Did I Earn This?
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Adora, Now
After walking up the staircase to the second floor, Adora steps through the worn-down door into her new apartment with a single backpack holding all her belongings slung on her shoulders. As she closes and locks the door, Adora looks around the living space.
It’s pretty large, with three small bedrooms, a clean kitchen, and a nice living room. The early morning sun is shining through the curtain-less windows. Despite the impressive size, the apartment is dull and empty. There’s not a single piece of furniture that she can see, and it looks like nobody has lived here in years.
Adora sighs and slides her backpack off her tired shoulders and onto the dusty floor. This place would be her home indefinitely, so she would have to make do with what she could get, even if it was an old empty apartment in a town she’d never been in before. The alternative was a lot worse, she knows.
Adora begins to walk through the apartment, inspecting each room. The rooms were all completely empty and lifeless. She pokes her head into the single bathroom and, after inspecting it, leaves to go see the kitchen and living room.
All in all, it’s a pretty standard apartment. If anything, Adora’s lucky she got an apartment this great, considering the fact that she also currently works in the coffee shop downstairs. Her thoughts are interrupted by the faint jingle of keys unlocking the front door and two people talking.
She begins to panic, worrying she has the wrong address despite the key she had been given working on the front door. Instead of moving, Adora stands frozen as a short girl with shoulder-length, purple-dyed hair and a taller boy wearing a crop top walk in through the door. Their conversation comes to an abrupt halt when they see the awkward blonde standing in the middle of the living room.
“Uhh… who are you?”
The two at the door seem much less surprised to see Adora, as if they already knew she would be there. Adora, however, has no idea what’s happening.
“Hi! I’m Glimmer, and this is my friend, Bow! We’re going to be your roommates,” She replies cheerily. The taller one, Bow, waves at Adora. They both have smiles on their faces and Adora just now notices that they’re surrounded by luggage. What Glimmer said finally begins to compute in Adora’s head. “Wait, roommates?”
“Yup. What, did you think that you would get this three-bedroom apartment all to yourself?” Glimmer crosses her arms and grins. Adora begins to blush slightly and tries to defend herself, “No, but I just assumed that I would have to find my roommates later. Not that they would show up without any warning.” There’s a hint of annoyance leaking into her voice, but it’s mostly from exhaustion.
Glimmer’s grin falters slightly at Adora’s tone. “Bow and I needed an apartment and we’re going to start working at the coffee shop downstairs. We know you’ve only lived here for a couple of months, so we thought it would be easier to adjust if you had people who have lived here for a long time.”
Adora thinks through what Glimmer said. It’s true that she knows absolutely nothing about this town, and it would be a lot easier if she knew people who already lived here. Besides, maybe it’ll be less lonely if there are two other people in the apartment.
“Okay.”
Glimmer’s brow furrows, “Okay?”
“Okay. We’ll be… roommates.”
Bow steps forward with sparkling, hopeful eyes, “Really?!”
Adora sighs and rubs her temples with the thumb and middle finger of her hand. These two are way too excited given how early in the morning it is. “Yeah.”
The two smiling people at the door run over and pull Adora into a tight hug. “This is gonna be so great!”
----
Adora, Glimmer and Bow start talking a little more as they look around the apartment together. Adora finds herself smiling more and more at the two and their upbeat, fun personalities.
The three of them begin to unpack their luggage and bring in other various boxes from outside, where Adora can now see a moving truck from the window.
Well, Glimmer and Bow unpack their luggage and move boxes. Adora picks her worn-down backpack up, zips it open, and stares at the contents. 3 shirts, 2 pairs of pants, a few pairs of underwear, a red varsity jacket, and a few granola bars. It’s all she had, but it’s better than nothing.
Bow looks over from where he placed a box labelled ‘cutlery’ on the kitchen floor. His eyes drop to the backpack in her hands. Adora can see him staring, and can already predict what’s about to come out of his mouth. She prepares herself for it, but it still hurts when he asks his question.“Is that all you have with you?” His tone isn’t judgy or pitiful, and he isn’t laughing at her like Adora had expected him to.
Adora lifts her head up slowly to look up at Bow, embarrassed and filled with shame. She can’t bring herself to say yes, even though she knows it's true. The look on his face almost makes tears appear in her eyes, but she wills herself not to cry in front of these strangers.
Bow looks up from the backpack to meet Adora’s eyes. He doesn’t look like he’s pitying her, or like he’s about to start laughing at how pathetic she is. He has a comforting, empathetic look in his eyes as he smiles warmly at her. “That’s okay. We can go shopping!”
The mention of the activity makes Glimmer peek her head from one of the bedrooms, “Did I hear shopping?”
Bow starts clapping his hands together and jumping in his spot in the kitchen, “We’re gonna go shopping with Adora!” Glimmer begins jumping up and down with him, cheering. It’s clear that they really enjoy shopping.
Adora giggles at their antics, unfallen tears disappearing from her eyes. She hasn’t laughed in a long time. It’s… nice.
----
Once they finish bringing in all the stuff from the truck, the three sit on a couch in their now furnished living room. They all sigh in relief at finally being done. They started working early in the morning, and it was now very late in the afternoon. The sun looked like it was going to go down in a few hours.
The kitchen, living room, washroom, and all the bedrooms now had furniture. Bow and Glimmer has brought an extra set of bedroom furniture with them in the moving truck. They claimed the furniture was old and that nobody was using them, but they looked brand new to Adora. She was reluctant about taking their stuff, but Bow and Glimmer assured her that they wanted her to have it. After realizing how cold it would get at night, Adora agreed.
Bow is the first to speak after a few minutes of relaxing, “Hey, are you guys hungry? Because I, for one, am starving!” The two girls laugh a bit at his over-dramatic shout but agree with him. Suddenly, Glimmer sits up, clearly having thought of an idea.
“Oh! We should go to my parents’ house! They’re probably going to eat dinner soon.” Bow also jumps up, nodding excitedly. “That’s a great idea! Ugh, your mom makes the best lasagna I’ve ever had.”
Adora, on the other hand, begins to panic. She just met these people, they’re obviously not going to allow her to meet their parents. She couldn’t deny that she was really hungry after going most of today (and yesterday, if she were being honest) without any food. Maybe she would just eat a couple of granola bars and go sleep off her hunger. Or maybe Bow and Glimmer would bring some leftovers back.
Glimmer seems to notice Adora’s spiral and pats her on the shoulder lightly. Adora flinches harshly, so Glimmer quickly withdraws her hand. “Hey. You know you’re welcome to come with us, right? My mom would love to meet you!”
Adora turns to look at the purple-haired girl, only appearing more anxious from the attention. “No! No, it’s alright, really. It’s fine. I’m fine. Thank you, though.” Glimmer and Bow don’t look convinced and, to be honest, neither is Adora.
“Adora. Do you even have any food in your backpack?” Bow and Glimmer look at her questioningly, and Adora looks down at the floor. That’s enough of an answer for Glimmer, who stands up with confidence. Bow stands up with her, excited.
Glimmer holds a hand out for Adora, “Come on! I promise you’ll have fun, and the food is amazing. It’s honestly not a problem.” Adora is still doubtful of that. “I don’t know, Glimmer. You guys have already done so much for me. It’s not fair for you to help me without me helping you.” She begins to fidget with her hands, picking at her skin with her blunt fingernails.
Glimmer stops her fidgeting by grabbing her hands, “This isn’t a competition. We want to help you because you’re our friend, not because we pity you or something. Just come with us, Adora.”
Bow stands beside Glimmer with a bright smile, “Let’s go, Best Friend Squad! This is gonna be so fun!” The other two look at him with a quizzical look, before they all burst into laughter.
As they’re laughing, Glimmer pulls Adora up. They each go to their respective rooms and change for dinner.
Adora finishes changing first and leans on the wall in the hallway while waiting for Bow and Glimmer. She’s wearing grey leggings, a white compression shirt, and the thin red varsity jacket that she’s had for way too long. She doesn’t know what kind of clothing is needed for a dinner, but it’s not like she has many options anyway.
Bow steps out next. He’s wearing a cropped white t-shirt, with a black sweater on top and skinny blue jeans. It’s mid-November now, and the weather is starting to get chilly in their small midwestern town, so they need to start dressing to stay warm. It’s also clear that Glimmer’s parents aren’t very particular about their household dress code.
After 5 minutes of Adora and Bow exchanging in a small but nice conversation, Glimmer finally steps out. She’s wearing a pale pink knitted sweater slightly tucked into a pair of black jeans. She simultaneously looks like she put zero effort into her appearance and also very well put-together. She has a little makeup on, but it’s just a very subtle eyeshadow, some mascara, and a little lipgloss.
The three head out and Adora drives them to the destination Glimmer put into the GPS of her car. Adora has her own car, but it’s really old and worn down after too much use, and Glimmer’s car is a lot nicer.
Once they arrive, Adora parks the car and begins to fidget again. Glimmer lifts a hand to grab her’s, but Adora flinches before Glimmer can lay a finger on her. She slows the movement of her hand so that Adora can see it coming. She places her smaller hand on top of the blonde’s, “You don’t have anything to worry about, okay? My parents are going to love you.”
Adora nods wordlessly, and they step out of the car and walk to the intricate wooden front door of the large house.
Glimmer rings the doorbell and, a few seconds later, a tall woman with long hair and a soft smile who looks almost angelic opens the door. “Oh, Glimmer! It’s so great to see you.” She pulls the shorter girl into a tight hug, and Glimmer hugs back. Angella stands back up and pulls Bow into a hug, too. “It’s always a pleasure to see you, Angella.” She smiles at him and stands up.
She glances over at Adora with an almost confused look. Adora considers running back to the car and going back to the apartment. Angella smiles warmly at her before turning to her daughter, “So, Glimmer, who’s this?” She doesn’t sound accusatory, just curious. Adora would know the difference better than anyone.
“That’s Adora! She’s our other roommate at our new apartment.”
Adora stands stick straight, almost like a soldier, and smiles awkwardly as she holds a hand out to shake Angella’s hand, “It’s nice to meet you, ma’am.” Angella laughs slightly as she shakes Adora’s hand, “There’s no need to be so formal, Adora. You can call me Angella.” Adora nods quickly and shuffles in as Angella opens the door more to welcome the three into her home.
As Adora, Bow and Glimmer take off their shoes and walk into the house, a man with long, black, graying hair and a beard comes down the stairs with a smile. He pulls Glimmer and Bow into a hug, “It’s so great to see you, kids!” Glimmer laughs as he messes up her purple hair slightly. “It’s good to see you, too, dad.”
Micah departs from the hug to look over at Adora, who goes back to her perfect posture and strained smile.
“Hello! I don’t think we’ve met, are you a friend of Glimmer’s?”
Adora makes direct eye contact with him, despite how uncomfortable it makes her. “Hi, sir. I’m Glimmer and Bow’s new roommate.” She sticks out her hand, which he shakes while smiling at her.
“You don’t need to call me sir. My name is Micah. It’s good to meet you!”
Adora nods again, quicker, “Sorry, s- Micah. It’s good to meet you, too.” Micah lifts a hand to pat her on the shoulder, but Adora quickly retreats into another room before he can. Glimmer and Bow follow after her into the dining room.
Micah turns to Angella, and they both have a concerned look on their face.
----
The three of them return to their apartment with smiles on their faces and stomachs full of delicious food. Dinner was amazing, Adora’s never had that much food at once before. Everyone was so kind and fun, and Adora found herself laughing and smiling more than she ever had in her entire life. Micah and Angella were so sweet to her, despite having only met her that very day.
Bow and Glimmer go to sit on the couch while they wait for Adora to finish putting the leftovers in their empty fridge.
Adora walks over and sits down beside the two. “Thank you for today, Glimmer. I’ll make it up to you someday, I promise.” Glimmer smiles at the blonde, but the smile has a hint of sadness to it. “You don’t have to make it up to me, Adora. I didn’t invite you to eat dinner with my parents as a favour. I did it because you’re my friend, and you deserve the best.”
Adora can feel tears well up in her eyes at that. She’d always been told that you had to earn friendship and love and that it wouldn’t just be given to you blindly. She hadn’t done anything to deserve the kindness that these people are showing her. To avoid Bow and Glimmer seeing her cry, she instantly changes the subject, yawning dramatically and standing up. “I’m really tired, so I think I’m going to sleep. Goodnight, guys.”
Apparently, she doesn’t change the subject fast enough because they are both looking up at her with a sad smile on each of their faces before they quickly stand up with her. She can’t place what emotion that is, but it isn’t pity. They both agree that it’s time they go to sleep.
Each of them goes to their respective bedroom door and, after saying goodnight to both of them, Adora goes to bed.
It’s the first bed that Adora’s slept on in a while, and she can’t help the tears of relief that spill out of her eyes the moment she’s comfortable under the blanket her friends got for her. She muffles her cries as much as she can. The last thing she wants is to wake Bow and Glimmer up because she’s being weak and crying.
She doesn’t deserve any of this. She hasn’t earned the kindness that Bow and Glimmer are showing her. But she will.
She’ll do everything she can to make it up to them, starting tomorrow.