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If there's one thing Missy hated more than anything, it's when plans don't go her way.
Lydia, Allison, Ryan, and much to Missy's dismay, Jackson, were all studying at Missy's house, for no longer than 20 minutes when everything started to go wrong.
Missy treated the study session as a sort of apology tour for ignoring her friends. She baked cookies and popped popcorn and played her friends favorite songs on her stereo. Missy knew the only hostess better than her was Lydia Martin, and she was a tough act to beat.
Missy had showered and changed into a tank top and shorts. She prided herself on never dressing any certain way for a boy, whether it be showing off or covering up. She dressed for her comfort and her happiness alone.
So when she opened the door to Jackson's smirking face and her friends apologetic ones, she ignored the boy staring at her bare legs, and led them to the living room where they were studying. Jackson and Lydia automatically dug in to the refreshments set on the coffee table while Ryan and Allison hung back, looking around the homey living room in curiosity.
The two had never actually been inside her house before, and they were interested in how essentially 3 teenagers lived without an adult. The place wasn't messy but it was cluttered. School awards lay scattered on the bookshelves, there were different shoes laying around the room, some in pairs, some not. A single pompom was thrown in the corner, a matching bow thrown on top. The bookshelves were filled with books for children, some young adult novels, but barely a boring mystery or classic book in sight. There were throw blankets and pillows tossed over the couches of varying colors and designs. Magazines were in a pile on an end table with the latest Teen Vogue opened up.
They could smell something cooking in the kitchen, some kind of pasta, and over the sound of Missy's music playing they could another source of music, loud and pounding coming from up the stairs. A male voice could just barely be heard coming from the kitchen, seemingly on the phone with someone.
Missy smiled lightly as she sat down on the floor on the other side of the coffee table. "Sit anywhere. Preston's making alfredo for dinner and Locklyn's up pouting in her room because I kicked her out of here."
Allison sat in an arm chair, one leg tucked under her and grabbed a grape soda. As she sipped she continued to look around curiously. "My parents would hate all this clutter, they're still on me for not being completely unpacked yet." She sent a quick envious smile to Missy. "It must be cool to have parents who are so cool about the mess."
Missy froze, a handful of popcorn pressed against her mouth, a look of shock overcome her face. Ryan and Lydia ducked their heads, and even Jackson had the decency to look awkwardly at his phone, trying to hide his grimace.
Allison seemed to have noticed she made a mistake, her eyes darting between her friends. "Not that this place is messy, no I love it. I'm sorry."
Missy tried to smile reassuringly around the mouthful of popcorn, but she ended up just spitting in back into the bowl, and placed said bowl in her lap. "Um yeah, it's okay. It's cluttered, but um, with three teenagers, you know, I try to clean up but Preston and Lyn, I mean, you should see their rooms, um..." Missy was burning up. She wasn't sure how Allison had gone this long without knowing her parents where dead and gone. Missy never told her, but she figured someone would have told her eventually. The boys, or Lydia. But Missy herself never found the right time; it's not something that comes up naturally in conversation. Like 'Hey Ali, nice boots, my parents have been dead for like a really long time, did you finish the Chem homework?'
