"Are you sure you want to wear Garroth's jersey?"
Looking in the mirror, I can't help but feel excited to go to school. I haven't felt this way in a long time. It's true; Garroth's jersey looks like a dress on me. My uniform's skirt is only so much longer to prove there truly is something underneath it. Despite its cleanliness, it smells like him nonetheless. I think I prefer this smell over Laurance's cologne.
"Don't be silly, Laurance," Cadenza scolds, tugging two sections of my ponytail away from each other. "She looks like every other stereotypical high school girl. A cheerleader in a football player's jersey. I'm wearing a jersey."
He scoffs from my doorway. "Bullshit. I could've gotten her any other jersey, but she's wearing my best friend's. How do you think that makes me feel?"
I pout. "It's just a jersey. Shouldn't you be happy I'm wearing more rather than less?"
My comment comes in poor taste when he shakes his head, not pleased with me in the slightest. Cadenza snickers from my side and steps away, pressing a kiss against the top of my head.
"Well, I think she looks wonderful. Laurance, you just have poor taste. I think you're jealous that you couldn't wear Garroth's jersey, and she beat you to the punch." Laurance walks away, his eye rolling evident the further he walks off. "He's on his man period. Now, said eye candy should be picking you up in a few minutes."
°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
My finger aimlessly traces over the number '32' on Kandi's back, ignoring the salad that's in front of me. She manages to make Dante's jersey look good despite wearing the exact outfit that I'm wearing. But typically, that's how it goes.
"Hmm," Kandi hums, turning her head around to look at me. My hand slowly drops to my lap, looking up at her like a caught puppy. "Are you already bored by the conversation, Lexi?"
My finger didn't bother her whatsoever, as she didn't comment on it, but the tell of her body language was telling me to drop my antics before it would.
"Oh, no, of course not," I say, shaking my head at this.
My eyes lift to see Garroth's, a sudden flustered state taking over me. I rub the fabric of Garroth's jersey in between my thumb and forefinger, trying to distract myself. He gives off a breathy chuckle, breaking his eye contact from me.
Laurance's expression drops, a sour tune in his attitude. "Can you not try to get into my sister's pants? Thank you."
My mouth opens, quickly shutting and diverting my attention off to the side. Slight laughter breaks across the table, Garroth's smooth voice sounding from the aftermath.
"Laurance, I don't try to get into people's pants," he comments, a heavy sigh following. "It's a shame you think otherwise."
"Your sister isn't a child anymore," Dante tells him, his laughter falling into a soft chuckle. "She's a young woman now. You know of the talk. Her body is changing."
My eyes practically roll behind my head from the amount of annoyance I have regarding this man. "You're such a fucking pig."
"And her attitude has grown poor," he adds, sending a wink my way before being shoved through Laurance's outstretched arm. This causes Garroth to hold onto the table as he leans backwards, Laurance's arm in front of his chest.
I stand from my spot, reaching forward for my tray on the table to throw away. When I turn on my heel, I can see Garroth quickly stumble up to follow after me. There's a whistle from Dante and a cry of pain following afterwards.
Garroth places his hand on my shoulder when I place the tray in the window leading to the kitchen. Instead of tensing, I relax, but even then this action won't let my annoyance slip away.
The two of us are quiet when he guides me to the hallway, staring down at me expectantly. My lips purse shut together, my arms firmly hugged against each other over my chest. Another hand of his goes to my other shoulder, eyes locked in a stare down.
"Did something happen?"
The stare down breaks because of this. There's a moment where my eyes widen, but I awkwardly lift my hands out of their warm spot, starting to move them around while I speak. "Um, no. I'm as preppy as I always am," I tell him, clapping my hands together twice and lifting an arm into the air. "Go phoenixes!"
He reaches for my hand, bringing it back down from the air. "Never do that again. What happened?"
"I have gym before this, and I don't like Ivy."
He chews on his bottom lip, a slight nod in this action. He places his hand on my shoulder blade, taking a step back towards the cafeteria and waiting for me to walk alongside him. My words are self-explanatory as it is, and he seems to understand it.
"That explains the smell of perfume on my jersey. I like it."
"Shut the fuck up."
°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°
"Let me through! Let me through! This mama has a camera!"
There's a small hurdle of bodies together in the center of the Ro'meave's living room. Different colors of dresses clashing against one another while the boys generally look all the same with black dress pants and a white button up. The only thing that truly looks different is the color of their tie, and even then they're similar. Us girls basically look the same, but in a slightly different font.
We're like cattle to Zianna as she quickly whips us into shape. Kandi nearly stumbles down the stairs when Zianna tugs on her arm to move faster. She is excited when it comes to times like these, and she often makes haste in the time of any moment. People are ushered outside to the backyard, but my bladder ushers me to the bathroom, ruining this little train she has going on.
Garroth is waiting in the living room for me when I come out, stopping in my place when I realize the ball of blondness is actually my date waiting for me to hurry up in the bathroom. The sound of my heels clacking alerts him to look up from his phone, and he quickly shuts it off and tosses it into his pocket.
His stance is almost as quick as his phone is hidden from the world. Garroth walks towards me, stopping a few inches away before getting a proper look at how I dressed for the occasion. His smile is genuine, gaze soft.
"You look beautiful. Grown up."
"Thank you. You look handsome yourself. The bow tie is a nice touch." I smooth out the skirt of my dress, pulling it down a bit more. It fits to my body, adorned in a deep burgundy. It's simple, with little detail placed on it. Sheer tulle covers my arms in sleeves, gold jewelry draped against my neck in a delicate chain and simple band on my finger. Both are decorated with a diamond in the center. "We should get going towards the others. Your mom was serious on taking photos."
His eyes linger a little longer, his lips curved up in a soft smile. "Yeah," he says, voice quiet. "We should."
