~

My eyes widen as I take in the scene in front of me. Lyra lets out a hysterical laugh, and even Fawn laughs nervously. A grin begins to form on my face.

I love this.

The lights are off, with some LEDs having been put up, giving the room a red glow. The semi-circle sofa has been pushed to one side, making way for dancing in the middle of the Homestead. Music is being played from the TV, it's volume set to max.

Gally makes his way over to us, a plastic cup in his hand.

"Hello, ladies," He smirks, taking a sip of his drink. "Be sure to try the drink I made." He waves it in the air exaggeratedly.

I raise my eyebrows at him, then glance inside his cup. Its contents have the colour of apple juice, a deep orange-yellow colour.

"It looks like piss." I say out loud. Lyra bursts out laughing.

Gally shakes his head. "Why does everyone say that?"

Lyra snorts. "Probably because it's the same colour as it."

Gally just shakes his head and walks away to the middle of the dance floor, leaving us and Sonya at the door.

Fawn coughs. "I thought this was a sleepover."

Sonya turns her head towards her. "Change of plan. We're all going to have a party until late at night, and then we'll either have a big sleepover here or split into girls and boys."

Fawn nods slowly, although I don't miss the dark shade of fear overcoming her eyes. I wrap my arm round her, squeezing her.

"It'll be fun! And if you don't feel comfortable with the boys, we'll do it with the girls." I say, resting my head on her shoulder. I remember the way Ash put his arm around me, the whole time while we were doing PE spent with him asking personal questions.

I shiver, and remove my arm. I force myself to forget the memory of him. I'm sure he didn't mean it. I'd message him about it, tell him to stop, and maybe then we could just be friends.

The hope sparks a warmth in my stomach, and I glance around the room. I am aware of someone's eyes on me, although I don't know whose. My own eyes search every face, every pair of eyes, until they land on a brown pair.

Thomas. His hair is pushed upwards, a cup of Gally's 'drink' in his hand. His face softens when he sees me looking at him, and I manage a little smile at him.

I haven't spoken to him since the events of that PE lesson. I don't really know why. I'm hoping it was because of the shock, and nothing else. I miss having Thomas around. It almost feels as if the world is less, well, exciting.

I give him a slight nod of my head, and then turn back around to the girls, where Sonya is telling us to put our stuff away.

Blonde hair braided down her back, she leads us to the girls dorms, and opens the first door in front of us.

"This is my room," she explains, an excited smile plastered on her face. I smile back, feeling the familiar feel of my cheeks raised, the curve of my mouth.

Gosh, I missed smiling all the time.

"All the girls will be keeping out bags here, in Harriet's room we'll be getting dressed, and in Brenda's we sleep."

Lyra furrows her brows, a questioning look on her face. "Getting dressed?"

Sonya smirks happily. "Putting on our fancy dresses, and doing our hair and makeup for the party."

Lyra's eyes widen, and she's practically beaming. A little smirk comes to her face, and I know she's excited for this.

I am, too. Even Fawn has a little smile on her face, probably because she can slow dance with Newt.

Their first night together dating.

That makes me happy, and my smile grows wider. Oh, how I love this!

Sonya ushers us to Harriet's room, where all the girls are waiting. They turn their heads round at the door in sync, and they all jump up excitedly. Everyone starts speaking excitedly, creating a wave of indiscernible noise in my ears.

Luckily, Brenda clears her throat loudly, politely silencing everyone. "Right!" She begins, a smirk on her face. "So, I bought all these dresses for the each of us, courtesy of Jorge's bank account, and we can pick what we want."

Lyra raises her eyebrows, and Harriet laughs, moving over to her wardrobe.

"May I present to you," Harriet begins, a shine in her eyes. "Our dresses."

She flings open the doors, and everyone gasps in unison, including me. Happiness builds up inside me, as I stare at the dresses.

8 gorgeous dresses, each of them a different colour, with beautiful details and trailing to the floor.

Lyra screams. "Thank you, Brenda!"

Brenda snorts. "Couldn't have done it without Jorge."

My already large smile grows wider, as my eyes stare at all the beautiful dresses, the colours creating a beautiful rainbow. And then-

My eyes land on a pale blue, skintight dress, standing out with its simplicity. It has spaghetti straps, and a neckline which doesn't reveal much.

It's perfect. Everything about this dress is screaming out my name, a chant in my head, begging me to wear it.

And that's exactly what I plan on doing.

Everyone heads over to the wardrobe, and I follow them, my fingers reaching out to the dress. They feel the soft material, material that will sit on my curves perfectly. 

My heart pounds in my chest. I don't know why I am so excited. I mean, it's just a dress, right?

But why would a dress have the ability to take my breath away, to fill me with a happiness no man could ever give?

Apart from Newt.

And possibly Thomas.

I eagerly take the hanger and pick the dress up, making sure it doesn't drag on the floor, letting my fingers feel the cool press of the silk.

What a way to bring me back to myself.

Happiness swells up inside me as everyone changes into their chosen dresses, and I can hear Lyra literally sighing in relief.

When everyone's finished, we all turn around in sync, faces beaming, everyone complimenting each other. A smile is now permanently fixed on my face, my cheeks hurting from the action. Everyone looks gorgeous.

Lyra, adorned in a dark purple velvet dress, a dress I have no doubt is made for her. She catches my eye and twirls around happily, beaming.

"It's all I've wanted." She sighs happily, and I take her hand.

"If you're this gorgeous right now, I'm going to faint at prom." I squeeze her hand.

Prom. Thomas had said there was a massive ball at the end of each year, similar to prom, so that's just what I call it. I have to admit, it sounds like a lot of fun.

Although I doubt anyone would ask me out.

Ash not being an option.

"Shut up, Liv. You're flipping stunning." Lyra says, making hand gestures at me, the ripples in her dress moving with her. My heart aches a little at the new nickname.

I love it.

I snort. "I believe the correct response is, 'Thank you, my darling Liv."

Lyra laughs, a proper genuine one, her red hair swaying. "Anything for you."

At that moment, Fawn walks over to us, hands behind her back, cheeks pink. When I see her dress, I gasp out loud.

"Fawn, you look beautiful!" I exclaim, hugging her. 

And, oh she does.

The pink satin hugs her figure comfortably, although its not that tight. Frills hang from the sleeve, giving Fawn a soft, elegant look.

"So do you!" She says, her cheeks pinking.

I smile at her back, and then decide to head round and compliment the other girls and their dresses.

Everyone is so bloody gorgeous.

We also spend the next half hour doing our hair and makeup, courtesy of Lyra and her amazing skills.

When she's done with me, I don't even recognise myself. My blonde hair's falling in waves down my back, one of them at the front of my hair.

And I have a side parting.

I look good. Gosh, I love this. Bless Lyra and her skills, Fawn and her humbleness, everyone just being themselves and unknowingly helping me.

Helping me from the little darkness in me that wants to extinguish the light I'm filled with, the light I've built up over the years, the happiness I've learned to find in every little dark corner.

Ash had come and ruined all that. It's my friends that bring the light back, piece by piece.

And I am so grateful.

Rachel brings me out of my quite depressing thoughts. "You said we are doing this every month, right?"

Harriet nods excitedly, her dress bringing out the warm tone of her skin, so it looks like she's practically glowing. "Yeah, and we will wear these dresses every time."

"So don't get them dirty." Brenda adds in a foreboding tone, and I laugh.

Teresa sighs happily. "Who's ready to go out?"

A chorus of 'ME' and 'I AM' rings out through my ears, causing me to widen my already bright smile. We all hurriedly tidy our stuff away, and then file out of the room, little giggles and bright expressions leaking out of us like the sun does to a stained glass window.

Lyra grips my hand, squeezing it to show her excitement, as Sonya dramatically counts down to our entrance.

At the sound of "one!", we all let out a happy squeal and burst through the dormitory doors. In unison, I notice all the boys' heads turn around, most of them laughing as they see their tradition is still here; others turning into different shades of pink.

I mean, I'm not surprised. Everyone here is absolutely gorgeous and drop-dead stunners.

My eyes pick out a twin pair, and I follow his line of site to, of course, Fawn. She seems to shrink in satin pink dress, but I wrap an arm around her and lean over to whisper in her ear.

"Perfect date night, am I right?" A smirk lands on my face when I notice her skin looking like it's competing to match the colour of her dress, and she lets out a little laugh.

"Olivia, politely-"

"Politely excuse yourself, so I can spend time with my girlfriend."

Newt finds his way in front of us, his eyes continuously glancing up and down Fawn in the gentlest way possible. I notice he's adorned in a black and white suit, his hair gelled back elegantly.

I place my hands on my hips in a threatening manner, almost dramatically. Gosh, Lyra was getting to me! It was as if her own confidence had crawled its way towards me and embedded itself in my heart.

"Newton Brown, I refuse to go anywhere." I smile at him, and he just laughs.

Lyra joins in on the group, a cup of Gally's 'drink' in her hand.

"Is that Minho's gel?" She asks, eyebrows raised. They only raise further when Newt nods in answer to the question. "Surprising."

"It is! He bloody argued about people 'ruining it' for a good 10 minutes!"

Lyra lets out a snort, although I can't tell whether it's supposed to be in a judging manner or an agreeable one.

I sigh happily, looking around the room. Everyone was enjoying themselves, whether it was by dancing or singing completely out of key at the top of their lungs, (Gally, that is not the way to impress anyone). The happy mood lightens my heart, filling me with hope and an unexplainable joy.

Although, I do still feel a little bit of unease, and I only know one way to get rid of it.

"Newt, where's Thomas?" I ask, clearing my throat. I shouldn't be afraid to speak to him. It was only Thomas; I could trust him.

"Tommy?" Newt shakes his head. I realise I'd interrupted him from his conversation with Fawn, so I give him an apologetic smile. "I just watched him go stand outside the dorm."

I nod in answer, and leave the couple to do whatever couples do in a party by themselves.

I give myself a little gasp. That sounded disgusting, and I know Newt and Fawn are the opposite of that. I shake my head, and just prepare myself on what I'm going to say to Thomas.

Thomas, I'm incredibly sorry I've not said a word to you since Ashton, I can assure you I am okay and I actually have no clue why I did what I did.

I want to slap myself. No way was that any good. Thomas deserves more: a better explanation. A shadow of guilt lays upon me, along with bundle of nerves as I realise I've already reached the door.

I sigh to myself. Breathe, Olivia. It'll be okay. It's just Thomas.

Just Thomas.

Thomas.

Thomas.

My hands wrap around the handle, and I open the door quietly. Although, it's probably not quiet; I assume the noise of it was just muffled by the party and the music.

"Thomas?" I say gently. I'm prepared to face whatever emotion he shows me, whether it be anger, sadness, confusion. I know I probably deserve it.

I slowly step out of the dormitory, and close the door behind me. The noise escapes out of my ears, leaving me with my thoughts. I don't know if I prefer it.

"Livvy?"

I turn around and gasp. The nickname is back. Thank whoever it is that made this happen, but the nickname is back!

Thomas stares at me intently, his light blue suit slightly creased, his hair still remaining pushed up, although it looks slightly tousled.

And, gosh, his face. His sharp eyes flick across my face, but I've missed that look. The face. The laughs.

"I'm sorry, Thomas." I choke out, a sob threatening to leak as tears prick my ears, but I push them back. I shouldn't be upset. And if I am, then Thomas had every right to as well.

"Livvy." He walks closer to me, sandy brown strands sticking to his forehead. When he's directly standing in front of me, I can hear his breathing, hear it hitch and fall. His hand extends outward, palm facing upwards.

It takes me a moment to realise he's asking for my hand. He's asking for my hand. As if I was frozen, I have to force myself to lift my hand up, but I do. A million thoughts are running through my mind. I lift my hand up, and gently place it down in his. The thoughts stop. They freeze. They're no longer running. The only sign of movement is me and Thomas, stuck in this moment, the warm press of his hand as his fingers wrap around mine.

That's all that matters right now. Me and him. Olivia and Thomas.

"Livvy," He begins, taking in a deep breath, looking up at my face. "You don't need to be sorry. You've got nothing to be sorry for. The only one who needs to apologise is Ashton, begging on his knees for your forgiveness. Because you're too good for him. I know you will forgive him in an instant. And I admire that about you. If you need a break, I'm fine. As long as it's not forever." He lets out a little chuckle at that, and a little smile escapes my mouth. "And you came back. I have nothing to worry about."

Thomas. Sweet, dear Thomas. Gosh, I'm extremely grateful to have him as a friend. All my worries drip out of me, replaced with a burning sensation of hope, joy, and all the goodness in the world.

"Thank you, Thomas." I wrap my arms around him, and he immediately accepts it.

His arms around mine. So similar to Ashton's yet so different.

I know the difference now. One is warmth, hope, comfort. It doesn't give you chills, doesn't leave you with an urge to wash your body every minute of the day.

And we don't speak of the other. We don't dwell on the past. We live in the moment; the moment in which Thomas has his arms wrapped around mine, and it's just us.

Me and him.

Olivia and Thomas.

~

A/N

FIRST OF ALL, I AM INCREDIBLY SORRY FOR THE TWO MONTH DELAY I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT HAPPENED HONESTLY BUT ALHAMDULILLAH I AM SETTLED IN SCHOOL SO HERES A CHAPTER FOR YOU!!

I REALLY HOPE THIS MAKES UP FOR MY ABSENCE WITH OUR LOVELY OLIVIA AND THOMAS 😍

WHAT DID YALL THINK??

HOPE YALL HAV A GREAT DAY MY LOVELIES MWAH 🤎

P.S. Next chapter will be for Outlawed (maybe)!