Chapter 9

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...the pic for this chapter (if it loads) is my new Dionne casting :)) and yes it's a screenshot from instagram 🤨

also, this chapter is a bit darker n sadder but hopefully not too bad for anyone. lmk your thoughts ❤️

•Dionne POV•

"Dee, perfect timing!" I heard Blaire's voice as I walked through the front door of our home, immediately being hit with the smell of food. It was almost 10pm when Ashton dropped me home - with Michael in the back of the car after insisting that he was too tired to walk all the way home. I can't say it wasn't a little bit awkward - despite how well I was getting along with Michael, and how close he and Ashton were, it was pretty clear that Ashton would've preferred it if Michael wasn't with us the whole night.

"What'd you guys order?" I asked through a yawn as I took my jacket off and hung it up before taking off my shoes.

"Who says we ordered? What are you trying to say, we can't cook?" Charlie scoffed through a mouthful of food, making me roll my eyes as I walked into the front room and saw three large pizza boxes laying across the table in front of the couch, as well as the girls already tucking in.

"Ooh, is this homemade?" I joked, wandering over to the couch and squeezing in between Charlie and Sameera. "Where'd you learn to make the boxes?" I smirked as I excitedly reached over for a slice of pizza.

"5 minute crafts really has it all, y'know?" Charlie shrugged, making us all giggle. Turns out, the girls had planned a night of watching trash TV and eating pizza, and I'd arrived right in the middle of an episode of American Horror Story.

Before they pressed play again, though, Sameera made sure to speak up and catch everyone's attention by saying "Wait! Dee, how'd your date go??" Of course the others were immediately looking at me and hounding me for answers.

"Oh my god, spill. What happened? How did it go?" Blaire propped her elbows up against the table and rested her head in her hands, staring at me intently.

"...Funny you ask, Blaire." I saw the opportunity to distract from myself slightly and I took it, encouraged by Blaire's confused look. "I actually really enjoyed it. Ashton and I really got along, I think. So yeah, it was going fine, and then all of a sudden Michael showed up. You remember Michael, right? Well we started talking about Friday, and I showed him the pictures of you two singing along to Taylor Swift and... long story short - it seems like someone has a crush." I smirked, watching her eyes widen.

"Who- a crush? He does? On who?" I could see her cheeks reddening, and was thankful to realise that everyone was no longer staring at me.

"You, stupid." I chuckled, and Charlie and Sameera let out dramatic ooooh's, making Blaire bashfully hide her face.

"That's so embarrassing!" Blaire whined, falling back and laying on the floor so we definitely couldn't see her face. "...He is kind of cute, though." She admitted, the others clearly getting excited over this turn of events - and with that, I didn't have to speak about myself anymore. Mission succeeded... for now.

-

I didn't realise how tired I already was once I got home, but after I'd eaten that pizza then it just hit me like a truck. Before I knew it, I'd fallen asleep on the couch between Charlie and Sameera, feeling surprisingly comfortable as I drifted off. What I wasn't prepared for, though, was the dream that would set in not long after my eyes fell shut. It was almost more of a memory than it was a dream, though; and not really a good one, either way.

I was... 9, maybe. Possibly even younger. I was in my bedroom, sat on the floor holding onto the magnifying mirror I'd taken from the bathroom and applying some lipstick I'd 'borrowed' from my mums room; in the dream, that shade of red looked so much brighter and bolder than I remembered it ever really being. It was surrounding my lips, like a failed - and unintentional - attempt at over-lining. But it wasn't only on my lips - oh no, I clearly wanted to make the most of this once in a life time opportunity to apply makeup that I'd hastily snatched up off of my mums dresser. So I'd taken that crimson lipstick and dabbed it all over my cheeks, creating a completely unnatural imitation of blush on top of my sun-kissed brown skin that rarely reddened in the first place.

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