tw : homophobia, bullying, self-harm, eating disorders, mentions of rape, mentions of violence, conversion therapy, depression
Gabbie had "The Office" playing on Taylor's large television in the living room, but she could barely even focus on it. She had been waiting for this day for weeks. Her best friend, Danica, was finally coming into the city to see Gabbie. And Gabbie could barely contain her excitement. She hadn't seen her best friend since she moved into the city and she had so much to tell her. Danica was like a sister to Gabbie. They had been best friends since they met on that one fateful day in daycare. And they were inseparable since. From every smile to every heartbreak. The young girl checked her phone again, seeing that only a minute had passed since she last checked. It was only 12:16 pm and Danica was supposed to get there at 12:30 pm. She didn't know if she could handle waiting for the next 14 minutes.
When Gabbie had told Taylor that she had an old friend coming into town, Taylor was surprised. Gabbie never spoke about her life before she moved into the city. Of course, Taylor wanted to know every detail about the young girl's life, but she didn't want to pressure the girl into opening up about something she obviously didn't want to talk about. However, Taylor knew that Gabbie had been through extremely dark times. Gabbie didn't tell her so, but Taylor could just tell. She saw the scars on her thighs. She saw how her ribs poked out over her stomach. She heard her whimpers in the middle of the night as she dreamt of her horrific past. But Taylor never said anything, for fear of upsetting the young girl.
As Taylor watched the young girl pick at her fingernails, a knock on the front door interrupted her train of thought. Gabbie practically jumped out of her skin, sprinting toward the door. The young girl swung the door open, revealing a short, plus-sized ginger girl. Gabbie screamed in delight, embracing the girl standing in front of her. The scene in front of her made Taylor smile. The two girls conversed quickly, talking over each other and laughing.
Gabbie took Danica's hand, bringing her over to Taylor.
"Danica, this is Taylor. Taylor, this is Danica," Gabbie giggled.
Taylor extended her right hand. "Nice to meet you, Danica."
Danica's jaw dropped. She shook the older girl's hand, still in shock. "Girl, when you told me she was hot, this is not what I expected," Danica whispered to Gabbie, causing Gabbie to laugh loudly. Taylor chuckled, letting go of her hand.
"Gabbie set up the guest room for you," Taylor commented, causing Gabbie to blush.
Taylor watched as Gabbie dragged Danica up the spiral staircase, causing the older girl to laugh. She had never seen Gabbie this way. So happy and excited and carefree. And it caused Taylor to wonder, what had the young girl been through that made her feel as though she had something to hide around Taylor?
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"How in the hell did you meet the hot girl?" Danica asked as the two girls unpacked Danica's belongings.
"You know I work at Lauren's coffee shop," Gabbie answered.
"So you just serve hot people on the daily?" Danica joked.
Gabbie chuckled, rolling her eyes. "No, she came in one day. I had never seen her before. And when we looked at each other, I swear my heart actually stopped."
"So you're living in a Disney movie, good to know," Danica said.
Gabbie laughed, causing her to fall over, which made Danica laugh. Soon enough, both girls were laying on the floor and laughing so hard their faces were turning red. It was like they were in their own little world, a world in which all of their problems and their traumatic pasts disappeared.
