MATILDA WAS HAVING THE TIME OF HER LIFE.

      She was moving in the middle of the dancefloor with an ease that Nadia envied her. Matilda was dancing as if she were alone. She didn't care what people were thinking, she was having fun. She had glow sticks around her neck and wrists and glitter on her face, which made her sparkle. Of course everyone liked her. How could you not like Matilda Johansson?

      Matilda noticed her sister standing next to the buffet and rushed over her to grab her hands. "Come dance!"

      "I'm not sure I can do it." Nadia told her as she was being pulled on the dancefloor.

      The eldest Johansson was wearing a red mini skirt and leather thigh high boots. Everything about her was just screaming how sure of herself she was. She had lent a blue dress laced in the back to her sister, and Nadia had to admit she liked how the dress was suiting her. She felt pretty, but not enough to move the way Matilda was.

      "Sure, you can!" the first born said as she put her hands on her sister's hip to make them move. "Just feel the beat."

      Nadia nodded. "Feeling the beat. Yeah, okay. I can do that."

      Matilda smiled and grabbed her hands. The two girls started twirling around, and Nadia finally grew a little more confident as they were dancing. That wasn't so bad after all. She was far from her sister's moves but she was getting better.

      Or so she thought until she bumped into someone. She turned around to see Valter's drink now on his shirt. Her cheeks turned red. "Oh my God, I'm so sorry."

      "Uh, no, that's fine, it was my fault. That probably wasn't a great idea to cross the dancefloor with a drink in my hands." he replied.

      "I'm really sorry. I'll go grab you another one to replace it." she said.

      "Well, only if you take a drink with me then." he said with a smile.

      That caught her off guard but she smiled and nodded. "Okay."

      "Cool. Uh, I'll just go clean that a little." he pointed at his shirt. "I'll be right back."

      "Okay, I'll be at the bar." she told him.

      Nadia told Matilda she was leaving the dancefloor and walked up to the bar. She poured herself a drink of Martini and made one for Valter. He joined her a few minutes later.

      "I'm back." he smiled.

      She smiled back and handed him a drink. "That's for you."

      "Thank you."

      They stared at each other with uncomfortable giggles as they were drinking before Valter spoke up. "I didn't know you could play the guitar so well! You were amazing yesterday."

      "Oh, thank you. I've been playing since I was nine."

      "Do you know if you're joining the choir or whatever? I'd love to see you play again." he told her.

      That surprised her. No one ever complimented her music that much. "I'm in a band with some of my junior high friends, and there's a small festival in a couple of weeks. I mean, it's nothing big but if you want..."

      "Of course! Text me the adress, I'll definitely be there." he smiled.

      She smiled back and took another sip of her drink. They stayed silent for a few seconds. The loud music and the flashing lights were not making things easy to chat and since both of them were kind of shy, it wasn't helping either.

      "Do you, like, want to get out maybe?" Valter leaned over to speak in her ear.

      Nadia was quite small so he was very much taller than her. She looked up at him and nodded. He grabbed her hand as they were making their way through the crowds of people dancing and drinking. The room was full and people kept jumping in all directions, which didn't make it easy for the pair to get through. Valter's hand held Nadia's tightly while she remained pressed against him to make sure she didn't lose him.

      They finally managed to get out of the lot and the cold of the night cooled their sweating faces. They didn't let go of each other's hands.

_____

      "Hey! Matilda, is it?" the prince called out to her.

       The girl looked at him with surprise. "Yes?"

       "We're in the same class, right?"

       She nodded. "Yeah."

       He held out his hand to her. "I'm Wilhelm."

       She laughed. "I know." she still shook his hand and smiled. "Are you enjoying your party?"

       "Yes, a lot."

       "Did you make any friends already?"

       "Felice. And you, maybe."

       She chukled. "That would be an honor. Also, Felice's a really nice girl so you're safe with her."

       "Yes, I think so too."

       He suddenly looked away and as Matilda followed his gaze, she noticed he was staring at Simon. He then turned back to her and stuttered. "Um, I gotta go."

       "Okay." she smiled.

       She looked as he was walking over Simon. The pair started talking and she knew right away there was something special between them. She thought it was quite obvious but maybe it was just her radar which was giving her that feeling.

      Matilda came out as bi at age twelve and had her first girlfriend at fourteen. She knew when something was up between two people and she could tell Simon and Wilhelm's vibe weren't just a friends one.

      Henry walked past her, slightly pushing her. He had barely touched her but her annoyance for the boy and the alcohol she had ingested made Matilda take off like a clockwork.

      "Watch were you're going, genius!" she exclaimed.

      "I barely touched you. Plus, you were in the way." Henry rolled his eyes.

      "You can say sorry, it won't kill you." she shot back.

      "Well, you can say sorry for the way you're talking to me."

      She let out a fake laugh as she get closer to him. "No, no, no, no, don't try to turn the situation around."

      "I'm not. I'm just saying I'll apologize if you apologize." he shrugged his shoulders.

      She put an accusative finger on his chest. "I know what you're doing. I won't apologize."

      "Then, I won't either."

      "You're an ass." she told him before turning on her heels to walk away.

      And she heard him laugh.

— i love nadia & valter so much already ❤️‍🩹