Everdeen Institute (GirlxGirl)

CH. 15 Friendsgiving

Thanksgiving was tomorrow and judging by past years, it was expected to be boring. Lori was the one who made it exciting for me but since she was no longer here, I was doomed. In order to survive tomorrow's dinner, my friends and I were planning our own private Thanksgiving dinner tonight for ourselves. A Friendsgiving.

Out to buy a turkey, snacks and drinks, Luke and I walked down the aisles of the supermarket. Driving the cart, Luke turned to the chips aisle. Taking any bag, I tossed a whole bunch of them into the cart. It didn't really matter which ones they were. Knowing Kayla, she would eat any.

Luke snapped his fingers, "What about the beer?" he groaned in distress. We were under the legal drinking age, so getting ahold of it was going to be a problem.

I motioned for him to relax, "We'll find a way; but first let's get the food," I focused on while tossing more chip bags into the cart. Even tossed in cookies. This was not going to be a traditional Thanksgiving dinner. Just a dinner made of junk food and beer. Plus a small turkey.

Luke pushed the cart and hopped on, "See y'all," he hummed like a child.

I jogged after him and gripped the cart. "Stop before you get hurt," I laughed off my concern for his safety. I admit, it would have been hilarious if he slipped off but at the same time, I worried for him. He was like a brother to me and I did not want to see him smash his head on the ground and see blood flowing out of it.

"Awe, you care about me," he teased.

"Of course I do, you idiot," I nudged him in the ribs.

Sliding my fingers on the shelves, I walked along the side of the cookies. A thought invaded my mind. The one of Isabel being with Stefanie. It was bothering me more than what I thought it would. It was stressing me out so much. No matter what I did, I could not take my mind off of it.

Luke pulled the cart up by my side, "Nikki, are you okay?" he noticed. I nodded and tried brushing it off. "Why the sad face then?" he wasn't letting it go. I shrugged. "Because of Lori isn't it?" he thought he had it all figured out. If only he knew that I was like this because of Ms. Hart. I shook my head no. "You know it is," he insisted.

"Honestly, it's not about her," I argued. I was not going to tell him about Isabel but I also didn't want him thinking that it was about Lori. If he was communicating with her, then I did not want him telling her that I was upset because of her. It would only give Lori the satisfaction of had broken my heart and I did not want her to find joy in that. She left me and therefore, did not deserve to know how miserable I was. Even if I loved her, I resented her for leaving me.

Skeptical about my honesty, he asked, "Why are you upset then?"

I shrugged, "I'm not, I'm just tired," I lied.

"Tired of what? Of missing Lori? Of not knowing what's going on with her? Tired of this life? Tired of feeling heartbroken?" he summarized. God, didn't have to bring it all up. If I was not upset about that before, I was now.

"Just tired as in sleepy," I clarified.

Luke drove the cart right in front of me, "If you tell me why you're upset, maybe I can help you," he offered. I appreciated him wanting to help but why did everyone want to hear about my problems? Couldn't I just be upset without anyone questioning it? Without someone trying to force out a reason? Sometimes I just needed to handle it on my own. Not everything had to be said out loud.

I moved the cart out of my way, "I'm fine," I claimed and kept walking. Talking about me being upset made it worse. It only got me thinking about it more. I chewed on the inside of my cheek while the thought of Isabel and Stefanie taunted me. I did not want to feel this way. I did not want to feel anything for Isabel. Not only was she an amazing teacher but regardless of our hookups, she was a great friend to talk to. I did not want to lose this strange friendship that we had formed. Shit, Luke got this stuck in my head now. I sighed, "Luke, have you ever had a crush on someone but didn't want to date them?" keeping it in was destructive.