Only Fools - Chapter 48: Chapter 48

When I was younger, I used to pray to the Lord above that I would just happen to get hurt so that I would need crutches. Every time I slightly rolled my ankle or heard my knee make a popping noise, there was a small voice in the back of my mind hoping that it would be enough to get me a set of crutches.
Now, after committing apostasy, the Lord above finally answered my prayers. And honestly, I have no fucking clue why I prayed so hard for this in the first place.
I suppose I have to cut myself a bit of slack, as I was a child. I was a child who saw classmates come in with crutches and get a shit load of attention out of no where.
As strange as it was, everyone wanted to try out the crutches and hear the gruesome story about how the kid got the injury, though the tales were never as gruesome as an overactive child's mind hoped.
However, since being put on crutches, they are definitely not all that my younger self hyped them up to be. My arms are constantly tired and as gross as it is, my pits have never been sweatier. The crutches are so bulky, and my standing leg gets tired way too quickly. On top of that, you'd think that high schoolers would have some sort of decency in the halls given that we are all nearly adults, but that simply isn't the case.
I nearly scream after the third person in a row nearly knocks me over as they attempt to weasel their way to their class.
"She's clearly trying to get through! Get the fuck out of her way!" a voice suddenly bellows from beside me.
Letting out a small breath of relief, I turn to Tori to give her a grateful smile.
"Watch your language, Victoria," Mr. Todd calls from the doorway of his classroom.
"I'll watch my language when these knuckleheads watch where they're going!" she says as she gestures over to me.
The teacher just chuckles before ducking into his classroom, clearly deciding that pretending he didn't hear anything in the first place is his best course of action.
"It's not even 10am, and Victoria is already getting herself into trouble," Naomi teases from the other side of me.
Tori rolls her eyes at the comment.
"It's not even 10am and Naomi is already fussing over me," Tori quips back.
"I wouldn't call it fussing. I was just making a statement," Naomi attempts to defend herself.
"No! Don't take it back!" Tori rushes out before adding, "I don't mind you fussing over me, Nao."
Tori's statement is then obviously followed by a wink in the other girl's direction.
"You're so stupid," Naomi huffs.
"Only for you, babes. Only for you,"
I roll my eyes at them before shaking my head.
"Are you guys done flirting yet?" I ask as I look between the two of them. Naomi instantly turns beat read as she sets her eyes straight in front of her, and Tori smirks as she gives me a nod.
"Sorry. Can't help it," Tori says with a shrug, "Are you doing ok though, Cap?"
She gestures down to my foot and my clear struggling in using my crutches.
"If people wouldn't be utter dicks then I'd probably be much better," I huff, the sound of my crutches against the tile accenting my words.
"I'm sorry, dude," Naomi says softly with a frown.
"Hey. It's not your fault! If anything, you two are what made my weekend bearable. I seriously don't think I could've survived the chronic boredom of being couch ridden on my own," I state as all three of us come to a stop in front of the classroom where Naomi and I have photography, "Plus you were a real trooper for sitting through the entire Scream series, Nao."
"Nearly crushed all the bones in my hand from squeezing it so tight though," Tori mutter under her breath, clearly wanting to be loud enough still that Naomi would hear though.
"Go to your class, Tori," Naomi deadpans as she sends the girl a glare. Tori bites her lip in a clear attempt to not smile before giving us both a small wave and turning on her heel to make her way to her own third hour class.
"You were holding her hand?" I ask Naomi with a raised eyebrow.
"Shut up," she says before sliding past me and into the classroom.
————
By the time lunch rolls around, I have a seemingly permanent frown etched onto my face. Margot accidentally overslept and didn't show up for first hour, I forgot to do the assigned reading and had to bullshit my way through English, and apparently I "didn't understand" the requirements for my latest photography project. Ashley's bitchy smirk as I hobble into the cafeteria is only the icing on the cake.
Not even wanting to waste energy on that creature today, I snap my head around to find Margot's table and almost let out a sigh of relief when my girlfriend's eyes lock on mine, prompting me to head over to the spot next to her as quickly as I can.
Harrison and Raider are already in some sort of domestic dispute as I arrive, something that would have put a smile on my face any other day, but simply doesn't do the trick on this day.
"Hey, babe," Margot says quietly with a soft smile as I drop into my seat before precariously trying to balance my crutches against the table beside me.
"Hey," I respond in a dry tone that matches rather closely to how I'm feeling.
"Try to have a little less enthusiasm, would you?" Margot teases me as she gives my shoulder a bump.
I hate that it doesn't put a smile on my face. On literally any other day, her smile alone would brighten my mood, as cheesy and stupid as it sounds. So when her eyes flash with concern, I'm almost instantly flooded with guilt.
Suddenly all the problems that put the frown on my face in the first place seem so trivial. I feel over dramatic for letting them affect me so much. Not only that, but they're definitely far too minimal to even concern Margot. I should've just forced myself to smile back at her in the first place because now I've landed myself in a mess.
Because now, the concern in her eyes is going to lead to questions. And those questions are going to lead to responses that are then going to make her realize just how difficult I can be to deal with. Shit.
"I'm gonna go to the bathroom," I say with a sigh in an attempt to just come across as tired even though I have to purse my lips right afterwards to hide their slight quivering.
Of course, as soon as I make a move to get up, I totally forget about the set of crutches that I had so precariously balanced beside me, and they go crashing to the floor loudly enough that the tables around us quickly go silent.
The sound makes my heart jump into my throat, and any attempt to stop myself from beginning to cry is rendered entirely useless. As I scramble to pick up the crutches, tears well in my eyes so I just force them to stay trained on the ground during my hastily made exit from the cafeteria.
I don't hear the footsteps following me until I enter the hallway. Margot doesn't make an attempt to say anything to me though or even try to give me any reassuring sort of touch. She simply follows me into the bathroom across from the auditorium that's almost always vacant.
It's only after she checks to make sure there's no one in the bathroom with us and locks the door behind her that she finally steps in front of me and begins to speak.
"Aspen, what's wrong?" she asks softly as her eyes search my face for any clues.
I take in a shaky breath and open my mouth to speak, but no words come out. I begin to shake my head as I cast my gaze down to the ground, my grip around my crutches tightening.
"Can I give you a hug?" she asks hesitantly.
That's what breaks me. I let out a short sob as I begin to vigorously nod in response.
She doesn't even hesitate to pull me into a firm hug, and I don't hesitate to bury my face into her shoulder and just let myself cry. Her hand moves to cradle the back of my head as she begins to slowly run her fingers through my hair, all the while she keeps murmuring what I assume to be reassuring words which I can barely hear over my sniffling.
I'm not sure how long we stay like that for, but eventually my crying dies back down to just shaky breaths, and I find myself pulling my head up from Margot's shoulder slightly so that I can rest my chin on it instead.
"Sorry," I mutter quietly before taking a deep breath.
"It's ok. These uniforms are already so fucking ugly that I'm sure the tears and snot are an improvement,"
My body tries to laugh at her comment, but it just comes out as another deep shaky breath instead.
"No," I say quietly to her, trying to refocus on what I was trying to say.
"You don't think they're ugly?" my girlfriend asks in mock disbelief.
"No. That's just not what I was apologizing for,"
"So you're proud of the mess you just left behind then?"
"Hey! You just said it was an improvement!" I argue back, finding it as easy as ever to just slip into banter with her.
"Exactly. Don't apologize for your art,"
I let out a huff in response.
"So, when is Vogue naming you 'Designer of the Year'?" Margot asks, and I can practically hear the pride in her voice for coming up with that remark. It almost makes me smile.
Instead, I let out a sigh and shake my head before pulling away from her.
"I am sorry about making such a mess of your uniform," I say quietly as my eyes lock on the streaks of mascara left on her white oxford shirt, "I'm also sorry about-"
"Aspen,"
My eyes snap up to meet hers in response to her interruption.
"I literally can't think of a single thing you need to apologize for right now," Margot insists.
"You just had to take care of me because I decided to have a break down over just.... stupid shit.... And you missed your lunch!"
"I didn't have to follow you out here, dumbass. Believe it or not I did it out of my own free will and not because you have me tied up on an invisible leash," she shoots back at me, one eyebrow raised as if daring me to challenge her.
I frown as I cross my arms over my chest, though awkwardly due to my crutches.
"You're my girlfriend. You had some sort of obligation to follow me," I argue.
"Not really. I could just be a shitty girlfriend," Margot counters quickly before adding, "But apparently I kind of like you too much to let that happen...."
"And really I'm just being dramatic!"
Margot just gives me a shrug in response. I scoff at her reaction which makes her smirk slightly.
"What? Am I supposed to disagree? You're one of the most dramatic people I know,"
I don't even bother saying anything as I shake my head and turn around so that my back is facing her.
"You're not helping your case," she chuckles.
I don't bother reacting.
"Aspen, you're one of the most dramatic people I know and for some reason I like that about you. I don't mind comforting you through any number of breakdowns, especially when it means that I get to be with you when you experience happiness dramatically or when you use your flair for the dramatics to come up with comebacks and insults that truly amuse me to no end,"
I hear her take a couple steps towards me before I feel her arms slowly snake around my waist and her chin gently rest on my right shoulder.
"Aspen, if I had a problem with your dramatics then I would've steered clear of you after our first meeting when you dumped food on me and then, instead of asking me if I was ok like a normal person, you decided to wordlessly drag me across the school and then attempt to hold me hostage in the bathroom,"
"I was not holding you hostage," I huff.
"Still in denial then,"
"I tried to do the right thing and save you some embarrassment by quickly getting you away from everyone, but then you started making those kidnapping accusations based on nothing the moment we entered the bathroom!"
"Accusations based on you being a total stranger who just wordlessly dragged me across the school," she points out.
"Yeah and then who couldn't get a word in because you wouldn't shut up,"
"Oh yeah, blame me for getting nervous around a pretty girl I just met,"
"I-"
The words get caught in my throat as my brain processes what Margot just said and my cheeks flush an embarrassing shade of red that I'm suddenly glad that she isn't able to see from her angle.
"You wanna finish that sentence?" my girlfriend teases me.
"I was just gonna say that I also met a pretty girl that day and it didn't make me ramble like an idiot," I grumble.
"You must have nerves of steel then," Margot continues to tease me, "So, who was the girl you met?"
"You know it was you, smartass,"
"Hey! I wasn't about to make assumptions. That'd be rather vain of me,"
"Fuck you,"
"Definitely not the time or place for that,"
I just scoff at my girlfriend as I shake my head. A smile quickly appears on my face, however, once I feel her turn her head and press her lips to my cheek.
"Feeling better?" she murmurs into the side of my face.
"Yeah," I say rather honestly, smile still dancing on my lips.
"You wanna tell me what was wrong?"
"No. I'm feeling better now,"
"I'm here if you wanna tell me later,"
"I know that now," I say softly before turning around to face her.
Upon seeing my smile, the sides of her lips quirk up to match as she tilts her head slightly, gaze raking over my face.
"Can I kiss you now?" she asks softly as she curves her hand around the back of my neck, her fingers threading through my hair before she pulls me towards her.
I don't bother responding with words, and opt to instead lean forward and press my lips to hers. The kiss is soft and tender, almost as if she's trying to use this too as another form of comfort. Of course, it's just my luck today that it doesn't last as long as I would like it to once I make a move to cup Margot's cheek with the palm of my hand and the motion sends one of my crutches clattering to the floor, starling Margot and me away from each other.
I huff out a short breath as Margot laughs and quickly presses her lips to the tip of my nose.
"We should probably head back," she says as she bends down to pick up my crutch and hand it back to me.
"I see where your priorities lie," I say as I narrow my eyes at her.
"Yeah. I'm fucking hungry," Margot says as she begins to turn towards the door. I try to give her a shove in response, but she catches my wrist and uses it to pull herself back to me and press a quick peck to my lips before letting go and finally taking some steps to exit the bathroom.
With my lip caught between my teeth, I just shake my head as I make a move to hobble out behind her.
"So, my family is having dinner together this Friday,"
"Congrats?" I respond in a rather confused tone as I turn to look at her.
"Did you want to come?" she asks rather hesitantly.
"Sure? I mean, I've already had dinner with your family, Margot. I don't know-"
"As my girlfriend,"
"What?"
I whip around to face her and we both stop walking.
"Did you want to come have dinner with my family so I can introduce you as my girlfriend?"
Her cheeks are flushed pink, and I can't help but take a mental note about how adorable it looks on her.
"Yeah," I say as a slow smile spreads onto my face, and we both continue walking again, "Yeah, I'd like that,"
"Yeah?"
"I'm pretty sure I just said that," I tease her.
"Ok. I'll text you the details later?"
"Details? Am I required to dress fancy or something? Is this a black tie event?" I ask, wiggling my eyebrows at her.
"I meant the time, dumbass. Please don't come in a fucking gown or some shit,"
"Ok. So a suit then?"
"Fuck you,"
"Not the time or place," I repeat her response from earlier.
Margot just rolls her eyes at me as she attempts to speed away. It's unfortunate for her that I'm actually faster than the average joe on crutches.
"Seriously though, Margot," I say in order to catch her attention. With a sigh, my girlfriend slows down and turns to look at me with raised eyebrows.
"What color is your dress gonna be so I can match it with my tie?" I ask, trying to sound as serious as possible, but failing only slightly towards the end.
"You're insufferable,"
"And yet you still asked me to be your girlfriend,"
"I know. And I question my sanity every day," my girlfriend declares as she pushes open the doors of the cafeteria. I let out a dramatic gasp from behind her, but she doesn't say anything else as she leads us back to our table that's apparently gained two new members since we left.
As we approach, Tori glances back and forth between Margot and I before locking eyes with me and wiggling her eyebrows. Her attention is pulled away, however, once Naomi hits her arm after noticing what she was doing.
From there, of course, Naomi and Tori begin to argue back and forth over god knows what and I'm forced to find out from Raider that they're only sitting there because Tori decidedly went off on Ashley for being a bitch and Naomi nearly had to drag her away before she ripped the girl a new one.
A smile filled with pride finds its way onto my face as I glance back over at my two best friends.
So, for the rest of the day, two things manage to keep me smiling: the thought of Tori almost ripping Ashley a new one in the middle of the cafeteria to defend me, and my girlfriend's adorably flushed face when she invited me over to properly meet her family.