𝐆𝐎𝐎𝐃 𝟒 𝐔, dreamwastaken

seventeen

Dear Lila,

It's been a week since I sent my letter, and I have not gotten a reply. Sapnap is afraid to hang out with you because he doesn't know how you will feel about it considering how close he and I are. We just want you to be comfortable. I'd like it if you would reach out to me though. I really want to talk with you to clear some things up. Just hear me out. If you want to never speak to me after that, then so be it. I'll have to live with that.

Anytime you want to talk and meet up, I'll make myself available. Please don't hesitate to reach out. I'll always be here, Li.

Hope you're okay.

Love, Clay

•••

REAL LIFE !

Strolling through Target, Lila was looking for another new outfit. This one being for a date that was supposed to happen later that day. His name was Grayson, and she met him through a mutual friend a few weeks ago. A couple days ago, he finally asked her out on a date to just see where things would go between them. It was nothing high stakes, but for Lila, it felt like she had all the pressure in the world on her to make things work out with this guy.

She chewed her lip in nervousness at the thought of things not working out tonight. Or maybe she was more nervous about if things did work out tonight. What would happen? Was she forcing it or was it real? Is she ready to move on?

Lila let out an audible, small sigh as she put another ugly dress back on the rack. Her search was only just beginning, but she was already dwindling on patience to find something good to wear. Shopping wasn't her favorite thing in the world, but then again she didn't mind it when she found what she was looking for. Unfortunately, today was not one of those days.

As she moved to go through the next rack of clothes, she spotted a familiar blonde teenager. "Drista?" She asked as she walked over to where the girl stood.

The blonde turned around and instantly smiled. "Oh hey, Lila!" She replied. This time Lila was the one to pull her into a hug first.

"I miss you! How've you been?" Lila asked with a smile as she pulled away from the quick hug.

The younger girl smiled back before answering, "I miss you too, but yeah, I've been good. Just hanging in there. What about you?"

The smile kind of faded from Lila's lips. "I've been better..." She added, "I have a date tonight, which is why I am here looking for an outfit. Want to give me your opinion?"

The other girl nodded, trying to hide the disappointment that Lila was going to be dating someone besides her brother. She liked them together so it makes her sad to think that they had been broken up for so long that they've both tried moving on with someone new.

"I was about to look at this white dress before I saw you," she explained, walking to the next rack over to pull the dress off. She held up the white dress which had a floral design all over it with hints of pink on the flowers. "What do you think, D?"

Her eyes were wide as she stared at it, reaching forward to feel the fabric. "I think you'd be insane not to get that dress. It's gorgeous! You would look so good in it."

The older girl laughed at her reaction before taking another look at the dress. It was really pretty, and it wasn't super expensive. Definitely could be worn more than once so it would be worth the money.

"Alright," Lila caved. "I'll buy it. Thanks for your opinion!"

"Of course. I hope you have fun tonight," Drista added, forcing a small smile on her face. Lila could see right through her words and smile, but knew the fourteen year old had good intentions behind her words.