A Friend's True Colors

Elodie's POV

"Come on!" Nyara tugged at my arm, pulling me away from the entrance before I could even process the bombshell she just dropped. My pulse thundered in my ears at the mention of Kiernan's name, but Nyara was too caught up in her own excitement to notice my sudden panic. The loud thumping bass of the music vibrated through the ground beneath my feet, making my chest ache.

She dragged me straight toward a cluster of girls standing near a massive wooden table. Glowing fairy lights draped over the branches above them, illuminating rows of red cups and glass bowls filled with fruit punch.

"I want you to meet some people," she chirped over her shoulder. "They are actually pretty cool."

My stomach twisted into tight knots. Meeting new people usually meant facing a firing squad of judgment. It meant giving these wealthy, elite teenagers more opportunities to point out everything wrong with me. I braced myself for the incoming whispers and the judging glares. But Nyara flashed me such a bright, welcoming smile that I could not bring myself to pull away. She just looked so thrilled to include me in her world.

"Girls!" Nyara called out, waving her free hand as we approached the drink station. "This is Elodie. The new friend I was telling you about!"

Four girls turned around in unison. They were striking. They possessed flawless, glowing skin, styled hair, and expensive clothes that hugged their figures in all the right places. Standing next to them in my basic denim jeans and plain loose top, I felt like a dull rock tossed onto a display of sparkling diamonds.

"Hey," I managed to say, offering a small, awkward wave.

"Oh, you are the new girl!" A tall blonde with bright blue eyes offered a blinding smile. "I am Madalyn. I run the drama club."

"Serephina," a redhead with intricate braids said next, leaning against the table. "I am on the student council."

The other two quickly chimed in. Emmeline introduced herself as a core member of the art club, while a sharp-featured brunette named Vespera mentioned her role on the debate team. They actually seemed nice at first glance. They asked polite questions about my hometown and how I handled the jarring transition to the new school. For a few brief minutes, the tight knot in my chest loosened. I actually began to relax my shoulders. I let myself think this night might turn out fine. Maybe making friends in this terrifying new environment was possible.

Then Vespera stepped closer, breaking the comfortable distance between us. She tilted her head, her dark eyes narrowing as she studied my face like I was a microscopic specimen in a science lab.

"You know," Vespera murmured, her voice dripping with sweet venom, "those freckles are really ugly. Have you ever thought about using a heavy concealer? There are some high-end products out there that could really help tone them down."

Cold embarrassment washed over me, freezing the blood in my veins. The sudden sting of her words hit me like a physical slap to the face. My hand instinctively flew up to cover my cheek, trying to shield the dark spots she found so repulsive. I wanted the grass beneath my sneakers to open up and swallow me whole.

"Excuse me?" Nyara's voice pitched up, sharp and loud over the music.

Vespera just shrugged her delicate shoulders, maintaining her fake, sugary smile. "I am just saying, a little makeup could do wonders. I mean, we are trying to help her fit in, right?"

"Her freckles are beautiful," Nyara snapped. She stepped right in front of Vespera, her eyes blazing with raw, protective fury. She formed a solid human shield between me and the other girls. "And she does not need to change a single thing about herself to fit in anywhere."

"Relax," Vespera huffed, rolling her eyes toward the night sky. "I was just trying to help—"

"No." Nyara cut her off, her tone hardening into solid steel. "You were being a bitch. There is a big difference. And right now, you are acting like a jealous, insecure mean girl trying to tear someone else down."

The surrounding girls gasped in shock. Vespera's composure shattered. Her face flushed a deep, angry red, and she opened her mouth to argue, stammering uselessly over her words.

Nyara did not give her the chance to recover or fire back. She grabbed my hand in a tight, firm grip. "Save it. Come on, Elodie. We are going to get some ice cream and get away from this toxic energy."

She yanked me away from the drink station, leaving Vespera standing there red-faced with her mouth hanging open in disbelief. The other girls shifted uncomfortably, avoiding eye contact. The heavy beat of the music pounded around us as Nyara navigated through the dense crowd of partying teenagers. We kept walking past the dance floor and the patio until the noise faded into a dull, distant thrum.

"Nyara, you did not have to do that," I whispered, my voice trembling.

She stopped walking and turned to face me in the shadows of the yard. "Don't. Do not dare thank me for standing up for you. That is what real friends do, Elodie. Real friends never let people talk trash about each other."

A thick lump formed in my throat. I felt a sudden, overwhelming urge to cry. Back home, whenever people mocked my braces or my frail looks, my old friends would comfort me afterward with hugs and kind words, but they rarely fought my battles right to the bullies' faces. No one besides them had ever stood up for me, and yet Nyara, someone I barely knew, just went to war against her own social circle for my sake.

"Thank you," I said again, wiping a stray tear from my lash line.

Her fierce expression melted into a soft, genuine smile. "Come on. Let's find somewhere quiet to sit and talk."

We retreated to the far back of the yard, finding a secluded wooden garden swing hidden beneath the sprawling branches of an ancient oak tree. Nyara snagged a large bowl of strawberry ice cream from a nearby dessert cart, and we squeezed onto the swinging bench together, passing a single plastic spoon back and forth in the cool night air.

"So," Nyara started, scooping up a bite of bright pink ice cream. "Did you have a boyfriend back home?"

Heat rushed straight to my cheeks, burning my skin. "No. I have never... I mean, I have never even been kissed."

The raw admission hung in the quiet air, making me feel pathetic. I was seventeen years old, sitting next to this stunning cheerleader, and I had zero romantic experience. Who would want a sick, wolfless girl anyway? My body was broken, my energy levels unpredictable, and my future uncertain. Dating felt like a distant luxury I did not deserve.

But Nyara did not laugh. She did not look at me with pity or treat me like a weird freak.

"That is not a bad thing," she assured me gently, bumping her bare shoulder against mine. "It just means you have not found the right person yet."

"My best friends back home, Maisie and Jovie, they have both had boyfriends. They tell me all about their relationships," I explained, nervously playing with the hem of my shirt. "I kind of just live vicariously through them. I hear the good stuff, the drama, the heartbreak, all of it. Sometimes I feel like I know more about dating than they do just from listening to their crazy stories."

Nyara smiled around her spoon, her eyes lighting up. "Your friendship sounds so cute. They sound amazing. I would love to meet them sometime."

"They really are amazing." My chest ached with a sharp pang of homesickness. "They always had my back, no matter what. Kind of like what you just did for me back there."

Nyara's cheeks suddenly turned a soft, rosy pink. She looked down at the melting ice cream, tracing the rim of the bowl with her manicured finger. She shifted her weight on the wooden swing, her confident demeanor melting into something nervous and vulnerable.

"Speaking of relationships," Nyara said, keeping her voice low and hesitant. "Can I ask you something? What... what do you think about Kiernan?"

The plastic spoon froze halfway to my mouth.

My chest tightened like a vice. I stared at her, my mind scrambling to process the sudden question. How could I possibly explain how Kiernan made me feel? How could I tell her that his mere presence ignited confusing, terrifying things inside me? He was cruel, treating me like a gold-digging nuisance just an hour ago. Yet he was beautiful, moving with a raw, magnetic power that stole my breath. He was terrifying all at once, making my traitorous body react in ways I could not control.

I forced my hand to lower the spoon back into the bowl. "He is..." I swallowed hard, searching for safe, neutral words. "He is arrogant. And rude. He acts like he is better than everyone else."

"But he is gorgeous, right?" Nyara sighed, her voice turning soft and dreamy. "Those intense eyes... that smirk... And God, have you seen him play hockey?"

"I guess he is... conventionally attractive," I conceded carefully, praying she would drop the subject.

Instead, Nyara set the bowl of ice cream down on the wooden planks between us. She turned to face me fully, her expression turning deadly serious.

"Elodie, I have to tell you something." She took a deep, shaky breath. "I have been crushing on Kiernan since middle school. Like, an intense, serious kind of crush. He is the entire reason I joined the cheerleading squad. He is the reason I go to every single hockey game. He is the reason I spend so much time on my appearance."

My stomach plummeted into my shoes. I kept my face blank, but my heart hammered a frantic, guilty rhythm against my ribs.

"Every guy I have dated... I end up comparing them to him," she admitted quietly, her gaze dropping to her lap. "And they never measure up. None of them do."

"Why don't you give the other guys a fair chance?" I asked, my voice barely a whisper.

"It is pathetic, I know, but I cannot help it. The funny thing is, he has never even really noticed me. I am just another girl in the crowd to him."

"Nyara..."

"Want to know a secret?" She leaned closer to me, the ambient light from the distant party casting long shadows across her face. She dropped her voice to a soft, tight whisper, trusting me with her deepest, most guarded truth. "I have been saving myself for him, Elodie. I want Kiernan to be my first. I want him to be the guy I give my virginity to."