Lane sits silently on the long wooden bench that lines the wall of the girls locker room. Her hands pressed against the seat she stares down at her lap. The room is cold, it always has been, but extra goosebumps seem to crawl up her legs today. Everyone around her is getting ready to swim. Some sport bikini's while others wear one piece suits. Lane had pulled on her black boy shorts and red top. The girls around her hurry to get dressed. However, their conversations, usually loud and echoing through the room, are soft. Lane can barely catch a single word, but no doubt she is their most spoken topic for today. "Did you see what happened in the caf today?" One girl says a notch to loud. "I've never seen her like that before, what do you think Lane did?" Another voice chimes in eagerly. Lane's hands seem to sting, sadness and anxiety pulse through her body. In a single fluid motion she stands and flee's the locker area for the bathroom.
The talking subsides and with a click Lane has locked herself within the stall. I'm just waiting here... Just until everyone goes outside... just until a teacher comes looking... or till the next bell rings. She presses her hair back and leans against the metal wall. Lane you're so stupid. You're dumb, just plain dumb. She trusted you.... she told you everything and you blew it, completely blew it.
The chatter softens even more when Erin enters the locker room, string backpack containing a towel and swimsuit in hand. Everyone knows how close she and Lane are, and how quick she will be to approach someone if they appear to be slandering her best friend in any sense of the word. Erin glances around, confused by the soft volume of the locker room. She is, naturally, oblivious to the atmosphere. Leaving the speech class had been such a relief that her mood is drastically improved from only fifteen minutes ago. The brief delay in getting to class had given her time to clear her mind, and luckily the time allotted for changing allows her to slip in easily.
While she changes, into a bikini with dark green, knee-length board shorts, Erin scouts the room for Lane. She and the musician had agreed to choose swim together, at least on the first day of classes. Had she gone to get her bathing suit, perhaps? Erin had needed to do so, having forgotten hers, but she seems to remember Lane having the bag with a towel and suit already. Another student notices her confused expression and leans over. "I think Lane went to the bathroom. She didn't look like she was feeling well," the girl whispers, not wanting to draw too much attention when everyone had begun to very pointedly ignore the topic.
Erin thanks her and locks up her bag before rushing over to the bathroom. The only other person in it is a girl applying sunscreen to her face at the furthest sink. "Lane?" she wants to shout it, beginning to worry, but reigns in her voice for the sake of the other girl in the restroom.
Lane pulls her hands away from her hair, slightly startled. It's Erin. The musician leans back in the stall, giving her a view of her friends feet. Then she takes a deep breath, adjusting her shorts. "What?" Lane asks, as if oblivious to the fact that it is Erin, her best friend on the other side of the door. She waits quietly for a response, and shifts her footing. The sandals she's chosen for today are spongy and stick to the damp ground of the bathroom.
"Um I'll be out later Erin, I uh, just need a moment longer. You go out there, okay?" Taking a deep breath her voice waivers only slightly. What I need is to disappear into the ground. Lane tilts her head just enough to peer through the slight crack in the stall door. She can't see her friends face, only her many locks of blonde hair. The sound of voices has dwindled down to almost nothing, as the girls have all made their way outside towards the lake. Lane quickly checks again for Erin's feet.
Lane has undergone a brief lapse of sanity if she sincerely believes that Erin will leave her alone so easily. Erin, who clings desperately to her friends after having lost just one. The young woman leans against the sink directly across from Lane's stall, not moving. "That's alright, I'll wait," she says brightly, a certain stubbornness in her tone making it clear nothing Lane can do will persuade her out of doing precisely that. She runs her fingers through pale blond hair, happy to give the girl her time.
Wallowing in the stall alone is not what you need right now, she promises Lane in her mind, justifying her actions which indirectly will force Lane out to swimming with her. Lane needs to be distracted, brought out into the sunlight and splashed with water and joked with and teased. Erin is a strong believer in distraction as a remedy, and although for many people this is the opposite of a solution, she sticks with it. Her own extroversion sometimes leads her to misunderstand what other people need in order to feel better. She assumes fun and smiling will help things, when they can often be part of the problem.
Lane scrunches her eyebrows together, displeased with the blondes words. If it is true, that Erin will wait until her friend emerges from the stall, then Lane concludes there is no use delaying the process. There's no stopping Erin, no use trying, Lane should know by now With a deep sign she turns the latch on the stall door and pushes it open slowly. There Erin stands, happy as can be, ready to swim, and just overall looking content with life. The only other girl in the bathrooms notices Lane's presence and quickly shuffles out of room, to leave the two girls alone. The musician pads past Erin and out towards the now empty locker section. She turns the dial on her locker swiftly.
"I'm not going out there... I feel sick to my stomach Erin." She sniffs, her back to her friend. Lane pulls a Laurel Academy t-shirt over her head. Shaking her head, the brunette pulls her bag out of the locker. [color=#FF333]"I can't stop thinking about Aimee, Erin."[/color] Voice wavering further she adds "Why wasn't she in speech?"
Erin frowns. Crap. I made the wrong choice again, didn't I? Even her, thick-skulled as one can be, notices that when Lane emerges looking incredibly displeased. Naturally, she follows Lane into the locker room, beginning to understand that Lane is just as stubborn as she is when the Musician changes back into clothing. Erin leans against the locker next to her friend, flinching slightly at the feeling of cold metal against her arm. The entire room has begun to drop in temperature, it seems. She chalks it up to the lack of bodies, but it probably has more to do with mental states at the moment.
"If you're sure, Lane. I just don't want you to hide from things too much. If you want I can go with you to your room- we can talk? Or eat too many snacks or something?" And then there it is, Aimee again. It seems every time a friend is brought to their knees it is due to some love interest. There is little wonder as to why Erin seems to have avoided anything more than casual relationships since beginning high school, with the examples she has on how feelings can destroy a person. Her mind flits to Sterling's speech, how it had been half to Nina, and then to her. It should have just been Nina. Why couldn't you have just never left Nina, dammit, the memories of his strut and smirk and infuriating comments make her face hot- with frustration, of course.
"No, I'll just go." Lane tugs at her shirt, quickly adjusting it in the mirror. She turns to her friend looking her over. Erin stands with much concern, backed up by both stubbornness and confidence. Her blonde hair is slightly frazzled from the summer humidity. The more Lane stares, the more mature and grown up Erin seems. Sure her personality hasn't shifted the slightest, but everything else seems to have. Her posture is taller, her skin clear and smooth. Even her smile seems to have grown up, becoming softer, and kinder. Most of all though, she looks composed, something the musician has struggled with for a long time. Erin appears ready to pass through the gates to college and take on the world.
"Maybe she also wasn't feeling well. Lane," she grabs her friend's hand and squeezes it, reassuringly. Dealing with other people's problems distracts her from her own. "You are going to find someone lovely and flawed and hilarious and hopelessly devoted to you, okay? But she isn't it."
Why can't people let friends fill those holes?
Lane quickly turns her gaze away from her friend. Her attitude shifting as the blonde speaks. Your going to find someone lovely...flawed...hilarious...hopelessly devoted The words blend together in her mind. Almost as if someone had tipped water onto them. She isn't it. But she could be...
Her best friend takes her hand squeezing it gently. "Erin I'm going to go, alone, okay? Tell Mr. Canfield I'm sick. We can meet up at lunch." Her hand slips away from the blondes. "I promise."
With that Lane pulls the string bag over her shoulders and pushes open the locker room door. She makes her way down the hallway without looking back and, heading straight for her summer dorm room.
The talking subsides and with a click Lane has locked herself within the stall. I'm just waiting here... Just until everyone goes outside... just until a teacher comes looking... or till the next bell rings. She presses her hair back and leans against the metal wall. Lane you're so stupid. You're dumb, just plain dumb. She trusted you.... she told you everything and you blew it, completely blew it.
The chatter softens even more when Erin enters the locker room, string backpack containing a towel and swimsuit in hand. Everyone knows how close she and Lane are, and how quick she will be to approach someone if they appear to be slandering her best friend in any sense of the word. Erin glances around, confused by the soft volume of the locker room. She is, naturally, oblivious to the atmosphere. Leaving the speech class had been such a relief that her mood is drastically improved from only fifteen minutes ago. The brief delay in getting to class had given her time to clear her mind, and luckily the time allotted for changing allows her to slip in easily.
While she changes, into a bikini with dark green, knee-length board shorts, Erin scouts the room for Lane. She and the musician had agreed to choose swim together, at least on the first day of classes. Had she gone to get her bathing suit, perhaps? Erin had needed to do so, having forgotten hers, but she seems to remember Lane having the bag with a towel and suit already. Another student notices her confused expression and leans over. "I think Lane went to the bathroom. She didn't look like she was feeling well," the girl whispers, not wanting to draw too much attention when everyone had begun to very pointedly ignore the topic.
Erin thanks her and locks up her bag before rushing over to the bathroom. The only other person in it is a girl applying sunscreen to her face at the furthest sink. "Lane?" she wants to shout it, beginning to worry, but reigns in her voice for the sake of the other girl in the restroom.
Lane pulls her hands away from her hair, slightly startled. It's Erin. The musician leans back in the stall, giving her a view of her friends feet. Then she takes a deep breath, adjusting her shorts. "What?" Lane asks, as if oblivious to the fact that it is Erin, her best friend on the other side of the door. She waits quietly for a response, and shifts her footing. The sandals she's chosen for today are spongy and stick to the damp ground of the bathroom.
"Um I'll be out later Erin, I uh, just need a moment longer. You go out there, okay?" Taking a deep breath her voice waivers only slightly. What I need is to disappear into the ground. Lane tilts her head just enough to peer through the slight crack in the stall door. She can't see her friends face, only her many locks of blonde hair. The sound of voices has dwindled down to almost nothing, as the girls have all made their way outside towards the lake. Lane quickly checks again for Erin's feet.
Lane has undergone a brief lapse of sanity if she sincerely believes that Erin will leave her alone so easily. Erin, who clings desperately to her friends after having lost just one. The young woman leans against the sink directly across from Lane's stall, not moving. "That's alright, I'll wait," she says brightly, a certain stubbornness in her tone making it clear nothing Lane can do will persuade her out of doing precisely that. She runs her fingers through pale blond hair, happy to give the girl her time.
Wallowing in the stall alone is not what you need right now, she promises Lane in her mind, justifying her actions which indirectly will force Lane out to swimming with her. Lane needs to be distracted, brought out into the sunlight and splashed with water and joked with and teased. Erin is a strong believer in distraction as a remedy, and although for many people this is the opposite of a solution, she sticks with it. Her own extroversion sometimes leads her to misunderstand what other people need in order to feel better. She assumes fun and smiling will help things, when they can often be part of the problem.
Lane scrunches her eyebrows together, displeased with the blondes words. If it is true, that Erin will wait until her friend emerges from the stall, then Lane concludes there is no use delaying the process. There's no stopping Erin, no use trying, Lane should know by now With a deep sign she turns the latch on the stall door and pushes it open slowly. There Erin stands, happy as can be, ready to swim, and just overall looking content with life. The only other girl in the bathrooms notices Lane's presence and quickly shuffles out of room, to leave the two girls alone. The musician pads past Erin and out towards the now empty locker section. She turns the dial on her locker swiftly.
"I'm not going out there... I feel sick to my stomach Erin." She sniffs, her back to her friend. Lane pulls a Laurel Academy t-shirt over her head. Shaking her head, the brunette pulls her bag out of the locker. [color=#FF333]"I can't stop thinking about Aimee, Erin."[/color] Voice wavering further she adds "Why wasn't she in speech?"
Erin frowns. Crap. I made the wrong choice again, didn't I? Even her, thick-skulled as one can be, notices that when Lane emerges looking incredibly displeased. Naturally, she follows Lane into the locker room, beginning to understand that Lane is just as stubborn as she is when the Musician changes back into clothing. Erin leans against the locker next to her friend, flinching slightly at the feeling of cold metal against her arm. The entire room has begun to drop in temperature, it seems. She chalks it up to the lack of bodies, but it probably has more to do with mental states at the moment.
"If you're sure, Lane. I just don't want you to hide from things too much. If you want I can go with you to your room- we can talk? Or eat too many snacks or something?" And then there it is, Aimee again. It seems every time a friend is brought to their knees it is due to some love interest. There is little wonder as to why Erin seems to have avoided anything more than casual relationships since beginning high school, with the examples she has on how feelings can destroy a person. Her mind flits to Sterling's speech, how it had been half to Nina, and then to her. It should have just been Nina. Why couldn't you have just never left Nina, dammit, the memories of his strut and smirk and infuriating comments make her face hot- with frustration, of course.
"No, I'll just go." Lane tugs at her shirt, quickly adjusting it in the mirror. She turns to her friend looking her over. Erin stands with much concern, backed up by both stubbornness and confidence. Her blonde hair is slightly frazzled from the summer humidity. The more Lane stares, the more mature and grown up Erin seems. Sure her personality hasn't shifted the slightest, but everything else seems to have. Her posture is taller, her skin clear and smooth. Even her smile seems to have grown up, becoming softer, and kinder. Most of all though, she looks composed, something the musician has struggled with for a long time. Erin appears ready to pass through the gates to college and take on the world.
"Maybe she also wasn't feeling well. Lane," she grabs her friend's hand and squeezes it, reassuringly. Dealing with other people's problems distracts her from her own. "You are going to find someone lovely and flawed and hilarious and hopelessly devoted to you, okay? But she isn't it."
Why can't people let friends fill those holes?
Lane quickly turns her gaze away from her friend. Her attitude shifting as the blonde speaks. Your going to find someone lovely...flawed...hilarious...hopelessly devoted The words blend together in her mind. Almost as if someone had tipped water onto them. She isn't it. But she could be...
Her best friend takes her hand squeezing it gently. "Erin I'm going to go, alone, okay? Tell Mr. Canfield I'm sick. We can meet up at lunch." Her hand slips away from the blondes. "I promise."
With that Lane pulls the string bag over her shoulders and pushes open the locker room door. She makes her way down the hallway without looking back and, heading straight for her summer dorm room.