Unexpected Love [GXG]

Chapter 37: Unity Night

POV: ENID

I dreaded this day so much… and yet, somehow, it still came too fast.

Fatima hummed under her breath while brushing highlighter along my cheekbone. "Stop frowning, E. You’re going to wrinkle your forehead."

"I’m not frowning," I muttered.

"You’re frowning," she repeated, flicking my forehead lightly. "Tonight is supposed to be fun."

Fun.
Yeah… right.

My stomach had been twisting since morning. A whole week had passed since everything—school drama, Maxine, Olivia, the rumors, the looks, the whispers—and now the school was throwing this big, flashy “Unity Night.” Basically a party with decorations to pretend we all got along.

Leo, Mia, and Ally were already in the next room finishing their outfits, laughing about something. Fatima, who didn’t even attend our school, somehow got herself invited because “I’m basically an honorary student,” in her words.

She held my chin up. "Okay. Open."

I opened my eyes—and froze.

Fatima grinned. "Yeah. You look insane."

My breath hitched. She had made me soft, glowing, and… confident? My lashes looked longer, my lips glossy but natural, and my skin even. My dress—thin lavender satin with a low, soft V-neck—hugged my body just enough to look innocent and dangerous at the same time.

Fatima stepped back to admire me. "Olivia is going to faint."

My heart jumped. "Who said Olivia is even going to look at me?"

"Enid" she sighed dramatically, "your girlfriend is obsessed with you. Please."

"She’s not my girlfriend."

Fatima rolled her eyes. "Keep lying to yourself, babe."

Before I could argue, Mia burst into the room without knocking.

"Oh my God, you’re glowing," she said immediately. "Fatima, marry me."

Fatima curtsied. "I know."

Mia stepped fully inside, hands in the pockets of her black wide-legged pants. She wore a cream cropped corset top with a loose, unbuttoned pastel green shirt over it. Soft, mascara-coated lashes. Simple silver chain. Her usual glasses. Clean, effortless masculine-feminine mix.
Perfectly Mia.

"You ready, Enid?" she asked.

"No."

"Great. Let’s go."

Ally’s voice came from the hallway. 'HELLOOO? Are you two done looking like Céline Dion? We need to leave before the place fills up!"

Fatima grabbed my hand. "Come on, superstar."

Just as we walked out into the living room—

Leo let out a whistle. "Enid, damn!"

Ally grabbed my arm dramatically. "If Olivia doesn’t confess tonight, I will."

"NO," Mia and Fatima said at the same time, laughing.

Leo adjusted the collar of his soft pink button-down shirt and smirked. "Let’s go before we explode from jealousy."

And of course, because my night couldn’t get any easier…

My phone buzzed.

Grayson😒
Are you on your way?
Be safe, okay?
I’ll be looking for you.