"Sh*t, I'm sorry Elide." Phoebe gave her a tentative hug. "I got you into this mess- I'm sorry. What can we do?"
l e s b i a n s (closed)
Elide rubbed at her face with both hands, “It’s fine. It was my idea to skip so you don’t have to apologise.”
“I shouldn’t have agreed— or agreed to come here— I’m really sorry. What can we do?” Phoebe took hold of both Elide’s hands.
“Phoebe, stop apologising, you don’t need to,” Elide muttered, sighing a little, “And there’s nothing you can do, really. But it doesn’t matter.”
Jane bit her lip. “But it does matter, Elide, you’re getting into trouble because of us. There must be a way to get you out of this.”
Phoebe thought for a moment, clearly troubled. “If we got out of here quickly, we could go back to school and pretend we were in the washroom?”
“For twenty minutes? It won’t work,” Elide ran a hand through her hair, “It really doesn’t matter, guys. I don’t care if I’m grounded.”
The fact that she didn’t care was a bad sign. Phoebe sighed, looking down for a moment. “Good point. But lay the blame on me, okay?”
Elide shook her head a little, “I’m not getting you in trouble, Phoebe.”
Phoebe shrugged. “Why not? My mom won’t care anyways.” The lie rolled easily off her tongue. “Honestly, it’s fine.”
“I’m not getting you in trouble Phoebe, end of.” Elide said a little sharper then intended, “I’m sorry…”
Phoebe shook her head quickly, squeezing Elide’s hands lightly. “Hey, it’s fine, don’t worry about it. But I want to help.”
“I don’t know how you can help.” Elide admitted, looking down at her lap.
Jane finally spoke up. “I know- I know a lot of people don’t like lying to their guardians, but is there anything that you could say?” Phoebe nodded, agreeing with Jane. “That might be the only way to avoid trouble.”
“I-“ Elide frowned down at her lap, “I don’t know. I don’t think anything I can say will get me out of this. They’ll take the schools word over mine no matter what.”
“What if you said that you’d had a bad night— or wait—“ An idea suddenly dawned on Phoebe. “Matt. Tell them what happened with Matt. Say that you felt unsafe and left the school.”
Something lit up in Elide’s eyes and she nodded, “That might actually work. Good idea!”
For the first time since she’d heard Jane’s news, Phoebe grinned. “Perfect. But me and Jane should clear out before Damian gets home.”
“He won’t be home until like, nine-ish.” Elide replied, shrugging a shoulder.
Phoebe relaxed back against the couch. “Thanks, Elide.”
Jane spoke up. “What happened with Matt?”
Elide frowned a little, “He uh… just touch me inappropriately is all.”
Anger flared up in both girls’ eyes. “He did what??” Disgust dripped from Jane’s voice. “I’m going to kill him.”
"Jane, it's fine," Elide gave her a grateful smile before it dropped and she said quietly, "It's nothing I'm not used to anyway…"
Both girls responded by wrapping thejr arms around her in a huge hug. “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry—“ Phoebe whispered fiercely, gripping Elide tightly.
Elide hugged them both back, "You don't have to be sorry, Phoebe…" She whispered.
Phoebe only squeezed her tighter before pulling away. “I’m sorry anyways.”
Elide rubbed at her neck and swallowed, giving Phoebe a small smile, “Th-Thanks…”
Phoebe tried her best to smile back, feeling a pang deep in her chest. "What- what do you guys want to do?" she asked in an attempt to lighten the mood.
Elide shrugged, “We could watch a movie? I can do popcorn and stuff.”
Jane nodded, copying Phoebe and trying for a smile. "Sure, that sounds like a good idea. We can help with popcorn, if you need. What movies do you like?" It was clear from the slight tremor in her voice that shew as still not quite over what had happened.
“Anything really,” Elide said, flicking on the TV and changing it to Netflix, “Pick what you want, I’ll do the popcorn.”