Part Two, Chapter Five: Frenemies

Beatrice sat, somewhat uncomfortably, on the couch, her head on Charlie's shoulder. On the other side of Charlie, was Harleigh, splayed out very casually, though even Beatrice could feel the tension in the room.

It wasn't like Beatrice hated the girl or anything. No, that wasn't it.

Sure, there was still a little bitterness that came to mind when she remembered that it was mostly Harleigh's fault she went to jail, but that wasn't what bothered her. What bothered her was the distinct feeling she got that Harleigh didn't like her.

Maybe didn't approve of her was a better way to put it. Either way, the look on her face every time Beatrice was around told her that she thought Charlie was making a big mistake by dating her.

Charlie, as per her usual state of being, seemed oblivious to the tension between the two girls. Oblivious, or possibly willfully ignorant. Beatrice thought both were equally likely. It was surprisingly hard to tell with Charlie sometimes.

Charlie's phone buzzed a couple of times, and she excitedly picked it up.

"The pizzas are here!" She announced with glee.

Beatrice and Harleigh mumbled half-hearted replies as Charlie bounced up from the couch.

"I'm going to go get it because—"

"Because you always wanted to be a pizza delivery person when you were little so you like to go and personally meet the delivery driver." Beatrice finished for her.

Charlie grinned and giggled before excitedly running out of the door. Beatrice found herself smiling as she watched her go.

As the door shut behind her, Beatrice awkwardly pulled out her phone in an effort to avoid having to make small talk with Harleigh. It seemed Harleigh felt the same, as she kept her eyes away from Beatrice and on the tv even though it was currently paused.

I need something to distract me. She thought. This is already too awkward somehow.

She went to clear out her emails, and began mindlessly scrolling through them when she noticed something familiar.

From: hfffaecorp85ginl3e@zipmail.com

RE: what do you want?

Message: help.

Shift change at 2 AM.

10 min gap.

Urgent: yes.

Respond: yes.

There was another email right after it, again from the same mystery person, but this one was just an attachment of a picture.

It seemed like an industrial room, filled with several large tanks, each containing a green, gel-like substance that seemed to glow. The lighting was dim, and the picture was slightly blurred, like the person who took it was in a hurry. Beatrice's frown deepened as she glanced over the image.

What? Is this supposed to be some kind of weird joke? Or just a really stupid trap?

"Why are you making that face?" Harleigh said.

Beatrice blinked up at Harleigh, who was now looking over at her with intrigue.

"Hm?"

"That face." She repeated. "Why are you making it?"

"I don't know what you mean. My face always looks like this." Beatrice said. "All of the time. Always."

"No it doesn't."

"Yes it does."

"What is it?" Harleigh said, leaning closer. "Did someone send you pictures of their genitals? Or is it like a disembodied head or a weird bug or something?"

Beatrice frowned harder.

"No, it's not anything like that."

"Ha!" Harleigh said with triumph. "I knew it was something! What is it?"

Beatrice sighed and rolled her eyes.

"I've just been getting these weird emails that are borderline nonsense."

Harleigh suddenly seemed very interested, her whole face lighting up with curiosity.

"Can I see?"

Beatrice sighed and, somewhat reluctantly, handed over the phone.

"Just don't go through my phone." She said.

"Don"t worry." Harleigh said. "I don't want to see pictures of you and Charlie fornicating. The image of it my brain conjures up when I see you two is damaging enough to my psyche."

"I-I don't have anything like that anyway!" Beatrice managed to stutter out at her, her face suddenly unbearably hot.

"Yeah. Okay." Harleigh said. Her eyes cut back down to the phone. "Well, these first two emails are definitely coordinates."

"I mean, yeah." Beatrice shrugged. "So what?"

"So have you looked to see where it is?"

"No." Beatrice said. "I just assumed it was someone screwing with me and I haven't really bothered with it until now."

"Hm." Harleigh said, breaking out her own phone and typing away at it. After a moment. She glanced back up at Beatrice. "It looks like a large warehouse next to that goth club downtown. It seems like it's been vacant for over a decade, but they used to make medical supplies."

"That doesn't really tell me anything." Beatrice said. "Well, besides that it would be a good spot to lure me to if some creep wanted to kidnap me or something."

Harleigh shrugged. "I can trace the emails and see if they're coming from the same place." She paused, typing something into her own phone. "I'll also look into these images to see if I can find the origin."

"If it's all coming from the same place, I guess I could always go check it out in person." Beatrice mumbled, mainly to herself.

Harleigh rolled her eyes. "That sounds really stupid. What if it's some pervert that wants to kidnap you and keep you in his basement?"

"Then I'll invert his kneecaps?" Beatrice said with a scoff. "I don't know if you forgot, but I have superpowers. I can take care of myself. I always have."

It came off a little bit stronger than she intended it to, but she meant the words she said. She didn’t need to be coddled.

"You could still get hurt."

"So? Why do you care?" Beatrice asked.

"Because if you die, then charlie is going to be very sad. Like very sad." Harleigh said. "The last time someone broke up with her, she called me crying in the shower almost every day for six months. I can only imagine what would happen if you died. It would be really rude on your part, honestly."

Beatrice pursed her lips but didn't try to argue against her. "Fine. If I do end up checking it out I'll bring Lin with me."

Harleigh opened her mouth to talk again, just as Charlie bounded back into the room with the pizzas.

At the sight of the two of them sitting so close together, her eyes lit up.

"Are you guys getting along?!" She asked excitedly.

They jumped apart, over to opposite sides of the couch.

"No!" They both said at the same time.

"No way!" Harleigh said.

"Absolutely not." Beatrice said.

"I was actually letting Beatrice know that I think she's stupid, and also that I hate her." Harleigh said matter of factly.

"And I was letting Harleigh know that watching videos of orphans in third world countries get their limbs amputated is not conducive to a strong moral compass." Beatrice countered.

Charlie rolled her eyes. "Okay. Sure." She looked over to Harleigh and handed her a pizza box. "This one is for us—" she handed another rto Beatrice. "And this one is for B!"

Beatrice took the steaming hot box and set it on her lap.

"Hey! How come she gets her own pizza?!" Harleigh said.

"Her's is dairy free since she's lactose intolerant." Charlie said. "Don't be a baby."

Harleigh wrinkled her nose.

"Nevermind. That sounds gross."

Beatrice opened the box, and took a bite out of a slice.

"Actually, it's delicious." She said.

In reality, she was just excited that Charlie had remembered something she told her about herself months ago, even if it was just the fact that she was lactose intolerant. It felt nice to be paid attention to. To have things about her remembered about her. It wasn't something she was used to, and it wasn't something she felt like she deserved.

But God did it feel good.

I hope everyone is doing good and staying safe!! I've been working 10 hour shifts, which sucks, but I'm thankful to still have my job. It has been a little lonely, though.

I actually made a tumblr account if anyone (still) uses it and wants to chat. My user name is friedtomatosandicried.