FicWad

Chapter 6
We Push And Shove, Betray The Trust
Seth’s POV

Enter: Harold.
Seth: Who dat, Lily?
Lily: Dat Harold.
Harold: Glub glub.

"Hey! Seth!"
I turned. Oh, god. Lily was walking so sloooow. Elli laughed and said goodbye, preferring to walk to class without Lily. She had no tolerance for anyone other than me.
I impatiently motioned for Lily to hurry up, but she shook her head and smiled. She was carrying something in both hands. What was it? I walked towards her, trying to see what it was.
"Seth! I got you something!" she said, with one of her trademark smiles. She held up the bag, supporting the bottom with one hand and holding the top in the other.
I looked closer. Inside was a...fish. The bag was full of water, and there was a fish inside.
"What is it?" I asked stupidly.
She pulled the bag close to her face and looked inside at the fish, which, in fact, looked quite pissed off. "It’s a beta," she said. "A Japanese fighting fish. If it's put with certain kinds of fish, it will attack and kill them. Usually, though, it's kind of serene. It doesn't swim around a lot like other fish."
I looked at her strangely. "And you want me to take it?" I asked incredulously.
She laughed. "Basically. It’s been proven that having pets help you live longer and make you happy. I think you need this little guy as much as he needs you." She smiled again.
I just barely managed to choke back a scoff. I didn't need that stupid fish. I didn't need this Lily girl, but I was kinda stuck with her cause her boyfriend was bigger than me and could punch me through the wall.
She held out the bag to me. I took it with reluctance.
"Okay, now, he'll need to be fed once a day, and don't feed him too much, or he'll die. And he's going to need a small bowl. Not a big one, not a medium one. Betas like hiding and blah blah blah." I tuned her out as she outlined exactly how to take care of this stupid fish. I planned to flush the thing own the toilet when she left, anyway. Why should I care? I didn't want it. I didn't care about it. So I would get rid of it.
"So, what are you going to name it?"
"Huh?" I snapped back into reality.
"It has to have a name, silly!" She laughed at him.
"Uh, right." I thought for a second. "How about Fish?" I asked in a bored monotone. I half expected her to object at such an uncaring attitude for the future of this fish, but she clapped her hands and smiled.
"Fish! So simple. I love it." She waved at him. "Well, I’ve got to go now. He’s yours. Take good care of him, okay?"
"Oh, yeah. I’ll take perfectly good care of him," I assured her. Once she was out of sight, though, I walked into the bathroom.
Putting my stuff down on the counter, I walked into a stall and locked it. My hands shook as I struggled to open the fish's bag.
Not so hard, right? I thought. Just open the bag and pour the fish into the toilet. Then you flush.
I reached my hand out to dump the bag.
fish! so simple. i love it.
I stopped. Shook my head.
i think you need this little guy as much as he needs you.
Just do it already! a voice told me.
take good care of him, okay?
No. No! Don’t have a change of heart!
Lily genuinely cares about you.
Ditch the fish and she'll hate you!
that's why she's trying so hard.
Flush it down the fucking toilet!
because no one else would give you a second glance.
can we be friends?
I grabbed the bag and hastily tied it back up, being careful not to hurt the fish. No, Harold, I told myself. The fish's name is going to be Harold.
I walked to my locker and placed Harold on the top shelf, making sure the bag wouldn't spill. I closed the door and went to class.
For the rest of that day I tried to figure out why I didn't just dump Harold. I tried to avoid thinking about Lily, but in between classes I would check on Harold to see if he was doing all right.

Later, Elli and I were in my room, sitting on my bed. We looked over at Harold, who was floating in the glass bowl I had hastily bought for him earlier in the afternoon. Harold didn't look quite so pissed, but he didn't look too happy either.
“At least he's not a smiley fish,” I said.
“She’s a stalker bitch, though.” Elli really didn’t like Lily at all. I almost smiled, but scowled instead.
“He’s kind of pretty,” I insisted.
“You’re kind of a dipshit,” she laughed. I growled. “Whatever. I’m going out. You can come, unless you want to keep fantasizing about your creepy stalker girlfriend and her weird ass fish.”
I nodded, and we both got up. Elli was right. I didn't need or want Lily telling me what I needed, and I was determined to hate the fish as much as I was supposed to hate Lily. I would feed Harold, but I wouldn't like him.

I've actually got the entire rest of the story planned out, chapter titles, summaries, and all. so I'm pretty proud of myself. lol.
love you all,
Wessie