I was awoken the next day by Victoria talking in her sleep.

"No, waffles...come back,"

Partly confused and amused, I moved closer to Victoria's bed.

"Morning, sleepy head,"

Victoria's eyes opened only slightly, before she completely sat up in her bed.

"Huh?"

For the first time in a long time, I had woken up first...Victoria was usually an early bird, but today she wasn't on time to catch the hypothetical worm. It was a blessing and a problem that the art competition wasn't until later, because for one thing I was nervous- I wasn't too sure why, maybe because I was more concerned about what Victoria would feel if she didn't win, and secondly, because I didn't know how people would judge my own art work. With time you learn to get used to constructive criticism, apparently.

I don't think I had ever fully gotten the hang of that.

Victoria's eyes had closed again, and while she looked cute while she was sleeping, I was between losing track of myself glancing at her more often than I perhaps should have done, and telling her that we needed to start moving if we wanted to make it on time to the contest.

"Victoria," I spoke again.

"Kate? Oh...right, competition,"

Her voice was sleepy, until she seemed to register what she had said and sat bolt right up in the bed again, her eyes widened.

"The competition! How could I forget?" she left the bed flinging the covers to one side, and then headed into the bathroom to begin getting ready. I supposed that I should probably begin to do the same, and started to put on my shirt, butterfly necklace and grey cardigan...oh, and a skirt our trousers was probably an idea, if I didn't want the entirety of the university looking at me. While some people thrive under attention, I wasn't the biggest fan of it.

I made sure I had my things together: new phone from Victoria, check; bottle of water, check; anxiety...sadly, check.

Then all I could really do was sit on the bed and wait until Victoria appeared.

It wasn't a huge event, but Victoria wouldn't settle for not looking great...it wasn't as if she really had to try, though. At least to me, she always looked like a human diamond.

How cheesy, Kate, I thought, and then my phone buzzed with a message from the one and only Margo Rodriguez.

Margo: Yo dude, good luck today.

P.S. Fox and I are waiting on you to tell Vicky that she needs to get her act together and ask you out soon.

P.P.S also good luck don't kill me for mentioning it, you're the greatest.

Liam: Kate! Feels like it's been years, hopefully you'll win, but if not, at least you have me.

I rolled my eyes at that comment, knowing that Liam was joking. At least, hopefully he was joking.

Victoria walked out of the bathroom and smiled, her white teeth shining through. It was one of those breath taking smiles.

"You look great, Kate. Does this outfit suit me?" she asked, to which I nodded with a smile of my own.

Then I registered what Margo had said in her text for a second time, about Victoria asking me out. I mean, if I wasn't so socially awkward I should probably just try and get up enough courage to ask her myself.

It was an idea, but her parents being against it didn't make the task an easy one.

It seemed there was always something getting in the way.

Victoria was standing in the corner of the room looking in the mirror, seemingly struggling to put on her necklace, and then she turned to me, holding the necklace out as if subtly asking me to put it on for her. Well, it wasn't so subtle. I smiled in amusement, and headed over to put Victoria's necklace on, the clasp wasn't too fiddly, luckily.

Then Victoria turned to me again, her eyebrows furrowed.

"You're thinking about something...what's wrong?"

I've been thinking about wanting to be your girlfriend and things keep seeming to get in the way of that becoming reality. Besides this whole parents not wanting anything that could get in the way of what they believe should be right, and me being socially awkward and not knowing how to ask you, and the whole art competition thing stressing me...I don't know how to feel.

Of course, I couldn't actually say all of that, if any of it.

"Kate?"

"Nothing, it's nothing..."

Victoria looked unconvinced, but nodded, and then headed over to pick up her bag. Then the two of us began to head to the main hall, where the competition was taking place, and Victoria and I sat in the audience. She seemed to look around for a moment, as if wondering where her parents were. I, too, wondered where mine were, but knowing that they were fashionably late for most events, it wasn't too much of a mystery.

Art students began to walk up on stage to welcome everyone to the event, and then they began to show off the main pieces who had made it into the finals of the competition.

At the corner of the stage was unsurprisingly Victoria's piece, a portrait that she had painted a while back, and I felt my heart almost stop when I realised that one of my own pieces was next to it.

I had made it into the finals.

"Isn't that yours?" my dad's quiet voice led me out of my train of thought, I just nodded, and turned back to Victoria who was caught off guard smiling at me. Her cheeks pinkening slightly, before she turned back to the stage.

"And in third place of this years art competition- Margo Rodriguez!"

I heard a yell from a familiar voice shout "Go Margo!" as Margo headed up to the stage to get the third place prize.

Then, after some applause, the audience fell into silence again, waiting in anticipation for the next person to be announced.