Something to Dream About {Slow Updates}

Twelve

𝄞 Layla 𝄞

I went dress shopping with Indi in preparation for the dance. The plan for the dance was a double date sort of deal, plus a few other of the guys' friends and their dates.

After shopping, we met up with the rest of our friend group in the booth of a diner just to hang out—minus Raina since she had a dance competition.

I sipped some hot coffee, relishing the presence of my friends.

"So," Indi said to me, "are you excited to go with Malachi?"

I nodded, setting my mug down. "I think it'll be fun. I haven't been to a dance since last year's homecoming."

"Yeah, but Malachi," she said.

I looked over at Kiara, a question filling my eyes. She just shrugged, but there was a small grin on her face.

"What about Malachi?" I asked. "We're going as friends."

Everyone's eyebrows shot up.

"What?" Kiara asked. "I thought it was something more."

I shook my head. "Why? Is that a problem?"

"Well, do you have a problem with it?"

"Definitely not," I replied. Maybe a little too quickly.

Indi grimaced.

"What?" I asked. And then I turned to Linh. "What?"

"Well," she said before taking a really long pause. And then she put her hands on the table, leaning forward. "Reverse grumpy sun—"

"Don't even finish that sentence," I said, cutting her off before she could give us a trope. "Because first of all, I'm not grumpy. Second of all, there are no tropes because this isn't a romance."

For some reason, Linh laughed.

I frowned. "I'm serious. I don't even..." I hesitated. Wait, why was I hesitating? "I don't like him." My eyes flickered to Kiara's, silently pleading for her support.

"It's okay," Kiara said. "I just think you guys would be cute for each other."

I let out a sigh. "Guys, you don't..." My heart pounded in my chest as I looked at my best friend. She gave me a sympathetic look. "No," I said. "Give it a rest."

Indi sighed, but Linh didn't back down. "Indi over here said the same thing about Ezra."

"But that's different!" I exclaimed. She's normal.

Now they were all grimacing.

"Sorry," I muttered, looking down at my coffee with a warm face. "I didn't mean to blow up like that."

Kiara patted my wrist. "It's okay, Layla. We'll leave you alone."

There was a moment of silence, where I was sure she was giving them all agree with me stares.

"Yeah," Indi said.

"We'll give it a rest," Linh added.

I looked up at them, trying to push away my humiliation. "I am excited to go, though. That much is true."

Everyone slowly lost the tension in their shoulders, and just like that, the tension was gone.

‧₊˚♪𝄞࿐₊˚⊹

Back at home, I didn't even get to the stairs before my grandpa got angry.

"Where the hell were you?" he demanded, pausing whatever was on the TV.