by R. Mason
“Our team won’t be the same without them, but they wouldn’t want us to stop because of what happened. We must be strong, and move on. Our next game will be played in their honour,” Faye sniffled, and ducked her head, wiping at her eyes, “Thank you.”
With that, she walked back towards her seat, sent off with a round of applause. As soon as she sat down, Amethyst enveloped her in a hug.
“You did so well,” She whispered, squeezing her eyes closed.
“That’s probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” Faye’s weak voice replied, and Amethyst pulled away to look at her.
“Don’t speak too soon,” She said, smirking, “We have a hell of a ride in front of us.”
“After what that bitch has done to us, I’m looking forward to ripping her heart out.”
“That’s my girl.”
◆◆◆
“What would we prefer?” Amethyst held up two DVDs to scrutinising eyes, “Romance, or gore?”
“Romance,” Yeva nodded, “I think gore would make me cry. So, romance.”
She was bundled in a dark pink blanket, the glitter on her cheeks nearly matching. It looked like a six-year-old had got a hold of her face and just thrown everything in their crafts box all over it. Amethyst was proud of her work. The entire point of this night was to throw as much as possible at Yeva to make her stop thinking about everything that was going on. With Hannah’s funeral looming over her head, she needed it.
Faye was sat next to her, her sleeves pulled over her hands and her fringe getting so long now that it went past her eyebrows. If she blinked too violently the hair would probably get stuck in her lashes. About ten minutes ago, she started shivering, and Yeva squeezed in next to her and draped her in the blanket. Amethyst was a little chuffed that she was sat between herself and Faye, but she couldn’t exactly complain.
Yeva had been through so much. It was practically Amethysts fault. Plus, with what Yeva had said the other day, she didn’t want to make it obvious that whatever Yeva thought was happening between Amethyst and Faye was completely one sided.
“Usually I would vote gore,” Faye shrugged, “But I’m up for romance. As long as it isn’t the notebook. I don’t want either of you crying on my shoulder.”
“I didn’t do that,” Amethyst denied, and both Faye and Yeva gave her a look, “I didn’t!”
“Sure, Ace,” Faye nodded condescendingly, “Now put the DVD in, get the snacks, and sit your ass down so we can get this movie night started.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Amethyst did a mock salute then rolled her eyes. She was turning into Dylan.
Yeva sunk further into the sofa, pulling the blanket up and over her shoulders, causing it to move off Faye’s lap.
“Sorry,” She murmured, “Here-”
“Don’t worry about it,” Faye waved her off, then pointed upstairs and addressed Amethyst, “You have more blankets upstairs, right?”
“Do you really need to ask?”
Faye grinned and hopped over the back of the sofa. Once her footsteps could be heard over their heads, Yeva raised an eyebrow at Amethyst.
“What?” She raised the other one, then significantly looked at the spot where Faye was a moment ago, “Shut up.”
Quickly, Amethyst put the DVD in, and rushed into the kitchen to grab the food they bought earlier. Faye insisted on everything savoury, but Amethyst and Yeva both had a sweet tooth, so she was overruled. They had cookies, mini cupcakes, chocolate fingers, and toffee popcorn. Amethyst collected them in her arms, along with the giant bottle of knock off Morrisons Pepsi, and headed back into the living room.
Faye had come back, and was sat with her arm over the back of the sofa, chatting to Yeva about something or other that Amethyst didn’t care about. What she did care about was the fact that she looked adorable.
Her hair was ruffled and practically falling out of the bun it was tied up in, and the T Shirt she was wearing as pyjamas was slipping off her shoulders. It was probably one of her dad’s. She always liked to steal them when he was away, then never giving them back. He nearly didn’t give her permission to stay over. It was understandable to be worried, but he was eventually convinced because Rida was going to be in the next room all night. She was trustworthy, apparently.
Faye’s socks were huge and fluffy, making her tiny feet look nearly twice the size. They were only just peeking out from under the blanket, which she had tucked in at the sides. She looked so huggable that Amethyst wanted to drop everything she was carrying and squeeze her half to death. Maybe three quarters.
“Come on,” She said to break herself out of staring, “Stop your yapping, we need all our concentration for this.”
“It’s a romance, it isn’t going to be that complicated,” Faye scoffed, then made grabby hands at the food Amethyst was holding.
“Thought you didn’t like all this ‘tooth-rotting crap’,” Amethyst mocked, handing the food over anyway. Yeva smacked at her forearm with a gasp.
“Don’t be mean, she’s fragile,” Yeva pinched Faye’s cheek as she tried to open the packet of cookies, “Look how pale she is! She’s practically translucent.”
“Yes, yes, I know,” Faye rolled her eyes, taking the abuse to her cheeks with a disgruntled expression, “I’m the whitest. So white, I’m practically a ghost. I’m the whitest white to ever white,” She eventually shook Yeva off and opened the cookies. She stuffed one in her mouth before speaking again, “I’m the novelty white person of this house.”
“Oh, my God,” Yeva smacked a hand over her mouth, a startled laugh coming out of it, “You are!”
“How does it feel to be the minority for once?” Amethyst teased, going to sit down on her side of the sofa. She noticed that Faye had brought down a blanket for her too, and let herself smile a little before sitting.
“It feels-” Faye sighed- “Oppressive.”
“Hard knock life,” Yeva sighed too, “Now everyone shut up! The film’s starting.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Amethyst and Faye said at the same time, and they all burst into giggles. It felt good, to have a girl’s night like this. Nothing was going wrong, and nothing was going to. For once, Amethyst felt like a normal teenage girl, which she hadn’t felt in a long time.
They watched three movies, well, Amethyst and Faye did. By the third, Yeva was sound asleep on Faye’s shoulder, snoring softly. Her mum had told them that she was having trouble sleeping since Hannah had died, and Amethyst was glad that they had helped. It was only eleven. That meant she would get a good amount of sleep in before they had to get up for school.
Everyone had said that really, Yeva should have stayed off for at least a week, but she wouldn’t have it. Her grades weren’t good in the first place, she had said, so they were only going to get worse if she stayed home.
Amethyst had a feeling that the real reasons she wanted to go back was to avoid thinking about it. It was like getting back on the horse straight after falling off. There was something to be said for people like that. Yeva wanted to continue with her life. Sometimes, if you let yourself dwell on something long enough, it would consume you and you’d never escape its grasp. Yeva just wasn’t letting that happen to her.
Once the credits were rolling for the third film, Amethyst and Faye gently woke Yeva up and helped her upstairs. As a last-minute decision, Amethyst let her use her bed, and settled into the one she had made for Yeva on the floor. Faye got into her own blanket pile, and they silently got comfortable.
“Do you think she’ll ever be the same?” Faye whispered, and Amethyst stared at the ceiling, at the glow in the dark stars, and thought about it. These things change a person, forever. She wouldn’t be the same. She wouldn’t necessarily be completely different either. Everyone evolves over their lives, and there are always events that force you to. This was Yeva’s event. She would walk through the flames, and rise out of the ashes a different person. Not new, but changed.
“She’ll get better,” Amethyst decided to reply. It wasn’t an answer, not re
ally, but she didn’t know what would suffice.
“What about us?” Faye said, and Amethyst’s heart jumped, “Before all of this, we had a set-up, just you and me against the world. That’s different now. We’ve changed.”
Amethyst turned onto her side to see Faye on her back, her hands folded over her stomach and gaze on the ceiling. She didn’t look sad, or angry, but contemplative, nervous.
“We have Dylan now, and Harper. Yeva needs us too.”
“I guess we can’t live in that bubble anymore,” Faye rested her head on its side and gazed at Amethyst, searching her face for something.
“No,” Amethyst pursed her lips, “I guess not.”
“We should see them tomorrow,” Faye said, “Harper and Dylan. We need a plan.”
“I’ll text them in the morning,” Amethyst assured her, and with a nod, Faye rolled onto her other side and the conversation was over, “Goodnight.”
Faye didn’t reply, and Amethyst had no idea what she was thinking about, but this was a situation where she had to be like Yeva. No dwelling, just action.
Tomorrow, they would talk to the boys, and find a way to get rid of Kamini forever. God knows she deserved it.
CHAPTER TWENTY
For once, Amethyst’s mind was clear. She was sat in class, staring out of the window, and tapping her pencil against the spine of her text book. Staring as someone mowed their lawn across the road from the school, she felt oddly calm. People were filtering in and she jumped when someone sat in the seat next to her. Yeva had told Amethyst that she would be in the library for this lesson. She had the work, but couldn’t sit where you could see the football field.
It should’ve bothered Amethyst too, but somehow, she was okay today. There was no feeling of impending doom.
If it wasn’t Yeva that was sitting next to her, then who the hell was it?
“Hey, old buddy, old pal,” Leon grinned at her, more a baring of his teeth, and she held back a punch, “How are you feeling this fine evening?”
“One, it’s half past two,” Amethyst gritted her teeth, “Two, what the hell are you doing here? Aren’t you, like, twenty? And three, do you suddenly think I don’t hate you, or do you really want to be punched in the face?”
“I’m 18, and I’ve got a visitor’s pass to use the library. Not really meant to be in this class, but as long as a teacher isn’t here.” Leon was still smiling, and it set Amethyst on edge.
“How are you just wandering around doing whatever you want? Aren’t your parents looking for you?”
“I was in foster care,” Leon shrugged, “I’ve been living on my own since I was sixteen, and I’m very persuasive,” He looked to the front of the room, where the teacher still hadn’t arrived, “I can’t stay long.”
“So, you really are just looking for a punch in the face?”
“Are you forgetting that I helped you?”
“Are you forgetting that you’re the reason we’re in this mess in the first place?”
“It’s not my fault Kamini was making the best offer at the time.”
“No,” Amethyst tilted her head, assessing him with nothing less than complete and utter disgust. He wasn’t wearing uniform, his hair was a mess, and the cuts on his face still hadn’t completely healed, “But you’re in control of your moral compass,” She leant forward, meeting his eyes with as much venom as she could muster, “You chose to work with Kamini. That’s on you. Just because you’ve decided that you’re in the mood to be a good guy now, doesn’t make you a good guy.”
“You’re throwing away an ally, here.”
“If I’m desperate enough for allies that I come to you,” Amethyst snarled, “We’ve already lost.”
“You might as well have,” Leon chuckled, “I know Kamini better than you, and I know what she’s planning. If you don’t want my help, that’s fine, but don’t come crying to me when your little friends all get their throats cut because of you.”
“Bite me,” Amethyst said, then leant back in her chair and looked out the window again. She didn’t turn to look when Leon left the room, and didn’t have much time to think about the interaction because then the teacher was walking in and she had to read a chapter of her textbook.
Half way through the lesson, boredom overcame her, and she checked her phone.
There were seven texts waiting for her.
DYL-DORK
Did Leon come and talk to you? What’s his deal?
I didn’t know what to say I just ended up thanking him for helping and then staring until he left
What did you say????
I told him we were meeting later today to talk about what to do and he asked where but I didn’t tell him don’t worry I told him he had to talk to you first
God I’m ramble-texting I’m sorry I’m panicking
Could you please reply did I do something wrong?
He’s lurking in the library
Amethyst cursed under her breath. It seemed Leon was doing his rounds, making sure he got to everyone and made them think about letting him into their group. Dammit, Amethyst needed to stop calling them a group.
She typed out a text and sent it to Dylan, Harper and Faye.
We need to be a united front. NO LEON
DYL-DORK
Noted and activated, commander
Amethyst scoffed.
FAYE
Is he trying to butt in? What’s happened?
This whole ‘sharing everything with Faye’ thing was both easier and harder than Amethyst thought it would be. It felt good to have her in the loop. There wasn’t that curling feeling of guilt in her stomach every time something happened, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to tell Faye. But there was the feeling that she might be putting the girl in danger by telling her. Even so, she was respecting her wishes. After all, Faye deserved to know what was going on with what she’d already been through.
Leon came to my class. He wanted to get in on whatever it is we’re planning but I pretty much told him to piss off
You need to do the same if he comes to you!
Amethyst added an extra message saying ‘please’ to make it seem less bossy. When did she suddenly become in charge? Having all of them looking to her as an authority felt odd.
HARPER
Are you sure? He could help.
Of course, Harper would be the one to try and make Amethyst reconsider.
We’ll talk about this later. I’m not arguing about it over text.
For now, stay away from him, okay?
HARPER
Okay. But we are discussing this.
There was something to be said for Harper’s courage. Maybe she should have considered Leon’s offer. Amethyst was used to trusting her instincts. They hadn’t been terribly wrong before. She knew there was something bad about Kamini as soon as she saw her. Then again, the woman wasn’t exactly trying to hide her malicious intent. Still, Amethyst trusted her gut. Leon couldn’t be trusted. The question was, how would she convince Harper that she was right?
“Amethyst?” The teacher’s voice brought her back to the present, and her head snapped to the front of class, “Anything to add?”
“Sorry, what was the question?” She got a few raised eyebrows from the room, and the teacher just sighed.
Maybe she should think about Leon when she wasn’t in the middle of a lesson.
“Hey,” Amethyst caught up the Faye at the end of the day, “Were you as distracted as I was today? I couldn’t think about anything other than Leon’s smug face.”
“He never approached me,” Faye shrugged, both of her hands holding onto the straps of her backpack. She leaned closer to Amethyst, and whispered conspiringly, “Do you think it’s a plan? That he’s still working with Kamini?”
“I don’t know yet,” They ran down the front steps, and Amethyst searched for Volkov’s car, “Harper thinks we could use him.”
“He trusts that scum bag?” Faye spat, “He’s the one who took me!”
“
What?” Amethyst stopped walking and grabbed Faye’s shoulder to stop her too, “You never told me that.”
“I don’t like talking about my kidnapping, believe it or not,” Faye’s voice was quiet, but harsh, “I’m not in the mood for reliving it, okay? Just- he was the one that got me, and didn’t you say he was the one who told Kamini I’d be the one to take? He’s a dick. End of.”
“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” Amethyst said, feeling like hitting herself in the forehead for bringing it up, “I’m here if you want to- but- just- we have to convince Harper. Dylan trusts him more than anyone and if he decides we should trust Leon then we’re screwed. It’d be two against two and I’ll bang my head against a wall.”
“I’ll be joining you,” Faye smiled slightly, then spotted something over Amethyst’s shoulder, “And that’ll be Harper brooding over there,” Amethyst turned, and saw that Harper was leaning against the hood of Volkov’s car, talking to Dylan, “Honestly, you need a better car than that to be acting high and mighty.”
“He’s talking to Dylan,” Amethyst cursed under her breath, “Come on!”
She grabbed Faye’s sleeve and ran over to the car. It didn’t wind Amethyst, but Faye doubled over, holding her knees and panting.
“Never-” She took in a deep breath- “make me do that again.”
“You do sports,” Amethyst scoffed, and both Harper and Dylan were looking at them with raised eyebrows, “You shouldn’t be tired from running across a car park.”
“Running?” Faye said incredulously, “That was not running. That was sprinting. Next time you want to get somewhere quickly, I’m getting on your back.”
“You know that whole not wanting to be compared to a tween movie, thing,” Dylan waved a hand, “Saying that is not going to help.”
“What about that is like a tween movie?” Faye frowned.
“You know,” Dylan crossed his arms, “Like, how in that one where the girl gets on the guy's back and they go running? No?” Dylan looked between three blank faces, “Have none of you seen it?”
“No, we haven’t,” Harper said, then turned to look at Amethyst with stern eyes, “Now, we need to talk about Leon.”
