Us

Author's Note: Back to Michelle's point of view. Thanks for all the reviews and favoriting! This chapter is a little shorter, but the ones after this should be about the same as the last two.

Disclaimer: I don't own any Skins related content and I am making no profit from this whatsoever.

Chapter Three: The Text

I had spent maybe five minutes lying in bed, staring at the ceiling before I began to feel guilty. If this was a normal thing for Tony, could I really blame Tea for it? I know Tony's…convincing. Maybe manipulative is a better word. I picked up my phone off the nightstand, shooting off a quick text to Tea asking her to come back. I didn't think I'd be able to sleep without apologizing to her. She had always been a good friend, it wouldn't be right of me to just write her off this way.

My phone vibrated almost instantly with her response, 'on my way'. I replied, telling her to use the spare key above the door and to just come upstairs. I didn't put my phone down after this exchange. There was still one more thing I needed to do.

The text I composed next was reworded several times, to the point that I was still unsure of whether or not I would send it when I heard Tea keying into the door downstairs. I cleared the lengthy message, instead opting for something a little simpler, more to the point. I owed Tea a little leeway. I owed Tony nothing now, and he needed to know.

'We're done.'

Tea knocked lightly on my door before opening it, slipping inside and standing there, looking unsure of herself. She stared at the floor, and cleared her throat before looking up at me. "I don't think you were wrong to send me home."

'Then why did you come back?" I asked. I didn't want to be argumentative. I wanted to apologize, to tell her about the text I had just sent, maybe to fall asleep with her and wake up in the morning feeling better. I really just wanted everything to be okay, and I wanted her to know that it would be, and that everything she had told me, though it maybe should have, didn't change anything between us.

"Because I want us to be okay," she replied. She was holding her hands, fiddling with her fingers and still not making eye contact with me. "I did something that was wrong, but I want to fix it. Whatever it takes."

I scooted to the side, patting my bed next to me. Tea crossed my room and slid onto the bed next to me, sitting more upright than I was. It was almost a treat to see her so thrown off her game. An unconfident Tea was not a common thing. I almost laughed at the idea that this was probably the first time she had been uncomfortable in bed with another girl.

Before I could tell her that she was forgiven, my phone began to vibrate. I hit ignore, not bothering to look at who it was. "There's nothing to fix, Tay. I know how Tony is now. If this is a common thing for him, then it's not your fault."

"Still should've told you before this," Tea murmured before settling down a little more comfortably. "You've always been a good friend to me. You deserve better than this."

"I can forgive you for that," I replied as my phone began to vibrate again. Three guesses who it was. I showed the screen of my phone to her, Tony's face lighting it up as it vibrated to my ring tone. "I broke up with Tony right before you got here. I guess he wants to talk about it or something."

Tea rested her hands beside her legs on the bed, ready to hop up and leave again. "Want me to go so you can talk to him?"

I shook my head. "I don't have anything to say to him right now. It's Friday night. Spring break is this week. I think after all this, I'm entitled to a Tony-free week."

"Sounds good to me," Tea replied, settling beside me. We lay there in comfortable silence for a while, both of us staring at my ceiling. It had been so long since Tea and I had had alone time. It wasn't until right now, this instant, that I realized just how much I missed this. We had been almost inseparable as children. At some point, cheerleading had come up for her, and boys had come up for me. We were still close, but moments like this were few and far between once high school had started. Tea kicked her shoes off and slid under the blankets with me. "Bed time?"

I nodded, just as my phone began to vibrate again. In addition to the voicemail he had already left after the call I had ignored, it appeared that Tony still had more to say. Tea looked at me expectantly, seemingly wondering if I should maybe just answer it for the sake of telling him to fuck off.

I hit ignore again, and then lifted the backing off my phone to remove the battery. I tossed the battery across my room into a pile of clothes and lay back against the mattress. "Night, Tay."

I leaned over and kissed her on the cheek before closing my eyes. Reaching over, I found her hand under the blankets and held it. Fuck Tony. He can have his fake blonde sluts.