Once Sour Sweet had calmed down, she sighed heavily. I can't believe Lemon Zest did that. She thought.
But she apologized. Maybe you should go talk to her. Thought Sour Side.
I don't know if I'm ready to face her just yet. Thought Sour Sweet. That was excruciating... She wiped a tear from her eyes.
I know. Thought Sour Side. I was there.
Sour Sweet sighed again. She took a look at her surroundings to see nobody. She didn't want anyone to see her getting all emotional. She may not like her reputation as a psychotic person, but she'd be damned if she let anyone she didn't trust see her vulnerable again! Speaking of which...
I wonder if Radiant Hope has an opening. Thought Sour Sweet. I sure could use her help.
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Sour Sweet had arrived at the guidance counselor's offices. "Hello." She said to the man behind the desk. "Does Radiant Hope have any openings?"
"Let me check." Said the receptionist. He checked through the appointment times on the computer. "It looks like she has an opening now if want to see her."
"Great!" Said Sour Sweet. She walked up to Radiant Hope's office and knocked on the door.
"Come in." Said Radiant Hope, and Sour Sweet opened the door. "Hello, Sour Sweet." She said. "What's on your mind?" Hope said with a smile.
Sour Sweet sat down, hugged herself then sighed deeply. She told Hope what had happened during her lunch period, including Lemon's apology. She didn't want to make Lemon seem like the antagonist, even if she was upset with her. Once she finished, she sagged into the couch and made a sputtering noise, covering her face with both of her hands.
"Well." Said Radiant Hope. "That's rather unfortunate."
"That's putting it mildly." Said Sour Sweet. "I know she apologized, but I'm just not sure I'm ready to talk to her again. The wounds are still fresh. I mean, this is the first friend I ever made. Ever. It really, really hurt." She said as she sniffled, feeling as though she was going to cry again. She took a deep breath and exhaled, calming herself down.
"That's understandable." Hope said in a sympathetic tone. "Do you need any tissues?" She asked, reaching for a small rectangular box on her desk.
"I appreciate the offer, but I think I'm going to be okay." She said, finally taking her hands off of her face and smiling. "I just needed someone to talk to. You know, to vent."
"Aww, that's sweet of you! But you're not my type!"
Sour Sweet flinched, and Hope had noticed. "Are you okay?" She asked.
Sour Sweet sighed heavily. "I don't know. I keep on hearing myself turn down Lemon Zest's romantic advance, and it's been driving me up the wall!" She made a frustrated grunt. "It's like it's supposed be a constant reminder that I should feel guilty about it all the damn time!"
Hope folded her arms. "It sounds to me like you're beating yourself up over it."
"Am I though?" Said Sour Sweet. "I thought I had gotten over that, but this is the first time I've heard it in my head since before I made up with Lemon."
"Do you think it'll persist until you make up with her?" Asked Hope.
"God, I hope not. But the answer is probably 'yes'." Sour Sweet said, heaving yet another sigh. Before she knew it, she spoke again.
"Sorry, Sweet. I wanted to get a few words in edgewise." Said Sour Side.
Wait, what?! Thought Sour Sweet. Seriously, warn me next time you're going to pull something like this!
Radiant Hope blinked. "So. You must be Sour Side."
"Yeah, that's me." Sour Side said. "I just wanted to personally thank you for being the first adult Sweet and I can legitimately trust." She walked over and gave Radiant Hope a hug.
Hope smiled and returned the hug. "You're welcome, Sour Side." They broke the hug as Sour Side sniffled.
"Speaking with you has really been a great help. I think I speak for the both of us when I say I don't know where we'd be without you..." Sour Side's voice cracked as she trailed off, sniffled again, then broke. Finally, after all these years. The tears she had to hold back. The tears she could never cry. The tears she so desperately needed to release fell.
Sour Side... Sour Sweet thought, surprised by her alternate personality's unexpected outpouring of emotion. Now she understood how powerless Sour Side had felt with her inability to comfort herself. This was the pain she had been feeling after all this time. At long last, she could let it all out with someone to comfort her.
After several minutes, Sour Side had finally calmed down. "You have no idea how long and how badly I needed that, Radiant Hope." She said, blowing her nose. "Again. Thank you." She sighed heavily and closed her eyes.
Sour Sweet opened her eyes. "My god." Said Sour Sweet. "I had no idea..."
I know you didn't. Thought Sour Side. That's why I wanted to speak to her.
"Are you feeling better?" Asked Sour Sweet.
Much better. Thought Sour Side.
Sour Sweet smiled. "Sour Side's right. Neither of us can thank you enough."
Hope smiled in return. "Always happy to help."
"Speaking of which...is there anything you can do about my 'landlords'?" Sour Sweet asked.
"I'll see what I can do, but I think you'd need concrete proof before we do anything hasty." Said Hope.
Sour Sweet sighed. "I understand. And again, thanks for everything, Hope." She said as she walked towards the door.
Hope smiled. "You're quite welcome, Sour Sweet."