#mtfl fic

Whenever she thinks about Ava, which is a lot recently, her heart does this weird pitter-patter, and she feels this pit in her stomach get deeper, and above all else, Emma doesn’t understand it. “I don’t know,” Emma settles on. Her heart feels slightly heavy, she can’t figure out why. Mackenzie starts to say something, but a knock sounds at the door. Emma pales, “Mason! I forgot about him!” “Isn’t he your date?” “Yeah, I was just thinking of someone else,” Mackenzie raises an eyebrow, “Noah? I thought you didn’t like him.” “No, it was...” Her brow furrows, should she be thinking about Noah? “It’s Mason!” Dad calls from downstairs. “I’m coming!” She responds. Emma shakes her head, “It’s unimportant, Mason’s here, I need to...I need to...” Emma suddenly can’t remember what it is she has to do, her palms are sweaty, and her dress feels too constricted, and her heartbeat too loud and-- “Calm down first,” Mackenzie says, she reminds Emma of mom in this moment, soft voice and encouragement. The comparison grounds her, and Mackenzie continues, “You’re going to be fine. it’s just a dance, you’ve been to dances before this is no different. You’re good.” “Okay.” Emma says. “Okay,” Mackenzie repeats. They can hear Mason and Dad talking from downstairs. It’s less that Mason and Dad are talking than Dad is talking, and Mason is being spoken to. Mackenzie was right, the walls really are thin. “I should probably save him,” Emma says finally, “But you’ll be fine, right? With dad?” Mackenzie smiles, it’s a Mackenzie smile, but a smile nonetheless “Yeah, I’m just gonna stay up in my room, maybe sneak out later,” “Not with Elijah, right?” “Of course not,” She scoffs, “After he left us behind...we’re over. I’m gonna work on my art, I have new ideas, some I’ve been dying to get down.” “When you’re done, can I see them?” “if you insist,” Mackenzie tries to look nonchalant, but there’s excitement there, at the idea of someone looking at her art and really seeing it, Emma’s happy she managed to be that person to her sister. “Before I go, can I have a hug?” She widens her arms and tries to look as pitiful as she can. Mackenzie glares at her and reluctantly returns her hug. Emma grins, the hug is kind of awkward and stiff, but it is perfect because they are family. “Aww,” Emma coos, “Sisterly bonding!” Mackenzie starts immediately detaching herself from Emma’s arms. “Nope, you ruined it.” “But it was such a nice moment!” Emma teases. “And it’s never going to happen again,” Mackenzie walks out the room quickly, “Have fun at your lame dance.” “I love you!” Emma calls. Mackenzie makes a noise of disgust from the hallway, before going into her room. Emma’s grin widens, now if only the rest of the day could be as fun as this. She looks in the mirror one last time, she looks pretty. You can do this, she thinks. She grabs everything she needs, and before she can change her mind and do something embarrassing like cry, stain her makeup, and disappear off the face of the planet for several days, she leaves the room. She finds herself at the top of the stairs, looking down at Mason. He looks perfect, she looks perfect, this whole moment should be perfect. “Wow,” Mason says, smile soft. He’s looking at her like she’s the whole world, and she feels like she should blush or smile, or return the sentiment. She tries, “You look great, Mason” Her smile feels fake. This is all you’ve ever wanted, she reminds herself. For all she’s ever wanted, she thinks it feels awfully empty —— The dance is fun, maybe. At least Emma thinks its fun. The lights are bright and the air is kind of hot and stuffy. She knows it’s probably the same as last year, but she can’t stop thinking about how warm it is. She knows that if she wore a turtleneck sweater, she’d be pulling at it right now. Mason is nice, but he always is. This feels like how it was years ago, before any feelings entered the mix. She wonders if he feels it too. Shouldn’t it be different? Should she feel more for him? Maybe she should try harder. When he asks her to dance to a slow song, she agrees. He leads her to the main floor and takes her by her hips. She puts her arms on his shoulders and they sway. It’s nice, it’s calming, it’s very Mason. Emma thinks it might be okay that she feels like this, because with Mason things are safe, and until this year, she’s never really been comfortable with risks. She leans her head on his shoulder. Before she can relax, she spots Ava slow dancing with someone, a guy on the football team whose name she can never remember. The guy is handsome, sure, but all she can focus on is Ava. (Ava in a deep red dress. Ava with her hair in an elaborate style. Ava with her makeup done perfectly. Ava’s arms wrapped around her date. Ava smiling.) Emma looks away quickly, she can feel her heartbeat thudding in her ears, she feels warm all of a sudden. She needs water. Mason looks down in concern, “You okay, Emma?” “Yeah, sorry. I just.” She catches another glimpse of Ava and her date, they’re closer than they were a second ago, “Water. I need water.” “Do you want me to come with you?” He asks, he looks at her with concern in his eyes and a reassuring smile, he looks at her so kindly, she wishes could reciprocate, but suddenly everything is too much and too loud. “No, no it’s fine,” She tries to seem like she’s okay, it doesn’t work. “I just need to take a walk, you know? It got really hot in here, all of a sudden,” “Okay,” He says looking at her, eyes full of patience that she doesn’t deserve. She hurries out of the room, in a manner that she hopes looks dignified, she couldn’t be bothered to care if it didn’t. She needs to leave and fast. Emma makes her way out of the gym and into the hallway, there are significantly less people and it makes her feel miles better. She wanders the halls looking for a water fountain, there’s one out here, she knows it. After she finds one, she’ll go back into the dance with its bright lights, loud music and crowds of people. The very idea makes her shudder. On second thought maybe she can wait to find the water fountain. Emma finds herself by a row of lockers, sitting against the wall, it’s a weird kind of comfortable. Before she forgets she sends Mason a text, letting him know it might be a while before she comes back in, and not to worry. A minute later he responds. M - are you okay?? where are you Emma smiles, of course he would worry. It’s so blatantly Mason. E - in hallway c, by the lockers. but im fine just tired. He doesn’t respond after that, and Emma figures he went back to having fun in the dance. Which she’ll do soon, she just needs a moment. She sighs before resting her head in her arms, maybe a little more than a moment. Whenever she pictured homecoming, she imagined the perfect dress, the perfect date, the perfect day. She has all of that, and yet, somehow there’s something wrong. Maybe it’s her. There’s a cloud of distinct wrongness that’s followed her all day it has only gotten worse the longer the day goes on. Emma feels like a puzzle with all the wrong edges, one that won’t fit no matter where you put it. The dance is the bigger picture, and Emma is the piece the doesn’t belong. Why did she even come here? Someone touches her shoulder, and she looks up, surprised. Right, Mason, that’s why she came. “What are you doing here?” She asks. He sits next to her, brushing shoulders. Instead of blushing like she should, she just exhales. “You were gone for awhile. You’re my date, Emma, I got worried.” He smiles and nudges her shoulder, something that should fill her with butterflies but only fills her with dread. She tries to smile, but it’s hard when she feels an awful lot like crying. “Emma?” It’s so gentle, and all she can think about is how she doesn’t deserve it, considering she might not even like in the way she used to. The thought shocks her, and her eyes widen. She never considered that she might not like him romantically anymore. And now that she has, she can’t stop thinking it. Emma doesn’t like him anymore, Emma doesn’t like him anymore. Emma doesn’t like him anymore. It’s so stupid that she’s only come to the conclusion now. The sheer incredibility of the situation makes her want to laugh until she can’t laugh anymore, or cry until she runs out of tears. These past few weeks have been all about choosing, so instead of making another choice she does both. She must look like a mess, laughing and hiccupping through her tears. She’s always been a bit of an ugly crier. The hallway probably isn’t the best place to break down, but she’s just had her world view broken to pieces, she figures the hallway might be as good a place as any. She feels bad for Mason, this must be very awkward, seeing your date break down in a hallway. She tries to wipe her tears away, but it’s no use, her makeup is probably super smudged by now. Mason doesn’t seem to care, and she adores him for it. He gathers her in a hug, and it’s nice. This is her second hug of the day, and she wonders why she doesn’t hug people all the time, it’s very comforting. When she finally stops crying it feels like hours have passed. She’s tired, she’s definitely never crying again after this. “Sorry,” There’s a part of her that’s embarrassed, but a greater part of her is too exhausted to care, she’ll definitely regret this in the morning, but right now she just leans her head against the wall and tries to stop her brain from turning to dust. “You don’t ever have to apologize for crying, Emma.” He looks so earnest she almost wants to cry again; she pushes the feeling deep down. “It’s just, did I do something?” “No! Of course not, “She’s quick to reassure him, because this is all on her, not him, “I’m just not feeling the best right now,” Emma is suddenly hit with the need to tell him the truth. Her realization is still very big, and she can’t quite wrap her mind around the idea of not having a crush on Mason. But she doesn’t anymore, and she needs to tell him. Mason starts to say something but she cuts him off. “I need to tell you something.” Mason looks surprised for a moment, then it’s like he knows exactly what she’s about to tell him, in the end he just looks sad. It makes her feel worse. “I...I don’t.” It’s hard to form the words, Emma has never felt as terrible as this, “I think that maybe we would be better as friends.” She waits. For crying, hers or his. But nothing happens it’s just quiet for a moment as they both process the words. “Okay,” He says simply. She looks at him carefully, He doesn’t look angry, but she needs to check, “You aren’t mad? You don’t hate me?” “I could never hate you. I just want you to be happy, and if that isn’t me....well i’ll deal with it,” A wave of relief crashes over her, and the heaviness in her chest lessens. He continues, “I just need to know, was it someone else?” And the weight tightens again, because she doesn’t want to think about this. if she does, she thinks of a red dress, and the way that she messed up so terribly. “No.” She says too quickly, too abruptly. Emma tries not to look at him, because she knows all he’ll see is something suspicious. Mason doesn’t mention it, and her heart swells for him. “Okay.” He says. “Did you want to stay for the dance, we could go as friends...?” He trails off when she shakes her head. She motions to her face and messes up makeup. “I look like a mess, I just want to go home, maybe watch a movie or something,” He hums. “Do you want me to drive you? We can go right now.” “You’d do that?” “Of course, I’m your ride. I’m not going to abandon you. Who’d do that?” She laughs wetly, “You’d be surprised.” “What?” She ignores it, that’s a conversation for another day. She doesn’t need to relive the police station. She still can’t look at her father without thinking about it. Before she dwells too much, she gets up quickly, feeling slightly dizzy at the speed of it. “Can I got to the bathroom real quick? Before we go?” He nods “Yeah, I’ll wait outside, by my car.” She smiles, waving as he leaves, before quickly finding the bathroom and trying to fix her makeup as much as she can. In the end she just removes it all, it’s not like there’ll be anyone to impress once she gets home. She looks in the mirror again, it’s a shame, her dress is probably the prettiest thing she owns. Emma’s going to delay taking off the dress for as long as possible when she gets home, she wants to feel pretty for just a bit longer. With one last glance at the mirror, she is pleased to say that she doesn’t look like she’s been sobbing in a hallway. Her hair is kind of messed up, and her makeup is gone, but that’s enough for her. Smiling, she walks out of the bathroom. Her smile freezes almost immediately once she steps out. “Ava?” Ava, who was leaning against a locker tapping on her phone, looks up immediately. “Emma! I was waiting for you.” “Yeah, I-,” Emma is suddenly having trouble focusing, once she realizes that Ava was waiting, for her. “How did you know I was here?” “I caught Mason before he left, he said you two were going early? What’s that about?” Emma notes that she looks nervous about something. But she can’t focus on that right now, because Ava is here, talking to her. It’s been so long since they’ve talked, and it hasn’t ended in an argument. Emma wants to treasure this moment forever. “The dance is a lot.” She motions to the gym, with its flashing lights and loud music, behind her with her thumb, “I was gonna leave.” “But you’ve always wanted to come to homecoming. It’s been your thing since, forever. What’s going on?” Ava’s frustrated, crossing her arms. “I’m sorry,” Emma says quickly, she can’t let this turn into an argument. Not when they’ve only just started. “You didn’t do anything.” “I did,” Emma starts, and suddenly she can’t stop because Ava needs to know how much she means to her. “I was a bad friend. I broke up your relationship with Mason, and then I didn’t tell you I liked him when I probably should have, and then we kissed and that was bad, and most of all, I ruined us, I was a bad friend to you. and I shouldn’t have been and I think about it all the time, I think about you all the time and--“ Emma takes a deep breath, whole-heartedly prepared to dive into another barrel of reasons why Ava deserves so much more, but she’s suddenly a lot closer. “You think about me all the time?” Ava asks. For some reason Emma is finding it hard to breathe and think and exist right now. She lets out an awkward laugh and clears her throat. She cringes when her voice comes out slightly high, “That’s your takeaway? I was apologizing to you so you don’t hate me.” Ava laughs, it’s bubbly and her grin that comes afterwards makes Emma’s heart stutter for a moment, “I already forgave you a while ago, and you thought I could hate you? I could never.” Mason said something to the same effect a few minutes before, but the way Ava says it feels different. It makes Emma want to melt into a puddle, but in a good way. “Why would you forgive me if I didn’t apologize to you? I should have apologized sooner.” “You do this thing when you’re guilty, you have this look on your face,” Ava mimics her frown, and Emma can see the resemblance. “When you’re sad everyone can tell, you’re very... expressive.” Emma frowns, “Is that a good thing?” Ava shrugs, “It’s a you thing, which is practically the same thing.” While Emma processes the fact that Ava pretty much just called her ‘a good thing’ Ava wraps an arm around her shoulder, as they begin to walk away from the bathroom, which Emma also begins to process. She feels very hot all of a sudden, for completely unrelated reasons of course. “So we’re friends again?” Emma says, finally. “Did we ever stop?” “We started avoiding each other after Mason.” Emma, twists her thumb, nervously, “Which I’m sorry about, by the way, I was just too caught up in my head, and I didn’t think-“ Ava cuts her off, “It’s fine, I started avoiding you too, after you and Mason kissed. But it’s fine, I don’t care anymore.” “We aren’t together,” Emma blurts out, “Not that it matters, because you don’t care anymore, but I, uh, thought you should know,” Ava smiles, “Cool,” Emma looks at Ava through her peripheral, it doesn’t look like she cares but maybe she does? There’s a lot Emma wants to say but instead she settles on, “Cool,” Ava laughs through her hand. And Emma’s eyes widen because making someone laugh has never felt like this before, she almost trips in surprise. Which makes Ava laugh again, and Emma almost trip again. It’s a cycle and Emma is not winning She looks over at Ava, who’s smiling softly as they walk and Emma decides that maybe it’s okay. “So,” Emma starts, trying to make conversation, “How’s cheerleading without me?” Ava groans, but the smile is still there so Emma isn’t so concerned, “Don’t get me started, it’s a mess.” “Really?” “Don’t look so surprised! You were the best person on the team, now that you’re gone it’s like we’re missing something essential,” Ava sighs. Before Emma can feel too awful, Ava continues. “But we’ll work around it, besides I’m glad you’re happy. I don’t think you ever were when you were on the team. And you deserve to be.” Emma smiles, “You do, too. What about that guy you were dancing with? Are you two dating?” She ignored the way her smile flickers at the thought. “Actually, we’re just friends,” Ava’s smile does flicker, and then it disappears. “Can I tell you something?” “Yeah.” Emma says it passively at first, but then she looks at Ava, really looks at her. She see’s doubt and fear and something else she can’t put into words. More resolutely, she says. “Of course. You can tell me anything.” Ava stops walking, grabbing Emma by her hand, and dragging her into the nearest unlocked and empty classroom. As soon as they enter Ava closes the door behind them. A moment passes then another, as Ava looks more and more anxious. Emma grabs her hands. “What did you want to tell me, Ava?” Ava immediately sits down at a desk, she taps her knee, and even though it isn’t loud, in the quiet classroom, the heel of her shoe against the shiny floor might as well be a clicking pen. “Your knee’s bouncing.” Emma points out, maybe if she does not want to tell her they can lead up to it? “Right,” Ava says distractedly, her knee keeps tapping. It’s quiet again, except for the tap of her heel. It sounds almost like a heart monitor, loud and fast. It sounds like it’s getting quicker the longer the silence draws on. “Ava-,” Emma begins, not sure where to start. “I have a crush.” Ava says, her voice is rough, like sandpaper. Emma winces. This isn’t too strange; Ava has a lot of crushes. Emma has a lot of crushes. “Okay,” Emma says delicately. She doesn’t understand. Ava agrees, “You don’t get it. This crush is different.” “Okay,” Emma thinks for a moment, “What about this crush is different, do I know them or something?” There’s a small part of her that hopes it isn’t someone she knows, the idea of seeing Ava with someone she knows constantly feels weird. The idea of having a Mason situation ever again still terrifies her. Ava laughs, even if it is quieter than it was in the hall, “You could say that,” “Do you want to tell me or do you want me to guess?” Ava puts her head on her hand, “Guess, I’m curious who you think I’d like.” Emma makes a show of pacing across the room, tapping her finger against her chin and humming in thought. “Come on, I can’t be that hard to figure out.” “I don’t know, your taste so far has been muscular football players,” Emma gasps, “You don’t like anyone on the team, do you?” Ava rolls her eyes, which doesn’t answer her question, but Ava doesn’t look as nervous anymore so Emma counts it as a win. “So, no one on the team, right? unless...“ Emma’s only fifty percent serious, and when Ava throws an chalkboard eraser at her as she ducks, laughing, the number turn to zero. “Okay! okay, no football team.” “They aren’t on the football team, but I didn’t say that they weren’t on a team.” “So they’re on a team! Okay, basketball? Baseball? Soccer?” At each new guess Ava shakes her head. It goes on until, “Math team, debate? I don’t know, does that count?” Ava, who’s head has long since retired to rest in the crook of her elbow on the desk, gives a thumbs down with her free hand. “What other teams are there?” Emma questions. She’s mentioned every team possible, unless there’s some sort of secret sports team, she doesn’t know what team Ava’s crush could possibly be. A part of her, for whatever reason, is glad that she couldn’t figure it out. This whole moment feels like the night Mason told her told he had a girlfriend. It feels like she’s had the rug swept out from under her, but she doesn’t know why and that’s the most frustrating part. Do people feel this way around their friends? She looks over at Ava, thinking about who she could possibly crush on. She plans to ask what other clubs there could possibly be, but her words get caught in her throat. The windows in the classroom are very large, enough for the moonlight to come through. The way Ava looks with the light draped across her face, is different than she’s ever seen her. Emma thinks she might be gaping. She’s never thought of Ava romantically until now, and now she can’t stop. She feels as if she’s been struck with Cupid arrow, right between her ribs, right where the heaviness in her chest used to be, because now it seems to disappear. Only the knowledge that she has a crush remains. Because the way she’s looking at Ava now, isn’t how friends look at each other, the way she’s been looking at Ava isn’t how friends look at each other. Maybe she’s had a crush on Ava for a while. She remembers her breath being caught in her throat whenever Ava would look at her, and she remembers smiling more whenever Ava would be around, she remembers being uncomfortable whenever she saw Ava with a boyfriend. She thought that was all friend stuff, wanting the best for her, she didn’t know that could be considered romantic. For the second time that night, Emma’s world view shakes. “Oh,” Emma says softly. Ava looks up, eyebrows furrowed, “What?” “Are they on Cheer?” For a moment, Emma hopes more than anything that she’s right. “They were,” Ava starts slowly, Emma hangs onto her every word, “They were, but they quit” “Oh,” Emma says again, “I was also on cheer,” Ava hums. “I also quit,” she tries again. “Funny coincidence,” Ava says simply. She isn’t looking at Emma anymore. She looks out the window, and the light of the window only frames her face more. Emma feels her heart squeeze. She steels herself, clenching her fists. She’s only been aware of her crush for a moment, but she needs to know if Ava’s talking about her, if her crush is reciprocated. Right now she just needs courage. “I also have a crush,” Emma states. She can see Ava tense for moment, before she relaxes, but the moment was there and it gives her courage to take the first step. “She’s on the cheer team.” When she uses the pronoun, she, Ava looks up for a moment, and then quickly back down. Emma notices her shoulders relax. “Small world,” Ava still hasn’t looked away from the window. Emma makes her way to the seat in front of Ava, she sits backwards so they can face each other. “She’s really talented,” Emma says nonchalantly, “Probably one of the best cheerleaders, I know.” It’s only then does Ava look forward, “Do I know her?” Emma smiles, “It’d be weird if you didn’t,” Ava looks uncertain, “Really? Okay, tell me more about her.” “She’s one of my favorite people ever,” Emma starts off with a smile, that gradually gets bigger the more she talks,” I can always smile around her, she knows me better than anyone else, and we’ve been friends since forever.” Ava’s smiling now too, Emma thinks she knows, but she needs her to know. “Sometimes I look at her and I feel like she’s the sun and I’m just the moon or something small in comparison, and it’s like,” Emma gestures around, trying to put it all In words, “I’m in awe, of how amazing she is, all the time.” “All the time?” Ava repeats, a smile gracing her lips, that makes Emma feel like doing something stupid, like kissing them or whatever, “That’s a long time to be in awe of someone.” “It is!” Emma laughs around the words, “But I can’t help it! She’s just so...! You know, earlier today she laughed at something I said and I was so surprised I almost tripped and fell flat on my face,” Ava laughs again, and it’s so similar to her earlier one, snorts and all, that Emma’s glad she’s sitting down or she definitely would have face planted. “All because she laughed?” Ava says unbelievingly. “She has a really pretty laugh,” Emma says simply. “Oh?” Ava says, and Emma thinks she might have moved closer, but she’s also kind of lost focus on everything since Ava laughed. “Yeah,” Emma breathes out, “And she has really pretty eyes too. Especially when you’re really close, they just look really...” Emma loses her train of thought, because Ava’s close, like really close. She can smell Ava’s perfume, and it’s dizzying. “Pretty?” Ava finishes. “Yeah,” Emma agrees, because Ava is pretty. Really, really pretty. Emma’s eyes flicker down to Ava’s lips, and then back up, the idea before about kissing, doesn’t seem so stupid anymore. It’s quiet in the classroom, the only sound they can hear is the dull thrum of 2010’s pop music playing in the gym. Emma can hear her heartbeat, it’s loud. “Can I kiss you?” Emma asks. her voice is quiet, she doesn’t want to ruin the moment. Before Emma can regret it, Ava answers, “Yes,” And then all at once, they kiss. It is soft and slow, and perfect. When she imagined her homecoming kiss, she thought it would be with Mason in the center of the dance floor, after a slow dance, she finds that she prefers this more, with Ava in a moonlit classroom, as the bass of a loud song pumps through the schools walls. She finds that what thought she always wanted, wasn’t what she wanted at all. When they pull apart, Emma can’t stop smiling. She had always been someone who shows their heart on their sleeve, and right now, she figures she must be glowing. Ava is smiling too, something soft that tugs at something in Emma’s chest, which she now realizes as her big, gay, feelings for her best friend. “You were my crush,” Emma clarifies, “That I was talking about, before we kissed,” The word kissed makes her want to explode into rainbows and all things good and great, right now, she settles for smiling to her hearts content. “I figured,” Ava laughs, “After we kissed, I’d hope so.” So, good to know, the word kissed still makes her want to explode, almost as much as Ava’s laugh. “Your laugh is so pretty,” Emma says, because she can now that their feelings are out on the table, in fact, Emma is one more laugh away from swooning. “And apparently it made you almost trip in the hallway,” Ava teases, grabbing one of her Emma’s hands in her own. Emma supposes she should be more embarrassed, but she’s more preoccupied with the fact that their hands fit perfectly into each other. “A lot of things about you are pretty,” Emma says sincerely,” I’m surprised I don’t trip more often around you. You’re stunning.” “Bold of you to talk, when you’re dressed like that. You’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen.” Ava says confidently, like Emma being beautiful is a fact, something set in stone. Emma is suddenly extremely aware of the zero makeup she has on, and what a mess her hair probably looks like. She tries not to melt into a puddle and is only half successful. “You can’t just compliment me out of the blue like that! I don’t think I can take it.” Emma groans. She looks down at their hands, Ava’s started to rub circles with her thumb and the motion is comforting. “Well, as long as we’re together,” Ava states, “You’ll get tons of compliments, so you can get used to them.” “Together?” Emma starts, looking up. “If you want to be.” Ava says. “Of course I do, it’s just, do you even like me?” Emma asks. “Emma, we kissed.” “But do you like me?” Ava leans over and kisses Emma again, it’s quick, but it still leaves her dizzy. “Does that answer your question?” Emma nods, smiling goofily. “Good,” Ava says, “Because I do like you, a lot, and I have for a while, And the idea that you would ever like me back... well, I just, I didn’t think it would happen.” “But it did!” Emma says her smile wide, so wide her mouth actually hurts, she hasn’t been this happy in a while. “It did,” Ava agrees, squeezing her hand. Emma squeezes back, and the moment is so nice that when Ava laughs it almost startles her right out of her chair. “What’s so funny?” Emma asks. “Both of us dated Mason, and now we’re dating each other” Ava says through giggles. “You’re right. Aw, poor Mason,” Emma agrees, until she thinks again, and oh, poor Mason, “Oh no! I’ve gotta go, I’m sorry.” Ava looks up, frowning, as Emma gets out of the chair, “What happened? What’s wrong?” “Mason, he’s my ride. I was crying earlier, and he offered to drive me home. He’s been waiting to take me home, since the bathroom, oh, he must be worried sick!” Ava looks confused, trying to process, “Wait what? You were crying?” “Not anymore, I’ll text you about it, okay? and then we can meet up tomorrow and plan a date.” “Wouldn’t meeting you tomorrow be the date?” “Do you want it to be?” Emma pauses in her haste, turning to look at Ava “If you’re asking, yes.” “Okay,” Emma grins, “Where do you wanna go?” Ava hums, “Surprise me,” “Okay, I will! It’ll be the best surprise ever! The best date ever, in fact, but I’ve got to go, tomorrow is going to be awesome, though, okay?” Ava nods, smiling. “Okay.” Emma leaves the room in a haste, a moment later she returns. “Mason can wait five more minutes, right? Can I kiss you, again?” “You don’t have to ask every time,” Ava rolls her eyes, but the smile is still there, soft but bright, turning Emma’s insides into goo, “But yes, you can,” And they kiss again and it is everything Emma has ever wanted