The last week of Sonny’s life was a lot of things but uneventful wasn’t one of them.

As the week went on, Sonny was over at Julie’s a lot. And when he says a lot, it’s not an overexaggeration nor would him saying the panic levels were raised to an all-time high when she came over that first Monday afternoon. Julie, as Sonny found her to be, was meticulous in figuring out exactly what Sonny had to deal with. What outfits were doable and which ones wouldn’t ever see the light of day. She combed through his shirts like she was trying to find hidden treasures and sifted through some of his favorite shirts, those of which were heavily criticized by the detailed queen.

And this was only Monday.

Though the entire ordeal he went through was a pain in the ass for him to have to go through all of this and as much as Sonny thought the plan wasn’t worth the hassle, there was a lot of good that came out of it. Spending all of that time with Julie, going to hair appointments, her getting a feel for his style, and just enjoying each other’s company, there had been a lot of minutes where they had to fill up the time with something. At some point, they both found themselves having a rare and genuine conversation about their sisters.

Sonny was about to leave his house, unsurprisingly sweating through his shirt, though thankfully it wasn’t showing through creme suit jacket (Julie would throw a queen-sized fit if he called it beige one more time), he made sure it wasn’t wrinkling in any way. Julie worked so hard having it tailored to fit his size and he would feel bad if he appeared looking like all of that time was for nothing. So he took a few extra moments and spared nothing as he aligned it with his posture and figure, making sure it was as straight a narrow line. When perfected, Sonny was about to head out but that was until he was stopped by his mother.

“Sonny, wait up for a moment.” Viola blocked his direct path to the front door. “I wanted you to have this before you left.”

As Viola handed Sonny a small black square box with a decorative white ribbon tied on it, he opened up and revealed what looked like a set of some fancy-appearing car keys. “What’s this?”

Viola Banks, one who usually wasn’t so silent, shrugged as she couldn’t stop smiling at him. “Well, you’re going to be heading off on a date -- even if it is just a celebration of friendship -- with someone who, let’s face it, has higher quality tastes than you ever have.”

“Gee, thanks mom--”

“You didn’t let me finish,” she said, cutting him off and continuing, “I didn’t want you to feel embarrassed or like you disappointed her by picking that sweet, surprisingly pleasant young girl in that truck of yours.”

She gestured Sonny to follow her as she walked away from the main hallway of the Drake-Banks house and into the two-car garage. When the light came on, though one spot was taken by his mother’s Audi, there was another car where Jackson’s mustang usually was parked but it wasn’t. Instead, a silver and black 2017 Audi TT.

Chuckling, he turned around to his mother. “Did you buy dad a new car? Doesn’t seem like his style.”

“No, this isn’t your father's.” Viola couldn't have said that any quicker than she did, almost as though she was offended at his assumption. “It’s yours, Sonny.”

Sonny’s usual demeanor was tossed out the window in favor of visible confusion. “What do you mean it’s mine?”

“I mean that this is your new car. I mean this is your early birthday present and I wanted to give you something special.” Viola laughed at just how thrown he was, which was rare but not unexpected. “Listen, son, I know I have been--” She paused, looking for the right word to use, “--difficult with you as of late but that’s only because I didn’t want you to have to go into your final semester of high school without a plan, but you have clearly shown you have a plan. And how honest you’ve been with me and your father -- not to mention yourself -- is something we couldn’t be prouder of you even if we tried. So this is a gift from us to you, well, more from me but don’t tell your father I said that.”

A typical chuckle he expected from Viola brought him out of his aghast state. “Still, I can’t accept this.”

“You can and you will!”

If there was something to be said about his mother, there was no winning with her, so Sonny wasn’t going to waste any energy trying to talk her into taking the rather expensive-but-equally-beautiful car she bought for him. “I don’t know what to say..”

She patted Sonny’s cheeks two times and smiled. “Just show that Julie a lovely time and have fun!”

That was the last thing Viola said to him before she walked away, leaving Sonny in the still-too-surreal-to-believe-it. For all of the trouble he put her through, for every little thing he criticized her for, and for all of the times he made her worry, Viola Banks, Sonny’s often confusing mother, just continued to surprise him. She proved that she was there for him when it mattered and he would need to be a better son, one that she could be proud of.

“And I will be that for her.”

As he said that, Sonny was inside his new Audi, a car that mirrored his mother’s but one not as flashy. A car that, when its engine started to rev up, he could easily tell how much smoother it was than his Dodge Ram. It eased out of the garage and driveway with relative ease and soon Sonny was MacMillan Manor Bound.

As he pulled into the driveway of the MacMillan Manor, even though he had been here plenty of times before, Sonny still couldn’t get over the sheer size of it. Compared to his parents’ house, it was massive. But then again, what else should Sonny expect from a family whose name in the fashion industry was equal to that of his father’s in the sports entertainment business or his mother’s in the overall business. They were fashion royalty and here Sonny was in his new Audi TT, sweating up to his neck hairs about to walk up the yellow brick road about to ring the doorbell and take the queen to the ball.

And while that sounded too stress-heavy than it actually was, that’s because it’s not as serious. Truth be told, Sonny wasn’t thinking about how nervous he was about fucking this up. He wasn’t thinking about how he was going to treat Julie tonight or even how he had a flowery surprise for both of them.

None of that was on his mind. What was stuck up there in his barely-utilized brain was something that happened less than twenty-four hours ago that honestly threw him and still gave him butterflies. Yeah, could you imagine? Is Sonny Drake actually getting butterflies from someone other than his girlfriend? Well, don’t tell Marisol that. The last thing he needed was another Victoire Bailey incident.


Sonny stood in front of the twin glass doors and took in a deep breath. He didn’t know why he was so nervous, but he was and he had to shake off his nerves. Before he rang the doorbell because there was no way his sweaty palms were going to ruin the clarity of the door, he double and triple checked that he had everything. “Keys, wallet, phone, gift....” Sonny patted every part of his jacket as he counted them aloud.

And so, as his right index finger pressed hard on the doorbell, he stood as straight as he was physically able.

As the doorbell rang a soft voice could be heard calling from the second floor “Daddy! Could you get the door? I’m not ready yet!”. Jason MacMillan was usually at the office this close to revealing his new collection, but he couldn’t miss seeing his youngest daughter walk in one of his most precious creations.

Within a few seconds, the large man was at the front door slowly opening it. Jason had a reputation of being quite the intimidating man and he was living up to it tonight. Towering over Sonny as he looked down at the young man. “I expect you’re Sonny?” he asked stepping aside so that Julie’s date could enter.

Okay, erase every reason Sonny had to be nervous about, because as soon as he saw who opened the door, this became the source of why he was having an internal panic attack.

Sonny walked in, side-stepping really, and stood about two feet away from this tall, clearly well-built man who, if he wanted to, could snap Sonny’s tiny form like a twig. “Y-yeah! That’s me!” He tried to regain some composure. “Sonny Drake, sir,” he managed to say without stuttering.

The man looked Sonny up and down before giving the boy a small smile and shaking the trembling boy’s hand “ Jason MacMillan“ he gave Sonny’s hand a tight squeeze before commenting “Nice suit.” he winked before retreating back into his office. At the same time, his daughter was descending the marble stairs wearing a one of a kind MacMillan dress and her red hair done up in an extravagant hairdo.

When she reached her date standing at the landing her face went from excitement to worry when she saw the look on Sonny’s face. “Are you ok? You look like you’ve seen a ghost” she whispered.

Oh, just a large man with muscles the size of boulders. Nothing too serious. Sonny met her gaze, shaking off his entire body. “No, it’s fine. I’m okay.” Yeah, now he was.

As he calmed his nerves, the teen was just now realizing how ...stunning Julie looked. He remembered how nice the dress was when she had originally shown it to him but the way it naturally complimented her skin tone and the curves of her body, and in addition to the way her hair was styled...Sonny wasn’t a beauty guru - he left that to people like Chanel and Stella - but even he knew when someone had put in the work and Julie certainly did. “You look...breathtaking!” He found himself saying. If Sonny was speechless, man, he knew Rye was going to have a difficult time speaking simple words.

“Oh you’re too sweet.” Her eyes sparkled as she snaked her arm around Sonny’s. “Shall we?” Julie asked as she tilted her head in the direction of her father's office. “Bye Daddy! We’re leaving now!” She yelled out.

Hurried steps could be heard from within the other room. Jason stuck his head out and with one look at his daughter, the stern-looking man softened. “Have fun kids! Try to not do anything stupid. I don’t want to pay for another wing in the library!” He laughed at his own joke as he once again retreated back into his work. Julie just huffed and rolled her eyes leading Sonny out of her house.

He remained quiet until he knew the door was closed. The closer they seemed to be to Sonny’s car the more relaxed he became. Truth be told, Sonny was still reeling from the feeling of dread he got when he saw Julie’s father but her smile helped him calm down. Before they would get inside his Audi TT, Sonny stopped a few feet away from it and turned to Julie. “I have something for you.” Sonny reached inside his jacket pocket and pulled out a small, transparent box with an elegant decorative ribbon on top of it. The box had one white rose corsage and boutonniere inside it. “I know it’s not traditional and this isn’t like a prom or anything formal like that, but,” Sonny’s cheeks shined light pink as he tried to find the right words. “But you’ve been so wonderful and kind to me this week that I wanted to do something nice in return!”

Her perfectly painted lip pouted and a small squeal left the girl. “You’re so cute!” Julie exclaimed as she grabbed the small box. As she put the corsage on she inspected it. Normally this was nothing she would wear but since it came from such a good friend, an exception was made.

“Perfect!” Sonny nodded, smiling proudly.

Before they entered his car, Sonny rushed around the front and opened the passenger door for her. Even though he knew she was one of the more independent girls -- young women -- at King’s and she had plenty of feminist energy to spare, Sonny wanted to treat her as well as he knew she deserved. This was a friend date, yes, but Sonny was dead set on treating her as properly as he knew she deserved. That and somewhere not-so-deep down, he feared if he didn’t do this, her father would manhandle him for not being a true gent. And fear a hell of a motivator.

“Thank you” she whispered as she entered his car. “Hopefully this won’t be as big of a disaster as homecoming” she said as she carefully buckled her seatbelt so as to not create any creases in her dress. “But I’ve probably just cursed it haven’t I?” A small laugh escaped her as she settled in her seat.

Sonny laughed as he went over to the driver’s side and clicked his seatbelt. No way did he want to get a ticket or attract any unwanted, legal attention. He wasn’t Kavi. “I wouldn’t worry. Everything that could have happened already did. I’m sure it’ll be a fun, reasonably-eventful night!” Sonny did his best to reassure Julie but as he slid the keys into the ignition and the German luxury car’s engine revved up, at the pit of his stomach, past the dread of Julie’s father, was an uneasy feeling slowly churning that maybe it was going to be like Homecoming.

Oh, I sure hope not… Sonny thought as he pulled out of the MacMillan driveway, setting his sights on the open road and the country club.

"That’s against the dress code.” Miley Bennett peered into her nephew’s bedroom to see his progress. While yes, his outfit was a casual preppy look that suited the King’s Academy scene, minus how he held himself which was free and easy, to an extremely informal level, sneakers was an absolute no-no. In her book. In their book. In everyone’s book that was attending this semi-formal dance.

Did he even read the dance pamphlet like she did? He wouldn’t be allowed to get inside with his darling date with those on, even if they looked brand spankin’ new. And oh god, that hair. How she wanted to cut his hair and make him look as pristine as those white sneakers he was wearing. He was a KING and he never acted like one, which was beyond her. Just a little snip snip and he’d be a heartthrob. Alas, this was a losing battle, unless by some divine fate, he felt inclined to clean up for someone special.

“Hey, is knocking not a thing anymore?” Ryland grumbled at his aunt, while he gave her a deadpan stare through the mirror, above the guest room dresser. He didn’t understand why he had to dress above average for a dance that celebrated friendship. He was celebrating this night with his best girl, Marisol, and if they had it their way, they’d celebrate it with jeans, tees, and sneaks. The best kind of wear. School dances were overrated and uneventful. He had low expectations and doubted anything interesting would happen to appease his boredom.

Raising his eyebrow, he turned around to face the person he was speaking to. As if she already knew what he was going to say, she revealed white slip on moc toe shoes, which caused him to close his mouth before even speaking. "These are still white and give the vibe you want!” Miley proclaimed, having picked these shoes specifically because of their comfort level. Yes, they were hammy-downs but he didn’t need to know that.

The moment Rye laid eyes on the shoes, he rewarded his aunt with a scowl. There was no way — no way in hell he’d be wearing that! Those were not money. Not money at all. This was unbelievable. He couldn’t believe his aunt was looking at him as if he had no choice. As if he wouldn’t throw those shoes out the window right here and right now. “That’s fucking dumb. They should let this pass because hell-to-the-no. I ain’t wearing those!”

"Language. And, Riri, honey, if they give you a pass, they’ll have to give everyone a pass, and that’s just not the King’s way. Come on, please, for me? If it makes you feel better, your dad used to hate wearing shoes like this too, but when he went from rags to riches, he had to adapt.” Miley entered the room, disregarding the ‘knocking’ comment because this was her house, and extended her arms, each hand holding one shoe, "You want to have fun with Marisol, right?”

“Yeah, but not with those shoes.” Rye stubbornly clapped back.

"Wear the damn shoes, Ryland James Aspen.” Clicking her tongue in annoyance, knowing they were running out of time and she still wanted to take pictures, Miley gave her signature deathly glare that she would give her kids, if she had any, to her charming, wonderful nephew. She knew very well she was dealing with the brat of her brother’s children, but she adored him nevertheless. It was obvious that lately he wasn’t being himself, and she could guess why without imposing. It wasn’t that hard to tell he was a lovesick puppy. If he didn’t try to care about anything, like his grades, or his looks, or the mess of laundry that was visibly irking her this very moment, he sure as hell wouldn’t get the girl that’s keeping him awake all night. The walls were thin, after all.

“I guess I’m not going because I REFUSE!”

"Don’t be a baby and don’t make me get your dad involved. Do you want your weekly allowance, or nah? WEAR THE DAMN SHOES!”

“No! CALL HIM. I DON’T CARE!”

He indeed did care.

In front of the Castillo’s, standing in front of his aunt’s cadillac ciel, keys in hand, Ryland continued to grumble and mumble under his breath. Obviously, he had given in, and now here he was picking his friend up for this stupid dance with these stupid shoes. All he wanted was to wear sneakers. Fucking sue him. Ambling down the path and to the door, Rye had no idea what to expect on Sol’s end. They didn’t really go through the whole coordination thing that most couples do for dances. That was unimportant. He was simply happy he was taking her.

Before ringing the doorbell, he ran his free hand through his hair, pushing some of his long strands behind his ear, and then and only then, did he finally make the household aware of his presence, as he joked, “Honey, I’m home!”

“I swear, if it’s the fucking Jehova’s Witness morons again--” The door swiftly opened. Instead of Sol or even the head of the Castillo-Jameson family, a much shorter, yet clearly fit Marshall received that bothersome doorbell and who was responsible, scowling for all of three seconds. “Oh, you’re not a Jehova’s Witness.” Marshall eyed Ryland up and down, fixating on his shoes, chuckling with a half-smirk. “Where ya headin’, cowboy?” The teen joked and leaned his right shoulder against the side of the wall.

“How the fuck is it gonna be a Jehova’s Witness at half-past six of a Saturday night, you dumb fuck?!” Marisol’s voice rang across the house from her room on the upstairs floor, where she was about finished with her preparations for the dance.

“Where do you think? I got a date with the devil; now excuse me, Marshall, not right now.” Rye was visibly peeved and just wanted to see Marisol in a dress already so he could laugh.

Marshall chose to ignore Marisol’s loud, annoying voice and stepped to the side so Ryland could come inside. “Oh, I didn’t know Candyman was taking you. Is that why you brought out the pearls?” Marshall asked, once again glancing down to Ry’s shoes.

Internally seething, still hating these shoes, a huge chance he would end up barefoot by the end of the night, Rye chose to ignore the gesture toward the shoes, and laughed, “Whatever, man. You know your sister can bring hell on Earth worse than any man that goes by the fucking name: ‘Candyman’.” He casually entered, and then shouted, “Hurry your ass up! I want to get this over and done with.”

“Fuck you, you piece of stale-ass bread! Don’t tell me what to do!”

Marshall squinted and dug his left pinky into his ear, cleaning it out. “Okay, maybe next time use your inside voice. I’m not trying to go deaf over here.” With a sigh, Marshall took a place a few feet away from Ryland and leaned against the wall, waiting for his sister to, as Ryland so poetically phrased it, hurry her ass up.

It wasn’t long before the momentary calm of the Castillo household was interrupted by a flash of red fabric and long brown hair sliding down the handrail of the stairs and landing perfectly in front of Ryland and Marshall on the first floor. Dressed in a long, spaghetti strap red dress with a slit that reached the middle of her right thigh and holding a pair of silver heels on one hand, the crimson-lipped, grinning young woman waved at her date.

“Hey,” she said breathlessly, taking a seat on the second step of the stairs to put on her heels. “Sorry I’m late. I was out surfing all day, and when I realized what time it was I barely had enough time to get decent,” she explained in order to justify her simple makeup and even more simple hairstyle, while the faint marks of paler skin where the strings of her bikini had covered her from the sun corroborated her story.

While the entrance was hardly lady-like, and nothing like a slow-mo monumental moment in a chick flick, Rye expected this, or something of the same variant. Smiling now, he watched her put her shoes on and took in the dress of the night. That was what took him aback. How goddamn good she looked in red. It was rare for Rye to look at Marisol in a light other than a sister, but today he could admit that she was absolutely stunning, beautiful, and, “Priceless.” He subconsciously said out loud, before admitting, “You look good, Sol.”

“What Woody said,” Marshall chimed in, smiling. “Amazing what a little effort into looking like a female can do for you, right sis?” He joked (for the most part).

That made the usually frowning Marisol grin from ear to ear. “Thank you, sourdough!” the short girl teased, walking over to her friend and lightly slapping his cheek a few times. “And you look… Like a vision,” she told him after taking a quick look of his selected outfit for the night.

“Oh shut up, I hate it.” Rye huffed, wishing this was just some dumb house party where he could wear whatever the fuck he wanted. Deciding to change the subject, he gestured toward the door, “You hungry? ‘Cuz I got us some food and I would hate for your fries to get cold.”

“You’re a fucking hero, dude,” Mari growled, lightly punching Ryland’s arm and heading over to the front door when--

“Not so fast!” Marshall whipped out his cellphone. “By order of our annoying dad, I am required to take pictures.” He sighed as he spoke and gestured to the happy couple to squeeze together. “Trust me, I don’t want to do this as much as you don’t but it is what it is.”

Great. “Does it have to be traditional?” Searching for a way to not have to try and take a good pic, he stepped closer to Marisol, scanning her up and down, “And do we have to do this here? Outside? Do you want me to hold her? How excessive are we being?” He was having memories of his aunt Summer spending an hour just taking pictures of him and his brothers. He hated taking pictures, but for Mr. Castillo, he had no choice. This was a matter of respect.

This one makes Sonny look like Einstein. ”Just put your arm behind her and Mari, put yours in the same position. And, please, for the love of God, don’t be tasteless.” He immediately glared at Marisol, who stuck her tongue out at him and flipped him off. If she had it her way, she’d stick her nonexistent ass out like a TikTok Thot.

“Okay, man, whatever.” Ryland eased his hand around Marisol’s waist and pulled her close. He knew the generic way of posing but this was way too couple-y for him. If it’s what the photographer wants, then so be it. To be frank, ever since he found out the news of his friends, he had no idea how to treat Marisol now. Boundaries were necessary, when his two best friends were fucking.

On her end, Marisol had done her part by closing the distance between her and Ryland and wrapping her own arm around his waist. “Hey, you’re not a whole foot taller than me anymore!” she teased, proudly standing beside her friend and not feeling like a dwarf next to a beanstalk.

“Still a shorty.” He teased, earning himself a pinch on the side where Mari’s hand had been resting before looking at Marshall expectantly. “Let’s do this, so we can grub.”

He chuckled at the height difference between the two. As he would back up so they were both in frame, Marshall was literally seconds away from taking the photo but then he saw Marisol stick her tongue out and lift her leg up while Ryland held it up, smirking. Shaking his head, Marshall cursed in Spanish and took the photo reluctantly. “I swear, you two are going to be the death of dad.” His sister just gleefully giggled in response.

“Okay, okay. Now a serious one.” Rye released his friend’s leg, not realizing how soft her skin was until now, but pushing that thought aside. The more they fooled around, the later they’d get to the dance.

They behaved long enough for Marshall to take a few more photos before Marisol cried out: “Can we fucking go now? I’m fucking starving!”

As he saved each picture, Marshall shrugged and pocketed his cellphone. “Go for it!” He walked past them, hands in his shorts. “Have fun, you crazy kids!” Marshall yelled out as he walked upstairs.

“We’ll have fun alright. In my car. Eating.” And with that, Ryland grabbed Marisol’s hand, and led her out.

About fucking time.

During the time leading up to the dance, Jasper had spent most of his days texting Ariana to set up plans for the Valentine's day dance. Well, some of the texts and pictures had nothing to do with the dance- but no one but them needed to know that. Arriving at Ariana's house at half past five, Jasper figured that the hour and a half between now and the start of the dance would give them enough time to have dinner and whatnot. Plus he needed to add a few extra minutes in there for Ariana to finish getting ready.

Knocking on the door to her house, Jasper straightened the collar of his jacket as he waited for someone to answer.

It didn’t take long for the beaming, glammed-up Ariana to answer the door. With a long-sleeved, off the shoulder white minidress that emphasized the curves of her slim figure, paired with her favorite sparkly gold red-bottom heels and gold accessories, the young woman was ready to take on the night. “Hey!” she greeted Jasper with her usual kittenish smile, her brown waves bouncing as she turned to lock the front door. She’d been ready to walk off to his car when she suddenly stopped in her tracks and stared in awe at Jasper. “Holy shit, you look amazing.”

It was true. During her high school career, Ariana had been too wrapped up around under, in front of, or on top of jocks, cheerleaders and overall popular crowd members to ever give someone like Jasper a second glance. Although, in her defense, he prefered to go by unnoticed anyway. Sure, they’d exchanged words here and there before because of Chrissy, but that was the end of it. But now, standing on her doorstep with that neatly groomed hair, that immaculate suit, that coy smile and those ice blue eyes, the young woman wondered if she had been missing out on potential opportunities just because she’d refused to step outside of her shallow bubble.

Laughing at her comment, Jasper couldn’t help his normal smirk turn into an actual smile. He had spent most of his time dedicated to blending into the background. Seeing someone take the time to notice the effort he put in on special occasions like these was nice. "Thanks. You too.” Realizing how dismissive that sounded, he tried to make up for it. "I mean, you always do, but like… wow.”

Offering his arm for her to hold, Jasper waited until Ariana grabbed on before walking towards his car. "So a little bird tells me that French is your favorite kinda food? I was thinking we could grab a bite to eat before the dance if you wanted to. That or we could save it for after. It’s up to you.”

"Really? And is that little bird called Chrissie, by any chance?" the girl joked, unhooking her arm from his and choosing to stand with her back against the passenger seat of the car. "Whoever they are, they're very right. And I say we have ourselves that dinner now. I'm starving right now… And I kinda have something else in mind for after the dance..." she teased, grabbing the front of his suit jacket and gently pulling his body close to hers, pinning her against the car. "But before we go anywhere, I’m hurt. You didn't say hi to me properly," Ariana playfully pouted.

It was painfully clear that Jasper Fray was going to have his hands more than full tonight. Getting used to having someone in a kinda-sorta-not-really relationship was different for him. But if there was one thing that he could count on with Ariana, it was her knowing what she wanted and when. That tended to be one of the things that he appreciated most about the whole ordeal.

Rather than trying to respond and fumbling over his words, Jasper settled for an I’m sorry I didn’t do this to begin with/please forgive me kiss. Not stopping until they had to come back up for air, the young man opened the door for his date, a light smirk on his face.

“Was that acceptable?” he asked teasingly.

“I guess…” Ariana replied with a small shrug and roll of the eyes, making sure to grin at the end so Jasper could know she was joking. After wrapping him up in a brief hug, she turned her attention to what her stomach had been trying to tell her for the last hour and a half. “Can we go now? I’m so, so hungry.”

Returning her hug, Jasper smiled down at her as she entered the car. ”Of course,” he responded, closing the door for her. Once they were both settled, Jasper set the GPS for the restaurant that Chrissie had recommended. He had no idea where it was. Hell, he didn’t even know what counted as French food. Nonetheless, he was determined to make this night a good one.

After they arrived at their destination, Jasper continued to act like a gentleman. Opening the doors, pulling out her chair - all of the 1950’s cliche shit that he was low-key scared would eventually get on her nerves. His fears seemed to be unfounded, though, since his date seemed to be thoroughly enjoying his attention. He actually managed to pull off dinner - much to his surprise. Since French food was Ariana’s thing, and he had no idea what to order, he let her do the ordering. They shared more than a few laughs, and the food was amazing. Ariana was a gem. All in all, the night was getting off to a good start.

After he paid the bill, and they gathered the leftovers, the pair made their way to the Country Club.

“I didn’t think we’d be this early…” Ariana mused, unbuckling her seat belt but shifting in her seat to face Jasper instead, making no motions to exit the vehicle. She was surprised to see that they were one of the first few students to arrive. “There is no way that I’m going to be early to this thing. I don’t care how long we have to sit here, but Ariana Mossos is always fashionably late. Can’t really make a grand entrance if there’s no people to see it in the first place.”

And here Jasper was always trying to be punctual. Chrissie could have given him a heads up on that! But no. Now here he was, sitting in the parking lot, looking like a fucking idiot.

”Ah shit…. I could maybe drive around a bit? That way we don’t have to just sit here or whatever?”

Ariana held up her hand to silence Jasper, her brow furrowed as she thought about what they could possibly do to pass the time that didn’t involve physical contact between them (there would be plenty of time for that later). It didn’t take long for the answer to strike her like lightning, and she turned to her date with a mischievous grin. “How about we play Two Truths and a Lie? We can kill some time, get to know each other and have fun with it at the same time.”

Shrugging his shoulders, Jasper turned to set cross legged in the seat to where he was facing her. ”Okay cool. I’ll go first.” After taking a moment to think, Jasper was finally ready to share. “I was born in Seattle, I’m a virgin, and I hate history class.”

“Oh that’s easy,” the brunette snorted. “Definitely lying about the virgin thing. You’re a hell of a kisser with a nice face and an even nicer package. There is no way you haven’t shared your gift with the world.”

Jasper laughed, his face turning a light shade of pink as he did so. “Nah… that’s uh…” he cleared his throat, his mouth suddenly dry. “That’s one of the truths.”

There was a moment of silence in which Ariana just stared at Jasper with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. But when she finally regained her composure, the young woman squealed and clapped her hands in delight. “Oh my God!” she shrieked excitedly. “You’re a virgin?! Really?!”

Why are you clapping? he thought. Jasper had never told anyone about him being a virgin for fear of them laughing. Instead, Ariana was acting…. Excited? To say Jasper was a little confused would be an understatement.

”Virgin Mary. Except…. Gothy. And…. male. So yeah.” Slightly embarrassed, what he said next came out almost too quickly to be understood. ”I mean, I’ve kissed, obviously. Seen boobs and all that. Oral. But never actually…. Stuck the landing.”

“Oh my God!” was all Ariana could say again, very much looking like a child who had gotten everything they’d asked for waiting for them under the tree on Christmas day. This was a surprising revelation, but a welcome one nonetheless. It was a clean slate- with no preconceived expectations and no other competition for that #1 lay spot. She could not only set the standards for his future partners, but she could teach him everything!

Although… Shit.

“Oh my God, have I been coming on too strong for you?” she asked him, her demeanor going from excitement to concern in record time. She might have a reputation for going hard after who she wanted, but the last thing the girl wanted was to make Jasper feel uncomfortable with her advances. She’d never be able to forgive herself if she was too pushy, or (even worse) that he felt pressured or forced to do anything he didn’t want to.

With a visibly confused face, all that Jasper could muster was ”What?” It took him just a moment to realize what she was really asking, his eyes getting wide as it hit him. Oh God, Ariana, no! No. I-i promise. You’ve been great. I mean…. I find the whole knowing what you want thing to be really great. If I do anything wrong, you let me know. It’s nice, in a way, and I appreciate it. You haven’t made me uncomfortable in any way. Swear it.”

His date seemed satisfied with his answer, because her initial excitement was back as she nodded eagerly. Taking a deep breath, Jasper was ready to change the subject. The conversation that they were having wasn’t in any way bad - he just hadn’t been able to not be red faced during the whole thing.

”So what about you? Your two truths and a lie.”

Ariana’s selections came easily to her. “Let's see… I've fucked Sonny Drake, I've fucked Warren Diedrikson, and I've fucked a teacher of King’s.”

That threw Jasper for a loop. She said everything with such confidence and pride that it was hard to tell which one might be the lie. Taking a moment to think, Jasper finally decided on his decision.

“I’m going to go with the teacher thing. I know you have a reputation, and that doesn’t bother me - but I think you’re too smart to sleep with a teacher, Ariana.”

As much as she tried to keep a straight face, Ariana ended up blushing hard and grimacing. “Then I guess I’m not as smart as you think I am…” she said awkwardly, shrugging and biting her lip. “That’s one of the truths.”

He sighed, clearly defeated. “No. You’re still just as smart as I think you are. But you’re also human, and humans make mistakes. Unless you… don’t think it was a mistake. Whichever.”

Trying to think quickly of something to turn the conversation for the better, Jasper spotted a familiar face standing outside the entrance to the Country Club. “Say….. Was that teacher Mr. Russo, by chance? He’s staring at us. Mainly you. But either way, he doesn’t look happy.”

Frowning, Ariana turned to look in the same direction Jasper was, and rolled her eyes when she saw her beloved torment glaring daggers at them. “These days he’s acting like he realized a chocolate chip cookie he’d taken a bite of was actually a raisin one… she grumbled, looking back at her date.

“Italian,” Jasper nodded approvingly. “Nice.”

Ariana snorted. “Or at least it used to be nice. He’s been acting like this ever since we had a big fight over if we were serious or not. That was like five weeks ago, and he still can’t get over it.” Not that she’d been keeping count, of course.

Listening to what Ariana had to say Jasper came to the conclusion that Ariana might just still have feelings for their Math teacher. “Well… were you guys? Serious, I mean.”

“No,” she said simply, rolling her eyes again. “And he knew that. I made it perfectly clear from the start that whatever we did was casual only, and he agreed to that. But suddenly it’s a problem that he caught me making out with Max Wallenberg on the first day of school? Give me a break…” the brunette trailed off, still visibly peeved about the whole thing.

“Fuck him then,” Jasper said, shrugging his shoulders. But when he noticed the suggestive look Ariana was giving him, he added, “Not literally but -- you know what the hell I mean.” Thinking for a moment, Jasper realized that he didn’t guess her lie, which meant that there was still a thing or two to be learned about Ariana. Turning to her again, he asked “Which one is your lie?”

Although she’d been the one to put herself in this predicament in the first place, it didn’t prevent the young woman’s tanned cheeks to turn slightly pink. “That I fucked Warren Diedrikson,” she sheepishly admitted, tucking a wave behind her ear. “We never went any further than just a few heavy makeout sessions. The truth is that I actually lost it to Sonny the first semester of sophomore year.”

Blinking a few times to let that settle in, Jasper laughed lightly. “Well, that shit eating grin can get to you huh?”

The brunette couldn’t help but laugh brightly. “You could say that…” she told Jasper, as a melancholic expression softened her facial features. “We were both young and dumb and had a lot of alone time on our hands. So we just kept taking things further and further every time until it just… happened,” she explained. “I know he’s not exactly the type I would go for, but he’s actually a really sweet guy. And honestly? I don’t regret any of it. He was a wonderful first. Just… Don’t tell anyone else, ‘kay? I don’t want to start any drama when things are going so well for the both of us.”

It was easy to tell how sincere that Ariana was being. Jasper wasn’t one to judge, and he damn sure wasn’t going to start now. Nodding his head in understanding, he gave her a small encouraging smile. “Don’t worry. All of your secrets are safe with me.”

And Ariana knew in her heart that Jasper really meant it.

When Kavi had accepted Chrissie’s offer to be her date for the dance, he wasn’t sure how he would feel about it after the fact. And even now, as his 2018 black BMW convertible rounded a corner with the Lambert house in sight, he still wasn’t sure how he felt about it. This was mainly due to how conflicted he found himself feeling about it all. He still held rather strong feelings for Ariel and there was a part of him that knew he would always feel this way and maybe he just couldn’t grasp that they were over, regardless if it was a temporary thing or not.

Taking a moment to stop near the driveway (though not yet pulling into it), Kavi allowed the sounds of whatever was playing on the radio to drown out his thoughts. It was working until the station decided to end the song he was vibing to and the next song that came on made Kavi sigh.


“Of all the--”

Kavi silently cursed as the song resounded in his BMW, the chorus ringing true for him and this particular truth made him instantly turn the volume down and proceed to drive forward. His foot hit the gas pedal enough so that he could turn right and into the driveway. But as soon as he was about to, a mix of anger and panic set in, which wasn’t hard to believe since Kavi was starting to descend into one of his down spells, his brown eyes caught the sight of a flashy red-almost-crimson Lamborghini and the atrocious sounds of someone so obnoxious as the person driving the car that took his spot.

Angrily, though trying to put on his best face, Kavi pulled up next to Santiago’s pricy car, sighing as he pulled his key out of the ignition. He got out and, as he leaned against his clearly superior car, he stared Santiago down as though he was trying to force the candy man’s brain to pop and he did it all while wearing a striped pink shirt, white pants, and a white blazer. So safe to say what he was doing just looked like a human strawberry going through a bad fit of constipation face.

Lost as he was between his phone and the obnoxious, loud music booming through the Lambo’s sound system, it wasn’t until he saw a familiar car out of the corner of his eye that Santiago’s attention was diverted. A questioning eyebrow was raised as the devil momentarily wondered why on Earth Kavi Salvador would be pulling up at Stella Lambert’s house when his friend clearly had another date. Of course, it didn’t take long for Santiago to remember that the girl’s cousin was also a resident at the house- which explained the other man’s presence.

Shrugging, Santiago watched as Kavi exited his vehicle and took to leaning against it instead, glaring at him like he was a pigeon who’d just taken a big shit on his freshly-cleaned windshield. A part of him wanted to throw in some remark about how terrible his wardrobe choice for the night was. But that would be playing along with childish, passive-aggressive games that he wanted no part of- and the young man was determined to not let anything ruin his mood. Instead, Diablo turned down his music, rolled down the window and began his attempt at a cordial conversation with Kavi.

"You here for Chrissie?" Santiago asked, trying his hardest to not laugh as he took a glance at Kavi's Créme Savers outfit.

Kavi didn’t say anything but instead glared at Santiago. And that lasted for all of five seconds when he realized it was stupid of him to do that. “Yep. Just waiting here,” Kavi stated with arms folded across his chest. He had never been one to enjoy small talk when it came to Santiago but he didn’t want to cause a scene. “And you’re here for Stella, or are you here because you just love showing off that obnoxious Lambo of yours?”

In regular circumstances, the cynicism in Kavi’s voice would’ve rubbed Santiago the wrong way. But today, it only made the young man snort instead. "Oh yeah, definitely just showing off this bad boy. It's like a dog, y'know? Gotta take it on walks around the neighborhood to keep it healthy," he chuckled, yet it didn't take long for his laughter to fade away into a deep sigh and a somewhat sad expression. "I've put it up for sale, so I'm taking every chance to enjoy it while I still can."

Kavi had a lot of things he could probably say right now. Maybe rub salt in that wound or make some off-hand comment about how nobody would grieve when it was finally gone. But the longer Kavi stood there and met Santiago with how… well, honestly how sad the guy looked, Kavi felt bad. And that’s what really surprised him. Not that he didn’t speak his mind but how this car actually meant that much to the great Candyman of Crown Heights, that the Devil of King’s was actually feeling so depressed about it that anything Kavi said would be moot.

“Well, I’m sure Stella will like it. She’s always been a fan of shiny things. I can’t tell you how many tubes of glitter she’s gone through over the years,” Kavi laughed as he tried to count how many of those tubes she went through when they were younger. “So, why are you selling it anyway?” Kavi asked.

The gray-eyed boy raised an eyebrow. The answer, Diablo thought, was obvious to anyone with half a brain. “Not exactly a lot of space for a car seat in a two-seater Lambo, is there?” the young man answered with a smile and a small shrug. “It’s fine, though. I’m getting something a little more practical- like this custom 4-door Charger I saw the other day. Then whatever’s left I’ll put away in a savings account for the girls.”

Kavi remained silent for a while. He let Santiago ramble on but mainly because he had no earthly idea what to say. ‘Oh, I’m sorry about your incredible loss. I couldn’t imagine what you are going through' wasn’t something Kavi wanted to say. To be honest, he didn’t want to talk to Santiago. He wanted to get Chrissie and take her to the dance. He wasn’t trying to make small talk with Santiago, but here he was, hearing about how poor Santiago Fernandez was gonna depart with his unattractive car.

Or maybe Kavi was putting his own frustrations on Santiago, who by all rights did nothing to Kavi.

Kavi put his hands inside his pants pockets, his gaze shifting away from Santiago for a short, somewhat awkward moment. “So, a daughter, huh?” Kavi spoke as if he didn’t know. With him being friends with April, he knew. “That’s cool, I guess. I hope to have a couple of those myself eventually,” Kavi admitted with a half-smirk.

‘If only you knew how daunting it is to think that our future daughters could be or meet someone just like us, you wouldn’t even fathom having more than one…’ is what Santiago so desperately wanted to tell Kavi. But that would make him seem like an asshole, which he was trying hard not to be. So he settled for something that wasn’t hostile.

“I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you this, but hold off on that front for a bit, will you? Learn from my mistakes,” he chuckled again. “Don’t get me wrong: I’m excited for it. But I’m not gonna lie to you, man: it’s fucking terrifying at the same time. Wondering what she’ll be like, if she’ll make it here safe, if Lils will be okay, or if I’ll be able to take care of both of them right… It drives me crazy sometimes.” Santiago had no idea why he was being so honest about his struggles with Salvador of all people, but there was a sense of relief in voicing aloud the thoughts that had been consuming him for months now.

“Yeah, I bet.”

Well this was awkward. Last semester, Kavi and Santiago couldn’t be near each other without some sort of verbal fight breaking out or one of the boys trying to egg on the other. So, Kavi was thrown from them going from that breed of hostility to...whatever this was. Kavi, who usually always had something to say regardless how appropriate it was, found himself not only able to say anything but deep in his gut and slowly rising to other places, he had this feeling that maybe things between him and Diablo never were ‘bad’. He didn’t like him, of course, but this was probably the first time either of them had had any sort of conversation that didn’t involve them saying things to each other that were mean, cruel, and absolutely said with the intention of getting on the other’s nerve.

But now, even as Kavi thought about doing it, he didn’t have it in him. “You have every right to go crazy. I obviously don’t know anything about this, so you can accept it or not. Kavi’s eyes landed on Santiago and he took a breath. “My advice is just relax, don’t worry about all these what ifs until you actually get to that point, y’know? It’s like I tell my kid sister all the time: unless you know for certain, there’s no reason to drive yourself up a wall.”

Huh. Who would’ve thought that Kavi Salvador would be able to provide him with good advice and any sort of comfort in a situation like this? Not the devil, that was for sure. If you would’ve told Santiago at the beginning of the year that he and Kavi would have a calm, honest conversation of any kind without any insults or offensive remarks, he would’ve asked what cocaine you were snorting. Yet, as strange as it was, this was probably the best example of how far he’d come in his journey to self-improvement. If he was able to make peace with a guy who had, at some point, been the biggest threat to his relationship, then he’d be able to take on anything else life threw at him.

When he and Santiago sort of laughed at the interesting, pleasant turn their conversation took, whatever either of them were going to say next had come to a complete halt as loud, hostile screams came from inside the Lambert house. It immediately caused both boys to direct their eyes from each other and feel a gravitational pull towards the closed doors. They heard screams. They heard shouting. They exchanged curious looks as they heard the obvious escalation of some kind of altercation between two voices that only took moments of identifying who they belong to.

“I wonder what’s--” Kavi began to speak but had been interrupted as Chrissie came out huffing and puffing. Stella wasn’t far behind her, though she stood in the doorway, waving to Kavi, smiling as though they didn’t hear obscenities being thrown out for the entire world to hear.

Kavi waved back but immediately found himself in one hell of an awkward position as Chrissie aggressively entered the passengers side of his BMW, slamming the door with nearly as much force as she opened it. “I HATE HER!” Kavi heard her scream, his eardrums likely bleeding because of it.

Rolling his eyes at the uncertainty he felt in his gut about how difficult this night was gonna be, Kavi offered Stella an apologetic expression. Taking one final moment to center himself, Kavi got back into his car and drove off.

As the black BMW pulled out of the Lambert driveway, Stella said her goodbyes to her mother and father and walked her way over to Santiago’s chrome red Lamborghini, smiling at him. She got in the passenger seat and sighed, yet put on a smile. “Hey,” she greeted Santi simply, “How much of that did you actually hear?” She asked, looking somewhat embarrassed about how far things got between her and Chrissie. It wasn’t so much that things were said that shouldn’t have been said but more that the neighbors and others had to hear it that got to her. “Actually, forget about it! I’m just ready to have as much fun as I’m able to!” Stella nodded more for herself than Santiago and leaned back into the leather seat as her date pulled out of the driveway, taking the opposite route Kavi and Chrissie took (for good measure).

Before Jasper and Ariana could go any further than putting their hands on the door handles, the whole vehicle vibrated from the bass of another one incoming that Ariana immediately recognized as Kavi’s. Amused, the young woman watched as a very enthusiastic Chrissie belted out the lyrics to some song she didn’t recognize, accompanying them with a show fit for a drama geek like her. But the brunette realized who the curly-haired girl was heading towards, the smile that had been adorning her lips was soon wiped out of her face.

“Did she just--?” Ariana trailed off, watching with wide eyes as her best friend singled out her ex-lover during her show in front of his colleagues with a line that said something about ‘can’t like with her but can’t live without her’. Wanting nothing more than for the earth to open up and swallow her right then and there, the brunette watched Chrissie finish her fantastic performance with a bang before running off into the country club, dragging Kavi along with her and leaving a confused-looking group of teachers behind.

The car was quiet for a few seconds, the air thick with surprise before Ariana finally spoke. “She’s gone crazy, Jas. Chrissie has officially lost her marbles. And she’s trying to take me down with her.”

Watching closely at what all went down, Mr. Russo looked just as confused as Jasper felt. ”Did… did she just call him out in dance?”

“I think she did!” she replied, her mouth still agape in shock for a few seconds before eventually succumbing to a fit of nervous and amused laughter. She knew that her best friend would never dare to expose her like that (the consequences of being outed would be more than catastrophic), but Ariana would be lying if she said she didn't find this particular way of subtle shade very entertaining.

“Well that was uh… that was something.” Unsure of what else to say as he continued to try and make sense of what just happened, Jasper shook his head and laughed along with Ariana. Where her laugh was more nervous, his was more one of shock. “Guess we better head inside before Russo’s head explodes, huh?”

The young woman could only nod. After taking in a deep breath, Ariana finally mustered up the courage to exit the car. She wasted no time in locking her slender arm with the one Jasper was so graciously offering her, and together they glamorously made their way to the country club. Of course, she made sure to saunter a little more and walk a little slower than usual when passing by her favorite teacher-- let him fully appreciate what he would be missing tonight.

Once inside, it was easy to tell that the party hadn’t really started yet. While more and more people were coming through the door, not many of them were heading to the dance floor. Was it that they were waiting on their ‘favorite’ song? Maybe. Scanning the crowd, Jasper spotted one of his friends from the Junior class. William (or Will, as he liked to be called) was one of the few people that Jasper could trust around the school. It also just so happened that Will had full access to his father's liquor cabinet and worked on the crew that helped set up everything for the night. Waving him Will over, Jasper smiled at his friend before introducing him to Ariana.

“Ariana, this is my friend Will. Will, this is Ariana, my date for the night.”

Will - never one to filter what was on his mind - looked Ariana up and down before whistling. “Dammmnnnn girl,” he said, rubbing his hands together in that weird way jocks did when they spotted their next prize.

Jasper rolled his eyes, while his date tittered and winked at his friend. ”Okay man. Where’s the shit I paid you for?”

Sighing, Will waved his hand for the pair to follow him. Once they reached the table with the snacks and drinks, Will reached under the table and nonchalantly pulled out a fifth of Smirnoff one-hundred proof vodka. Thankfully, most of the teachers were still doing light checks and making sure no one got in without a valid school ID.

”You don’t have to be here for this,” Jasper said quietly, turning to Ariana. ”I understand if you aren’t cool with it or whatever.”

To say that Ariana was surprised was an understatement. Out of all the people she would have expected to spike the punch, it was safe to say that Jasper would have been the last one to come to mind. It was probably why they were able to get away with it so easily. Who would’ve suspected the quiet music geek?

“Holy shit,” she commented, shifting her eyes between Jasper, Will and the vodka with an amused smile on her face. “I never would have pegged you for a troublemaker, Jasper. Spiking the vodka right under the teacher’s noses? That takes balls, my friend, and you damn sure have those in their place.”

Shrugging his shoulders, Jasper smirked. “What can I say?” Taking the bottle from Will, he twisted the top off. “Okay. Will, I’m gonna need you to stand guard. Ariana… uh…. First honors? I’ll stand kinda in front of you so no one can see.”

“I would love to!” she simpered, shooting him a wink before grabbing the vodka bottle from his hands and slowly pouring the liquor into the running fountain until the very last drop. Grinning, she handed Jasper the now empty bottle to be disposed of, grabbed a cup from the table and allowed one of the streams to fill up her cup with the crimson liquid. “You guys wanna take the first sip with me?” she asked the boys.

”Hell yeah, why not?” Jasper handed the empty bottle to Will who passed it off to one of the other guys to dispose of. Will supplied most of Jasper alcohol for him, especially at events like these. They knew where to get rid of the bottle so that it wouldn’t be found.

As Jasper and Will both grabbed a cup and followed Ariana’s lead, Jasper raised his fancy plastic glass to toast.

”To the last cheesy Valentine’s Day Dance we ever have to go to,” he smiled, before downing the nearly the whole cup. His face souring, Jasper shook his head in an attempt to get rid of the taste from his mouth. ”That shit leaves a really bad after taste.”

“I’ll say… Ariana who had imitated Jasper and Will by also downing the entirety of her punch, was making a face as well. “You should’ve told me you needed something to spike the punch with. I would’ve gotten you something a little more... luxe. No offense,” she quickly added, looking over at Will.

“None taken,” Will said, shaking his head. “If you guys will excuse me, I gotta go help out with a few more things.” Before Jasper or Ariana either one had the chance to say anything, Will disappeared into the crowd.

”Don’t worry about it,” Jasper laughed. “I know it doesn’t exactly go down all that smooth, but I’m sure it’ll do the trick. Besides - people will just be happy to have something to get a buzz off of.”

“That’s very true!” she nodded, tossing her used cup inside a nearby trash can before turning back to her date and taking hold of his arm again. “Now come on. Let’s go take a few selfies together before we hit the dance floor. The lighting is horrible, but we look way too cute together to pass up.”

As far as awkward conversations with the parent of a girl who wasn’t his girlfriend, Sonny liked to think he was rather successful in how he handled himself with Julie’s impressive father. He didn’t wet himself, so that was a plus (although, he couldn’t say the same about his armpits). Thankfully for Sonny, he always kept an extra box of wet wipes and his mother knew him too well because they were exactly where he kept them in his truck.

The remainder of the car ride to the country club went a lot smoother and was a lot dryer (thankfully). Sonny and Julie were, if nothing else, proof that boys and girls could be friends without it feeling weird or with the possibility of sexual attraction. Even if he wasn’t in a relationship and wasn’t as close to Marisol or as terrified of her, he still wouldn’t feel anything like that for her. Regardless of the nature of the date and regardless of his true intentions, Sonny genuinely didn’t feel that way for Julie. Nothing about her screamed girlfriend potential for him.

Julie MacMillan was a lot of things and one of his good friends was at the top of that list for him.

So he did what he did with all of his good friends: Sonny jammed to bad dad rock with her. She might’ve judged him but hearing her laugh at how great Creed was at being more cliche than a 2000s kids wearing a shirt with a flame design, it was worth it.

When he pulled into the parking lot, Sonny didn’t want to walk miles down, so he chose to park close enough to the entrance but not too close.

“With arms wide opeeeeen!” Sonny sang at the top of his lungs without the benefit of the slightly-better vocals of Creed’s Scott Stapp. “Sorry,” Sonny apologized, laughing, body turned slightly to the side as he looked at Julie. “Be honest: you had fun jamming to Creed, didn’t you?” He joked but there was a part of him who was curious.

The redhead just giggled as Sonny finished the song. “You have the voice of an angel.” she covered her mouth as another fit of giggles bubbled up inside her. “Oh jamming… is that what that was?” she said as she opened her passenger-side door stepping out gazing up at the country club. “You ready to go in?”

Sonny got out as well, rounding around the back of the Audi TT, joining Julie on her side of it since it was closer to the entrance. Smiling at her, Sonny said, “Yeah, let’s go!”

As the two walked in, Sonny felt like the dance committee really outdid themselves this time around. They always knew how to decorate and make use of the Country Club, which Sonny often felt was oversaturated but that was beside the point. Unlike the last dance, he was at that was held at the Country Club, the Valentine’s Dance was held in the ever-expansive ballroom inside. The space was being taken advantage of as Sonny noticed decorative wallpaper that fit the mood that Valentine’s Day was often associated with, a bright, LED light-filled disco ball in the center, providing an unsurprisingly romantic atmosphere.

Sonny glanced around the room and he saw Jasper and Ariana in the back by one of the tables with heart-shaped balloons and he saw Kavi and Chrissie already making use of the dancefloor, which was to be expected. What wasn’t expected was seeing the usually-macho-looking Kavi Salvador, the king of masculine energy, wearing a striped, pink shirt.

Laughing, Sonny turned his attention to the beautiful redhead next to him. “They sure didn’t spare any expense, did they?” He said to her, eyes wandering around some more, taking in more sights of the decorations.

“No… but then again they shouldn’t with what our parents pay.” She smiled as she also looked around the room taking it all in. She looped her arm into Sonny’s and steered him in the direction of the refreshments. “You think anyone has spiked the punch yet?” Julie queried, lifting up the ladle and pouring two cups for herself and Sonny.

She offered her date one of the cups and took a sip. “Nope not yet.” She almost sounded a little bit disappointed. “So anyway, do you know when Marisol will get here?” She strained her neck to see if she could spot her. “Who did she end up going with?”

As he mirrored Julie, he would also mirror her disappointment when his lips just tasted generic punch. He glanced quickly back at the table and noticed that Jasper and Ariana were joined by a third person, someone Sonny had seen around and knew he wasn’t so great of a person, which meant now the punch would be spiked. Typical. “I think she and Rye should be here in no time!” Sonny said, raising his cup to his lips for another refreshing sip.

“Oh?” She raised an eyebrow when Sonny mentioned who Mari was taking to the dance. “Well, do you want to wait for them on the dancefloor?” Julie asked, extending her arm towards the already dancing couples. “Show people that Mrs. Dramboui’s ballet classes helped us after all these years?” she laughed.

Sonny wasn’t the best dancer. Julie knew that. Kavi and Chrissie when they weren’t all about themselves knew that. And Ariana Mossos way in the back knew it too. Everyone had at least a small bit of knowledge about Jackson Torvald Drake Jr’s horrendous dancing ability, yet when Julie asked him, Sonny did nothing to halt it. With their cups resting on the beverages table and both of Sonny’s hands taking Julie’s, Sonny got into a groove. Thankfully the song that was playing had a good beat, so he was able to find a rhythm. His legs moved as though he retained some muscle memory from those times when he and Julie were a lot younger in ballet class but more importantly, Sonny fixated on Julie’s smile. She usually had a soft, regal-like expression that was rarely expressive but he happened to notice all of her pearly whites showing, so Sonny knew he must’ve been doing something right.

Finishing the last bit of his burger, having scoffed it down in a matter of seconds, Ryland crumpled the wrapper, reached in the back seat, and tossed it in the brown bag the food came in. When the light turned green, he gently pushed on the paddle, taking his sweet ass time, choosing to cruise to the dance rather than rush. They’d get there when they get there.

After opening the console, he grabbed a napkin to clean his fingertips, before putting that too in the garbage bag in the back. While his room wasn’t the cleanest, since he hated folding his clothes, and eventually it all just exploded, Rye was all about personal hygiene, especially in a car that didn’t belong to him. Rich people got possessive over their cars. He knew his aunt wouldn’t scold him if something were to happen, but for him, this was a common courtesy and a show of respect. He was fortunate enough to have a car to drive his date in, who by the way, was dressed incredibly. Nobody could pull off a red dress like Marisol — that’s for sure.

Taking the obvious scenic route, intentionally turning on roads he knew would bring them off track, and that would only make them late to the dance, Rye cleared his throat, “You really do look amazing, Sol. I mean it.” He tapped his thumbs on the wheel, turning his gaze to her briefly, to have another look. As a result, he smiled, that kind of smile that showed a genuine softness that only those he would die for saw. That ‘I love you’ kind of smile. “This is not the same from seeing pictures posted online in the Hills. This is so much better.” Grinning, that goofy Aspen grin, as if Marisol was a gift from heaven that he didn’t deserve, Rye chuckled, “Sonny best be glad you're his.”

Marisol wasn’t one to blush often. But when she heard Ryland’s words, and the way he was smiling at her, she couldn’t fight back the bright pink heat rising to her cheeks. Leave it to Ry to find a way to make her feel so great about herself. “Thanks, Bread,” she said in a surprisingly soft voice, shooting him an even more surprisingly sweet smile. And when he commented on Sonny being glad she was his, the girl chuckled along with him. “You bet your pale ass he is! Or at least, I hope he is. Wouldn’t wanna be wasting my time if he’s not.”

“Yeah, well, he’d be dumb to let you go.” Rye calmly responded, bringing his eyes back to the road. The fact that they couldn’t go to a Valentine’s dance together was still kind of weird for him to understand. Beverly Hills High threw grand parties where people did whatever the fuck they wanted, because money did all the talking. Authority, not so much. The three Queens had more power than the actual principal. That was his normal.

King’s was different, though. It was… interesting, to say the least. He wasn’t complaining! Ryland had a hottie to entertain in the form of his best friend, so he expected this night to go well. The pessimism was overshadowed with hope because in this instant he was happy and that was a fantastic start for their night. “My ass is pretty pale. I don’t tan like you. I burn.”

Mari could only scoff and raise her eyebrows at him. “Tan? You think this shit is tanning?” she debated, pulling down the strap of her dress so Ry could see the visible solar power redness on her shoulder-- a clear contrast from the very pale skin where her bikini had been resting that afternoon. “I look like a shrimp!”

“... better than me.” He cheesed, not really noticing the redness on her shoulder, because his gaze kept going to her dress (while still paying attention to the road). Clearing his throat, realizing he was looking at her boobs for a second too long, since they were kind-of-sort-of-hanging-out, he looked ahead. For once, a rare sight could be seen. His cheeks were kissed pink. “SO! You looking forward to this?” Yes, enough about skin. Focus on the party.

“I guess,” the brunette said with a shrug, taking a loud sip of the large cherry coke her best friend had so graciously gotten her along with the food. “I would’ve loved to go with Sonny, since it would’ve been our first school dance as a couple and last valentine’s day dance and all-- no offense,” she added, hoping Ryland wouldn’t be upset about what she had just said. “But I’m not mad about it. I get to spend the night with you, which is still a win in my book. No complaints on my end over that.”

“None taken. I get it. If I had a girl, I’d want to take her too. I could only imagine Sonny’s feeling the same way.” Who wouldn’t be a little bitter if they couldn’t take their lover to a dance that celebrates love? A dance for friendship was the school’s way of trollin’ the newly lovebirds. It sucked for his friends, but hopefully, this only made them stronger.

A hesitant expression suddenly fell over Marisol’s features. There was something that had been eating at her for some time now, but she hadn’t dared to tell anyone about it. Yet, before she could stop herself, she was spilling every single one of the details to Ryland. “I mean, I don’t know… He seems pretty damn happy about taking Julie to this dance...” she confessed, voicing aloud some of the thoughts the evil little voice in her head had been plaguing her with for the past week. “I mean, I don’t blame him: I would be too. Jules is probably one of the most stunning women I have ever seen. But, I don’t know. I just feel he’s been a hell of a lot happier since he started to spend more time with her and less with me. Makes you think some shit and put some things in perspective…” she trailed off, biting her lower lip and shifting her eyes in the direction of the rolling scenery in the passenger window.

“Stop.” As positive as Rye wanted to be, which he was doing a pretty good job at, he did recall the long phone calls from last semester. It was a lot of information to take in and he was sure Marisol filtered some, but the sudden realization that his two friends were dating kind of helped thread the pieces together a little better. He knew how insecure Marisol was, he knew she battled her own disorder on a daily basis, he knew that Sonny wasn’t always the greatest person to be around with. They may both be his best friend, but his loyalty leaned more toward Sol because her being hurt wasn’t something he wanted her to be used to. He couldn’t handle seeing her cry.

“You’re beautiful. Remember that. Always.”

Living miles away prevented him from being here for her when she really needed him the most. He was here now and for the next few months, he wasn’t going anywhere. A solemn expression washed over him, as he made a promise to his date, “... AND, if he ever does something to make you cry. Don’t bother lifting a finger. I will gladly go in your stead.”

The girl couldn’t help but let out a shaky laugh. “Thanks, Ry, and I appreciate the effort,” she told him, resting her head on his shoulder and her hand on the knee nearest to her. “But we both know I don’t hold a candle next to that girl. And I’m okay with that! But… I’m not okay with how I’m feeling because of it. It makes me feel stupid, and I hate feeling stupid.”

There were so many responses coursing through Rye’s mind. How should he respond without making her mood sink even more? He could keep quiet. However, that would be unnerving, even for him, especially after what she said. She knew Rye was into Julie, who to him was completely out of his league, so him disagreeing in any way would be seen as blowing smoke up her ass. They had a whole conversation about both being sexually attracted to the redhead like a week ago!

Placing his right hand on her left, he grabbed it and gave it a gentle squeeze, letting instinct take over, instead of overthinking, “You’re mine tonight, right?” He let those words linger in the air.

“Yeeeeaaaaah…” she answered slowly, looking away to hide the new blush in her face for a completely different reason now. There was no confusing or even denying the sudden change of atmosphere inside the luxurious vehicle, and she hated how… creative... her mind could get in instances like this. Especially with all of these suggestive scenes unfolding inside her of her brain, playing continuously as if a movie on a loop, getting heated and heated with each passing second-

Pulling up in the lot, he smirked, “Allow me the chance to show you a good time. And I have no doubt, we’ll make them jealous.” Like a dork, he mischievously winked, hoping this would cheer her up.

It was the car coming to a full stop at the country club’s parking lot what brought Marisol back to her senses. She had quickly turned her eyes towards Ryland, a panicked expression settling in at the thought of him even realizing where her mind had been venturing towards. She had hoped to be looking at a serious expression, but found herself facing a wink and another line that could be entirely misconstrued if heard by the wrong ears.

Her throat suddenly dry, Marisol grabbed her drink again and took a long, deep sip, not stopping until there wasn’t a drop of liquid left inside the cup. Only then was she able to give her unsuspecting friend an answer. “S-sure,” she stammered, visibly flustered.

Unsuspecting indeed, Ryland took the next moment to take the keys out, get out his car, and go on the other side to open the door for her. Offering his hand, his stare trailed down to her bare leg before going back to her blushing face. He would behave tonight. While her skin did look nice to touch, that wasn’t his skin to touch.

Although she was at the peek of champagne pink, he assumed her mind was still fighting thoughts of rage. His lips seemed to have a permanent lift, and to his surprise, his glowing excitement didn’t seem to fade. This would be their night and he’d have fun. She’d have fun. They both would have fun. “That’s right, dollface.” Rye broke into one of his voices, choosing a film noir accent from movies like Sin City, “You’re a dame to kill for-- and I’m ready for your worst.”

The short girl chuckled and playfully shook her head. There was the Ryland Aspen that Marisol knew: the one with the corny voice-acting and not the one who was making her mentally cheat on her boyfriend like Ariana Mossos probably did on an hourly basis. It was the push she needed to get herself out of the mentally compromising road she’d been going down.

Grinning, she took his hand and exited the car as gracefully as she could. “You don’t want to know what I’m capable of at my worst, sugar,” she teased with a wink of her own, following his lead but with a surprisingly convincing Southern accent. “Now let’s go in there and show all these children who are the real bosses of this place.”

“Money!”

Fast forwarding to them entering the dance, which was already poppin’, Ryland wrapped his arm around Marisol’s waist, while scanning the field. Between the drink table and the dancefloor, this place was lively and they had arrived at a perfect time. Or so he thought.

Turning his attention back to his date, he could see the deadliest glare, the hellfire of jealousy emitting from her aura, and as such, he turned to follow where she was looking and there they were. Julie and Sonny showing off on the dance floor, and looking as happy as they could possibly be. Continuing to let instincts lead, he leaned down to whisper in Marisol’s ear, “I’m thinking we need a song change…”

Ugh… There was that damn voice again, and there was Ryland doing something that absolutely drove her crazy. It wasn’t his fault, though, and she wasn’t blaming him for whatever he was unsuspectingly doing to her. How was he supposed to know the consequences of these types of actions? It wasn’t as if they talked about these types of things anyway.

Fueled by both jealousy and curiosity, the brunette tilted her head back in his direction so she could reach his ear. “What are you thinking?” she asked him in a low voice, keeping his narrowed eyes locked on her very pleased-looking boyfriend and Julie as they joyfully danced together in a way he and Marisol never had.

Rather than respond, he led her to the DJ, first gesturing with his head. When they reached the man in charge of the tunes, Rye tapped the table to grab his attention, “Hey, we’re over this crap. Play PillowTalk, by Zayn, my dude.” They were the first to make a request, which was surprising. Even so, Rye wasn’t complaining. No more talking. He used all the dancing skills his aunt Summer had blessed him with to make himself and Marisol look and feel like a MEAL. Better than a snack. This may have been a reckless move on his part, but he wanted his date to feel good. If that meant making his bro jealous with the sensual way their bodies were pressed up and moving along together, then yeah-- he would do just that.