At the sight of her best friend, Violet put her hand on her belly for strength. As she felt the tiny nudger, she took a deep breath and calmed down. Jayde looked flustered. And annoyed. Suddenly, Violet felt a sense of dread. Was she going to have to tell another lie to someone she was close to? She already had to fib a little bit about the due date to her parents, she didn't want to have to lie to Jayde as well. But she knew that look on her face. And she also knew that she was going to have to tread lightly. Mystic ran ahead and distracted Jayde while Violet and Lucina trailed behind, letting him work his magic so the angry cloud above her head could disipate before what was about to happen.
"what are you doing here?" Violet asked Jayde, trying to sound nonchalant and failing miserably.
"That's kind of like a 'welcome back' but not," Jayde replied, flipping her hair back and resting her hand on her hip. Looking Lucina up and down, she smiled a fake smile while trying to pull Violet away. "Who is this bitch?" Jayde whispered in Violet's ear, but not very well. Violet was taken aback. "This is Lucina, my midwife," she explained. "Ditch her," Jayde answered, rather rudely.
"Umm, no, that's not going to happen," Violet said.
"Look, I know that I left a huge hole in your life when I left to go on tour, but I have to question your taste," Jayde said with a tinge of arrogance about her. Molly suddenly panicked. All she knew was that Violet had missed her friend and she wanted to do anything in her power to get Jayde over here. Had she known it was going to be like this, however...
She felt an instant calm when she felt her mom's hand rub her stomach again. She nudged back, their little secret for now.
"Look. I don't know what's going on. You text me 2 weeks ago to tell me you just found out you're pregnant and then I cancel 5 shows to get here and you look like you're 4 months along and carting around a new best friend."
"She's a new friend. And there's a lot I have to explain to you still that I can't out here," Violet said, keeping her hand on her belly and trying so badly to keep calm.
"Oh? Like what?" Jayde pressed, loving the attention the crowded street was giving them. She could imagine the papers now, "Superstar and recording artist Jayde cancels 5 shows to come back to hometown to find out best friend has been lying to her, big fight ensues. Jayde leaving in tears, big dramatic scene, cheered up by fans, goes on without childhood friend to be biggest star ever."
Violet's face dropped. She could feel the energy rising in the crowd, the whispers and the air feeling electric. She had only told a handful of people about this, and she would have to come clean once Molly was out. But there was no way of knowing when that would be, and Lucina was her best bet at a safe and happy delivery. Looking at her oldest and best friend, she could see how fame had changed her. The old Jayde wouldn't be like this. The old Jayde wouldn't have accepted the paparazzi snapping pictures of this very delicate and extremely private conversation. Mystic was even getting nervous, pacing back and forth between the two girls, trying to get them both away from all of these people. There were strangers trying to snap pictures and they were starting to grab at his fur.
Violet couldn't take anymore of this. "If you really want to know what's going on, you'll leave the cameras behind." With that she opened the gate, allowing only Mystic and Lucina to follow her. She took a long hard look at Jayde, staring into her eyes and not breaking contact for at least 20 seconds before walking away. She had no idea if she would follow her but frankly... if things were going to be this way, she didn't really care anymore. As she opened the door and got to the safety of her building, she breathed a sigh of relief. She thought she heard the gate creak behind her but she didn't want to be too hopeful so she kept her eyes firmly in place, locked forward, until she had to find her keys to get into her apartment.
Upon closing the door, she felt her heart break a little. She knew that Jayde had worked hard to get to where she was. As kids, Jayde was always looking up to the big singers of the day, mimicking them at talent shows and always putting on big productions. She really did have the talent to be a star. When she got her first record deal at 16, Violet was the first person she called. They went out and celebrated at a sushi buffet because it was all they could afford at the time. But through the years, even with all the journals they sent back and forth, the last few were mostly all about Jayde and very little about their friendship. Even when Violet texted Jayde to let her know she was pregnant, she didn't get the response she had hoped for. Just a little smiley face. And that was literally the last time she had heard from her until now.
Lucina was already consoling Mystic, who was still wimpering from all of the commotion that was still going on outside. Violet was about to join them when she heard a tiny knock on the door. At first she thought it was her imagination until she felt a nudge in her stomach at the exact same moment a slightly louder knock sounded. She checked the peep hole and sure enough, there was a slightly embarrassed, humbled version of her best friend standing in front of the door. Violet wanted so badly to open the door but she felt so tempted to make her wait just a little bit longer before opening it.
"Come on, I can see your feet moving," Jayde said through the door, a bit exasberated. "Alright fine, but check that attitude of yours before you walk in," Violet answered. Jayde clucked her teeth at this and rolled her eyes, but after an extremely long pause and a sigh she answered, "Alright fine, attitude is checked. Now can I please come in?"
Violet counted to 5 before opening the door. She looked around to see no entourage, no paps, no screaming fans surrounding her. It was just her, the bitchy persona dropped, waiting to be let in and told the big mysterious secret that even her parents didn't know yet. Violet felt another nudge and suddenly the coldness in her heart that was starting to build up melted away, and she wrapped her arms around her friend. Molly knew that she had to keep still for this part, she didn't want to spill the beans and have Jayde hear the news before she was ready. And she'd definitely raise an eyebrow if she felt a nudging this early. "So... aren't you going to let me in?" Jayde said after they were finished with their tearful reunion.
Violet finally moved aside to let Jayde in. Closing the door behind her, she knew whatever was spoken inside that apartment would never leave it. She wouldn't have let Jayde in if she hadn't of dropped the diva act beforehand. She had her best friend back and she wasn't going to waste the moment. She kept her hand on her stomach, bracing herself for what was to come. "So... I have some news for you..."
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