Because I still haven’t got over how shitty Amanda’s “friends” were treating her so:
Emma R’s the one that’s been coercing everyone else to avoid and exclude Amanda because she knew that Noah actually used to have a crush on Amanda, and Emma R felt threatened, so she’d told Noah that Amanda thought he was a creep and instead convinced him to go out with her instead.
So after Amanda has that big argument with Emma R-
(”Well if you think I’m so terrible then just stop being my friend!”
“okay!”)
-she just completely stops talking to them, and Emma R. starts feeling kinda guilty, because this is her best friend after all, and they’ve known each other since they were 7, and she kinda misses her.
So one day, she’s sitting at their usual lunch table with the rest of their friends, and she’s waiting for Amanda to come in so she can apologize.
But then.
The cafeteria door opens, and in walks the school badboy, Lucien Bloodmarch, and the rest of his clique.
And he’s got an arm around Amanda’s shoulder, and she’s laughing at something he must’ve said, and she’s joking around with the others in the group, and they’re all looking at her as if she were the sun, and she fits in so well with them, like a missing piece of their puzzle.
And Emma R feels an unexpected spike of jealousy. Because that’s her best friend.
She’s so caught up in her own thoughts that she almost doesn’t hear Noah’s snide comment to Amanda as she and Lucien walk by with the rest of her group.
“Never would’ve thought badboys were your type, Amanda.”
And the group of 5 just stops short.
Amanda is confused and has no idea what Noah is talking about.
Lucien understands, but doesn’t bother to correct the guy despite how horrendously wrong he is.
(Ever since their fathers had started dating, he and Amanda had started spending more time together, and they ended up bonding over their shared rebellious streaks, problems with authority, and utter adoration of their dads.
She’s like the cool older sister he’d never wanted. He couldn’t see her in a romantic light if he wanted to.
And not to mention he’s gay.)
Lucien just smirks down at Noah.
“What, like it’s any of your business who she dates?”
Noah bristles at that, and looks like he’s about to start a fight right then and there.
But Emma R stops the fight before it can happen by getting up and asking Amanda if they can talk.
Amanda looks skeptical for a moment, before telling he others to go ahead.
Lucien, who’s having so much fun riling up Noah, smirks and says, “Sure thing, Panda,” before ruffling her hair and walking off with the others.
“Hey! You know dad’s the only one who can call me that!” she yells good-naturedly.
“You keep telling yourself that, Panda,” Ernest chimes in with a snicker as they walk away.
Amanda rolls her eyes and turns back to Emma R, her smile immediately slipping off her face to be replaced with an aloof expression.
“Well?” she asks, arms crossed, eyebrow raised.
Emma R is a little stunned, a little out of her depth. She’s not used to Amanda having inside jokes without her.
Emma R swallows her pride, apologizes to Amanda, asks if they can be friends again.
Amanda thinks it over for a long moment. She’s so tempted to say yes, to leave it all in the past and have her best friend back again.
But her father’s words echo in her mind, and she steels her heart.
“No,” she says.
Emma R looks taken aback.
“I don’t want to surround myself with people who would alienate me for absolutely no reason at all, people who would avoid me and talk behind my back. Real friends don’t do that. I deserve better.”
And with that, she turns around and stomps off after the rest of her new friends.
Emma R watches in astonishment.
Ernest gives Amanda a quick, one-armed hug as she rejoins the group.
Lucien says something too quiet for them to hear from so far away, before slinging an arm around Amanda’s neck and turning to smirk smugly at Emma R.
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