Over Again

*About Three Years Earlier*

"Gracie, I've got to tell you something, something big," I say. Gracie has been my best friend for as long as I can remember. We were doing a little homework, so she took off her cute but nerdy glasses and looked at me.

"What, Zee?" Zee was my nickname she gave me when she was two, she couldn't say my name back then.

"Tomorrow, I'm leaving for a little while..." I say. She tilts her head, confused.

"Are you going on vacation," she asks me. I shift a little on my bed. We always did homework on my bed. She said it was the softest thing she'd ever touched.

"No..." I say. I stare at my navy comforter.

"Well than what is it?"

"I'm kind of auditioning for XFactor tomorrow," I say. She looks at me for a minute. Then her face twists with anger.

"How long have you known," she asks, her voice raising a few notches.

"A few weeks..." I drift off. I'm disappointed I didn't tell her sooner. She gasps in anger, her hazel eyes growing a bit darker.

"And you're just telling me this, now? The day BEFORE your audition!" She pushes all of her textbooks off of her, and starts to gather her stuff.

"No, no please Gracie, don't go!" She looks at me, her face sad.

"Who-- who else knew," she says, her eyes on the floor. I sigh.

"My whole family," I breathe out, barely above a whisper. "Waliyha, Mum, Doniya, and Safaa. I told them a week after."

"And you're telling me now," she says. She chuckles a little bit, angrily. She finally finishes gathering and shoving her things into her bag, and slings it over her shoulder. She starts to walk out the door, but I chase after her.

"Wait, Gracie! Please don't go!" I yell as she runs down the staircase. I follow her until she's out the front door, then I run to catch up.

I grab her shoulder, panting. "Gracie, please," I beg. A few tears run down her cheeks. She shakes her head.

"If you want to go, go," she says. "But I won't be here when you come back." She starts to walk away, but I catch her shoulder again. I turn her around.

I press my lips to hers. She doesn't refuse the kiss, but I know she doesn't fully enjoy it. I put my hand on the small of her back, and she starts to kiss back shyly.

Then she pulls away, angry again.

"I hate you," she says and runs away.

I don't chase her this time.

Notes

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