Friday morning.
Roselle woke up craving toast, but she knew they didn't have any butter. She could ask Mr. Anderson, who was in the apartment across from hers, but she already owed him two eggs. Her debt would add up. Decisions, decisions.
She walked into the living room, and Michelle was on the phone.
"Okay, just calm down." Michelle eyed Roselle. 'Help,' she mouthed. She put the phone on speaker.
"JAKE AND LUKE ARE STANDING ME UP FOR SOME LAST MINUTE A-LIST CELEBRITY IN LOS ANGELES!" Lily Whined. "AM I NOT IMPORTANT? UGH!"
Roselle snickered. Yeah, definitely the work of Grandma Scott's connections. "Sorry, Lily," she said. "We're booked today."
Michelle raised a brow. "No we're n--"
She placed a hand on her sister's mouth. "I'm playing hard to get," she whispered.
"Why?"
"I want to mess with her a little." She smirked.
"Please, please, please!" Lily begged. "I have no one else and I need you guys! IT'S MY BACHELORETTE PARTY! AGH!"
"Well, I guess we can pencil you in." Roselle desperately tried not to laugh. "If we can get an invitation, of course."
"Yeah, sure, whatever. Just come today!"
"Mkay." She hung up.
"Woah." Michelle applauded. "Now that was smooth."
"It was, wasn't it? I guess I will ask for the butter after all. I'm feeling good today."
Michelle looked at her in wonder and opened her mouth to speak, but ended up not saying anything.
* * *
The Reyes sisters went to the Strobe mansion to do Lily's hair and makeup, and they arrived in her dressing room.
"Hi Michelle!" Lily beamed, hugging her. "It's super nice to see you."
"You too," Michelle replied. "I love your outfit."
"Thanks!" She glanced at Roselle. It was hard to put into words, but her smile stayed the same size upon looking at her, yet the genuine nature faded. "Ro, hey."
"Sup," Roselle said, giving her the 'sup nod.'
Awkward silence filled the room.
* * *
The sisters were chatting with Lily as they did her hair and makeup. They had to be there HOURS before the party started because the specifications of the beautification Lily wanted done were very complex, and she wanted it laid on thick.
"So," Michelle said. "Your wedding is just this Sunday. Are you excited?"
"Super." Lily scrolled on her social media newsfeed. "And then on the twentieth Armani's gonna be inaugurated, and I'll be first lady!" She squealed. "Oh my God, it's going to be amazing."
"Cool," Roselle said, fixing up the back of her hair. Great. It was the perfect opportunity to attack, just like Grandma Scott told her. "By the way, I hope you don't feel weird about him spending the holidays at my house."
Lily's mirror reflected her eye roll. "Oh yeah, don't worry about it," she said, though her tone didn't seem very assuring. "I know he wouldn't like, date you or anything anyway."
Oh. No. She. Didn't.
Roselle giggled. "You're right. We've known each other since we were kids, so we're super close. That'd be weird."
"Uh huh."
Michelle sang a little, tension in her eyes.
Lily's thumb stopped scrolling when she came across something in her newsfeed: another picture of Roselle posted on Dylan's account. Caption: Can't stop thinking about this girl
"Huh?" The heiress clenched her fist. "You sure are in Dylan's feed a lot, aren't you, Ro? This is the fifth day in a row he's posted about you."
All according to plan. "Oh, I hope you don't mind me going out with Dylan." Roselle spun Lily's hair around her curler. "You don't mind, right? I mean, you're marrying Armani and everything."
She shook her head. "Yeah. Sure. Totally. Whatever. I don't care." She pouted.
That was only the seed. Roselle was going to have to push the envelope further later at the party.
* * *
While the bachelorette party and the engagement party were both held at the same venue, the Strobe family's mansion, it was as if both parties took place in alternate universes. While the engagement party was a classy, sleek, black tie event, the bachelorette party was the exact opposite: a practical nightclub.
It was amazing how different it was. There were strobe lights (no pun intended), loud music, dancing, male strippers, and clothes that were less appropriate. Most of the guests were female, but there were males there too in scarcity.
"This is insane!" Roselle exclaimed, fascinated by the chaos unfolding in front of her. "I've only seen stuff like this in movies!"
"WHAT?!" Michelle asked. "I CAN'T HEAR YOU. IT'S TOO LOUD."
"Looks like something in movies," Roselle moved her hands in sign language.
"I know," Michelle signed back (she was starting to get better at ASL [American Sign Language] now, thanks to her boyfriend). "I wish Dan was here."
"We should dance together."
She smiled. "Okay!"
* * *
The Reyes sisters spent time on the dance floor along with all the other party guests. All that dancing and energy made Roselle damp and scarlet. She was waiting for the plan to go down, and it would any second now.
Her eyes kept on darting from the party, back to the door. Where was he? He should have been there by now! Her attention idly fixated over at the DJ, who was talking to just the redhead she was searching for. Aha! How'd he get inside the mansion without her noticing? No matter, it was time. It was about to go down.
Dylan slipped the DJ some cash, and he nodded. The rampant party music transformed into a calm melody that soothed the room. Party guests looked back and forth at one another in confusion, their dances dying down.
"In the middle of the dance floor, can we get y'all to make an open space?" the DJ requested.
The guests complied.
"Is there a Roselle Reyes in the crowd?"
"Showtime," signed Michelle. "Good luck."
"Thanks," Roselle signed back. "You too." She then cringed at her own words because why would she wish Michelle luck too? Stupid, stupid, stupid.
She went to the middle of the empty space, and a spotlight was flashed down on her. She scanned the room to ensure Lily's attention was garnered, and OH was it. The heiress, who was on a stage, leered at Roselle, throwing daggers her way. She responded with a wink, which made Lily gape her mouth in offended shock.
Step one: take attention away from Lily at her own party. Check.
Dylan met Roselle in the middle of the floor, holding roses and a box of chocolates. "Ro," he said in a microphone.
"Yeah?" she inquired innocently, playing along. "What is it?"
"I came here tonight to tell you . . . I love you for the first time."
The crowd simultaneously said, "aww."
Step two: be confessed to by Dylan in front of everyone. Check.
She clasped her hands in front of her mouth, pretending to be surprised. She jumped on him, wrapping her arms around his so hard that he coughed. Dylan gave a thumbs up to the DJ, who played a sweet, slow song. The two danced together.
Step three: dance with Lily's ex in front of everyone and make her watch. Check.
Some other couples grabbed their partners and slow-danced as well, and others that didn't have anyone to dance with swayed on the dance floor, holding a lighter in the air. Lily wasn't amused. She kept glaring at Roselle, and flickered her eyes all around the room at her guests.
"You're doing great," Dylan whispered in Roselle's ear.
"You too," she whispered back. "What song is this, by the way?"
"It was me and Lily's song from when we were together."
"Nice one. This is going to drive her NUTS! Maybe we couldn't play mind games with Armani, but beating Lily at her own game feels amazing. I think we've finally driven her towards the edge. She's gonna snap."
"I really hope this works." He took in a sharp breath. "If all of our plans fail, I'm afraid of what my grandmother might do to secure what she wants."
His words left a seed of worry in Roselle that quickly blossomed into a stomach ache. She was grounded again, and remembered the reality: this was a very high-risk, dangerous situation she was in.
The song finally ended, and the two untangled from one another.
"I need to go back to Armani's party now," Dylan said. "Good luck."
"You too."
They fist-pounded, and Dylan was at the door.
Roselle glanced at the stage looking for Lily, but she wasn't there. Where did she go?
"Ahem."
She jumped at the sound of Lily's voice and turned her head. There the heiress was, right behind her.
Step four: have Lily completely lose it in front of everyone. In progress.
"Lily," she said. "Your party's really fun."
"Yeah. I bet it's SUPER fun for you, isn't it?"
'That's it, lose your cool,' Roselle thought to herself. All she needed now was for Lily to confront her in front of everyone and lash out on her. She was so close.
"Can we talk in private?" Lily asked.
No. If she confronted her in private, that'd ruin everything. "Whatever you need to say to me, you can do it right here."
"Fine. I know you're trying to make me jelly, Ro. You're not slick."