And all is well

But I'm scared as hell

That you won't like me in the morning

That you won't like me the way that I like you

♡ ────── ♡ ────── ♡

It's homecoming week and there has been so much drama about homecoming dates and parties... Anyway I'm not going with anyone to homecoming because that's weird...

I'm in the classroom before the bell rings and see Ethan and Layla are already there.

"Hey!" I say sitting beside their desks.

"So you guys have homecoming dates?" Ethan asks.

"Hell no." I say shaking my head.

"I'm going with no one so I can dance with all the ladies." Layla says smirking.

We laugh and continue to talk until class starts. To do what exactly...? Uh how about no...

I sit beside Layla and Ethan in the cafeteria and start to eat my lunch. "Does Ethan have a date?"

"No I don't think so..." I say glancing at Ethan.

He turns his head and smiles at me.

"I'm surprised he doesn't have one though... He seems like a really nice guy." I say shrugging.

Layla looks at me and says, "Uh-huh..."

"What?" I ask. I take out some chips waiting for her response.

"Nothing." She says finishing her lunch.

"Okay..." I say.

"So what's the plan for tomorrow?" Harper asks the whole group.

"We could take pictures in the green pine park." Layla says.

"Then after homecoming head to my place?" Hunter says.

"Of course it's tradition!" Harper says kissing his lips.

"What's your guys' tradition?" Ethan asks.

"You should join us tomorrow!" Hunter says.

"Oh no I wouldn't want to intrude on a tradition..." He says sheepishly.

"No it would be fun! We literally just watch movies all night and eat pizza." I say.

"Well if there's pizza I guess I'll go." Ethan says.

"Yay!" I say clapping. He smiles at me and then the bell rings.

"Do you have a date for homecoming?" I ask Ethan as he opens the car door for me.

"Are you asking me to go with you?" He asks me with a smirk.

"No." I say rolling my eyes. "Layla was wondering."

"Right..." He says chuckling.

"No I don't have a date..." He says backing out of the parking lot.

"Really? You don't have girls lining up to ask you?" I say laughing.

"Guess they all chickened out." He says shrugging.

"Or maybe no one likes you." I say smirking at him.

"I'm sure someone out there likes me." He says to himself.

"Doubt it." I say looking out the window.

I feel his eyes looking at me so I turn in his direction. "What?" I ask.

He smiles and says, "Nothing." I laugh and go back to staring out the window. Probably freeze and just stare at him.

We get to Cooper's Cafe and walk inside. We put on our pink aprons and start serving customers.

"Scarlett could you get the boxes from the back and start stocking them in the kitchen?" Mrs. Cooper asks.

"Sure!" I say heading to the back. "Don't miss me too much." I say winking at Ethan.

"Oh I won't." Ethan says.

I scoff and put my hand over my heart, "Right in the feels man."

I grab a box and open it up with a box cutter. Gee thanks.

Oh ya! I put my earbuds in and play a random song. I open the boxes and sigh. It's not for us so it doesn't matter. Well I guess you'll have to suck it up until it's winter.

After I stock up the room with all the pumpkin deliveries, I carry all of the empty boxes into the cafe, and walk towards the door.

"Ethan you better not be in my-" I hit something in front of me with the boxes and sigh.

"What the fuck Ethan?" I say taking one of my earbuds out. I turn the opposite direction so I can glare at him.

"Sorry my back was to you. And you could have said something earlier." He says cleaning a table.

"Can you take these to the dumpster?" I ask with a little pout. Ya but he's taller so it's easier for him to carry and throw the boxes into the dumpster...

"Fine..." He says sighing.

"Thank you!" I say smiling. I hand him the boxes and he leaves the cafe.

A few girls walk in and start to whisper to each other what they want. "What would you guys like?" I ask.

"I'll have a Macchiato and salad." One of the girls say.

"Any dressing or toppings?" I ask nicely.

"No." She says rolling her eyes.

After she pays I make her drink and shove the salad into a container. I hand her her stupid order and start the next order.

"I'll just have a chocolate chip muffin please." She says handing me her card.

I hear the bell ring and see Ethan come back. "Finally." I say to him.

"Aww did you miss me?" He asks grinning at me.

"No." I say rolling my eyes.

"Whatever you say..." He says

I give the customer her chocolate chip muffin and say, "Have a good day."

She smiles and says, "Thank you!"

"What would you like to order?" I ask the last girl.

"Hot chocolate and a cinnamon roll please." She says.

Ethan begins to get her order ready while I process her order on the machine. Ethan hands her her order and the girl with the stupid salad walks towards us.

"Hey there..." She says to Ethan, trying to sound seductive.

I hold in a laugh and try to give them some privacy.

"Red." Ethan murmurs.

"Would you like to grab a coffee with me sometime?" She says twirling her hair.

He looks at me and quickly says, "I have a girlfriend." Uh I never wanted to date him...

"Her?" She says giving me the stink eye.

"Uh n-" I try to say before she cuts me off.

"She's not even that pretty. I think you need to adjust your wig." She says giving me a disgusted look.

"Okay bitch let's get some facts straight. Not everyone needs a caked face to look pretty. The least you could do is match your foundation to your fake tan. Your eyelashes look like spider legs by the way." I say.

"And my hair is naturally red. But I guess not everyone can have what they want done naturally. If you want blonde hair try not to make it look like hay thrown on top of your head." I say.

"My hair is naturally blonde if that's what you're referring too." She says rolling her eyes again.

"You can go back to eating your salad now. I wouldn't want to go out with someone like you, especially with that attitude." Ethan says waving her away.

She scoffs and murmurs, "Pretty shitty salad."

She walks away and her friends leave the cafe. I start laugh and say, "I can't believe she wanted to get coffee with you."

"I can't believe she insulted you..." Ethan says.

"Eh could have been worse. Like you saying yes to that coffee date." I say laughing again.

"Anyone would be lucky to land a date with me." He says smirking.

"Well I would feel bad for that idiot." I say shrugging.

He rolls his eyes and we see the door open.

"Do you want me pick you up tomorrow for the pictures?" He asks opening the car door for me.

"Really? Thanks dude!" I say smiling. "I hate driving there alone cause Layla is usually late so I just third wheel Hunter and Harper." I say sighing.

He laughs and says, "What time should I pick you up?"

"Does 6:00 work?" I ask thinking.

"Ya!" He says getting in the car.

After he drops me off I eat dinner with my family, watch Wreck It Ralph with Jade, and get ready for bed.

I know. It's kind of a good and sad thing. I fall asleep to the thoughts of having to do my hair and nails.

Well I have two hours to get ready for homecoming... I just need to curl my hair and paint my nails. I decide to watch Once Upon a Time on Netflix while I get ready.

Once I'm done I put on mascara, and some lipstick. Then I put on my black dress with sparklely designs. I zip up the back and look in the mirror.

I grab my duffel bag for the sleepover and head downstairs. I see Jade watching tv and my parents talking in the kitchen. Jade looks at me and smiles. "You look so pretty!" She says.

"Thanks sis." I say slipping on my heels.

Mom and dad walk into the living room and say, "Our baby's last homecoming..."

We take a bunch of pictures until the doorbell rings. I look at the clock and see it's 6:02. "Are you expecting someone?" My dad asks.

"Uh ya... Ethan said he would drive me to meet the others." I say opening the door.

"Is he your date?" My mom asks.

I laugh and say, "No. We're just friends."

"Oh." My dad says.

I see Ethan and say, "Hi."

"Hey." He says smiling at me. "You look beautiful."

I blush and say, "Thanks. You look handsome."

"Aww don't make me blush." Ethan says grinning.

"Shut the fuck up." I murmur.

"Scarlett I want to meet him!" Jade says.

I laugh and let him in. "Hi I'm Ethan." He says shaking my parent's hands.

"I'm Kara and this is my husband John." My mom says.

Then he bends down to Jade's height and says, "You must be Jade."

She nods and says, "You must be Ethan. The guy Scarlett keeps complaining about."

"Hey you weren't supposed to tell him that!" I say.

"Awww Red talks about me?" He says looking at me.

"Don't flatter yourself. Who else would I ask for help in planning your murder?" I say looking at Jade.

"You hurt Scarlett I'll tickle you to death." Jade says trying to threaten him.

"I promise I won't hurt her." Ethan says locking pinkies with Jade.

"I want to get a picture of you two!" My mom says smiling at us.

"But he's not my-" I try to say, but she gives me a You better follow what I'm saying look.

Ethan and I take a picture together and then I say, "Well we better get going to the park."

"Okay! Text us if you need anything." My dad says.

I head outside and I say, "Love you!"

"Love you too!" They all respond back.

We get into Ethan's car and he says, "You're family seems really nice."

"They are as long as you follow them and don't do anything bad." I say laughing.

We get to the park and see Hunter and Harper already there. "Hey guys!"

"Did Layla come with you guys?" Harper asks.

"Nope..." I say sighing. Ethan starts to talk to Hunter so I stand beside Harper.

"I guess she's running late." Harper says laughing.

"When is she ever early?" I ask.

"How come you came with Ethan?" Harper asks. She gasps and asks, "Is he your date?"

"He offered to drive me here that's all..."

Harper smirks at me so I flip her off. "Where's my bitches?" I hear someone yell. We turn around and see Layla coming towards us.

"Finally." Hunter says sighing.

"Oh fuck off. Beauty takes time." She says flipping her hair.

"Let's take the pics now!" Harper says clapping.

After we finish taking photos we all head to the school for homecoming. We get in line and Harper asks, "Why is it taking so damn long?"

"This is bullshit." Layla says looking at the line. Someone told us they're only letting five people in at a time to control the crowd.

30 minutes later we finally get inside. "These decorations look so lame..." I say.

We get inside the dark gym and see it's crowded in the middle. Well maybe if you didn't look directly into the lights you'd be fine.

"Can you order the pizzas?" Layla asks as we get inside Hunter's house.

"Ya sure what does everyone want?" Hunter asks.

"One pepperoni pizza?" Harper asks.

"And pineapple!" I say.

"I love pineapple pizza!" Ethan says closing the front door.

Harper laughs and says, "We have another weirdo in our group."

"It is not weird to like pineapples on your pizza." Ethan says crossing his arms.

"Exactly." I say agreeing with him.

After we ordered the pizzas we decide to start a movie called, Now You See Me.

15 minutes later the doorbell rings. "I'll get it!" I say grabbing money from my purse.

I peek through the window to make sure it's the pizza guy and then open the door.

"One pepperoni pizza and one pineapple pizza?" The worker asks looking at the receipt.

"Yep." I say handing him the money.

He looks up and says, "Wow you look beautiful... What's the special occasion?"

"I dress like this everyday..." I say.

"Oh uh..." He says awkwardly.

I laugh and say, "I'm just kidding I had my homecoming."

"Would you want to get coffee with me sometime?" He says sheepishly. Eh he's okay.

"Red why are you taking so long?" Ethan asks walking up to the door.

"Oh yay the pizzas!" He says looking at the worker.

The pizza guy hands him the pizza and says, "Is this your boyfriend?"

"Uh..." Ethan says looking at me confused.

"Well bye!" I say slamming the door shut.

"What was that?" Ethan asks laughing.

"He was being weird." I murmur.

"I'm pretty sure I heard him asking you out..." Ethan says opening the pizza boxes.

"Weird." I say grabbing a slice of pizza.

"So you think every guy who asks you out is weird?" Ethan asks.

"Exactly! I mean if you like like me you're definitely weird and something is wrong with you." I say.

"Or maybe you're just a really nice person..." Ethan says .

"Eh." I say shrugging.

Hunter, Harper, and Layla come in grabbing slices of pizza and we continue to watch the movie.

It's 3 am and everyone is asleep except Ethan and I. Layla fell asleep on one couch, and Hunter and Harper fell asleep on the little bed we made out of pillows and blankets.

We're watching Coco and I look at Ethan. "Are you crying?" I whisper trying not to hold in a laugh.

"No I don't know what you're talking about." Ethan says not looking at me. Um... What the fuck? I don't want to know that.

He turns his head to look at me and whispers, "What?"

"Nothing." I mumble quickly facing the tv.

"So did you like homecoming?" I ask.

"Ya it was fun hanging out with you guys." He says.

"I look forward to the movie and pizza part more than the actual dance." I say.

"Did you ever have a date for your other homecomings?" I asks him.

"Only once. I've only been in two relationships. The first one wasn't super serious but we did go to homecoming together. The second one she dumped me for someone who was "better looking." He says using air quotes. "So I stayed home for that homecoming."

Um good for him?

"I had one last year since he was my boyfriend but that quickly ended when I saw him cheating on me." I say sighing. Eh it only lasted two months...

"Oh wow... I'm sorry." He says.

"I wasn't expecting it to last long but the worst part was that he cheated on me with Clarissa." I say with disgust.

"Why her though? She's a bitch..." He says.

"I know right!" I say laughing.

"Maybe relationships aren't my thing..." I say.

"Or maybe you're just waiting for the perfect guy to sweep you off your feet." He says smiling.

"Maybe." I say.

😊

✨

👋