The Cost of Perfection | Rosé x Reader

Chapter 11 - Our Homecoming Then

A/N: I know I left ya'll on a bit of a cliffhanger but hopefully this holds you over until I can update regularly. Holidays are coming up so that should give me some time to write some for ya'll but until then enjoy this chapter!

The sound of TOP 40's music hits your ears the second you step foot in the room. Echoing out from the DJ set-up near the center. The lights swaying over the crowd, illuminating the entire space in an array of color, reflecting off the sparkling stars that were strung along the ceiling. The combined light show mixed with the reverberating beats of the music made everything seem spectacular. An atmosphere that was different, more vibrant. Like being on another planet. Which in more ways than one, was true.

Rosie stood at your side, wearing her nerves on her sleeves, a tiny pout on her lips. You hadn't been dating that long, but even now in this moment, you could tell she was going to be a special part of your life. This was your first dance with her and you felt frozen. Desperately not wanting to ruin anything. It almost felt like it was just yesterday that you asked her out. Shy and nervous, standing in front of her. But that was expected, after all it took you an entire year to finally open your mouth in the first place and admit to yourself that you liked her. To make the move from being her friend to being more than friends. That same exact feeling that was shooting back through your veins at this very moment. Your mouth feeling dry as you notice how quiet she is; how quiet she's been since you arrived.

"E-everything okay Rosie?" You ask, hesitantly scratching the back of your neck, the words getting stuck in your throat.

The way her cheeks puff out as she rubs her elbow, make the nerves inside you triple as you see that she's just as nervous as you. Without thinking much about it, you reach your hand out taking hers in your grasp, hoping that would put her at ease and help calm her.

A small blush makes its way onto her cheeks as her body momentarily turns away from you as she tries to hide it. But being under the lights of the dance, makes it impossible for you to miss. It brought a smile to your face, especially when you felt her slightly lean back into you after squeezing your hand back.

"Yeah...it's just I didn't realize that everyone would go all out for a Homecoming dance..." Her eyes quickly shooting to the ground after scanning the room.

You look out, noticing the crowd of upperclassmen all clad in upscale dresses and high fashion, the sudden connection finally dawning on you. As two small freshmen making their way into the new world of high school, Rosie couldn't help but feel small.

She was in a place where everything was new to her. New school, new classes, and on top of the list of all the many other things, was this new thing with you, which she wasn't completely sure about. After moving here in the 6th grade, you were the next person she became friends with after she met Jennie, and up until recently you were both just really good friends. In fact, she'd even say you were one of her best friends. You became a stable part of her life and for two years that stayed true until she developed her little crush on you at the beginning of 8th grade. Then all of sudden that stability that she felt seemed to wobble out of place as she found herself secretly hoping that you'd get the courage to ask her out one day. Which you obviously did, but now that you were dating, it only made things feel even more uncertain for her.

That's because Rosie was the type of person who feared what she couldn't predict. And the thing about life, is that it's absolutely unpredictable and that realization gave her an overweighed sense of fear. Which didn't show that often, but she couldn't help when those moments of thoughts came flooding to her head. And unfortunately for her, one of those moments happened to be now, the second she stepped through the doors of the dance with you. But it was reassuring when she felt you grab her hand, because it did indeed ease her nerves. Especially, when she felt like she came super underdressed, and started comparing herself to all the other girls there.