, Angela was avoiding Lottie, and Lottie was trying desperately to talk to the blonde.
And when Angela thought she had been able to manage to avoid Lottie pretty well until the end of the day, a tornado swept over her.
"Hey Angela !"
The blonde turned around hearing her name. But hardly her head was turned when she received a fist in the face. The students around gasped.
She bent down to hold her nose tightly trying to erase the pain. "What the fuck ?"
"You owe Lottie more than an apology or swear to god next time I'll damage your face with a bottle-"
"Don't swear to God-"
"-Laura Lee can you let me just-"
Angela stood up with confusion marked on her face. "Nat ?"
The two blondes turn towards her. Nat had an expression indicating that she was extremely angry and Laura Lee seemed to be worried.
"With all due respect, it's none of your business." Angela said letting go of her nose to put her bag back on her shoulder.
But Nat didn't listen to Laura Lee's advice and punched Angela in the nose again.
This time her eyes began to water, and as she brought her hand up to her nose, she felt warm liquid dripping. "I fucked up I know that but Jesus."
Laure Lee stood between the two girls with her Bible in hand. "Girls, let's put our differences aside and all talk together. The Lord said-"
"Get out of there Laura Lee we want a fight !" Taissa screamed as she grabbed her arm with the phone in her hand.
Angela wiped the blood from her nose. "Nat I think we should calm down, you don't even know-"
Nat tried to punch her again but Angela dodged and elbowed her in the jaw.
Everyone gasped as Nat took a few steps back still in shock.
"I'm so sorry I just-- It was a reflex-!"
She started to tie her hair up and Angela turned pale.
"Let's take a deep breath huh ? Things got little-"
Angela was interrupted by Nat's fist in the cheek.
"Oh okay..." She nodded and pretended to leave before turning around and giving her huge punch in the nose causing the crowd to back away.
Before Nat could come to her senses, she headbutted her and threw her to the ground.
But when she was about to give her a fatal blow, Nat kicked her in the stomach, making her recoil.
"You selfish bitch !" She exclaimed, jumping up.
Angal was about to reply but saw Lottie in the crowd. She froze in place and Nat grabbed her by the hair to bang her head against a locker.
"What the fuck is going on ?" Mia grabbed Nat by her ponytail and pushed her back.
She grabbed Angela's arm and put it around her shoulders. "Are you okay ?"
Laura Lee and Lottie held Nat back as she tried to catch up with her.
"I feel like I'm going to die." She mumbled as she tried to stand leaning on Mia.
"Come on, I'll take you home."
----------------
Angela was dozing miserably in her bed, the package of frozen peas over her eye. She couldn't even look at her phone. She was watching the ceiling, which was exploding little stars.
She had hurt Lottie, and now she had a fight with her friend and teammate. This infernal spiral did not stop so easily as one might think.
A knock was heard, she sighed. "It's not locked."
The door opened on Paul. He smiled sadly. "Mia told her what happened. You wanna talk about it ?"
"I fucked up. There's nothing too talk about."
He sat down on the edge of the bed slowly. "What did you do to make Lottie upset ?"
Angela urned her head to avoid her father's gaze on her. "When she told me she loved me I hung up on her."
"Oh, that's really... Awful." Paul says not knowing quite what to answer. "But you can still fix that."
"I need to fix myself you mean ?" She mumbled as she clutched the package of peas in her hands. "I can't even say I love you to the person I love."
"There's nothing to fix in you." Paul whispered, putting his hand on his daughter's upper arm. "You're just having some...difficulties."
"Is that why you send my to Gaby's ?" She asked as she sat up.
It was THE subject that his two people had not broached. Maybe the most important one, because they only started communicating when she got back from her mother's house.
As if this time was a time that should not be mentioned.
"I didn't know what to do, and your mother knows how to be very convincing." He simply replied by nodding his head.
Angela felt tears welling up in her. "But you, you let me go like that. You didn't even ask my opinion. Didn't you care about me a little ?-"
"At that time, having two children was already hard, then you started acting weird. And I just couldn't handle it-"
"Okay..." She sniffled, staring at her dad. "So Timothy smoking weed is cool but I can't change when I'm being bullied ?"
"I'm sorry." He said simply looking at his daughter with eyes full of regret.
Angela shrugged before laying back in bed. Covering herself completely with the blankets. "Good talk."
--------------
"Hey."
Angela closed her locker quickly recognizing Lottie's voice. She looked for Jackie who was there a moment ago.
But nothing, there was only Lottie in front of her.
"Can we talk ?" She asked softly, taking a step forward. "Please ?"
Angela just put her hand in front of her indicating Lottie not to come any closer.
"I don't care that you don't love me but can you just stop ignoring my texts and calls ?" She insisted trying to catch a glimpse of her gaze. "I miss you, I'm sorry-"
"Don't apologize..." Angela whispered as she took a step back.
"Tell me what to do." Lottie grabbed Angela's wrist. "Come back to me."
"You don't understand-"
"Make me understand then, I've been worried all weekend about the condition of your eye. Have you seen a doctor ?" She asked, watching her face carefully.
Angela blinked.
"What ? No. Why would I ?"
"Maybe because Nat banged your head against a fucking locker ? What are you doing at school anyway ? You should be resting at home. "
The blonde replayed the scene in her head. So she ignored her for days, hung up on her. Didn't confess her love in return. And she was worried about her black eye ?
Their eyes lock and Angela felt like she was seeing Lottie for the first time again.
"I mean, I won't beg you to stay. If you're determined to leave, I will not stand in you way." She mumbled the corners of her mouth twisting into a small smile.
Angela smiled automatically too, raising an eyebrow. "Are you quoting Mariah Carey at me right now ?"
They both chuckled and Lottie lowered Angela's hand, her fingers still around her wrist, then leaned down to capture her lips in a soft kiss.
"I don't deserve you." Angela said, her eyes fluttering as she looked up at Lottie. "I'm sorry."
"I watched the new episode of 'The Summer I Turned Pretty' without you." Lottie confessed, chewing her bottom lip.
"It's okay, I watched it with Mia. There was a lot of crying trust me." She also confessed taking Lottie by the hand before taking her with her. "Let's go somewhere else, I'm starving."
After a long battle, Angela ends up paying her everything.
---------------
"Stop catching the ball with your hands !"
Angela huffs and throws the ball at Lottie. "Fine."
"I thought you played soccer before ?" Lottie said as she received the ball with the flat of her foot.
"Only because my mom asked." She shrugged. "But basketball is funnier, the sound of the ball bouncing always makes me want to giggle."
Lottie passed her the ball. "You know, looking at you in the hallways, you wouldn't think you'd be a giggling person."
"Oh yeah ?" She tried to catch the ball correctly with her foot. "Well in the hallways you don't look like a puppy dog-eyed person."
As soon as Angela passed her the ball, Lottie caught it in the hand. "How so ?"
"The few times I saw you in the hallways, you looked like this confident girl, who was super good at soccer and who knew it." Angela said, grabbing her water bottle which was lying on the ground with a smirk. "But that image quickly fades when you BEGGED me to be your girlfriend-"
Lottie tossed the ball hard at her. Angela giggled as she bent down and the ball hit her back.
"It was a very complicated situation, okay ?" She said grabbing her own water bottle.
Angela sat down on the floor, the ball between her legs. "You could have told them the truth, and asked me out on a date instead."
"And would you accept ? If I had done that ?" Lottie asked as she sat down next to her.
The blonde sneered.
"I knew it-"
"I mean ! If you had insisted I would have ended up agreeing for a date." She nodded slowly.
Lottie turned to her with sparkling eyes. "Really ?"
"Yes." She admitted. "I can't say no to those eyes."
"That's why you agreed to play soccer with me ?"
"Exactly."
--------------
"What are you doing ?" Lottie whispered half awake as she felt her girlfriend shift from side to side in the bed.
Angela sighed dramatically as she grabbed the blanket. "You're taking the whole blanket !"
"I'm not !" Lottie pulled the blanket to her side.
"You just did !" She mumbled as she rubbed her feet now exposed to the cold. "I'm going to freeze to death if you keep going."
"I'm still mad at you."
"Oh come on, we don't win all the time. It happens to lose." Angela laughed at the memory of how she had beaten Lottie at Fifa all night.
"I let you win, you don't even know what buttons use to play." She groaned as she crossed her arms turning her back on the blonde even more.
"How dare you-"
"Have a goodnight." She simply answered.
"What you're no longer talking to me ?"
"..."
"Lottie ?"
"..."
"Lottie." She turned over in bed holding herself on her elbow in a huff. "Are you listening to me ? There's no way you fell asleep so quickly."
"I try to sleep but a blond head prevents me from doing it." Lottie grumbled. "What do you want ?"
"I have a surprise for you."
"Oh really ?" She took on an excessively high pitched voice mocking Angela's tone when she was excited about something. "And you know what's better than a surprise in the middle of the night ? Sleep."
"You sure you don't want to hear it ?" Angela asked ignoring Lottie's sarcasm.
Lottie sighed. "If you leave me alone afterwards."
Angela rolled her eyes before getting even closer to Lottie.
She leaned over and covered her ear with her hand before whispering softly. "I love you, Lottie Matthews."
"I love you too !" Lottie jumped on Angela to hug her.
The blonde chuckled. "You seem more awake right now."
----------------
"Look we're matching today." Angela announced proudly as she got out of the car.
Lottie looked at her outfit, then the blonde's one. "Huh ?"
"I knew I was going to wear this dress, so I have the pink bandana that matches, the exact same color." The blonde explained, pointing to the bandana tied around her neck.
"And..." She shuffled her feet, and Lottie noticed the brand new pink Converses Angela was wearing.
The rest of Angela's outfit was black, with black baggy pants and a fitted long-sleeved top.
Lottie looked at the black Doc Martens peers at her feet. "Oh I think I got it."
"Do you know how that makes you ?" Angela asked with a smirk taking her hand in hers quickly.
"What ?" The taller girl asked curiously as she started to move forward, getting tugged slightly by the blonde.
"My barbie !" She said happily jumping up on her tiptoes to kiss her cheek.
"Isn't Barbie supposed to be blonde ?-"
"Barbie is a state of mind Lottie." She said seriously as she pulled out some black sunglasses before putting them on her nose.
Lottie rolled her eyes. "And I guess if I'm barbie then-"
"I'm your Ken !" She cut her off taking Lottie's bag in her hands.
"Are you gonna, like, carry my bag ? You ? Angela ?-"
"Ken is a state of mind as well." She shrugged. "Do you want me to walk you to your class ?"
"Sure."