CHAPTER THREE: A GIRLS GOTTA DO
song of the chapter: dog eat dog, tommy lefroy

"It's not personal, Indiana. We sent the invites out to all of our relatives."

During the course of her life, there has only been three people who Indiana has genuinely disliked. She's a very tolerant person, raised with respect for everyone around her. Always assume the best in people until they show you that you should do otherwise. But sometimes, just sometimes, people get on her nerves to the point where the mere sight of them makes her annoyed.

She doesn't like Freddie from fifth grade, because he thought that making mean comments about her mothers cooking was a funny thing to do after she had spent copious amounts of time making a platter of various foods for culture day at school. It's no wonder he married a plain Jane and stays eating Annie's mac and cheese for dinner.

Her colleague, Miss Alvarez, is the embodiment of evil. She pits the children against each other in her ninth grade class, and she makes no secret of who her favourites are. Her classroom has beige walls and not a single ounce of personality. Indiana thinks that Julie Alvarez is the exact opposite of what a teacher should be.

The third spot was filled from the minute Aunt Vera held her for the first time. She is poised and refuses to come across as anything but perfect, and Indiana can't count on two hands how many times Vera pulled her away at a family function and told her that she needed to tone it down. Vera is her fathers least favourite sister, everyone's least favourite aunt, and Annabelle is her pride and joy.

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, clearly.

The minute she sets her eyes on her Aunt Vera on Sunday afternoon, all of the life lessons that her parents drilled into her about civility go flying out of the window. She knows that acting out right after church isn't classy, and she knows that somewhere in another part of the building mother is cursing her for acting like a child, but can you really blame Indiana for the way she is acting?

Annabelle had not only slept with her boyfriend, but now she was marrying him and sending invitations to Indiana like it's nothing. She's throwing the entire affair in her face, and it seems like everyone is just fine with it.

Why is everyone fine with it?

Why does everyone else get to move on and pretend like it has always been like this? Like Hugo and Annabelle had been together since their college days, like they'd been each others firsts, like they'd prayed and pleaded to the gods above that they could keep this forever.

Annabelle had stolen from her, plain and simple. She can have Hugo, but Indiana isn't going to take the wedding invite insult lying down.

"It's not personal," Indiana repeats, stupidly, staring at Vera like she'd just grown a second head. "With all due respect, auntie, Hugo was my boyfriend before your daughter decided that she wasn't bothered enough to get her own and stole him from me. Hugo is a piece of shit, I don't know why you're even letting Anna marry him."

Vera tuts, crossing her arms across her chest as she leans against the wall. "My son-in-law is a good man, Indiana."

"Was," Indiana corrects, her mouth twisting into a frown. "He cheated on me. With your daughter. Isn't it once a cheat, always a cheat? Or does that only apply to you and Uncle Richard?"

Vera's stoic expression flickers for a moment at the insult, but she keeps her composure and continues on, "Annabelle did not steal anything from you, Indiana. Hugo made a choice, and you've chosen a very immature way of dealing with it."

Indiana thinks back, then, to the day that she told Hugo to leave for the final time. He had gotten onto his knees and placed his hands on her waist, sobbing, begging her to take him back. He'd promised it was a one time thing, only it happened many times, but it would never happen again. Hugo had told her that Annabelle wasn't half the woman that Indiana was.

That's exactly why she left him. A weaker woman would have been fine being the choice they only made because they were forced to, but not Indiana. She's worth more than apologies he only gave because he was caught.

"Hugo didn't choose Anna, you know?" She asks, the words more of a statement than a question. "He's only with her because I told him we weren't coming back from it."

"You're sour, Indiana. That's fine, but don't go around making up lies to make yourself feel better."

"I'd feel better if they were lies," Indiana scoffs, halfway into a laugh. "Hugo and Annabelle are just as bad as each other, and you're worse than both of them combined."

Vera, ever the evil, is barely phased by Indiana's words. "It's a simple yes or no question that we're asking you, Indiana, you needn't go around making false conversation for my sake. Will you in attendance at the wedding?"

Indiana hopes the evils she's giving burn into Vera's skin and leave her even uglier than she already is. She's too busy trying to look unbothered that she doesn't even realise the lie has slipped out until it's too late.

"I will be there, Aunt Vera. I trust I'm allowed to bring my partner as a plus one?"

Even if she's now put herself in a predicament that will be very hard to get out of, the look of utter shock on Vera's shock is worth every bit.

Vera's expression falters as she tries to get her words out, tripping over them in a way that's so unlike her that Indiana has to bite back a laugh, "Uh, yes. Of course, bring them along. We will look forward to meeting him."

Indiana's smile is so bright she wonders if it's blinding.

.・゜゜・　　・゜゜・．

The trouble comes later, in the corner of her local coffee shop, with Jasmine sat across from her, the girl choking on a laugh so badly that Indiana worries she might actually choke.

"You're telling me that you lied to your aunt and told her that you'd bring your non-existent boyfriend to your ex boyfriends wedding, knowing fine well you don't have a boyfriend and you definitely won't have one in four months time?"

When you put it that way, Indiana can see how it might have been a stupid idea. In hindsight, it was a very stupid idea, but it's not like she meant to lie, it just... happened!

"I'll figure something out," Indiana mutters, lips clasped around the lid of her iced chai. "I'll go on a few Tinder dates until I can find someone who can suffer in my company for the night. It's an open bar, someone is bound to take me up on the offer."

Jasmine takes a long exhale through her nose, suddenly serious, looking at Indiana over the lid of her drink, "People don't suffer in your company Indiana, don't phrase it like that."

This is Jasmine's thing- no self-deprecating when I'm around! She had been the one who, alongside Athena, had helped Indiana piece herself back together after her life fell apart. She had offered Indiana her spare bedroom, she had cooked her meals so make sure she was still getting at least three of her five a day, and she had been the one to call Indiana's boss on the days where she just couldn't get out of bed.

Jasmine had every right to tell Indiana what to do after everything that she had done for her in the past two years alone, never mind their fifteen year friendship. But it didn't mean that Indiana had to like it.

"Sorry," Indiana lies. "I promise not to act like people are doing me a favour by spending time with me."

Jasmine grins, "See, that's not so hard!"

The door to the coffee shop swings open then, and Indiana watches as her cousin struts in, clad in her uniform with her sunglasses pushed up into her hair. She orders at the register and takes a quick scan of the cafe around her, eyebrows raising to her forehead when she spots Indiana and Jasmine in the far corner.

"Hello, sweetheart," Athena whispers against her forehead, her words punctuated with a feather light kiss, when she arrives at their table with her coffee in hand. She rests her free arm across the back of Indiana's chair, using it as an armrest. "Hi, Jasmine."

"Hi, Athena!" Jasmine almost shouts with the enthusiasm of a toddler on a sugar high. She's always had an admiration of Athena, she might be a fan of hers if the admittance of it wasn't so mortifying. "What brings you here?"

"Just patrolling the area, figured I'd stop and get my fix," Athena replies, looking down at Indiana now, "What's got you so quiet, hm? You keeping secrets from me again?"

Indiana splutters, "Uh, no! I don't keep secrets, I withhold information."

"Right," Athena replies, sceptical as ever. "Like that's much better. Come on, spill it, bet I've got some advice I can offer you."

Jasmine rolls her eyes, "Keep it, she's not interested. I've been trying to help her for hours."

An affronted scoff comes from Indiana, "I told you fifteen minutes ago and you laughed at me. That's not what 'trying to help' means."

Athena looks between the two with a bemused expression on her face, "Clue me in, Jasmine."

Apparently, Jasmine is more scared of Athena than she is of Indiana, because the minute that Athena asks, she gets, and Jasmine is rolling out a spiel that is entirely none of her business and quite frankly, none of Athena's business either.

But once again, Indiana has to remember that these two are the only ones who kept her alive during the worst period of her life. She owes everything to them, from her best moments to her most embarrassing, and she's not going to say a word about Jasmine spilling the beans when she owes them it all.

By the end of Jasmine's very animated storytelling, Athena is caught in laugh, much like Jas was not even half an hour ago. The whole situation is funny, apparently, but Indiana would beg to differ.

"Honey," Athena says, her tone dripping in sarcasm. "I love you, I really do, but you have got to start thinking before you speak." Indiana raises her hand to protest, but Athena is interrupting her before she can get a word in. "However dumb you may be, I do have a solution for you. Let me go make a few calls."

Indiana's heart sparks with something like hope.