Just a quick disclaimer for all you BennyxNina and UsnavixVanessa shippers. I'm all for these ships, believe me, but since these pieces are about them as kids, I don't want any mutual feelings or relationships getting started. I like having Usnavi act all awkward around Vanessa, but I want her to like him just as a friend for now. And Benny and Nina don't start their relationship until halfway through the musical. So please do not hurt me for this chapter, okay?
But don't think I'm abandoning you, okay? I mean, what would kid!fics be without school dances? Or a game of spin the bottle?
Nina had never been to a sleepover before, and certainly not one where she would be three years younger than most of the girls there. She packed her bag carefully, choosing a pair of plain pajama bottoms and an old T-shirt. She didn't want to look out of place.
The walk to Vanessa's place was short, but Kevin insisted on holding Nina's hand the entire way. She danced ahead of him sometimes, knowing that few middle schoolers would be invited to a high school sleepover.
Vanessa greeted her with a hug and a smiley hello, and Nina waved goodbye to her father. There were three girls already there, all three of them much taller and more developed than Nina's eighth grade self. She looked down at her chest, which looked horribly flat in comparison, then over the pajamas the girls already wore. They all wore tank tops and shorts, and Nina suddenly wished that she had found something other than an oversized T-shirt.
This stinks, she thought as Vanessa showed her where to put her bag. Nobody here is going to like me, I'm sure of it. They're just so much older than me!
After Nina had changed into her pajamas and got to know the other girls a little bit better, she began to feel more confident. They laughed over pizza and clung to each other during the horror movie Vanessa found in her mother's cabinet – the one she was not supposed to go into.
But then they decided to play truth or dare, and Nina brought her legs in close to her chest, hugging her knees and hoping they would forget about her for this one. After all the rest of the girls all went to the same school and no doubt had the same gossip, gossip that Nina would not know.
True to her prediction, the girls asked each other the expected "Who do you like" questions, giggling over the answers. Nina felt a twinge of pity when Vanessa was asked this question and she did not answer 'Usnavi.' She tried to convince herself that Vanessa just did not want to tell her friends that she liked him because most of them probably did not remember him.
"Okay… Nina," Vanessa turned a smiling face to Nina, who jumped. She had been sure that they had all forgotten about her. "Truth or dare?"
"Um, truth, I guess," Nina shrugged, reminding herself that she did not really know any of these girls and as such should not be embarrassed to tell them anything.
"Who do you like?" Vanessa asked, and Nina practically melted with relief. Well, this would be easy. None of these girls knew the boys in middle school, so when she said, "Henry," all it was met with were nods and murmurs, not gasps and squeals like some of the others had been.
((Stink))