The Cheap Bouquet

"You're fucking stupid," Zak spat, as he helped Anna lug her belongings into the small apartment that she would be sharing with Emmeline. In San Diego, once again.

Anna sighed. She knew she was stupid, she was well aware of that. But, since she saw Tony, she didn't care. All she wanted to do was be around him, or any of the guys for that matter.

"Zak, cut it out," Emmeline demanded, snaking her arm around Anna's waist, and pulling her into a tight embrace. She had occasionally talked to Anna while she was with Zak, but it was very rare. Emmeline had missed her best friend. But, with Anna staying at her place momentarily, Emmeline grew nervous. She knew that Anna didn't take drugs as heavily as she had before, but Emmeline had never stopped. And she hoped that Anna wouldn't object to this. "I missed you, Kitten," she mumbled against the top of Anna's head, taking in her familiar strawberry scent.

Anna giggled softly. "I missed you too, Emme," she replied truthfully. Zak was nice company, but a girl talk every once in a while wouldn't hurt anyone.

"I'll be going then," Zak interrupted the two girls, and shoved past them, making sure to shove Anna's shoulder as hard as he could without hurting her.

"What the hell is his problem?" Emmeline asked, raising an eyebrow at Anna, confused. She had never seen Zak angry with Anna. He, like every other guy, was putty in her hands. No guy was ever mad at her. And, as annoying as that is, it was true.

Anna shrugged. "I dunno," she answered, shaking her head in frustration. She didn't do anything to anger him, and his attitude towards her was irritating just about everyone at this point.

"Whatever," Emmeline scoffed, "I say we ignore him and get wasted." She bit her lip, and smirked. She knew that Anna would always be a drinker, that was no question.

Annabella laughed, and nodded. She followed Anna into the apartment, and up three flights of creaky wooden stairs. They finally stopped at the final door. It was wooden, and painted a solid white, although the paint was chipped in various places.

As Emmeline opened it, the two walked into a veranda made of the same wood as the door. The walls were painted the same white, and also chipped. It wasn't hard to tell that the apartment was relatively old.

The first thing you noticed when you walked in, was the large open space. It was nearly empty, except for the battered sofa in the left corner, a large stereo system up against the north wall, and a polished, oak dining room table on the other end of the room.

Emmeline sighed. "There's two bedrooms, and the kitchen's this way," she smiled as she walked towards the end of the open room. The kitchen was made of black and white tiled flooring, and was a bit small. There were plastic red cups, and half-empty bottles of liquor everywhere. "I would've cleaned up, but I didn't," she said, her voice emotionless.

Anna laughed. She didn't expect Emmeline to clean up for her. That was stupid when your best friend was coming over.

Emmeline quickly showed Annabella the small bathroom, and the two relatively small bedrooms. it wasn't the best place to live, but it sufficed. That's basically how Anna's life was; it wasn't perfect, but she was well aware that she had it better than some people.

Emmeline quickly grabbed a bottle of Bacardi, a bottle of Jack, and two plastic cups. "Could you grab the soda from the fridge?" she asked Anna, walking back towards the dining room table. She placed the contents in her hands on the table, and Anna mirrored her movements, but put down a two liter of Pepsi.

Anna poured herself a glass of Bacardi, and walked over to the stereo system. She slowly scanned through her CDs, smiling as she passed over the My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, and Panic! At The Disco albums that the two had listened to over a hundred times. She finally settled on Imagine Dragons, and sat next to Emmeline as Demons played through the speakers softly.

"Why'd you come back?" Emmeline finally asked, her eyes flitting to the red cup between Anna's hands. She was positive that there was a reason, and it sure as hell wasn't because of her best friend, even though Emmeline had desperately wanted it to be.

"Why not?" Annabella shrugged her shoulders, and took a small sip from the cup, the familiar liquid glazing her tongue. It felt nice.

"Why were you gone for so long?" Emmeline continued with the questions, trying her hardest to understand everything from Anna's perspective. It seemed that, as soon as Anna left, Katie left, and so did Tony and his friends. Sean had stopped talking to her just a few weeks later, and she was left alone.

"I needed time to think about things," Anna answered, her voice completely emotionless.

Emmeline seen the flash of emotion on her face, though. It was a mix of pain, fear, and apprehension. "Annabella stop lying. What the hell happened? I want the truth, and I want it now," she demanded, becoming impatient with her best friend.

"Why is it your problem? Why do you need to know? I wanted some fucking space," Anna quickly spat back. She was completely oblivious to why Emme was acting this way.

"It's my problem because I care about you! Is that such a bad thing? Because, last time I checked, you're all I had left! Do you know that Katie left California too? And Sean can't think about anything but his fucking job, no time for me. I can barely afford this shitty apartment, and the only reason I have it is because I'm still selling heroin! Anna, I want to know because I care. I care about you because no one cared about me. Is it too much to ask to get the truth for once?"

Anna sighed, and stared at her hands for a moment. "I'm sorry, I'll tell you. But you can't hate me for it, okay?" She knew that she was eventually going to regret this, but Emmeline was unhappy with her. What else was she going to do?

The older female nodded, urging Anna to continue. Her eyes were glassy, and she had no clue why.

"It's because of Tony. He and Katie kissed, and I just left without thinking first. I felt guilty, but I honestly was too numb to even care." Her voice was emotionless, once again. Her stomach twisted, as if her body telling her to stop talking. But, aside from her instincts, she continued. "It was nice, for a while. I enjoyed not caring. I enjoyed being numb, because the pain was getting to be unbearable. But, recently, Zak and I went to a concert. But, neither of us had no idea that Pierce The Veil would be playing. I ran into Tony and we talked for a second. It took only seconds for him to convince me that I should come back here, and wait until he's done touring. He'll be here in two days, so, yeah...."

"You're kidding," Emmeline gasped, sitting up straight in her chair, and leaning over the table in interest.

"Nope," Anna answered, popping the P. She was happy that Emmeline hadn't reacted too negatively, but she wasn't she what as next to come.

"Can I ask you something?"

Anna nodded, and gave a reassuring smile. "Anything, Emme. What is it?"

"Why are you waiting for him? What exactly has he done for you? I mean, not to offend you or anything, but he's kind of ruined you, Anna. You shouldn't have to wait for him, he should wait for you. You rush to his aid whenever he says to. Why? You've never been like that, Anna, ever."

Anna shrugged once more. In truth, she had asked herself the same question many times over the last few days on the road. Why was she changing so much for this one guy? "I dunno, I don't even realize it when I do, until after I've already done it," she replied, dropping her gaze once again.

Emmeline smirked evilly, and leaned over the table. She grabbed Anna's cup, and filled it to the brim with Bacardi. It was time to forget, nothing else mattered tonight but forgetting.