NOVEL NEXT Side Fangs #1: “Meet Iris and Maia” (1/5)
Maia Oloro strummed her fingers on her steering wheel as she waited for Iris to come back out. She tried to calm herself. This isn’t about me. This really isn’t about me. Maia kept staring at the house Iris had gone into every few seconds. After about twenty minutes, the door opened to the house and Iris stepped out. Maia could sense immediately it hadn’t gone well.
Iris slumped over to the car and quietly got in.
“Hey,” Maia said as Iris buckled up.
“Hey.” Iris said. “Sorry to make you…sorry.”
“It’s fine,” Maia said. “I like any excuse to drive.”
Maia started her mom’s van and drove off. She had her windows cracked a bit to let the night summer air in, hoping it’d help Iris. Maia didn’t pry about what happened; if Iris wanted to tell her she would.
“It was going fine for a bit,” Iris said. “It felt like the old times, even. We sat on the couch for a while. She started laughing and…”
Maia tried to not look over to Iris too much while on the road, but her passing glances gave away the tears on Iris’ face that her voice didn’t show.
“She just stopped and told me to leave. And said she wanted to send me off on a happy note.”
“Oh,” Maia said. “That’s…I’m sorry.”
Iris didn’t say anything for a while. She grabbed Maia’s phone that was hooked to the car speakers and put some gentle music on.
“Sorry,” Iris said. “I don’t like quiet sometimes.”
“It’s really fine,” Maia said. “You wanna head straight home then or drive around for a bit?”
“You can take the long way to my place.” Iris said. “Dad’ll sense something if he’s up and I don’t want to explain this.”
“You got it,” Maia said.
Maia drove them down the downtown street, which was strangely deserted for a weekend night.
“Do you think she’d still like me if my fangs didn’t come in?” Iris asked.
“I don’t know,” Maia said.
“Maybe I could get the teeth grindy thing some people do.”
“You really don’t want that.” Maia said. “That super messes up your powers and crap.”
“I know.” Iris said.
Iris perked up as they got to the bar heavy part of downtown.
“Let’s go to a bar!” Iris said.
“We’re both sixteen,” Maia said.
“I have a fake I.D.” Iris said.
“No, you don’t,” Maia said. “Unless that library card you tried to fake counted.”
“It doesn’t,” Iris sighed. “They could tell right away it was fake. But I really wanted to get multiple loans on that new Jak Z book…”
Iris started talking about her favorite Havena fighter's new autobiography, and Maia was happy to hear her talk about something that didn’t bring her down so much.
“I don’t think Olivia even wanted to say bye. We’re leaving tomorrow and she barely said bye.” Iris said.
Maia had given lots of thought to using her claws on Olivia for everything Iris had been through, but she had restrained herself so far.
“Was that ‘leave you on a good note’ thing her goodbye?” Maia asked.
“Maybe.” Iris said. “I told you how she’s been during these night visits. It’s like she wants to confirm that it’s all over between us, but then she’ll do a little thing or say something that makes me think she wants to get back together.”
“How is that fair to you though? Why do you have to wait for her to be done moving on while she’s out…moving on? Isn’t she already dating other people already?”
“Yeah,” Iris said.
“Then why’s she inviting you over in the middle of the night?”
“I don’t know,” Iris said. “You’re smart, Maia, what do you think?”
“I think she doesn’t know what to think,” Maia said. “And if it’s really meant to be that you’ll get back together, you’ll get back together. But stressing over it like this is only gonna hurt you while she figures her crap out.”
Iris turned to look out her window.
“Thanks,” Iris said.
They were both quiet for a bit after that. Iris gave her trademark “I’m about to fall asleep” sigh.
“Hey Maia?”
“What’s up?”
“When we get to Rising Shards, you’ll stay my friend, right?”
“Always,” Maia said.
“Thank you.”
Iris’ voice was sounding drowsier.
“Dating sucks, dude,” Iris said.
“I’m sure,” Maia said. Iris’ voice was sounding sleepier.
“…crushes suck, dude.”
At a stoplight, Maia looked over to Iris, who was falling asleep in her chair. Even a quietly devastated Iris Arco brought butterflies to Maia’s heart.
“I know.”