This is what BEST friends do, Ashley!

[Elsa Brandon]

Elsa sat in the cafe as she awaited her best friend forever, only that term mader her aggresively roll her eyes. It was so fake, like totally. She couldn't help but take the piss out of her friend behind her back, it wasn't as though they were real friends, it wasn't as though Ashley wouldn't backstab her at the first chance she got. Ashley was the type of girl who annoyed Elsa quite a lot but in high school you had to keep your friends close and your enemies closer. She sipped on a frappachino as she glanced at her watch. Ashley was the type of girl who seemed overly confident about her appearance and overly confident about some sort of popularity where as for Elsa she was a lot more quiet. She wasn't totally confident with how she looked but when she was around Ashley she always managed to feel a bit more confident, as if the blondes confidence had spilled onto Elsa. They usually did have a good time together so that could be why, it was only afterwards when Elsa felt herself developing bitter thoughts about her.

Best friends forever. Only Elsa couldn't tell her her everything, she couldn't admit to her about her monster crush on Mitchell her coach, she couldn't tell her that the only reason she participated in any sports was for him. She also couldn't tell her that she was a virgin waiting until marriage, but there wasn't many people that Elsa could tell those things to. With a sigh she began to twirl her brown hair around her fingers as she sat leaning against her chair, her handbag resting by her side.

[Ashley Palmer]

Ashley was glad to hear from Elsa. They hadn't gotten
together in a while now. Different schedules, it seemed.
Ashley saw the other girl at school, sure, but they were
always off busy doing something. So Ashley was pleased
when Elsa called her up and asked her to meet her at the
cafe that afternoon.

Parking her car at the curb outside the cafe, Ashley cursed
softly to herself. She was a few minutes late. She wondered
if Elsa had arrived already. Checking her reflection in the
rearview mirror, Ashley smiled to herself as she pulled the
keys out of the ignition and pushed the door open, stepping
out onto the blacktop. She closed the door with her hip,
slinging her handbag on her forearm as she moved to the
other side of the car, onto the sidewalk. She pressed down
on the automatic remote that came with her keys, and
listened to the doors lock, and alarm system chirp on.

She pushed the door to the cafe open, stepping inside.
She let the door close behind her as she lifted her sunglasses
up onto her head, and took a look around for her best friend.
The cafe wasn't very crowded, and she spotted Elsa easily.
She was there already. Feeling a little guilty for making the
other girl wait, she made her way over to the table. She could
see the look on Elsa's face as she approached her, she didn't
look too happy.

"Elsie! Sorry I'm late." she said, sliding into the chair across
from her friend. She put her handbag down by her feet and
looked over at the other girl from across the table. "I realised
at the last minute I had to fill up on gas, or else I wouldn't have
made it here at all!" she explained with a smile on her clear
glossed lips.

[Elsa Brandon]

Elsa’s face lit up at the sight of Ashley. ”No problem,” she admitted. Waiting wasn’t really a problem. There was a lot of things that one could do when waiting for someone, like think, and sip on their drink in anticipation, reflect on the events of the day, the month, the year and consider what had happened to their life to drive them to this place. A person could reason with themselves and otherwise become completely distracted by the fact that they actually are waiting for someone. Elsa glanced out of the side of her eye as she looked at Ashley. ”Ha, you still can’t risk using those legs of yours huh,” Elsa teased playfully, she let out a dramatic gasp, ”Or heaven forbid! Public transport!” Ashley didn’t seem like the type of girl who put up with bus fairs or crossing a road, instead she seemed to be the person behind the wheel firing their horn at the eldery who took too long. Elsa couldn’t help but tease her about things like this, internally she couldn’t help but roll her eyes either. She was an avid fan of walking places. Haddonfield wasn’t such a big town that you had to use a car she’d decided. And walking was just a really peaceful activity. Of course when you’d had a bad day a car might be nice but for now she didn’t need one.

She crossed her legs and leaned back against the chair. ”I haven’t seen you in ages,” she exclaimed, ”What’s going on? How’s life? Do you have a new guy on the scene?” she enquired. Girl talk was always of interest to Elsa, she couldn’t help but ask her. There was something else she was curious about too but that could wait. Just the thing was that Ashley seemed so convinced by her popularity but it had always been of some amusement to Elsa that she had never challenged Larrissa for the throne. She wondered if she had ever considered it, and half wanted to suggest it to her. It would cause some drama and Elsa could sit on the sidelines ready to draw alliance to whoever won the war.

[Ashley Palmer]

Ashley ordered herself a latte, smiling at the male barista
who walked over to their table to take her order. He seemed
to be eyeing the two girls. When he walked away, Ashley
turned to Elsa, her eyes flashing with excitement. "That guy
was totally checking us out." she said with a giggle, turning
once more to check out the guy from the back, as he walked
to the counter to her prepare her drink.

"Cute ass." she said, just above a whisper. Loud enough for
Elsa to hear, low enough that the barista was oblivious to her
comment. Ashley chuckled to herself, turning back to face the
other girl. "I'm doing well! School's been keeping me busy,
mostly." she explained. It was true. She seemed to always be
doing something school-y, it was rare to find some free time,
but her schedule was about to change, and she would be able
to spend more time with her friends, have a social life, etc.

"How about you? Where have you been hiding? I barely
see you in the hallways anymore. Is some guy taking up your
time?" she said with a slight chuckle, raising an eyebrow in
question. It seemed like they had a bit of catching up to do.
Ashley looked up at as the barista made his way back to their
table. "Here you go." he said in a deep, ringing tone of voice.
Ashley flashed him a flirty smile. "Thanks." she said, her voice
dripping with sweetness. She took a sip from the mug. Mmm.
Just the way she liked it.

Ashley raised her light green eyes from the mug to look at
Elsa as the other girl mocked her about not taking public
transportation. A fake pout formed on Ashley's lips. "It's so
crowded on the city bus. All those people packed in such
a narrow space. People start smelling ripe!" she explained.
Sure, she walked around town now and then, like the other
night when she had walked through Haddonfield Memorial
Park. But she prefered the comfort and luxury of her car.

Elsa had never complained before when they were taking
their joyrides in her car around town. She wondered if the
other girl had suddenly became more involved into saving
the environment and all that. Ashley tucked a stray golden
lock behind her ear as she brought the mug to her lips once
more. Letting the caffeine beverage slide past her lips and
down her throat.

"No guy situation. Not really. But that barista sure looks
mighty tempting." she said with a giggle. Ok, so she was a
little boy crazy. Was there something wrong with that? It
wasn't like she slept around with every John, Dick & Harry.
She turned in her seat, looking over at the barista. He was
wiping down the front counter, but his eyes were fixed on
the two girls. Ashley felt her cheeks redden slightly as she
turned back to Elsa.

[Elsa Brandon]

Elsa smiled softly as she watched Ashley’s excitement over the guy who was checking them out, apparently. She liked it when guys checked her out but when around Ashley she often wondered if it was her or Ashley they were actually checking out. She allowed Ashley to enjoy her excitement as she sipped on her drink, holding it close to her chest, a small smirk embracing her cheeks as her eyes followed the man. She chuckled slightly at Ashley, ”Hey girl, do we need to put you on a leash?!” She teased as she hugged her arms. Elsa had never really thought about Ashley’s sex life but she could imagine it was more active than her own. Ashley probably got it all of the time, she probably always had a boyfriend or two that she could go out on a date with depending on which one was busy. She always seemed so confident around boys, Elsa only felt the opposite way. She was usually quite nervous around boys, saying the wrong thing. She felt more at ease watching them from afar, she didn’t know how to talk to them or how to be in a relationship either. It was easier talking to girls, you didn’t need to impress them but with boys she was constantly on edge that she wasn’t pretty enough, that they wouldn’t like her. She needed lessons in pulling a man, only when she had drink in her could she really talk to one. ”Yeah, school’s been pretty hectic.” Elsa agreed with a short nod of her head. ”Well you know me, I’m either playing some type of sport or doing my homework,” she admitted with a soft sigh. She wished a guy was taking up all of her time. ”Hmm, my life’s pretty boring.” she glanced up as the guy returned with Ashley’s drink, smiling softly as she awaited him to leave before she continued to talk. ”There was this one guy... He’s called Leon, I met him at the movie store and he asked me right out then... I invited him back to my dorm,” she stated, not giving Ashley anymore details but allowing her to fill in the blanks herself. Elsa did this a lot of the time, it made people think she wasn’t a virgin. No one was a virgin these days, no one except for Elsa so she liked to keep up the pretences.

”Haha, funny,” she laughed, although it was half true. Sometimes people did smell on the bus and it took such a while. Still though there was something about public transport which attracted Elsa, something about the way you could sit and reflect on your life, watching the world pass by you. Elsa shook her head at Ashley’s antics. ”Hey, enough about him, I have a proposition for you!” she stated, no longer could she keep this in. ”So anyway I heard about you hanging out with Jack and it gave me an idea. Ash, look at you, you’re gorgeous, you know that, everyone knows that and there’s so many people out there who clearly want to be you!” Elsa started as she bigged up her ego, if there was one way to get what she wanted it was to big up Ashley’s ego. ”Larrissa is getting old. I mean she actually went to that asylum place, I mean seriously?! She’s over with, she needs to be replaced. I think it’s about time you took your rightful place! Steal her crown, her popularity and her boyfriend,” Elsa chirped in. It would be awfully fun to help her with and if Ashley achieved it then Elsa’s popularity status would rise quite a lot and maybe she’d be able to get Mitchell.