>Let her know how you feel.

“…I hate you.”

Winter clouds block the sky in an overcoat of grey. Sophie blinks. “…Eh?”

“I hate you, Sophie!”

that day a friendship was formed underneath the frozen branches of a snow-laden tree. “W-what do you-?”

Alice throws the cookies to the ground, stomping on them furiously. “I hate you, I hate art, I hate walking home after school every day! Every single day, I have to sit in that fucking art room for a never-ending hour, and every single day, I have to pretend to be happy and wait patiently just so I can get a crumb of my friend’s attention! Why couldn’t you notice? Why couldn’t you see how miserable it was for me, every single fucking second I spent there?”

Alice shoves Sophie away.

“You promised! You said we’d be able to keep walking home after school like usual! You said you’d always remember that day we met! But no, now you have new friends! Now you have friends who like what you like, and talk about what you like talking about! Everything’s good for Sophie now, right?! She gets her art club, she gets to be popular, and she gets to keep her old best friend hanging around every day for her too!!”

The girl laughs hysterically, laughs until her breath fails her.

“It’s so perfect! All of it! How lucky, Sophie! You get to live such a perfect fucking life, with everything you could have ever wanted, while I get to be surrounded by people and everything I hate!”

Tears streaming down her face, the girl can’t hold it back any longer.

“You’re the worst, Sophie. I wish I never became friends with you.”

…Snow gently falls, covering the two in a light dust. Alice breathes heavily, her breaths rising like smoke to the winter sky as she stares down at her feet. Eventually, she looks up.

“…” Sophie’s lip is trembling. Tears are forming at the corner of her eyes. Her heartfelt cookies were smashed into oblivion. Instantly, the girl wishes she could take back what she said, and instantly, she knew it was far too late.

Sophie runs home, crying all the way.