Lonely Hearts Club

Parties

I smiled at Dolly as she handed me an open beer, and she leaned in to kiss me sweetly. She settled on the couch next to me, and I held my arms open, inviting her into my embrace. She smiled and nuzzled into me, and I stroked her hair as I flipped the TV on. I kissed the top of Dolly's head and held her as close as possible.

"What do you want to watch?" I asked quietly before taking a sip of beer. She shrugged and crossed one of her legs over mine.

"Nothing scary," she replied, wrapping her arms around my waist as she curled up closer to me. I smiled and rubbed her back.

We had fallen into a comfortable routine since we didn't have to hide from Maggie anymore, spending every night together at the trailer, and alternating weekends staying at her place. She had even given Robin my home number so they could talk throughout the week, and if I accidentally answered, Robin would ask me about my day and joke around with me until I was able to get Dolly on the phone.

Today was a Friday and was a weekend where we were staying at my place. Outside of me enjoying the amount of time I now got with Dolly, Maggie also enjoyed spending time with her. It had become increasingly apparent to me how much Maggie had been lacking any kind of feminine influence in her life, and things I had just assumed she would hate were things that she and Dolly bonded over. I would often hear them giggling together, telling stories to one another and teasing each other. It was nice how close they had gotten – it made me happy that my two favorite people got along so well.

"But if we don't watch something scary, I won't have an excuse to hold you close and protect you," I flirted, squeezing Dolly's sides and making her giggle. She started kissing my jaw, making my face flush. I turned to her and pulled her to my lips, kissing her hard. She grinned at me, and I pulled her closer.

"You don't need an excuse to hold me close," she teased. I beamed at her and kissed her again. Maggie came out of her room and made fake retching sounds, and I rolled my eyes. Dolly grinned at Maggie as she pulled her coat on. "You look nice."

Maggie turned bright red – she still had not told me about Matty. It took everything in me not to push the topic with her, and Dolly had to talk me down every single time. It was killing me that Maggie was still hiding something from me. Maggie ran her hand through her wild curls.

"Um – so, weird one," she started, clearing her throat. "I have a question to ask."

I took a sip of my beer and rubbed Dolly's arm as she leaned into me.

"What's the question, kid?" I asked. She clasped her hands together and grinned nervously.

"So – as you know, I turn sixteen in two weeks," she began explaining, putting her suck up tone of voice on.

"You have not let me forget it," I quipped. Dolly laughed and smacked my chest, making me smile.

"Okay, fair enough – but I was thinking, since it is going to be my sixteenth birthday, that I could potentially, possibly, have a party with my friends to celebrate?" she asked, smiling widely at me.

"Of course, kid – we can get you some cake, rent some movies, and have your friends over," I replied turning back to the TV. There was a silence, and Dolly squeezed my thigh. I looked down at her, and she nodded over to Maggie. I furrowed my brows and looked back at my little sister, confused. She was smiling nervously.

"W-well, I was thinking, m-maybe it could be a party with...with just me and my friends," she stammered.

I felt my stomach drop – I was getting flashbacks of parties I hosted in high school, in this very trailer. There were still stains on the floors that I had covered with rugs from the parties I hosted in high school. I still had scars from stupid adventures from those same parties.