just because [pin hawthorne] 𝐢

chapter fourteen

"Emerald was a ghost pony, not the Ghost Pony," argued Becky. Olivia rolled her eyes but smiled nonetheless, it seemed they hadn't heard the last of Ghost Pony after all. Behind Zoe, a black car rolled up, Mia's father walking out of it.

"My secretary gave me a copy of your magazine," he told Mia, who'd approached him. "But uh, where are you?" He asked. It seemed Mia hadn't made the cover.

"There's been a mix-up, I called the magazine, and they've never even heard of Bright Fields," Mia explained.

"Wait, what?" Zoe exclaimed upon hearing this. Olivia had to admit that was quite concerning.

"The photographer was a fake," Mia furthered. She then turned towards Zoe with disdain. "Oh, I know you're upset, Zoe, you really thought you were gonna be on that cover, didn't you?" She said pretentiously.

"No, we need to find out who he was, he could've been part of the horse thieves," Zoe explained calmly.

"Oh, don't start Zoe," Mia said in exasperation. "We've all had enough of your crackpot theories. You didn't get the cover, get over it," she said meanly. Well, somebody needs a bit of self-awareness, Olivia thought with a roll of her eyes.

"First of all, Mia—" Zoe started but was cut off by Sam.

"Mia, Zoe's right, it is strange. I'll ask Derek to look into it," she said. Mia sighed in annoyance and walked away, Susie following after her. Olivia noticed Zoe come forward towards Marcus, and she nudged her two other friends away to give them some space.

Olivia collected her belongings, and bid Jade and Becky goodnight. She'd previously texted her aunt, telling her she was ready to go back home. Her aunt was still insisting on picking her up, and Olivia didn't have the heart to convince her not to. On her way back to the entrance to the stables, she walked past Marcus and Zoe who were still talking and waved them goodbye. The two waved back before carrying on with their conversation.

She slid into the passenger seat of her aunt's car, and Olivia looked at the trees passing by her, completely lost in thought. She was startled when the car stopped, and she realized they'd arrived. Olivia stopped by their yard to visit Nina. She really did miss riding. She and her aunt ate dinner early and caught up on each other's days. Afterward, Olivia went up to her room. It was messy from the time she'd spent there whilst her ankle was healing. Olivia opened her small window to let in the fresh evening air, and put on some music as she reluctantly started cleaning the room up. With a wave of anxiousness, Olivia realized tomorrow was the barn dance, and that she'd neither a dress nor a date. Olivia suddenly wished she'd asked Pin to the dance earlier. She'd been thinking about it for a while, and she definitely hadn't lacked opportunities. She'd simply lacked the courage. As if the universe had heard her, a rock flew into Olivia's window at that moment. Carefully, as to not receive a rock in the face, Olivia approached her wide-open window. She looked down to find Pin outside her window.

"Pin?" She asked, confused. "What's up, what are you doing here?"

"I, uh, I wanted to ask you something," he said, rubbing his neck.

"Alright, hold up," Olivia said. She ran down to the front door and opened it for Pin. The boy came in, and Olivia led him up into her room. She was very glad to have cleaned it just then. She closed her bedroom door behind them, and then invited Pin to sit next to her on her bed.

"I like your room," he said, looking around at the decorations adorning her walls.

"Thanks," she said, realizing some things in her room might be possibly embarrassing, and hoping Pin wouldn't notice them.

"So, what is it you wanted to ask me?" Olivia asked Pin.

"Well, uh," he started, wringing his fingers together. "I was wondering if you'd be going to the dance tomorrow," he asked quietly, so quietly that Olivia barely heard him.

"Yes, why, are you?" She asked.

"Well, I was thinking maybe of going, but I wanted to make sure you'd be going, 'cause it wouldn't be any fun without you," he explained bashfully. Olivia's cheeks burned in two flushed spots. Ask him to the dance, a voice inside her whispered its request. Olivia nodded once to herself and took in a deep breath.

"Would you, would you like to go with me?" She blurted out.

"Like a date?" He asked, something Olivia hoped was anticipation in his tone.

"If you'd like that, yeah," Olivia said shyly, her previous burst of courage vanishing with Pin's question. He stayed quiet for a moment before nodding, seemingly to himself.

"Yeah, that sounds nice," he said. "I'd better get going before the sun sets," Pin added.

"Right, of course," Olivia said, a barely contained smile on her face. Pin reached the door, but before walking out, he quickly rushed back towards her, and with barely a moment of hesitation, gently kissed Olivia's cheek. Her face flushed, and she barely managed a wave back when the boy officially left her room. A giddy smile slowly spread on her face, and Olivia smothered her face into a pillow, as to not wake her aunt when she let out a loud high pitched squeal. She briskly opened her closet doors and rummaged through it, sighing when she didn't find anything to wear.

"Looking for something to wear tomorrow?" She heard behind her. She turned around to find her aunt in her doorway. Guess that pillow didn't quite work. Olivia nodded desperately. "Follow me," she said. Olivia followed her aunt up into the attic, and to a large chest she didn't recognize. Her aunt opened the chest, which Olivia found to be filled with clothing.

"These are my and your mum's old clothes, from when she lived here as a girl," Olivia's aunt explained. "I'm sure you'll find something to your liking here," she added with a wink. Olivia thanked her aunt and started looking through the various pieces of clothing stored in the chest. She rummaged through them, finding various pieces she found beautiful, and putting them aside for later use. Still, it was about an hour later when she found it. A beautiful white dress, with a flowing skirt made of sheer fabric, and poofy sleeves made of the same material. It was elegant and graceful, and exactly what Olivia had been looking for.