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“We are finally FREE! Can you believe that, baby?”

It was officially the first day of winter break. School was out, and things would stay that way until the first week of January. A celebration was in order, and Westworth’s secret couple were doing so in their favorite way: cuddling in the back of Aiden’s truck with a thermos of hot chocolate at their secret meet-up spot. The Clearing -as Aiden liked to call it- was a place he had found by accident during one of his random drives around town. The lovebirds’ safe haven was at the top of a cliff with no guardrail, and the view stretched out before them was their hometown. Westworth was bordered by a forest on one side and mountains stretched out in the distance, the surface of everything covered in pure white snow.

Sierra Jameson and Aiden Pierce were dating. Even now, a month and a half after they had first begun their relationship, the raven-haired woman still couldn’t really explain how they had come to be. Sierra and Aiden were as different from each other as the night and day were, and yet the simple decision of their English and Chemistry teachers to pair them together for a project and the lab respectively had snowballed into this relationship.

At the beginning of the school year, Sierra had been mourning the loss of her first love Jason Singh, and had sworn to never fall in love again. Meanwhile, Aiden had been patiently waiting for her, dropping some hints here and there but keeping the way he felt about her as a secret. From the moment he’d laid eyes on her on the first day of their freshman year of high school, Aiden had developed an unrequited crush on her that he’d kept secret throughout the years. There was something about her rebelliousness that attracted the more conservative Aiden. While he knew from the start that getting together with her was going to be almost, if not, impossible; Aiden still found himself drawn to Sierra. Lost in her break-up grief as she was, Sierra failed to notice the signs or catch the hints, but her best friend Sami did not. It was him who planted the seed in Sierra’s mind that ‘the southern gentleman’ was interested in her, which she immediately dismissed as a joke. Aiden Pierce, the mechanic/football jock that thought they were still living in the fifties? It was a laughable remark in Sierra’s eyes. Of course, as the time went by, she began to pay attention, notice the signs and confirm Sami's suspicions: Aiden Pierce indeed had a crush on her.

Completely shocked at the realization, Sierra began her efforts to find out why in the world this well-mannered, quiet, shy jock could possibly harbor a crush on her of all people. During her ‘research’, their time together became less limited to the classroom. They began to go out after school: simple things at first, but eventually turning to official dates. The more moments she spent with Aiden, the more Sierra found herself attracted to him, trusting him, and wanting to open up to him more. Before she knew it, the one keeping the secret crush was her.

It was during one of their dates that Sierra finally came clean, heart pounding hard in her chest at putting herself in such a vulnerable position once again. From his part, the young man knew most people, including his parents, would probably look down on the relationship if it ever came to fruition. And yet, he stayed the course and waited for the moment that was possibly on the horizon... Which had finally arrived. Aiden, ever the gentleman, had waited until her confession to openly make his own and ask her to be his girlfriend. A teary-eyed Sierra had accepted, even if deep down she was scared shitless of what this would mean. A long, deep kiss was shared at The Clearing under the stars of a chilly October night, officializing the start of Sierra and Aiden’s relationship. Aiden was in total bliss immediately afterwards. After the kiss, he’d simply wrapped his arms around Sierra and pulled her in closer. The moment had finally come, and he hadn't wanted it to end. Yet, even as great as the feeling was, there was a part in the back of Aiden’s mind nagged at him. He knew that while the two of them were finally together, the real battle started now: the fight to stay a couple and see just how far the pair could go together.

Over a month into their relationship, and Aiden still felt amazement at the whole thing. He couldn’t be any happier than how it turned out. He’ll find himself wondering, however, how exactly Sierra had fallen for him. But one look at her, and those thoughts immediately vanish. A part of him wished their relationship wasn’t so secret, though he knew the last thing he should do was push her into anything she didn’t want to do. So he simply waited patiently for her to be ready before doing anything. At least with the onset of winter break, he didn’t have to think so much on the subject. They could simply enjoy their time together without having to worry about school. After the football game later that night, the final pillar standing in the way of those two will finally be knocked over. . . Well, his mom wouldn’t approve, to put it mildly, but Aiden didn’t care. They would cross that bridge when they got there, and right now, Aiden was happy with simply enjoying the time he now had with his girlfriend.

Aiden looked towards Sierra before responding, “It’s hard to believe, babe. Time seems like it’s flying by now. Once the game tonight is finished, there’ll be nothing holding me back from seeing you. . . Well, there’s the job, but we’ll manage.” Aiden kissed Sierra on the forehead before pulling her in close. “So baby, I know it’s not your thing, but do you think you’ll be coming to the game tonight?”

Sierra, who had been busy nuzzling her face against Aiden’s neck for warmth, looked up at him with the expression of someone who had been asked a dumb question. “Well, obviously,” she replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes. “Just because you don’t see me it doesn’t mean I don’t go. You of all people know just how far I go to make sure I make it to all your damn games.”

And it was true. Ever since her and Aiden had started dating, she’d attended every single one of his football games. She knew that it would seem out of place to her classmates to see her there, so she’d taken huge -and even ridiculous- measures to not be recognized. Firstly, she’d used some of her sister’s old clothes: cute little pastel-colored things with lace and flower patterns that made her feel like a cupcake. Next, she’d bought a real blond, straight-haired wig and some big, hipster-looking fake glasses. And when she was at the field, she made a point to always sit on the corner of the bottom bench of the bleachers, where she knew no one really paid attention to her. In all honesty, it was a nuisance to go through, but she’d wanted to show support to her boyfriend even when she truly disliked the sport he played (and all sports, for that matter).

Aiden couldn’t help but chuckle when he’d found out of the various ways Sierra used to try to hide her identity when she attended his games. He knew Sierra meant well, and he really appreciated the effort she was putting into their relationship. However, Aiden was really hoping she would get comfortable enough to be open about their relationship soon. Aiden didn’t want to have to keep the two of them a secret forever, but he understood this would be a huge obstacle for Sierra to get over. Aiden had been thinking of a way to go public with the relationship for a few days now, and for the most part, his thoughts had been fruitless until he settled on one big idea… What if they went to the coming up dance together?

Aiden knew Sierra and dances didn’t mix well at all, but when would a better opportunity present itself? All Aiden needed now was a good time to ask her. Now seemed to be as good a time as any to ask. “Heh, I guess you have a point…” He trailed off, getting nervous knowing the answer he was going to ask next. “Hey babe, what do you think of this dance coming up?” Aiden already knew the answer she would give, but at least this was a good place to start.

Sierra looked at him as if he had turned into a particularly nasty booger. “Aiden, you of all people should know exactly how I feel about the dance.” she told him, sliding off the back of the truck and standing up in front of him. She crossed her arms in front of him. “I think dances are stupid. Their music sucks, they’re nothing but a waste of my time and money, and I’m NOT going. Why are you asking me this again?”

Aiden frowned when Sierra jumped up. He was nice and comfortable, and now that was gone. He smirked however, when she described her thoughts on dances. Yep, knew it. Aiden leaned up and slid to the end of the truck so he was sitting on the tailgate, “Well babe, I was thinking: what if you and I decided to go this dance. . . you know . . . together. You know, show everyone that we’re a couple.” Aidan braced himself for what would probably be one of her infamous “Hell No” moments.

Sierra rolled her ice-blue eyes again, becoming visibly irritated. “You know, I will never understand why you keep insisting we make our relationship public. I think it’s fine the way it is now. People don’t need to know what goes on in our private lives.”

Aiden slouched his shoulders at her response. He quickly regained his composure before replying, “ I mean. . . It’s not like everyone would know what’s going on with our lives. They would just know that we’re in a relationship. I don’t know about you, babe, but I’d rather not keep our relationship a total secret forever. I don’t see any reason why we should hide it. If anything, letting everyone know now would show them we’re both off the market. Besides, folks are bound to find out sooner or later. Might as well tell them ourselves with a bang.”

“Aiden, just quit it.” Sierra said in a defeated voice, rubbing her right temple. “Folks, as you call them, are bound to make this a big deal and talk shit. I don’t like to call attention to myself, and you know that in this fucking town me going to the dance with you is bound to be the gossip of the week.”

Aidan was beginning to be discouraged at this point. However, he resolved himself to win this argument, or at least, make the ending more interesting. ”First of all,” Aiden began, “if anyone talks shit about you or us being together, I’ll knock their damn teeth out. Secondly, I have a proposal. A smile formed itself on Aiden’s face as he paused for dramatic effect, “If we win the game tonight, we’ll go to the dance together. But if we don’t win, we won’t go to the dance, and I won’t bring up outing our relationship again. Deal?

At Aiden’s declaration of knocking people’s teeth out if they spoke ill about them, Sierra let out a snort. Her boyfriend was the nicest, most polite person she had ever come across, so she knew that this was an empty threat. In any case, the one doing the teeth-knocking would be her.

She was about to open her mouth to mock him when he said he had a proposal. At this, Sierra raised a suspicious eyebrow, but upon hearing it she smirked. The Westworth High Wolves were going against Valor Christian that night: their biggest competition yet. It was a school that was not only a ridiculously popular favorite in the 5A bracket, but they were also undefeated. And even though Sierra knew that Aiden’s team was strong and capable, she also knew that the basket was leaning more against their home team. This was bound to be an easy win for her.

“Well, looks like we have ourselves a little deal here.” Sierra declared, walking back to her boyfriend to wrap her arms behind his neck. “You are on, Aiden Pierce.”

Aiden and his team were gonna have to play their asses off if Aiden was to win this bet, but he believed it was possible. Right now, though, she’d agreed, and the game wasn’t until later. Aiden wrapped his own arms around Sierra’s waist before looking up at her and replying, May the best man -or woman- win.” Aiden then leaned up to embrace Sierra in a deep, long kiss.

The kiss, like every one she’d had with Aiden, made Sierra’s heart soar. Her boyfriend had the ability of making her feel like she was being taken to heaven, light-headed with happiness. Whenever she was with him, everything else in the world seemed to melt away, and what truly mattered was the two of them. She only broke the kiss when she felt breathless.

“So, um, how’s about we go somewhere else and do something to keep us warm in this weather?” Sierra suggested, locking her eyes with his before bestowing a peck on his lips. “My mother and Shawn will be away for a while, so we’ll have the house to ourselves for a few hours.”

Aiden didn’t want the kiss to end, but Sierra pulled back long enough to suggest moving the scene somewhere else. A smile spread from ear to ear on Aiden’s face. “Trying to tire me out before the game, aren’t you?” he said with a laugh. “That’s a nice strategy you got there, Si.”

“Well, I mean, I hadn’t really thought of that. But it’s a nice idea, so thanks for that!” Sierra replied with a smile of her own. She gave the young man another kiss before unwrapping her arms around him and walking in the direction of the truck’s passenger seat. “Now let’s get going. Premeditated strategy to win the bet against you or not, I’m actually freezing my ass off.”

---

Sadie came from the back towards Sami with a freshly made cup o' joe in hand. "Thought you'd be getting here soon." Sadie gave a tired but bright smile to Sami as she set the coffee in front of him. Her day had began early because she had chosen to take the earliest part of the opening shift for one of the older waitress' this morning. The woman had agreed to this little adjustment with Sadie so that the young girl could spend most of the day with some friends as opposed to working the noon shift. Sadie looked somewhat tired because all last night she had been looking over all the details for tomorrows dance just to make sure they hadn't missed anything.

She had gone to sleep around two in the morning so waking up at five was much harder this time then she thought it would've been. She'd been at the diner from the moment they opened making sure everything was ready for when the patrons came. Once they actually opened she was busy for a while because the usual group of older men who seemed to spend more time at the diner then at their own homes were here as soon as the doors were unlocked. Once she had finally gotten a breather from the activity of the early crowd, she checked her phone because Face Book was being a little active already. That's more or less how she knew to expect Sami. If he was heading towards Roo's then he was probably about to pop in.

After ringing Sami up for the coffee Sadie asked, "I'm about to switch off with someone. Would you mind waiting to drive me over to Roo and Lala's? Probably going to head out with Lala and them. If not that's fine." Sadie had gone through quite a bit of difficulty to get her schedule free while not fully skimping out on work. She was happy that her boss was alright with the slight shift in the waitresses' schedule but since Sadie worked so hard he had been alright with it. She wanted to spend time helping out her friends with their own dance preparations and the prospect of going to Denver made her glad she had cleared up her schedule. Before Sami could answer Sadie asked one more thing, "So, going with anyone to the dance?"

"Oli! I swear to Christ, we are not watching fucking Spongebob! We are not children!" Madison Nichols screamed at her brother, as she struggled to wrestle the tv remote out of her brother's grip. Oli held on tight though, and finally Madi surrendered to spending her morning watching the adventures of a talking sea sponge unfold with her brother. "Y'know Madi, you should really lighten up a little bit. Spongebob is fun for all ages," Oli said with a smirk, which was met with a kick in the side as retaliation. His sister was not amused.

The twins daily tiff was interrupted by the huffing and puffing of their parents as they heaved two very large suitcases down the stairs of their home. "Thanks for the help you guys!" the twins' dad said when he finally reached the living room. The duo looked up at their parents. Oliver offered up a hearty, "You're welcome!" earning him an eye roll from his dad. His mom proceeded to commandeer Oli and Madi to help lug the heavy suitcases out to their dad's car, an old but well kept Cadillac. Once their parents' luggage was squared away, their parents turned to face them. "First things first. I am very sorry we're missing your guys' dance," their mom said, while their dad nodded. "Oli, take pictures for me, and make sure this Davy fellow doesn't get any ideas." "Mom! Can you not?" "Okay, sorry, sorry! Please be good, we'll be back in a week. No parties, or boys, or any hard drugs!" With her speech done, Lucy Nichols got into the passenger seat while Jameson got behind the wheel. They waved to their kids as they pulled out of the drive way, and sped out of town, off to a conference on something that neither Oli or Madi cared enough about to remember. The point was that they were home alone.

As the twins walked back into the house, their respective phones buzzed with messages from their class group chat. "Looks like the bands getting back together," Oli said, glancing over at his sister. "Fuck, I've gotta get dressed! God, could Lala not tell us we're going dress shopping like, the day before! I mean, I know I don't have one yet, but god damn!" Madi shouted as she bolted upstairs to her room to get ready.

Oli on the other hand simply chuckled at his sister's words and meandered to his room to get ready for a day of boarding. He packed a bag with all the gear he'd need. His board would be waiting for him in the garage, so that was covered. Once he was prepped, he strolled down the hall to Madi's room and knocked. Madi swung the door open violently as she ripped a brush through her hair. "Wait! Why the hell are you wearing your boarding jacket? You're not going with CR!" Madi shouted. "Madi, my dance clothes are already picked out, thank you very much. You can't say the same." "Exactly! I need you to help! You're my gay brother, the least you could do is offer me fashion advice!" "Okay so first, that was homophobic, two, there will be loads of girls there who are far better than I am at women's fashion, and three, I want to get to know this guy who asked you to the dance. What's his name, David? Davis?" Oli said, waltzing into Madi's room and taking a seat on her bed. "It's Davy! And he's very nice, and very cute, so don't scare him away you skeez!" Oli laughed and Madi shook her head before finally setting her brush down. "Okay let's go, I'll do makeup in the car!"

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After a short drive in which Madi had applied very minimal makeup, the twins got out of the car. Madi strutted up to Lala's, knocking on the door as she opened it. "Knock, knock!" Madi called as she walked into the kitchen. Her eyes scanned the room, seeing some of the LA Crew, most of whom she'd met, though only pretty briefly. She gravitated towards Lala, offering up a slight smile. "Looks like you're having a relaxing morning," Madi said, looking around at the chaos of the Elites and the Candies.

Oli on the other hand, strolled up to CR's home, him and Davy chilling in the front yard. Work had kept him from meeting CR's friends from the west coast, but he'd seen enough pictures to piece together who was who. "Hey CR!" Oli said, waving to his friend before turning to Davy. "And you are the boy who's taking my sister to the dance, right? Davy? I'm Oliver, but everyone calls me Oli," he said, reaching out to shake Davy's hand.

Luna woke up early from her aunt's attempt of being quiet in the kitchen. She still believed that her aunt never tried to be quiet so her niece would be able to sleep in for just once. The white-blond haired girl looked at her phone and sighed. Her phone had exploded with messages from the groups chat and she didn't really feel like checking them. Yet, she did.. Just to get rid of the notifications. She scrolled trough the messages and shook her head, they were her classmates and some of them were nice but most of them, in her opinion, lived a little too loud. But then again, she was the opposite of all her class mates.

Luna got out of her bed and walked into the bathroom, a quick shower and a short time fixing her hair later she walked back into her bedroom and started to get herself dressed into one of her simple outfits. She kinda only wore 'simple' outfits since she didn't like to be put in the middle of the attention circle. She had 'nice' clothes, her aunt kept buying skirts and jeans and heels, she simply refused to wear them. Before going downstairs Luna grabbed her favorite Beanie and putted it on while walking downstairs.

''Morning Luna'' Her aunt said with a bright smile. Luna smiled slightly and sat down at the big table. ''Morning Auntie'' Luna said and was happy her aunt didn't start over her outfit for once. She grabbed the mug with coffee that was hers and started sipping. ''Got plans today? Cause I was thinking..'' Her Aunt started. Luna looked down, not again! ''I am still not planning on going.. It's not like I have a date, or a dress'' Luna said. ''You must! You made a promise'' her Aunt said and Luna wished to just sink into the ground. It was true that she promised her aunt to make more social contacts. ''Do you... Wanna help me shop for a dress?'' Luna asked but to her surprise her aunt shakes her head. ''I want you to ask your classmates if you can tag along, I heard a few mention that they are going to shop today'' Luna's aunt said and Luna sighed.

She had no other choice... She grabbed her phone and opened the groupschat. She started thinking on what to write, wrote and deleted it again.. Then she looked up and her aunt was looking pretty stern. She was not getting away with this... So she started typing: Hey ehm.. I know I've never really tried to make friends with you guys.... But is there someone (One or a few of the girls!!) that would like to help me finding a dress for the formal? I have a promise to keep to my aunt. - Luna She showed her aunt and when she smiled, she hit the send button.

Delilah Duclerc’s day started much earlier than she would have liked on her first day of winter break. She’d been fast asleep when her phone chimed, signaling the arrival of a new text message. The tiny brunette had made her mind to ignore it and simply go back to sleep when yet another incoming message made her phone chime. Sleepily, she grabbed her phone from her nightstand, unlocked it, and shot up. This was a family emergency, because why else would LA-based Audrey Huntsberg would be messaging her at this time of day? Delilah’s older cousin wasn’t the type to pester anyone with her problems -much less at this time of day-, so there had to be a very big reason for her urgent messages. The two had been as close as sisters since they were children, re was bound to be some Audrey drama behind all of this... And Audrey drama was much more eventful than the most popular soap opera or teen drama series you could think of.

And so, after making sure she didn’t look as bad as she felt on the inside, Lila took a seat by her desk, turned on her MacBook and made the FaceTime call. She stared at the screen while the call connected, taking in her messy bun, the shadow of dark circles under a pair of green eyes, and even the small kool-aid stain on her pajama top. At about the third ring, another face came into view: that of a woman who looked just the slightest bit older than Delilah. She had layered dark brown waves that fell past her shoulders and out of sight, a flawless olive complexion, full lips and a pair of chocolate brown eyes capable of staring all the way down to your soul. Her resting bitch face softened and broke into a small smile at the sight of her younger cousin.

“Hey, Lila-boo.” the young woman greeted Delilah, winking and throwing a kiss at the camera.

“Hey, Audrey-bear!” Lila greeted back, waving a hand to say hello.

Audrey’s expression changed from one slightly happy to a distraught and slightly sad one. “Lils, I’m so sorry to bother you so early, hun. I just needed to get something off my chest, like, now.”

Worry was now visible in Lila’s face. “That’s okay, Auby. That’s what I’m here for. Now… What’s bothering you?”

Audrey hesitated for a second, closing her eyes and taking a few deep breaths as of preparing herself to say something . A few long seconds passed until she finally said: “I’m dumping Alexandros.”

Delilah’s eyes widened, and she covered her gaping mouth with her hand for a second before bursting out. “What?!”

“Yep, you heard right. I’m kicking that fucker’s ass to the curve.” Even when she had said this cooly, the shadow of tears were visible on her brown eyes.

Delilah bit her bottom lip in concern, but she was not feeling particularly surprised at this turn of events. Alexandros Mossos was Audrey’s boyfriend (or shall she say ex-boyfriend now?) of , and the father of their five month-old twins. From the moment her cousin and this man had laid eyes on each other, the best way to describe their feelings was leaning more towards obsession than actual true love. Both of them having big egos and even bigger prides, the first few months of their chase was filled with betrayals, to the point that it soon became a contest on who would hurt the other’s pride the hardest. In the end, Alexandros had been the one to give up, and him and Audrey had briefly dated for two months. Although their relationship was fiery, the pair were happy… Until Audrey caught Alexandros in bed with another woman.

Fast-forward to their senior year of high school. A wealthy friend throwing a beach party, both Alex and Audrey tipsy (and, in all honesty, missing each other to bits), and a handful of private cabanas strewn around the beach… And BAM! One night stand. Eight weeks later, they find out they’re expecting. But the surprises didn’t stop there… Beverly Hills’ most toxic couple were expecting twins.

At about four months pregnant, Audrey and Alexandros became official. His parents had offered them a wing of their estate, and Audrey had accepted. The parents-to-be had moved in together, and the amount of time spent together had helped strengthen their bond to the point that their relationship was actually based on love, and not obsession. Two weeks after their high school graduation, Audrey had gone into labor. And after ten excruciating hours the cries of Xander Elliott and Briella Amelié had finally filled the delivery room.

“I just don’t understand… After the children were born, he’d been so happy with us. He was always showing us off and being nothing but a darling to us, Which was why I’m struggling to believe this is happening...The fucker never came home last night, and this is the third time he’s gone out without even bothering to tell me.” Audrey’s mood had visibly changed from sad to angry: her eyes were fire. “And while he’s out sticking it into some slut, I’m supposed to just play the submissive girlfriend act and not ask any questions while staying home and taking care of our kids?! Nope, not me! He knew very well what he was getting into when he got back with me. He knows I’m not playing around. But it seems that he didn’t learn his lesson the last time I dragged the bitch he was cheating on me with out of his room by the hair and then set fire to his Ferrari.”

Delilah grimaced, reminded of the now iconic and legendary scene. She could only imagine what Audrey could do now that she had two little ones depending on her. “What are you planning to do this time?” Leave it to her cousin to come up with some sort of plan to get back at those who crossed her, no matter who they were.

Audrey seemed to read what was going through Lila’s mind, and she couldn’t hold back a smile. “Don’t worry, there will be no scalp-ripping or vehicles set on fire this time around, though a good kick in the balls is very appropriate. I'm merely moving out of here and back to my parents with the kids...” she said, with the fierce determination that had always defined her. “Alex’s family have been nothing but welcoming and amazing to me and the kids, but I refuse to live in the house of my soon to be ex-boyfriend.”

Delilah nodded solemnly. “Yeah, makes sense.”

Audrey gave Lila a small smile now. “Plus, I've been accepted at UCLA’S business school for the spring term. It’s a shorter distance if I move back home, and I really don't need the kind of stress and negativity that Alex is giving me in my life right now…” She trailed off again, her expression looking a bit less sad now. “They've got a daycare center on campus too, so I don't have to worry about the kids while I'm in classes and I can drop by to check on them whenever I want.”

Delilah gave her cousin a glowing smile while excitedly clapping her hands. “Oooooooh! Congratulations. Audrey-bear!”

Audrey was now visibly cheered up, her face brighter at the thoughts of building a future for herself and her family. “Thanks, love! I’m super excited about it. Those who say having children at a young age slows you down are fucking liars. In my case, having my kids has only made me want this even more, because it will benefit all of u-.” A small cry suddenly erupted from behind Audrey. The young woman glanced back, then gave Lila another bright smile. “One sec. Duty calls.”

Delilah nodded, watching with a soft smile as Audrey walked out of the screen. She heard her cousin’s voice, softly talking to someone she couldn’t see. And then Audrey came back holding a gorgeous, chubby little baby on each of her arms, both of them a tiny copy of their dad. Briella was on Audrey’s right, wearing cute heart-print pink pajamas, and only distinguishable from the blue pajama-clad Xander on Audrey’s left because of her earrings.

Lila let out a high-pitched squeal. “Oh my God, you guys are sooooo CUTE! Hi Xan-Xan! Hi Brie-Brie!” The children stared in awe at the screen for a few seconds, but upon Lilla’s coos and gestures they broke out in wide, toothless smiles. Briella even began to coo back.

Audrey, who had stared at the interaction go on happily for a few minutes, eventually spoke up. “Well, I gotta get going. These two are all smiles now, but give them five more minutes and they’ll be screaming bloody murder. Wouldn’t you, loves?” she said, that last sentence directed at her kids. She kissed one of their cheeks before turning to Delilah again. “Thank you so much for listening to me, Lils. It truly means the world to me.”

Delilah smiled again while waving an airy hand. “It’s no problem! That’s what families do for each other. She directed her attention at the infants again, waving at them. “Bye, babies! Auntie Lila will visit you soon!”

“Bye, hun! I’ll keep you posted! The beaming faces of Audrey and the babies froze on the screen for a second before shutting off.

Still smiling, Lila stood up and made her way back to the bed. Just then, her phone dinged, signaling the arrival of a Facebook messenger notification. She checked to see what it was about, and read that it was Lala inviting the girls to Denver for a pre-dance shopping spree. Lila’s face fell at the mention of the upcoming dance the next day. She was now reminded about how she still didn’t have a date, but would have to attend nonetheless due to her committee duties. The last thing Lila needed right now was to give into the dark pit of despair that was now consuming her at the thought of attending the dance alone like a damned loser. The logical answer to this was to distract herself, and staying at home was bound to not help with that. And so, Lila decided to get ready, have some breakfast and head to Lala’s for some retail therapy.

She arrived at her classmate’s house at 7:50 AM, blessing Audrey for having woken her up early. Otherwise she wouldn’t have read the message on time. “Bonjour, chéries!” Delilah said enthusiastically, prancing through the open door. But when her eyes fell on the amount of people at Lala’s house, she stood dumbfounded in her tracks. “Oh, my! I didn’t realize it was this many people!” she said, letting out a nervous giggle. Although she was a social butterfly, the sight of so many beautiful, wealthy girls made her nervous.

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Sophia was one of the usual openers at the Diner at least during vacation time, she got up rather early those days just to make a little bit of extra money in order to help out around the house with her grandmother. She usually worked out in the grill area cooking up people's breakfast and then handing it out to the customers. She was usually out by or around noon when she was done, Sophia preferred the early mornings mainly so that she could spend the rest of the day hanging out with her friends. Sophia was making up the last batch of scrambled eggs, it was the last thing she wanted to do for the morning. Grabbing the plate Sophia headed out of the kitchen area and made her way over towards a table where an elderly man was seated reading his daily newspaper. "Here you go." Sophia said with a bright and friendly smile as she made her way over to the front counter quickly untying her pony tail so that none of her hair would get into anyone's food.

Sophia looked over at Sadie and smiled at her friend. "Long morning Sadie?" Sophia asked her friend she enjoyed working the early shifts with Sadie which made work much easier having someone that was closer to her age to talk with. Then the door to the diner opened hearing the little bell going off, seeing that it was Sami coming in for some coffee as well. "Good morning Sami hows it going?" Sophia said as Sadie started brewing him up a cup of coffee, that's when Sophia felt her phone going off it was her Facebook app going off from the group chat that was set up for their class. Lala inviting anyone to go to Denver with them to go dress shopping, Sophia realized that she didn't have time earlier in the week before vacation started to get a dress herself. And the Christopher inviting anyone to go out snowboarding with some of the people from Hollywood, she didn't really get the chance to meet any of them yet either briefly when they stopped by the diner but didn't get to know any of them.

To The Group:
"I'm totally down for some dress shopping, got my money saved up. I also just finished my shift at the diner will be there soon."

Sophia hit send then she saw that there was one from Luna as well, she talked with her from time to time but Sophia didn't know the girl that well yet either. But she was more then willing to also help her out as well, deciding to privately message her on the page.

To Luna:
"Yo Luna, i'll help ya out like the group message said meet up at Lala's place and I could help you out if you'd like."

Sophia hit send once more looking over at Sami and then Sadie for a moment, she hated to mooch off of others but she lacked a car and usually just walked from her place over to the diner or towards school or she relied more on her grandmother for a ride to if the weather was bad. "Soooo Sami, mind if I hitch a ride with ya as well over to Lala's?" Sophia asked looking over at Sadie as well who also was asking for a ride over to. "Let me go and get changed really quick as well." Sophia said as she headed off, walking past a coworker who was taking over her place back in the grill, she headed into the staff room pulling out her duffle bag which contained her regular clothes and quickly dashed off to the girls room, locking herself in a stall pulling out her clothes. Sophia came out a few minutes later looking over at Sadie and smiled at her friend since they got off close to the same time with each other.

Sami was greeted by the lovely Sadie offering him his cup of coffee. She was always seemed to be on the early shift when he went to the diner. Not that he minded. He enjoyed her company, such a sweetie pie. "Gracias, Sadie. You know I need my caffeine" He took a sip from the piping hot tar and smiled contently. This was the stuff. ”Hey Sophia. I’m good thanks” He offered the girl a smile as she rushed around behind the counter. As per usual, Sam was bombarded by the lightning fast ball of awkwardness that was Sadie Hill. First she asked for a ride and before he could even respond she asked about the dance. In all honesty he hadn't really given any thought to the dance. Would he go? More than likely, there's usually some fun to be had even if you go stag which he most certainly would. Someone had to look after those idiots after all. Before he could say anything, Sophia chimed in with a request to a ride to Lala’s as well. "Of course, I'll give you girls a ride. Be my pleasure. As for the dance...I'll be there but as of right now, I will be going alone. What about you little sis?"

Sadie was definitely grateful that Sami would be willing to drive her. She let loose one of her signature smiles when he said he would be at the dance. Sadie hoped everyone would show up and have a fun time. When he turned the question back to her she thought back and realized that she didn't know if someone had asked her or not. Most likely not because she was always busy and if someone had asked she never would've realized it. "Wouldn't miss it for anything. Spent to much time trying to make it perfect for everyone that skipping would be out of the question. I don't think I'm going with anyone though. I don't remember anyone asking me." At that the person Sadie was switching shifts with came in and waved to the young girl. "Oh, there's my replacement. I'm gonna go get my things." Sadie rushed to the back and grabbed her bag from where everyone left their things. She came back to the area where Sami was and asked, "Are ya ready to head out?"

"Yes ma'am, let's get going" Sami made sure his to-go-cup lid was secured so as to not spill his manna before getting to his feet and following the girls out into the cold winter air. He had kitted his beloved mustang out for the dire temperatures of Colorado and made sure to have plenty of stuff in the trunk so the old girl would never be stranded. Moving to the passenger side of the car, Sami opened the door for Sadie and Sophia. [color=olive]"You're chariot, ladies" He grinned. Once they was safely inside, he quickly made his way to the driver’s seat and started up the beast. "Onwards we go" Before Tte car pulled out of the diner car park, Sami turned on the radio and then carried on deeper into Westworth.

”You little sisters be careful around those Hollywood kids. Bet they come with all kinds of drama”

Luna laid her phone to the side after sending that message, most of the time she didn't get any response from her class mates. Not that she didn't mind, she rather had a few real friends than a lot from which she didn't know who was a real one and who not. She ate her breakfast, small talking with her aunt about the weather and things they heard on the radio, she suddenly saw her screen light up. She quickly checked her phone while taking a bite from her toast and was surprised to actually see a message pointed to her.

She smiled when she saw it was Sophie. She didn't know the girl that well, but she knew they both worked at the diner, though she was there far less than Sophie and so now and then they talked a little at school. ''Looks like I will be shopping today.. With a big group even'' Luna said, she wasn't really a big group person but she would handle it. She knew her aunt would be happy. Luna then started thinking, what if Lala didn't want her there? Luna sighed and wrote a reply to Sophie in private:

To Sophie:

"Hey Sophie, Thanks for wanting to tag along! I will meet you there then I guess. Do you think that I should also ask Lorelei? I don't know her that well.. I kinda know you the best from the whole class ^^' I have the bad feeling my aunt is right, it is time to actually start blending in some"

Luna laid down her phone with a sigh and her aunt took her niece's hand in hers. ''Don't be so hard on yourself, you are different but that is beautiful'' she said. Luna smiled kinda weak, she was her aunt's only 'daughter'. If it had not been for her parents who died, her aunt wouldn't have had children at all probably. ''Thanks auntie'' Luna said and got up, she hugged her aunt and then headed for the door. She grabbed her coat, car keys and bag. Then the girl exited her home and headed to her car. Al though she was only seventeen, her aunt had been pretty determined about getting her niece a permit to drive and a car once she had turned sixteen.

She thought about sending a message to Lorelei and so she sat down in her car and started to type a private message to one of the most popular girls she 'knew'.

To Lorelei

Ehm.. Okay this might seem strange but I heard from Sophie that you are going to shop for dresses today with a group. Sophie said that I could tag along if I wanted and I would like to but kinda wanna know for sure that you don't mind. I will not need much of your time and I can even take a few girls with me in my car

Luna hit send and sighed, she could start driving and if she got a answer on her question, she could drive towards the house. If not, she could always send Sophie a message and then decide what she would do. She started the engine of the car and then drove away, with the question in her mind: Was she gonna make friends today?

Oli laughed as CR jumped in and tried to rectify Davy’s awkward, foot-in-mouth situation. ”I’d hardly describe my sister as nice, but if you have CR’s seal of approval than I’m sure you’re mostly alright,” Oli said, smirking. In truth, he had very little reservations about his sister’s love life. As long as the dude wasn’t a complete garbage can, Oli couldn’t care less. He just liked giving the boys a hard time. Before he could take CR up on that offer of pancakes, Jar walked up and greeted them. Oli waved his own silent greeting to Jar before turning to CR. ”I would love pancakes, Madi took forever getting ready so your boy here didn’t get breakfast,” he said.

“Look, man. Madi’s aight, don’t bring none of that sibling hatin’ mumbo jumbo bad juju up into my piece when we’re gettin’ ready to board. Now, I’mma go get you some pancakes, ya’all get to know each other. Oli, this is Davy. He’s from Hollywood, has a pet duck. Davy, this is Oli. He’s from Westworth and is your date’s older brother. ” his words flying as fast as ever, Christopher Robin disappeared off into the house almost as soon as he’d started speaking.

Davy stared at Oli awkwardly, wondering why his best friend had chosen to abandon him, to forsake him like that. Clearing his throat, he attempted round two. “I’m not actually from Hollywood, exactly. I’m just from LA, near Beverly Hills? I live in, uh, a house. That my mom and dad bought when they got together like a really, really long time ago, and then they made it not a sucky house. Technically, I live in the underground bunker? Dude, I suck at talking to people, I’m not even gonna lie to you. But the people who owned it before us had a fallout shelter, in case nuclear war happened, so my mom and dad converted it into, basically my own little house. It doesn’t have a stove, but it’s got everything else! Yeah. I do have a duck though, his name is Sprinkles.”

Oli grinned throughout Davy’s rambling. This kid was funny. Maybe he didn’t quite mean to be, but he still was. Plus, he sounded like a pretty cool guy. No one he knew owned a pet duck. ”A pet duck? That’s new. Me and Madi used to have a hamster, but he was kind of janky. He took a leap off of my bookshelf and after that he was never the same,” Oli said, smirking. ”You can stop freaking out by the way. You seem like a nice guy. So, Davy, what brings you to Westworth, aka the Middle of Freaking Nowhere? CR mentioned that it had something to do with a bad breakup, so I know that much.”

“So, yeah, basically? See, about a few months ago now, I had my heart ripped physically from my chest and that sucked a lot, and I just didn’t want to leave my room ever, so I kinda just stayed there for like the whole time. Until Connor and Ty had an intervention and brought all my friends over to my house and they all crowded in my room and were like ‘listen here you little shit, you need to get out and enjoy the world!’ So their suggestion was to go to Colorado, cuz they know that I like Colorado, cuz I like the snow? So we came here and I was snowboarding and still pretty depressed, and CR saw me hit a line and then rushed over and was blown away and he demanded we board one together, and I tried to weasel out of it but Ty and Connor forced me, so I was, y’know, forced. And so I did it. And then we basically immediately became best friends and here I am. I don’t even want to leave really, but alas, I have to go back eventually for New Year’s.” Davy explained, talking fast and still noticeably nervous, but perhaps a little less so. It wasn’t really the older brother of date thing that was tripping him up, in reality David was just kind of… shy as fuck.

”That’s CR for ya. He has a way of making everyone feel welcome,” Oli said with a grin, kicking around some snow with his feet. ”So what the hell is Hollywood like?” Oli asked, still smiling. He had a habit of diving from question to question, but he couldn’t help it. He loved learning new things about people, especially things that pertained to the world outside of Westworth. ”I’ve been out of this town three times, which is not nearly enough. I’m gonna move to LA when I graduate, go into acting and film. That’s my dream right there,” Oli said, casually spilling his life goal to someone who was basically a stranger. ”But seriously, Hollywood? Is it sunny all the time? The beaches are probably amazing, right? Celebrities on every corner? God damn it I want to see it all so bad!” Oli said, his grin starting to look like that of a madman.

“Alright, so yeah. It’s always sunny there, definitely. I think it was 78 degrees when we left, and that’s cold for us. Celebrities on every corner… yes and no, see, my family has a bunch of celebrities in it. Like, world famous supermodels, a few superstar musicians, and more than one or two actress, so personally, yes I get to hang out with lots of them, but GENERALLY speaking, for the people who aren’t in the ‘it’ crowd, so to speak, nah. Not really a lot of celebrities. Oh, you wanna do acting and stuff? Cool, I can hook you up with some connects — unless Madi ends up hating me and then I have to run homes with my tail between my legs… but, hey, all the girls I know say I’m secretly cute.”

It was official. Davy was Oli’s new favorite person. He was funny, nice, and he had connections with Hollywood. Oli was thrilled. ”Davy, I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship,” Oli said, smiling and clapping Davy on the shoulder.

---

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Sophia looked between Sami and Sadie as the two spoke about the dance, she rubbed the back of her neck slightly she didn't have anyone ask her out to the dance just yet. She did however plan on going, whether it was with someone or by herself Sophia then felt her phone vibrate taking it out seeing that it was a text from Luna and smiled slightly as she watched Sadie's replacement coming in to take over for her. She leaned up against the counter running a hand through her hair as she waited a few minutes later her friend was out with regular clothes. Sophia decided to text Luna back to answer her friend's question.

To Luna:
"I think its pretty much for anyone who is in our class, so i'm sure that Lala wont mind you tagging along since you are in our class as well. And no problem at all, it would be really cool to help each other find a dress for the dance. :)

Sophia hit send as she stood up and started to put on her winter hat as well as a pair of gloves, she started to follow behind both Sadie as well as Sami. Mustangs were always Sophia's favorite kind of car, she wouldn't mind giving it a try behind the wheel but Sami probably wouldn't even trust her though driving the car. "Thanks again for the ride by the way Sami." Sophia said with a soft and friendly smile as he opened the car door, she decided to climb into the back seat letting Sadie take up the front passenger seat. Sophia watched as Sami pulled out of the parking lot of the diner and then started to make their way over towards Lala's place, when he brought up the Cali kids she smiled softly and nodded. "Don't worry i'll be careful, i'm sure that they are nice and nothing like the weird and crazy drama reality shows that they show on TV." Sophia said jokingly.

Today was the big day. Westworth High School was back in the 5A Colorado State Championship after many, many years of not doing so. At the helm was Ryan Townsend. The legend himself. Over forty-five touchdowns in the regular season alone,the third most passing yards in a season, and the second best completion percentage out every quarterback in the entirety of the state of Colorado ever. Him being good was an understatement.

But today, Ryan would leave all of that behind and forget that those records were ever a thing. The most important thing for this team was a championship and the '16-'17 team had the opportunity to do so.

All that was on his mind today was the game. Was he nervous? Yes he was. Everyone was nervous. Some boasted that they weren't, but those people were often the ones that were the most nervous. It was either that they were incredibly nervous, or they didn't care at all. Today was one of those days were it was best for Ryan to keep his cool and remain silent. He didn't want to appear overwhelmed, especially as the team leader.

The Wolves were on the field for their last practice before the game tonight. It was expected to snow tonight, which put a damper on Coach's plans. Originally the plan had been to utilize the running back a little more than usual, since the air was way more dense up here and balls traveled further. But, after finding out that their parade was going to be snowed on, the coach had switched it up. Everyone was going to be slipping and blind and cold. It was going to be a miserable game for sure.

After the warmup routine and stretching, the team got to running their drills and going through their gameplan one last time. It was their last full practice the game. The entire team was dressed up in their practice gear as they huddled up around the coach. Coach had wanted to focus on the offense first, considering that he had just announced that the offensive gameplan was shifting toward the opposite of what they had set out to do. Ryan didn't mind the shift. It wasn't like he was annoyed that he didn't have to hand it off as much to his beloved running back. He just had to use his arm more often.

The first play that they were going to use a lot more often was called and Ryan had repeated it to the huddle. "Alright here go we got 72 Ghost Left Tosser Right on set. 72 Ghost Left Tosser Right on set. Ready? Break!" The offense broke into their formation and had lined up appropriately. Ryan stepped up to the center and crouched right behind him. To the untrained eye, this position looked semi awkward. Ryan overlooked the defense in his weird squat-sit position. "Ready... SET!" The ball was snapped and Ryan took it in his hands. He dropped back seven steps before overlooking what his receivers were doing. Cooper and Dixon had broken to the right side of the field and beat the people that were on them. As he was scanning for the open person again he was moving his feet as if he were stepping on hot coal. This was done in order to keep himself mobile and ready to run if someone was about to sack him. Locating Dixon across the middle of the field, he stepped up into the pocket which was still maintained by his offensive line. Cocking his arm back, it quickly came forward and released the ball it possessed at an incredibly fast speed. The ball flew like a rocket over the defensive lineman and found its targets into Sean Dixon's hands as he went to the ground and secured the catch.

After running plays for about an hour, the last play of the practice was called. "Gun Strong Right Flex Zone Read on two. Gun Strong Right Flex Zone Read on two. Break!" Lining up again, Ryan stared down the defense. This time he wasn't practically dry humping the center as he examined what the defense was giving him. This time his beloved Aidan was right next to him. "White 80! White 80! Set... Hut! Hut!" On the second hut, the ball was snapped and Ryan immediately moved his body to a forty five degree angle and stuck the ball out as if he was handing it off to his running back. He stared down the right defensive end which was running toward them unblocked. He pulled the ball and let Aidan and Jackson collide before taking off and running for dear life.

After coach blew the whistle, everyone knew that it was the end of practice and they went back to the locker room. Everyone took their helmets off if they hadn't already, and took the long stroll back into it. It was surreal that they got to use the same locker rooms that the Denver Broncos had utilized. Professional football players were in these rooms, and now this team of high school players were in that same locker room. Ryan had gone to his own corner locker and took off his gear, placing it in the locker. But before everyone went back to the bus to the hotel, one of the players had called for a prayer. Everyone took a knee as someone stood up to lead the post-practice prayer. Everyone called this man Preacher because of how much he loved God.

"Dear God, we thank you for this game..." He trailed on, reciting the prayer he always said after every practice. It was routine at this point. Hell, even the non-Christians participated in it because of how inspiring it was, "...Amen." The rest of the team had repeated the religious saying and headed off to the bus, where they would go back to the hotel and get a chance to nap, shower, and whatnot before game time.

---

Sadie smiled that Sophie had joined the conversation and that she was also joining the small group trip from the diner to the lodge. On the car ride Sadie calmly watched the scenery pass by. Riding in a car was pretty much the only time that Sadie slowed down when it came to talking. She just loved watching the area pass by at a rapid speed. Once they arrived at their destination she got out of the car and sent a quick text to her parents that she was at the lodge. She smiled at what Sami said and Sophia brought a little chuckle out of her. "I'm sure they will be nice. You just make sure no one hurts themselves while snowboarding."

While walking towards the entrance to Lala's humble abode, Sadie turned to Sophia and asked, "So, do you have anything special planned for the dance? Also I'm mainly just coming to help anyone who needed help to get a dress, but as I'm thinking about it I was just planning to wear a dress I've had for a while. Do you think I should try to get a new dress?" This was really the first Sadie had put any thought really into what she'd be wearing to the dance. She that not getting a new dress for a dance could be weird to some, but she wasn't sure. Due to Sophia basically being Sadie's best friend she trusted nearly all advice that came from her. If Sophia thought she would need a new dress then she would definitely get something during this shopping trip.