Faith tapped Lennox on the shoulder. Lennox struggled to keep a smile on her face as she turned towards her friend. It was the end of the school day, and Lennox was ready to drive home and away from her struggles. Well, she at least hoped that her struggles would stay at school, allowing her an escape at home as she worked on her short stories.

The red-head couldn't help but notice Faith's wide smile, or the way the fluorescent lights caught on her pearly teeth. I'm so happy today, Lennox!

Lennox's lips tilted upwards. She was glad that at least one of them was happy.

Faith rapidly signed, nearly bouncing on the balls of her feet. I'm so glad we're friends, Lennox! And that I've made a friend in the boy passing me notes! You know, you need a nickname. Friends give friends nicknames, right?"

Lennox nodded, her gut twisting as she remembered Isla reciting something similar. She hadn't been given a friendly nickname in a while. She turned and closed her locker, leaning against it as she clutched the strap of her bag. "Give it your best shot." If nothing could make her happy that day, at least the nickname could amuse her.

Hmm, Len is so obvious, Faith began. Lenny?

Lennox wrinkled her nose and shook her head. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Isla walking beside the principal, who was her father. Lennox nearly rolled her eyes, and she could feel years of rage bubbling under her skin. If only the principle could see past his love for his daughter. If only he could see the monster she really was underneath her serpentine smile.

Faith waved a hand in her face, and Lennox blinked back to reality. She nearly laughed at the expression on her new friend's face.

You're not even listening to me! Well, watching me.

Lennox tilted her head to the side, shooting a glare over Faith's shoulder in Isla's direction. "Right. Nicknames. Shoot."

Faith grinned. Lex!

Lennox shook her head.

Faith nodded. That's what I'm going to call you!

Lennox sighed. She began walking towards the exit, reaching towards her bag to dig out her keys. She felt a hand on her arm and paused, looking over at Faith. She simply raised an eyebrow in question.

Why don't we hang out? You know, like friends do?

Lennox rolled her eyes. "You're always near me in school."

Faith rolled her own eyes. I'm thirsty. What about coffee? We can do our homework. Don't you like writing stories? Faith's eyes lit up. It'll be so fun!

Lennox was already opening her mouth to protest, but Faith held up a hand.

Come on, Lex!

Lennox knew that it would take time to get used to the nickname. Yet, she oddly didn't hate it. At least it wasn't what Isla used to call her. Len. Lenny. She nearly shivered.

Faith pouted, and to her friend it made her look like a child.

Lennox rarely went out in public anymore. She preferred her bed to sitting out in the open, just waiting for someone to recognize her. She wanted to object. Just being friends with Faith had already taken her way out of her comfort zone. However, her mouth watered at the thought of coffee. Not necessarily black, regular coffee. No. She loved the different flavors mixed in with the coffee, which Nora hated. She guessed that made her like them even more.

She glanced back to Faith, who kept trying to convince her. She looked around, noticing a few straggling eyes were set on her. Then, she decided that she was done hiding in the dark. Grabbing some coffee with Faith wouldn't kill her. So, letting out a breath, she gently lowered Faith's frantic hands.

"Okay, I'll get coffee with you."

Faith did a little hop of joy. Really? This will be fun! Thank you!

Lennox walked to the exit and pushed it open. Faith was right on her heels as she bent her arm back to dig for her keys. Finally, she ripped them out of her bag and pointed them at her car. It beeped, and she hurried into the familiar driver's seat. The leather seat cushioned her body, and she leaned into it as her passenger door opened. Once it closed, she shoved the keys in the ignition.

It took a while to safely pullout of the parking lot. Once on the road, Lennox felt a little less agitated. She even let Faith turn up the radio, blasting some country music she barely paid attention to. They had agreed to go to Starbucks, and there was one close to the school. Taking a turn, she pulled into the parking lot. As soon as she turned off the vehicle, both her and Faith hopped out and closed their respective doors. With a beep, the car locked and the two rushed into the coffee shop, both with their bags slung over their shoulders. Immediately, their noses were attacked by the bitter (but delicious) smell of coffee. Faith rushed to the counter ahead of Lennox, who took her time inhaling the sweet scents and taking in the few people scattered around the shop. Good, she thought, there's no one here I recognize.

A tall, lanky boy stepped up to the register with a smile lighting up his face. Light brown hair flopped into his dark eyes, and to Lennox he seemed too perky to be working as a Starbucks barista. He also looked about her age. Faith turned to Lennox and signed I want a caramel iced coffee, please.

Lennox nodded, then opened her mouth to translate for the boy behind the counter. However, before she could, the boy smiled and nodded. His name tag read Levi.

"And for you?" He asked Lennox, whose mouth hung open in shock.

Faith giddily hopped up and down. You can understand sign language? That's so cool!

Levi laughed. Then, he signed Yeah, it is.

Lennox raised an eyebrow. "I didn't expect a Starbucks barista to know sign language. Know any deaf people, or do you have a thing for sign language?"

Levi smiled. "I just find it interesting, that's all. I started taking it as a second language because I hated Spanish. And I found it fun. What about you?"

Lennox sighed, then tapped her thigh with her fingertips. "Can I just have a coffee please?"

The barista didn't look fazed by her attitude. "Of course. What'll it be?"

Faith shot her friend a look. Can you ever be nice to people?

Lennox smirked. I'm nice to you. Sometimes.

Levi seemed amused, and that irritated Lennox.

"A-"

"Would you like to try one of my special blends? I mix flavors together and make my own drink, one that's not on the menu. People love it."

In spite of herself, Lennox's eyes lit up like a kid's would on Christmas morning. That sounded like something right up her alley. However, she wasn't sure she trusted whatever this guy would put in it. He could poison her. For once, she threw caution to the wind and smiled. Her lips barely tugged upwards, but it still counted as a smile. "Sure. Give it your best shot."

Levi seemed just as excited as Lennox felt. "You got it!"

The girls payed for the their coffee. Well, Faith payed. She claimed that she wanted to pay after Lennox had helped her. In the end, Lennox settled for getting a free coffee. After all, Faith could be extremely stubborn if she wanted to.

They sat at a table near the back of the shop, which had three chairs. Faith smiled, glancing around at the few people sipping their coffee. They both placed their bags on the spare chair and took out their laptops. Lennox's was new while Faith's seemed a bit worn, but it booted up nonetheless. Lennox watched Faith click away on her computer, pulling up a document. Lennox did the same, hers for a short story of about three thousand words. Glancing at Faith's, her eyes widened. Thirty thousand words.

Faith flushed. It's my latest novel I'm working on.

Lennox smiled. "That's cool!"

Short story?

Lennox nodded. She was glad that Faith enjoyed writing like she did.

"Lennox and Faith!" Levi called out.

"I'll get them," Lennox said. Then, she walked over and grabbed the two drinks. Levi smiled at her, pointing to her cup. "I hope you enjoy. It's extra special today."

Lennox glanced at the swirl of dark colors. "You better hope it is, Levi."

He shook his head with a smile, then walked back to the cash register. There, several people were waiting in line. Lennox turned back to her table and set down the drinks, Faith's right next to her laptop.

Thank you, Lex!

Lennox nodded, oddly enjoying her new nickname. She plopped down in front of her device and tapped it awake, then took a sip of her coffee. She grinned, then gulped in another sip. It felt like a galaxy of chocolate, caramel, and every variation had exploded on her tongue. She hadn't wanted to sing Levi's praises, but the boy had a flavor-mixing talent.

Faith grinned at her laptop, tapping away. Lennox watched her for a while, transfixed. Faith couldn't express herself by verbally speaking, but she seemed to speak through her writing. Lennox couldn't help but smile, sipping at her coffee as her friend typed away. After a while, she focused on her own laptop. She had been writing a short story about a girl alone in the world, fighting a battle all by herself. Looking to Faith, a realization hit her; you couldn't fight everything alone. You just couldn't. No matter how many times she tried to rely solely on herself, she was miserable when completely isolated. With a sigh, she stared at the words on the screen. She began typing.

She created a friend for her character. The more she wrote, the more she realized the character began to resemble Faith. She reached for her coffee, but realized it was empty. She let out a frustrated breath, then clenched the plastic cup in her hand. Her brain still couldn't wrap around the whole friendship thing. Couldn't wrap around how much she had allowed her life to change. Finally, she stood, glancing towards the front of the shop made entirely of windows. Clouds rolled in, and drops of water had began to fall from them. She turned back towards the counter, then walked back over to Levi. Faith didn't even look up. There was no one in line.

"Ah, back for more? What did I tell you, my drinks are amazing!" Levi beamed.

Lennox rolled her eyes and thrust the cup in Levi's direction. "I hate to admit it, but you're not full of hot air after all. Can I have another one of those drinks?"

The barista nodded, grabbing her cup and heading toward the syrups. A blonde girl manned the window, and she turned to shout at Levi, "Hey, I need a coffee with six sugars!" They were the only people working in the small coffee shop. Levi responded to the girl as Lennox walked to the other end of the counter. No sense sitting down when she would just get back up. Lennox waited, and Levi soon plopped a cup in front of her. She realized she hadn't payed.

"How much?"

Levi waved a hand. "It's on me."

Lennox shook her head. People were only nice when they wanted something. He couldn't just give her a free coffee. "No, seriously. How much for the dang coffee?"

Levi smiled. "Seriously, just enjoy."

"Levi!" His coworker screeched. "I need that coffee now!"

Lennox rolled her eyes at the girl's annoying voice. "What do you want in return?"

"Nothing? Just a smile."

Lennox laughed bitterly. "Good luck with that."

"Leviiiiii!"

"Oh, just get off your butt and make it yourself!" Lennox snapped.

The girl glared. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," Lennox replied.

Levi laughed, then scooted the drink across the counter directly in front of Lennox. "She's not used to people talking back to her. Thanks though. Now take the coffee."

Lennox sighed, grabbed the coffee and a straw, and walked back to Faith. Faith closed her laptop and smiled. Another new friend?

Lennox shook her head as she sat down. "Just another person pretending to be nice."

Faith raised an eyebrow. What about me?

The red-head rolled her eyes. "I have a short story to write and some coffee to drink."

______

I know it's been forever since I updated. It took me a while to write this chapter because I wrote it in my spare time, between a short story project and editing Inserted. And, well, school. Let me know your thoughts, and I hope to update again soon! I'm not giving up though, don't worry. I'm really excited for this story!

-Sarah