We've had better days

Better Days (The story)

Six-foot-one, blond shaggy hair, terrible sunburn, tattoo on his right arm... Well, dang. That's my ex.

____________________

Sian

Thalia halted mid-way to the table, yanking me backwards. I paused, confused. "You okay?"

"...I'm gonna head out." She bit the inside of her cheek, giving me a nod before turning to leave.

"Um, explanation, please?" I grabbed her sleeve and raised an eyebrow. She turned to face me.

"The explanation?" She hissed through her teeth. "That guy is my ex."

"What? Who?" I stared slack-jawed at our dates. "Which one?"

"The blond one."

I sighed. "Well, this didn't go as planned." I looked at her, then back at them. "Should we just leave?"

"I would like that, yeah."

As soon as the words came out of her mouth, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I yelped and turned to see the person. Crap.

And, of course, there stood our dates. One of them, tall and blond, was definitely out in the sun too long, and the other one— shorter and darker, with gold-rimmed glasses. I looked at Thalia and made a face that said, Okay, but what about four-eyes? She glared back, most definitely a face that implied murder. Scared for your life yet, Sian?

The blond one — Sir Sunburn — spoke up. "You just gonna stand there, or are you gonna come and sit down?"

I sucked in my lips, considering. I sighed. "We'll sit."

____________

Thalia

What. Is. She. Doing...?! We walked over to the booth, Sian never letting go of my wrist. She clearly knew I would attempt to make a break for it, and decided to take preventative steps to stop that from happening. I twisted my arm, attempting to wiggle free. Hopeless. She had quite a grip on me– my wrist was starting to hurt – and did not seem like she was going to let go anytime soon.

She took a seat and pulled me to her side, sweetly smiling at the hideous pieces of trash that sat before us. I leaned over and whispered to Sian. "Please tell me we're going to throw these glasses of water in their faces... and run?"

"No. Play along, yeah?"

Play along? Is she freaking insane? I sighed and chewed on my lip, shifting in my seat.

Four-eyes laced his fingers together, resting his chin on his knuckles as he looked Sian up and down. Ew. And, of course, my ex– Hayden Moore.

He drummed his fingers on the table, grinning at me. "Nice to meet you, ladies," He waved a hand at four-eyes. "This is Felix, and I'm Hayden. Hayden Moore."

Sian nodded her head. "Nice to meet you. I'm Sian," She pointed at me. "And this is Thalia."

"We've met."

"Oh, I didn't know. Are you friends?" She lifted her eyebrows, feigning cluelessness.

I butt in before Hayden could reply. "You could say that."

Hayden leaned back in his chair. "I'd like to get to know you two better, and I'm sure Felix would too," Felix smiled at Sian, significantly creepier than expected.

"Well, then," Sian leaned forward in her chair, elbows on the tabletop. "What would you like to know?"

____________

This was getting old. Real fast. I couldn't take it anymore– Felix's creepy glances at Sian, this noisy restaurant, Hayden's knowing smile.

I stood suddenly, blood rushing to my head. I grabbed hold of the side of the table to support my weight, glaring at Hayden.

"Whoa, Thalia. What's going on?"

"Calm down, princess," Hayden laughed, gesturing at my unfinished glass. "You gonna finish your drink?"

"Am I going to finish my drink?" I mocked. "You know I don't hold alcohol well, you useless piece of–"

"Thalia, chill. Sit down." Sian tugged on my sleeve.

I ripped my arm away and snatched my purse off the tabletop. "I'm leaving. Have fun." I glared at Sian and hurried away, nearly tripping on my shoes.

A waitress called to me as I opened the door to leave. "Thank you for visiting, have a lovely night."

I said nothing, just lifted a hand over my shoulder and slammed the door behind me, cool night air blowing into my face as I walked away into the night.

___________

My phone rang in my hand, the vibrations pulling me out of my thoughts. Thoughts about how I would go about ending a friendship– one I didn't want to end. Subconsciously, I answered the phone.

"Hello, this is Thalia Alesi, to whom am I speaking?" I raised a hand to my mouth, yawning.

"What's with the formalities? I thought we were besties." I dropped the phone away from my ear and looked at the FaceTime caller. Sian, outside, seemingly jogging and out of breath. I scoffed and moved to hang up before Sian spoke again, this time more panicked. "Wait, Thalia."

"Wait, Sian? Why should I? You scheduled a date with my ex. Now, that's fine. I'll let it slide– you didn't know. But, after I told you, you proceeded to sit down and make small talk with said ex," I laughed humorlessly. "So no. I will not wait. Jump. Specifically off a cliff."

"Just hear me out," She laughed, more panicked than before. "And if you please, you can throw me off a cliff yourself."

I sighed and stopped walking. "I hear you."

"I'm sorry," She paused. "And I know that doesn't fix anything at all, but I'm hoping it's a start. You're my best friend. I care about you, and right now I feel like crap. I shouldn't have done that, but I didn't know exactly what to do. I did a crappy thing. I should have respected what you wanted to do and left. Threw water in Hayden's sunburnt face and smashed Felix's glasses."

I laughed. "You should've. Did you?"

"No, but I did spill water on him. Accidentally, of course."

"Of course." I smiled, but it fell. "But why didn't you leave?"

"...Would you hit me if I told you that you have good taste?"

"Oh my god, Sian!" I doubled over laughing. Figured– I couldn't stay mad at her for very long.

Someone touched my shoulder, and I jumped and turned. Sian?

"So. Second time's a charm?" Her voice echoed into the dark, the feedback from the call ringing in my ears.

"You're serious right now?" I lifted an eyebrow.

"Nope. How about a pedicure and rom-com? My place?"

"How could I say no to that?"

"You couldn't. I'm irresistible." She framed her face with her hands, smiling and fluttering her lashes.

"Sure you are."

"And don't you forget it."

END