Work Text:
Standing idly next to his locker, Abbie's heart was racing, his pulse practically echoing throughout his chest. He felt sick - for a multitude of reasons. The leaf on his head was twitching uncontrollably, as he desperately tried to regain his composure. He clutched the delicately wrapped green gift box, pressing it to his chest as he waited for the final bell to sound throughout the treacherous hallways of Paper School.
Rrrrring...
As the students hurriedly exited their respective classrooms, his mind was then attacked with a barrage of questions and anxieties. However, the most prominent one was the worst.
Whenever he got below an average grade on his assignments, Abbie had experienced some of the terrifying rage of his various instructors - Miss Bloomie, the science teacher, Miss Thavel, the language arts teacher, and Miss Circle, the math teacher. His grades were not top notch, but he had thankfully never flunked an assignment - yet. The teachers had never physically harmed him for his somewhat lacking academic skill, but he was often worried they might. With each passing week, they seemed to grow increasingly more frustrated with all of their students, especially Miss Circle, who at first seemed the kindest.
Final exams for the freshman semester were rapidly approaching. Almost all day, he had been fretting over his studies, which were keeping him up at night for hours on end. He didn't even want to think about what would happen if he failed, or if Lana-
"Hey, Abbie!"
A cheerful feminine voice called out, stopping his train of thought. He jumped at the sound of his name, nearly dropping his box in the process. He glanced up, seeing who it was. The voice was surely enough, his childhood friend Lana. Her grey hair was even more messy and unkempt than usual, her ponytail was loose, and he swore he noticed dark circles and dried tear streaks under her eyes. A single sock puppet covered her right hand, but that wasn't anything out of the ordinary.
He swallowed and returned the greeting. "Hi, Lana..."
She walked toward him with a soft smile on her face, slightly crouching down to meet his eyes. The brief interaction caused Abbie's breath to get caught in his throat.
Lana curiously eyed the gift box in his hands. "Is that what you wanted me to meet you here for?" She pointed at it, gently touching the pink bow on top.
His heart skipped a beat as he nervously choked out the words. "Y-yeah...I...I figured you..." He swallowed yet again. "Since you're working so hard...I thought you deserved a gift."
He averted his gaze to the ground and smiled, gently placing the box in her hands. Despite her weary demeanor, Lana still had enough energy to hastily and excitedly open the box, akin to a toddler on Christmas. She was still being somewhat careful, respecting the craftsmanship of the box. As the sea of students cluttering the halls diminished in number, it began to feel like just the two of them were there, which somewhat heightened Abbie's anxiety.
Lana slowed down her unboxing process, and gingerly lifted the lid. Placed neatly inside the rectangular box was a sock puppet, resting on some blue tissue paper. It looked almost identical to the current one she wore, the only difference being its tongue was tucked inside its mouth, rather than hanging out. Lana thought that gave it a slightly more "intelligent" expression. With no hesitation, she placed it on her uncovered hand, as she playfully used it to "speak" to the other puppet. A thrilled, gaping smile etched across her face as her gaze shifted from the sock puppet to Abbie. He grinned sheepishly, as if he were telepathically asking "did I do good?".
Lost in the excitement, Lana threw herself at her friend, embracing him and thanking him repeatedly. A startled Abbie almost instinctively pushed her away, but he slowly and gently returned the hug. A few seconds passed as the grey-haired girl realised what she had just done, and finally let go, seeming a bit flustered at her sudden outburst.
Abbie looked off to the side and scratched the back of his head, his fingers getting a bit lost in his semi long, black hair. "I didn't expect you to like it that much...it really didn't take too long to make it." He laughed nervously. Lana chuckled in a similar fashion.
"I-I'm sorry, I just..." She slowly looked down at the box, her voice softening. "Things have been hard, lately. I know I haven't been talking with you as much, and I've been a bit more tired and irritable in classes. I figured that would hurt you and you'd think I didn't like you anymore..." Hints of sadness began to bud in her tone, as she tried to keep it cheerful.
"Of course not!" Abbie lifted his hand toward her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her, but pulled it back just as quickly before he could touch. His anxious eyes darted around the room. His response was only half true. He understood she was working hard, but he had honestly thought he was bothering her by trying to start up conversations more often, and receiving a frustrated response was a rejection that really stung.
She paused, relaxing for a moment. "...But the very last thing I expected was a gift, especially from someone as reserved as you." She lifted her head, flashing him a smile. It wasn't the teasing smile she usually had on her face - it was genuine and sweet. Her gaze locked onto his as she blinked slowly. Abbie's heart fluttered, as he attempted to calm it with deep breaths. He tried to appear collected, but his thoughts were a whirlwind.
Lana's smile widened as she uttered the conclusion of her kind words.
"Thank you for being my friend, Abbie...I love you."
The final three words caused his eyes to widen, and his jaw to drop slightly. It was unclear whether she meant them in a platonic sense or more, but nevertheless, his reaction could not be hidden. His erratically beating heart felt like it was just given a warm, loving hug. However, his heart was not the only thing that had been warmed. Lana awkwardly giggled and apologized, as Abbie covered his beet red face.
Suddenly, Ruby sprinted by the two. The TV-headed girl didn't have time to say hello and chat like she usually would, instead she hastily grabbed Lana's hand, ushering her to come to their school bus before it left. They didn't realise just how much time had passed with their conversation. Lana turned and waved goodbye to Abbie as she ran out the door with Ruby. Abbie shyly waved back. He felt a strange mixture of relief and, for the first time in a while, genuine joy and excitement.
As Abbie regained his composure and settled down, he walked out of the building to his own bus. With some slight bounce in his step, he started to feel a bit less tense about his final exams. But there was one thing he couldn't fully ignore.
Something about that "I love you" felt...urgent.