HMU

ninety three

Ally situates herself in the waiting room, pulling her feet up below her so she sits criss-cross in the chair. She lets out a deep breath, leaning her head back against the wall and closing her eyes.

Camila was still waiting outside Lauren's room for Lucy to get out so she could go in and talk to Lauren, and Ally figured she'd leave them alone whenever that happens. It seemed like lately, they could never win; first Lauren and Lucy are fighting, then they aren't and Lauren gets hurt trying to protect her... And although Ally's recent problems were nothing compared to the struggle Lauren was currently going through, it didn't mean they weren't important.

She'd done exactly what Lauren had warned her not to, and now she had no clue how to get herself out of this mess.

She knew Sydney was the one she wanted — she's kind, and adorable, and flirty, and she always texts Ally before she goes to bed just to check up on how her day has been going... And it didn't help that Ally found her incredibly attractive.

But Tori and Melanie... they were good people too. Ally wished they'd started off the same way her and Sydney had; she wished they had become friends first instead of this weird flirty thing that'd been going on with them. She didn't know how to tell either of them that she wasn't interested, despite how hot and sweet they both were.

It was.. a mess. A mess she clearly could've avoided, if she'd thought it through.

"You're Ally.. right?"

Ally looks up to see Lucy Vives, standing beside where she was sat in the waiting room chair looking significantly smaller than Ally remembers. She appears to be eyeing Ally up nervously, as if she's afraid of her. Ally, ever the kind one, sits up a little straighter and pats the spot next to her. "That's me."

Lucy slowly sits herself down, crossing her arms and sliding down in her chair as she releases a huff of air. For a second, Ally thought they'd be stuck sitting in awkward silence, but Lucy starts mumbling beside her.

"This is all my fault."

"What?"

"I did this. I did this to her. I keep doing things to her without meaning to. Maybe I should've just listened and stayed away when she asked me to instead of pushing for my friend back..."

Ally stays quiet, listening as Lucy's breathing gets deeper and her words more rushed.

"All I do is hurt people. I hurt the man I shoved past at the entrance while I was trying to get in to see Lauren. I hurt you and all of your friends a few weeks ago when you couldn't get ahold of Lauren because of what I'd done. I've hurt Lauren physically, and emotionally, and there's nothing I can do to fix it..."

"That's not true—"

"I'm the worst fucking person alive. Lauren doesn't deserve this kind of shit in her life, and I'm stupid for bringing it into hers in the first place. Maybe I'm just supposed to go through all this alone.. or maybe it's the universe's way of telling me to let go."

Ally's brow furrows at her last sentence, and this time she grabs Lucy by the arm and turns her so she's forced to look at her. "I need you to calm down. Look, Lucy, I don't know what kind of shit you've been through, but I do know that what most of what you're saying isn't true. Did you hurt Lauren? Yes. But that doesn't mean you deserve to suffer alone. You've been trying to fix things, and the way I know you mean it is that you won't stop trying to fix things. You admit that you're wrong, and... just... you don't give yourself enough credit." Ally pauses to take a breath, collecting her thoughts. "Have you fucked up quite a lot? Sure. But so has everyone else."