Gone

"Uh-oh, don't look now but George is heading this way," I whispered to Amber.
She looked up as he approached the table.
"Didn't know you were back from your holiday. Why didn't you call?" He demanded.
She glared at him.
"Why in the world would I do that?" She said coldly, "I already told you, it's over. Why can't you just accept that?"
"Babe, don't say that. Is it something I did? Maybe I could fix it?" He insisted.
She avoided his eyes.
"You can't fix this,"
"But baby, I thought we had something special,"
She shook her head and stared at the ground, her eyes filled with tears.
"I'm done pretending,"

Before he could answer, Amber got up from her seat and walked away. I followed her into the bathroom and stood outside the cubicle, patiently waiting for her to come out. It seemed as though she needed me. It wasn't long before the bell rang at the end of the lunch break. I knocked on the door.
"Hey, um, Amber, we have English now. Do you want me to tell the teacher you'll be late or should I wait for you?"
"No," she sniffled, "it's okay, you go ahead. I'll be there soon,"
"Okay, I just...I just want you to know I'm here for you," I said.
"Thanks Kaia,"
I headed back up the stairs towards the last lesson of the day.

***

I spotted Amber from the other side of the road, waiting at the bus stop. She hadn't turned up to English.
"Oi, Bambi!"
She turned around and looked at me.
"You all good?"
She nodded but the expression on her tear-stained face said otherwise. Seeing her break down earlier made me worry about her even more than usual. I crossed the road to see if she really was okay. Most of the time when I had asked her in the past about whether or not she was alright, she would either go quiet or just shrug. Even when it was obvious she wasn't okay, she wouldn't tell me about it unless I went out of my way to pry it out of her. Half of the time it worked. The other half she would just get pissed at me. I knew there was something she wasn't telling me. She couldn't hide it from me forever. I wouldn't let her.

"I didn't see you in English. Where were you?" I asked.
English was Amber's favourite subject. When she didn't turn up, I panicked. She didn't answer.
"Amber!" I placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Yes, what?"
She sounded grumpy.
"Just wondering where you were during English? The teacher made us watch one of those weird black and white short movies again," I giggled, trying to lighten the mood.
"Oh yeah, I went to sick bay. I had a headache,"
I eyed her suspiciously. I knew she was lying. She wouldn't miss English for a 'headache'.
"Okay," I said slowly, "well, I have to catch the bus at the other bus stop but I'll talk to you tonight,"
She nodded.
"See ya later alligator," I yelled at the top of my lungs as I walked away.
She smiled. I was the best at cheering her up.

Notes

FINISHED FINALLY!
Third chapter here we come :)