"I think that is a general rule when it comes to friends--you have to get upset when they are and you want to retaliate." Twyla smiled when Henri said that she'd be thinking the same things if someone had upset her. It was probably written in a Rule book somewhere, she supposed, that friends had to empathize and to long to make each other feel better by making whoever was the abuser feel as crummy or whatever as the victim. Twyla would just stay away from phones for a while--not that she knew the kid's last name anyway or any other cell number or anything. Van was safe, for the moment.

Twyla's brown eyes were huge when it sunk in that Henri had just said something like that. "Oh my god!" The blond threw a pillow at the brunette, successfully hitting her with it and sending the bag of candy flying. For a second she just sat there, watching the pastel colored M&Ms fly around the room and then she came back to the present. "I can't believe you just said that!" Twyla's cheeks were tinged slightly with a blush as she covered her face in her hands and began to giggle in a very squealing way--thankfully they were alone in the living room by then.

Looking around at the chaos she'd created, the girl mumbled "Crap." Sighing, she stood up and walked to the Outer Limits of candy coated chocolate, deciding it would be best to start outward in the chocolate galaxy and move in as she went.

Henrietta was hit with a pillow and her hair flew up from either static or due to the girl's mutation. She blinked a minute and then saw all the candy flying through the air. Chocolate! Nooo! Before she reacted to that, Twyla's cheeks became a little red and the brunette laughed. "Sorry, I didn't mean to freak you out." Her friend walked over and began to pick up the sugary mess, so Henri got up and helped. It seemed like they were making their way to the inside of the mess. I can do that.

The brunette sat on the floor and started to clean up the M&M disaster. She picked one or two up at a time and admired all the different colors. Henri liked the pastels and they were calming to the eye. It made her think of Easter at her mother's house. She used to get a stuffed animal every year for a present. It was usually a bunny, a sheep, or a duck. Why ducks and sheep were considered Easter-y, she didn't know. She did assume that it had to do with all the spring-y-ness of the holiday, but still they had little to do with Easter.

After having picked up 20 M&Ms or so, Henrietta looked up at Twyla. "How old were you when you found out the Easter Bunny wasn't real? Wasn't that a rip-off? I was so mad when I found out." The girl shook her head and then went back to picking up candies. "I was, um, second grade I think. I remember because I liked this boy named Marcus and he told me that none of that kind of stuff was real. I bawled." She laughed. "It seems really weird looking back at it."

The girl couldn't see her friend since she was on her knees crawling around behind the couch--thankfully her friend couldn't see her blush deepen either. "No worries." Twyla kept her head down as she continued to pick candy out of the carpet. She wasn't sure why that made her so embarrassed--she knew what Henri was talking about, to an extent. She was 18, technically and adult, she should have been able to handle stuff like that without looking like some kind of prudish weenie. More heat flooded through her as she wondered what would forever be a [insert what Henri said here] thing for her. Kissing girls, did that count? probably not seeing as Twyla wasn't sure how many girls besides Maya she was like to kiss. Maybe she was just embarrassed becuase she was still figuring things out with Mirror? That seemed like a likely culprit.

It seemed like a tragic waste, all of that chocolate littering the carpet. Ugh. The blond thought to herself as she felt a warm M&M squish underneath her knee. In the back of her mind she started weighing the merits of getting a vacum from the closet, but no move was made to get up--Twyla just continued to shuffle crawl across the floor.

"Aw, that must have sucked." Twyla paused for a long time, not wanting to share her particular experiences with the elusive holiday rabbit. After picking up all of the pastel orbs in her latest quadrant she finally replied: "Um, I never really got and Easter Bunny. My parents couldn't afford it and all...not something so silly and frivolous, not with six kids. I never believed in him or her or whatever...Easter meant church and sometimes cake after church if we had time." Another flush was splashed across her face at admitting the fact that her parents couldn't afford baskets and candy and all that stuff that kids look forward to on Easter morning. It was really embarrassing, sharing something like that with someone she hadn't know all that long--whether they were good friends or not.

Henrietta got very quiet when Twyla shared that her family couldn’t afford an Easter Bunny. She stopped picking up M&Ms and turned to look at her friend. “I’m sorry, Twyla. I had no idea.” The brunette’s mother could afford little things. It had just been the two of them her whole life. Her mother worked so many random jobs and shifts that she could afford some stuff. They were nowhere near wealthy, though. Their apartment had been small and old and you could hear other people in the building whenever they walked.

“My mom got me some small stuff, but it had just been her and I. She didn’t have five more kids to take care of. It would’ve been a lot different if she had, I’m sure.” The girl paused. Henri found herself wishing she would’ve had a big family instead of an Easter Bunny. The giant rabbit had not really provided love, just some candy and a stuffed animal. She almost said this to Twyla, but a lot of times people wanted what they didn’t have. “It wasn’t that amazing anyway.” The only part that had amazed her was the thought of a giant bunny in her house. “I would rather have had a giant pet rabbit than the candy, I think.” She turned and smiled at Twyla.

The girl went back to picking up M&Ms in silence. Again she stopped, this time at the thought of her mother working so hard to support Henri and to buy her what she needed even when she herself may have needed new clothes or something of the like. “I think I should call my mom and wish her a Happy Easter at some point. I haven’t heard her voice since she dropped me off here in November. Sometimes we send each other letters when she sends me some money here and there. We don’t actually talk about anything though.” She glanced at Twyla. “I may have to take the initiative, huh?”

"No worries." She repeated. It's not like Henri could have known, it wasn't that big of a deal anyway-just a mostly commercial holiday. The important part was the Church going and the whole family going to her uncle's house for dinner. Her blush was subsiding and she was right back into her candy picking rhythm again when her friend began to speak some more. "Yeah, probably." The blush started creeping back the more Henri talked about her mom and not having extra siblings--which reminded the blond that Henri hadn't grown up with her dad or his extra income, which made her feel just crummy for some reason as she continued to attack stray M&Ms.

"Ew, you do not want a rabbit." Twyla hated rabbits. She hated it when her sister showed one at Fair, hated the way it smelled and the fact that she always seemed to end up cleaning its pen. The image of a giant rabbit in a giant pen almost made the girl shudder in her crawling position. Yuck. Yuck. Yuck. "I'd rather get something useful, like a dog or a cow--or a sheep, those are Easter-y and adorable, get a giant sheep. Get a calf." A mushy edge crept into the girl's voice at the mention of a baby bovine. Taking care of the calves had been Twyla's favorite job, the were much cuter than rabbits in the blond's opinion.

They settled back into silence that was eventually broken by Henri. "Yeah, you should definitely call her--I think sometimes we're going to be the only ones who take the initial steps when it comes to our families..." Twyla trailed off and then abruptly stood up. She was getting tired and kinda wanted to cry, they were talking about EVERYTHING that night. "I need to get a freaking vacuum." Was her explanation as she hurried out the door, biting her lip and angrily blotting at one of her eyes. She was not going to cry, not in front of Henri, not outside of the confines and privacy of her own room.

Twyla told Henri that she didn't want a rabbit, especially a giant one. The blonde seemed to want a baby cow though. Henrietta smiled at the thought of Twyla caring for baby cows. It was such a cute image. She also had mentioned sheep. "Yeah, I think lambs are so adorable. I like their wool. It makes them kind of look like marshmallows." As the brunette sat and thought about cute baby animals in general, her friend spoke again. It seemed she thought taking the first step might be a good idea too. Deep down, Henri knew this, but the thought of trying to make a conversation with the woman who kicked her out actually scared her. What if her mother didn't want to talk to her and that's why she hadn't called?

I shouldn't have mentioned family. Twyla had stood up all of a sudden and announced that she was getting the vacuum cleaner. Henrietta turned to watch her walk out of the room. God, I'm such an idiot. She has family problems too and I know how much it can hurt. The girl returned to picking up the chocolatey candies in silence. She felt like she was going to cry. The girl cleared her throat and then said, loudly enough so Twyla could hear, "We should totally watch 'Mean Girls' when we get down cleaning this up. That always makes me have a good laugh." Laughing in general would be nice.... Tonight sucks, not the hanging out with Twyla part, just the part where I feel kind of depressed.. She sighed quietly to herself and picked up another M&M.

Twyla wrestled with the vacuum to get it into the living room. "I think so too." She agreed with the movie idea--that had been the point of the whole thing in the first place, to make Henri feel better and now that blond as well. Angrily she shoved the cord into the wall and the machine buzzed to life in loud, strong suction, glory. "Move." She muttered to Henri as she deftly maneuvered the vacuum across the carpet, sending all of the rest of the tiny candies to their chocolaty doom. I love vacuums. The girl thought to herself as she looked at her handiwork. Cleaning always calmed Twyla down, it was a constant, something she'd done since she was very small--vacuuming required enough concentration that she didn't have to worry about anything else except turning the base the right way and keeping her cords behind her.

The vacuum got deposited in a corner to be put away later after it was done being of use. There was still about half a bag of candy left, so Twyla grabbed a handful as she bent down near the TV to start up the movie. One the DVD was safely in its player she sat back on the couch and arranged herself.

"So, you gonna be okay?" She asked, turning to her friend as the credits started. Just to make sure. She had to make sure.

The brunette crawled out of the way of the vacuum and sat down on the couch once again. When Twyla was done, she popped ‘Mean Girls’ into the DVD player. Henrietta grabbed a pillow and hugged it. During the credits, her friend asked if she was going to be okay. The girl looked at Twyla and shrugged. “Yeah. I’ll be fine, but I don’t know what to do yet. I’ll figure it out later or something.” I hope.

After all, she didn't want to stop hanging out with Van. She always had so much fun with him and part of her felt broken because of what he said. That had to be liking and if you liked someone, you tried to make things work with them, right? It definitely seemed like Henrietta would have to fix this or wait a while and if he didn't, she could fix it.

The movie began to play and Henri smiled at the blonde. “Thanks again, Twyla. You really are the best.” She leaned back against the couch and watched the opening scene.