Our newly made trio burst into the café, and paused as a couple of senior stared at us. We shuffle over to the counter, order hot chocolates (expect for Zeke, who also piled on some cookies and extra whipped cream.) We sat, and stared at the glass door, framed with dark wood, in utter silence. The doorbell chimes, and we sit up, alert. A middle aged man, wearing a brown winter jacket and blue toque, walks to the oak counter, and Em whisper, "Was it him?" I smile and shake my head. We wait for another 5 minutes before Mari, her dark hair tied into a braid that sat on her shoulder, and she wore a black leather coat, walks in, ordering herself a coffe. Emma looks like she's going to go up to her and slap her. Hard. She scoots her chair out, and I grab her arm. I look over at Zeke as Em tries to stand. He just looks uncomfortable, and he shifts his hands on his lap. 

Mari pauses as she grabs her cup, and looks around. When she sees Emma, she freezes, and I can see her hands shaking. Em mutters something that I miss. Emma's always been overprotective like this, it's just a usual occurrence now. Mari bites her lip and walks over slowly. Em's cheeks heat up, but Mari says calmly, "Let's go for a walk." I nod, dragging Emma by the wrist. We walk along a sidewalk along a fence, tree branches dropping over.  Em still is avoiding her eye contact. We turn into a small forest. The forest is dead with the winter, but still is protecting from the bitter wind. I watch a blue bird flutter across the sky to a tree a yard in front of us, nestling in it's bare branches. Here, Zeke's pace quickens. Here, Mari looks over at him. Here, he puts his hand on her waist, pulling them together. Here, they whisper quietly. Here, they lean in and share a small kiss. I stop, frozen, replaying what I had just seen. Were they dating? I look over at Em, but she's not beside me anymore. I hear a yell, and sigh silently, turning around, and grabbing Em. 

"Guys." Mari starts, as I wrap my arms around Em, in a forceful hug. "I.." 

"You want to say how you are incredibly amazing you are, like you have for the past 4 years?" Em  snarls, her eyes narrowing into slits.

"No. I want to say I'm sorry. I was wrong. I-" She's cut off again by Emma's argument.

"You're a bully? Yea. We got that." Em says, her voice raising. 

"Emma! I want to say I'm sorry! I was wrong! I don't know what got into me. I was a bully to you, Fawn. I'm sorry." A single, light tear drips down her cheek. I pause, processing things. Another tear. I run up to Mari, wrapping her and Zeke in my arms. She smiles, and grips my shoulder. Zeke just chuckles quietly. I hear a huff, then feel Em's arms around my neck loosely. We stay here for a minute. A quadruple now.

Em laughs, and kisses my cheekbone, and I rest my head on her shoulder. Zeke blinks at us and Mari smiles. I stick my tongue out at Zeke, and he does the same. We head back, our forgiveness making a new friend.

-:——:-

We all pile into my house, and warmth stinging our cold cheeks. Em's Mom peers around the corner, noting how we keep bringing new people in the house. Now, we all sit in my bedroom, sharing stories and thoughts. I nod along as Mari shares her story, how she had been cheated on my her boyfriend in Gr. 8, causing her to become meaner than before. His name was Cody. Where had I heard that name before? I shake my head slightly, he's probably just in one of my classes. Mari smiles a little, showing her white teeth, and pink lips, and I smile back.