Only Fools - Chapter 10: Chapter 10
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Me: You on your way yet??
Dustin: Geez woman. Do you not want me looking my very best?
Me: It doesn't matter how you look. Everyone will be looking at me anyways.
Dustin: Why? Cuz you're so ugly?
Me: No. Because they won't be able to bear looking at you for more than a second.
Dustin: Dude. I told you I'm trying to look my best.
Me: It's natural. You can't help it.
Dustin: Wow. Since when did you get so mean?
Me: Oh, you know that I'm just joking with you. You probably look fine, and I'm impatient. So hurry up.
Dustin: I'll be over in twenty.
Me: Sorry if you took any of that seriously. You know I love you and you would be my first prey if I were straight.
Dustin: Of course I know that, dude. And right back at you.
Dustin: Wow. Maybe Ivy really was onto something with us.
Me: Yeah. Too bad she also really wasn't at the same time.
Dustin: True that. See you in 20.
Me: It's a date.
Dustin: That it unfortunately enough is.
Shaking my head, I set down my phone and begin my wait for the homecoming date that was more so assigned to me than willingly chosen. It then actually ends up being twenty minutes until I hear the door bell and rush down to welcome my best friend to my home.
"M'lady," Dustin greets me as he extends out in front of him, a blue and white corsage that in no way matches my dress.
"Wow. You got me the perishable flowers and everything," I tell him sarcastically as I hold out my wrist for him to slip the corsage on. It's then that we both actually look at what the other is wearing. Rather than going for the classic black suit, Dustin opted for a dark blue color which he matched with a white dress shirt and a light blue tie. I, on the other hand, am wearing a short blood red dress with silver heels and jewelry.
"So.... we didn't discuss any kind of color coordination plans," Dustin says, stating the obvious as he adjusts his suit jacket.
"Yeah? Well someone asked me too late for that," I tell him.
"At least someone asked you, though it's honestly still beyond me why anyone would want to put up with you all night,"
I whack Dustin on the arm before pulling him into my house.
"Dad! If you wanted pictures, now is the time," I shout, not exactly knowing where my dad currently is in the house. It's not until five minutes later that he actually walks into the room, camera in hand.
"Took you long enough. I thought you were the one who said they wanted pictures of 'my last homecoming'?" I ask sarcastically.
"I'm an old man, Aspen. What do you expect from me?"
"You're fine, dad. You know I was just messing with you," I say with a smile.
"I know, kiddo," he says as he gives me a quick kiss on the top of my head. He then backs away and squints his eyes as he looks around the room, almost as if attempting to be a true photographer for an occasion that doesn't actually need one.
"Ok. I don't like this wall. The lighting is terrible over here. Let's move to the living room," he decides with a nod, leaving Dustin and I with no say as he walks through the doorway of the living room with the assumption that we're following close behind.
"Ok. Now, stand in front of that wall," my father motions to the bare wall above the fireplace that's never used.
"Good. Now, get close. Act like you like each other," he jokes. Dustin and I move together and he awkwardly puts his hand around my waist and pulls me into his side.
"Good. Now smile,"
My dad takes a couple pictures of us and then tells us to do a different pose. This cycle repeats itself a couple times before I make the excuse that Dustin and I have run out of poses and have to get going.
"Dustin," my father says in a stern voice as the three of us reach the door. My best friend snaps around to see my dad standing there, arms crossed over his chest as he glances back and forth between us.
"Now I know that you two have been best friends since the kindergarten, but I still better let you know that I don't want you to be hurting my daughter,"
"Dad," I whine with an eye roll.
"Come on, kiddo. I have to. It's a dad thing," he says with a small smile.
"I understand, sir," Dustin says with a nod.
"Sir? Since when have you called me sir, Dustin? Jesse is still fine, even if you're dating my daughter, or whatever you kids call it nowadays. I don't know. I'm old,"
"Dad. We're just going as friends," I finally snap.
"Sure. 'Friends'," my dad says, making quotes with his fingers as he says the word.
"I'm not going to get into this right now," I tell him.
"Whatever you say, kiddo,"
"Ok, Dustin. Let's go. I'll see you later dad. Love you," I say as I open the door and begin to drag Dustin out behind me.
"Bye, kiddo. Love you and hope you have a good time!" my dad says before I close the front door behind us and then proceed to get into the passenger seat of Dustin's car as Dustin slides into the driver's.
"I meant to tell you this when I first saw you, but I really like your hair like that," Dustin says quietly as he starts the car and begins to back out of my driveway.
"We're not actually on a date. You don't have to compliment me, dude,"
"I know. But we're still friends and I do like your hair," he says in the moment of time that makes itself known when one is switching gears from reverse to drive, with the slight hesitation before driving off.
"Oh, well thanks. Naomi actually did it. She wanted me to do something different from the usual, that is just wearing it down naturally all the time. So she thought she'd try to put curls in it, but of course my Polish Filipino genes wouldn't allow for those to stay in long at all. So then we decided braid crown and just prayed that it would hold up, and it has so far, and my goodness I'm rambling so I will stop,"
Dustin just smiles at my words as he shakes his head at my nerves.
"Your hair isn't all that bad either," I offer awkwardly. His hair is pulled back into a half up half down type of style secured in a tiny messy bun on the back of his head. A couple of strands still fly in his face though as the rest of his hair is left down and naturally wavy.
"You nervous too?" Dustin ignores my compliment as he narrows in on the cause of my rambling.
"A little bit," I hesitantly admit.
"Me too. But I think we'll be fine,"
————
"Aspen!" I hear Ivy call my name as I step into the gym, where the homecoming dance is being held, arm in arm with Dustin. I have to force myself to smile when I see her because my first reaction would be to just stare with my mouth open in awe.
Her usual messy red hair has been straightened and then curled at the ends with the front strands tucked behind her ears. Not being the type of girl to ever wear makeup on a regular basis, the light amount that she has on is almost shocking, but in one of the best ways possible. Her already beautiful features are all emphasized. Her light blue dress is an "off the shoulder" style and is simple, but in a way that completely compliments her personality: humble yet beautiful inside and out.
"Ivy!" I say back, trying to match her enthusiasm as she pulls me in for a hug.
"You look so beautiful," Ivy says as she pulls away from the hug and holds me by the shoulders out in front of her, looking me up and down which quite honestly causes me to blush.
"You're not too bad yourself," I manage to get out. It's then that I look back at Dustin and notice the similarities in their outfits, notably the colors.
"Seriously? Did you guys actually fucking coordinate your outfits?" I ask as I take in how Dustin's tie almost perfectly matches the color of Ivy's dress. They don't say anything, but instead opt to look down at the ground.
"Dude. You do know Dustin is my date right?" I ask Ivy jokingly.
"Yeah. But he is my partner on homecoming court," she responds sheepishly.
"Sorry, Aspen. She got to me first. You snooze, you lose," Dustin says casually from behind me.
"Oh. Don't even go there. You're just lucky I said yes to an ask that was so late,"
"Well you're lucky that I'm the one of us that actually had the balls to ask the other,"
"Like I actually wanted to ask you,"
"Says the one who makes goo-goo eyes at me at lunch every single day,"
"I-"
"Guys! Calm down. You both clearly like each other. Now can we move on?" Ivy cuts in. Dustin and I turn to look at each other, and I can tell that the struggle to hold in fits of laughter is mutual.
"You're right, Ivy. Dustin, let's go dance," I manage to get out as I grab Dustin's hand and yank him into the middle of the so-called dance floor.
"Well, the weather is nice today," Dustin tells me as we begin to jump around to whatever overplayed pop song is on.
"That's the best you've got?"
"Aspen. We've been friends since kindergarten. We know pretty much everything there is to know about each other so those topics are out. We clearly don't have enough chemistry to just silently dance with each other or, dare I say, grind up on each other. I don't know the words to this song so I can't just sing them obnoxiously to you. That leaves current events,"
"Well. You could've picked a better one,"
"Yeah? Like what?"
I glance around the small gym for inspiration before finally landing on it.
"How about couples here that surprise you?" I ask him as I look around at the large amount of couples grooving out together throughout the room.
"Us,"
"That was too obvious. Doesn't count,"
"Alright. How about.... Ashley and literally anyone,"
"What?"
"I'm just still surprised that she can get a date. I'm not sure if you know this, but she's awfully mean,"
Though nothing truly recent has happened, Dustin has had his experiences with Ashley, from her throwing her peanut butter and jelly sandwich at him in second grade for no particular reason but to be cruel, to spreading rumors about him in eighth grade that he had a small dick, when dick size was a crucial factor in a middle school boy's life. Ashley debatably dislikes Dustin almost to the same level that she dislikes me.
"That's valid. Let's see. Who else? How about Jaxon and Ivy?"
"They're a couple?"
"No. But they seem to be having a good time dancing together,"
"And you're jealous?"
I don't respond to Dustin as I'm forced to tear my eyes away from the smiling duo.
"Well, you can always hope that she looked over here and thought the same thing about us," Dustin offers.
"I guess so," I say dryly, though my heart flutters at his words.
"Now, it is time for the first slow dance of the night," the dj says as the pop song that was playing dies down, and the intro to a slower song begins. It's then that I suddenly feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn around to see Ivy standing there with a smile on her face.
"May I cut in?" she asks Dustin, who just ends up shrugging and backing away.
"Why are you....?" I trail off.
"It's tradition isn't it? We've always done the slow dances together at homecoming," Ivy tells me. I just nod in response as I wrap my arms around her waist and secretly wish that we could stay like this all night.
"Do you remember our first homecoming? You spilled punch all over your dress so we had to sit in the bathroom for thirty minutes trying to clean it up. And then I just ended up giving you my jacket to wear because you were so embarrassed about it," Ivy recalls. I laugh slightly at the story, still feeling some of the left over anxiety from that day.
"Yeah. I do. And then remember our second homecoming? Naomi had just gone through that break up and we basically had to monitor her all night and keep her happy," I say.
"Yes. That was so exhausting. I remember you looked up like 100 dad jokes or something but kept using the same ten all night,"
"They were hard to memorize! Ok?" I defend myself
"What do you call cheese by itself? Provolone,"
"How do you still remember that?" I exclaim with a laugh.
"It was a memorable night. I spent it with you,"
"That was cheesy," I say sarcastically as I try to hide my true feelings on the matter.
"I love you, Aspen. I swear, you're one of my favorite people,"
"You're one of my favorite people too," I say quietly in response, wishing I could take the "I love you" to mean more than just as a friend, but knowing that's all it means, just like the million other times she's said it to me.
It's then that the song fades to a close and Ivy pulls me into a hug before looking over my shoulder at who I assume to be Dustin. I turn around to be greeted by my date and Ivy says her goodbyes as Dustin and I begin to dance yet again.
"What was that about?" Dustin asks me after a few moments.
"Wouldn't you like to know," I say quietly. Dustin just rolls his eyes at me and reluctantly changes the subject, knowing me well enough that I would tell him if there was something to even tell. And so we dance and talk for awhile, but that eventually comes to a stop as the second slow song of the night begins to play. I look around the gym for Ivy and can't help but grimace as I find her, already slow dancing with Jaxon. Dustin follows my gaze and almost immediately mimics my grimace.
"Hey. You can bury your face in my shoulder if you want. Then you don't have to see them," Dustin offers sweetly. I nod my head slowly as he wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me close. I wrap my arms around his neck and our slow dance turns into more of a hug that we simply sway back and forth in with a comfortable silence.
It's only about half way through the song when I feel Dustin's grip around my waist begin to loosen and his arms drop off of me and to his sides. Pulling away, I look at him, confused as to what's going on.
"I am so so sorry, Aspen. I have to go," Dustin says regretfully before rushing off of the dance floor and out of the gym, leaving me standing in the middle of the dance floor during a slow dance without a partner. I look around helplessly for a few moments before I suddenly feel someone tap on my shoulder.
"Wanna finish the dance with me?" Margot asks me, offering a small smile.
"Sure?" I agree hesitantly. Margot looks absolutely breathtaking with her tight dark curls pulled up into a messy ponytail with a few strands having broken loose. Her winged eyeliner is a skill I figure she must've learned from one of the many art classes she's told me that she's taken so far and her dress is a medium shade of orange which causes for me to be surprised that I hadn't noticed her yet tonight given the scarcity of the color.
"You look.... wow," I tell her, to which she laughs softly in response.
"Yeah? Well, thanks. You look pretty wow yourself," she returns the compliment. I just smile in response.
"I love your dress. Orange is a pretty uncommon color here, and I really like it,"
"Really? It's my least favorite color actually,"
"Then why did you decide to wear it?"
"Well, I might not like the color, but I sure do look good in it. And that you cannot argue,"
I just laugh at her response as it was simply something that I wasn't expecting, though I never truly know what to expect from her.
"You truly are unpredictable, Margot May,"
"And I truly take that as a compliment,"
As the song fades out, I thank Margot for finishing the dance with me before realizing that Dustin still isn't back and deciding that I would dance with her for the next given amount of time.
Dancing with Margot is different than dancing with Dustin or Ivy. Dustin usually just jumps up and down and tries to pretend that he doesn't feel awkward doing so. Ivy usually can't hide her awkwardness as well and just ends up swaying around with her eyes constantly moving around the room. Margot, on the other hand, emanates confidence as she jumps around, clearly enjoying herself. She grabs my hands at some points and forces me to match her energy, and at other points she lets go of my hands and incorporates hand motions into her wild jumping. It makes me smile.
After a few songs, I stop for a moment to catch my breath and it's then that I look around the gym and spot Tori and Naomi standing to the side. Furrowing my eyebrows in confusion, I tap Margot on the shoulder and nod my head towards them. She nods her head back in understanding and begins to follow me over to them.
"Hey guys," I greet them, slightly confused as to why my two most social friends are standing off to the side of their senior year homecoming dance. Tori is in a light purple dress practically made out of glitter, which compliments her tan skin tone well, with a short length and a low cut v neck that I'm surprised she got away with. Her dark hair is left in loose curls and her fake eyelashes, though large, could almost fool you that they're actually real due to her expert hand in applying them. Naomi, on the other hand, is wearing a light yellow strapless dress that totally matches her personality. Her hair is pulled back into a messy bun, and yet she somehow still manages to make it look classy.
"Hey, Cap," Tori greets me with a small smile as she glances back at Naomi, clueing me in that something is going on with Naomi, and Tori is just being a good friend and staying with her. I give Naomi a look in order to question what's going on, and she seems to pick up on the meaning with the sigh she lets out.
"Sorry. My date ditched me in the middle of a slow dance and hasn't come back since. I was having a good time so I guess I'm just a little bummed now," Naomi tells me.
"I didn't know you had a date,"
"Yeah. Declan asked me after the game yesterday. It was kind of last minute, but I figured he might just have been too nervous to ask me before or something," Naomi explains to me. That salty bastard.
"Ok. Well forget about that. You were going to go on your own anyways so you're going to continue to have a good time now. You can stay here with Margot," I pause for a moment as I look around to see where Ivy is and then smile when I spot a familiar quiet dark haired boy with her, "And Tori. I have other plans for you."
Naomi and Tori both seem to then notice Margot who was standing behind me the entire time, and it's in that moment that I realized I had never introduced them to each other.
"Oh. Sorry. This is Margot May. She's been tutoring me in calc. Then Margot, this is Naomi Paine and Tori Torres, two of my closest, and craziest, friends,"
At the same time Naomi says "hey" defensively, Tori thanks me as though I just complimented her, which I'm sure she took it as such.
"Ok. Well, now you've met. So I'm just gonna steal Tori over here...." I trail off and with that, I grab Tori's wrist and begin to drag her to the other side of the gym where Ivy, Keegan, and my arch nemesis are dancing. As soon as Tori notices where we're heading, I feel Tori suddenly try to stop and go the other way, but I don't allow her to as I force a smile onto my face and step in front of my new friend, Keegan.
"Hello, Keegan. I'm not sure if you remember me, but I met you at the game yesterday. I'm Ivy's best friend," I greet him.
"Aspen. Of course I remember. You enjoy tormenting Jax," Keegan replies to me.
"Wow. I think that was the most you've ever said to me. Anyways, this is Tori," I say as I pull Tori out from behind me so she's standing by my side. Keegan smiles at her before turning back to me, slightly confused.
"Do you mind if she dances with you guys?" I ask him, getting directly to the point.
"No. Of course not," Keegan tells me. I can feel some of Tori's tension ease at his words.
"Alright. Well, I'm going back to the other side of the gym. Being this close to J isn't good for my health, I've found. But you two crazy kids have fun, just not too much fun,"
I send Tori a wink which causes her to blush before turning on my heel and beginning to walk away. It's only once I get halfway across the gym that I turn around to check on her and immediately smile as I notice the smiles on both of their faces as they dance together, already having started a conversation that's clearly going well.
"I'm sorry that I left you. I'm sure you both missed me an unholy amount," I say as I approach Margot and Naomi who actually seem to be having fun dancing together.
"I don't know. Naomi is way nicer than you are, Aspen," Margot tells me. I narrow my eyes at her words.
"So? I'm more interesting,"
"Ouch," Naomi says, to which I shrug in response.
"Truth hurts, bud," I tell her as I pat her on the shoulder.
"You know I love you though," I quickly add on after a moment, not wanting to accidentally hurt her feelings even though I know that she most likely realizes that I was just joking. Naomi just smiles at me before continuing to dance. And so I jump in and dance with them.
"Hey, Naomi,"
A voice calls for Naomi from behind me. I turn around to see Willow, one of the most outgoing and friendly juniors on the cheer team, standing there.
"Some of the girls from the team are dancing in the front and we were wondering if you and Aspen wanted to join," Willow stops for a second as if realizing Margot was there too, "and of course your friend can come too."
I smile at the girl as I look over at Naomi.
"You can go, Nao. I think I'm gonna stay with Margot if that's alright," I tell her, knowing that she would have fun with a group and remember this night in a better light. Naomi just nods in response and follows Willow back to the very front of the crowd. I then turn around to face Margot who has a clear expression of contemplation.
"Do you wanna go somewhere?" she suddenly asks me.
"If we leave the school, they won't let us back in," I say, rolling my eyes at the policy.
"I never said anything about needing to leave the school," she tells me as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. I narrow my eyes at her, but she just smiles as she grabs my hand and leads me out of the gym and to the main forum where the teachers sit and guard to make sure no students make it into the hallways.
"How are we gonna-"
I get cut off by Margot shushing me before letting go of my hand and beginning to walk into the forum, motioning for me to follow.
"Follow my lead," she whispers to me. I just nod my head in response, still confused as to what's happening.
"I can't believe the teachers in there are just on their phones," Margot says to me, slightly louder than her usual tone.
"They're really not paying attention to anyone in there," I respond to her, hoping I'm following her direction correctly.
"I know. With the way all the kids are dancing, you would never guess this was a Catholic school," Margot says with a laugh as we continue to walk in the direction of the bathroom doors, which I'm assuming is meant to be misleading, until we actually walk into the bathroom.
"What-"
Margot yet again cuts me off, but this time with a single look. We stand behind the bathroom door for a few seconds before Margot peaks out and then walks back out into the forum, quickly pulling me behind her and then through the hallways. We don't begin to slow down until we're nearly to the other side of the school.
"That was way too easy. How did you know that would work?" I ask her as we walk in the semi-lit hallways that are so empty that it gives me a strange feeling, almost like I'm walking through a scene in a horror film.
"Oh. I didn't know that would work. I just tried it out. The teachers are mostly just there to stop couples from getting into the hall to make out so I figured they wouldn't pay much attention," Margot explains to me.
"You didn't think they'd assume we were a couple?"
"Aspen, it's a Catholic school. I'm sure that was the last thing that crossed their mind," Margot tells me as she finally stops walking, having apparently decided on us sitting at the very end of the one hallway in our school that's a true dead end.
"I guess that makes sense," I say with a shrug as I sit down beside her. We sit silently for a few moments, not exactly sure on what to say to each other. While I would definitely consider Margot to be a good friend of mine, we haven't actually fallen into a true and constant rhythm yet. Not that it should be that hard to do so. I want to get to know Margot.
"So. Naomi and Tori?" Margot speaks up.
"What about them?" I ask her slightly defensively.
"No. I just thought that you were best friends with that one girl who plays football? Ivy?"
"Oh so you've been stalking me? I don't remember telling you that,"
"I'm pretty sure it's basic knowledge that the two of you are best friends. Like, if you don't get voted 'class best friends' in the yearbook, it would actually be a crime,"
"I'm not sure if that's a compliment, but I think I'm going to take it as one anyways...."
"Well, you're welcome," Margot says with a laugh.
"Anyways, Ivy is my best friend. Not my oldest friend, but probably my closest. Naomi and Tori became my friends mostly because of cheer, even though we knew each other before. Now they're probably two of my best friends, second only to Ivy herself.... and maybe Dustin,"
"Dustin McCob? Your date that left you in the middle of a slow dance?"
"And my oldest friend," I say with a laugh.
"Wow. Childhood friends to lovers. A story for the books," Margot remarks.
"I'm not sure about lovers. Ivy kind of fantasized the idea of us together so much that it almost felt like a pressure to just try it," I tell the half truth.
"I'm not sure why she would do that,"
"What do you mean?" I say, trying to hide the worry in my voice.
"Well, my two best friends are in a relationship now and let me tell you, it's not all that fun. If they're not rudely pointing out how single you are by being so cute together, they're trying to include you to an extreme extent to settle their guilty consciences,"
"I think you briefly mentioned them one of the first times we met?"
"Wow. You have quite the memory,"
"Oh. No. I most definitely don't. I remember random, non important stuff. Like, I could probably remember super random details of certain stories you tell me, but I won't remember the names of the people in those stories,"
"That's rather strange, not that I expected anything different from you,"
"Hey!"
"Well, their names are Harrison and Raider. You can try to remember, but I'll probably tell you again when I introduce you so that you get a second chance," Margot jokes.
"Wonderful,"
"Yeah...." Margot trails off as she looks at the ground. We stay silent for a few moments, not entirely sure what to talk about, as we're in the awkward stage of the friendship where we know too much to be just acquaintances, but not enough to be super close friends.
"I think we're in that awkward stage right now," I voice my thoughts.
"What do you mean?" Margot asks me, clearly confused by my words.
"Well, we know enough about each other to be more than acquaintances, but not enough to actually be close friends,"
"Is it really the amount of knowledge about each other that makes you close friends though? Or is it the memories you make and the desire to be with them?" Margot counters.
"Ok. No need to get all deep and shit. I just remember that you said that I interest you and-"
"We're still on that?"
"We are most definitely still on that, and I would be lying if I said that you didn't interest me too,"
"What?"
That caught her attention.
"You're unexplainable, Margot May. You're really smart but don't act like that's your only character trait. You don't seem to have many friends so I can't tell if that's because you don't feel like you need them, you don't want them, or others don't want you. But I find the last one extremely unlikely. You're both extremely polarizing yet caring at the same time. And you wear your least favorite color dress to homecoming as if you wouldn't look good in any other color. You say that I'm confusing, but I honest to god think you're worse,"
"Now who's been stalking who?" Margot says with a cheeky smile. I just roll my eyes at her and look away, not sure what else to say.
"Here," Margot suddenly says. I look back over at her to find her staring down at her phone screen, then looking back at me.
"What?"
"Questions to kick start a friendship, or apparently, in our case, help figure each other out," Margot says as she shows me an article on her phone. I smile at her as I scoot closer so that we can both see the screen at the same time.
"Oh. I found a good one," Margot says excitedly, "Do you have a secret hunch about how you are going to die?"
"Is that something a person is actually supposed to have?"
"You don't have one?" Margot asks incredulously.
"You do?" I mimic her.
"Of course. Slip and fall in the shower,"
"What?"
"Yeah. You know how when people get old, they often get specific bathtubs to prevent slip and falls? I'm not going to waste my money on that. I'm just gonna risk it all every time I need to get clean. Then there's the added bonus that whoever finds me gets a show. Because if you don't think I'm going to be hot as an old woman, then you're wrong,"
"I'm not even sure how to respond to that to be quite honest,"
"Respond with your hunch on how your final day ends,"
"Ok. I'll probably be given the wrong pills in the nursing home and it'll just take me out. Plain and simple,"
Margot just chuckles at my answer as she shakes her head and begins to scroll through the questions again.
"Stop," I say as my eyes fall upon one I want to ask her.
"Before you call someone on the phone, do you rehearse what you're going to say?" I ask her.
"No? I mean, I have the reason for calling them, but I don't plan much outside of that...."
"Seriously?"
"Why? Do you?"
"Every time. It usually takes me more time to plan out what I'm going to say to the person than the actual phone call,"
"Why?"
"What do you mean?"
"Why do you do it then if it takes so much time?"
I have to think about my answer for a moment.
"Peace of mind, I guess. By coming up with the worst situations and handling them beforehand, I don't have to worry about the instant that they come up and I won't know what to do,"
"But you just have to roll with the punches. Life is unpredictable at all times so what's even the point?"
"I don't know, Margot. To make it more predictable? Can we move on to the next question?" I snap at her slightly.
"Yeah, sure," she says quietly.
"I'm sorry I snapped at you, I just,"
"You're fine, Aspen. I always push you because I'm curious and that's my fault. Let's just stick to basic 'getting to know you' questions for right now. Yeah?"
"Yeah," I say quietly, looking down at my feet.
"When's your birthday?" Margot asks me.
"October 28th," I reply, still guilty over the way I snapped at her and ruined the rhythm we had going.
"Dude. That's like a little over a week from now,"
"You're not wrong,"
"Well, when were you going to tell me?"
"I don't think I was,"
"What? Why?"
"I didn't see the importance I guess?"
Margot just lets out a huff of air as she rolls her eyes at me.
"When's your birthday?" I ask her, warily.
"May 6th,"
I nod at her response as I think of a question to ask her.
"Oh. Hobbies. You know I'm in cheer, but are you in any sports or clubs or anything?"
Margot smiles at my question, and it suddenly feels like we've fallen back into our rhythm.
"Art,"
"You did tell me you took some classes here, but I didn't realize that was an actual hobby, I guess,"
"Yeah, I'm not in a club for it or anything, but it's one thing I'm really passionate about. I've probably taken just about every single art class this school has offered and it may be unrealistic, but I'd like to actually be an artist one day,"
"I would have never pegged you for an artist," I tell her. She scratches the back of her neck as she sends me a shaky smile.
"But I did tell you before I took a bunch of art classes here, maybe not the extent of it but...."
"I honestly just assumed that you didn't want to take tech classes. This school really offers zero electives," I tell her with a small laugh. She just nods her head in response.
"I mean.... is there any art you would be comfortable with showing me? I know that sometimes artists aren't comfortable with sharing their work and I totally understand that, but if you ever want to show me anything then-"
"Aspen. Stop. Of course I'll show you some of my work. It's going to be displayed at the art gallery this year anyways so it isn't like I'm extremely private about all of it,"
"All of it?"
Margot just sends me a wink before grabbing my wrist and standing up, successfully pulling me off the ground with her.
"What are you doing?" I ask her.
"Showing you my art,"
"But-"
"The art room is rarely locked and you were curious. We can at least try,"
I just give her a nod before she's quickly tugging me down the halls of the school, to finally stop in front of the art room and push open the doors with a triumphant smile. Margot turns on the flashlight on her phone and begins to guide me to the very back of the room where all the easels stand, a section of the art room I very rarely visit. She then proceeds to lead me past most of them, to the very back, before she finally stops and shines her light on one in particular.
It's a half finished oil painting of a dramatically colored skyline, and yet it doesn't even have to be close to finished for someone to recognize the talent.
"This is yours?" I ask her, incredulously.
"Yeah," she confirms, seemingly slightly nervous as she awaits my judgement.
"This is extremely amazing, Margot. You being an artist one day really isn't all that unrealistic from what I can tell, honestly,"
Margot smiles at my words as she stares proudly at her work, and it isn't long before we both pull our stools and sit down to ask each other various questions ranging from favorite foods (hers is sushi), to favorite movies (she really likes Ocean's 11).
"Do you want to head back to the dance? I'm sure they're going to announce homecoming king and queen soon and I know you don't want to miss that," Margot asks me.
"Yeah, sure," I say, the smile on my face being the same one that wouldn't leave throughout our entire conversation. But as we slip out into the hallway and close the doors to the art room behind us, the sound of a voice makes my smile finally drop.
"Dustin! I don't-"
Margot and I's heads both snap up as a guy's hushed voice breaks through the silence of the empty hallway. There in front of us stand Dustin and Declan, clearly having been interrupted from their argument by us. Dustin and I lock eyes and I can almost feel his silent apology. Declan glances between Dustin and I, causing his neutral expression to yet again go sour.
"Aspen," Margot hisses to me before grabbing my wrist yet again and pulling me through the hallways.
"Dumb football jocks. Probably fighting over a girl or something," Margot says to me under her breath, clearly not having recognized who the two "dumb football jocks" were. Thank goodness.
————
"And.... your homecoming king is.... Dustin McCob,"
Cheers erupt throughout the gym as the name of my date for the night is called out. However, after a few seconds, the cheers die down a bit when he doesn't immediately take the stage at the front of the room. It's then that I hear the gym doors open and close behind me and then enters a slightly flushed Dustin, obviously in total confusion as to what's going on.
"You won, get up there," I hiss to him as I nod my head towards the stage. His eyes go wide at my words and he plasters a smile on his face before lightly jogging to where our vice principal is waiting for him. Cheers erupt yet again at the sight of him and he just smiles widely, clearly appreciative.
I hear the doors open and close again behind me, but this time when I turn around it's Declan who's entering the gym, a smirk makes its way onto his face as he stares up at the stage. I just shake my head at the pair before turning my attention back to the vice principal who has just taken the microphone back from Dustin who was attempting to do a comical acceptance speech.
"Now, for your homecoming queen.... Ivy Charleston,"
A wide smile appears on my best friend's face as her name is called and I can't keep a smile off of mine. She bashfully walks across the stage to stand next to Dustin, way too humble for her own good, and in stark contrast to Dustin's acceptance of the crown. Dustin says something to her as she's being crowned to which she nods her head in response, causing a goofy smile to overtake his face. Dustin whispers in the vice principal's ear and she nods her head in response before raising the microphone back to her lips.
"As requested by our homecoming king, it has been decided that instead of a slow dance, the pair is going to dance to the cupid shuffle and encourages everyone to join in with them,"
Laughter echoes throughout the room at Dustin's strange request, but everyone pretty much takes him up on it.
It's not long before the song fades to an end and it's announced that yet another slow song is going to be played, the last one of the night. I turn to Margot and give her a shrug to which she smiles, before I then feel someone tap on my shoulder.
"Hey. I'm sorry, can I have this dance?" Ivy asks me. I turn to check with Margot who just gives me a nod in approval before I allow myself to agree to Ivy, obviously with a big ass smile on my face.
"I noticed you weren't in the gym for a while. What happened?" Ivy questions me, slightly concerned given the realization that I'm ok now. Her inquiry makes my cheeks flush, forcing me to look away. She noticed I was gone. She was looking for me.
"Oh. I was just hanging out with Margot," I say nonchalantly.
"I see...." she says, trailing off.
"What?" I more so demand than ask, knowing that there's something else to be said.
"Nothing. I just can't help but start to get kind of jealous of Margot," Ivy says with a cheeky smile.
"Jealous?" I echo her.
"Yeah. Here I was thinking she was just supposed to be your tutor and now she's suddenly spending all this time with my best friend,"
I don't even know how to respond to her words as I hope that she means them in the way that I want her to.
"Should I be worried?" Ivy asks me jokingly.
"No. Don't worry. I think your spot's pretty secure," I tell her with a wink.
"Well thank goodness. I don't know what I'd do without you, bird,"
"I don't know what I'd do without you either," I say softly as I rest my head on her shoulder and we just continue to sway back and forth.
————
Dustin: Geez woman. Do you not want me looking my very best?
Me: It doesn't matter how you look. Everyone will be looking at me anyways.
Dustin: Why? Cuz you're so ugly?
Me: No. Because they won't be able to bear looking at you for more than a second.
Dustin: Dude. I told you I'm trying to look my best.
Me: It's natural. You can't help it.
Dustin: Wow. Since when did you get so mean?
Me: Oh, you know that I'm just joking with you. You probably look fine, and I'm impatient. So hurry up.
Dustin: I'll be over in twenty.
Me: Sorry if you took any of that seriously. You know I love you and you would be my first prey if I were straight.
Dustin: Of course I know that, dude. And right back at you.
Dustin: Wow. Maybe Ivy really was onto something with us.
Me: Yeah. Too bad she also really wasn't at the same time.
Dustin: True that. See you in 20.
Me: It's a date.
Dustin: That it unfortunately enough is.
Shaking my head, I set down my phone and begin my wait for the homecoming date that was more so assigned to me than willingly chosen. It then actually ends up being twenty minutes until I hear the door bell and rush down to welcome my best friend to my home.
"M'lady," Dustin greets me as he extends out in front of him, a blue and white corsage that in no way matches my dress.
"Wow. You got me the perishable flowers and everything," I tell him sarcastically as I hold out my wrist for him to slip the corsage on. It's then that we both actually look at what the other is wearing. Rather than going for the classic black suit, Dustin opted for a dark blue color which he matched with a white dress shirt and a light blue tie. I, on the other hand, am wearing a short blood red dress with silver heels and jewelry.
"So.... we didn't discuss any kind of color coordination plans," Dustin says, stating the obvious as he adjusts his suit jacket.
"Yeah? Well someone asked me too late for that," I tell him.
"At least someone asked you, though it's honestly still beyond me why anyone would want to put up with you all night,"
I whack Dustin on the arm before pulling him into my house.
"Dad! If you wanted pictures, now is the time," I shout, not exactly knowing where my dad currently is in the house. It's not until five minutes later that he actually walks into the room, camera in hand.
"Took you long enough. I thought you were the one who said they wanted pictures of 'my last homecoming'?" I ask sarcastically.
"I'm an old man, Aspen. What do you expect from me?"
"You're fine, dad. You know I was just messing with you," I say with a smile.
"I know, kiddo," he says as he gives me a quick kiss on the top of my head. He then backs away and squints his eyes as he looks around the room, almost as if attempting to be a true photographer for an occasion that doesn't actually need one.
"Ok. I don't like this wall. The lighting is terrible over here. Let's move to the living room," he decides with a nod, leaving Dustin and I with no say as he walks through the doorway of the living room with the assumption that we're following close behind.
"Ok. Now, stand in front of that wall," my father motions to the bare wall above the fireplace that's never used.
"Good. Now, get close. Act like you like each other," he jokes. Dustin and I move together and he awkwardly puts his hand around my waist and pulls me into his side.
"Good. Now smile,"
My dad takes a couple pictures of us and then tells us to do a different pose. This cycle repeats itself a couple times before I make the excuse that Dustin and I have run out of poses and have to get going.
"Dustin," my father says in a stern voice as the three of us reach the door. My best friend snaps around to see my dad standing there, arms crossed over his chest as he glances back and forth between us.
"Now I know that you two have been best friends since the kindergarten, but I still better let you know that I don't want you to be hurting my daughter,"
"Dad," I whine with an eye roll.
"Come on, kiddo. I have to. It's a dad thing," he says with a small smile.
"I understand, sir," Dustin says with a nod.
"Sir? Since when have you called me sir, Dustin? Jesse is still fine, even if you're dating my daughter, or whatever you kids call it nowadays. I don't know. I'm old,"
"Dad. We're just going as friends," I finally snap.
"Sure. 'Friends'," my dad says, making quotes with his fingers as he says the word.
"I'm not going to get into this right now," I tell him.
"Whatever you say, kiddo,"
"Ok, Dustin. Let's go. I'll see you later dad. Love you," I say as I open the door and begin to drag Dustin out behind me.
"Bye, kiddo. Love you and hope you have a good time!" my dad says before I close the front door behind us and then proceed to get into the passenger seat of Dustin's car as Dustin slides into the driver's.
"I meant to tell you this when I first saw you, but I really like your hair like that," Dustin says quietly as he starts the car and begins to back out of my driveway.
"We're not actually on a date. You don't have to compliment me, dude,"
"I know. But we're still friends and I do like your hair," he says in the moment of time that makes itself known when one is switching gears from reverse to drive, with the slight hesitation before driving off.
"Oh, well thanks. Naomi actually did it. She wanted me to do something different from the usual, that is just wearing it down naturally all the time. So she thought she'd try to put curls in it, but of course my Polish Filipino genes wouldn't allow for those to stay in long at all. So then we decided braid crown and just prayed that it would hold up, and it has so far, and my goodness I'm rambling so I will stop,"
Dustin just smiles at my words as he shakes his head at my nerves.
"Your hair isn't all that bad either," I offer awkwardly. His hair is pulled back into a half up half down type of style secured in a tiny messy bun on the back of his head. A couple of strands still fly in his face though as the rest of his hair is left down and naturally wavy.
"You nervous too?" Dustin ignores my compliment as he narrows in on the cause of my rambling.
"A little bit," I hesitantly admit.
"Me too. But I think we'll be fine,"
————
"Aspen!" I hear Ivy call my name as I step into the gym, where the homecoming dance is being held, arm in arm with Dustin. I have to force myself to smile when I see her because my first reaction would be to just stare with my mouth open in awe.
Her usual messy red hair has been straightened and then curled at the ends with the front strands tucked behind her ears. Not being the type of girl to ever wear makeup on a regular basis, the light amount that she has on is almost shocking, but in one of the best ways possible. Her already beautiful features are all emphasized. Her light blue dress is an "off the shoulder" style and is simple, but in a way that completely compliments her personality: humble yet beautiful inside and out.
"Ivy!" I say back, trying to match her enthusiasm as she pulls me in for a hug.
"You look so beautiful," Ivy says as she pulls away from the hug and holds me by the shoulders out in front of her, looking me up and down which quite honestly causes me to blush.
"You're not too bad yourself," I manage to get out. It's then that I look back at Dustin and notice the similarities in their outfits, notably the colors.
"Seriously? Did you guys actually fucking coordinate your outfits?" I ask as I take in how Dustin's tie almost perfectly matches the color of Ivy's dress. They don't say anything, but instead opt to look down at the ground.
"Dude. You do know Dustin is my date right?" I ask Ivy jokingly.
"Yeah. But he is my partner on homecoming court," she responds sheepishly.
"Sorry, Aspen. She got to me first. You snooze, you lose," Dustin says casually from behind me.
"Oh. Don't even go there. You're just lucky I said yes to an ask that was so late,"
"Well you're lucky that I'm the one of us that actually had the balls to ask the other,"
"Like I actually wanted to ask you,"
"Says the one who makes goo-goo eyes at me at lunch every single day,"
"I-"
"Guys! Calm down. You both clearly like each other. Now can we move on?" Ivy cuts in. Dustin and I turn to look at each other, and I can tell that the struggle to hold in fits of laughter is mutual.
"You're right, Ivy. Dustin, let's go dance," I manage to get out as I grab Dustin's hand and yank him into the middle of the so-called dance floor.
"Well, the weather is nice today," Dustin tells me as we begin to jump around to whatever overplayed pop song is on.
"That's the best you've got?"
"Aspen. We've been friends since kindergarten. We know pretty much everything there is to know about each other so those topics are out. We clearly don't have enough chemistry to just silently dance with each other or, dare I say, grind up on each other. I don't know the words to this song so I can't just sing them obnoxiously to you. That leaves current events,"
"Well. You could've picked a better one,"
"Yeah? Like what?"
I glance around the small gym for inspiration before finally landing on it.
"How about couples here that surprise you?" I ask him as I look around at the large amount of couples grooving out together throughout the room.
"Us,"
"That was too obvious. Doesn't count,"
"Alright. How about.... Ashley and literally anyone,"
"What?"
"I'm just still surprised that she can get a date. I'm not sure if you know this, but she's awfully mean,"
Though nothing truly recent has happened, Dustin has had his experiences with Ashley, from her throwing her peanut butter and jelly sandwich at him in second grade for no particular reason but to be cruel, to spreading rumors about him in eighth grade that he had a small dick, when dick size was a crucial factor in a middle school boy's life. Ashley debatably dislikes Dustin almost to the same level that she dislikes me.
"That's valid. Let's see. Who else? How about Jaxon and Ivy?"
"They're a couple?"
"No. But they seem to be having a good time dancing together,"
"And you're jealous?"
I don't respond to Dustin as I'm forced to tear my eyes away from the smiling duo.
"Well, you can always hope that she looked over here and thought the same thing about us," Dustin offers.
"I guess so," I say dryly, though my heart flutters at his words.
"Now, it is time for the first slow dance of the night," the dj says as the pop song that was playing dies down, and the intro to a slower song begins. It's then that I suddenly feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn around to see Ivy standing there with a smile on her face.
"May I cut in?" she asks Dustin, who just ends up shrugging and backing away.
"Why are you....?" I trail off.
"It's tradition isn't it? We've always done the slow dances together at homecoming," Ivy tells me. I just nod in response as I wrap my arms around her waist and secretly wish that we could stay like this all night.
"Do you remember our first homecoming? You spilled punch all over your dress so we had to sit in the bathroom for thirty minutes trying to clean it up. And then I just ended up giving you my jacket to wear because you were so embarrassed about it," Ivy recalls. I laugh slightly at the story, still feeling some of the left over anxiety from that day.
"Yeah. I do. And then remember our second homecoming? Naomi had just gone through that break up and we basically had to monitor her all night and keep her happy," I say.
"Yes. That was so exhausting. I remember you looked up like 100 dad jokes or something but kept using the same ten all night,"
"They were hard to memorize! Ok?" I defend myself
"What do you call cheese by itself? Provolone,"
"How do you still remember that?" I exclaim with a laugh.
"It was a memorable night. I spent it with you,"
"That was cheesy," I say sarcastically as I try to hide my true feelings on the matter.
"I love you, Aspen. I swear, you're one of my favorite people,"
"You're one of my favorite people too," I say quietly in response, wishing I could take the "I love you" to mean more than just as a friend, but knowing that's all it means, just like the million other times she's said it to me.
It's then that the song fades to a close and Ivy pulls me into a hug before looking over my shoulder at who I assume to be Dustin. I turn around to be greeted by my date and Ivy says her goodbyes as Dustin and I begin to dance yet again.
"What was that about?" Dustin asks me after a few moments.
"Wouldn't you like to know," I say quietly. Dustin just rolls his eyes at me and reluctantly changes the subject, knowing me well enough that I would tell him if there was something to even tell. And so we dance and talk for awhile, but that eventually comes to a stop as the second slow song of the night begins to play. I look around the gym for Ivy and can't help but grimace as I find her, already slow dancing with Jaxon. Dustin follows my gaze and almost immediately mimics my grimace.
"Hey. You can bury your face in my shoulder if you want. Then you don't have to see them," Dustin offers sweetly. I nod my head slowly as he wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me close. I wrap my arms around his neck and our slow dance turns into more of a hug that we simply sway back and forth in with a comfortable silence.
It's only about half way through the song when I feel Dustin's grip around my waist begin to loosen and his arms drop off of me and to his sides. Pulling away, I look at him, confused as to what's going on.
"I am so so sorry, Aspen. I have to go," Dustin says regretfully before rushing off of the dance floor and out of the gym, leaving me standing in the middle of the dance floor during a slow dance without a partner. I look around helplessly for a few moments before I suddenly feel someone tap on my shoulder.
"Wanna finish the dance with me?" Margot asks me, offering a small smile.
"Sure?" I agree hesitantly. Margot looks absolutely breathtaking with her tight dark curls pulled up into a messy ponytail with a few strands having broken loose. Her winged eyeliner is a skill I figure she must've learned from one of the many art classes she's told me that she's taken so far and her dress is a medium shade of orange which causes for me to be surprised that I hadn't noticed her yet tonight given the scarcity of the color.
"You look.... wow," I tell her, to which she laughs softly in response.
"Yeah? Well, thanks. You look pretty wow yourself," she returns the compliment. I just smile in response.
"I love your dress. Orange is a pretty uncommon color here, and I really like it,"
"Really? It's my least favorite color actually,"
"Then why did you decide to wear it?"
"Well, I might not like the color, but I sure do look good in it. And that you cannot argue,"
I just laugh at her response as it was simply something that I wasn't expecting, though I never truly know what to expect from her.
"You truly are unpredictable, Margot May,"
"And I truly take that as a compliment,"
As the song fades out, I thank Margot for finishing the dance with me before realizing that Dustin still isn't back and deciding that I would dance with her for the next given amount of time.
Dancing with Margot is different than dancing with Dustin or Ivy. Dustin usually just jumps up and down and tries to pretend that he doesn't feel awkward doing so. Ivy usually can't hide her awkwardness as well and just ends up swaying around with her eyes constantly moving around the room. Margot, on the other hand, emanates confidence as she jumps around, clearly enjoying herself. She grabs my hands at some points and forces me to match her energy, and at other points she lets go of my hands and incorporates hand motions into her wild jumping. It makes me smile.
After a few songs, I stop for a moment to catch my breath and it's then that I look around the gym and spot Tori and Naomi standing to the side. Furrowing my eyebrows in confusion, I tap Margot on the shoulder and nod my head towards them. She nods her head back in understanding and begins to follow me over to them.
"Hey guys," I greet them, slightly confused as to why my two most social friends are standing off to the side of their senior year homecoming dance. Tori is in a light purple dress practically made out of glitter, which compliments her tan skin tone well, with a short length and a low cut v neck that I'm surprised she got away with. Her dark hair is left in loose curls and her fake eyelashes, though large, could almost fool you that they're actually real due to her expert hand in applying them. Naomi, on the other hand, is wearing a light yellow strapless dress that totally matches her personality. Her hair is pulled back into a messy bun, and yet she somehow still manages to make it look classy.
"Hey, Cap," Tori greets me with a small smile as she glances back at Naomi, clueing me in that something is going on with Naomi, and Tori is just being a good friend and staying with her. I give Naomi a look in order to question what's going on, and she seems to pick up on the meaning with the sigh she lets out.
"Sorry. My date ditched me in the middle of a slow dance and hasn't come back since. I was having a good time so I guess I'm just a little bummed now," Naomi tells me.
"I didn't know you had a date,"
"Yeah. Declan asked me after the game yesterday. It was kind of last minute, but I figured he might just have been too nervous to ask me before or something," Naomi explains to me. That salty bastard.
"Ok. Well forget about that. You were going to go on your own anyways so you're going to continue to have a good time now. You can stay here with Margot," I pause for a moment as I look around to see where Ivy is and then smile when I spot a familiar quiet dark haired boy with her, "And Tori. I have other plans for you."
Naomi and Tori both seem to then notice Margot who was standing behind me the entire time, and it's in that moment that I realized I had never introduced them to each other.
"Oh. Sorry. This is Margot May. She's been tutoring me in calc. Then Margot, this is Naomi Paine and Tori Torres, two of my closest, and craziest, friends,"
At the same time Naomi says "hey" defensively, Tori thanks me as though I just complimented her, which I'm sure she took it as such.
"Ok. Well, now you've met. So I'm just gonna steal Tori over here...." I trail off and with that, I grab Tori's wrist and begin to drag her to the other side of the gym where Ivy, Keegan, and my arch nemesis are dancing. As soon as Tori notices where we're heading, I feel Tori suddenly try to stop and go the other way, but I don't allow her to as I force a smile onto my face and step in front of my new friend, Keegan.
"Hello, Keegan. I'm not sure if you remember me, but I met you at the game yesterday. I'm Ivy's best friend," I greet him.
"Aspen. Of course I remember. You enjoy tormenting Jax," Keegan replies to me.
"Wow. I think that was the most you've ever said to me. Anyways, this is Tori," I say as I pull Tori out from behind me so she's standing by my side. Keegan smiles at her before turning back to me, slightly confused.
"Do you mind if she dances with you guys?" I ask him, getting directly to the point.
"No. Of course not," Keegan tells me. I can feel some of Tori's tension ease at his words.
"Alright. Well, I'm going back to the other side of the gym. Being this close to J isn't good for my health, I've found. But you two crazy kids have fun, just not too much fun,"
I send Tori a wink which causes her to blush before turning on my heel and beginning to walk away. It's only once I get halfway across the gym that I turn around to check on her and immediately smile as I notice the smiles on both of their faces as they dance together, already having started a conversation that's clearly going well.
"I'm sorry that I left you. I'm sure you both missed me an unholy amount," I say as I approach Margot and Naomi who actually seem to be having fun dancing together.
"I don't know. Naomi is way nicer than you are, Aspen," Margot tells me. I narrow my eyes at her words.
"So? I'm more interesting,"
"Ouch," Naomi says, to which I shrug in response.
"Truth hurts, bud," I tell her as I pat her on the shoulder.
"You know I love you though," I quickly add on after a moment, not wanting to accidentally hurt her feelings even though I know that she most likely realizes that I was just joking. Naomi just smiles at me before continuing to dance. And so I jump in and dance with them.
"Hey, Naomi,"
A voice calls for Naomi from behind me. I turn around to see Willow, one of the most outgoing and friendly juniors on the cheer team, standing there.
"Some of the girls from the team are dancing in the front and we were wondering if you and Aspen wanted to join," Willow stops for a second as if realizing Margot was there too, "and of course your friend can come too."
I smile at the girl as I look over at Naomi.
"You can go, Nao. I think I'm gonna stay with Margot if that's alright," I tell her, knowing that she would have fun with a group and remember this night in a better light. Naomi just nods in response and follows Willow back to the very front of the crowd. I then turn around to face Margot who has a clear expression of contemplation.
"Do you wanna go somewhere?" she suddenly asks me.
"If we leave the school, they won't let us back in," I say, rolling my eyes at the policy.
"I never said anything about needing to leave the school," she tells me as if it's the most obvious thing in the world. I narrow my eyes at her, but she just smiles as she grabs my hand and leads me out of the gym and to the main forum where the teachers sit and guard to make sure no students make it into the hallways.
"How are we gonna-"
I get cut off by Margot shushing me before letting go of my hand and beginning to walk into the forum, motioning for me to follow.
"Follow my lead," she whispers to me. I just nod my head in response, still confused as to what's happening.
"I can't believe the teachers in there are just on their phones," Margot says to me, slightly louder than her usual tone.
"They're really not paying attention to anyone in there," I respond to her, hoping I'm following her direction correctly.
"I know. With the way all the kids are dancing, you would never guess this was a Catholic school," Margot says with a laugh as we continue to walk in the direction of the bathroom doors, which I'm assuming is meant to be misleading, until we actually walk into the bathroom.
"What-"
Margot yet again cuts me off, but this time with a single look. We stand behind the bathroom door for a few seconds before Margot peaks out and then walks back out into the forum, quickly pulling me behind her and then through the hallways. We don't begin to slow down until we're nearly to the other side of the school.
"That was way too easy. How did you know that would work?" I ask her as we walk in the semi-lit hallways that are so empty that it gives me a strange feeling, almost like I'm walking through a scene in a horror film.
"Oh. I didn't know that would work. I just tried it out. The teachers are mostly just there to stop couples from getting into the hall to make out so I figured they wouldn't pay much attention," Margot explains to me.
"You didn't think they'd assume we were a couple?"
"Aspen, it's a Catholic school. I'm sure that was the last thing that crossed their mind," Margot tells me as she finally stops walking, having apparently decided on us sitting at the very end of the one hallway in our school that's a true dead end.
"I guess that makes sense," I say with a shrug as I sit down beside her. We sit silently for a few moments, not exactly sure on what to say to each other. While I would definitely consider Margot to be a good friend of mine, we haven't actually fallen into a true and constant rhythm yet. Not that it should be that hard to do so. I want to get to know Margot.
"So. Naomi and Tori?" Margot speaks up.
"What about them?" I ask her slightly defensively.
"No. I just thought that you were best friends with that one girl who plays football? Ivy?"
"Oh so you've been stalking me? I don't remember telling you that,"
"I'm pretty sure it's basic knowledge that the two of you are best friends. Like, if you don't get voted 'class best friends' in the yearbook, it would actually be a crime,"
"I'm not sure if that's a compliment, but I think I'm going to take it as one anyways...."
"Well, you're welcome," Margot says with a laugh.
"Anyways, Ivy is my best friend. Not my oldest friend, but probably my closest. Naomi and Tori became my friends mostly because of cheer, even though we knew each other before. Now they're probably two of my best friends, second only to Ivy herself.... and maybe Dustin,"
"Dustin McCob? Your date that left you in the middle of a slow dance?"
"And my oldest friend," I say with a laugh.
"Wow. Childhood friends to lovers. A story for the books," Margot remarks.
"I'm not sure about lovers. Ivy kind of fantasized the idea of us together so much that it almost felt like a pressure to just try it," I tell the half truth.
"I'm not sure why she would do that,"
"What do you mean?" I say, trying to hide the worry in my voice.
"Well, my two best friends are in a relationship now and let me tell you, it's not all that fun. If they're not rudely pointing out how single you are by being so cute together, they're trying to include you to an extreme extent to settle their guilty consciences,"
"I think you briefly mentioned them one of the first times we met?"
"Wow. You have quite the memory,"
"Oh. No. I most definitely don't. I remember random, non important stuff. Like, I could probably remember super random details of certain stories you tell me, but I won't remember the names of the people in those stories,"
"That's rather strange, not that I expected anything different from you,"
"Hey!"
"Well, their names are Harrison and Raider. You can try to remember, but I'll probably tell you again when I introduce you so that you get a second chance," Margot jokes.
"Wonderful,"
"Yeah...." Margot trails off as she looks at the ground. We stay silent for a few moments, not entirely sure what to talk about, as we're in the awkward stage of the friendship where we know too much to be just acquaintances, but not enough to be super close friends.
"I think we're in that awkward stage right now," I voice my thoughts.
"What do you mean?" Margot asks me, clearly confused by my words.
"Well, we know enough about each other to be more than acquaintances, but not enough to actually be close friends,"
"Is it really the amount of knowledge about each other that makes you close friends though? Or is it the memories you make and the desire to be with them?" Margot counters.
"Ok. No need to get all deep and shit. I just remember that you said that I interest you and-"
"We're still on that?"
"We are most definitely still on that, and I would be lying if I said that you didn't interest me too,"
"What?"
That caught her attention.
"You're unexplainable, Margot May. You're really smart but don't act like that's your only character trait. You don't seem to have many friends so I can't tell if that's because you don't feel like you need them, you don't want them, or others don't want you. But I find the last one extremely unlikely. You're both extremely polarizing yet caring at the same time. And you wear your least favorite color dress to homecoming as if you wouldn't look good in any other color. You say that I'm confusing, but I honest to god think you're worse,"
"Now who's been stalking who?" Margot says with a cheeky smile. I just roll my eyes at her and look away, not sure what else to say.
"Here," Margot suddenly says. I look back over at her to find her staring down at her phone screen, then looking back at me.
"What?"
"Questions to kick start a friendship, or apparently, in our case, help figure each other out," Margot says as she shows me an article on her phone. I smile at her as I scoot closer so that we can both see the screen at the same time.
"Oh. I found a good one," Margot says excitedly, "Do you have a secret hunch about how you are going to die?"
"Is that something a person is actually supposed to have?"
"You don't have one?" Margot asks incredulously.
"You do?" I mimic her.
"Of course. Slip and fall in the shower,"
"What?"
"Yeah. You know how when people get old, they often get specific bathtubs to prevent slip and falls? I'm not going to waste my money on that. I'm just gonna risk it all every time I need to get clean. Then there's the added bonus that whoever finds me gets a show. Because if you don't think I'm going to be hot as an old woman, then you're wrong,"
"I'm not even sure how to respond to that to be quite honest,"
"Respond with your hunch on how your final day ends,"
"Ok. I'll probably be given the wrong pills in the nursing home and it'll just take me out. Plain and simple,"
Margot just chuckles at my answer as she shakes her head and begins to scroll through the questions again.
"Stop," I say as my eyes fall upon one I want to ask her.
"Before you call someone on the phone, do you rehearse what you're going to say?" I ask her.
"No? I mean, I have the reason for calling them, but I don't plan much outside of that...."
"Seriously?"
"Why? Do you?"
"Every time. It usually takes me more time to plan out what I'm going to say to the person than the actual phone call,"
"Why?"
"What do you mean?"
"Why do you do it then if it takes so much time?"
I have to think about my answer for a moment.
"Peace of mind, I guess. By coming up with the worst situations and handling them beforehand, I don't have to worry about the instant that they come up and I won't know what to do,"
"But you just have to roll with the punches. Life is unpredictable at all times so what's even the point?"
"I don't know, Margot. To make it more predictable? Can we move on to the next question?" I snap at her slightly.
"Yeah, sure," she says quietly.
"I'm sorry I snapped at you, I just,"
"You're fine, Aspen. I always push you because I'm curious and that's my fault. Let's just stick to basic 'getting to know you' questions for right now. Yeah?"
"Yeah," I say quietly, looking down at my feet.
"When's your birthday?" Margot asks me.
"October 28th," I reply, still guilty over the way I snapped at her and ruined the rhythm we had going.
"Dude. That's like a little over a week from now,"
"You're not wrong,"
"Well, when were you going to tell me?"
"I don't think I was,"
"What? Why?"
"I didn't see the importance I guess?"
Margot just lets out a huff of air as she rolls her eyes at me.
"When's your birthday?" I ask her, warily.
"May 6th,"
I nod at her response as I think of a question to ask her.
"Oh. Hobbies. You know I'm in cheer, but are you in any sports or clubs or anything?"
Margot smiles at my question, and it suddenly feels like we've fallen back into our rhythm.
"Art,"
"You did tell me you took some classes here, but I didn't realize that was an actual hobby, I guess,"
"Yeah, I'm not in a club for it or anything, but it's one thing I'm really passionate about. I've probably taken just about every single art class this school has offered and it may be unrealistic, but I'd like to actually be an artist one day,"
"I would have never pegged you for an artist," I tell her. She scratches the back of her neck as she sends me a shaky smile.
"But I did tell you before I took a bunch of art classes here, maybe not the extent of it but...."
"I honestly just assumed that you didn't want to take tech classes. This school really offers zero electives," I tell her with a small laugh. She just nods her head in response.
"I mean.... is there any art you would be comfortable with showing me? I know that sometimes artists aren't comfortable with sharing their work and I totally understand that, but if you ever want to show me anything then-"
"Aspen. Stop. Of course I'll show you some of my work. It's going to be displayed at the art gallery this year anyways so it isn't like I'm extremely private about all of it,"
"All of it?"
Margot just sends me a wink before grabbing my wrist and standing up, successfully pulling me off the ground with her.
"What are you doing?" I ask her.
"Showing you my art,"
"But-"
"The art room is rarely locked and you were curious. We can at least try,"
I just give her a nod before she's quickly tugging me down the halls of the school, to finally stop in front of the art room and push open the doors with a triumphant smile. Margot turns on the flashlight on her phone and begins to guide me to the very back of the room where all the easels stand, a section of the art room I very rarely visit. She then proceeds to lead me past most of them, to the very back, before she finally stops and shines her light on one in particular.
It's a half finished oil painting of a dramatically colored skyline, and yet it doesn't even have to be close to finished for someone to recognize the talent.
"This is yours?" I ask her, incredulously.
"Yeah," she confirms, seemingly slightly nervous as she awaits my judgement.
"This is extremely amazing, Margot. You being an artist one day really isn't all that unrealistic from what I can tell, honestly,"
Margot smiles at my words as she stares proudly at her work, and it isn't long before we both pull our stools and sit down to ask each other various questions ranging from favorite foods (hers is sushi), to favorite movies (she really likes Ocean's 11).
"Do you want to head back to the dance? I'm sure they're going to announce homecoming king and queen soon and I know you don't want to miss that," Margot asks me.
"Yeah, sure," I say, the smile on my face being the same one that wouldn't leave throughout our entire conversation. But as we slip out into the hallway and close the doors to the art room behind us, the sound of a voice makes my smile finally drop.
"Dustin! I don't-"
Margot and I's heads both snap up as a guy's hushed voice breaks through the silence of the empty hallway. There in front of us stand Dustin and Declan, clearly having been interrupted from their argument by us. Dustin and I lock eyes and I can almost feel his silent apology. Declan glances between Dustin and I, causing his neutral expression to yet again go sour.
"Aspen," Margot hisses to me before grabbing my wrist yet again and pulling me through the hallways.
"Dumb football jocks. Probably fighting over a girl or something," Margot says to me under her breath, clearly not having recognized who the two "dumb football jocks" were. Thank goodness.
————
"And.... your homecoming king is.... Dustin McCob,"
Cheers erupt throughout the gym as the name of my date for the night is called out. However, after a few seconds, the cheers die down a bit when he doesn't immediately take the stage at the front of the room. It's then that I hear the gym doors open and close behind me and then enters a slightly flushed Dustin, obviously in total confusion as to what's going on.
"You won, get up there," I hiss to him as I nod my head towards the stage. His eyes go wide at my words and he plasters a smile on his face before lightly jogging to where our vice principal is waiting for him. Cheers erupt yet again at the sight of him and he just smiles widely, clearly appreciative.
I hear the doors open and close again behind me, but this time when I turn around it's Declan who's entering the gym, a smirk makes its way onto his face as he stares up at the stage. I just shake my head at the pair before turning my attention back to the vice principal who has just taken the microphone back from Dustin who was attempting to do a comical acceptance speech.
"Now, for your homecoming queen.... Ivy Charleston,"
A wide smile appears on my best friend's face as her name is called and I can't keep a smile off of mine. She bashfully walks across the stage to stand next to Dustin, way too humble for her own good, and in stark contrast to Dustin's acceptance of the crown. Dustin says something to her as she's being crowned to which she nods her head in response, causing a goofy smile to overtake his face. Dustin whispers in the vice principal's ear and she nods her head in response before raising the microphone back to her lips.
"As requested by our homecoming king, it has been decided that instead of a slow dance, the pair is going to dance to the cupid shuffle and encourages everyone to join in with them,"
Laughter echoes throughout the room at Dustin's strange request, but everyone pretty much takes him up on it.
It's not long before the song fades to an end and it's announced that yet another slow song is going to be played, the last one of the night. I turn to Margot and give her a shrug to which she smiles, before I then feel someone tap on my shoulder.
"Hey. I'm sorry, can I have this dance?" Ivy asks me. I turn to check with Margot who just gives me a nod in approval before I allow myself to agree to Ivy, obviously with a big ass smile on my face.
"I noticed you weren't in the gym for a while. What happened?" Ivy questions me, slightly concerned given the realization that I'm ok now. Her inquiry makes my cheeks flush, forcing me to look away. She noticed I was gone. She was looking for me.
"Oh. I was just hanging out with Margot," I say nonchalantly.
"I see...." she says, trailing off.
"What?" I more so demand than ask, knowing that there's something else to be said.
"Nothing. I just can't help but start to get kind of jealous of Margot," Ivy says with a cheeky smile.
"Jealous?" I echo her.
"Yeah. Here I was thinking she was just supposed to be your tutor and now she's suddenly spending all this time with my best friend,"
I don't even know how to respond to her words as I hope that she means them in the way that I want her to.
"Should I be worried?" Ivy asks me jokingly.
"No. Don't worry. I think your spot's pretty secure," I tell her with a wink.
"Well thank goodness. I don't know what I'd do without you, bird,"
"I don't know what I'd do without you either," I say softly as I rest my head on her shoulder and we just continue to sway back and forth.
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End of Only Fools Chapter 10. Continue reading Chapter 11 or return to Only Fools book page.