People Watching - EJ Caswell ¹

"I really, really care."

Scarlett sat on her bed, a Stephen King novel in her hand as she read quietly before she was disturbed by Valentina storming into her room. She threw a silver dress down onto the bed.

"We are going to Homecoming." She announced with jazz hands causing Scarlett to scoff.

She placed her bookmark into the book she was reading before dropping it down next to her. "Since when?"

Val smiled, "Since now." She wandered over to the brunette's closet, searching for an acceptable outfit before pulling out a red dress. She chucked it over to the girl. "Try that on." She ordered, going back to search for other possibilities.

"Why are we going to this thing? I hate school dances, and you hate dancing in general, what's the point?" Scarlett questioned. "Can't you just take Amy? Or, we can do our own thing here which doesn't require uncomfortable shoes." She added on, lifting up the black heels that the Val had just thrown her way. She wasn't even sure why she had bought them in the first place, she had never worn them before.

Valentina turned around, a smile on her face. "Amy is coming, she's gonna meet us there." She stared at the girl who hadn't moved from her previous position. "Everyone from the theatre production is gonna be there and I'm not letting you stowaway in this room all by yourself. It's sad." She pointed to the red dress. "I said to try that on."

Deciding that there was no way she was going to get herself out of this, Scarlett got up from the bed with a huff and went to go and try the dress on. She came out of the bathroom with a small twirl causing the other girl to smile and clap her hands. She stepped forward, grabbing the ends of the brunette's hair. "You should probably do something with..." She paused, cringing slightly. "This."

Before Scarlett could reply, Valentina had left the room to put on her own dress, so she sat down at her vanity and placed her hair into an updo. "Aren't we supposed to have tickets for this thing?" She shouted so Valentina could hear her from the other room as she placed a few bobby pins into her hair.

"Already sorted that. Trust me, you aren't getting out of this!"

______

Valentina was right, Scarlett hadn't found a way to get out of the situation, so here she was, third-wheeling her best friend and her girlfriend. She smiled at the pair, before nodding her head toward the theatre table. "I'm gonna go and join them."

Scarlett turned around, her smile dropping as she walked toward the group that around a circular table. It wasn't that she hated school dances, she imagined that they could be pretty great if you had someone to actually go with. Ashlyn turned her head at the sound of footsteps coming closer to the table, and she jumped up with a smile. "You're here!" She pulled her in for a hug and the Scarlett smiled, a genuine, happy smile. "Did you bring someone?"

The girl shook her head. "Nope, just me." She responded, popping the 'p', earning a small squeal from the redhead. She linked her arm with the brunette.

"Good, you're with me now."

Scarlett grinned, taking the seat next to the girl as they fell into a quick conversation. They chatted for a while, excitement radiating from both of them. The pair of them had been dragged here because of someone else, so they were relieved they had found each other so soon into the night so they didn't have to spend it 'alone'.

"Excuse us. These seats taken?"

The pair looked up to see EJ and Gina, arm in arm. Scarlett shared a confused glance with Ashlyn, who shrugged her shoulder in return. They sat down but the two girls turned their attention to Carlos who sadly stared down at the table. "He'll show up, okay? Maybe he just met traffic." The brunette reassured as the redhead stroked his arm comfortingly.