Chapter Text
“NO!!!! I DON’T WANNA GO!!!!!”
“Jessica, that’s ENOUGH,” a stern voice rang out from the driver’s seat over the young girl's screams. “You’re eight years old now, act like it. Any more of this nonsense and you can say goodbye to those goddamn dolls of yours. We’re nearly there anyway; you’re going to this camp and that’s FINAL.”
Unsurprisingly, the panic of possibly losing her prized possessions only made Jessica’s wailing worse. Despite her father’s threat, there was no way she was going to let them do this to her. Jessica hated the outdoors; it was gross and dirty and full of scary bugs and animals. She hated her parents for making her go on this thing when they KNEW she hated even going on picnics. Worst of all, she was going to be stuck there for twelve days with a bunch of kids she’d never met before. If Karen was going with her it might be different, but Jessica had never been good at making friends. The boys were always so scary and rude, and the girls were mean to her for being quiet. She was sure it wouldn’t be any different here, that she'd just end up being bullied like usual. All she wanted was to go home and curl up on the couch in front of a movie with her mom.
“PLEASE DON’T MAKE ME GO PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE I DON’T WANT TO I HATE YOU!!!!”
“THAT’S IT JESSICA, I-,” Her father started to yell before he was interrupted by a gentle tap on the shoulder.
“Please go easier on her,” Jessica’s mom said gently before glancing at her daughter worriedly.
“FINE!!! YOU SHUT HER UP THEN IF YOU THINK I’M DOING SUCH A BAD JOB!” he shouted angrily, fuming as he stared at the road ahead of them.
“You better watch your language Chris, or we’re gonna have a problem,” she growled, sighing and turning back to look at her daughter after her husband responded with what was barely a grunt. “Jessica, honey, do you remember what we talked about before?”
“YEAH AND I SAID I DIDN’T WANNA GO THEN AS WELL AND YOU DIDN’T LISTEN!!” the young girl screamed.
Smiling, her Mom reached back, beckoning the young girl to take her hand. She reluctantly grabbed onto it, clutching onto the warm and comforting presence as she slowly calmed down, her screaming replaced by quiet sobbing.
“Sweetie, I know it’s scary, but I promise you’re going to have a good time. There’s going to be so many fun activities and lots of other kids to make friends with. Then once you’re back you can have as many sleepovers with Karen as you want, okay? You just need to show me how brave you are, and everything will be fine.”
Jessica sat there for a few seconds, mulling her options over. She had a much harder time staying angry at her mother, despite how betrayed she felt. She never raised her voice or threatened her like her dad did, and aside from Karen she was basically Jessica’s best friend - not that she had any others. She knew her mom had her best interests at heart doing this, but that didn’t make it any better; she still hated the idea entirely. But as she sat there thinking, she realised that she hated disappointing her mother even more than the idea of going to the camp.
“...Ice cream,” the young blonde muttered.
“What was that Jessica? Speak up please,” her mom smiled, squeezing her hand.
“I want ice cream on the way home. And the sleepovers too,” Jessica grumbled, avoiding making eye contact as she blinked back tears, doing her best to stop herself from crying any further.
“Of course we can do that darling,” her mom replied happily. “We’ll have the best summer ever once you’re back, and I promise you can have all the ice cream you want.”
“...Fine, I’ll go.”
____________________
It’d been less than an hour since Jecka’s parents had left at the campsite and she already couldn’t stand it. The other kids were way too noisy for her, screaming as they ran around tackling each other into the dirt, or excitedly chattering by the firepit while they played some stupid game with one of the camp leaders. The leaders had tried to get her to join in, but she’d stubbornly refused, instead sitting alone on a nearby log. She wasn’t interested in talking to any of them.
”Why are you wearing a dress?”
Jessica jumped in shock at the sudden interruption, turning to look at the voice’s owner. Standing next to her was a girl who’d been leaning in so close to her ear that their noses were almost touching now. She had an enormous grin plastered on her face alongside almost as much dirt as there was covering her ratty t-shirt and jeans, making her look almost identical to all the boys running rampant across the campsite. The only distinguishing feature between her and them was the long brown hair flowing behind her, messily tied up into a ponytail as it glowed in the sunlight. Jessica could already tell this wild girl was almost her complete opposite.
“Because I like dresses and I wanted to. Do you have a problem with that?” Jessica huffed indignantly, eyeing the dark haired girl closely.
She had to be making fun of her, right? Why else would this girl, who was clearly having the time of her life, stop what she was doing to come talk to the miserable kid? She was well aware of how strange her light pink dress and ballet flats made her look amongst all the kids much better prepared for a week and a half outdoors. She knew they’d all been staring and whispering, but she’d hoped it’d take at least a day or two before anyone started picking on her.
“Nononono! No problem at all!” the girl waved her hands in panic, and Jessica could’ve sworn she noticed a slight blush beneath the grime on her face. “It looks really pretty! I just thought that it didn’t seem very fun to camp in, that’s all.”
“Well camping isn’t fun and I hate it, so I may as well be pretty if I have to be here.”
The strange girl audibly gasped at the statement before grabbing onto Jessica’s arm, her huge blue eyes wide with shock. “You don’t like camping?? Why not?? It’s the best thing ever!!”
“How is this fun?? You’re covered in dirt and you’ve got holes all over your clothes, you’re going to need to get new ones! Didn’t you like those?” Jessica snapped, pulling her arm away from the girl, whose shock had quickly turned into confusion as she looked down at her clothes, apparently only just realising what she looked like right now. Was she stupid or something?
“Oh, these holes? I’ve had those for agessssss,” she shrugged absentmindedly, meanwhile Jessica’s eye was beginning to twitch as she watched the girl mindlessly fiddle with a loose thread, worsening the tear it had been peeking out of. “Mom says it just shows how much fun I'm having. Oh! I remember now! So this one I got when I fell out of the tree down the road, this one I got at our old place when I fell over chasing our cat Newport, this one-”
God, this girl was such a nuisance. Her antics were quickly burning through the already little patience Jessica had for others. As the girl continued to recap her entire life story through the remnants of her torn up shirt, Jessica stood up and started to leave; desperate to find literally anywhere else where she could sulk in peace. She only managed to get a few steps away before the dark haired girl dashed in front of her, blocking her path.
“Where are you going??” she asked earnestly, a confused expression clouding her face.
“Can you just leave me alone?” Jessica growled. “I was perfectly fine by myself, I don’t know why you had to ruin it for me.”
“I… I just…” the brunette trailed off, a torn look on her face as she hung her head in shame. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to make you mad or anything. You just… looked lonely. I wanted to help.”
Jessica felt herself falter. She’d already realised that the girl wasn’t trying to bully her, but it was unbelievable how annoying and overly confident she was. Who did she think she was, not only making that assumption but also assuming that she would be the one to fix that? She was just so frustrating. But still, seeing how disappointed the strange girl looked, Jessica felt bad, which only infuriated her more. Somehow she’d ended up being the villain here, upsetting this poor girl who’d only been trying to help; at least that’s how everyone else would see it.
“...Fine, prove it,” she sighed, folding her arms. “You’ve got four days to prove camping is fun or you have to leave me alone forever.”
“R-REALLY??” It took less than a second for the girl to perk back up, her enormous smile returning to her face as she grabbed Jessica’s arm again, dragging her along. “I’ll do it! I’ll show you everything I love about being here! Come with me!”
“Where are we going??” Jessica asked confusedly, doing her best to keep up with the girl’s jogging.
“We’re gonna move your stuff to my cabin! Let’s have a sleepover… uh… oh! I never even got your name!” The girl giggled. “I’m Nicole, and you’re…?”
“Jessica,” she muttered. “I hate it though.”
“Hmmm... what if I call you Jecka? It’s like Jessica but it sounds way cooler.”
“Jecka???? Where did you get that from??” Jessica laughed. People had tried to call her things like Jessie or Jess before and she’d hated them just as much as her name. But this ridiculous nickname, suggested by Nicole, the most ridiculously annoying girl she’d ever met… It didn’t seem so bad.
“HEY!! YOU CAN LAUGH!!” Nicole said excitedly, her eyes lighting up as her smile somehow widened even further. “Jecka it is then! Now come on, let’s go!”
“Okay, okay, I’m coming!! Stop pulling so hard!”
She couldn’t help but feel a little bit of Nicole’s infectious energy flowing through her as the brunette dragged her towards the row of cabins. The idea of this insufferably loud and obnoxious girl being the one to help her enjoy camping was almost laughable, but for some reason, Jecka couldn’t help but hope that it would really happen.
____________________
“Jeckaaaaaaa come on!” Nicole groaned impatiently. “Come on, come on, come on!!! You promised!!!”
“No! I didn’t say anything about water. I can’t swim, I’m not doing this,” Jecka huffed, turning away before Nicole grabbed her by the arm, a move the blonde was quickly getting used to.
“You don’t need to swim in the river, it’s really shallow! You can walk and everything, and it feels really nice in the water. I promise you’ll have fun.”
“...Fine, I’ll come with you, but I’m not going in.”
“That’s fine! Now let’s go, come on!” Nicole replied slyly, and Jecka could tell the brunette was planning something. It didn’t matter though, there was no way she was getting in the water, shallow or not.
The river was close enough to the campsite that they were allowed to visit during their free time between activities. In fact, the camp leader encouraged it - the cool water was a refreshing break from the summer heat. So with Nicole running as fast as she could while dragging Jecka behind her, it wasn’t long before they got to the sandy riverbank.
“WOOHOO!!!!” Nicole screamed as she cannonballed straight into the river, while Jecka jumped backwards to avoid the ensuing eruption of water.
“Nicole watch out! You nearly got water on my dress, dummy!”
“It’s just water,” Nicole laughed. “It’ll dry in like, two minutes.”
Jecka sighed before taking a seat right on the shoreline. “You’re impossible.”
“You’re so mean to me,” Nicole replied sarcastically and stuck her tongue out before laughing again. “Here, watch this!”
Almost before she got the words out, Nicole was already diving down into the water. Jecka watched incredulously as her feet splashed around ridiculously in an attempt to keep herself from resurfacing, and she couldn’t help but laugh at the sight. As annoying as Nicole was, Jecka couldn’t help but admit that she was just a slight bit entertaining. Just as the brunette started to come back up, she caught herself and did her best to revert back to the broody, bored expression she usually wore.
“Did you see me touch the bottom? How cool was it?” Nicole asked excitedly, staring at Jecka with huge eyes and a wide smile until she rolled her eyes and shrugged.
“It was alright,” Jecka sighed, doing her best to contain her smile. “You looked pretty stupid splashing around like that.”
“As long as you found it entertaining I don’t mind!” Nicole laughed. Jecka didn’t understand how nothing ever got to her. Compared to Jecka’s moodiness and prickly personality, Nicole was an unending ray of sunshine, taking everything in stride and seemingly capable of enjoying literally anything. Before she could reply, Nicole was wading towards her, holding her hand out. “Here! I got you something while I was down there.”
Trying to get a better view of what the girl was holding, Jecka moved closer to the water. It was a shell of some kind, shining white and pink, almost glittering in the sunlight. As much as she hated to admit it, she loved it, and was flattered that Nicole had seen it and thought of her right away. As she reached out to grab it, Nicole’s smile shifted to a mischievous grin as her other hand snapped forward to grab the blonde girl’s wrist, pulling Jecka forward into the water as she shrieked.
Jecka panicked as she plunged face first into the river, struggling to breathe as water flooded her ears and eyes. She closed her eyes as she flailed around desperately, all she could hear was the sound of her own frantic breaths bubbling to the surface, until a pair of arms wrapped around her and pulled her up to the surface and she was met with Nicole’s worried gaze.
“WHY DID YOU DO THAT? I TOLD YOU I CAN’T SWIM!” Jecka screamed as she caught her breath, trying not to cry. Luckily being drenched in water was hiding the tears forming in the corner of her eyes.
“I’m really sorry Jecka,” Nicole whined, tearing up as she forcibly pulled the blonde into a hug. Watching the brunette cling onto her sobbing like this, Jecka felt a rush of not only discomfort and guilt, but also envy at her inability to be open with her feelings the way Nicole could. “I just wanted to get you into the water, I didn’t mean to pull you under like that.”
“...Don’t worry about it,” She sighed, awkwardly patting Nicole’s back, wondering why she was even bothering to comfort the brunette. She hated how much the overwhelmingly annoying figure currently latched onto her was growing on her.
“Y-you like it though, right? It’s nice in here isn’t it?” Nicole asked shyly as she stepped back, staring nervously at Jecka, waiting for her approval. “See I told you, you can stand and everything.”
“It’s fine I guess,” she replied, stubbornly refusing to admit defeat. As she waded further into the river, her eyes lit up with glee as inspiration struck her. “The water does feel pretty HMPFHHHH!”
“JECKA??” Nicole panicked, wading as quickly as she could towards the spot where her friend had sunk below the surface once again. Jecka waited underwater, watching her shadow getting closer and closer until she was almost on top of her before leaping out and spraying the brunette with water.
“Gotcha!!” she cried out happily before catching herself again, this time not fast enough to stop Nicole from noticing her expression.
“YOU SMILED!!!” Nicole screamed happily. “You’re enjoying yourself!!”
“I did not,” Jecka complained, before splashing Nicole again. “You’re making it up.”
“You did so!” Nicole grinned as she splashed Jecka back. “You're still smiling now!!”
“Shut up!!”
Before she knew it she was laughing and enjoying herself right alongside the brunette, who was somehow able to not only drag Jecka along at her pace, but get her to enjoy it. And the more time they spent together, the more she couldn’t deny it - even if she wasn’t ready to admit it outloud. After what felt like a few minutes but was close to an hour, one of the camp leaders called for them from the riverbank.
“Kids!! Time to get out and make your way back to camp! It’s time for dinner!”
“Ughhhh, do we have to?” Jecka muttered, and Nicole giggled in response.
“Come on, let’s go get a spot close to the fire! We can dry off and toast s'mores and stuff.”
“...Okay fineeeee, let's go.”
The pair climbed out together, and Jecka did her best to contain her happiness as Nicole yet again dragged her back to the campsite. She still wasn’t ready to let her feelings out freely like the brunette did, but maybe someday.
____________________
Jecka sighed happily as she made her way back to the cabin. The cool night breeze flowed through her showered wet hair soothingly as the soft glow of the moon illuminated the path ahead of her. They were five days into the camp, and she was actually managing to settle into a rhythm; even beginning to enjoy herself a little. She was still unable to connect with anyone but Nicole, but whatever. None of the others were worth her time, and it was clear that they’d all made up their minds about her anyway. She was practically skipping up to the cabin steps as she thought about her new friend, when the girl in question suddenly stomped out of the room before turning around to slam the door behind her.
“Nicole? What’s going on?” Jecka asked confusedly, before seeing the fresh bruises peppered across her arms and cheek. “Oh my god are you okay?? What happened in there?”
Nicole jumped at the sudden noise, turning around to face Jecka. “Jecka!!! Hi!!! I’m okay, everythings okay, don’t worry. It’s nothing, I promise.”
“You’re bleeding! How is that okay?” Jecka refuted, pointing at a bite mark on the brunette's wrist. “Which one of them did that to you??”
“You should see what she looks like,” Nicole snickered. “Come on, come on, let’s go for a walk! It’s so nice out here tonight and I wanna watch the stars.”
Nicole moved to grab Jecka’s hand, a motion that had now become the norm between the two of them - only this time, to Nicole's confusion, Jecka pulled her hand away. “Only if you tell me what happened.”
“Fine, fine, I’ll tell you as we walk, now come on already,” Nicole groaned before reaching for the blonde's hand again, pulling her along as she’d done so many times before by this point. “I got in a fight with Alice. I was winning and everything but then she cried and Yvette and Stephanie started treating me like the bad guy so I left and I ran into you and now we’re going for a walk!”
Of course it was Alice. All of the other kids were awful to Jecka, but Alice had been the ringleader, and it was just her luck that they were sharing a cabin. Alice made her life hell every chance she could get without Nicole around, and apparently she was taking her hatred out on the brunette too.
“Anyway, like I said, don’t worry about it! I’m fine,” the brunette was grinning like usual; but Jecka had been around her enough to tell that this one was forced.
“How could I not worry? You’re my friend, dummy, of course I care.” Jecka could feel herself blushing as the words spilled out. Friend. It was impossible to deny at this point, but saying it out loud was a big step for her. If she wasn’t so in her head coming to terms with the gravity of what she said, she would have seen Nicole’s face turning an even deeper shade of crimson than hers in the moonlight.
“Friends!! You admitted it!” Nicole sang. “You like hanging out with me~.”
“Yeah, yeah, we’re friends. And being friends means you’ll tell me what started the fight, right?”
“...Fine, she was insulting you and I got mad.”
…Oh. Nicole had been defending her. Somehow that reveal made Jecka blush even more, if that was possible. But why? Why would Nicole go out of her way to do that, putting herself in danger for her of all people?
“They all insult me Nicole, It’s fine. I’m used to it. You didn’t need to do that for me.”
“Of course I did, we’re friends right?” The brunette stopped running and smiled, holding Jecka’s hand tightly. “Besides, I’m sick of it. They all treat you awfully and say you deserve it without even bothering to get to know you. It’s not fair, I hate it. I really, really, really hate it. You deserve better than that.”
The two stood there in silence as Jecka processed what Nicole was saying. No one had ever stood up for her like that, believed in her the way Nicole did. She was sure that back home, the endlessly optimistic girl holding her hand was like this to everyone, but a part of her hoped that all of this attention and care was just for her.
“You’re so stupid Nicole,” she sighed, wishing she could muster up the courage to express how she truly felt. At the very least, she knew Nicole would understand what she was trying to say. “...Thank you.”
Nicole hugged her tightly, giggling like usual before pulling her further down the path until they reached an open field, far enough away from the camp to enjoy the peace and quiet, but close enough to sneak back to the group before the camp leaders noticed.
“Here’s perfect!” She said excitedly, laying down and beckoning Jecka to do the same. “Do you know how to spot the constellations?”
“No, I’ve never done this at all. They all just look like little specks to me.”
“Hmmm… Well do you see that one over there that’s more red than the others?” Nicole pointed into the sky, as Jecka did her best to follow her direction, eventually spotting a cluster surrounding one distinctly coloured star.
“That one?”
“That’s it! That’s the heart of Scorpius which is why it’s so red. And the three really bright ones there are its claws and head. Then if you look to the other side there's a bunch of them that make a hook shape, and that’s the tail!” Nicole babbled excitedly, turning to Jecka to watch her reaction.
The blonde laid there confused for a while, mapping out the stars in her mind. How was this meant to look like a scorpion? It was just a bunch of stars. But finally after a minute or so of squinting, she saw it and squealed as she turned to look at Nicole, her standoffish persona evaporated instantly by her excitement.
“I see it, that's so cool Nicole!! Show me another!”
“Yay, I know right!! Okay, do you see that triangle over there of a bunch of really bright stars?” she asked, grabbing Jecka’s arm with one hand while pointing back up at the night sky with the other.
“Yep!”
“That’s the summer triangle. Now we use the second brightest one, that one there, and you go up there to that one. That’s the head of the eagle - I think Mom said it’s called Aquila? Now you go back that way, and all those stars over there make the body and the wings!”
All Jecka could think about while she stared at the sky was how cool Nicole was, and how much stuff she knew. She could lay here watching the stars forever while she listened to Nicole’s endless rambling.
“Oooh, yep I see it. This is so much fun!” Jecka laughed.
“Yay, I’m glad you like it!! Hey, hey, does this mean I win our bet?” Nicole asked slyly, giggling as she turned to look at Jecka.
“...I have no idea what you mean,” the blonde replied innocently, relenting quickly once she saw Nicole’s pout. “Fineeeeeee, you win; I’m enjoying myself.”
“WOO HOO!!!” Nicole yelled. “Now you have to keep hanging out with me!”
“Ughhhhhh, you know that I would anyway Nicole, whatever.” Jecka rolled her eyes before trying to divert the conversation back to the stars. “Did your Mom show you all of those constellation thingies?”
“Yeah, we go camping every year, just me and her! We don’t have as much money as the other families so we always do stuff like that during summer when everyone else goes away. It’s okay though, I love it, and I get to spend time with her.”
“...Why are you here then? Instead of camping with her?” Jecka asked, confused.
“Oh, she’s too busy this year. But it’s okay, she promised we’d go extra long next year instead so everything’s fine!” Nicole smiled again, but just like before, Jecka could tell it was forced. “Plus I got to come here instead and meet you, so I think it’s a good thing. It feels like, I don't know, we were destined to be best friends or something.”
Before the brunette could react with anything but a shocked squeak, Jecka pulled her into a hug. “...Yeah, it really does. I’m glad I met you too, Nicole. You’re the most amazing friend I’ve ever had.”
Upon hearing those words, Nicole pulled Jecka in even tighter, and the two laid there together under the stars, both pretending not to notice the other’s quiet sobbing.
____________________
“NO!!!!! I DON’T WANNA LEAVE!!” Jecka screamed, trying to pull her arm out from her Father’s rough grip. “LET ME GO!!”
“Jessica please, we need to go honey. I’m glad you had a good time, but we can’t stay any longer,” her Mom pleaded, gently stroking her hair.
“I’M NOT GOING. I’M STAYING HERE WITH NICOLE FOREVER.”
“THAT’S ENOUGH JESSICA, YOU WERE ENOUGH OF A PAIN IN THE ASS ON THE WAY HERE, SO YOU’RE GOING TO LISTEN AND BEHAVE YOURSELF FOR ONCE IN YOUR DAMN LIFE AND GET IN THE CAR!” her dad yelled at her, and Jecka flinched, expecting a slap that luckily never came.
“CHRISTOPHER YOU BETTER WATCH YOUR MOUTH BEFORE I SHUT IT FOR YOU!” her mother bellowed, catching her husband's free hand and pulling him away from Jecka, before glancing apologetically at the onlooking children and parents and turning back to her daughter. “Jessica, honey, who is Nicole? Would it help if we say goodbye to her?”
“NO SHE NEEDS TO COME WITH US OR I’M NOT GOING. AND STOP CALLING ME JESSICA, I TOLD YOU MY NAME’S JECKA NOW.”
Her mother shook her head and sighed, but before she could continue a voice called out amongst the surrounding chatter.
“Jecka, I found you!!!” She turned to see Nicole pushing through the crowd. Instantly she broke away from her parents, running towards the brunette and almost tackling her to the ground. “It’s so busy; I was worried we wouldn’t get to see each other before we go home!”
“I DON’T WANNA LEAVE NICOLE I WANT TO STAY WITH YOU!” Jecka cried, clinging to Nicole for dear life as she sobbed into her shoulder.
“I want to stay with you too Jecka. I’m gonna miss you. I’ll tell you what, let’s make a promise,” Nicole comforted her as she pulled away, a big toothy grin on her face as she reached into her pocket.
“A-a-a promise for what?” Jecka sniffed, wiping her eyes and looking back up.
The brunette pulled a crudely made friendship bracelet out of her pocket, before revealing a matching one on her arm. They each had a detailed pattern across their length, and a number of small shells from the river glued to the top; the only differences being she’d made a pink one for Jecka and a blue one for herself. “I made this for you during craft time yesterday, and look! I have one too, so we’re matching! If we both have one it means eventually we’ll meet again, and we’ll be best friends forever, okay?”
Jecka slowly reached out to take the bracelet. It fit snugly, and there was a comforting weight to it, as if Nicole herself was tugging on her wrist like usual. It was a nice feeling, and she could feel a weak smile forming on her face as she looked back at Nicole. “You promise?”
“I promise,” Nicole reassured, as the two embraced again. Jecka couldn’t understand how she could be so confident in this, but it made her want to believe it too. It had to happen, there was no way she was going to live the rest of her life without her new best friend.
“...Okay. You better not be lying or I'm going to get really mad at you,” she replied stiffly as the two finally pulled apart, trying not to cry further.
“I promise! I would never lie to you, we’re best friends forever,” the girl smiled, waving before turning to walk away. “See you later Jecka!”
She couldn’t muster anything more than a wave; she was barely containing her tears as it was and she knew that dam would break again if she even tried to say goodbye. As Nicole disappeared back into the crowd as quickly as she’d appeared, Jecka felt her Mom’s gentle hands on her shoulders. “Okay sweetie, are you ready to go? We’ll get ice cream on the way home like I promised.”
“...I want strawberry,“ she mumbled, her fingers clasping tightly around her Mom’s hand as the two turned back towards the car, her father following closely behind as he muttered.
“That sounds yummy, let’s go get you some. I love you, Jessi- sorry, Jecka,” her Mother replied, squeezing her hand and smiling.
“...I love you too, Mom.”
____________________
It’d been nearly nine years since Jecka had last seen Nicole, but their time together had never truly left her mind. They’d only spent a couple of weeks together, but she’d never connected with anyone else to the same degree. Even her friendship with Karen, who’d been her best friend until that trip, had felt hollow after that - not that it mattered since she’d gone and blown that up like she did everything. She’d spent every day hoping that she’d wake up and the happy go lucky brunette would be back in her life, giggling as she dragged her around, flashing that brilliant smile as she excitedly showed her every little thing she could.
But over time, she’d gotten closer and closer to giving up on that possibility. It’d been a pipe dream in the first place; she didn’t even know where Nicole had lived, and even if she did it would’ve been pointless - the brunette had told her about her family's constant moves. Still, it was hard to accept that that promise would never come to fruition, that so much of her hopes over the last almost nine years were based on a childish conversation with a girl she’d known for less than half a month.
But then she saw her. There she was, on the first day of junior year, sitting in her science class. Nicole. She had to pinch herself to make sure, convinced this was some kind of delusion, but it was her. She’d changed a lot since then - she was deathly pale, her face was now stuck in a permanent scowl, and her cheekiness seemed to have developed into a penchant for psychologically torturing everyone around her. Jecka spent the whole period watching her old friend's antics in shock as she got into a total of three arguments with Mr Burleday, tricked Kyler and Hunter into nearly killing each other and took jabs at anyone who even tried to introduce themselves to her.
She couldn’t believe some of the things she’d overheard Nicole saying to Jeffery, or that the person they were coming from was the same optimistic and kind to a fault child she remembered. But aside from the physical resemblance, there was a mischievous glint in her eye that Jecka would never forget. It really was Nicole, and she was here to fulfill their promise.
Jecka planned to make her move at the end of class, but before she could even start packing her bag Nicole had already made straight for the door and escaped. She felt a pang of disappointment; was Nicole avoiding her? Had she lost interest in their friendship after all this time, and running into Jecka again was just an uncomfortably awkward coincidence? No, it couldn’t be that. Nicole just hadn’t noticed her, she’d been distracted the whole class after all. They’d have plenty of time to reconnect later.
That opportunity finally came at lunch, when Jecka saw a familiar skinny figure, clad in a blue hoodie and dark jeans, wandering aimlessly through the cafeteria. This was it, she could do this. She took a deep breath, and steeled herself before walking up to Nicole and tapping her on the shoulder. “Hey, uhhhh… Nicole, right? The lunch line’s on the other end there.”
“Huh?” the brunette spun around to look at her, a confused expression on her face paired with that same scowl as before. Jecka flinched; it didn’t feel right seeing Nicole look like that, especially when it was directed towards her.
“You’re trying to find where the lunch line starts right? You got here a little late so it’s pretty long now.”
“Oh! Fuck, for a sec I thought everyone else was skipping too,” Nicole rolled her eyes. “That makes more sense though.”
“Where’d you come in from?” Jecka could feel herself getting antsy, waiting for Nicole to realise who she was talking to her, to remember her. She just had to keep this conversation going.
“Like just outside. There was this annoying guy who wouldn’t leave me alone.”
“Like, annoying how?”
“I don’t fuckin know.”
“Is he like ‘somehow managed to call you three different slurs while trying to get in your pants’ annoying? Or like ‘takes one look at you and picks something about you he can pretend he’s obsessed with and use to hit on you’ annoying?”
“Um… the second one.”
“Oh, yeah… Crispin. He’s like, mostly harmless; like he won’t do anything to you but he will hit on you every chance he gets and if you don’t run away he’ll talk out of his ass for hours trying to impress you.”
“Yeah, he seemed like the type,” Nicole muttered. “Wanna get a seat with me?”
“Yeah sure, all my friends got put in a different lunch period,” Jecka lied, trying to keep the excitement in her voice under wraps. She didn’t have any friends at all, but it didn’t matter. Nicole was here, and just like back then that was all she needed.
The two made their way to a free table nearby, and Nicole sighed with relief as she slid onto the bench “What’s your name? I’m Nicole.”
“I’m Jecka,” she replied instantaneously, watching cautiously for the brunette's response. She had to remember now.
“Jecka? That’s like, on your birth certificate?”
The offhanded joke was like a shot straight through Jecka’s heart. She didn’t remember her. Nicole didn’t remember the nickname she’d come up with that summer. It was just a random weird name to her like any other, the same way Jecka was nobody to her; just some random girl at her new school.
No. No no no no no no no.
This wasn’t meant to be like this. She could fix this, it was easy. All she had to do was say ‘hey, did you go to this summer camp when you were eight where you spent the whole time making friends with this gloomy blonde girl? Well, that was me!’ It’d be so easy, and then everything would be fixed; surely that would make Nicole remember. But try as she might, she couldn’t get the words out.
“...It’s short for Jessica, obvi,” was the only response she could muster.
It didn’t feel real. She didn’t want to be here anymore, or anywhere for that matter. She heard Nicole make another snarky comment that she couldn’t quite make out, as well as herself laughing in response. The world around her was swirling, as she tried to recollect herself. No, she could do this. She didn’t need Nicole to remember her. She was fine before they’d met, and she’d been fine all alone after. She was still her, and Nicole was still Nicole, even if she’d changed, even if she never smiled the same way she used to. She could make this happen again. Fate had put Nicole within arms reach for a second time; all Jecka had to do was make Nicole hers again, and this time she wasn’t going to let go.