{88}✔️

A/N: Long chapter 🤠🤠

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Dahlia's POV

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I furrowed my brows and murmured to myself for a few moments before slowly allowing my eyes to flutter open. I immediately squeezed them shut again after getting an eye full of the sunlight that was streaming in from Cadence's window. I was still for a few moments, hoping to drift off again, but then I realized that there was a weight on my hips.

I turned my head around to look at what it was and my narrowed eyes immediately widened once I saw that it was Billie. Her arms were wrapped around me, and the longer I was awake, the more I noticed how close she was to me. I could feel her head resting on my back and I could hear her deep breathing and the small snores escaping her lips now and then. Her hair must be over her face, as it always seems to end up when she's sleeping because I can feel it tickling my neck. I can smell her scent, and she smells like vanilla, just like always. Her arms are holding me tightly, her front pressed into my back.

Just like when we were together and we'd fall asleep and wake up like this. I feel so warm and content, and comfortable. I feel safe. I feel like she's engulfing me.

"You'll definitely know when you love her because it'll feel like you're enveloped in something." Dad had said. "It might feel like how a nice, warm blanket feels when it's draped over you. Might feel like you're in a big group hug...I don't know. For me, it always just felt like I was being weighed down. Not in a bad way, in a comforting way."

Fuck.

Why do I have to love this bitch so much? I hate this shit.

I contemplated moving away from her, waking her up, or getting up and leaving the room just like it seems everyone else had done because there's nobody here except for us, but I couldn't.

I miss her so fucking much and I hate it. I just want to pretend that we're still with each other for a while. I'll just lay here, in her arms, until she wakes up, and then I'll pretend that I've been asleep the whole time.

That's what I did. For about thirty minutes I just laid there, taking in the feeling of her wrapped around me. I don't know why I decided to do that. It just made me feel worse.

I tried to pretend we were still together, but we're not, and I just couldn't seem to quit thinking about that.

It seems like this whole 'breakup' thing is coming in waves. The night we broke up I was fine. I was mad at her and I just didn't think about it much. The next day I woke up and I felt pretty much normal. It was weird not talking to her that whole day, but it was whatever.

All the days since then I guess I started thinking about it more and more, but as sad as it made me to think about, it's never hit me this hard.

It's really over. It's really over, and this is the first time I'm really, really thinking about that, and now I can't stop crying.

Fuck. This is not the right time for this.

I was going to get up quickly, not wanting to risk someone coming in and seeing me full on sobbing, wrapped up in her arms, not wanting to spoil what's supposed to be a fun weekend for us, and also not wanting her to wake up and see me crying, but that's exactly what happened.

"D-Dahlia?"

As soon as I started to move to get up, I heard her voice. I got still again, slowly relaxing and trying my best to stop my tears from flowing. My heart began beating quickly as I panicked, wondering what the hell I was supposed to say to her. She's gonna know I was crying, no doubt. What the fuck do I say?!

"Dahlia, are you okay?"

I didn't respond, hoping she'd leave it alone or go back to sleep or something, but she didn't. She rolled me over so that I was lying on my back and I just stared up at her blankly.

"What's wrong, baby?" She questioned, sitting up on her knees and leaning over me. She stroked my cheeks and stared down at me with a worried expression, and I internally rolled my eyes at myself.

Great. Of all the fucking times to break down and really process this stupid breakup, it just had to be now.

"Tell me what's wrong." She whispered, leaning down closer to me. My eyes flickered down to her lips briefly before coming back up to hers, and I hoped she didn't see that even though I knew she probably did.

"I—I'm on my period and I had a bad dream." I mumbled. I don't know, maybe she'll believe it?

She let out a small sigh as she continued to stroke my cheek. She stared into my eyes for a minute or two, both of us completely silent.

"You can tell me anything, you know? Still. You still can." She whispered. I stared at her for a few more moments before nodding and giving her a small smile. "Yeah—yeah I know," I cleared my throat after my voice cracked. "It's nothing serious, I swear. I'm sorry for worrying you. I just had a bad nightmare and it scared the shit out of me and...You know. I'm on my period and shit so...Yeah."

I tried to be as convincing as I could, and I think if it was anyone else they would've believed me. Billie tried to act like she did believe me, and if it'd been anyone else they would've believed that she did, but I could tell she didn't.

"Happens to me all the time," She smiled softly. "You good?"

"I'm good, thanks." I smiled again.

She moved away from me and stood up, holding a hand out to help me up. I didn't wanna get up. I wanted to lay in bed all day and cry, or I wanted to go back to how we were a few minutes ago before she woke up. Her arms wrapped around me, enveloping me, engulfing me, and me soaking it in.

I took her hand and stood up before wiping my face. "I'm a real baby, crying over a nightmare." I mentioned again, trying to make her believe it.

She definitely didn't.

"Finneas is 21 and he still cries over nightmares. Of course, Finneas is Finneas, though." She smirked.

We walked downstairs together and into the kitchen. Everyone was in there eating cereal or toast or leftover seafood.

"Morning!" They all greeted after seeing us.

"How'd you guys sleep? I didn't wanna wake you two up. You seemed comfortable." Cadence grinned.

I blushed as I began to think about the fact that everyone had probably seen us cuddled up together. "Yeah, I slept great. Had a nightmare, though." I shrugged.

"Same. I mean, about the great sleep. Best I've slept in a few weeks now." Billie added.

Right.

Best I've slept in a few weeks too.

***

"If you wanna be my lover, you've gotta get with my friends! Make it last forever, friendship never ends!" Cora and Liza scream sang with the TV as the rest of us cheered them and their performance on. We've been playing just dance for three hours and this happens to be the last round. They're ending the game strong, I'll tell you that.

Other than 'When I Grow Up', 'Every time We Touch', 'Dancing Queen', 'Pon De Replay', and 'Oops I Did It Again', I'd say this was the best performance of the day.

Oh, and let's not forget 'Barbie Girl' by Aqua. Jessica, Bea and I sang and danced our souls out to that one.

"Okay, what next?" Cadence asked, still breathless from a few songs ago. "And may I recommend something that doesn't require much movement?"

"We need to play truth or dare. That happens at, like, every slumber party, doesn't it?" Kai asked.

"That's a good idea!" Cadence grinned. "Wanna go outside and sit around in my yard while we play?"

Everybody agreed and we made our way out there. It's like three in the afternoon, but it's still not that warm, thankfully.

We all sat down in a circle and after a little bit of chatter, we began the game.

"Truth or dare?" Cadence asked Liza, who happened to be sitting right next to her.

"Truth."

"At what age did you stop wetting the bed?"

I've played enough games of truth or dare with Cadence to know that for whatever reason, that's always her first question. Even when just me and her play, she always asks me that first despite the fact that she knows the answer.

Liza blushed and hung her head. "14." She muttered.

I snickered to myself, although I probably shouldn't have been laughing. Last time I wet the bed I was just a year younger.

"I had bladder issues, it wasn't my fault!" She added quickly. "Cora," She turned to look at my sister who was right next to her. "Truth or—"

"Dare, baby! Woo!" She screamed, throwing her arms up. Cora loves a good dare. She'll do almost anything!

"I dare you to kiss me." Liza smirked.

Cora, of course, didn't have any arguments.

"This is disgusting!" Billie piped up from beside me as their kiss went on for more than a minute. I tried not to look.

"Okay, children, settle down!" Bea clapped her hands and they broke apart, smiling like idiots.

"Dahlia, Truth or dare?" Cora asked.

I thought for a moment before shrugging my shoulders. "Truth."

"Who was the last person you cried over?"

Well, a big fuck you to her.

"Harry Styles." I lied.

***

The truth or dare game went on for two hours and it was miserable. I was too much of a pussy to ever pick dare, just like I always am, and the only people who asked me questions were Cora and Cadence and they both made me want to die with every one.

I think they're scheming.

Every one of their questions had something to do with Billie, whether she or anyone else knew it or not. Us three knew it.

And I can tell by the way that Cora would look at Cadence right after asking me a question that Cadence had put Cora up to this.

When the game was finally over, I was more than relieved. My face was beet red throughout the whole game.

The next activity we're doing is more up my alley anyway. Dodgeball.

I'm not a sporty person. I'm not athletically talented. I kinda suck at every sport there is but believe me when I say the one thing I am good at is dodgeball. It was always my favorite thing to play in gym class.

How'd we decide to play dodgeball?

"—Well, I'm not saying I'm better than you at dodgeball, I'm just saying I bet I would be." Billie had smirked at me as I poured myself a glass of water after the intense game of truth or dare.

"Billie," I'd sighed. "I'll admit that I suck ass at a lot of things, but dodgeball is seriously my niche."

I don't have any idea how we even began talking about dodgeball—I think someone had mentioned football and then we all started talking about different sports. All I really know is, Billie thought she could beat me at my favorite game and she was sorely mistaken.

"Alright team, you guys know how this works. When Cadence blows the whistle, we all run as fast we can to get a ball. Try to get them all so that they have nothing to work with and we can take them all out as quickly as possible." I spoke to my huddle while simultaneously watching as Cora and Cadence lined all the colorful foam balls up in the middle of the yard.

Cora refused to play because she just got her nails done, and Cadence wanted to be able to finally use her hot pink, diamond-encrusted whistle, which she'd gotten ages ago and hadn't had a good use for until now. So, they're not playing.

Billie and I chose our teams a few minutes ago. She's got Kai, Bea, and Claudia on her team while I've got Ken, Liza, and Jessica. Julia's sitting this out because she's pregnant and shit. I feel bad that she's missing out on this iconic duel, but the show must go on.

"Quick question," Liza raised her hand a little. "Does my headband look cute?"

Our team is blue and Billie's is black. Mostly just cause Cadence had hella black shirts for them to borrow and Liza loves headbands and actually brought enough blue ones for all of us to wear. Plus, I've got blue socks.

"Adorable." I complimented. "Alright, let's kick some ass!" We all clapped as we broke out of our huddle and made our way toward the middle of the yard where all the balls were lying. We stood on one side of them, facing off with Billie's team as they stood on the other side. I put my hands on my hips as Billie crossed her arms, sending me a cocky look.

She happens to look really good in her knee-length basketball shorts and her black shirt, with one of her chains laying over it. It's a simple look, but it's hot. Whatever. It's not about who's hot and who's not. It's about winning!

"Alright, you guys probably already know the rules, but we're gonna go over them anyway. Julia?" Cadence called. Julia came trotting over and grinned as she began telling us the rules.

"As you guys can see, we've put some duct tape down under where we lined the balls up. Don't cross that line when you're running to grab the balls and don't cross it when you're throwing them at each other or else your team will be disqualified! If you get hit, you are to immediately exit the court." She told us sternly.

"There is no court." Kai whispered.

"Just get out of the line of fire and stand on your side," Julia chuckled. "If the person you're throwing the ball at catches the ball, you're out. If the person you're throwing a ball at had a ball in their own hands and uses that to block your throw, they're still in. Any questions?"

"No."

"Great. Now, listen. I need you guys to look at this. What is this?" Cadence let us all see her whistle. "I said what is it?!" She yelled when none of us answered.

"An ugly whistle." Billie shrugged.

Cadence glared at her. "That's right, it's a gorgeous whistle. I have a whistle, and what does that mean?"

"That you now have something to put in your mouth other than Gigi's d—"

"It means I'm in charge!" She hurriedly cut me off. "It means I enforce the law! It means I'm above the law! It means I'm beyond the law! It means I am the law!" She yelled.

Im pretty sure she got that from Dandy Mott from American Horror Story, but okay.

"What I say goes! Is that clear?!" She screeched.

"Yeah, just take it easy, man." Bea held her hands up in defense.

"Alright. Cora and I will be watching you all closely. No cheating. Are we ready?"

"Yes."

"I said are we ready!?"

"YES!"

"Great, now let's dodge some fucking balls!" She screamed.

We all backed away from the balls and waited for Cadence to blow the whistle. Once she did, we all sprinted to grab a ball, and my team ended up with most of them.

Now, throwing isn't exactly my strong suit, so I had to get close to the line if I wanted to have any chance at actually hitting someone, and that's pretty risky, but I'm quick on my feet. I threw the ball as hard as I could at the closest person to me and hoped for the best before running further away from the line.

Jessica can throw pretty far, so she stayed toward the back and threw her balls as quickly as she could before trying to catch the ones coming at her, which she happened to be good at.

Liza was good at dodging any ball coming at her, so she baited Billie's team into throwing their balls at her, she dodged them, and then boom. We've got more balls to throw.

Ken is really good at psyching people out.

"Is that all you've got, Claudia?! I've seen my grandmother throw harder than that! Billie, you're really slow on your feet! How come it takes you more than a minute just to run fifteen steps?! Do you want me to wait for you to get up here before I get you out, or do you want me to just go ahead and take you out while you're all the way back th—" She screamed at the top of her lungs before jumping to dodge the ball Bea had thrown at her. "Oh, you thought you were gonna get me?! I'M NOT GONE LET YOU GET THE CHANCE!"

Trying to focus on getting Billie and her team out was hard while I was busy cackling at Ken, but I still managed.

It took all of five minutes for us to eliminate them all, and then we played six more games. My team won the majority, but Billie's did win two.

"Fuck!" Bea yelled as she got hit while trying to run away. "Right on the ass! This is what happens when you're a thick bitch!"

"It's okay, baby, you can't help your ass is big!" Billie patted her shoulder before she ran to the side and I cackled for a few moments before gasping as I narrowly avoided getting hit right in the head.

"Oops." Billie smirked.

Eventually, it ended up just being me and her, and it wasn't looking great for me because she had all the balls on her side.

"If you admit I'm better than you right now, we can call a truce!" She called.

I snorted. "My team has been way better than yours this whole time. Why would I lie and say you're better than me?"

I nearly tripped as I dodged the fastball she threw at me.

"You wouldn't have won that many games if it was just you, Darling Dahlia. Now it's just me and you." She smirked.

She threw all her balls at me quickly and I dodged every one of them, my team cheering me on as I did. I took a moment to catch my breath when all the balls were on my side and then picked up four of them. It was my turn to smirk as I slowly walked toward her. She made no effort to back away, standing as close to the line as she possibly could without stepping on it.

"You're real bold, Bil daddy." I snickered. "You're about to look like a whole ass fool in about ten seconds."

"I would like to see it."

We had a little stare down for a few moments before she ran away and I began throwing my balls at her. She knew it'd be hard for me to get her if she was far away, but guess what the fuck happened.

By the grace of God, I managed to get one of her ankles. "I win!" I screamed, jumping up and down as my team ran up to me.

We all celebrated, taunted Billie and her team, and Cadence had apparently told Julia to go inside and grab the replica WWE belt that Caden had in his room. She handed it to me and I laughed as I wrapped it around my waist.

"You got lucky, but I don't wanna seem like a sore loser so I guess I'll let you have this." Billie grinned as she came up to me. "Good game, champ."

"Thanks, loser." I giggled.

***

"Please let me have my first ever drink! Please, please, please, please—"

"No."

I tried to ignore Cora as she followed me around the kitchen, begging me to let her have a beer. After the dodgeball game, Cadence insisted on having Billie carry me around on her back for thirty minutes as a punishment for her losing to me. Really, she just wanted us to be close to each other, and she's stupid if she thinks I'm stupid enough to not realize that.

After the thirty minutes were up, Cadence suggested we all go into her pool. It's not the coldest outside, even though it's February, and I miss swimming. We all agreed and she offered to give us bathing suits or T-shirts to swim in. While the other girls were changing, Cora, Billie and I were sent to the kitchen to grab the drinks.

Cadence thought it'd be fun to involve some alcohol, and I'm good with that, although I don't want my sister drinking.

"You're such an asshole, why are you always babying me?!" Cora shouted. I rolled my eyes and let out a long breath.

"You're so fucking annoying, go away!" I groaned.

"No! If you weren't here I'd be able to do whatever I want!"

"But I am here so you can't. And what about it? " I raised a brow.

She groaned in annoyance. "You're so fucking lame. One drink is not gonna kill me. You're underage and you're still drinking, why can't I?"

"I am underage, but I'm less underage than you, so ha!" I closed the fridge after grabbing the alcohol. Billie was being absolutely no help, simply watching as I struggled to carry the cases of beer while also dealing with Cora.

"Even Liza is gonna have a drink and she's the same age as me!"

"Well, Liza isn't my little sister so I don't give not a damn fucking shit." I rolled my eyes.

"Literally everyone else is gonna be—"

"If everyone else decides to stick needles in their eyes are you gonna do it too?"

"Dahlia—"

"No, Cora. I said no. Why can't you just fucking sneak a sip of vodka out of somebody's stash every now and then like everyone else does?! I'm not gonna give you permission to drink when I know dad would be pissed if he found out—"

"You're the worst sister ever." She spat angrily before stomping off.

"Well, it could've been worse, you little ingrate!" I screamed after her. "We could've been born as conjoined twins and then you wouldn't be able to stomp away like the little brat you are without taking me with you!" I screamed at the top of my lungs as she walked away and Billie bent over, laughing loudly. "This isn't funny." I pouted.

"I'm sorry, but that was hilarious," She snickered. "But hey, how about this. I won't drink tonight and maybe then she'll feel better. I mean, I get where she's coming from. It sucks being the only sober person."

"Well, I wasn't gonna drink either, but—"

I finally opened a bottle of beer after struggling with it for a while and then chugged half the bottle.

"Yeah, that'll teach her." Billie chuckled, shaking her head at me as she grabbed the cases of beer and began to tote them outside.

After putting them by the pool, we went back inside to get changed.

Everyone else was already ready and about to head out of Cadence's room. Cadence handed Billie a shirt to swim in and me a bikini—my favorite one. She always lets me borrow it.

"Okay, you two change and we'll all be in the pool waiting!" Cadence grinned as she hurriedly pushed everyone out of the room and then slammed the door shut behind her. I narrowed my eyes at the spot where she'd been standing. Is this how annoying I was being when I was trying to get Denny and Finneas together? Yikes.

When I turned around to say something to Billie, my eyes widened as I realized she was just standing there in her underwear.

I kept thinking I should turn away, but...But I didn't want to.

Damn, she looks good as shit. Fuck.

"Aren't you gonna change?" She laughed as she pulled the shirt Cadence had given her over her head. Once it was fully covering her, she slid her underwear off and then her bra. I stared like an idiot the whole time as I fumbled with my bathing suit.

"Are those strings giving you trouble?" She asked as she pointed at the strings on the sides of the bottoms. I nodded silently, glad to have an excuse.

"I'll help you lace them up once you put it on." She turned around to face away from me and I let out a small breath before changing as quickly as I could. Once the bathing suit was on, I cleared my throat and she turned around.

I felt awkward standing in front of her in just a bathing suit. It's obviously been a while since she's seen me naked or even just half naked, and I've always been a little insecure about my body. Billie's body is absolutely perfect and...I had an ice cream sundae a few days ago and it's still noticeable. I regret never sticking to my diet.

"You...Wow." She mumbled as she stared me up and down for a few moments. I squirmed around, not sure what to say. "Ugh, sorry. You just look really good." She mumbled after noticing how uncomfortable I was.

She walked behind me and began tying up my laces for me. I tried not to shiver or jump or squirm around every time her fingertips grazed my skin, but I failed. It didn't help that her hand kept gliding over my lower back every time she finished with one side and then decided the other side needed to be redone. Her fingers just barely touched my ass a few times too.

I sucked in a breath as I felt her getting even closer to me. I felt her breath on my neck and then her fingers were brushing my hair to the side and her lips were almost touching my ear. "You must be really cold, all the shivering you're doing." I closed my eyes as she confirmed that she'd noticed. "Or is it something else?" She whispered.

I tried to respond but I couldn't find a single thing to say.

"Guess it's a good thing your period was only on this morning, huh?" She mumbled.

She backed away and opened the door, leaving the room before I even had the chance to reply.

That little bitch. I love her.

***

Two hours later, it was dark out and the pool's lights were the only thing illuminating the yard. Everyone—Except for Julia, Billie, Cora, and Liza who also decided not to drink to make Cora feel better—was buzzed. We'd spent the last two hours telling each other stories, sad and happy, and it was really nice.

I feel a lot closer to all these girls, and since that was pretty much the whole purpose of this weekend, I'd say Cadence's mission was a total success.

Well, one of her missions.

Her other mission seemed to be getting me and Billie to damn near fuck in the pool, but that one hadn't been a success.

She'd practically forced me to sit on Billie's lap as we sat on the bench around the pool when we first came out here, while we were only sticking our feet in. It was ridiculous, awkward, and totally uncomfortable, not to mention unnecessary. If everyone would've squished together there would've been plenty of room for me to sit somewhere other than Billie's lap, but Cadence completely objected and claimed that there wasn't.

Then, when we all got into the pool she made sure that no matter what, Billie and I were beside each other. I tried to swim to the other side at one point, and she damn near drowned me as she shoved me underwater and pushed me back toward Billie.

Then, while I was in the middle of a splash fight with Jessica, Julia, Claudia, and Bea, Cadence found a way get me 'disqualified' so I'd have to go and sit with Billie on the bench. How do you even get fucking disqualified from a splash fight?!

Then, we played 'chickenfight' and she, of course, made me sit on Billie's shoulders. When we won the game she drunkenly suggested that we celebrate with a kiss, and that had been the last straw.

I dragged her out of the pool and all the way inside the house, about to start yelling when she interrupted.

"I have to pee!" She slurred before marching off.

I followed closely behind and began my rant. "Cadence, I know what you're fucking trying to do and you need to stop it. I don't need your help. If Billie and I are gonna get back together, we'll do it on our own terms and without your help!" I yelled angrily.

Once we got in the bathroom, I turned around as she yanked her bikini bottoms down and began to pee. "Well, it doesn't seem like you don't need help. You two have been broken up since last month and you don't seem any closer to getting back together!" She huffed. "Fuck, is that sound coming from me?" She giggled.

I rolled my eyes. She only had two and a half beers and she's already drunk. I honestly don't think she's ever drank before, though. She usually doesn't. I don't know why she decided to start tonight.

"Okay, and that's our business! We'll get back together if and when we decide to. You meddling isn't helping, it's just hurting."

She flushed the toilet and washed her hands and I turned around to face her again. "What do you mean hurting?" She tilted her head.

"Do you think I don't wanna be with her again? Obviously, I do, but—"

"Well then quit being a pussy and tell her that!" She shouted, nearly falling over as she moved toward me. "Oh, I do not feel good. I do not feel good at all!" She yelled in a funny voice.

"Cadence I'm not gonna—"

"This is your problem! You never tell people what you want, you just sit around and mope and hope they can read your mind and figure it out themselves, and if they can't you wanna cry about how you can never have anything nice. It's bullshit." She rolled her eyes.

I let out a bitter chuckle as I crossed my arms. "Well, maybe I do do that, but at least I don't constantly insert myself into other people's business!" I started out yelling but ended the sentence weakly. I kinda...Do do that sometimes.

She threw her head back as she cackled, knowing as well as I did that we both have an issue with getting into other people's business.

"I'm just taking a page out of your book, Dahlia." She smirked. We were silent for a few moments before she sighed. "Just ask Billie—"

"No!" I shouted.

"Fucking Christ you're being ridiculous! I mean, you haven't even tried! It's like you don't even give a shit that you two are over! What—Did you not love her as much as you said you did, or what is it?!" She yelled.

"Don't fucking say that. You don't know shit! You weren't in the fucking relationship, Cadence, you don't know how we felt about each other!" I growled.

"All I'm saying is, you're doing exactly nothing to get a girl that you claimed to love back. Actions speak louder than words, so you can claim you love her all you want to, but until you actually do someth—" She quit talking for a few moments, her eyes widening before she turned around and leaned over the toilet, puking. I rolled my eyes and let out an annoyed huff as I went over to hold her hair back and rub her back.

"It's okay. You're okay," I mumbled softly before yelling once again. "You just don't get it! It's easier said than done, Cadence! If you were in my position you wouldn't be doing anything either. I mean, come on. Billie really dodged a bullet with me and you know that. I know that."

She leaned away from the toilet, coughing and hacking. "What do—what do you mean she dodged—" She leaned over and puked again.

I sighed. "Billie's too good for me. I don't deserve her. She's this amazing, gorgeous girl who'll do absolutely anything to protect the people she cares about. She's one of the funniest people I've ever met, she's talented as fuck, she's so fucking tough and yet she's got the biggest heart...She's perfect. I know people say that 'perfect' doesn't exist, but yes it fucking does and it's taking the shape of Billie fucking Eilish." I mumbled.

"I want her back, Cadence. So bad. But I'm not gonna ask her to be with me again because I don't deserve her. I never did and I never will. She could be so much happier with somebody else. Somebody better than me. Why would I stop her from doing that? All I did was cause problems the whole time we were together. She'll be happier without me."

When Cadence finally stopped puking, she sat back against the toilet and looked at me as I sat down beside her.

"You dumb, stupid bitch." She grumbled.

"Cadence—"

"Why are you always sabotaging yourself? Why can't you just let your damn self be happy for once? You're an idiot, Dahlia. I say that because I love you."

"Thanks?"

"You do deserve each other. You and Billie both are great people. You both have your flaws, but you go well together. She's super tough and you're super...Not tough." She smirked. "You've got a lot of drama and she handles drama well."

"Thanks again."

"I'm kidding. Look, you're nobody's fucking mother. You don't get to decide for her whether or not she'd be better off without you. You should let her make that choice. You should tell her you feel this way and let her decide whether or not she wants to stick with you. We both already know that she will."

I looked down and sighed as I shook my head. "I don't know. We made up and she didn't ask me out again. I think that means something."

"Maybe It means that she was scared. Just like you."

"She's got nothing to be scared of."

"Neither do you!" She scoffed. "It really sucks when you have a best friend who doesn't realize how incredible she is, you know? Dahlia, you're really special and everyone besides you can see that. Billie's amazing and she is pretty perfect, but so are you. You're gorgeous, you're funny, and you're talented too. You're nice to everybody, you're super thoughtful, and you're crafty as shit. You always know just what to say when it counts. You give super amazing hugs and great advice, and you care about other people. So much. You're amazing and you need to start giving yourself more credit."

"Thanks, Cadence." I smiled. "I must've gotten my amazingness from you."

"Probably," She joked. "I'm really sorry for pushing.  It's just that I woke up this morning and saw you guys all cuddled up together and I wanted that to be a permanent thing again. I miss you guys being all sweet and gross, kissing all the time and holding hands and flirting and shit...I've known you for a long ass time and I don't think you've ever been as happy as you were when you were with Billie." She shrugged a little as she began tracing patterns on her leg.

"When you met her you really came out of your shell. You totally grew as a person. You started going out more, you started really being proud of your sexuality, you stopped caring so much about what everyone thought about you. You just seemed so much happier. I just don't want you to lose that. Especially if you don't have to. I'm not saying you have to depend on Billie for any of that. She helped you grow, yeah, but you couldn't grow if you didn't want to. If that makes sense? She helped, but you did it. I'm just saying, she'd take you back if you asked and you shouldn't lose the glow that she gives you if you don't absolutely have to."

"You're the sweetest girl I know, Cadence Knight." I sighed as I scooted closer to her and pulled her in for a hug. "I love you."

"I love you more...I think I'm gonna puke again."

I groaned as I stood up again. She leaned over the toilet once more and sure enough started puking. I held her hair back and patted her back yet again.

************

A/N: some lil bitch rlly messaged me (nd I don't even think they've read the story fr) and was like 'where r all the straight ppl whys there no straight ppl in this story ur so homophobic'

??????????? Girl. (Well I think it was a dude but)

First of all.

Straight ppl r annoying more times than not so I decided not to have too many of those in this bitch. Second of all, there are straight characters.

Caden and Cadence, Joseph Nd Josephine, Finneas, Julia, Valerie's bitch ass, etc etc.

Dont come for me sis.