My Art Freak

Chapter Twenty-Two

(y/n)'s POV

It had been a while since Janis and I had started dating and everything was going perfectly.

Now, it was the summer after graduating and we both had somehow made it into the same college. Nevertheless, we wanted to spend as much time as possible with our friends before leaving.

Which is why we were having a triple date tonight. As we always knew, Regina and Gretchen had a thing going on and officially got together on New Years. The other couple with us was...

Karen and Cady.

It had been a real shock to all of us, but Karen actually asked Cady to the Spring Fling, and they'd been together ever since.

Janis had been really happy when they got together, and we had double dates all the time. But tonight we'd decided to go to this cute frozen yogurt place called Riley's, and Gretchen dragged Regina into joining us. So here I was, looking myself in the mirror. Damien had helped me learn how to dress on dates, so now I wore black jean shorts with little yellow embroidered moons, stars, and suns, paired with a yellow tee tucked into them and a black zip-up hoodie.

I pulled my hair back in a messy ponytail, grabbing my black crossbody bag and my phone as I rushed out. On the way I slipped on my black converse and bolted out the door, surprised to see Janis waiting outside, . She seemingly been just about to knock, her fist already raised.

"Oh, hey! I thought we were meeting up at Riley's?" I asked, smiling as she extended her elbow for me to link with mine, which I gladly accepted.

"Yeah, but I wanted to walk you. Plus, what kind of super-cute-couple would we be if we didn't arrive together? For shame." She explained lightly. I laughed, hugging her arm close to me.

"Well I'm glad. We have two other couples here, we have to be the absolute cutest." I told her competitively.

"Yes, that's the spirit! We have to out-cute them." She declared with equal zeal. We continued to chat as we walked, stopping for a moment outside the shop before she opened the door for me. I giggled, doing a little curtsey as I walked in, with her following right behind me.

We looked around, seeing Karen and Cady already at a large booth towards the back, laughing and looking at each other fondly. I grabbed Janis's hand and dragged her over, plopping down in open seats.

"Hey, did we make you wait too long?" Janis asked, wrapping her arm around my shoulders as mine automatically looped around her waist.

"No, we didn't wait long!" Karen answered, smiling as she looked away from a beaming Cady to us.

"We were just talking about this one time in Africa when-"

"Shut it loser, no one cares about your wildlife stories." Regina announced. Gretchen winced, shooting Cady, who seemed unfazed, an apologetic look.

"I wanna hear them!" Karen intercepted, wrapping her arms around Cady in a loving hug.

"Sorry we're late!" Gretchen squeaked. I smiled up at her as she fidgeted nervously.

"It's perfectly fine, Janis and I just got here too." I assured. She sighed in relief, sitting down next to Regina.

"Let's go get our froyo, (y/n) do you want me to get it for you?" Janis asked sweetly. I nodded, smiling.

"That would be great, (f/f) please! Let me know how much it costs and I'll pay you back." I told her sweetly.

"Alright, I'll be back in a sec." she said, pressing a kiss to my forehead before getting up, walking to the counter.

"I'm getting you your froyo, what do you want?" Regina asked Gretchen, giving her a momentary soft smile that was reserved exclusively for the jittery girl.

"Oh, uh, strawberry please! Thanks, I'll pay you back."

"Don't worry about it babe, I got it." Regina said as she walked away.

"Karen, what would you like? I wouldn't mind grabbing yours." Cady said. Gretchen and I glanced at each other, both smiling warmly. We all knew just how smitten Cady was with Karen, she was the most doting girlfriend I'd ever seen. They were the cutest couple I knew, not that I'd admit to it out loud.

No, no thinking like that (y/n)! We have a cute-off to win. Even though the others don't know it was happening, Janis and I still had to be the winners.

"Oh, uhh, bubblegum please! You're the best!" Karen declared, pressing a kiss to her lover's cheek before she walked away.

The three of us made idle chit-chat before our girlfriends returned with food. I thanked Janis, moving to grab my wallet from my bag before she gently grabbed my wrist.

"Hey, I got it." She told me as she sat down with our froyo.

"But that's not fair." I said with a pout, giving her the puppy dog eyes that always worked on her. She laughed, making me pout even more.

"You paid for our date to the aquarium last weekend, so I'd argue that it's far more fair for me to pay for this one." She declared softly. I rolled my eyes, elbowing her arm softly.

"Fine. I guess you can pay just this once." I sighed playfully.

"You two are adorable." Gretchen butted in fondly.

"Thanks, we're definitely the cutest," Janis declared proudly, wrapping an arm around me. I swatted her playfully, rolling my eyes fondly at the proud declaration from my adorkable girlfriend.

"No way, I think Karen and I are way cuter together." Cady butted in, wrapping an arm around the blondie.

"No offense but Regina and I are definitely the cutest couple here." Gretchen added.

"I don't think so." Karen said, furrowing her brows in confusion. "Cady and I are really cute!"

"You may be cute, but Gretchen and I are the best couple, hands down." Regina scoffed, swinging her legs up to rest across her girlfriend's lap.

The rest of the conversation dissolved into a debate- more like argument- over which couple was the cutest as we all ate our froyo. I didn't weigh in, choosing to stay silent as I ate my (f/f) treat and cuddled into Janis's side.

How did I ever get so lucky to have friends and a girlfriend like this?

(1066 words)