Nobody POV:
The morning is nice and bright when the Carlton's arrive back home. Marisa is getting home from being in the hospital for a whole week. She sets her hospital belongings bag by the couch and takes off her shoes. She then goes to sit on the couch and watch TV for a few minutes. Just then their doorbell rings.
Marisa POV:
"I got it, Mom!" I yell from the living room.
"You sure, Sweetie? I can do it if you want to just sit and relax." I hear her yell back in response.
"Yeah, I got it mom. Thanks though." I shout back.
I then go to open the door and to my surprise it's my best friend, Katie. She sees me and immediately runs up to hug me.
"Careful girl, I just got back!" I say smiling and giggling.
"Oh, right. Sorry, I'm just really happy to see you and know that you are at home. How do you feel?" She says.
"I feel-" I say before my mom interrupts.
"Who was it, Hunny?" She says.
"Just Katie, Mom. She stopped by to see if I was okay and getting settled in okay." I say.
"Oh, okay! Just curious is all" She says.
"Anyway, I feel great girly. Thank you for being by my side. You are such an amazing friend." I say smiling.
"Good! Hey, do you think your mom will let me spend the night tonight or not?" She replies.
"Let's go ask, girl!" I say in response.
"Okay! Lead the way!" She smiles and says.
"Mom, Katie wants to know if she can spend the night tonight. Is that okay with you?" I ask my mom.
"Sure, just call your parents and make sure it's okay, Katie. Dinner will be ready shortly." She says to Katie.
"Okay, Can I go in the other room and make the call please?" She asks hesitantly.
"Of course Katie! Do what you have to do!" My mom says in response to her question.
"Thanks, Miss Carlton." She says.
"No problem, Kiddo!" Mom replies.
*5 Minutes Later*
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Katie comes back into the kitchen and smiles in excitement.
"She said it was fine if I could get a ride back to my house to pick up my overnight bag. Can you drive me there really quickly?" She asks my mom.
"Uh, give me a few minutes, Hun. I need to put this sauce on to boil really quickly and clean up this mess." She says.
"Mom, I can drive her if you want. I do have my License after all. Plus, it's only right down the road from our house if anything happens." I say to her.
"Are you sure, Hunny? I want to make sure you get the rest you need to heal faster." She says with a slight smile.
"yeah, I'm sure mom. I'll text you when we get there and before we leave so you know we are okay." I say reaching for the keys.
My mom reaches out and covers the keys and says, "I love you sweetie, but please be careful and don't text as you drive. I don't want you to get any more injuries."
"I will be, Mom. I promise. And I would never text and drive anyway. That's too dangerous." I say.
"Okay good. Go ahead. Love you girls!" she says.
"We love you too!" we say, going out the door and heading to the car.
Moments later, we arrive at Katie's house. We park and get out of the car to head inside her house. I see her parents and wave hello as I follow Katie up to her room.
"If you want to go say hi to my parents, you can. I'll be down in a minute." She says, looking at me.
"Okay, I'll be in the kitchen then with them. don't forget to pack enough clothes and stuff." I say giggling.
"Yeah, yeah. I get it, Mom." She says with a sarcastic tone and a smile.
I walk back down stairs to the kitchen where Katie's parents are. They look at me and smile before conversing with me.
"Hey! Look who it is! How are you feeling, Marisa?" They both ask while hugging me.
"I feel great. I appreciate you asking! Thank you for not getting mad at Katie for staying with me at the hospital and school. I hope it wasn't that much of an issue." I say looking down.
"Oh Hunny, It was no big deal" Katie's mom says while lifting my face up to meet hers. "She was just being a great friend and sticking by your side. I would do the same for her and her father, too. It's okay, really"
"Okay" I say smiling.
We talk for about 5 minutes before Katie comes down with her overnight bag and bottle.
"Ready to go? I'll text my mom that we are on our way there." I say to Katie.
"Yeah, just let me say good night to my parents first." She says.
She says good night to her parents and I text my mom that we are leaving her house.
"Bye, Mr. and Mrs. Charleston! It was nice seeing you both again! Enjoy the rest of your night together!" I say closing their door.
I get in the car to go home with Katie and the next thing I know, she grabs my hand that is on the gear knob. I look over to her after I stop at the light.
"Hey, how are you feeling? Your face got bright red when I grabbed your hand. You okay?" She says with a sincere look.
"Y-yeah," I say with stutter. "I just was scared because you grabbed my hand out of nowhere."
"Oh, do you want me to let go?" She says with a slight smirk on her face.
"No, it's all good. It just, it scared me for a second there." I say putting my focus back on the road.
"I knew what I was doing" She says quietly, acting like I didn't know what she said.
"Did you say something?" I say looking at the street.
"Huh? Oh, no. Why?" She says giggling.
"Just thought you said something. My mind is all over the place at the moment." I say slightly giggling.
She rubs my hand with her fingers and I can't help but get red all over again. "What if I am falling in love with Katie? Ugh, She can't ever find out. It would ruin our friendship!" I think as I drive home with her hand in mine.
We get home 2 minutes later and I offer to help take her bag up stairs.
"No, I got it girly. You just stay down here and talk to your mom while I go get ready for bed. Is that all good?" She says with a smile on her face.
"Yeah, go ahead. I'll just be down here." I say with shaking hands.
She walks up the stairs to go shower and my mom glances over at me. She then glances down to my hand.
"Hun, you okay? Your hands are shaky. Do you need to rest? Do we need to go back to the hospital?" She says frantically.
"No mom. It's okay. Katie, She grabbed my hand when I was driving home from her place. It's just her grabbing my hand makes me-" I stop when I realize she is behind me.
I turn around and face her with my face as red as a tomato.
"Hi." I say nervously. "Weren't you going to get ready for bed?"
"Yeah, I forgot something in the car. Can I get the keys to go get it real quick?" She says with a smirk.
"Yeah, here." I say handing them to her with shaky hands.
"Oh my gosh, Mom! Did you see her smirking? See what I mean?" I say frantically.
"I do," She says with a giggle. "Maybe she is just being flirty because of her personality. I don't know if she feels the same but you should ask her." She says right as Katie walks in.
"Ask me what?" I hear her say.
I turn to face her.
"Oh I was just wondering what your favorite color was. That's all." I say chuckling.
"Girl, I told you already. But I'll remind you. It's Blue. Why? Are you going to get me something?" She says slightly pushing me.
"Maybe, I might be making you something. You'll see." I say smiling back.
"Okay! I look forward to seeing it! I'm going to go shower now. I'll be back." She says walking up the stairs.
"Why didn't you ask her if she liked you, Hun?" My mom says with confusion.
"Because, I don't want to mess up our friendship. This is my first friend that's actually not fake since 5th grade and I didn't want to ruin it because I caught feelings the first week of knowing her." I say looking down with a tear falling down my cheek.
"Oh hunny, come here. If you really like someone, just tell them. The worst they could say is they don't feel the same." She says hugging me.
I sob on her shoulder.
"I know, but what if she doesn't like me or tells me she doesn't want to be friends anymore?" I say crying.
"Just be honest and get it off your chest." She replies softly.
"Okay, but I will tell her later on. I want to get to know her more before I even try that." I say wiping the tears from my face.
"Take your time hun. I'll support you no matter what." She says while she is going back to cook dinner.
*1 Hour later*
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Katie POV:
"Dinner was really good, Ms. Carlton. Thank you again for dinner and letting me stay the night. I appreciate it." I say smiling.
"Sure thing, Katie. My daughter and I love having you over. Plus, you are a really sweet girl. Please hand me your dishes so I can do them." She says.
"Oh mom, don't worry. I'll take care of the after dinner dishes and stuff. Just rest." Marisa says.
"Okay, thank you, hunny. Want to come relax with me, Katie?" She says and looks over to me.
"No, I'm going to help Mari. She needs the help." I say politely.
"Okay, Hun. If you girls need me, I'll be here drinking my wine." She says.
*In the kitchen*
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"Hey Mari," I say walking in the kitchen. "I came to help you out."
She turns around and the plates she is holding fall on the floor.
"Oh no, my mom is going to be very upset,'' she says, falling to the floor.
I quickly go to stop her before she hits the floor.
"Why did you stop me from breaking down in tears?" She says with tears in her eyes.
"Because there is glass all over the floor." I say wiping the tears from her cheek.
Just then, Angie walks in.
"What happened girls?" She says concerned.
"I accidently dropped the plates because I got startled and turned quickly. I'm so sorry, mom. I'll just go." She says with her head down.
"No, Hun. Don't go. It's okay. It was just an accident. I'm not mad. We can clean this up and worry about it later." Angie says.
"Are you sure, mom? She says looking at her mom.
"Of course, baby! Accidents happen. Now, let's get this kitchen sparkling." She says setting her wine down and putting on a cleaning apron.
*A half hour later (AN: 30 Minutes for those who don't know ;D)*
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"This kitchen looks great girls! We did a great job." Angie says, pulling us into a hug.
I yawn and then a second later, so does Mari.
"You girls need to get some rest. It's late." Angie says.
"It's only 11:15pm, Mom. We can watch a movie and then head to bed." Mari says to Angie.
"Okay, but if you want to go to bed during it, go ahead. I won't mind." Andie says.
"Me either." I say.
"No, I'll be okay. Mari says.
"Okay. Let's go then." Angie says.
We are out in the living room watching "Outside In" When I feel Mari falling asleep on my shoulder. I smile and pick her up to take her to bed.
"I'm going to lay her in her bed and go to sleep myself. Thanks for an awesome night. Good night, Ms. Carlton." I whisper to her.
"Please Hunny, call me Angie. It's okay." She whispers back.
"Right! Night Angie." I say slowly walking up the stairs with my best friend in my arms.
I put Mari in her bed and cover her up with blankets. "Night Mari, Sleep tight. We can have more fun tomorrow painting each other's nails and make-up."
Afterwards, I head over to the other side of the room and get comfortable in the guest bed in Mari's room.
"Katie," I hear quietly. "Can we cuddle tonight?"
I giggle. "Sure sleepyhead.
I walk back over to her bed and scoot in cuddling her in my arms and smiling. "She is so adorable when she is sleeping." I think with my face slightly turning red.
"Good night, Mari." I whisper in her ear before kissing her forehead.
Just then, I realized what I did. I start to turn more red. "Oh shoot! I didn't just do that," I think quickly. "I hope she didn't realize what I just did."
I feel her back asleep and snoring quietly. I tuck her back in and go back to the guest bed to go to sleep. After I tuck myself in, I turn away from her in complete shock because of what I did.
"I can't believe myself. I didn't even mean to do that. It just happened so naturally. I- I don't know why I did that." I say quietly to myself.
A few minutes later, I close my eyes because they were really heavy. Next thing I know, I'm asleep.