The Do's & Don'ts of Dealing with A Diva

Chapter XXIX

The atmosphere at school the following day was different. Everyone could feel it—even Travis, who had known us for all of a day.

We sat at our usual lunch table, Jaz next to Dallas, Brooks next to me and Mia and Travis occupying the lone ends. The conversation, however, did not flow as it usually did.

Jaz crossed her arms over her chest and studied us all with narrowed green eyes, her and Travis being the only ones not currently up to date with the relationship drama that was happening in the group. It was so quiet around the table, I could practically hear the wheels turning in her mind as she tried to figure out what dynamic had changed since yesterday.

Honestly, even I was trying to figure out what was going on. Mia and Dallas hadn't spoken a word to each other since whatever had happened between them last night after practice, and Brooks and I had had a moment, but now it was even more awkward than when we were on the outs. Hell, maybe we still were on the outs. Technically neither of us had apologised about our fight, despite the words we'd spoken to each other yesterday, so I wasn't sure where that left us.

"So uh, my cousin is throwing a party this weekend." Travis told us eventually, his eyes darting between each of us. "He said I could invite some friends, if you wanna go? He lives in Charleston but we could make a weekend out of it."

I glanced up from my sandwich and caught Mia's eye, both of us undoubtedly remembering the last time I had attended a party and walked away with a bruised ego and a bruised face.

"I promised my mom and dad that I'd babysit my sister this weekend." Jaz informed him with a hint of regret, twirling her wooden fork around in her pasta. "Sorry."

"And I'm grounded." Mia sighed wistfully, her glossy lips twisting into a frown.

Travis made a disappointed face at them both before he turned to look at me hopefully. "How about you Savannah?"

I swallowed, glancing around to see if anyone else was surprised that I was being singled out. But then again, maybe Travis had told his cousin that he could get Savannah Silvers to be his party date and now he had to prove it. As nice as Travis seemed, that would not be surprising at all.

"I'm not much of a partier." I responded dryly, poking at my lunch. I couldn't help the slight blush that grew on my cheeks.

Travis raised his eyebrows and took a lazy bite of his hamburger. "Oh." He said through a mouthful of food. "I thought you liked parties. Aren't you kind of notorious for being a party girl?"

I knew his question had no ill intention behind it, but it still irked me. I was a troubled TV actor and I liked to party. Apparently, those were my only memorable qualities. I wondered briefly whether that image would ever change, or if I was stuck with it for life. It didn't matter how hard I tried to stay out of trouble and the limelight— I had a feeling my identity was set in stone to the rest of the world.

"Not anymore." 

Travis nodded once, but apparently wasn't finished yet. "It'll be fun I promise. Super low key, just a backyard bonfire type thing. And I could drive us there."

I smiled but made my tone as firm as I could. "No, thank you. Maybe another time."

"But-" He persisted, making annoyance grow in my chest. Wasn't I supposed to have left the pushy people behind in LA? I felt Brooks tense beside me, and he opened his mouth to say something but Dallas beat him to the chase.

"Dude." Dallas, clearly in a bad mood, gave him a 'drop it' look, and Travis looked down at his lap.

"Sorry, Sav. I didn't mean to be an ass, I just really wanted to prove to my family that I wasn't a loser." His ears turned pink as he took a quick sip of water out of his Nike bottle. "I never really had many friends at my old school and my cousin Stefan can be a dick about it, so I thought maybe..."

My eyes softened and my earlier irritation slipped away as his explanation resonated with me, and I reached over to lay my hand over his on the table. "I'm sorry your family treats you that way, you don't deserve that. I would help if I could but I'm really just not comfortable going to a party."

Travis stared at our touching hands for a moment before shooting me a small smile, his eyes sparkling. "Thanks Savannah."

"We should get to class." Brooks murmured suddenly, sending out cues to everyone to leave. As if rehearsed, the warning bell rang above us.

With a sigh I stood up, grabbing my tray and waiting for Mia so that we could walk together to class.

"Have you got your calculus textbook?" She asked me as she pushed her chair back under the table. "I think I left mine at home."

I shook my head, realizing that I was totally unorganized for class too. "No, sorry. I'll just call at my locker quickly and then we can go."

Mia checked her watch, her brow creasing. "Is it okay if I meet you in class? If I'm late and my dad finds out..." She trailed off, but she didn't need to finish her sentence for me to know that whilst she was still grounded, any wrong move would be very very bad. I nodded and offered her a wave as we turned in opposite directions, and I passed by a few stragglers who were either cutting class or also running late, until we reached my locker.

I twisted 03 04 15, the exact date I had been given the role of Veronica Hart on Scandalous, into my locker and twisted the handle.

As I pulled the door open, hundreds upon hundreds of polaroid photos cascaded down onto me.