𝖺𝖿𝖿𝗂𝗇𝗂𝗍𝗒 || 𝗅𝗎𝖼𝖺𝗌 𝖿𝗋𝗂𝖺𝗋

𝗇𝗂𝗇𝖾𝗍𝖾𝖾𝗇.

𝗮𝗳𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 || 𝟭𝟯.𝟭
"t𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩."
𝗴𝗶𝗿𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘀𝗲𝗺𝗶-𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗹

⋆⋆⋆

               𝗙rankie woke up to the sound of birds she couldn't see and sunlight she didn't ask for.

it spilled across her blankets like it owned the place, warm and golden, reaching all the way up her arm and across the pillow beside her. she shifted, face smushed against her comforter, hair tangled, eyes half-open but already rolling.

her room was still. soft. a little messy.

her dress shopping outfit was folded at the end of her bed jeans, a tank top, the sweater lucas said made her look "like autumn had a favorite person and it was you."

she didn't move right away.

she just stared at the ceiling, heart oddly full. not in a loud way. not even in a happy way. just full. like she'd finally made it through the hardest part and now there was this soft thing ahead. a dance. a dress. people who loved her. people she'd chosen.

her phone buzzed on the nightstand.

𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲
𝘶 𝘶𝘱?
𝘱𝘭𝘴 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘦 𝘶 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯'𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬 𝘢𝘴𝘭𝘦𝘦𝘱
𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦

frankie smiled a little, dragging herself upright.

her hair was a mess. mascara smudged under one eye from last night when she cried a little over that dumb movie lucas made her watch. she didn't care.

she threw on her sweater and padded barefoot down the hall, rubbing her eyes with the sleeve.

elle's door was open.

"you didn't even knock," elle said from inside, already in leggings and a hoodie, brushing her curls in the mirror.

"you texted me three times."

"because i knew you'd ignore the first two." elle turned. "you excited?"

frankie shrugged. "nervous, i think."

"about the dress?"
"about everything."

elle didn't ask her to explain. she just nodded, tossed frankie a hair tie, and said, "messy bun. go-to power move."

the floor creaked somewhere down the hall. loud footsteps. then a voice half-asleep and annoyed.

"why are you both awake before 9 a.m. on a saturday?"