It had been around two months since Norman, Ace, and Jade moved. Norman kept good touch with his friends, but Jade and Ace didn't since they're idiots and Ace doesn't have any friends.
~
"Hey..." A girl with short black hair says. "I noticed that you sit alone during lunch usually."
Norman looks up from his phone. "Yeah, I do. Do you want something?" He asks.
"I want to be your friend, since you seem lonely," she tells him. "My name is Heather!"
Norman looks back at his phone. "I'm Norman," he mutters. "I guess we could be friends."
"Oh, okay! So, do you like anime or manga?"
"Kind of. My older sister loves it. I could give you her Discord later if you'd like to talk about it. Also, if you have Discord."
"What's your favorite food?" Heather asks.
"I don't care that much about favorites," he replies.
"Yeah, that was kind of a stupid question. Now you ask a question." She smiles.
"What music do you like?"
"I like a lot of music. I love music. I don't write songs, but I play them."
"What's your favorite band or singer then?"
She thinks for a second. "I like Billie Eilish, but I also like a band called uh... I forgot. Nightly or something, I think."
"My sister likes them, too."
"Where were you from before you came here?"
He tells her the town he lived in. (I didn't tell since I can only think of the one that I currently live in, and I am NOT giving my location to Wattpad/Ao3 readers-)
"I know someone who lives there! Her name is Emma!"
"Emma?" He stares at her, his eyes sort of wide. "Does she have short hair- actually, I could give you a picture." He opens a picture of them. The picture that he showed Halley and liked the most.
"That's kind of what she looked like; it was a while ago. I went over there for some reason when I was five, and I met her," Heather tells him. "She fell, and I helped her up. We became friends after that, then I moved back here."
"Emma's my girlfriend now. Or, she was, until I had to move here..." He trails off. "I miss her."
She puts her hand on his shoulder. "Do you talk to her?" She asks with genuine sympathy in her voice and gaze.
"Yeah, but it's not the same. Only through calling, texting, and Discord. I miss seeing her expressions and all of that..." He tells her.
They talk for the rest of lunch, giving each other numbers and usernames.
...
"So... I think that I like someone," Heather says to some of her friends. "But he said he had a girlfriend-"
"Oh my gosh, who!?" A girl with light pink hair demands.
"The new kid, Norman. You haven't met him. We became friends. I feel bad, though."
"Why do you feel bad?" Another girl asks, pushing her bangs out of her eyes. "And besides, I have met him. He's tall with messy white hair, right?"
"I'm friends with his girlfriend, Emma," Heather replies. "And yeah, that's what he looks like."
"Oh... Just don't think about it, then. If he likes someone else, then yeah um pretty much stay out of his way so you don't like him more."
"I know, Billie. That's hard though."
"If you like him enough, you'll get obvious about it, then he could avoid you," the girl with pink hair says. "Boys are hard to understand." She pouts.
"Oh yeah, Akira, do you want to play, I don't know, any switch game later, or are you busy?" Billie asks.
"Um... I don't think I'm busy..." Akira mutters, fumbling with her short pink hair. "What about Animal Crossing? Heather can join if we do, anyway."
"That sounds fun!" Billie exclaims.
"I don't think I'd be busy at all, but I might circle around a bird sculpture my sister made chanting, 'the bird has no eyes,' though." Heather tells them. (I did that with my cousins once- I really wanted to put that in)
"You're weird," Akira says.
"Indeed, I am," Heather replies. "I would get along with Jade."
"Who's Jade?" Billie asks.
"Jade is a YouTuber and also has Wattpad and Discord and Ao3 and Spotify Premium but not TikTok. She is my crush's sister."
"I haven't had a crush since college..." Akira mutters, putting her head in her hands.
"We're in tenth grade," Billie remarks. "Idiot."
"Oh, yeah you do. Can't say their name though..." Heather smirks, glancing at Billie.
"Hey! You're making it obvious!" Akira yells, blushing.
"Why'd you say 'their' instead if 'his?' Akira announced herself as straight," Billie mutters.
"Nah, she's lesbian." Heather crosses her arms.
"I'm pansexual, not lesbian!" Akira pouts.
"Sure, but-" Akira lets out a scream, cutting Heather off.
"You can't say that!"
Billie just smiles and looks away. "Hope it's me..." She mutters, too soft for anyone to hear over Heather and Akira's joking fight. She's kept her feelings for Akira hidden for a while; Trying to forget about them has only made them grow.
Heather and Akira stop shouting and hitting each other jokingly, and then start laughing.
"Good memory..." Billie whispers. "That goes there."
...
"Hey Jade!" Emma greets from the other side of the phone.
"Hi..." Jade says. "Why are now calling? Just went to sleep... Woke me up..." She clearly has forgotten most of the English language at this point.
"In the middle of the day?"
"Yeah... Jessica told me nap... Should get coffee. Wait, how are you calling me? Don't you have, like, school?" Jade asks.
"Yeah, but it's lunch break. I wanted to call you. How are you?"
Jade suddenly gains energy. "I could do better. I shouldn't complain, since there are people doing worse off than me. Haven't found a job yet, since I've lived here for two months, and I guess the world hates insomniacs. I wish I could move back to where I used to, honestly. Both me and Ace have terrible insomnia. No one hires us. For Ace, it's obvious he's lost sleep for the last two years. I'm more energetic, but they always ask for a sleep schedule! Then I reply, 'I don't sleep,' then they deny hiring me, just since I don't have a normal sleep schedule!"
"I hope you'll find a job soon. What about working during the night? No one has night shifts, so they probably would pay you more to keep you. I mean, I would."
"That's a good idea. But then I sleep during the day? Who will- Oh yeah, fricking buses. But also... Why are you calling me?"
"I want to talk."
"About what?" Jade asks, suddenly confused with a hint of anxiety.
"About nothing in general. I'm pretty lonely, and I don't have anything to do."
Jade's waves of anxiety and confusion pass. "Oh, okay. You could have called someone else, though," She mutters. "I'm tired. You don't have to hang up, though; It takes a while for me to fall asleep. What do you want to talk about?" She asks.
1122 Words
I had no inspiration for this chapter, but I am planning for Jade and Ace both to want to move back to where Emma lives since, I don't like separating my characters. (Well, they're not mine, but you get I don't like separating main character and main love interest)
Who would be the main character and who would be the main love interest? I don't know either- WAIT. Would they both be both like what-?
ns 15.158.61.20da2
