[Drabble]
Sherry knew every last one of her tells. It was an advantage of being friends with someone for years. You learned what all of the little signs meant. And if the friend in question was also periodically your competition, there was a sense of safety in knowing all of the signs.
Sherry knew every last one of Mandy's tells, every subtle way she would use to flirt and seduce, every single signal that Mandy was in love, and she could not deny the smug sense of satisfaction she felt at watching every one of them have no effect on Pete.
It was cruel and petty. She knew that it was, especially since she wasn't even to a place yet where she could tell Pete that she was in love with him and actually mean it. But goddamn did it feel good to win this time. For once, Perfect Princess Mandy was not going to have the world at her feet and served on a silver platter. She didn't mind letting Mandy and Pete spend so much time together, because she knew that she had nothing to fear. She trusted Pete, and she knew that Mandy could never be heartless enough to break Miles' heart. She was too obligated to him and hung up on the idea that she was the only one who could save him.
The funny part was that she knew Mandy would never see herself for the hypocrite she was. Mandy had pushed Jake to break up with her for precisely the same reason she was staying with Miles. But Mandy had always been quick to blow the sand out of other people's eyes before stopping to notice the giant festering splinter in her own.
It was not that she did not care about Mandy, because she did. And she did not really enjoy seeing her friend so unhappy. She just also could not deny how good it felt to finally have something Mandy never would.
Sherry knew every last one of Mandy's tells, every subtle way she would use to flirt and seduce, every single signal that Mandy was in love, and she could not deny the smug sense of satisfaction she felt at watching every one of them have no effect on Pete.
It was cruel and petty. She knew that it was, especially since she wasn't even to a place yet where she could tell Pete that she was in love with him and actually mean it. But goddamn did it feel good to win this time. For once, Perfect Princess Mandy was not going to have the world at her feet and served on a silver platter. She didn't mind letting Mandy and Pete spend so much time together, because she knew that she had nothing to fear. She trusted Pete, and she knew that Mandy could never be heartless enough to break Miles' heart. She was too obligated to him and hung up on the idea that she was the only one who could save him.
The funny part was that she knew Mandy would never see herself for the hypocrite she was. Mandy had pushed Jake to break up with her for precisely the same reason she was staying with Miles. But Mandy had always been quick to blow the sand out of other people's eyes before stopping to notice the giant festering splinter in her own.
It was not that she did not care about Mandy, because she did. And she did not really enjoy seeing her friend so unhappy. She just also could not deny how good it felt to finally have something Mandy never would.