god save the prom queen

it was clear that their plans had changed now with the sudden tension there was. he didn’t know what made her click away so suddenly which had him questioning what had happened. “were you guys friends?” he leaned back in his chair. as he was going to start again with the lines he paused with her response. “there’s nothing wrong with having feelings for someone. it’s not something you can just shut off.”

“I thought we were.” She replied bitterly. The memory she had spent what felt like forever trying to forget now gloomed over her like a dark rain cloud. “Yes there is. Especially when its someone who didn’t even love me back.” She was so in her head she didn’t even realize she had let the L word slip out. "It would be a whole lot easier if it was."  

𝒂𝒍𝒍  𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒍  𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅  think  about  was  how  amateur  the  other  girl’s  insults  were.  although  her  little  ploy  to  get  measuring  tape  without  actually  getting  up  was  shot  ,  the  banter  was  making  up  for  it.  “  clearly  you  know  nothing  about  fashion  if  you  have  to  resort  to  making  a  very  ignorant  attempt  at  an  insult  about  wearing  clothes  from  previous  seasons.  especially  when  many  ,  like  myself  ,  actually  have  extensive  wardrobes  that  consist  of  pieces  that  are  one  of  a  kind  &  come  from  iconic  collections.  ”  ariel  could  go  on  for  days  when  it  came  to  the  subject  of  fashion  &  style  ,  so  the  discussion  was  like  child’s  play  to  her.  “  now  ,  you’re  the  last  person  to  be  saying  anything  about  a  last  season  because  didn’t  you  get  booted  from  your  last  season  on  that  mediocre  show  ?  i  mean  ,  i  would  not  put  any  emphasis  on  the  world  last  when  trying  to  come  for  someone  when  you’re  in  the  pit  that  you’re  in  ,  rivas.  ”

"Could’ve fooled me. I guess you just have a way of making new look old, which would explain the wrinkles." For a split second she slipped up and let her face fall before covering it with one of her classic queen bitch smirks. "Obviously with your non existent experience in film and tv you don't know what a hiatus is. I'm doing just fine because I actually have experience in the career I'm interested in. What exactly have you done in fashion? Other than make any of your-” Zoe gave her a once over before continuing  “ ‘Extensive one of a kind wardrobe pieces’ absolutely unbearable to look at and prove to the whole class your incompetence at doing the simplest of things. Like walking to a desk and get a tape measure."

Fiona nods as she listens to Zoe’s words, “Yeah, I can’t wait to get out on my own. Like, fully. Officially.” Fiona shrugs a bit, not wanting to go into too much detail with it. “Nothing really specific. Just, like, general, I guess…” she trails off, silent for a moment before she speaks again. “Sometimes it feels as if no one’s really listening, you know?” her voice is soft, quiet as she keeps her gaze downwards.

“Hey if you’re ever looing for a roommate I’m your girl.” She offered Fiona a light smile. “Having a mom who doesn’t listen to you, join the club.” Feeling the mood change her expression changed along with it, now more concerned and serious. She knew exactly what Fiona meant. “I’ll listen to you.” She tried to meet Fiona’s eyeline to give her a warm expression. “You can always talk to me y’know. About whatever you want.” 

“that’s a lot of pressure,” sean stated, smile pulling at the corner of his mouth because he definitely didn’t mind that. he reached over to  grab a cup and then some bottles getting to work on mixing it so that it’s just right. “but i’m up to the challenge,” he confessed, looking up to catch eye contact before going back to what he was doing, using a straw to mix the contents of zoe’s cup together. “if this doesn’t work, maybe i could find some other way to impress you,”he flirted, handing the cup over and leaning on the counter as he had some of his own beer.

“I’m sure its nothing you can’t handle.” With one of her signature smiles she batted her lashes at the boy and tapped her nails on the counter as she watched him mix the drinks. Zoe reached out to take the cup from him before putting it to her lips, making sure to innocently graze her fingers across his.  She took a small sip and gently moved the cup in a circular motion causing the liquids to mix together further. Zoe hummed at the taste.  “Not bad.” She arched an eyebrow intrigued at Cameron’s offering.  “Oh really? And what were you thinking exactly?” 

reggie gave a grin, reaching in to pluck a few of the gummies from it. “These are close enough!” she replied, popping one into her mouth before reaching down to open her backpack to pull a notepad from it and handing it to the other. “there is a ton of stuff in here but the stuff i was thinking of for the play is on the little bookmarked pages.” 

Zoe took the notebook from Reggie and skipped straight to the bookmarked pages she mentioned. Her brow rose both intrigued and impressed by what she was reading. She flipped over to another page and let her eyes scan through it for a few moments. "Reggie.." Zoe glanced up to make eye contact with Reggie once again. "These are really good." Zoe had to admit, she was impressed. But of course that was never something she would do out loud. "How long have you been working on these for?”

“awesome.” he grins proudly. anytime someone joined a meeting, even if it was only for one, he’d get excited that people felt comfortable enough to come in no matter the reason. “i think they’re discussing some ideas for a mixer so you picked a good meeting. and if you change your mind that’s okay too.” he assures her trying to keep a no pressure thing. walking through the door he glances behind him to see if she’ll walk through the door before sitting in one of the open seat towards the back.

“I’m good with ideas. Maybe I can help.”  She forces a quick smile in attempt both put on a good front and calm her nerves. Why did this feel like such a big step for her? All she was doing was going into a room and sitting down. It wasn’t anything Zoe Rivas couldn’t handle, right? The second Aaron turned to go into the meeting Zoe quickly looked behind her as well. She didn’t even know how she felt about this and the last thing she wanted was someone else seeing her. When she was certain the coast was clear she followed Aaron into the room walking straight to a seat next to him to sit down. “So how long do these meetings usually go on for?” She asked placing her purse in her lap.

👀 for a curious text.

𝒂𝒏  𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒅  𝒔𝒊𝒈𝒉  left  ariel’s  glossed  lips  at  the  younger  girl’s  rebuttal.  “  the  witch  comment  woulda  been  cute  last  year  ,  but  now  is  not  the  time.  if  you’re  trying  to  waste  mine  ,  at  least  pretend  to  be  doing  it  in  a  productive  manner.  ”  was  ariel  being  extremely  lazy  by  not  getting  up  &  getting  her  own  measuring  tape  ?  yes.  was  she  going  to  get  up  &  get  her  own  measuring  tape  ?  if  she  had  anything  to  do  with  it  ,  no.  “  now  ,  let’s  skip  the  small  talk  &  get  to  the  part  where  you  pass  me  the  measuring  tape  ,  yeah  ?  i’ll  even  add  a  little  please  just  to  adhere  to  your  little  feelings.  ”

Zoe hummed and flashed a sarcastic smile in response now going back to the fabric she was working with. Zoe had been having fun in this class and she didn’t want Ariel’s attitude getting in the way of that. “How about this-” She retorted glancing back up at the other. “You walk over there in your clothes from last season and get it yourself. I’d kill the attitude. Scowling will make those frown lines worse.”

miles knew zoe to be this person who always held her head up high so to see her this vulnerable was new. he wasn’t sure what was bothering her but it must have been important if it cut the time of her running her lines. setting his script down, he moved closer to zoe. “i guess it just depends.” he thought for a second before looking back at her again. “there’s no on else here, zo. you can talk to me if you want.”

A text was what it was, a text from an old friend, one that wasn’t meant to be sent. One that was meant for someone else; someone this person had feelings for. Someone that wasn’t Zoe. And that’s what hurt her the most. "Nothing. She’s just some stupid girl I used to know.” She was the first girl I’ve ever loved was more like it. Pushing her phone away from her Zoe picked up the script about to suggest they run the scene again. You can talk to me if you want. Zoe looked around and sunk back into her seat with a sigh. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I just want all these feelings to go away.” 

Wrapping her arms around Zoe, she happily returns the hug effectively sealing the deal between the two girls. She was hopeful that the two would, in fact, remain lifelong friends. It was a wonderful thought that they would support each other for years to come. Pulling away from the hug, she sighs thinking of her sometimes rather complicated relationship with her own mother. “She has her moments. I think she just wants what’s best for me and is sometimes a bit…preoccupied with other people’s perceptions, if that makes sense?” she explains. “Sometimes it’s hard telling her how I feel about something” she further adds, her voice a bit more quiet and somber this time.

"Yeah I get it. They love us and everything and just want the best for us but unfortunately the only way they know how to do that is by controlling our whole lives. I can’t wait till I can move out.” She muttered that last part more to herself than to Fiona. Maybe she would have a better time figuring out who she was without her mother bombarding her brain with her values.  Zoe furrowed her brows hearing what Fiona said next. "Telling her how you feel about what?" She started to grow concerned hoping that whatever Fiona was dealing with wasn't too serious. But whatever it was, if she needed Zoe, Zoe would be there. 

she was surprised to have gotten zoe on her side so quickly. sure, they knew each other decently well from power cheer, but she always assumed the girl’s flare for the dramatics would make her want to participate in such a grueling school project, but that didn’t seem to be the case at all. “you’re so right. and the more of us that go to him about it, the more likely he’ll actually listen to our concerns,” she mused aloud, following the girl’s train of thought. “but why stop at just us? i’m sure linus could get a petition put together, sponsored by the friendship club. if we got enough signatures, there’s no way they could force us to participate next year. and with two cheerleaders passing it around, we’re destined to get plenty of people interested in the cause,” the idea was fueling her excitement over getting the babies cancelled before she had to take one home and hear yet another lecture about premarital sex from her parents over a silly project. “it totally won’t hurt at all. and you can give us more ideas about how to get this up and going.” 

“Well then, I guess we have a petition to organize.” Zoe was determined to make this work, what a great idea! She would much rather take care of something that didn’t screech for what seemed like hours on end. Maybe something like an egg or other renditions of this project other schools had done. “I don’t see why not. Consider me your newest member.” Zoe did tend to jump into things before knowing the full extent of what it was like, but she had a good feeling about friendship club. Fiona was right. Letting your guard down and letting people in was way easier than having your guard up and constantly feeling like you have to defend yourself. Maybe she should be this version of herself more often. It was a hell of a lot less exhausting. But, it would be baby steps for Zoe, for now. “So, who else is in this club?”

“I mean, I can sing, but there’s something so… fun to me about the idea of being, like, the biggest fan. The favorite fan, even… and can’t you sing too? Why don’t you try out, huh?” Frankie asked, eyebrow lifting, before inspiration struck. “Wait, Zo… what if I was your groupie?”

“Well gee Franchesca, joining battle of the bands would probably be a whole lot easier if I actually had one.” Battle of the bands was something Zoe had considered at first, but she didn’t have a whole lot of friends at Degrassi, let alone friends who could sing or play instruments. Perhaps if things were different there would be a chance... She smiled shaking her head at Frankie. “My number one.” Zoe reached out and playfully tapped Frankie on the nose. “Besides, I don’t even know if auditions are still going on.” 

🤷🏼‍♀️ for a vague text

Zoe: I have a bone to pick with you.