Musa woke up with a pounding headache. The bright light that shone through her curtains blinded her for a split second, and she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. With a groan, she clutched at her head, suddenly remembering the eventful night before, before she blacked out. She slowly pushed herself up with her elbows.
And that was when she realised she was not alone.
Aisha and Tecna stood at the edge her bed, with the latter looking confused and the former shooting her a glare.
"Well, Sleeping Beauty, how was your hundred-year nap?" Aisha commented almost mockingly in a sweet, sing-song voice.
"Ugh, can we not do this now," Musa begged half-heartedly, falling back into the comfort of her pillows.
"No, we are doing this now," Aisha snapped unmercifully, crossing her arms to show that she was being serious. "What the HELL was that whole fiasco last night?"
Musa winced at Aisha's change of volume. "Will you stop being so goddamn loud?"
Tecna shot Aisha a glowering glance, then turned back to Musa, "If you tell us now, we'll stop bothering you."
"Can't a girl bear a hangover in peace and quiet?" Musa grumbled, further burying herself in the mountain of pillows, the bed creaking slightly in the process. "At least let me have a shower first."
"Okay, that's fair," Tecna agreed, nodding in reply. She glanced at the girl beside her, a meaningful look on her face. "Aisha?"
Aisha closed her eyes for a lingering moment before sighing heavily. "Fine. But after your shower, we're going to have a long talk about how you were practically sucking Riven Steele's face off."
"Aisha," Tecna nagged.
"Whatever," the brunette rolled her deep blue eyes. "And please clean yourself up. You look like a mess." With that, the two left Musa in the privacy of her bedroom.
Musa turned to see her reflection in the vanity and almost gasped at what she saw.
Aisha was right. She WAS a mess. Musa's usually smooth, dark hair stuck up in multiple different directions and her bloodshot eyes bore heavy bags. But the worst part was that her makeup from the night before was still on her face, the colours smudging together in an ugly shade of brown, unflattering her fair skin.
"Ugh," Musa shuddered, before groggily heaving herself up and slowly shuffling into the bathroom.
-:-
"You're all here too?" Musa commented unenthusiastically, her last few steps down her staircase becoming gradually slower when she saw Flora, Stella and Bloom sitting in her living room along with Tecna and Aisha.
"Are you kidding?" Bloom raised her eyebrows sarcastically, comfortably leaning back against the leather sofa she was sitting on.
Flora furtively nudged Bloom in the ribs, earning a glare in return. She continued in a much nicer tone, "Of course, we're worried about you."
There was a chorus of "yeah"s as all the girls agreed simultaneously.
"Come and sit here," Flora slowly patted the free space next to her, scooching over to make more room.
Instead, Musa steadily ignored the brunette, slumping herself in an unoccupied, single armchair and burying her face in her hands.
"Hey, are you feeling okay?" Tecna quizzed from the sofa adjacent to hers.
"How do you think I'm feeling?" Musa snapped impatiently, looking up from her hands.
"You don't have to use that tone on us, Musa," Stella said sternly, her expression of concern immediately turning into one of annoyance.
"Weren't you out fucking some guy last night?" the dark-haired girl spat in irritation, turning to face the blonde.
"No, I wasn't," Stella replied just as coldly, her gaze becoming intense. "You would have known that if you would just listen to us. Now stop snapping at every one of us and get to the point." There was a pause and her tone and her features softened. "We're your friends, Musa. We will always be here for you."
The room fell quiet and a pang of guilt hit Musa like a wrecking ball to a wall. Stella was right. How could she be this cold to the only people in the world who could understand her better than she understood herself?
Her brow furrowed and she lowered her head in shame. A heavy sigh left her lips as she ran a hand through her long, bluish black hair that was let loose over her shoulders. "That guy who punched Riven last night... h-his name is Jake."
"Last night he told me he's your boyfriend..." Aisha told her quietly. "Is that true?"
"He was my boyfriend," Musa told them firmly, shaking her head. "Until I broke up with him."
"You dated that jerk?" Bloom scowled.
Musa nodded slowly, her mouth drooping in shame. "I met him about two months ago at some party. He was really nice and sweet... a gentleman, you would say. I was absolutely shitfaced so he offered to drive me home. He even did that cheesy 'giving me his jacket because I was cold' move, which I didn't mind, because I was blind drunk at that time... but b-because of th-that, I also didn't realise all the subtle touches he had given me, which were definitely more than just innocent."
How naive she had been. Never again, Musa swore to herself. "I gave him my number... and it all started from there. He asked me out, and I said yes. Like I said, he was so sweet, so I was already practically in love. But then the first red flag came," Musa continued, her eyes full of anguish. "I wanted to tell you guys that we were dating so bad, but he wanted us to be private for a while. He swore me to secrecy."
There was a pause as Musa struggled to get her words out.
"I thought nothing of it at first, but then he started getting protective... no, possessive is what I mean. He would call me every single minute of the day, asking where I was even though I already told him where I would be. He wouldn't let me go to parties, he wouldn't let me wear clothes that were too revealing, or some stupid crap like that. He was so... jealous of everyone I spoke to, and then one day I had had enough. I told him I was done with whatever remained of that relationship, and cut off all my ties with him. And in that same night, I went to my first party in weeks."
The girl stopped talking and showed no sign of continuation. Concerned, Flora perked up, "Are you okay to continue?"
Musa nodded silently, aimlessly waving her hand in the air. "Riven. He was at that party. I was already drunk when he came up to me. He was his usual arrogant, cocky self and told me so many stupid, insulting things. Did he really expect me to take all that without saying anything? Of course not. So I got up, stared him in the eye and told him to fuck off. And... needless to say, one thing led to another and then... and then the next morning I woke up in his bed."
Musa couldn't help but laugh, albeit nervously, when all of her friends' jaws dropped. "Can you believe he was a gentleman the next morning? Well, not gentleman. That would be a bit of a stretch," she continued on, amusement threaded through her words. "Let's just say, he was actually nice to me. He apologised for what he said the night before, and we basically started over. I told him about the toxic relationship I just got out of, and he told me about himself."
"And that's when you started to fall for him..." Stella teased with a snicker, a smirk tugging on her lips. "Slowly, then all at once."
Musa rolled her eyes fondly. "Yes, you're right. We started meeting secretly everyday, and not long after, I was head over heels. I wanted to tell him how I felt about him, but the night before I told you guys about the party, that monster turned up at my door at 3 in the morning."
Musa clenched her fists in anger, her eyes ablaze. "It was UNBELIEVABLE. He BEGGED me to take him back. He thought that we were only on a break! After all the emotional abuse he put me through, did he honestly think that I still loved him? That I still wanted him in my life?" after finally letting out her emotions that she had pent up for so long, the girl's voice cracked and she burst into a fit of sorrowful sobs. She buried her face in her knees and her sobs rocked her body back and forth.
Aisha began, "Musa-"
Musa looked up and held up a hand at the mention of her name. "No, let me finish, please," she tried to plead through her sobs. After taking a deep breath, she started to continue slowly. "I told him that h-he was crazy, that he should leave me alone and that everything between us was over. The look on h-his face when I said that... i-it was truly t-terrifying. When he r-raised his hand, I was c-completely paralysed. Before I knew it, the vase th-that was set next to the doorway was on the floor... a-and I was too, with blood pouring down my legs."
"Bastard," Stella whispered, absolutely outraged. Aisha, Bloom, Flora and Tecna felt the same fury burning through their veins. They could not believe Musa had gone through all of that all by herself.
"My brother had woken up by that time. When he got downstairs, all he saw was me crying on the floor, unable to stand up because of my damn legs, and that son of a bitch standing over me. I don't remember what happened next... but I woke up in a hospital bed with stitches all over my legs and feet. That same morning, I saw all of you being so happy that I didn't dare tell you and burden you with all that had happened to me. So I thought of the only thing that would always make me happy and forget about everything else, and that was throwing parties." the girl sniffled as she wiped away the tears that were on her face. "I invited Riven and told him everything last night. And just like in fairytales, he told me he would never let anything happen to me again, and he liked me too. The last thing I'd expected was for that bastard to show up and ruin everything. And now... we're here."
After listening to Musa without ever interrupting once, Tecna slowly stood up, walked over to Musa and engulfed her in a comforting, light hug.
Caught by surprise, the dark-haired girl gasped when she felt four more bodies crushing her own with all their might. Joyful laughter escaped her lips and she closed her eyes in satisfaction, realising that she hadn't felt this happy in a long time.
"Ugh, I love you bitches so much," said Musa affectionately, feeling the warmth and comfort radiating from her friends' embrace. It was in that moment she knew. No matter what boy would come and go throughout her life, they would never love her like Tecna, Aisha, Stella, Flora and Bloom did.
"And we love you too!" they all replied simultaneously, immediately erupting into a fit of giggles.
After an what felt like forever, the six girls broke away from the hug. Flora sat on the seat of the armchair, her arm around Musa while the others went back to where they were sitting previously.
"I'm really sorry, by the way... for keeping this all from you," Musa breathed, her voice shaky with remorse. She studied the faces of every single girl around her and a rueful smile crept onto her face. "I know better now. You guys will always be here for me, I'll never forget that. But then again, I was scared that you'd judge me for suddenly liking Riven when I had sworn to you that I hated his guts."
Tecna gave a light chuckle before shaking her head firmly. "Please, never, EVER think that you're a burden, ever again."
"Never again," Musa solemnly promised to herself and to her friends, giving them a nod.
"Well, all that crap aside..." Bloom pestered after a moment, amused, "You and Riven, huh?"
Musa felt her face turning crimson and she corssed her arms against her chest. "What about it?"
"You guys are a thing now!" Flora shrieked with delight, pointing to the pinkette sitting across from her. "Tecna, you owe me ten bucks!"
Musa's jaw immediately dropped in amazement. "You bet that Riven and I would end up together?"
"Well, last night after that whole fiasco, while we were cleaning your house, Tecna said that she thought the kiss between you two was a spur-of-the-moment, drunken kiss, but Flora bet Tecna that you and Riven were a full-on couple." Aisha told her.
Musa shook her head, clearly stunned. "I'm not even mad. You guys are... something else."
As Tecna grumbled and involuntarily handed the smug Flora a tenner, Musa's eyebrows stitched together when she realised what Aisha had said.
"Wait a minute, you guys cleaned my house?" A wide grin settled on Musa's features as she looked at her surroundings.
"What are friends for?" Flora smiled sweetly, putting the single ten dollar in her purse.
"Thanks," gushed Musa. "My dad would kill me if he wasn't working all the time. And my brother too."
"It's nothing," Stella dismissed it with a wave of her hand, leaning back on her palms as she adjusted herself on Musa's sofa. "So... are you going to ask him to prom?"
Musa slapped her forehead in annoyance. "God, I completely forgot about it being next Friday."
"Oh my gosh, me too," Bloom gasped. "Do any of you have a date? 'Cause I don't."
Aisha shrugged casually. "I might be going with Nabu. What about you?"
"Ugh, I wish I could go with Sky. But I'm not scandalous enough to steal someone else's man," the redhead gave a smirk. "Maybe I'll go with Andy. He's kind of cute."
"I'm going with Timmy, that cool kid who's my partner in Science."
"Obviously I'll be going with Helia."
Aisha threw a cushion in Flora's direction. "Did you have to state the obvious?"
Stella opened her mouth to say something when Musa shot the blonde a question, "Hey, Stella, where did you go last night?" the dark-haired girl said.
Stella smiled sheepishly. "Brandon was at the party and since I was hungry, we bailed and he took me out to eat hot dogs."
"Isn't that so sweet?" Bloom joked with a mocking grin.
"Since when did you eat hot dogs?" Musa raised an eyebrow questioningly. Everyone burst out laughing at this statement, while Stella sat as her face flushed red.
"Gosh, you're never going to let me live this down, are you?" the blonde huffed, cupping her face in her hands. "Yes, I ate hot dogs for the first time in like, forever."
"You, breaking your no-carbs streak for a boy," Aisha snickered. "You must be in love."
As the laughter of her friends died down, Stella shrugged. "I might as well be. He is the literal epitome of gorgeous. You should have seen him without his glasses last night. I melted."
"So you keep saying," Flora hummed in response, "But when are you actually going to ask him out?"
The blonde groaned in irritation when the other girls agreed with Flora.
"Ughhh, fine," Stella dragged her words when she told them hesitantly, "Tomorrow, after school. That's a promise."
THE DAY AFTER
School had passed in a blur for Stella. The only thing that had been on her mind that day was the thought of finally asking Brandon out. She had managed to avoid him during Science, and she didn't even notice Mr Scott screaming in everyone's ear that period.
The girls had given her encouragement during break, but she hardly remembered what any of them had said. She was happy to see that Musa was back to her cheerful, tomboyish self again, but that didn't much distract Stella from the cloud of anxiety that loomed in her mind.
Before she knew it, the last bell had rang and Stella unwillingly and slowly shuffled out of History like a zombie, earning looks from others that she did not notice. It's time, the blonde thought to herself, feeling a knot of nervousness forming in her stomach.
By the time she entered the hallway, it was not as crowded, so Stella was relieved that she did not need to look for Brandon among so many people.
She scanned the people for Brandon and her eyes almost immediately landed on him - and if she wasn't nervous out of her mind right then, she would have smiled in delight at his outfit.
He was standing in front of his open locker, wearing a denim jacket over a plain white t-shirt and black jeans. Stella cursed at the fact that no matter what Brandon wore, he would absolutely rock it. The blonde was convinced that even if he wore a trashbag he would still look good.
"Brandon!" Stella called, and he looked up at the sound of his name. A smile made its way onto his face when he saw Stella coming towards him.
"Hey, Stella," he waved and turned to settle his books that were in his locker. He then continued with a grin, "How are you doing after I fed you carbs?"
"Not so bad actually," the blonde laughed nervously, forgetting her nervousness for a split second.
"That's good to hear," he chuckled, slinging his bag over his shoulder and slamming his locker shut, locking it.
"Hey, um, may I ask you a question?" Stella cleared her throat, starting to hear her heartbeat in her ears.
"Sure, go for it," he told her, shooting her a grin.
"So, I was-um, wondering..." she trailed off for a moment, feeling her heart screaming just do it!. The sooner it was done, the better. Her heart was beating a mile a minute, and she inwardly blushed... she had never been this crazy about a boy before. The blonde put on an easy smile. "I was wondering if you would like to go on a date with me sometime?"
Brandon's eyes widened as soon as those words left Stella's lips. He was so flabbergasted that he didn't realise his grip on his locker keys had loosened and they had dropped onto the floor with a loud clink.
"Brandon?" Stella called, and the brunet suddenly snapped out of his thoughts, bending down to pick up his keys.
"Sorry for that," he shook his head as he apologised, throwing his keys up into the air, swiftly catching them and putting them in his pocket.
"No worries," Stella shook her head. Growing slightly impatient, she asked him, "So... the answer to my question?" she chuckled lightly, trying to rid of the doubts that were starting to form in her mind. No, this is all going wrong! Stella shouted to herself in her head.
"Yeah - I - um, I'm sorry, Stella, I-I'm, really, very flattered but I, uh-" the brunet paused, his eyes leaving hers and shifting to the floor. His hand found its way to the back of his neck, rubbing nervously. "I-I'm just not looking for love at the moment."
Stella felt her heart sink to the ground and she swore her heart had skipped at least two or three beats. No, no, no, no, no, I knew I shouldn't have done this. Of course he would have said no. Of course he wouldn't like me like that.
"Th-that's fine," she finally managed to stutter out, barely hearing herself say over her own mortification. She ran a hand through her blonde locks, squeezing out the best smile she could. How she did, she didn't know. "I totally understand."
"So we're still good, yeah?" Brandon asked for confirmation, concern flashing in his chocolate eyes. The blonde almost burst out laughing at the irony. No, we're definitely not.
"Of course," Stella lied through her teeth, her fake smile growing into a phony grin. "Wouldn't want to make it awkward, now would we?"
A smile that usually would make Stella weak in the knees found its way onto Brandon's face; in that moment, though, it just made her stomach twist in humiliation. "Thank you, though. I really am flattered. I'm sure another guy would be lucky to have you."
Stella shrugged nonchalantly; or at least, that was how she hoped she looked like. Nonchalant. Casual. Unbothered. "I guess I'll see you around."
"Yeah, see you tomorrow then," Brandon nodded and shot her a wink. Tomorrow, of course, the girl gritted her teeth in frustration, not even noticing the small gesture that would have previously made her stomach do flips.
Stella turned away with the still false smile on her face, hoping her expression wouldn't betray how she really felt. Shame, regret, humiliation, sadness, all of the emotions swirled around in her head like a storm. Wanting to get out of there as quickly as possible, she sashayed down the hallway with a smug, sultry smile... like she wasn't rejected by her crush only a few moments before.
Like the rejection didn't tear her apart.
Like it didn't bother her at all.
Deep inside her, the truth was that she wanted the ground to open up and swallow her whole.
Author's Note: OMG guys it's been literally half a year since I updated O_O *buries face in shame* I'm so sorry this took so long. The past few months I've been having MAJOR writer's block and I literally freeze up every time I sit behind the screen. The only thing I've been able to write lately are one shots (which I will post in my other story, Perfect). Thankfully, the voice at the back of my head FINALLY convinced myself to shut everything out, sit down and just write for a few hours.
Shoutout to angelalexandra for giving me the motivation to write, I was seriously thinking of putting this story on hold until your review came along. So thank you!
I'm sorry if you were looking forward to a lot of Stella and Brandon moments in this chapter, but I gotta add drama for some other characters too. But don't worry, you'll get a lot of them in the chapter after the next. Hopefully? *sweats nervously*
I hope you liked this and as always please R&R!