M A R N I E

"It's late, I'll walk you back home," Arthur says looking at the clock, I do the same only to find out I have been here for 2 hours now.

Ma's going to kill him me.

"Oh no, I'll be fine," I mutter panicking and getting up. I straighten my skirt as she grasps my wrist tightly.

"You'll go by your skateboard right?" She asks and I nod, I don't understand why her tone is always so flat.

"I'll take you on my motorcycle." She answers, my eyes widen at her words before I take my mind out of the gutter. But she notices it anyway before grinning and taking a step close to me.

"Do you want me to take you on my motorcycle?" She whispers, her minty breath hitting me. My body tenses as I grab my bag with a tight grip.

"That's- I was just- what?" I stumble over my words and she grins before bopping my nose.

"You need to get your pretty little mind out of the gutter Tesoro, looks like you've been reading a lot of smutty novels huh?" She grins, her glossy lips curved and her dark eyes intimidating me so much that I lose my ability to talk.

"What no? Pfft, I didn't even think twice about what you said." I wave my hand and she raises an eyebrow.

"Mhmm sure." She mutters before grasping my hand and walking down the stairs with me.

"You don't have to drop me off, I'm a big girl and I can handle myself. Besides, I live, like uh 20 minutes away." I say, she looks back at me and then continues walking.

"20 minutes? Yeah no, I'm dropping you off. Besides don't you want to get home early, lamb? Big girls do that." She says softly as we reach the end of the stairs. I look at my skateboard and then at the time. Before sighing and nodding.

"I do, yeah." I utter and she grins before grabbing her keys off the keychain, and grasping my hand again.

"What about Lenon?" I ask and she turns around abruptly causing me to step back with a stumble.

"She will be fine." She answers chuckling.

"Can you drop me off a block away?" I ask softly, she turns around again but this time I have steadied myself.

"Why tesoro?" She asks grinning, I shrug but she insists with her eyes.

"Uh, I don't know. Nobody has ever dropped me off home. Ma will freak out." I sigh and her grin widens. Her grins are so... Intimidating because there is absolutely no emotion in her eyes but the grin says otherwise.

"Or maybe, you're just too shy. I'm just a friend right? I'm just dropping you off home. Friends do that." She says and I peer up at her. Her dark eyes are piercing into mine and carving my entire thoughts out like clay.

She is just a friend.

"We're friends?" I ask, my voice barely audible and she nods softly. Her hair falls in front of her face when she does so.

"Yeah, we are." And that's that. My heart is now speeding up again and I'm feeling giddy on the inside.

"Wait, my skateboard?" I say as she pulls me outside and locks the door behind me.

"I'll give it to you later." She answers walking over to her motorcycle which I had somehow missed seeing when I was heading here. Besides, it was also a car.

"But-" I start off and she interrupts me before I can finish.

"I'll pick you up in the morning." She states, doesn't even ask. I narrow my eyes as she gets on the motorcycle and hands me her helmet.

"If I wear that what are you going to wear?" I ask examining the helmet and she pulls me to her by grabbing my sweater vest. I gasp as I stumble forward.

"I don't need a fucking helmet." She says and I shake my head as she takes it from my hand.

"Then I'm not gonna wear anything too. I don't need a fucking helmet either." I say. It's not like I don't curse but in front of someone that is not Val makes me feel silly.

"Oh so, my lamb curses now." She raises an eyebrow as I get on behind her. My hand grasped her strong shoulder. The motorcycle rumbles beneath me as she turns the key in the ignition.

My lamb.

"We all curse, don't we?" I ask as she nods. There is something about her that draws me in. Like paintings, architecture. Old novels.

"Here, hold tight." She says before grasping my hands and wrapping them around her waist. There is still some distance between us so that her body is not completely flat against mine. When I do wrap my arms around her, her body tenses for a short moment and then relaxes again.

"Just don't go too fast," I murmur, she doesn't say anything before quite literally flying off.

I shriek as due to her going so fast my front pressed against her back, a chuckle rumbles through her and I close my eyes holding her tighter by the second.

I just want to wipe that laugh off her face.

"Fuck you," I mutter hoping she won't listen but of course she does exactly that.

"Okay when?" Her tone is nonchalant and I gape at her. Words defeated me once again in her presence.

"Whatever," I mumble, her back is hard and strong, her muscles flexing once in a while and I do everything in me to not swoon and run my fingers over them.

We breeze through the streets. The wind whipped at my face and blew my long and layered hair away. I sigh at the warmth and comfort before snuggling my face into her back. Her muscles tense underneath me but then relax again and I grin.

"Where do you live exactly?" She asks and I flush remembering that I never told her where I live.

"Northern centre. Near that bamboo park." I answer and she nods before taking a left and a right.

We race through the streets, the air so so cold that it bites at my legs, my arms, my everything. I grit my teeth to stop them from chattering. But her warm back is providing me with enough warmth.

Art's presence felt like when I was reading and the candle was burning on the table. Unnoticeable but the sweet aroma of cinnamon and apples would tell me it was still burning and still providing me with sweetness.

That was Art.

Art would sit back in class, I would not have known that she was beside me if I wouldn't have heard her pen brushing against the paper as she wrote her song lyrics. Or when she tapped her fingers softly on the bench chained to a rhythm. Or when her body would be pressed flush against mine and I would have absolutely no clue how to act.

That was Art.

And then there's me,

A lonely teenager just turned legal. Has a family that is so so toxic but is so good to me sometimes that I forget their legal but illegal crimes. The constantly picked upon girl who had no idea how the world worked, neither did she know how to make herself work in this world. I was a sandstorm in the city. Absolutely useless and a hassle to clean up.

The motorcycle comes to a sudden stop right outside my home. I gape at her, just to see Ma and Val holding grocery bags heading inside.

Shit.

"Art!" I whisper yelled and she glanced at me as I got off.

"What? I asked you a couple of times where I should stop you said nothing. And then I saw Valerie." She answered nonchalantly, just as Ma and Val turned and saw us.

"Oh Mer! You're home. Who's your friend?" Ma asked smiling as she handed Val all the groceries who with a groan took them.

"Ma this is Arthur. Arthur this is my mom." I introduce, fisting my skirt as they both shake hands.

"It's great to meet you," Arthur says, one of her tattoos peeking through the collar of her clothing as Ma glances at it.

"Likewise. You should join us for dinner." Ma grins and Val narrows her eyes at us.

"Thank you, but I really have to go back home. My cat is waiting for me." She answers and this time, I narrow my eyes at her.

Now she remembers Lenon?

"Oh, that's too bad. Maybe next time." Ma smiles and so does Arthur.

"Definitely Mrs Bennett." They shake hands and then Arthur veers off and heads back.

Ma, Val and I walk in silence inside. The only difference between her and ma right now is that she is starting at me.

"Invite your friend, Arthur to dinner this weekend." Ma said just as I grabbed Val's hand to drag her up to my room and Ma dropped the groceries onto the counter and turned around.

Like deer caught in headlights, I simply nodded and dragged Val to my room. She groaned in annoyance as I shut the door behind me.

"What?" She asked narrowing her eyes. I stared at her my eyes narrowed too. She picked up a candle and sniffed it.

"That's good. What's it called?" She asked and I rolled my eyes snatching up from her and placing it back on the table.

"You have the same one in your room," I state and she shrugs before plopping down on my bed.

"Why can't you be nice to her? I get the Nate situation but he didn't even care enough to say goodbye." I ask softly and her expression drops.

"Nate cared." She states and I nod.

"I know. I know, I am sorry. But we don't know what actually happened. Art went to juvie-" I was interrupted as she stood up and strode over to me.

"What the fuck did you just call her? Art? Really? Marnie, she is trouble! You are quite literally digging your own fucking grave, what's next? Huh? You get with her?" She sneered and I roll my eyes.

"She is my friend," I state and this time she scoffs and rolls her own eyes.

"Yeah sure." And with that, she's out the door and I am left contemplating my beliefs.

Arthur- she makes me question everything. But then again, she is just my friend. Nothing more than that. She mentioned it herself.

I'm just a friend right?

But that also makes me question why I am looking forward to meeting her every damn day. Why do I need her validation over every single thing? Why does she make me want to look good for her? Why do I crave her attention so much?

Tears fall from my eyes as I take off my clothes with shaky hands. Why am I like this? Why couldn't I just be normal?

By the time that I have slipped on fresh night clothes, I am full-on sobbing. I tie my hair into a braid after slapping oil onto them. My hair... God, the most stubborn thing ever.

Without oil on for a couple of days, it gets so hard to manage. If I don't put oil on it then it gets extremely tangled and frizzy.

Why couldn't I just be white?

I flinched as my phone rang in the quiet room. I glanced at the unknown number but picked it up nevertheless.

"Hello?" I say washing my hands from the coconut oil that I just slathered onto my hair.

"Hey." Her voice was calm and nonchalant. My breath hitched as I wiped my tears.

"How'd you get my number?" I ask my voice still shaky.

"I have my ways- have you been crying?" She asks suddenly and I chuckle.

"No no, I just ate some pineapple. I'm allergic to them." I swallow and she laughs.

"Then why'd you eat them, darling?" She asks and tears appear in my eyes once again when butterflies erupt in my stomach when she calls me darling.

Stop, please.

"I like them," I state but it sounds more like a question.

"Uh, I want to tell you that I am not coming to school tomorrow," I add quickly and for a second I hear nothing back.

"What did Valerie do?" She asks, her voice calm but I can hear the tone shift. Her voice is cold and I take out my lighter and walk over towards my numerous candles.

"Uh, nothing. Just the usual." I chuckle and she says nothing again.

"Then why are you crying?" She asks as I slip underneath my covers. Taking out my laptop the smell of cinnamon and apple fills my lungs. I feel happy now. Confused but happy.

"Pineapple," I state again, I can hear her rolling her eyes.

"Can we drop this please?" I ask quietly and when I hear no response I close my eyes letting my tears fall but wiping them away.

"Okay." She answers softly and I smile slightly.

"Ma told me to invite you over for dinner this weekend," I say and she hums.

"Is that what's you're doing right now then? Because it doesn't sound as inviting." I roll my eyes before sighing.

"Come over for dinner this weekend?" I ask my voice saccharine and she chuckles.

"Of course little lamb, I would love that." She says, her voice deathly sweet and I laugh.

"I'm sending you an email, it's about the upcoming projects? Uh, I mean professor sent them to me. Told me to forward it to you. Uh- apparently we have to be partners in every project that he gives us. Unless you want to change partners-" She chuckles and I shut up immediately so that I can hear her.

"I'm okay with being partners with you. You're not half bad." She says and I narrow my eyes but the smile on my face says otherwise.

"Oh really now? What would you have done without me?" I chuckle as I google olive green paint for my bookshelf.

"I dunno Marnie." She says and I pause.

"Anyways, uh- I really have to go to sleep right now," I state and she sighs.

"Goodnight Tesoro." She says softly and I smile.

"Goodnight Arthur," I say and then hang up.

I add the paint to my cart and then open another tab. Type out the words that I know if my parents see they will kick me out.

LGBTQ+ community.

An array of sexualities and their meanings come up and I sigh before browsing through them.

Hello!

A couple of changes in the system lol.

I just realised that I have written Arthur as an 18-year-old and Marnie as a 17. The changes are that Arthur is 19 and Marnie is 18

I think I also wrote that Marnie has short hair. Well cut that- she has long hair. Forget the prologue. I am rewriting it lol.

Our questions for the day are:

What would you name your boat if you had one?

Who is your favourite person in the world?

Would you rather be cold all the time or hot?

Autumn or monsoon??