Yvette and Laurie - backdated to August 3

[x-penance.livejournal.com]

Back from New Orleans, Laurie finds out why Yvette has been less than overjoyed about the whole road trip.



It might have been summer vacation, but Yvette was trying to put in at least an hour or two of study a day, mostly English. When you were operating on a second language and going to college, it was important to try and constantly improve. Especially since she had a tendency to drop back into old idioms under stress. So there she was, in the treehouse, reading Dickens and eating apples.

After all, no-one said studying had to involve actual school work, did they?

Laurie's head popped through the small hatch that served as the treehouse entrance for those of a less nimble bent, and she grinned at Yvette. "Mind company?"

Yvette looked up from her book and then back down again, with a shrug. "If you like," came her slightly diffident reply.

"Fantastic," Laurie responded, pulling herself up into the tree house and taking a seat across from Yvette, seemingly unconcerned about theless then effusive welcome."I brought you something back from New Orleans, want to see?"

She'd brought several touristy things back for various people, including beads for Vanessa and a little fakevoodoo doll for Amanda.She hoped Vanessa would be okay, and that they'd find her soon. She had faith with all of them working together that it wouldn't take long.

Yvette looked up from her book again. "Thank you," she said politely. "You did not have to get me anything."

"No, but I wanted to," Laurie replied, giving Yvette a searching look as she realised that the usually bubbly Yvette appeared to have been eaten by this overly polite and formal one. "Is something wrong? You've being very...I don't know, polite, I suppose."

"I am fine." Yvette went back to her book again. "Considering."

"The stuff with your Mom?" Laurie asked,genuine concern shadowing her gaze. "I'm sorry I wasn't here, is there anything I can do now that I am?"

"Not really, no." Yvette tried to keep up her cool, apparently uncaring facade, but her voice cracked a little on the last word and she bit her lip. She set her book aside and looked Laurie in the face. "May I ask you the question?"

"Of course," Laurie replied, surprised that Yvette needed to ask that, and said so. "You know you can always ask me anything."

The small Albanian girl looked down again, this time at her hands. Her hair had stiffened, revealing her unhappiness. "Why did you not ask me?"

"Ask you what?" Laurie asked,frown lines forming as she tried to think of what it was she hadn't asked Yvette recently. She couldn't actually think of anything, but the fact that it seemed to have upset her friend meant it must be important. "I don't understand..."

"You asked Angel and Jean-Phillipe and Kyle and Kevin and Laura. All of our friends. You did not ask me." Yvette's voice broke again. "I did not even know you were going until you went. And then when my mother died..." For a moment she couldn't speak and she focused on her hands, clasped tightly together in her lap. "The only person here for me was Sarah."

"You're always so uncomfortable in crowds," Laurie noted, reaching across the space between them to lay her hand on Yvette's covered arm. "I didn't want to ask you and have you feel bad about saying no."

Yvette's eyes flared. "So instead you let me feel bad about why all my friends do not want to be with me instead!" she retorted. "It is enough that the people at university treat me like the freak, now you are as well? You could have asked. Then at least the decision would be mine!"

Laurie flinched slightly at the anger she heard in Yvette's voice, but instead of retreating, she nodded instead. "I'm sorry, Hije. I never meant to hurt you."

The reply seemed to take the wind out of Yvette's sails and she sagged a little. "I know you did not," she said, sounding tired and sad. "I just wish you had said something to me."

"I promise from now on, I will," Laurie replied, leaving her hand where it was for a moment before sitting back and giving her friend a searching look. "You know, there's always next school holidays. We could plan something for then. Some place we could go that you've always wanted to see?"

"Maybe." Yvette managed a small smile, although she didn't want to feel like she was being offered a consolation prize. "So, how was your trip? I was sulking too much to really pay the attention to the journal posts."

"It was so awesome," Laurie replied with a ready grin, glad that they'd been able to work everything out. "I got Jean-Phillipe and Kyle up at the crack of dawn to go sight-seeing with me. Best use of puppy eyes, ever."