"Last one in the pool is a rotten potato!" Conan yelled, ripping off his shirt and cannonballing into the pool, accidentally splashing water at all his friends. Madison groaned, her shirt now soaked, seeing as she was the one sitting closest to the big pool.
"Conan, you little piece of shit!" She complained, throwing a middle finger his way. "Olly, d'ya have a shirt I can borrow?" She asked, getting up and disappearing into the house after receiving a nod from the Rodrigo girl.
Conan swam to the edge of the pool and propped his elbows on it, looking up at his beloved group of friends. "Get in here, guys! It's nice!"
"Rather not; on my period," Tate replied, leaning back in her lounge chair and continuing to flip through the pages of her magazine.
Olivia and Leonora, though, got up, quickly rid themselves of the clothes they'd worn on top of their bikinis, and jumped right in. Once again, water splashed onto the patio and soaked the friend group. Dorothea grumbled some incoherent words and threw a beach ball at her sister's head as she emerged from the depths of the pool.
Madison came back outside, now clad in one of Olivia's SOUR tank tops. "Ooh! Dua Lipa cover, I'm joining!" She squealed, referring to the Vogue magazine in Tate's hands. She threw herself right next to Tate on the lounge chair and began reading the pages of the magazine as Tate flipped through them.
Dorothea and Gracie — being the only two left by the patio table — looked at one another and nodded. They took off their shorts and T-shirts and approached the edge of the pool. Gracie looked hesitant, like she didn't want to jump in. Her arms were covered in goosebumps, and she seemed to be shivering as she stood there with her arms wrapped around her waist.
But Dorothea? She was evil. She walked up behind Gracie, placed her hands on the girls trembling shoulders (can shoulders tremble?), and pushed her in. A scream was heard, but it was quickly muffled as Gracie's head was swallowed by the pool's chilly water.
"Dorothea Lorelai! You psychopath! I could've died!" Gracie yelled, emerging from the water and glaring up at her friend. "I hate you so much! Ugh, it's so cold! Can you help me up? I'm freezing!"
Although Dorothea was the star student growing up, the one with straight A's and every teacher's favourite (except Mr. Lynn's, but he can go fuck himself), she still apparently wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed. She reached down and grabbed Gracie's almost blue hand, thinking she was about to help her up from the pool.
But no, Gracie could also be evil; two people could play that game.
She yanked Dorothea's hand and watched as the girl tumbled into the water. Conan and Leonora cheered her on, while Olivia was busy playing mermaids by herself at the far end of the pool.
"How did I fall for that?" Dorothea cried out as her head popped up through the surface. "Am I stupid?"
It seemed as though none of her friends had anything to say about that, and that was enough of an answer for Dorothea. God, she hated her friends sometimes. She hated them so much that she loved them, and she loved them so much that she hated them.
Gracie stole Conan's floatie and jumped onto it. Dorothea watched her, and her eyes quite literally popped out of her face at the sight. Of course, Gracie just had to have abs, as if she weren't already attractive enough.
Good Lord, the pool party just got a hell of a lot more difficult for Dorothea.
The sun bid its farewell, and the temperature dropped. The group of friends gathered around the patio table, their hair soaking their sweatshirts and dripping down onto the floor. Dorothea and Olivia emerged from the house, pizzas and sodas in hand. Alcohol was off the table today; they'd agreed.
"You cold?" Dorothea asked as she slipped in next to a shivering Gracie on the bench. "Gracie! Your hair is soaking wet; of course you're cold!" She exclaimed before Gracie even got to answer her question. "Wait here; don't move."
Gracie watched as Dorothea once again disappeared into the house, curious as to what she was doing. It didn't take long before Dorothea came back outside, now with a towel in her hand.
"Look at Nora," Dorothea ordered, gesturing to her little sister, who was sitting diagonal to Gracie. The Abrams girl did as she was told, and she felt her heart melt and seep out of her body as Dorothea began drying her hair. Her motions were so gentle, so soft. It made Gracie weak in the knees.
Across the table, Conan and Olivia shared a knowing look. Dorothea was down bad, and Olivia knew that Gracie was too. Tate and Madison fought back their giggles, but when Olivia looked at them, all three girls snapped.
Dorothea and Gracie both turned to look at them, their brows raised in confusion. Madison shut up the moment her eyes met Dorothea's and nudged Tate to get her to be quiet as well. Olivia, on the other hand, kept on giggling, and it only grew louder.
"What's so funny, Rodrigo?" Dorothea asked, tilting her head and staring daggers at Olivia. "Care to share it with the group?"
"Nuh-uh, it's nothing; I wasn't laughing," Olivia denied, shaking her head and biting her lip to hold back her laughter. "I really wasn't laughing; I don't know what you think you heard, but it definitely wasn't laughter."
It was clear to everyone that Dorothea didn't believe the Rodrigo girl, but she still let it go. Gracie smiled at her and watched her get up and go inside to rid herself of the wet towel. When Dorothea walked outside again, she stopped and took a moment to admire the people gathered in front of her.
They were chatting and laughing while the pizza and soda gradually disappeared. Conan told a joke; Dorothea didn't quite understand it, but everyone else seemed to get it — they all laughed loudly at him. They hadn't noticed Dorothea in the doorway, and she wouldn't have it any other way. She liked to observe.
As she stood there, she realised that those six people around the table meant everything to her. She realised that, with them, she could be herself. She could drop the act, and she could drop the fears. They wouldn't judge her for simply being Dorothea Bishop.
She smiled at them. Six people she loved to death, six people she'd kill for, and six people she definitely didn't deserve.
Author's Note
I kind of like this chapter
Dorothea and Gracie are so cute
Mwah,
@hearthands
YOU ARE READING
SWEET NOTHING , Gracie Abrams
Fanfiction» I find myself running home to your 𝘚𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 « Gracie Abram...
