2. Nikolai - She Got My Back
My Calculus test was finally over, thankfully, and judging by the small smile on my best friend's face, she'd aced it. No surprise there.
Being neighbors for twelve years, we'd practically watched each other grow up. Literally, our bedroom windows faced each other so either of us could see into the other's room from our own. Neither of us really noticed the way we gradually changed over time. Sometimes, I looked at her and just couldn't help but compare the chubby little girl with pigtails and one too many acnes, to the gorgeous woman that she'd become. I wondered if she'd had similar revelations about me.
When her family moved in next door, and my mother had tasked me to help her get settled in school, I had thought she was just another one who was going to try talking to me, get weirded out by my silence, and leave me alone.
Surprisingly she'd stuck. In fact, I was the only person she hung out with. My silence and one-word replies didn't bother her. She was happy to do all the talking. And much to the irritation of my six, almost seven-year-old self, I enjoyed listening to this doe-eyed girl who seemed to be annoyingly happy 24/7.
It didn't take long to discover that we had a lot in common. We were both level-headed, artistic people with similar taste in music and some weird obsessions, that'd freak anyone out but us. So, we connected on a different level and could sometimes communicate without words.
The most important similarity was that we both hated people. She kept to herself, didn't voluntarily strike up conversations with anyone except me, and let me do the talking when someone approached us for some reason. I wasn't a very talkative person either, but I was better at people skills than she was. I suppose we'd swapped our childhood personalities a little bit.
We were an excellent pair of best friends. Weird but perfect. And it didn't take much time for most people to learn to leave us alone.
When I say 'most people, it excludes a certain group of females who 'practically drool over my Greek god looks, lone wolf charm and mysterious aura' and I quote this because they are Athena's words, not mine.
I'll admit it. Puberty had been very generous to me. The height, the skin, the jawline, the cheekbones, the eyelashes, the hair, you name it, I had it. Regular visits to the gym and taking up football and boxing had also paid off. So, their attraction was understandable, I guess.
I won't sugarcoat it or try to justify it. I've fucked around, no strings attached. A lot. And never the same girl twice. They knew exactly what they were getting into. So as long as we were on the same page and being safe, I didn't see a problem.
Some of them did harbor delusions of being the one I would confide in and eventually catch feelings for, but that's the only thing they were. Delusions. Those who realized this tried to take out their disappointment on Athena, and even though she is more than capable of handling a few jealous girls, I dealt with them. Because she shouldn't have to bother with my mess. My mother raised me to deal with the consequences of my actions myself and protect other people from them.
Mum had taken an instant liking to Athena. When her own parents grew distant, she would come to my mother to talk about girl things (whatever the hell that is) and seek comfort on bad days, and mum was more than happy to do everything a mother should do for her little girl. Athena was like the daughter she never had.
She made mum happy and for that, I was immensely grateful to her. Grateful because the little girl had unknowingly kept the grieving widow from spiraling into the depths of depression only by entering her life just a month after my father's demise. Mum was also content that there was at least one person who watched over her son since back then, said son refused to interact, much less make friends, with anyone and everyone.
From making sure I didn't skip breakfast, and providing brutally honest reviews of my sketches and paintings, to preparing me for pop quizzes and surprise tests on subjects I did not understand and wearing my jersey number to cheer the loudest in every one of my games- like a chocolate eyed angel, she's always had my back.
No matter what.
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