Yasmine looked like a goddess.

She was wearing a beautiful baby blue blouse and stylish pants, paired with high-heeled boots that probably were worth more than Sky's car. Her blond locks fell around her face, arranged in luscious curls, and her makeup was immaculate - her lashes incredibly long, the eyeshadow matched the color of her shirt and her cheeks were the shade of freshly bloomed roses. She looked absolutely gorgeous, a fact that clearly hadn't gone unnoticed by Demetri, who was gawking at her as if she was a fallen star.

Not that Sky was after Demetri's admiration but still, next to the perfection that was Yasmine, she felt inadequate. After the accident, dressing nice wasn't really an option. It was a struggle to get any clothes on with the stupid cast, so she was wearing a pair of comfy jeans that were easy to pull on with one hand, and an oversized black T-shirt with a Marvel logo. High heels were out of the question as long as she had issues with her balance and her right leg, so she only had a pair of sneakers on her feet, which made her look a head shorter and about five years younger than Yasmine. Sky wasn't vain, but still, it sucked.

But no matter Yasmine's killer looks - she didn't seem to be any more at ease than Sky. It was clear she'd rather be anywhere else than here. As they made their way towards the Lego store through the busy mall, Yasmine's posture stayed tense and agitated. She was tightly hugging her upper body as if she was cold and she kept glancing at Sky over her shoulder as if she feared Sky would start throwing punches at any moment.

Sky couldn't really blame Yasmine. The only things the other girl really knew about her, were all pretty violent. She was a Karate champion, she had kicked Yas pretty badly, and she had fought Tory in the school fight, ending up in a coma. That list made Sky sound not only badass but also a bloodthirsty lunatic. No wonder Yasmine seemed fearful.

Sky made a face. This day was proving to be even more burdensome than she had thought. She had promised to help Demetri but it sure wasn't going great, and she had no idea how to fix things.

Her mind was still busy with that problem when she felt her phone buzzing in her pocket. With a slight frown, she pulled the phone out and read the messages.

sooooo

u gonna come over?

the house is empty 😏

Suddenly the floor under Sky's feet turned wobbly. She stared at the words on the screen for a couple of heartbeats and let out a silent curse.

Shit.

It was Monday. Fucking Monday! And suddenly she clearly remembered Hawk's words, the plans they had made, and all air left her lungs. How the fuck could I forget?

ohmygod

I'm so sorry

I forgot 😭

something came up

Instead of texting back, Hawk called. Sky glanced at Demetri and Yasmine, who were walking in front of her, and fell back a bit before she took that call, not wanting anyone to overhear their conversation.

"You forgot?" Hawk asked, his raspy voice came with a hint of annoyance.

"I'm sorry," Sky replied. "Shit, I'm so sorry! I don't know what happened. I... I have this school project and I needed some materials for it, and—"

"Are you with Demetri?" Hawk interrupted her sentence, making Sky feel like shit. She glanced at the dark-haired boy, who was happily leading the way toward the Lego store where they could get all the bricks they needed for the science project. He was vividly explaining something to Yasmine, his hands gesturing wildly. Yasmine kept her distance and glared at Demetri as if he was a cockroach, her dislike plain and clear on her beautiful face. Why Demetri was so into her, was beyond Sky - and she had a pretty solid hunch it would take a lot more than a joint science project to soften Yasmine's heart of ice.

"Yeah, I am," Sky said. "Though I don't know why you care."

"You know why," Hawk muttered, sounding annoyed. "You fucking stood me up to meet him."

"It's not like that—"

"Well you're not here, are you?"

"Come on," Sky said, trying to keep her voice even. "I said I was sorry. I can come over after this, and then we can have the tacos—"

"My Mom's gonna be home later."

His words felt like a blow. The damn book Club, the perfect opportunity for them to fuck like bunnies in the empty house - now ruined because Sky had messed up. It wasn't just Sky's lovely company or the tacos Hawk was missing, it was her body sprawled out on the bed.

The feeling of being a failure, a disappointment crept on Sky like mold. She hated it, loathed herself for feeling this way, and him too. As if all she was good for was what they did in the bed, and if that was taken away, nothing remained.

"Well I'm sorry," Sky said a bit more sharply than she had intended. "I guess we're not seeing each other tonight, then."

"Don't say it like it's my fault. You're the one who didn't show up."

"Hawk—"

He hung up, cutting her sentence in the middle, which felt like a slap on the face. Letting out a shaky breath, Sky pushed her phone into the pocket of her jeans and brought her hand to her neck, to feel the phoenix pendant that rested between her collarbones under her T-shirt. She remembered Demetri's words from yesterday, how he had said that getting back together with Hawk was stupid, that he was just going to end up hurting her again, and now it felt like a bad omen. The pendant was cold against her skin, and she felt like there was a wind blowing right through her.

It's my own fault. I promised I'd be there. I practically told him there would be sex. It's only natural that he's upset. How could I forget like this? I'm so fucking stupid. I'm the worst girlfriend ever—

She sucked in the tears that threatened to break free, sucked them in deep with the feeling of being a stupid slut, but it didn't help. This was the first time she felt like this since the accident, and suddenly the shame and the hurt settled on her as if they'd never been gone at all.

"What was that about?" asked a voice, and Sky looked up to notice that Yasmine was standing right next to her. They had reached the entrance of the Lego store and Demetri had already walked in, whereas Yasmine was still hesitating by the door.

"Ah, nothing," Sky shrugged. The bright, happy music that echoed from the store made her feel even more rotten. As she took a deep breath to calm down, she also had to take a step back to give room to a group of small kids who rushed in through the doors followed by their tired-looking mom. Sky looked at them, not at Yasmine - she wasn't going to cry here, not in front of her of all people.

"It didn't look like nothing," Yasmine commented.

"It was... just this guy I'm dating. I forgot I was supposed to meet him today and he got pissed."

"Hm," Yasmine let out a sound Sky couldn't interpret. She was playing with her hair, running her fingers nervously through it, arranging the curls on her shoulder. "Guys - more trouble than they're worth."

Surprised by the fact that Yasmine was even talking to her, Sky let out a small laugh.

"Yeah, well—" Sky started, but just then Demetri appeared from the store, a frown on his face.

"What are you waiting for?" he exclaimed, gesturing for them to follow him in. "If my calculations are correct, we need more than 8000 individual pieces and they aren't going to choose themselves."

Half an hour later they exited the store, carrying huge bags filled with Lego bricks of different colors and shapes, plus a couple of large Lego base plates they would start building the project on. Demetri was chivalrously carrying most of them, leaving only a small bag with the dinosaur figures for Sky. True to herself, Yasmine had refused to be seen carrying a bag of Legos, but Demetri didn't seem to mind. Sky suspected he would carry the fucking Mount Everest for Yasmine if she ever asked.

"You guys wanna get something to eat?" Sky asked as they started walking. "I'm starving."

Sky had checked her phone a couple of minutes ago, but there had been nothing from Hawk, which still made her feel like shit, but since it was becoming apparent she wasn't going to get the tacos with him, she might as well eat here.

Demetri seemed delighted - probably because this gave him the excuse to spend more time with Yasmine.

"Yes!" He exclaimed a bit too excitedly. "I could eat. Or drink. Or whatever it is you ladies desire."

Yasmine rolled her eyes. "Oh God, can't we just get out of here already?"

"Please," Sky said. "It's on me - you paid for the Legos so this is the least I can do."

Yasmine hesitated. They had arrived here in her car, so if she left, she would be leaving Sky and Demetri without a ride back home - and they were far from home since there wasn't a Lego store in their imminent neighborhood. Perhaps it was a good thing, for Yasmine too seemed to realize that she wasn't likely to be seen by anyone they knew, even if they sat down and ate together.

"Fine," she muttered, throwing her hair over her shoulder. "But let's make it quick."

They found a free table in the food court and ordered some burgers and fries - except for Yasmine who only wanted a diet coke. While Sky and Demetri ate, Yasmine sat silently sipping on her drink, looking so out of place that Sky almost felt bad for her.

Sky wasn't really hungry either - her fight with Hawk kept dragging her down, and she only managed half of her burger before she began to feel nauseous. Demetri was unaffected by the lack of appetite of his companions - he happily finished his own meal, and kept trying to offer his fries to Yasmine with no success, all the while explaining his plans for their science project and how they should execute them, not even slightly discouraged by the fact that Yasmine hardly said a word.

Sky placed her half-eaten burger down and pushed it to the side, concentrating on her soda. To be honest, she hated food courts. She hated the cheap fast food, she hated the smell of grease and fried things and especially she hated the noisy kids who always swarmed these places, their loud voices cutting the air like knives. She winced when an especially loud baby started shrieking at a nearby table. Yasmine reacted by rolling her eyes and letting out a melodramatic sigh, clearly hoping this would be their mark to leave.

"Demetri," Sky said, turning her attention to her friend, holding up her cup. "Would you do me a favor and get me a refill?"

Demetri, who knew very well how hard it still was for Sky to walk, was happy to oblige. Taking Sky's cup, he stood up in a swift motion, almost knocking over his chair.

"Anything for you, Yasmine?"

Yasmine didn't even reply. She just kept sucking her straw, the look on her face pure agony. Sky let out a sigh. Yasmine wasn't making this easy for her, but Sky was prepared to do her best to put their differences behind them - if only for Demetri.

"Look, Yas–" she started as soon as Demetri was out of earshot. "I wanted to talk to you about something."

Yasmine's big, baby blue eyes turned to her, and for a short moment, she looked scared again, instead of just bored and suffering.

"Well, what is it?"

"I–" Sky hesitated. "I... I guess I just wanted to say that I'm really sorry about what happened last year. When I kicked you, I mean. I never should have done that. It was a stupid thing to do."

There. She had said it. This was something Sky had wanted to do for a long time, and now that it was done, the air immediately felt easier to breathe.

Yasmine's eyes widened slightly. It was clear she hadn't expected this. She kept stirring the ice cubes in her Diet Coke with the straw and it took a while before she replied.

"Well, I am not exactly innocent either." She finally said. "Some of the things I said..."

The rest of her sentence trailed off and turned into a shrug. It wasn't exactly an apology, but it was a lot more than Sky had expected. Yasmine looked down at her drink, and something like guilt shadowed her beautiful features.

"It's okay," Sky replied softly. "We both did some stupid things, I guess."

"I guess," Yasmine replied, still stirring the ice cubes in her cup. "Anyways, I accept your apology, but let's not make this a thing. We're still not friends."

"No, that's fine," Sky was eager to reply. "I didn't think we were."

She glanced at Demetri, who was still in the line, holding Sky's cup in his hands, looking exasperated as he was stuck between a group of kids who couldn't decide what they wanted to drink and a teenaged couple who were furiously making out in the line. Sky felt a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth at that sight.

"But I guess... we should try to get along," Yasmine added. "For the science project. I do need an A on that."

"Works for me."

A short silence followed - if you could call it silence, as at the next table the toddler was still shrieking her lungs out and some children were running around the food court making insufferable noises. Sky's head was beginning to ache - after the accident, there hadn't been many days without a splitting headache and this didn't seem to be an exception.

"And... I am glad you are in the group." Yasmine said, even if a bit reluctantly. "I would die if I had to do this alone with that geek."

Sky couldn't help a small smile. "That geek isn't so bad when you get to know him."

"Please, I've known him since the first grade," Yasmine replied, rolling her pretty eyes. "And he has been annoying ever since."

"Well, that annoying nerd is the one who's going to get us an A on science, so you might as well try to be nice to him." Sky noted. "Just saying."

Yasmine didn't reply anything to that, but she did seem a bit more relaxed than before. The tension on her shoulders had eased, and she had stopped stirring the ice cubes in her cup. She looked at Sky, just looked at her from the baseball cap on her curls (hiding the scars on her temple) to the cast on her arm, to her hands that rested on the table, as if she was seeing her for the first time.

"You should really do something about your nails." She said when she finally spoke.

Sky arched a brow and took a look at her nails. They were unevenly clipped short, she had no nail polish and it was clear no one had paid any attention to her nails in ages. In fact, the last time she'd been to a nail salon had been in Italy, months ago, and since her suicide attempt and the accident in school.... well, her nails had been the last thing on her mind.

She grimaced, and laid her hand back down, the palm flat against the table. "I know. I'm coming back to school next week. I was going to get them done before that, but–"

"You know what," Yasmine asked, observing her own, flawless nails. "Mine could use a retouch too. There is a great nail salon at this mall. What do you say we go and see if they can fit us in?"

Sky's jaw almost dropped to the table. "You're asking if I wanna go to a nail salon with you?"

Yasmine shrugged her slender shoulders. "Well, do you have anything more important to do? Because I'm not spending the evening with the nerd and his Legos, no matter what you say."

A memory of Hawk flashed through Sky's mind, a thought that she really needed to see him, to apologize for forgetting their plans. He would forgive her, she knew, and then he would kiss her and they would make out and everything would be okay again—

But Demetri was now walking back towards their table, a refilled cup of soda in his hands, his eyes were on Yasmine and Sky had never seen anyone look at a girl with more longing than Demetri at that moment.

Sky let out a sigh and pulled her phone from her pocket just to check if there was anything from Hawk, but no one had tried to reach her. No calls, no messages. Suddenly Sky felt annoyed - sure, it was her fault that their plans had been canceled, but still, Hawk was acting stupidly jealous again, and for no reason.

She might as well get her nails done with Yasmine.

"Your drink, my friend," Demetri said, placing the cup in front of Sky, and taking his own seat. "What have you gorgeous ladies been talking about while I was away?"

"We're going to a nail salon," Sky replied. "And you're invited too."

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