The world is full of people telling others how to live their lives. But amidst all the noise, there are those who dare to defy the norms and carve their own unique paths. Dorothea wished to be one of them - those who have the courage to shape their own lives - the fearless ones.
But for now, she struggled to get through the days without spiralling about how she was perceived. She wondered if people judged her, if they saw her and felt relieved that they weren't her.
Down on the table, her phone lit up with a message from her little sister, Leonora.
𝙉𝙤𝙧𝙖: 𝘓𝘪𝘷 𝘪𝘯𝘷𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘪𝘹
Dorothea felt exhausted. She'd lost count of her sleepless nights, but she knew there'd been a lot. Her own anxious thoughts consumed her mind, and abandoned all hope of falling asleep in the evening. She was beginning to feel hopeless.
𝙈𝙚: 𝘪'𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦, 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘳
It felt like the right thing to do, showing up at Olivia's dinner party. Perhaps the company of all her best friends would lift her mood. It was worth a try, Dorothea thought.
So a few hours later, Dorothea stood in front of her mirror and looked at herself. She smoothed down the sides of her black skirt and pulled at the sleeves of her sweater. The whole outfit felt itchy, but so did the previous one and the one before that. It bugged her tremendously.
Her phone lit up; once again with a message from Leonora. She was asking if Dorothea could pick her up on the way, which wasn't a problem; Leonora lived somewhere between Olivia's house and Dorothea's apartment.
It didn't take Dorothea long to get to her sister's apartment. The minute she slipped into the passenger seat, Leonora stole the aux cord and blasted Taylor Swift the whole way to Olivia's house.
"Okay, a few of her friends are here. I think it's Conan, Tate, Madison, and...Grace? Gracie? I don't remember; I've never met her," Leonora informed her big sister as they exited the car and walked up Olivia's driveway.
Dorothea nodded. She'd met Conan dozens of times and Madison a couple, and she was fairly sure she'd met Tate once or twice at their mutual friends' parties. Gracie, though, she'd never met. She'd never even heard of her; Olivia had never mentioned her before.
A couple of feet behind her sister, Dorothea trudged up to Olivia's big front door. She caught up when Leonora stopped to knock, and the same second she reached the door, it opened up to reveal a visibly stressed Olivia.
"Thank fuck y'all are here, Conan's getting on my nerves!" Olivia groaned, grabbing each Bishop sister by their wrists and yanking them inside. "Everyone's already here. They're playing Mario Kart in the living room."
Dorothea looked down at her feet as she stepped over the doorstep and into Olivia's beautiful home. She was already feeling a wave of exhaustion crashing over her, and she hoped to God that it wouldn't affect her ability to socialise, even though she knew it would.
"Is that the Bishop's?" Dorothea recognised Conan's voice and caught herself smiling at the familiarity. She knew Conan and Olivia would cheer her up; they were those crazy best friends - the ones who mastered the art of bringing the mood up. "Tell them to get their arses in here! I need help beating Madi's stupid ass!"
Tate joined them in the foyer with an unfamiliar brunette trailing behind her. Gracie, Dorothea guessed.
"Tater-Tot!" Dorothea heard Leonora squeal, and she watched them embrace one another from the corner of her eye. But her gaze was locked on the brunette; the one she guessed was Gracie. If it was her, Gracie was beautiful. She looked shy - or maybe nervous - as she stood there, fiddling with her fingers and keeping her head low.
"Dorothea Bishop, lovely to meet you," Dorothea smiled and put her hand out in front of herself.
Gracie looked at her, down at the hand, and then back up at her face. Her mouth curled into a small smile as she shook Dorothea's hand and introduced herself. "I'm Gracie, uh, Abrams. Yeah, uh, Gracie Abrams. Nice to meet you."
She had to fight the urge to chuckle, Dorothea. Gracie's visible nerves weren't funny, but Dorothea could easily see herself in the poor girl. She thought she was awkward and bad at social interactions, but - and she meant this in the nicest way possible - Gracie won by millions.
"Dorothea Bishop, you beautiful girl! How've you been?" Dorothea felt a pair of arms wrap around from behind. She could tell it was Conan; his voice was familiar, and she could smell his signature perfume.
She turned around and caught Conan in a proper hug, resting her head on his chest. The hug lasted long, but even so, Dorothea wished it'd lasted longer. She loved Conan's hugs; they were always so full of love.
"Enough of that; back to Mario Kart; I still have a chance at beating you, Cone," Madison interrupted, pulling Conan out of the foyer and into the living room.
"Hello to you too, Madison!" Dorothea watched them leave, and she smiled to herself. Maybe this night wouldn't be so bad after all.
Dorothea had been right; the night turned out to be everything and more. Never once did her mind go off track - mainly because Olivia talked enough to never give it time to wander - but even so, Dorothea felt so at ease the whole time.
She'd challenged herself and talked to Gracie - the one person at the gathering she didn't know. Gracie was fun; she had good stories, and her comedic timing was on point. Dorothea felt good about herself; she'd made Gracie feel comfortable enough to joke around and let down her guard a bit.
They talked for a good chunk of the night, their topic ranging from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to Why is naked pronounced naked but baked isn't pronounced baked? So, important talks, as you can see.
Dorothea also got the chance to catch up with her friends. Conan and her talked about whatever came to mind, which was mostly children's cartoon-related. With Madison, she got to talk about their shared love for peanut butter cookies, and with Tate, the topics were mainly related to getting to know each other.
Olivia and she talked each other's ears off as always. Their conversations never made much sense to anyone else but themselves, but they had fun, and that was what mattered.
The dinner party was exactly what Dorothea had needed, even though she passed out the second her body hit the bed in Olivia's guest room. She was tired, but she was definitely also happy. And that was what she chose to focus on - the pure joy cruising through her body.
Author's Note
First chapter <3
Era's Tour Movie is out and I can't wait till my friend comes home from Spain so we can watch it
Love,
@hearthands
YOU ARE READING
SWEET NOTHING , Gracie Abrams
Fanfiction» I find myself running home to your 𝘚𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 « Gracie Abram...
