Work Text:
1
"C'mon, she's almost here!" Janis exclaimed.
Her mom let out an easy laugh. "Calm down, kid. She won't be here for another couple hours."
"But there's so much to do! I want to make cookies, and set up the splatter paint outside, and" Janis said, rattling on about her and Regina's plans. Her mom just smiled, shook her head, and helped her reach collect the paint before setting it out on a towel outside.
2
Leading up to Regina's birthday, something changed between them. Before, all the pieces fit perfectly, now things were different and threw the whole system off balance. As Janis sat on her stoop, the air chilled when Regina walked by. The blonde was with a group, but that wasn't the problem. Janis knew that her best friend had other friends, and she was okay with that.
The problem was that there was no acknowledgment. Janis was sitting at her house, the house that Regina had visited hundreds of times, where they grew up together. Regina just kept on walking, acting like she didn't see Janis or the house. This left her with an odd feeling.
3
A week after Regina's birthday party, Janis sat on the chair on her porch. She had been doing this every day and when her mom asked her why, she just said she enjoyed the outdoors. Yet every night when she fell asleep, she fell asleep disappointed that the girl she was waiting for never appeared.
At this point, Janis wasn't waiting for an apology. She honestly didn't blame Regina. The other girl wasn't even wrong. She was a freak and a dyke, though that word left a bad taste in her mouth. Who would want to be friends with her?
Feeling the tears stinging at her eyes, Janis rushed inside and locked the door to her room. The first thing she sees is a picture of her and Regina. It was a warm, happy summer day and they were laughing, but now it only mocked her.
Janis knocked the picture off of her desk causing the glass frame to break into tiny pieces. Staring into the mess, she knew that she shouldn't. Despite that, she picked up a large shard and made the first cut.
+1
Regina sat anxiously at the edge of her porch step. Despite doing everything in her power to stop her leg from bouncing, it just kept tapping away.
She didn't know why she was so nervous. They weren't anywhere close to how they once had been, but they were okay now. Slowly they had gotten closer and approached friendship.
As the beat-up truck turned around the corner, she felt a wave of relief. She'd never forgive herself, but maybe they could get better together.