𝗞𝗜𝗦𝗦 𝗟𝗜𝗦𝗧 // mcyt apply fic // ᶜˡᵒˢᵉᵈ

⁰⁰¹ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪsᴛ.

𝟶𝟶𝟷. [𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚜𝚝.]

𝚛𝚘𝚜𝚎𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚢 𝚊𝚞𝚋𝚞𝚛𝚗.

-

Dear God, Rosemary hates parties. They hate the body odor, the deafening music, the thick air, the crowded rooms, the stink of weed, the booze. Most of all, they hate how much Cora loves them.

Neither of them has a ton of friends, but Cora somehow always ends up getting into all the best parties - and subsequently, dragging Rose along with her.

Rose tells themselves they only came because Cora begged and it's New Year's Eve. Definitely not because they were such a loser they had nothing better to do. No, definitely not.

Rose clings to Cora like glue, following her through the rooms of the house, awkwardly standing to the side when Cora stops to chat with a group of people Rosemary doesn't know. She doesn't particularly mind being a nobody, if nothing else, she enjoys it, but it's moments like this when she starts to wish she knew more people.

Cora's talking to a group of people that Rose doesn't recognize when Cole sneaks up behind them.

"Hey,"

"Hey," They respond awkwardly. Cole doesn't really talk to Rose, and maybe has an occasional chat with Cora, but they're not really friends with either of the two. They're both just standing there, plastic cups in hand, swaying awkwardly to the music.

"So, um," Cole starts, scratching the back of their head. "Cam's doing this thing, and-" Cora's walking back over, a smile on her face seeing Cole with Rose.

"Hi!" She says, taking a cheerful sip. "What's Cam up to again?"

Cole gulps. "Uh, well, it's easier if they tell you I guess, just, um, follow me,"

-

"So let me get this straight... we kiss all three by Valentine's day and we get a share of the pot?" Cora sounds skeptical, sending a suspicious look to Cam.

"Yeah, pretty much, everyone's putting twenty bucks in," Cam shrugs, gesturing to the group of people gathered in the room behind them. Cam's leaning against the doorway like a bouncer, Cora and Rose standing in front of her while Cole waits off to the side. They're upstairs, farther from the music, the party-goers. Well, except for the gathering that's occupying George's bedroom, likely without his permission.

"That literally sounds so stupid," Cora says bluntly. "Isn't that gonna like, I dunno, ruin a bunch of friendships and create a bunch of unnecessary drama?"

Cam smirks, all mischievous. "Oh, but isn't that the fun of it?"

Cora's grin spreads across her face like wildfire. "Okay," She says. "Okay, we're in."

Rose makes a face.

"Oh, hell no. You may be in, but I'm not," They cross their arms across their chest defensively.

Cora laughs. "Oh come on now, Rose. You never let yourself have any fun," Her chestnut eyes sparkle with a daring look that does little other than scare Rose further. They're all looking at Rose now - Cora and Cam and Cole (the three C's if you will) - and maybe it's Cora's words, but to be honest it's probably the peer pressure, that finally convinces them to say yes.

For most, peer pressure is a very, very bad thing. But sometimes, on very rare occasions, it works out. Rose crosses their fingers behind their back and prays this is one of those cases.

-

Rose is starting to think this is definitely not one of those cases. The first name (Cora) isn't bad, it's just weird if they're being honest. But things start to go downhill when Rose picks the second slip of paper out of the hat. They don't know what they were expecting, but it wasn't the name of their crush. They're not sure what to think when Dream's name is scrawled in blue ink on the slip of paper between their fingers. Rose knows it's not one of those cases when the third name they draw is George.

They don't even care at this point. They'll have to get over the twenty bucks.

There's no way in hell they're kissing Dream and then his best friend.

Rose feels a tiny monster - is that jealousy? - rise in their stomach when Flora leans in and pecks Cam's lips with a laugh.

"One down, two to go!" She exclaims as Rose feels the twenty bucks move farther and farther away from themselves.

"I don't think this was a good idea," Rose whispers to Cora, joining back into the party downstairs only minutes before midnight. Cora just laughs her off.

Rose can see Flora leaning into Karl's ear, just a few feet away. "So?" She asks, a smirk on her lips. "You gonna be my New Year's kiss?"

Rose can only assume Karl's the second name on her list, the girl making quick work of the first two names, but with the relationship between Karl and Flora, it's hard to tell. The two have been on and off for years, going from publicly hugging, Flora wearing his varsity jacket, to purposely bumping shoulders in the hallways and sending each other nasty looks every other week. Their relationship is so unpredictable, no one ever really knows the latest drama between the two, and no one can quite keep up with the complications.

Rose doesn't understand why neither can commit to the other.

"Oh..." Karl hums, pretending to be deep in thought, "Who can resist?" They wear matching grins. They lean in slowly, kissing softly.

Rose turns away in disgust. Ew. Couples.

They try to pretend to not be jealous.

-

[𝟶𝟿. 𝟸𝟾. 𝟸𝟸.]