Dreams of Tomorrow

The next day on the bus, Johnny plopped on the seat next to hers and smiled brightly.

“Happy belated birthday!” he said, taking something from behind his back and giving her a small package. It was poorly wrapped but Athalya looked at it, amazed.

“You shouldn’t have…” she whispered, trying to control her emotions. She carefully unwrapped it on her lap and smiled as she saw several pack of candies.

“Skittles.” Explained Johnny. “Once you try it, you’ll love it. It’s got a lot of fruity flavor.” He added.

She smiled at the small red packs and saw something sticking out of them. Nail varnish.
“I wasn’t sure what color you liked, I got purple, green and black.” Said Johnny, rubbing his neck. “It’s not much but…”

“It’s awesome Johnny, thank you!” she said, reaching out and hugging him, taking him by surprise. He felt the heat rose to his cheeks and looked away in embarrassment as she let go of him and picked up the three small bottles.

“My favorite colors.” She beamed, looking at them and then at Johnny. “Thank you!” she said again, taking out only one bag of Skittles and wrapping back everything, careful putting in her backpack.

“I wasn’t sure about purple though, but green for Green Day and black because, well, you can never be wrong with black.”

She gave him a thumb up.

“I had a nice time yesterday and the cake was really good!” he added.

“Thanks, I’m glad you were there.” She said, looking at him.

“Your grandparents are really nice.” He said, looking at her face, worried.

“How did you kn-” her face falling.

“You didn’t introduce them as your parents, never said ‘mum’ or ‘dad’ and there was some pictures in the living room with you as a baby and someone else holding you.” He explained quickly. “I’m not asking you questions, I’m just saying: they were really nice.” He quickly explained, sensing the sensitive subject.

Athalya scanned his face, her mouth slightly agape for a second before she reached out to grab his hand. She squeezed it shortly, looking down at her lap.
“Thank you.” She whispered as the bus stopped.
Johnny just give her hand a gentle squeeze before letting go of her hand and getting ready to leave the bus. She carefully grabbed her backpack, making sure everything was inside and followed him out.
“See you at lunch?” he asked, about to head his own way.

“Be my guest!” she replied, waving at him with a smile. He gave her a thumb up and turned around, calling out Matthew Baker.

Athalya chuckled to herself and headed towards the building when she got stopped by Jimmy.
“Frenchie!” he said, shouting her a smile and engulfing her in a hug. He grabbed her hand and started pulling her towards his friends.

“Hold on!” she said, letting go of his hand and grabbing something from her backpack. “Are you busy Sunday night?”

“Sunday night? Nope!” he replied, popping the P.

“I got some tickets for a show, will you come with me?” she asked, looking up at him.

“What show?” he asked, curious. She handed him the ticket and he quickly read the word. When he looked up, he gave her a thumb up. “Of course I’m coming with you.”

She beamed at him and he engulfed her in a hug again before dragging her towards Matt who was looking at them weirdly.
Still not letting go of her hand, they reached the small group and she tried not to look at Justin as his eyes fell on their clasped hands.
Jimmy made no move to let go as they started chatting about small subjects. As soon as Michelle caught sight if Athalya, she rushed to her, worried.
“Are you all right?”

“I’m fine, don’t worry.” She said, giving her a small smile. Michelle sighed in relief.

She felt something at her wrist but shrugged it off.
At her locker, she reached up to grab her book when she noticed something at her wrist. It was a small bracelet made with what looked like leather, with a small pendant in the middle, an X. Looking at it closely, it was two drumsticks crossed, forming an X.
A small smile formed on her lips as she realized it was a present from Jimmy. She made a mental note to thank him.

**

When she walked out of class, she almost jumped on Jimmy.
“Thanks!” she said, showing him her wrist. He winked.

“You can never take it off, alright?”

She nodded and he ruffled her hair, heading to the cafeteria.
“Hey Jimmy, I was wondering… I got two spare tickets for the Green Day show, I was thinking about giving one to Brian but the last one…”

Jimmy cut her off. “Michelle likes them.” He said, nodding in her direction as she was already sitting at the table. “How did you even manage to get those tickets?”

“Ah… well. Long story short, my mother’s high school friend came to my grandparents’ yesterday. Got me a Green Day T-shirt and 4 tickets, didn’t gave them to me until he was about to leave… I held on until I was in my room and he had left before crying my eyes out to sleep.” She explained, her cheeks pink. “I’ve been waiting for this moment my whole life it seems.”

“Excited?”

She nodded, smiling.
“But I try not to think about it too much, otherwise I’m going to freak out. I’m still trying to wrap my head around this.”

***
Following the flow of students out of the building, she slowed down, surprised to see a familiar car waiting near Matt’s car. She had been talking to Michelle and Jimmy about the Green Day show.
“Brian?” she asked, taking a step forward. He pushed himself off the hood of his car and nodded at Jimmy and Michelle.
“You wanna go to the mall?” he asked, pointing to his car. “I don’t think you went there before.”

“Hum, yeah sure.” She trailed off, looking at Michelle and Jimmy.

“You go ahead.” Said Michelle, nodding towards Brian.

“Can I tag along?” asked Jimmy, going for the front seat. Brian closed it and pointed to the backseat with a slight frown. Jimmy wasn’t supposed to be there.

“You want to come Michelle?” asked Athalya, as Jimmy was already buckling his seatbelt, not paying attention to Brian’s dirty look.

“No thanks, I’m hanging with Jason afterschool.”

“All right.” Athalya made a move to Brian’s car.

“Thanks again for the ticket Frenchie, you’re the best.”

Athalya smiled awkwardly and gave her a short wave before getting into the passenger seat.

Brian got in and drove off, turning on the radio softly.

“Open the glove box.” He said, driving away from the school.

Athalya looked at him weirdly then to Jimmy in the backseat. Jimmy chuckled and leaned forward, pointing to the small compartment in front of her.
“Oh…” she whispered, cheeks burning in embarrassment. She reached forward and opened it. There was a small rectangular packet inside, along with CD cases.

“Happy belated birthday.” Said Brian, keeping his eyes on the road.

Taking it with both hands and placing it on her lap, her cheeks went even redder. With one hand she closed the glove box and bit her lip. She slowly ripped the package open and looked surprised to see a book.

She took the paper off fully and brought it close to her face.
“Harry Potter” she read aloud.

“It’s a child book.” Said Jimmy, leaning back in his seat.
Athalya looked surprised at Jimmy then at Brian.

“It’s not just for kids.” Said Brian, sounding upset. “It’s fantasy, I’m not sure you like this kind of literature. But I heard a lot of positive feedback about it. I hope you’ll like it.” Said Brian, briefly looking at Athalya, only to see that she was already the first page.

“Thanks Brian! I love books!” she said, shooting him a smile.

“Suzy read it, she said you might like it.” He added. She nodded, still reading the first page.

Jimmy rolled his eyes in the backseat, muttering something about birthday present for old woman.
“What are drills?” she asked.

“Drills?” asked Jimmy, frowning.

“That’s an equipment you use to make holes in a wall and stuff. If you want to hang some heavy mirror and you don’t want it to fall down, you use a drill to make a hole in the wall…” explained Brian after a few second of reflection.

“Oh, got it. Thanks.”

They stayed silent during the rest of the ride, Athalya too engrossed in her new book.

“What’s tawny?”

“How do you spell it?” asked Brian.

“T A W N Y…”

“Ain’t that some kind of color?” asked Jimmy to Brian.

“No idea, sorry.”

“Ol?” she asked aloud.

“Ol? How do you spell it?” asked Brian.

“O W L.”

“Owl.” He pronounced. “Those birds that live at night and can see in the night.”

“Oh! I know! Une chouette!” she said aloud, “Thanks Brian.”

“Tawny owl?” Jimmy read over her shoulder. “What the fuck are you reading?” he asked, frowning.

Brian parked the car and she closed the book, putting it in her backpack. They got out and walked into the mall, Athalya opening her eyes wide.

“Wow.” She mumbled, surprised at the size. “That’s Huntington’s mall?”

“Nope, we’re in Westminster, but that’s really close.” Said Brian.

“Dude… I can’t get into that shop.” Said Jimmy, looking at the toys in display.

“It’s a kids’ shop…” Athalya whispered, raising an eyebrow at Jimmy while Brian just smiled.

“We went there once because I wanted to buy a present for Mac, my sister, but Jimmy found that little drum kit for kids. He sat down, broke one leg of the plastic tool and trashed the entire kit to pieces as he started jamming to Pantera.”
Athalya’s eyes widened as she starred at Jimmy.

“He told the guy that the quality was really poor, that they should find another supplier and we ran off. Jimmy’s been banned from that store ever since.” Explained Brian, trying to fight off a chuckle as Athalya’s kept looking at Jimmy.

“That’s where Jimmy almost gave a heart attack to two old women.” Brian explained as they walked past yet another shop.

“I didn’t do shit that time, I just walked behind them.” He said, trying to defend himself.
“Just looking at you with your orange kimono, raising your arms like that…” Brian tried to mimic him. “It was enough… The smell probably helped too.”

“Oh fuck off man, I’ve got a very good hygiene.”

“I’m surprised you even know that word.” Joked Brian and dodged Jimmy as he tried to smack him in the shoulder.

Athalya chuckled and quickly hide it with her hand while Brian winked at her.
“Stop flirting with my Frenchie.” Said Jimmy, jumping next to Athalya and wrapping his arm around her shoulder. “We’re going on a date to a Green Day show.” He said.

“Oh, speaking of it… no speaking of which” she corrected, stepping away from Jimmy’s embrace, not commenting on his last sentence, and taking her backpack.

“I got some tickets to see Green Day, there’s one left. Would you like to come?” she asked, handing him the sacred Graal in her teenage eyes.

“Sure, thanks!” said Brian, taking the ticket in his hand.

“It’s early entrance ticket!” explained Jimmy, standing back as he saw a huge smile spreading on Athalya’s tired face.

“I got four of them, from a friend of my mother’s. I’ve been waiting to see them since I was like 10 or something? Once I’ve seen them, my life is complete.” She said, zipping back her bag. “It’s this Sunday. Jimmy said he would take his car, Michelle is coming too.”

“You didn’t ask Johnny?” asked Brian, carefully putting the ticket in his vest.
She shook her head. “Jimmy said that Michelle likes Green Day, so I gave one to her.”

“Ok cool.” Said Brian, slightly surprised that she would give him a ticket to go see a live show. Those were expensive, especially early entrance once. Those were VIPs and it was Green Day, certainly not his favorite band… But he couldn’t help but feel flattered she would give him one of the four tickets. He felt somewhat special.

“I can go into that store!” said Jimmy, grabbing Athalya by her wrist and pulling her inside. Brian quickly followed. Jimmy greeted the manager and hurried to the back, letting go of Athalya’s wrist in the process, taking a seat behind the drum kit in display while Athalya starred at the electric guitars, mesmerized. It quickly stopped when she heard a thunder-like noise that slowly turned into some complicated rhythmic. She pivoted on her feet and starred as Jimmy was literally kicking the shit out of the drums.
Now she got it… She raised her wrist to her eye level and glanced at it with a smile. Before she could understand what was going on, Brian sat on a stool and started strumming on an electric guitar.

The few people in the shop started to gather and Athalya stayed back. In the middle of what sounded like a Metallica song, Jimmy winked at her and she felt special as the other girls around started giggling, their eyes on Brian. Athalya walked closer to their little jam session and crossed her arms, her eyes going from Jimmy’s crazy antics to Brian’s composed face. After a couple more minutes they stopped playing and Jimmy picked up his bag, throwing his arm around Athalya, walking out of the shop, followed by Brian.
“How do you make your fingers move so fast?” asked Athalya, turning to look at Brian who looked a bit left out as Jimmy was walking ahead.

Jimmy still had his arm around her shoulder. She had stopped caring. There was something about Jimmy, she didn’t know if it was because he knew about her grandparents and her mother or if there was any real reason, but she just felt comfortable with him. Comfortable as if she had known him for years when in fact it had only be a few days. Ok, maybe more than a few days. She just couldn’t explain it.

It probably really clicked when after her birthday party, he pulled her in a hug and she told him it was the best present she had had in a while. That was yesterday.
She didn’t get it and she tried not to think about it too much.
Hanging with Brian and Jimmy at the mall, she felt at peace. She could ignore the burning pain in her chest, the fatigue on her shoulder. They made it look so easy, being happy. Was it what it was like to have friends? Real friends? Was Brian her friend now? Jimmy was, he implied it, he showed it and made sure she got it.

“It takes practice, I can show you, I told you.” Said Brian, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“I will just make some noise and make a fool of myself.” She mumbled. “Ouch Jimmy!” she whined, shrugging his arm off her shoulder. “You’re pulling my hair.”

“Sorry!” he quickly apologized while she frowned at him.

“I’m already struggling to keep them long, I just want to cut them short.”

“It’s not long, it’s barely past your shoulder.” Said Brian.

“It’s too long for me. Oh!” she walked away from them and towards the food stall. “Muffins!”

“Do you want one?” asked Brian.
She quickly patted her pocket. “I didn’t bring money.” She mumbled, disappointed.

“Which flavor?” he asked.

“Blueberry?”

And Brian disappeared, he came back shortly after with some muffins on a trail. They sat at a plastic table and Athalya tried to grab the receipt. Brian was faster and quickly put it in his pocket.

“I need to pay you back tomorrow!” she protested.

“Just eat!” he said. She frowned.

“Fine, don’t eat. I’ll eat yours, it looks yummy!” said Jimmy.

“No!” she quickly took it and glared at Jimmy. “Thanks Brian.” She said before taking a bit.

“It’s just a muffin, don’t sweat it.” He said, feeling embarrassed whenever she was thanking him. He didn’t get it. She kept thanking him every time, driving her, playing guitar, for coming to her birthday, for the present, the muffin…

The guys were talking about the week-end and how they would meet at the spot later on, to drink. The organization to go to the Green Day was also mentioned, when they finished their muffins they went back to exploring.

She looked at the book shop in awe but chose not to go inside. She knew she could spend hours in there and Jimmy and Brian would probably be bored…

“I brought you here because I thought you might be interested to see Hot Topic.” Said Brian, snapping her out of her thoughts.

“Hot Topic?” she asked, following him like a lost puppy.

“Dude… Hot Topic! You never heard of it?” asked Jimmy, rolling his eyes, finally catching up after starring at the lingerie shop.

“No…” she trailed off, feeling stupid.
Jimmy grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her to the said shop, almost pushing her inside. Her eyes widened the size of saucers as she starred at all the band merch.

“Oh my…” she managed to breathe out.

“Look, here’s some Green Day stuff.” Said Jimmy, taking out a T-shirt. Athalya tried to hold back a squeal as she starred dreamingly at the T-shirt. A familiar tune started and her eyes widened even more. She lifted her head and looked around.

“Green Day.” She blurted out. “When I come around.”

“That’s one of their videos, MTV is on.” Said Brian pointing to the TV. Athalya followed his arm and her eyes fell on the TV, her heart hammering in her chest. She took a couple of step closer to the TV, like a mosquito attracted to the light.

“Dude, that’s an old song.” Mumbled Jimmy.

“Dookie, 1994, track 10.” She blurted out quickly.
Jimmy and Brian shared a surprised look and tried not to smile.
“I need to practice for Sunday…”

Her eyes couldn’t leave the screen as she mouthed the lyrics in complete sync. The chorus came and she swallowed the lump in her throat. That guy singing, she had seen him before. Her brows furrowed. Of course she had seen him, probably on posters or CDs booklets.

No, no it was more recent than that.

Those black hair, those eyes, that facial expression… The same, but a few years older…

Her heart skipped a beat and her jaw dropped slightly. A shiver ran down her spine and she stayed frozen until the song ended. It seemed like she had even forgotten how to breath when Jimmy gently shook her shoulder and she sucked in a breath, blinking.

“You ok? You seem pale. Well, you ARE pale but even more now… Turning yellowish even.” He said, concerned.

“Bathroom.” She blurted, exiting the shop as fast as she could without running. Her blurry vision scanned the sign and she set towards the bathroom, as soon as she got into one of the cubicle, she felt the bile rose to her mouth and gag a couple of time, her breathing labored, tears in her eyes. She tried to calm herself down by taking a few deep breath and finally got out, splashing water on her face and behind her neck, before wiping the water with paper towel.

When she walked out, Jimmy and Brian were waiting for her.

“I… Can you drop me off? I don’t feel well…” she whispered looking at Brian. She felt like crying.

“Sure…” trailed off Brian, frowning. They quickly walked out of the mall, back to the car.

“Are you ok?” asked Jimmy as he saw her clenching and unclenching her fists.

“Hmm.”

Brian gave a confused look to Jimmy through the rearview mirror as they drove off.

“You’re shivering.” Stated Brian, taking his hoodie from the backseat and handing it to Athalya.

“Thanks.” She whispered, holding it against her like a cover. “I’m sorry, I must have caught cold.”

“It’s fine.” Whispered Brian while Jimmy kept frowning.

“Also I remembered that some friends of my parents are coming over today. I had completely forgotten.” She said, her voice hoarse. Her leg started twitching.
She felt like throwing up with anger. Finally Brian parked the car opposite her grandparents’ house.

“Thanks again Brian.” She quickly said, fumbling with her seatbelt. She was almost out when Brian grabbed her hand.

“Your bag.” He mumbled, surprised at the coldness of her hand.

“Thanks.” She muttered and Brian frowned, driving off.

“What happened?” asked Brian. “Did we do something wrong?” he asked aloud.

“No idea, just park your car back home. We’ll go by foot to pick up the guys, it’s Friday night! Let’s go to the spot!” sang Jimmy, patting Brian’s seat.

**

She stormed into the house, making the front door handle hit the wall behind.

“Athalya, what is go-” Suzan stopped mid-sentence as she saw her granddaughter’s face. To say she looked furious was an understatement. Her eyes seemed like they were going to pop out of her skull, her jaw clenched, tears in her eyes. She didn’t even look at Suzan, she could hear him talking with David. She walked past her grandmother, her fists clenched at her side.

“Why now?” she asked, her voice low.

“Sweetie…” started Suzan.

“She’s not here, she’s gone… Why are you here? Why now?” she asked, her voice louder, glaring daggers at her hero.

“Athalya, I…” he tried.

“Go away…” she said, fists clenched. “GO AWAY!” she boomed, surprising herself by the loudness of own voice. She rose a shaking hand in direction of the black haired man. “How long did you plan on leading me astray, Billy?”

“What?”

“Don’t pretend! Just stop fucking lying to me!” she yelled. “You… Putain!” she swore loudly in French, stomping her foot. “Espèce de conard! Salopard!” she yelled, tears in her eyes. “You show up like that… Just get out. Get the fuck out of here.”

“Athalya, language! What is wrong with you?” boomed David, getting up from the couch to face his granddaughter. His face fell as he saw the poor state she was in. She looked about to break.

“You lied to me, your name… It’s Billie Joe. I can’t believe it. I can’t believe that I was stupid enough not to fucking see it. I had to see a video at the mall to put 2 and 2 together. Green Day... ” She angrily grabbed her backpack and rummaged through it, sending a book in his direction. It went flying over the first couch and landed on the rug. Billie Joe picked it up, his eyes scanning the cover. The Catcher in the Rye.

“You were her friend! Her best friend! But you weren’t there! You weren’t! You were living your amazing life… I was there!” she said, hitting her chest with her closed fist. “I was there when she was sick, when she got worse, when she couldn’t speak nor breathe by herself. Yet, she kept listening to you, to Green fucking Day, your fucking music. I hate you. I fucking hate you!” she yelled, her eyes starring daggers at the black haired man. “I don’t want to see you, get out!” she said, pointing to the hall with her trembling finger.

“Athalya, calm down honey.” Tried David, walking towards her. She took a step back, her whole body shaking with anger. “Let’s talk about it calmly.” He tried again.

Billie Joe did not move, he starred at the young woman.

“You knew, you all knew.” She said, no longer yelling. “You all knew and never said shit.” She said, looking from Suzan to David and then looking at Billie Joe. “You all lied to me for years…” she ran her hand through her hair. Her mind buzzing. “I’m not staying one more minute with you here. I can’t.” She said, grabbing her backpack as tears started rolling down her cheeks.

She made a run for the door and got stopped in the driveway. She turned around to look at whoever had tried to stop her.

“Let go of me.” She said, her jaw clenched tight.

“I said LET GO!” she screamed, shaking her arm off his grip. “You’re nothing to me, nothing. I can’t believe I didn’t realize… I’m so fucking stupid...”

“I was about to tell you, I was just… I didn’t know how to put it.” He said, his voice wavering.

“How to put it?” she asked wryly. “Go away, stay away, like you’ve been the last decade…” She managed to choke out before she took off running. She could hear her name being called in the distance but she kept running, blinded by the rage and hurt she felt deep inside.

It was like a fucking wave had engulfed her and she was struggling to even breathe. She was just so angry, so furious and sad, just so devastated.

Her feet took her beyond the doors and further inside the park until she reached the trees. She had no idea how she had gotten there but she let herself fall down in the dirt, brought her knees to her chest and kept on crying and sobbing as she put on Brian’s hoodie.

She hated herself for being so weak, she hated her grandparents for not telling her who he really was, she hated her mother for keeping it a secret and god, she hated Billie Joe. At that moment she could have just ripped out all of her Green Day T-shirts and broken all the albums or tapes or anything related to him and the music he created.

He was her mother’s best friend, her best fucking friend yet he wasn’t there, he had never been there when she needed him the most.

Where was he when she worked her ass off during the summer to help pay for her mother’s treatment? Where was he when she got worse had to be admitted at the hospital? Where was he when Shania died and she had to pick a fucking coffin to put her mother inside? Where was he when she got pushed into the huge furnace? Where was he when she showed up to pick up the ashes and took them into the plot at the cemetery?

He wasn’t there. He was probably living a perfect life with a loving wife, maybe kids and money… He didn’t care about Shania, or about herself.

Then why was her mother raising her with their stupid music? Why did she love them so much?

Her heart broke a little bit more and she tried to catch her breath between the uncontrollable sobbing.

Her whole body was breaking down, releasing all the tension and anger she had accumulated over the last months, it was all coming out in flow of tears. Her jeans was wet at the knees, so was the hoodie with her crying.

She hated herself for believing him so easily, for not recognizing him earlier… It felt like a huge fire was building up within her, slowly making its way up to her chest, trying to come out.

“Athalya?”

The voice startled her but she kept her face buried on her knees.

She felt a slight touch on her hair and she looked up, sniffing. Her body launched itself at him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders as she kept on crying.

“Are you ok? Are you hurt?” Brian asked, panic in his voice. She shook her head in the crook of his neck. He pulled her up fully while she kept her arms around his neck, her whole body shaking with sobs.

It took him a couple of seconds before he tried to calm her down by rubbing her back. He wasn’t used to seeing a girl cry, except Mac, but she was younger and it was never like that. The way she was pressed up against him, he could almost feel her heart slamming in her chest. He tried to comfort her the best he could as he heard some shuffling sound coming from outside.

“Wow!” said Zacky, stopping in his track, slapping Justin in the chest.

“Since when did it turn into a love zone?” asked Justin, making a face.

“She’s crying.” Mouthed Brian, still patting Athalya’s back.

Justin rolled his eyes while Zacky frowned, taking a few steps back, looking around.
“It’s the only hidden place in the park.” Said Justin, sounding annoyed.

“That’s not what I’m looking at… I’m searching for Jimmy.” Said Zacky.

“Because Jimmy’s the solution? We just need to move her some other place and start partying.” Whispered Justin, sitting down, looking weirdly as Brian tried to comfort Athalya, awkwardly.

“Can you be a decent human being?” snapped Zacky, in a whisper. “Have you heard of compassion?”

“She’s just a cry baby.” He muttered, kicking some rocks.

“Who is a cry baby?” asked Jimmy, loudly. He stopped when he saw Brian standing up with Athalya hugging him.

Jimmy glared at Brian who lifted his arms in defense.
“She’s crying!” he mouthed, looking at Zacky for support.

He dropped the bottle of alcohol he was holding and moved towards Athalya.
“Frenchie! Jimmy’s here, everything is going to be all right!” Jimmy said, unwrapping her arms from Brian and sneaking one arm around her waist. “Let’s get out of here, yeah? Everything’s going to be alright.” He whispered, helping her and wiping the tears from her cheeks with his thumb. She looked up at him, her eyes all red and puffy. “Come here…” he mumbled, pulling her to his chest and walking past his friends.

“What’s wrong with her, seriously!” said Justin, rolling his eyes before reaching out for a can of beer. He looked over his shoulder with disdain. “I never thought she could be uglier, turns out she can.” He scrunched up his nose.

“What exactly is your problem with her?” asked Brian, trying to shake off the awkwardness he still felt when Athalya had launched herself at him.

“I dunno. She bothers me.” He said loudly, with a shrug. “She always look like she’s about to jump off a bridge or something of the kind. Might as well help her and give her a hard shove and be done with it.” He added, chuckling at his own joke.

Zacky’s eyes widened as he realized that Athalya was standing right behind Justin.

“What? Come on! Admit it, it’s funny.” Said Justin, tilting his head back in laughter. “Oh.” He said, seeing her face. He scrambled to his feet, his cigarette still between his fingers.

“I forgot my bag.” She said, her voice low.

Brian quickly picked it up and handed it to her. Her green eyes were glaring at the ground.

“Here’s you ugly bag, matches your face, now off you go.” Said Justin, taking a drag from his cigarette.

She lifted her head and glared at him, taking one step closer she knocked the cigarette off his lips.

“For fuck sake! You fucking French psycho bitch.” He yelled.

She took a step closer, her hands clenched in fists.

“So what? You gonna hit me? Just fuck off!”

She slapped him, hard, his head snapping to the side.
“Oï! You bitch” he yelled, pushing her hard. She grabbed him by the T-shirt and pulled him out of the trees and to the grass before she shoved him hard.

“Fucking cunt.” He spat, pushing her again, he inadvertently stepped on her shoes, she lost her balance and pulled him with her, falling to the ground, rolling around, kicking and screaming.

“Wowowow! Break it off!” yelled Brian, coming out of the Spot, trying to get Justin off Athalya.
Zacky ran off to get Jimmy who was talking to Matt a few feet away, waiting for Athalya to come back with her bag.

“Justin, break it off!” said Brian, careful not to trip and fall down, trying to catch Justin’s arm to pull him off Athalya. He finally managed to get Justin off Athalya, pushing him away while he helped her to get back on her feet.

“Damn, you’re bleeding…” whispered Brian, trying to look for something to wipe the blood. He just had the time to look the other way that she had kicked Justin in the nuts.

“Bitch!” he yelled as he doubled in pain. Brian looked worriedly as Justin fall to his knees, holding his crotch and she walked away, slightly crippling and wiping the blood with the back of her hand.

“Lya!” he called out, catching her just as Zacky and Jimmy showed up. “Are you ok?” he asked, taking a good look at her face. He pulled at the hem of his hoodie that she was wearing, using her own hand to wipe the blood and with his other hand, he held her face in place while he started rubbing the dirt and blood from her face.

“What the hell happened!” boomed Jimmy. “I’m gone for less than five minutes and all hell breaks loose.”

“Justin, don’t!” screamed Zacky, pushing Justin off as he tried to smash a beer bottle on Athalya’s back.

“Are you out of your fucking mind?” boomed Jimmy, grabbing Justin by the collar. “What were you thinking about to try and smash a bottle on someone, let alone a woman?!” Jimmy was about to punch Justin but Matt interfered, pushing them apart.

“She started it! She slapped me, she kicked me in the nuts!” he raged.

“She’s a woman Justin!” exclaimed Zacky, in disbelief. “You don’t hit women! And you insulted her.”

“She’s a fucking psycho bitch, why the fuck are you defending her Jimmy?! Her mother must have been on drugs during the whole pregnancy.” He said before spitting blood on the grass.

Athalya’s head snapped to him, not caring about Brian and she launched herself at him before anyone could stop her. She was straddling him, one hand on his chest, the other at the base of his neck.

“You can insult me all you want, but you talk about my mother one more time…” she pushed harder, he made a choking sound. “I will fucking kill you.” She threatened just before she could pulled off him by Matt.

“Keep her on a fucking leash!” said Justin, panting as he slowly got back on his feet while Athalya was trashing around, Matt still holding her. Athalya was furious, tears rolling her cheeks as she slowly stopped fighting and dropped on her knees. In a heartbeat Jimmy was by her side and helped her up, patting Matt’s shoulder as he lead Athalya to the nearest bench.

She kept sobbing and Jimmy patted his pockets for some tissues. He couldn’t find any and grabbed Athalya’s bag, finding a small pack in the front pocket.

“There, there…” he said, tapping her eyes and her nose as she sniffed. “You look like you just came out of a fucking wrestling match.” He said. “That’s not what proper ladies do.” He said, lifting her chin up. She looked at him with her eyes full of tears, she looked completely shattered as she struggled to catch her breath. “I’m s-… so not sorry.” She stuttered.

“Are you ok?” asked Brian, kneeling in front of Athalya, resting his hand on her knee.

“You take her to the public bathroom, she needs to wash up. I’ll deal with Justin.” Said Jimmy, getting up and handing the pack of tissues to Brian. Athalya starred at Jimmy for a couple of seconds and then looked at Brian. He gently helped her up and led her to the public room. It didn’t smell too awful for once as he helped Athalya wash her face and tame her hair. After a while she stopped crying and when they were done cleaning her face from the dirt and blood, they walked out.

“Do you want to go back to your house?” he asked, looking at her.

“No.” she said, shoving her hands in the pocket of Brian’s hoodie.

“Do you want to eat something? There a small stall that sell hot dogs.”

“Yeah, ok.” She whispered, walking by his side.

**

“What would you do if your mother died?” asked Jimmy, after taking a swig of his beer.
It was getting late, Johnny, Zacky, Justin and Matt were sitting around him at the spot, getting drunk slowly but surely. Brian had left with Athalya for a while.

“Dude, I’m not answering that.” Muttered Matt.

“Depressing shit Jim’! We’re trying to have a good time.” Said Zacky, shaking his head.

“What about you Justin, huh?” asked Jimmy, slurring a bit. He knew just how close Justin was with his parents. He always tried to act like a though guy but he was just a mummy’s boy and a little shit.

“Oh man, I’d cry myself to sleep or something. I don’t know. What would you even think about that?” He muttered, frowning.

“Next time you insult Athalya, keep in mind that she can no longer go into her mother’s arms to whine about your bad behavior.” Said Jimmy, his blue orbs starring at Justin. It took him a couple of seconds to comprehend the new information. His face just fell and he dropped his eyes, his shoulders slumping.

“Fuck.” He breathed out.

“How?” asked Matt, holding his beer with both hands.

“That’s not my story to tell.” Started Jimmy. “I’m just sharing the information so incident like today never happen again. I’m not asking you to like her, I’m just asking you to be a decent person and give her time to grief. Her mother passed away a couple of weeks ago, that’s why she came here.”

Justin brought a hand to his bruised face and rubbed his forehead.
“Shit.”

There was a short moment of silence and a moment later footsteps could be heard.

“It’s just me.” Said Brian as he dragged Athalya after him. Justin looked at Athalya’s face for a couple of seconds and his heart dropped. He had never felt as shitty as he was feeling at that precise moment.

Jimmy patted the space next to him and Athalya sat down, clutching Brian’s hoodie around her. Brian sat down next to her, a serious expression on his face.

Zacky handed a beer to Brian and one to Athalya but she shook her head slowly, keeping her gaze on the ground.

Brian took Athalya’s bag and took out the bottle of water.
“Thanks” she whispered and flinched as she brought the bottle to her lips. She was sore, probably will have some nasty bruises on her chest from rolling around kicking in the dirt with Justin.

“Guys we should probably head back soon, it’s getting dark.” Said Johnny, glancing worriedly at Athalya.

“Let’s go to my place.” Said Matt “My parents are away, you too Johnny and Athalya.” He quickly added, seeing Johnny’s face falling slightly. Johnny shot a bright smile to Matt, who simply nodded.
Brian quickly downed his beer and they all got up.

Athalya followed Johnny and Matt outside.

“I’ll walk Athalya back to her place.” Said Jimmy, facing Brian.
Brian shook his head.

“She doesn’t want to go home now.” he said, frowning. “She told me about her mother, her old best friend that came to see her at her grandparents. She’s upset and angry, she doesn’t want to go back. Do you think we could all crash at Matt’s? We should maybe warn her family, from what I gathered, she ran off.”

“Man, you guys talked a lot!” said Jimmy, trying to joke while deep inside he was worried about Athalya.

“She needed to talk, I listened. You knew about her mother?” asked Brian, grabbing the empty beer bottles.

“Yeah, her grandfather told me when I slept over at her place.” Mumbled Jimmy.

They shared a knowing look and walked out. Johnny was talking to Athalya, trying to cheer her up while Justin just looked really upset.

“Listen Athalya…” Justin started, catching up with her as they started walking. “I’m really sorry about… about my behavior with you. I’m sorry for throwing the volley ball at you and… and for today.”

Athalya looked at him for a couple of seconds.

“I really don’t want your pity Justin.” She said, looking straight at him. “But thank you.” He nodded and took a step back before joining Zacky who still looked pissed.

Athalya was limping a bit as she walked beside Johnny and Matt. Deep down she knew Jimmy had told them, he couldn’t not speak about it, not after the way she launched herself at Justin. Part of her felt relieved that it was out, while part of her was upset. Not really upset but she knew she would have to face their pity and she didn’t want it. The look in Justin’s eyes… It wasn’t just regret, it was pity because her mother wasn’t there anymore. As they walked out of the park she tried to pay more attention to what Matt and Johnny were talking about when she tripped and Matt caught her.

“Sorry, had my mind elsewhere. Thanks Matt.” She whispered. He shot her a smile, the one with the dimples. She felt her lips curling up and smiling back at him. They looked at each other for a split second.

“If I ever need to get into a fight, I want you by my side for sure.” He said, trying to lighten her mood and smiled wider when she fought back a smile. It was forced but still, it was a start.

“Need to get into a fight? You don’t need to… You somehow always get in trouble.” Said Johnny.

“Don’t ruin my reputation in front of Athalya, please Shortshit. She still thinks I’m a nice guy.” Joked Matt.

“All of you…” retorted Johnny. “You’re all bad news. I will protect her from your bad vibes.” He said, taking a step closer to her. She tried to smile at Johnny as he took a small red pack of Skittles from his pocket.

“Skittles!” shouted Brian, stepping between Athalya and Johnny, taking a handful.

“Hey!” protested Johnny, glaring at him but he just winked at him.

Athalya briefly looked at Brian and then quickly looked down as she saw, from the corner of her eyes, Jimmy standing at her doorstep.

He was probably still there… She could feel a wave of anger crashing upon her and tried to quickly fight it off.

“Hey, it’s all right…” whispered Brian, lightly touching her shoulder. Out of nowhere, she wrapped her arm around his torso and he froze for a second before wrapping his arm around her shoulder, hugging her to his side. He was still processing everything she had told him. She spoke, a lot. She had a lot to say, it wasn’t really clear but he still gathered the main points. He tried his hard not to feel sorry, he wanted to say “I’m sorry about your mother” but he knew it wouldn’t do anything. So he kept quiet and just listened as she spoked about her stepfather, her mother passing, coming to the States, her grandparents, that new guy she met who happened to be her mother’s best friend that she had never heard of before, trying to be there for her… The anger she was feeling, the sadness, the nostalgia, the nightmares… She had spilled her guts to him. He figured she probably regretted it but he did not. He was thankful, somewhat, for the opportunity to get to know her a bit.