“Emma, do you have any friends other than the guys?” I questioned randomly, lounging on our couch. She looked at me blankly for a second before nodding.
“Her name is Gayle.” Emma stated. I raised my eyebrows and sat up.
“How come I haven’t met her?” I wondered. I’ve been in California for two and a half months now, and Emma has cut herself from everyone except the guys. Hell, I barely even see her around anymore. “Emma, you do this all the time. You find a guy and you forget about some of your other friends.”
“Don’t lecture me, Jessi.” Emma warned, staring at me. I just shrugged and she sighed. “I’ll call Gayle. I do miss her. She reminds me of Jayy.”
“Man do I miss Jayy.” I mumbled. Jayy was probably the most happy, bubbly, fucked-up friend I ever had. Every school quarter from eighth grade to senior year she would have a different hair color and she would work it every time. She had some serious family problems, so she had a stage where she dropped all her old friends, myself included, and went over to drugs. But after awhile she pulled herself together and we welcomed her back with open arms. She was such a happy person, even when she wasn’t even close to feeling happy. I went with her to get my first tattoo, and she even paid the bribe since my parents refused to get me tattoos or piercings until I moved out. Jayy was one of the ones that made life bearable.
“I know. But Gayle is almost exactly like her. Appearance included.” Emma agreed as she tapped on her phone. She called up Gayle and after small chat invited her over. Gayle must have said yes, because Emma said she’d see her soon and then hung up. I stared at Emma and she smiled and nodded. I sighed and looked down at myself.
“I should probably get dressed.” I stated as I stood up. I walked to our bedroom and pulled out some shorts and a black v-neck and threw them on. I went to the bathroom and straightened my hair and put on some makeup before walking back into the living room. I did a spin and widened my arms out. “Presentable?”
“You’re a hot mama, Jess.” Emma said in a bored tone. I rolled my eyes and began to sit down when there was a knock at the door. Emma stood up and walked to the door and I followed closely behind her. She opened the door and outside stood a girl with purple hair and snake-bites.
“Gayle!” Emma screamed happily, pulling her into a hug.
“Hey Emmy.” Gayle replied, hugging Emma tightly. Gayle really did look like Jayy. She was skinny and had the same wear-whatever-the-fuck-I-want clothing style as Jayy. They were the same height and the only difference was that Gayle’s eyes were brown instead of blue and lip piercings instead of a nose. Jayy had a twin sister, Lindsey, but if you put Gayle next to Jayy, you’d think they were clones. It was really creepy. Gayle noticed my staring and she pulled away from Emma to put her hand out towards me. “Hi, I’m Gayle.”
“Jessi, but everyone calls me Kid.” I greeted, shaking her hand. Gayle’s face brightened and she glanced at Emma before skimming my body with her eyes.
“So you’re the Jessi Emma has talked about.” Gayle said. I nodded and smiled awkwardly.
“Yeah. I hope Emma has said good things about me or I’m going to have to talk to her.” I answered, sending a playful glare to Emma. Emma smiled innocently and I narrowed my eyes at her.
“She’s said amazing things about you.” Gayle commented, smiling. I smiled back kindly; I liked her. “And I hope she’s said good things about me.”
“Actually, this is the first time I’ve heard about you,” I informed her, shifting my weight. “But if you’re anything like our old friend Jayy, then I love you already.”
“I’ve seen a picture of Jayy. The resemblance is uncanny, isn’t it?” Gayle chuckled. I nodded.
“It’s pretty scary.” I agreed. Gayle stepped into our apartment and shut the door behind her. We all went over to the couch and Gayle sat next to me on the couch while Emma sat back in her chair. I looked at Emma and then back at Gayle and smiled. “I’m glad Emma actually has more friends than her boyfriend. I was kind of worried from the fact that she’s been here for a few months and she never once mentioned friends.”
“Yeah. We’re besties.” Gayle smiled widely, hitting Emma’s leg lightly. Emma smiled back and Gayle stuck her tongue out at her. “This bitch has been ignoring me for the last couple months because of some secret boyfriend she refuses to tell me about.”
“Why won’t you tell her about J-your boyfriend?” I questioned, raising an eyebrow at Emma. Emma shrugged and pursed her lips.
“Cuz I don’t want her to get jealous.” Emma stated. I rolled my eyes and Gayle scoffed.
“She’s dating Johnny Seward.” I said, looking at Gayle. Her face dropped and she hit Emma’s leg repeatedly, obviously excited.
“You mean Johnny Christ? From Avenged Sevenfold?” She shrieked. Emma and I nodded and she began bouncing on our couch like a five-year-old. “I went to high school with them!”
“Really?” I asked, surprised. She nodded excitedly and Emma and I exchanged glances. We looked back at Gayle and she stopped mid-bounce. “Now tell us, were they irritating as fuck in high school?”
“Oh my God do not even get me started on how irritating they were.” Gayle moaned, throwing her head back. Emma and I smirked at her reaction and she looked back at us. “You know, out of all of them, the most annoying was-“
“Brian?” Emma and I said in sync. Gayle raised her eyebrows and nodded.
“Yeah. And the nicest was definitely-“
“Jimmy?” Emma and I once again stated in sync. Gayle pulled her eyebrows together and gave us a weird look.
“Damn, you guys have been around them too much for you to know how they’re like.” Gayle chuckled, shaking her head at us. We laughed and Gayle looked at Emma. “So how did you and Johnny meet?”
“Their hometown concert two months ago I was almost raped and the guys saved me,” I interjected, answering before Emma could speak. Gayle looked at me and widened her eyes. “About two weeks after I invited Emma over to hang out and they instantly connected.”
“Wow.” Gayle mused, looking at me in awe. I nodded and took my phone out and began texting Matt. I saw from the corner of my eye that Gayle had turn towards Emma and covered her mouth. “Who’s she texting?”
“Either her boyfriend or best friend.” Emma smirked, looking straight at me. I blushed and put my phone down. Gayle looked at me with wide-eyes and I blinked innocently. Emma laughed. “By her reaction, I’m guessing her boyfriend.”
“Ooh, how long have you been with your boyfriend?” Gayle asked, totally jumping over the fact that she didn’t know my boyfriend’s name. I shook that thought off and scratched the back of my head awkwardly.
“Well, we had this… thing going on since the concert, but he just asked me out a few days ago.” I explained. Emma smirked at my choice of words, but Gayle just stared in awe.
“Oh, so did you meet him before or after you almost got raped?” Gayle questioned, being totally oblivious that I could almost feel myself losing brain cells. Maybe she was just joking.
“After.” I replied, chewing on my lip.
“That’s so sweet,” She cooed, batting her eyelashes. “What’s his name?”
“… Matt.” I answered, my face heating up a little bit. Gayle’s face dropped; no, it didn’t just drop. It darkened. Like, I’m-going-to-suck-your-soul-out dark. My eyes widened and I stiffened a little, shocked at her reaction. Emma noticed it too and she touched Gayle’s arm. Gayle immediately thawed out and turned back into her sweet and adorable appearance and smiled widely at me.
“Awe. So you’re dating M. Shadows?” She asked, acting as though she didn’t just turn into a demon from hell. I nodded slowly and she smiled sweetly. “That’s so cute. He’s not bad looking.”
“Not bad looking?” Emma spat, utterly perplexed by what Gayle just said. “Matt is a fucking Sex God.”
“Then why aren’t you dating him?” Gayle retorted, her voice slightly hostile. Emma eyebrows raised and gave me a slightly worried look.
“Because Jessi’s dating him…” Emma said warily, pursing her lips. “And I have Johnny. Who’s just as good.”
“Well I’m single.” Gayle commented happily. I was kind of freaked out by her, and so must Emma. As though Gayle sensed it, she stood up and grabbed our hands. “Come on. We’re gonna go to the bar tonight and have fun. I’ll pay.”
“Are you sure, Gayle? I mean, none of us look bar-worthy.” Emma inquired, looking down at her outfit. Like me, she was wearing shorts, converse, and a v-neck shirt. Gayle just shrugged and continued to pull us out of our apartment and down the stairs.
“You guys look fine. Let’s have some fun tonight.” Gayle insisted, holding onto my wrist a little too tightly. I gave Emma a questioning look and she returned it before shrugging.