"Mmm...this is so good," Olivia moaned at the taste of her frozen yoghurt.
"It's just banana-flavoured, what's so good about it?" Emma asked nonchalantly.
"Are you for real?" Olivia feigned shock. "Do you not like their banana-flavoured froyo?"
Emma simply shook her head. "No...I've just never tried it," she replied, licking her spoon. "I've always ordered the original flavour,"
Olivia scooped a spoonful of her yoghurt and waved it in front of her girlfriend. "Try it," she said.
"What? No!" Emma laughed, pushing the spoon back to Olivia.
"You're such a picky eater! Come on, just a taste!"
Emma gasped. "I am NOT picky!" she placed her hand over her chest and pretended to be hurt.
And, to prove her point, she quickly licked the yoghurt off of Olivia's spoon. She winced. No, too much flavour.
"Mmm," she pretended to like it.
Olivia laughed. "You don't have to pretend," she ate another spoonful of yoghurt, with the mini marshmallows this time. "I know you don't like it,"
As Emma was about to reply, the girls heard a familiar voice at the store's entrance.
"No, Mia! We're not doing that for our project,"
As if on cue, five pairs of eyes caught each others', and squeals were underway.
"Cass! Ohmygosh, I haven't seen you in days," Ava engulfed her best friend in a tight hug. "Hey Olivia! I didn't know you'd be here," she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.
"You didn't tell her?" Olivia turned her attention to Emma, who stood in her place shyly.
"No...I got distracted...by you,"
Olivia grinned and turned her attention to the older girls.
"Well, I'm just going to be upfront about it...Em and I are dating,"
Ava clapped her hands in delight. "I totally called it," she said.
Mia smiled too, but seemed to have thought of something at the last moment.
"What do Ashley and Kate think of this?"
All smiles disappeared as the realisation that the school's Queen Bees — mainly Kate — probably wouldn't approve of their relationship.
"Don't tell me you haven't thought of it, Cass," Mia spoke slowly, choosing her words carefully so as to not alarm anyone.
Emma shook her head in disagreement. "Of course I have, Mia! I've played dozens of scenarios in my head, trying to figure out how I'm going to tell the two of them. They never end well," she said solemnly.
"Okay, but—" Ava stopped to think for a moment. "I mean, do your parents know about this?"
Both Emma and Olivia nodded their heads.
Mia hugged the both of them tightly. "Think about it, Cass. If your parents are okay with this, what can they say or do that'll make them disapprove?"
"I guess you're right," Emma sighed. "But you don't know them like I do," she noted. "Ashley...well, I have faith that she'll be okay with this. But Kate? That's a different story,"
"What's the worst that could happen, Chancho?" Mia patted both girls on the back. "Your dad basically owns the school. You'll be fine," she spoke, confidence laced with her words.
Emma could only smile in response. She adored her friends. No matter what situation she found herself in, they were always there for her. It didn't matter that they were a year older, because she felt as though she could relate to them even so.
People were always telling her she was very mature for her age, anyway.
"So," Ava clapped her hands, obviously pleased with how the situation turned out. "Now that we're all together and that's settled, how about we get back to our froyo?" she gestured to the cups still on Olivia and Emma's table.
The frozen yoghurt was melting.
"No!" Emma whined, rushing over and grabbing her half eaten cup of froyo abruptly.
Olivia simply chuckled at her girlfriend's behaviour. "You want some of mine?"
Emma shot her a playful glare. "Liv, look at your froyo," she gestured to the other girl's cup.
Olivia followed her girlfriend's line of sight.
"Now look at mine,"
Again, Olivia did.
"What difference does it make if I have some of yours?" Emma pouted. "It's all melted,"
Ally, who'd been quiet throughout most of their encounter, walked over with a tray, setting down before everyone. "Here, I got some for everyone,"
Ava and Mia hugged the girl's small frame tightly. "You're the best, Al!"
Together, the five girls sat in the booth, talking about everything they'd missed out on one another's lives in the few days they hadn't met up.
"I'm 'bouta jump off a cliff," Ally groaned when asked about their Maths assignment.
"Dude, same. Joshua doesn't even do anything!" Mia waved her spoon at the girls. "I'm literally giving this assignment my all...I don't get paid enough for this,"
"You- You don't get paid at all!" Ava chimed in. "At least you're not paired with Seth..." she trailed off.
Emma, who was sitting beside her, gave the older girl a side hug.
"What's up with Seth? I met him at lunch earlier this week," Olivia chimed in.
"You didn't tell her?" Ava turned to Emma.
The girl in question shook her head. "Just briefly," she sneaked a glance at her girlfriend. "I told you...we got distracted," she blushed.
"Ayo," Ava turned her attention to Olivia now. The girl looked up from her banana-flavoured yoghurt. "You be doing an awfully good job keeping my girl 'distracted', huh?" she said, using air quotes.
Olivia choked on a spoonful of yoghurt and looked at Emma. "Emma!" she said, face reddening.
By this point, the other girls were finding it hard to contain their laughter. They got a few looks from those around them.
"Calm down, Planet Green Eyes," Ava said, maintaining her cool composure. "I'm just messing with you,"
Olivia nodded her head slowly.
"Oh my god," Mia said, wiping a tear from her eye. "That was so good,"
"I agree," Ally replied, leaning on Mia for support.
"Can we get back to the Seth thing, please?" Emma said shyly.
She was so dead when they got home.