𝙥𝙖𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡𝙮 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙙 | 𝔪𝔦𝔩𝔢𝔰 𝔣𝔞𝔦𝔯𝔠𝔥𝔦𝔩𝔡

𝚝𝚠𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚢 𝚎𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 : 𝚒 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞

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I couldn't have expected anything much different to come out of the pep-rally. A lot of them were the same. You cheered for the performances, you listened to the awards.. Blah, blah, blah. However, our school's tradition was what made one pep-rally just a bit different than the next. They would pick a senior at random to give out the big announcement for that pep-rally. The senior in question would find out about a week ahead of time and they would be given materials to study for their big debut. It'd been about time for the reveal and the anticipation was building. Everyone wondering who it could have been. Usually someone I didn't know, but it was always a fun time I guess. We stomped our feet on the bleachers, drowning out the music playing in the background. The student took the floor.

What the fuck?

Joey's jaw nearly dropped.
"What? It's Olive?"

"She does these sorts of things?"
Sadie added.

Joey, Millie, Sadie and I all sat in shock while everyone around us applauded. Miles however, looked dumfounded.

"Hey everyone! If you don't know me already, I'm Olive. It's quite obvious why I'm up here so I'm not gonna get into all that. So, the big announcements for today are quite obviously in regards to our dance on Sunday! As you all should know, today is the last day to purchase tickets, so make sure to get your tickets before the end of the school day. The dance will begin at 7 and is held until 10:30. Make sure you're there by 7:10 to the very latest. Any arrivals after that will not be allowed in, with or without a ticket. There will only be 35 more tickets available for sale at the door, and they will be upped in price. The price on those 35 will be $20 instead of $15, so come prepared. Make sure you're staying safe Sunday night, but most importantly, have fun!"

Applause held on for a steady while and whistling could be heard from different directions. She didn't leave the microphone.
"Just a couple more things and then I'll leave you all alone!"
We all fell silent once again.

"Everyone has already gotten their dance arrangements in order but funnily enough, I do not."

Some random kid hollered,
"I'll take you!"

"Cute, but pass. Miles.."
People looked around the gymnasium. Some looking for him because they knew him and others following the lead of everyone else, trying to follow their stare with curiosity of who he was. I looked at him and I could tell he was uncomfortable. All those eyes burning into him from different angles. Somebody from the floor handed off a second microphone. It passed on through the bleachers and stopped at Miles. He took it cautiously and she continued.

"We've been going through it lately. It's given me a lot of time to reflect on a lot of things, but one thing's for sure.. I love you, Miles."

Some people fell silent in amazement, others clapped, some whooped, a few girls glared at her in pure envy. He held the microphone steady, not moving and not saying a thing. Didn't even think about saying a thing. He hadn't flinched, he froze. People waited for a response and when he didn't give one, the crowd murmured, turning their attention back to Olive.

"Baby, will you go to the dance with me?"
Everyone stirred and stared back at him. He looked around at the people but still hadn't bothered to respond. I looked at Olive and I could see for the first time, she'd been swallowing her pride.
"Well then.. just one more thing I guess. My good friend Margo and I are gonna be throwing a party after the dance. Only those who have attended the dance are allowed in, so make sure to flash your ticket at the door. Have fun at the dance everyone."
She quickly handed off the mic and instead of joining Miles, Vinnie, Jayde, Vada, and Louis back on the bleachers, she exited the gym. He didn't go after her like everyone had been expecting him to. People hadn't known how to react, me included.

What just happened?

-

After a little while longer, the rally had finished up and we all filed out. Between the loud chatter and the whispers amongst the walls, it was chaos.

Millie spat out a 'phew' noise.
"So glad we have our tickets. Can you believe they're upping the price?"

"That's pretty typical." Sadie started. "A lot of the time they won't even sell tickets at the door. I guess people are getting lucky this time."

Joey added on to the conversation.
"This school must seriously need funding. They just keep emptying our pockets left and right."

Millie scoffed at this.
"Ha! True. That whole Miles and Olive thing was crazy though. I mean, that was some pretty bad public humiliation."

"She really put herself out there, huh?"

"And for him not to say anything! Poor girl has to be upset. I know I would be."

Really? Poor girl? Blaming Miles for what happened?

That was a decision she made. She had chosen to put herself out there and of course people were gonna blame him for not saying anything in response to her love confession. A lot of people don't like publicizing their relationship. I just knew that for Miles, public affection wasn't really his love language. I'd felt like I knew him better than some others could see. In some ways at least. I had just known he was uncomfortable. It'd been something that was so plain and clear to me. How could nobody else have seen what I saw? They thought he was just being stuck up? I'd heard all that I could've. I'd been so over listening to them pity someone who had never valued anyone's emotions but her own and nobody but herself.
"Well loving her seems tiring anyway."

Joey looked over to me.
"You doing alright?"

"I just need to go home."

I just need to have a chat with my good friend, Liv.

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it's a shorter chapter but it holds importance for events to come!