Emma looked at the two girls in shock. This was not good.
How should she put it? Valerie was her ex-girlfriend. While they ended things on good terms, — Valerie had moved to study music in the UK for a couple of years — Emma wasn't exactly expecting her past and current lover to meet.
And to add a cherry on top of this mess, they knew each other.
"I can't believe they know each other," Emma heard Mia whisper to Ava.
Ally stood still, like Emma, staring at them with a slightly gaping mouth.
"Hi," Valerie breathed out again.
Tensions didn't seem as high as the girls were expecting, for some reason.
"Hi...again," Olivia laughed.
And there it was. Just like that, time seemed to move at a regular pace once more, as if everything hadn't just been at a standstill.
Valerie engulfed Olivia in a tight hug, to which the other girl graciously accepted.
"Gosh, it's been so long!"
Olivia nodded. "Five years, Val. It's been five years since I've last seen you,"
Valerie rubbed the back of her neck nervously. "I'm sorry I left without a proper goodbye. You know how I get,"
"You're referring to how you hate goodbyes because you're afraid that truly means it's the last time you'll see them, right?"
As the two girls got lost in their own conversation, Emma couldn't help but smile.
Well, this was going better than she'd expected.
But, she still had to speak up eventually; and this was as good a time as any.
'Now or never,' she mumbled under her breath.
"Sorry to interrupt," the brunette stuck out her hands and stood in between Valerie and Olivia.
Before she had the chance to ask the question everyone was curious to know the answer to, Ava stepped in and did it for her.
"How exactly do you guys know each other?"
Valerie laughed and looked at thee surroundings. "I'd tell you now, but it looks like you guys have your hands full,"
Mia glanced at the clock. 1:30am.
They could cut the party short...
"Alright, listen up! Party's over," Ava yelled and signalled for the DJ to stop the music.
A few groans came out here and there, but for the most part, people understood and started to leave.
As much as Ava had wished they'd taken their trash with them, she knew all too well that it didn't happen during parties.
"I suppose we'll have to clean up before we can hear the story, huh?" Ally asked, hands on her hip as she scanned their surroundings.
Ava nodded solemnly.
"I'm afraid so,"
"Well then," Valerie clapped her hands together. "Grab a trash bag everyone, because we've got a lot of work to do,"
Olivia and Emma worked on the backyard together. Because it was where the pool, lounge chairs and grill were, they probably had the most trash to clear.
Ava and Seth decided it was best they clear the kitchen; seeing as it was the family's pride and joy. They loved cooking and baking; so this meant that the layout of ingredients and utensils was extremely important.
Valerie helped clean the living room, which was easy, she only had to pick up the trash and leave the arranging of furniture to Mia.
Mia was a cheerleader and a dancer, her core strength probably stronger than the lot of them. Because of that, she was stuck with the worst job.
"I can't believe you guys are making me do this!" the chocolate-skin girl groaned as she lifted one end of the sofa.
"Ain't my fault you so strong mamas," Valerie laughed at the girl's predicament.
Mia would much rather be stuck with cleaning the backyard, even if it meant that she had to do it alone.
Speaking of doing things alone, Ally had volunteered to clean the front porch, because it would take the least amount of time. Once she was done with that, she'd help the group clear the trash bags they'd come out with.
"Teamwork," Ava grunted as she and Seth hauled three bags of trash out onto the front yard.
They'd high-five, but their hands were covered in...they didn't want to know.
"Are y'all almost done back there?" Valerie yelled in Olivia and Emma's direction.
"Hmm," Emma pulled away from Olivia, startled. "They're calling us,"
"I hear that," Olivia chuckled.
So, they'd gotten a little distracted.
In their defense, they'd pretty much cleaned the entire backyard.
"We're done!" Emma yelled back. "Shall we?"
Olivia nodded in response. They got up from the lounge chair and grabbed their bags of trash.
"Chancho, go around the house! We're cleaning the living room," Ava instructed.
Emma groaned loudly for her friends to hear, but obliged.
Together, the couple went around the house and dumped their trash with the rest, going inside to wash their hands.
"Well, I'm glad that's done and over with," Ally suck into the sofa.
"Right?" Mia said, following suit. She slumped before her friend's small frame.
It was a sight to see, their group's smallest and tallest girls laying beside each other, on the verge of knocking out.
"Tell you what," Valerie said, leaning forward in her seat. "Since we're all so tired, how 'bout we head home for the night...well, morning,"
The girls giggled.
"And we meet at Starbucks tomorrow? It'd be a good time for Olivia and I to catch up. Well, you guys are dying to hear about our story too, I'm sure,"
"Totally,"
"I second that,"
"Ditto,"
Only Emma stayed silent. She wasn't sure if she wanted to know the history between the two girls, but if it was something her friends wanted to know, then so be it.
"Seth," Ava shook her boyfriend awake when she'd realised he'd dozed off.
"Wha-" he looked around in a daze. "Yeah, coffee,"
"I don't think he's referring to our Starbucks date tomorrow," Mia shook her head in amusement.
"I think he's asking for coffee...now," Ally replied.
"Alright, Starbucks tomorrow it is. Text me the deets," Ava said, getting up and helping Seth to his feet.
"Come on lover,"
They were cute like that.
Ava sure as hell wasn't going to let Seth drink coffee at this hour. He'd be bouncing off the walls if she did.
And that was the end of the party; everything had been cleaned, thankfully, so the girls simply headed home for the next couple of hours, agreeing to meet later in the day...when they were more awake and hopefully more sober.