The Lunacy Fringe

Quinn and I wasted most of the morning enjoying a second breakfast at a small diner. He took me there because I was unfamiliar with the town, and he said they made the best crab biscuits. Then I told him I'd already eaten and didn't even like crab. He glared at me for a long time over the table before asking me why the hell I'd moved to the coast if I didn't like seafood.

When we finished up, we headed back to school. It was already lunch when we got there, so we missed half the day. Everyone was sitting out by the tree when we slipped into the fence and headed over.

"Hey, guys. Where have you been?" Billie called out to us. Everyone turned to look, but Quinn put his hand on my shoulder to stop me from getting any closer to them.

"Should we tell them?" he whispered so only I could hear him.

"I don't see why not."

"Because it'll be fun to fuck with them for a while."

"I still can't believe you never told them. You know we have the same last name, right?" He shrugged.

"What was I supposed to say? That I have a secret twin sister who lives mysteriously far away? They wouldn't have believed me anyway."

"Or maybe you just like messing with them."

"To be fair—I didn't expect them to like you." I rolled my eyes, and he smiled at his own stupid joke. "Let's just keep it between us for now. It'll be fun."

"Alright, if you say so." He let me go and returned to his friends.

"Art was boring. So we left," he told them. He took his place with his back against the tree, and I sat down beside Billie like I did the day before. Everyone was still watching us, and I hoped no one could tell I'd been crying.

"Where'd you go?" Aaron asked.

"My house," Quinn replied casually.

"Ooooh."

"Don't make that sound. That's a stupid sound."

"We should just tell them," I spoke once I realized what they were all thinking.

"Shh. Not yet. I said we should fuck with their heads a bit. It'll be fun."

"Fine."

"What's going on?" Billie whispered to me.

"Nothing. I'll tell you later."

"No, you will not!" Quinn shouted. I rolled my eyes dramatically.

"I didn't mean today, stupid."

"Good. You better not. Or I'll—put you down."

"You'll do what now?"

"You know. Like a dog. Because you're a bitch."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"You don't have to be sorry."

"You just called me a bitch. That's my least favorite word. If you ever call me that again, I'll punch you in your nose in front of all your friends and make you cry."

"Bet you can't reach."

I lurched for him, but he was faster than me. He hooked me right around the middle and launched himself up. I squeaked as he spun me in circles until I punched him in the back of the leg.

"Ow, you hit me!" he yelled, dropping me back onto my feet. I stumbled to get upright again.

"You called me a bitch!"

"I didn't mean it in a bad way. Just like 'That Ruby. She's a bad bitch.'" I put my hands on my hips and glared. He put his hands up in surrender. "Alright, alright. I won't say the b-word anymore."

"If you ever call me that again I'll aim for your solar plexus."

"What in the shit is a solar plexus?" So I reached forward and smacked him in the middle of the chest.

"Right here," I said. He jumped back and rubbed the spot, but he was laughing.

"Alright, alright! I get it!"

He flopped himself back onto the grass by the tree. I sat down beside Billie and tried to fix my hair. That's when I realized she was uncharacteristically quiet. Everyone else had pretty much ignored our entire exchange, and they'd already gone back to their conversations. It hit me a few seconds later when she still hadn't said anything.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a second?" I asked as I brushed my fingers through my hair.

"Yeah, sure," she replied. We both stood up and went to find a private place to talk.

"Remember what I said, Ruby," Quinn warned me. I turned around to face him.

"Blunt force to the solar plexus can sometimes be fatal," I told him. Then I followed Billie around the side of the building to some steps that led to a side door. We both sat down, and she was doing everything she could to not look at me. "Can I ask what's wrong?" I started, leaning on my knees to pick at my sneakers. She leaned on her elbows and looked at the bush blocking us from view. I could still hear Quinn's obnoxious laugh from far off.

"Nothing," she said. "I'm just tired."

"You like him, don't you?"

"No—I just—never mind. It's stupid. I'm happy for you." I tried to stop myself from laughing, but it came out anyway and made me snort like a pig.

"It's not what you're thinking. Trust me."

"Well, he likes you. It's obvious. He's not normally like that with—new people."

"I'm sure he likes me, but not in that way—like at all. Actually, it's so far from that that it would be disgusting to suggest otherwise."

"Why is that disgusting?" she asked, turning back to me. I could see the hurt in her big brown eyes.

"No, I mean—please just trust me. It's not something that would ever happen, okay?" She didn't seem to grasp what I was trying to say. I didn't want to outright tell her because Quinn told me not to, and I wanted him to have his fun, but not at Billie's expense. She just wasn't getting it.

"Sure," she said, crinkling her nose and squinting. She obviously didn't believe a word I was saying. So I groaned.

"He'll kill me if I tell you."

"It's okay. You don't have to tell me anything."

"Look," I started. "Quinn is comfortable with me—because he's pretty much known me my whole life. We're sort of related. That's why you're gross for even suggesting it." Her back straightened, and she looked at me with wide eyes.

"Ew, really?" she asked. I nodded. "Oh, that is gross. I'm sorry for suggesting it."

"Now you get it. Just don't tell him I told you that."

"Are you guys cousins or something?"

"Something like that."

"Okay, that makes me feel better then." She went back to crossing her arms over her lap but seemed much more relaxed now.

"So you do like him, huh? I can kind of tell," I told her.

"Well…." Then she got nervous again. She fidgeted with her fingers and turned back toward the bush. I could still hear everyone talking just out of sight.

"You can tell me. I know you barely know me, but I promise you can trust me."

"It's just—I've liked him for a super long time, and I guess I just got kind of jealous because you've been here one day, and you guys are already ditching classes together and messing around, and I just thought…."

"Gross." She turned to me again.

"Yeah, sorry."

"I can see if he likes you too."

"Nooo! Don't say anything to him!"

"I won't say anything! I'll just—pry?"

"Like how?" I shrugged.

"I don't know. I've never really done this sort of thing before. I can just ask him if he likes anyone or something."

"Okay, but if he doesn't say me, then don't tell me. Only tell me if he likes me back."

"It's a deal."

"Okay, can I have a hug? I really like hugging. I hope that doesn't weird you out."

"A hug would be fine."

I wrapped my arms around her shoulders, and she squeezed my ribs tightly. I didn't know her very well, but I was starting to like her. She was friendlier and more bubbly than my friends back home. She seemed to care about things a whole lot. I didn't want to hurt her feelings by making her think something untrue. And Quinn was dumb for not noticing.

When she finally let me go, we walked back around to the tree to finish the lunch period with everyone else. Felix was sitting beside his girlfriend again, but he was mindlessly fiddling with his notebook. She looked bored and agitated. Neither of them said anything to me, but Felix glanced up when I sat down, and our eyes met. He nodded in acknowledgment and went back to what he was doing.