"So, when's the wedding?" Valerie smirked as she took a sip of her coffee.
Olivia, on the other hand, choked on her warm beverage. "Hmm?"
"Oh, come on. I know you, Liv. You don't date for fun," she then turned her attention to Emma, who'd been watching their exchange quietly. "Neither do you, I've learnt that from experience,"
She wasn't wrong.
Ava laughed. "Trust me, Val. I've already started planning it,"
"Ah, Ava. Always the captain of our ships,"
Ava smiled proudly at this statement; as if it wasn't something everyone already knew at this point.
"Enough talk about Olivia and Emma," Ally scolded, but smiled anyway. "You've got Olivia looking redder than a tomato,"
Valerie laughed at this revelation. "Okay, my bad. Good to see you haven't changed a bit though," she gave Olivia a side hug.
"Tell us a bit about your story," Mia pointed at Valerie and Olivia.
"Yeah, I've been dying to find out how you guys know each other," Emma replied.
"The story isn't all too long, actually," Olivia began to speak, dabbing the corners of her mouth with a napkin. "We first met in my previous school. You know, the one I was in before I transferred here,"
"It was one of those schools that had students from elementary all through high school, so we've known each other for quite a while," Valerie explained a little further.
Olivia nodded in agreement. "We met in our dance class, actually. It was one of the extra curricular activities we chose. To boost our credits, of some sort,"
"That's not all. We played hockey together,"
"Field or ice?" Ava asked, taking a lot of interest in their backstory.
"Both," Olivia confirmed.
Emma blushed a little. Seems like she had a type.
"Then what happened?" Ally urged the girls to go on.
"You guys tell a really long story," Mia rolled her eyes playfully. "Get to the juicy bits already!"
"Still so impatient, Mia," Valerie laughed.
Mia blushed.
"There aren't any juicy bits, to be fair," Olivia continued to speak. "We've known each other for years, we were best friends up until five years ago, when Val decided that she wanted to pursue music in an overseas university,"
The girls nodded. This much, they knew.
"We drifted apart, of course. The time difference was just one of a few factors that pulled us apart," Valerie said honestly. "When I landed in the UK, I met new people. And...when Olivia transferred to a new school, so did she,"
Both Valerie and Olivia exchanges grateful glances with the other girls.
"I'm sorry I couldn't be there for you," Valerie turned her attention to Olivia this time. "I- I know it was hard, having to deal with—"
"It's fine, really," Olivia reassured her. "I managed,"
It was obvious she didn't wish to talk about her horrid past in her old school, so Valerie decided it was best to drop the topic.
"You sure have a type, Cass," Ava smirked at Emma, who blushed and sunk a little deeper into her seat.
Valerie laughed. "Huh, I never noticed that,"
"Stop it," Emma whined, but everyone could tell she was smiling.
"Small world, huh?" Mia leaned forward in her seat, looking at her friends. "What are the chances, Val and Liv already knowing each other beforehand...Liv because friends with us," she shook her head, still trying to wrap her head around the idea of all of them being friends.
Ally nodded in agreement.
Olivia looked at the bunch in front of her. "How do you guys know each other, then?"
Ava laughed at her question. "Dance," she said simply.
"I've never seen you guys in our dance class—"
"That's not the dance class she's talking about," Ally cut in.
"You know how Ava's...basically crazy, right?"
Olivia nodded in response to Mia's question, to which Ava feigned hurt.
"Simply put, I caught her dancing at a park," Valerie explained.
Olivia couldn't contain her laughter. "I'm sorry?"
Emma, who'd just finished her bagel, finally spoke up. "Val was at the park one day and she spotted Ava dancing. For what? I have no idea," she took a sip of her drink. "I don't know what made her want to dance along, but I'm glad she did,"
The girls nodded in agreement.
"We wouldn't have known her otherwise," Emma confirmed.
"I'm glad we cleared that up," Mia said. "Anyone up for laser tag or paintball?"
"Heck yeah," Ava punched the air.
"Why don't you call Seth while you're at it?" Ally suggested.
Ava nodded and excused herself to call her boyfriend.
"Laser tag sounds fun, but I've got a date," Valerie said, getting up to leave.
"A date? With who?" Mia asked curiously.
"Rebecca Dawson,"
Um?
"That's Seth's ex-girlfriend," Emma noted, recalling her phone call with Ava the first time Olivia came over.
Well, she was still his girlfriend at the time.
"Oh gosh...this isn't going to end up in a whole other mess, is it?"
"What is?" Ava asked as she came back in. "Seth's on his way,"
"Uh...well," Mia began to speak, looking at her friends for support.
The other girls remained quiet.
"Gee, thanks guys," Mia rolled her eyes, bracing herself to bear the brunt of Ava's wrath. "Val isn't joining us. She has a date,"
"Oh, cool! It's fine, you can always join us another time. No biggie," Ava said, taking a sip of her coffee.
"You didn't let her finish," Emma said, looking back between Ava and Mia, then at Valerie.
"I have a date...with Rebecca Dawson,"
There. The secret was out.
Ava stayed silent for a couple of moments, finish up up the last bit of her drink. Every sip she took felt agonizingly slow to the others.
"That's okay," the girl finally spoke, setting her cup down.
"It is?" everyone asked in unison.
Ava nodded. "The reason Seth and Rebecca ended things was because...well," she gestured towards Valerie. "Because she's gay,"
Emma laughed. Their friend group really was something.
"Seth and I spoke about it when we first got together. I hadn't heard about Rebecca in a while, and I wanted to know what I was getting myself into," Ava explained.
"So he told you everything?" Mia asked once more for confirmation.
Ava nodded.
"AND YOU DIDN'T TELL US?" Ally yelled, earning a few glances from other patrons.
"Sorry," Olivia said to them shyly. "Ally!"
"Oops?"
"I didn't think it was that important," Ava said. "But anyway, if you've got a date with Rebecca, go for it. She's a wonderful girl,"
"Ask her to tag along! We could all go together," Olivia suggested.
It was a unanimous vote, really.
"Okay," Valerie finally gave in, dropping her date a text. "She's a quick texter, I'll give her that,"
"She said yes?" Emma asked curiously.
Valerie nodded.
"Well, I guess we're all getting our exercise in today," Mia clapped her hands.
Everyone cheered, silently, and went their separate ways to get ready.