If he had put much thought up until now, Ryland wouldn’t have believed he’d get this far. If he had focused on anything but Julie, he would’ve noticed how displeased his best friend seemed and how mixed the crowd was with his stunt. Well, more so because of the singing than the dancing, which was to be expected. He wasn’t Katie Callaghan, who was the leading lady at Beverly Hills High School. In this case, her mirrored counterpart would be Chrissie McCoy, but he didn’t know the Starlet of King’s Academy well enough to talk about her skill and talent. Regardless of the atmosphere, and those that watched in acceptance or judgment, his mind was solely on the person that grabbed his hand. Anyone else could go fuck themselves.

Leading her to the dancefloor, he became more and more aware of the pounding heartbeat in his chest. The song transitioned from Shawn Mendes to Live For The Night by Krewella, which was more up his alley than his confession song. With how last minute and spontaneous his act was, he didn’t know what other songs he could use that matched his feelings, without coming off too strong. When they reached the center, the dance floor flashing with an array of hot pinks, reds, and gold, fitting colors for Valentine’s, he let the music fuse with his body, as he did for his performance, but this time, he made sure to match her and use his ballroom lessons from his aunt, to make his date float across the dance floor.

Unlike the hip hop style he showcased earlier, Rye was far more focused and careful since this was no longer a solo thing. He didn’t want to be seen as the average teenage boy that would urgently go for the grind like he had done earlier with Marisol. Rye didn’t want Julie to think that was all he was capable of, and while this was a unique song to mix club dancing with ballroom moves like a reverse pivot from Quickstep, shoulder spins from Jive or bringing Julie in a Sweetheart position from the East Coast Swing, he was going to make this work. He was going to make them work.

At the start of the song, he worked hard to gain her trust, taking the lead, holding her hands, bringing her in, then out, and back in again. As he turned her body like they were salsa partners, he chose steps carefully and with intention, to showcase her. Twirling her, he couldn’t contain the stupid grin off his face from how happy he was. He hadn’t felt this way about someone for a while and to think it would be someone far out of his league, someone that reminded him of sour candy, so sweet, yet when angered, she had one hell of a bite. And, let’s be real. That side of her was uncontrollably hot. “Am I still a little boy to you?” A reference from a line he would never forget her saying: This school already has enough little boys disguised as ‘Alpha males’. Rye’s smile never faltered, as his dark gaze locked with her stormy eyes. To someone as keen as Julie, it was clear he was observing her for any signs of displeasure.

As they danced around Julie couldn’t help but think that she was having more fun tonight than she had been having in a long time. Maybe it was true what her peers had been whispering throughout the halls. Maybe she had been wound too tight… only wanting to have fun on her terms, not just letting go and dance. But letting Ryland take the lead as they danced proved to be just what she needed to relax and let go.

Her eyes sparkled with mischief as she stared back into his eyes. “I don’t know...” she paused resting her arms on his shoulders and looked around. “Are you still acting like a little boy?” she continued with her own question.

“Right now?” He pulled her close to him and shook his head, “Nah.” At least in this instance, he was owning up to his actions and taking charge. For the first month or so of him attending King’s, though? He was being a big baby. Sheepishly, his smile momentarily turned into a pout, “But maybe earlier… yeah, a little.” By earlier, he was referring to his raunchy dance with Marisol that clearly was not something he should’ve done with a friend.

A small huff escaped Julie as they continued to sway to the more slow song the DJ had put on. “Well…” she began pondering if she should admit how she felt when she saw him and Marisol dance before. “If you tried to get some sort of reaction out of me… I guess it sparked some small feelings of jealousy.” she flicked her ice blue eyes back to his “But don’t let that get to your head!”

The ball was in his hands and he couldn’t convince his ego to talk out of his ass. To pretend that he leveled up fully to a gentleman, or prince charming, would be blatantly lying to her face. Rye knew he had a lot of growing up to do, he was a child at heart, which was okay for times like these. However, if he wanted to be with a lady like Julie, there was no doubt in his mind that he had to clean up his act and do better. “I should… apologize. For that, and for putting your date in a mood.”

Julie craned her neck around to see if she could spot Sonny. And there he was standing together with Marisol having what looked like a heated discussion. Her face fell into a frown “Why?” her expression was visibly confused. “How is Sonny’s mood connected to us dancing?” Julie queried curiosity growing in her.

“That, I can’t answer. Like I could tell he was already in a bad mood, because of me and Sol, and this was just icing on the cake for some reason?” Ryland looked over to his two best friends arguing. Goddammit. He spent so much time cheering Marisol up and now she was back to ground zero, all over again.

Unfortunately, he had no idea of their plan to play matchmakers, all he knew was Sonny was not taking Rye’s serenade and performance well solely because of the fact that his boy decided to argue with his girlfriend soon after. Did Rye suck that bad? “I meant earlier. With the whole jealousy thing.” Turning his attention back to her, Rye realized how tall Julie was. He was used to peering down at short girls, and for once, there was only a couple inch difference.

After a moment of surprise, he furrowed his eyebrows, not really knowing how to explain the ordeal well. Rye knew any hesitation would only make Julie think the worst. He didn’t want to ruin her day, and he hoped he wasn’t going to, but he also felt like she deserved honesty. “You’re perfect.” Fuck! That was not how he wanted to start this. “And beautiful.” Okay, well, he was just going to die after this. “I mean, uh, that’s a given… but like, you and Sonny looked—” He heavily sighed, knowing he was god awful at explaining shit, and probably already fucked up, “—good together.”

As Rye struggled to get his words out, Julie couldn’t help but roll her eyes playfully. She was used to people telling her she was ‘beautiful’ or that she was the ‘perfect’ girl for them. Obviously she knew she looked good, she had mirrors in her house. But they never really meant it and only said those things because they wanted something. Hopefully the gentleman who was standing in front of her was different. She had a feeling he was. “Thank you…” she whispered reaching out to put a piece of his long hair that had fallen in front of his face behind his ear again. “You look very handsome tonight as well… shoes and all.” she smirked and flicked her eyes down at their feet.

Damn. These shoes were going to haunt him for the rest of his life, weren’t they? Relief washed over him with how well she took his word vomit. Her teasing, while sweet, gave him an urge to run away with her, somewhere secluded, where they could get more acquainted. He could definitely see the little minx coming out to play. Yeah, he was into it, even if the mention of his shoes killed him a little more on the inside.

Focusing on his original thought process, about the two arguing not too far away from them, and NOT on wanting to flirt back, Rye grabbed her hands and stopped dancing, “Marisol has major self worth issues. And Sonny? I love the guy, but he sucks at communicating. Please believe me when I say this has nothing to do with you. I just got caught up, in between, and so did you.” he explained.

“Oh dear…” Julie said and turned to face their friends biting her lip pensively “I think… we should try to get out from in between them” she looked back to him. “Let them work it out… last time I tried to give advice” she paused remembering the homecoming dance. “It didn’t really go that well.”

There were probably a lot of options for them, like go hang with other friends and keep their distance, but the only thing Rye could think about was: “...we could leave?”

Julie raised her perfectly manicured eyebrow and turned slowly to face Ryland. “Oh yeah?” she blinked slowly. “And go where?” she asked letting her hand trail up his arm. She wanted to toy a little with him first, he had her attention and she wanted to see if he could keep it.

Smirking, instead of saying the natural response that came to mind 'wherever you want’, he released one of her hands, running it through his hair, and cooed, “Want another surprise? I can keep ‘em coming.”

“Alright new kid…” she laughed “You’ve shown yourself to be quite good at surprises! Let’s see if you can deliver.” Julie nodded. “Show me your best!”

“Ha! If I showed you my best, you’d never sleep again.” Rye stuck out his tongue before taking out his phone and texting his two best friends: ‘Hey, guys. Ride together? I’m headin’ out.’ He sent the message, as vague as ever.

“Bold of you to assume that I sleep…” she said as she fished out her own phone from her purse. She figured she should probably send a text to Sonny to let him know she was leaving.

‘You’ll work it out Sonny… I know you will. Remember you are not your past. Don’t worry about me, I’ll find my way home’

She sent it and focused on Ryland, “Ready whenever you are”

Oh he forgot! He quickly added in the group message: ‘ ..with Julie.’

Offering his arm to grab which she did, he smiled from ear to ear, “Fuck yeah! Let’s get out of here.” Wait, what if she doesn’t like cursing, “...huzzah! I mean.”

After each cup, drinking more seems like a better idea. Jokes become funnier, time no longer matters, and depending on the type of drunk you are, the flirtier you get. By now, Chrissie leaned against the window sill in the bathroom, staring at Jason’s contact information. She felt a little frisky and she couldn’t help but replay the night she gave him a strip tease. He always brought out the provocative side in her. Biting her bottom lip, she wondered if she should show him exactly what he was missing.

Unfortunately, with her surroundings being her school, she was reminded of the people that were rooting for her to move on. Going to the camera mode, she diverted her thoughts toward her date. Kavi. Wouldn’t he like to see that? Convincing herself to take pictures at least, she went to the nearest stall, closing the door behind her, and slowly brought her straps down. She could always send the pictures to Ariana, if by the end of this she came to her senses.

Giddy as fuck, as she prepared for a selfie photoshoot, Chrissie sucked her middle finger, leaned in to display her chest, and let the flood of endorphins urge her to get lost in picture taking until she had the absolute perfect ones. The type that begged for someone to devour her. A mixture of sugar, spice, and everything nice. If only she had someone to critique her pictures, before she sent it with no sense of regret at all. Alas, she didn’t have that leisure.

Chanel Martin came barging into the girls bathroom not too long after that; she immediately approached one of the sinks, sat her purse on the edge, and stared at her own reflection. She was pleased to see that despite her drinking and erratic dancing, there wasn't a single smudge on her perfectly caked face, or even a hair out of place. She was drunk, but not that drunk. She was still fully functioning... at least, she was enough to notice Chrissie McCoy as she stumbled her way through the crowd. It didn't take long for Chanel to excuse herself from her conversation with Sawyer to follow in the same direction. "I gotta go check on someone really quick," she'd told Sawyer before walking away. "I'll catch you later."

Assuming that Chrissie was using the bathroom, Chanel decided to wait until she came out of the stall to strike up a conversation, primarily to make sure that the dick wad Salvador himself didn't say or do anything out of line. So, in order to pass the time, the young woman grabbed her lip gloss from her bag and began to reapply it.

As if some divine power sent her an angel, knowing she was going through one hell of a dilemma of deciding which picture to send, Chrissie peered through the crack between the stall door and the pilaster to see hottie patottie Chanel touching up her makeup. They weren’t the closest, and didn’t even have the same social circle, but girls helped girls out so why not ask her for advice? Pushing the door open, with far more force than she anticipated, causing a loud SLAM to reverb in the ladies’ room, Chrissie exclaimed, “Oh heyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!”

Prancing to the sink beside her classmate, who was in there with intention, and for her, not the lip gloss she was applying to her lips, Chrissie giggled, clearly drunk and in a state where someone like Kavi could easily take advantage of her, “You having fun? I sure am!” Subconsciously, and honestly unbeknownst to her drunken self, she held her phone in a way where a simple glance down could reveal one of her naughty selfies.

When Chanel saw Chrissie come out of the stall she began shoving her lip gloss back into her purse, wincing slightly at the sudden sound of the door slamming. "Heyyyyyy, girl," Chanel said hesitantly, matching the young woman's pitch. "I guess so. I managed to steal someone's date for a little while, find the spiked punch bowl, and make a new acquaintance in the span of forty minutes... so I'd say I'm having a pretty good time. I'm guessing you are too? You came with... Kavi, right? How's that going?"

It was as soon as Chanel finished speaking that her eyes landed upon Chrissie's cell phone, and her smile slightly faltered once they did so. Man, did she seem to be in a lot worse shape than Chanel had initially thought. "Having a lot of fun, huh?" Chanel asked casually, nodding her head at the device in Chrissie's phone. "Who are those for?"

Chanel was asking her a lot of questions in a short time span. Sober Chrissie would’ve answered them all, and even talked about her date and the strong punch, but she could only focus on the last bit. “I haven’t decided! I got options.” Not ashamed of her lewd pictures, she started showing Chanel all of them, and there were A LOT. “Maybs, I’ll text my ex! Make him have ragrets. Or, or, or I can send 'em to my date. He’d be so easy.” Chrissie chuckled to herself, while repeating, “So easy.”

Glancing down, she stopped on a selfie that was more focused on her face. It seemed like she overlooked that one. It looked like her smile failed her and she looked sad, “No, no, this one is ew.” She deleted it as soon as she noticed it. How dare she drop her mask? It was all she got. “So many people are ‘in love’,” She complained, making parentheses with her fingers. Looking from her phone, to the girl giving her company, she huffed and puffed, “You too, probably!”

"Me? What makes you sa-" Chanel was at a loss for words as her eyes briefly glanced over Chrissie's pictures. Of course, she looked stunning, but Chanel couldn't help but feel a tad weird about looking at them. Especially one of the last pictures, where Chrissie didn't look much like... herself. And in regards to her very last question, Chanel simply brushed it off, focusing more on her initial statements instead. "They're not bad pictures, Chrissie... but I don't think you should send them to anyone. At least not while you're..." Chanel paused for a brief second, wanting to choose her words carefully so that she wouldn't upset the other girl. "Look, maybe after you've gone home, gotten a good nights sleep, and had time to think it over... you can send them to whoever you want. I just don't think it'd be a good idea to do it now."

Home.

What home? She wasn’t wanted at Stella’s. Her home was miles away, with her parents in another country. She didn’t know if Ariana’s plans would change because she had nowhere else to go. Kavi was a mistake waiting to happen. Shawna had Sunshine. Kavan had Archer. Where was she supposed to go? Sense washing over her as she dropped her phone in her clutch, Chrissie nodded to the one person that noticed her in her time of need, and probably knew something wasn’t right, “Thanks. You’re right.” She said, surprisingly clear for her state. “Can you… do me a favor?”

Going to the window, she cracked it open to feel the cool night air, “Can you find Ariana? I want to stay here a bit longer.” Little did Chanel know, the moment she accepted and walked out the door, Chrissie would no longer be in the bathroom. Only those like Stella and Ariana would know, times like these, where the drama queen felt utterly hopeless, she would find herself aimlessly walking somewhere, getting lost until someone found her.

"Sure, I guess..." Chanel said, letting out a sigh of defeat as she slung her purse back around her shoulder and began walking towards the door despite the voice in the back of her mind telling her not to. She finally decided to listen to that voice, however, right before grabbing the door handle.

"Look, are you sure you don't wanna talk about whatever is bothering you?" Chanel said suddenly, turning back around to face Chrissie. "Not to be all up in your business or anything, especially since I know we're not super close like you and Ariana or Stella are... but something about you just seems different tonight. Y'know, my mom used to always tell me that it's not good to bottle up all of your emotions, so maybe you should just let it all out... Talk to someone. Is this about Carter or something? Or... Kavi didn't try any slick shit, did he?"

“Kavi? No, no. He didn’t do anything. If anything...” Chrissie trailed off. Leaning against the wall, facing Chanel once more, she studied the floor and her french pedicure. The moonlight seeped through the window behind her causing a halo to surround her wavy hair. If anything, she was the one leading him on because she liked the attention. He was behaving himself for someone with his kind of reputation. As far as she could tell, he seemed to be dealing with his break up differently than her. Or at least, they didn’t give into the sexual desire that was obviously there because maybe, just maybe, they both knew that was a mistake. That the only reason they’d have sex with one another was to feel good about themselves and not because they liked the other in that way.

Before she could go any further about Kavi, Chrissie registered the mention of Carter and her self pity turned to bitterness, real quick. “What about Carter?” Although she was no longer mad at Carter, per say, just hearing his name made her think of her cousin and it pissed her off. “Has he told you?”

"Told me what?" Chanel asked, her eyebrow raising at how quickly Chrissie's demeanor changed. "I mean, he did say something about you and him having a pretty heated conversation before class... but that isn't really anything new, right? And I thought you two had moved past that, anyway."

See, sober Chrissie already couldn’t handle talking about subjects like these. That hit home. Add alcohol to the mix, and it was all downhill from there. “Why don’t you ask Stella!” the primadonna snapped. “Like really! I hope those two get together. The sooner they do, the sooner Stel will stop being a lil' bitch.” Tightening her grip on her clutch, Chrissie stormed to the door.

Crossing her arms, she impatiently waited for Chanel to open the door or get out of her way, “I’m sorry, I can’t talk about this right now. I gotta' go.” Sadly, Chrissie was in no state to welcome kindness and comfort. Hurt people take out their hurt on others, and while Chrissie didn’t mean to, she couldn’t hold back. She was just so sick and tired of Stella’s bullshit. But more importantly, she still hadn’t fully recovered from her break up.

Slightly startled from Chrissie's sudden outburst, Chanel stood frozen for a few seconds before slowly nodding her head and sidestepping out of the way. There was obviously more going on with Chrissie than Chanel had originally thought, so it made sense as to why she didn't want to divulge all her business with someone she probably barely even considered a friend. "I understand," Chanel said, pulling the door open for the other woman to exit. "I hope you uh... try to have some more fun tonight. And stay safe."

“You too! Ciao.” Not giving Chanel another glance, Chrissie stumbled, yes stumbled (remember she’s still drunk), out the door, waving goodbye, heading straight to her next destination: finding Ariana. In the morning, she would probably come to regret this moment, revealing a side of her to someone who shouldn’t have seen it. No one deserved whatever Chrissie was becoming. Especially not someone who was innocent, and hardly involved.

Why was she like this and why did everything hurt on the inside? If only she could find a way to forgive and forget. Find a way to love. Tonight wasn’t the night and a happily ever after was out of reach. Sometimes, you have to hit rock bottom before you can climb again, and Chrissie was almost there. Killing herself lately, that’s been her mission, and it will stay that way until she gains the courage to just deal with it.