Going solo and burning bright into the night was one thing, kicking it with friends and new friends all day was something else. Both made Antipathy feel extra special lucky. She could be a loner for sure, but if she ever felt lonely she tended to reach out. You could say she preferred being alone when she wasn't feeling lonely. But having good friends? This was the pinnacle effervescent.
They mostly had a good time this very day, the three of them. Dagger was a very kind boy and perhaps a young soul. He knew how to listen and laugh, and he didn't always have his hands in his pockets where you couldn't see them. He was pretty expressive really, for a boy, and Antipathy was paying attention. Of course LilBit kept poking and prodding her like she was livestock. See my new ring? she said, I'm gonna get married... he's short, light and ugly. Of course she was lying. Antipathy whinnied and pulled away and snorted, and LilBit reigned her in by her necklace.
Dagger watched the two girls and wondered how many lifetimes they had been friends. He really admired girls for their friendships, which could be deep like submarines. He had friendships with guys which were close but in a different regard. They would show up for one another and be there to help out in various ways. They didn't always wanna talk, but they would be there. He thought of his friend Matthew and you could tell it disturbed him.
You see, his friend's family was a car wreck just waiting to happen. Matthew was full grown now and had shown up his dad. He couldn't continue to watch his family be torn apart by this mean and abusive man. So one day he stepped in between. His dad began trembling, unaccustomed to his power being challenged, and tried to strike him. This was about a year ago, and since then it was a contest of wills to see who was gonna be the real head of the family.
Dagger told the girls the story, speaking mostly to LilBit who he knew best. But Antipathy was right there listening, too, and would not forget the part about how Dagger's friend Matthew's dad on several occasions told him and his siblings that he put them in the world and he could take them out if he so chose. The subject dropped pretty quickly because it was disturbing and Dagger didn't wanna spoil the pinnacle effervescent.
When she felt she oughta remember something, well, Antipathy would. She was like one of those cafe baristas whose been trained to remember your name, and surprises the hell out of you when you show up a week or two later and they know who you are, and you have to look at their name pinned to their shirt in order to properly thank them, and then they surprise you again cause they know you like the large iced almond milk latte, easy on the ice, too.
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