Friends Forever

[TheBouquineuse]

Maria wasn't really that good with words. She didn't know how she was supposed to do any of this. But somehow, she knew that she was the one that had to. Ember was just a little girl. How was she supposed to know what to do? But Maria, she'd gotten in trouble before. Never anything this bad; but she fell into a ditch once when it was full of water. “Y-you gotta take of your coat,” she said hesitantly, trying her best to mask her fear. Holding her breath, she quickly took off her own coat, now thankful for the sweater. She didn't bother waiting for the other girl to do as instructed, she was going completely off of memory and was afraid she'd forget. And so Maria did it for her, wordlessly removing the others jacket and replacing it with her own. In fact, she was acting like her brother; no words, just action... because she was needed.
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She angrily wiped a few tears from her eyes as she looked around. She didn't know how to get out of here and she was scared, and cold, and in a tiny bit of pain. “Now... uhm... I think you're supposed to move around to get warmer. That's what my mom says... I think.” She forced herself to stand and tried to make Ember do so as well. This was all her fault and she had to do something about it.

[MurderVictim]

Ember was wordless as Maria took off her jacket, replacing it with her own. She hadn't noticed the other girl's pink sweater before, but wasn't about to say anything as she clutched the semi-dry jacket close to her trembling body. She forced herself to stop crying, not wanting Maria to think she was a crybaby again...Even though she was crying. Ember wasn't going to. Hearing Maria's words, she nodded and did her best to stand, slipping a bit on the still-intact ice. She fought to keep herself upright, moving even farther away from where she broke through, wanting to get to the bank. Anythign was better than being on the ice.
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"I-I think we came from that way," she said, pointing at a break in the trees. "I c-can see footprints in the snow." She looked back at her friend, glad that she wasn't alone. "We're gonna be in trouble...But I think that's better than freezing to death." Yeah, definitely better.

[TheBouquineuse]

Though she wasn't going to say it, Maria was glad for someone who was smarter then she was at that moment. She would never admit to anyone being braver then her, even though Ember was being very brave. However, intelligence was a different matter. She would have never thought about footprints, instead Maria would have panicked and probably caused both of them to freeze. Luckily, she had plenty of time to get braver, and she didn't really think that firemen or police officers, the two professions that she wanted more then anything, needed to be all that smart.
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She nodded and looked down at the footprints. “Okay,” she confirmed, though it really didn;t need confirming. “Let's go then.” Her voice was quieter then usual and the fear was evident. She looked down at Ember's hand, and without thinking, reached down and grabbed it, holding on tightly. It was a bit weird, holding hands and what not, but holding hands always made her feel better. She didn't look back up at the other girl, and she didn't try and lead. Instead she let herself be led for once.

[MurderVictim]

Ember looked down at their held hands, not seeming to care. All she cared about was getting out of the woods and back under that fence, though holding hands with Maria did make her feel better. Looking back ahead, she guided them through the narrow path, following their footprints as best she could. The longer they walked, the more Ember began to doubt herself. What if it wasn't their prints? What if she was only leading them further into the wilderness? Even at her young age, she knew that would be a death sentence. They'd never be found...And at the thought, tears began to prick at her eyes.
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She could hardly imagine her relief when she saw the schoolyard come into view. And there was the hole in the fence! She tightened her hold on Maria's hand, walking faster despite how numb her body still was. Letting go of the other's hand, she kneeled down and crawled back into the yard, this time not caring if she got caught on the fence. "We...We made it!" she said, sounding more than relieved, smile on her face even when she saw the same group of adults come rushing towards them.
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The teachers all yelled at once, clearly furious as one grabbed Ember's hand, complaining that she'd have to be taken to the nurse's office.

[TheBouquineuse]

The Next Year
>

That day hadn't ended well for Maria. Ember had gotten off easy; a call home to her parents and a detention. However, the other girl had received much worse after admitting that she had all but forced Ember to come with her. Perhaps it wasn't completely true, but ten detentions was worth protecting the much shyer and more innocent girl.
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The next year resembled this aspect of their friendship quite well. She would get them into trouble and quickly take the blame no matter what the circumstance. And she never really expected a thank you... as long as Ember never expected a sorry. You see, despite how much the two got along, something about upsetting the other held a certain appeal. Pulling her hair and running away, calling her names, and just being a bully in general; these were common occurrences, though Maria often tried to make up for it by hitting kids who were mean to Ember and giving her extra food during lunch. They didn't talk much outside of school, but that was okay. Despite what she'd thought at first, she wasn't comfortable telling his mom that she had a friends who wasn't a boy. Perhaps she was simply afraid that this would higher her mother's expectations.
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The next year around the middle of October, on a day much too warm to be nearly winter, Maria came into school with hair that looked as if it had been cut with a weed-whacker and an attitude that was adamantly negative. Her clothing was more feminine then it had been all year; a light purple dress that she kept pulling down, in a vain attempt to make the thing cover her knees. Apart from cruel comments, she completely ignored Ember that day. She refused to say a single kind word to her until lunchtime, when she sat down next to the other girl, took a single sandwich out her lunchbox and held the rest out to Ember.
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“Want anything?” She asked calmly, moving the muscles that made her smile.

[MurderVictim]

Ember had always felt bad when Maria took the blame for whatever they did. Sure, most of the time she was pushed and pressured into doing what she knew what got them in trouble, but her mom had always said to turn and walk away from negative siituations. That was better said than done, but it was always an option. An option she never took. Maybe it was because she didn't want to lose the only friend she had, or didn't want to act like a baby, anymore. She wanted to be braver. Either way, she knew she deserved equal punishment...Not that Maria would let that happen, for some reason. Ember never understood her...Didn't understand a lot about her. But she chose to not question it, merely went with the flow and dealt with her guilt silently.
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That day, Ember hadn't noticed Maria's negative behavior, didn't notice she was ignoring her. Heck, she didn't even notice her appearance. To be honest, she was avoiding her, too. Nothing personal, as she was avoiding pretty much everyone, more silent and withdrawn as she usually was. A couple of their fellow classmates noticed, and lightly teased her for it, yet quickly gave it up. Neither wanted to risk facing Maria's wrath. Ember had hardly realized this, as well. When lunch time came she glimpsed at the other girl, watching as she took out her sandwich and offered her other food. In response, she shook her head. "No thanks." She hadn't even gotten out her own lunch, instead folding her arms on the table and resting her chin on them.

[TheBouquineuse]

When Ember responded in the way that she did, Maria automatically assumed the worst. It was in her nature to do so, especially around Ember. After all, she was such a jerk at times that she wouldn't have blamed the other for never wanting to talk to her again. And nowadays, that terrified her. What would she do without Ember? She'd all but lost all of her other friends, as they'd gotten sick of her bullying and outbursts. Even she'd gotten sick of herself really. She was just... unhappy and annoyed and mad all the time. It didn't matter who was in her way when she got in one of her moods, but she was just a jerk during them. Recently, kids had began to pick up on 'bad words' and their favorite for Maria was the word bitch. Now, no other word bothered her. But that one.... no one wanted to be around when that word was uttered.
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“Well fine then,” Maria snapped, thinking that the other girl was trying to write her off. Immediately after the words left her mouth, she looked at Ember again, taking a moment to think again. She took a breath and moved closer to Ember on the seat. “What's wrong?” She asked, placing a hesitant hand on her shoulder. “Did someone say something, 'cause I can go take care of that next period. You don't have to be upset about it.”

[MurderVictim]

Ember flinched a bit at Maria's outburst, expecting her hair to be pulled. Normally, she wouldn't fear that...But with her being in such a vulnerable state, she was pretty sensitive to everything. When she felt the hand on her shoulder, she couldn't help but feel a little surprised, shrugging at the question. "No, nobody said anything." She'd let the kids from earlier slide, not in the mood to see Maria go after someone. "I just..." she sighed, letting her voice trail off. How could she tell her friend what was going on? That her mother was in the hospital, again, getting sicker. She'd been ill for quite a while...Her father had said it was something called cancer, but that was all she knew. Perhaps that was a good thing.
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"What's wrong with you?" she gently asked, finally noticing Maria's appearance, seeing that she was in a bad mood. How could she go on about herself, when her friend was just as upset?

[TheBouquineuse]

Ember may have been selfless enough not to go on about what was wrong with her, but Maria wasn't. She didn't really have a filter in these matters. Her mother always said that she was... less emotionally mature then other girls... maybe that was why. She didn't really pick up on the fact that Ember was still upset. She simply thought that the other girl was just in a sour mood.
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“I hate my mom!” She said quickly, as if she'd been waiting to say it all day. “I hate her more then anything! She won't let me do what I want and she won't let me wear what I want and she never listens. She wouldn't even let me get my hair cut like I wanted!” She said so vehemently, not even thinking about the nice things that her mom did everyday. Then again, most kids her age didn't. “So I did it myself" She gestured towards her new haircut "... and now I'm in trouble.” She scrunched her face up in annoyance. It wasn't any fair at all! “I hate her.” Maria repeated, attempting to make it clearer then she had last time. Of course, she really didn't hate he mother. She'd just never been so mad at the woman.

[MurderVictim]

"Oh." Ember didn't show it, but Maria's words pierced her hard. Her mother was stuck in a hospital room, away from Ember. They couldn't even see each other. And here Maria was, actually saying hse hated her own mother. Something about it didn't sound fair. Ember had said similar things before, more about her father than her mother, but at that moment she realized just how wrong it was to say. But her friend was clearly having a bad day, and Ember didn't have the courage to call her out on her behavior. "I'm sorry," was all she could really say. Being in trouble sucked, that was for sure, and she could only hope Maria's day would get better.
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Hopefully, hers would, too.