Gracie frantically looked around the room, hoping and begging to spot Dorothea soon. She had a few drinks in her system, and she was starting to feel the effects of that. The crowded room suddenly felt even more crowded, and her mind felt foggy. Two panic attacks in one day was impressive, but not impressive enough for Gracie to actually want to go through with it.
If she could manage to find Dorothea, she could stop the attack before it even started. That was the plan.
"Gracie? You okay? You're, like, really pale." Tate put a gentle hand on Gracie's arm, and the brunette really appreciated that, but at the moment, it only made her claustrophobic feeling worse. "Dorothea's right over there; do you want me to go get her?"
Words seemed difficult, so Gracie stuck to nodding her head. She watched Tate approach Dorothea, and she noticed the latter's eyes widen. She seemed so worried; Gracie didn't like the thought of making her Dory feel that way.
"Hi Precious, what do you say we go take a deep breath somewhere more quiet?" Once again, Gracie stuck to nodding and let Dorothea guide her upstairs to Olivia's bedroom. The Abrams girl was eternally grateful for the fact that the party was held at Olivia's house. The familiar surroundings helped her feel better.
Dorothea led her to the bed and helped her sit down. She grabbed her hands and ran her thumbs over their backs. Gracie loved when Dorothea did that; it was oddly comforting.
"Hey, Grace? Do you know how close I was to murdering my sister and her stupid best friend today?" Dorothea groaned, thinking back to the party preparations where Leonora and Olivia had pushed her dangerously close to the edge. "They were so useless, you can't even begin to imagine it! All they did was snack and annoy me."
Distraction had been proven to help Gracie avoid a panic attack. Dorothea knew that; she'd been the one to discover it. It didn't matter what you talked about, as long as it got Gracie's thoughts away from whatever had sparked the attack.
"Was it the crowd? I know there's a lot of people; I should've thought of that, sorry." Dorothea frowned, squeezing Gracie's hand and avoiding eye contact. She felt like she'd let Gracie down, and that was the furthest from what she wanted to do.
Gracie cupped Dorothea's face and forced her to look her in the eyes. She took a moment to take in Dorothea's features. She was absolutely gorgeous, the Bishop girl. "Don't apologise, Dory. I love that you invited all my friends; it's been the best birthday of my life. I'm just tipsy and got a bit overwhelmed; it's not your fault."
"Thank you, Grace." Dorothea smiled softly, wiping a strand of hair away from Gracie's face. "Can I kiss you?"
She never received an actual answer, but she did get to feel Gracie's lips on hers again. It was just as perfect as the first time — just as perfect as she'd spent the whole day dreaming it would be.
Gracie was just everything. She was just so perfect, so...Ugh, Dorothea couldn't even find the words to describe the wonderful human that was Gracie Abrams.
"Is Gracie okay again?" Tate's voice was laced with concern as she approached Dorothea. "She looked like she was about to puke before."
Dorothea smiled at her and reassured her that Gracie was okay again. She didn't explain what had happened; that wasn't her place. But she did tell Tate that Gracie was fine and nothing bad had happened.
"She's just in the bathroom right now; she'll be right back down here soon." Dorothea watched Tate's furrowed brows smooth out in relief. She hoped her friends were as worried about her as they were about Gracie. Everyone seemed to always have Gracie in the back of their minds, as if she were some clumsy toddler who could at any time tip over and hit her head.
Dorothea did too. Gracie was always residing in her head, but that wasn't always for the same reason as the rest of their friend group. Dorothea's version of having Gracie stuck in her mind included more of her lips and face. Dorothea could always picture every detail of Gracie's beautiful face.
"Dory?" A small voice chirped from behind Dorothea. She recognised that voice; she recognised the nickname. Only Gracie called her Dory. "Thank you for helping me again, you're a great...friend," it seemed as if it pained Gracie to utter the word friend, but the quick glance at Tate told Dorothea everything she needed to know. Gracie only called her that because Tate could hear everything she was saying.
"Of course, Grace. I'm always right here, ready to help you, mkay?"
Gracie wrapped her arms around Dorothea and rested her head on the Bishop girl's chest. The party was everything and more, but Gracie was growing tired. The alcohol had caught up to her, and she felt both exhausted and dizzy all at once. She wanted to go to sleep, but this was her party, and it looked like everyone else was having the time of their lives.
She shouldn't be the one to ruin that.
"What do you say we go find Liv? She's probably hyper by now; maybe her energy level can pass over to you." Dorothea's suggestion sounded rubbish to Gracie, but then again, she had barely seen Olivia all night. "Let's go, Grace; I'll be with you the whole time. Tate, wanna join?"
"Nope, Madi and I have this bet going on, and I can't lose. See you around!" And with that, Tate disappeared into the crowd of friends and acquaintances.
Gracie and Dorothea shared a look, and soon they burst out laughing.
"Hm, Liv's in the kitchen; I just saw her go in there." Dorothea wrapped an arm around Gracie's shoulder, and together they walked to the kitchen to find their — kind of crazy, but still beloved — friend, Olivia Rodrigo.
Despite the bump in the road, Gracie's birthday turned out to be one of the best nights of her life.
Author's Note
TTPD IS OUT
still listening but oh how they've all ruined me so far
loml will be written on my headstone as my reason of death
LOVE YOUUUU,
@hearthands
YOU ARE READING
SWEET NOTHING , Gracie Abrams
Fanfiction» I find myself running home to your 𝘚𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘕𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 « Gracie Abram...
