Normani's POV

I can't believe I slept so late and almost missed rehearsal. It's Saturday and I just got back from choir rehearsal. I've been asked to solo this week and I've never been so nervous and excited at the same time. It's not the first time since joining youth choir that I've been asked to solo, but this one is more important because it's one of my favorite songs.

I'm finishing my lunch, of a sandwich and ramen noodles, when my phone rings.

(AN: Lauren is in italics)

"Hey Lauren what's up?"

"Nothing much, you done with rehearsal yet?"

"Yeah I just got home, why?"

"Want to hang at the park with us?"

"Who is us?"

"Tori, Zendaya, Kehlani, Dinah and I. The usual suspects."

"So you invited Dinah so I wouldn't be a fifth wheel?"

"Basically, and I know you don't like her but please come. She's not bad once you get to know her."

Trust me Lauren I know that all to well.

"Fine are you there yet?"

"No we're meeting up in an hour, the girls are still cleaning up after the party."

"Okay. Make sure you text me what park you're at, I'll meet y'all there."

"Okay meet you there."

"Later."

"Later."

I hang up and throw my trash away before going to my room. I charge my phone and change before I leave out an hour later. As I drive to the park I am not looking forward to seeing Dinah again. After last night I am really confused about how things went down. I wonder what I did to push her into doing what she did. I thought we were getting along until she said she had to go to the bathroom. Maybe she felt uncomfortable with me touching her tattoos, and had to run. She could have told me if I was though I would have stopped if she asked. Did I make her feel vulnerable so she ran from me back to her comfort zone? Whatever reason she had to do what she did, if she doesn't want to talk about it I won't bring it up.

Dinah's POV

After last night I couldn't get to sleep until four a.m., and when I did I dreamt about Normani. Every time I closed my eyes I saw her smile or heard her laugh, it kept me up all night. After my rough night I went and helped Zendaya and Kehlani clean after the party like I promised. We ate after we finished and now we're at the park. I have my bike and Z has her long board, Kehlani is on the pegs of my bike, and we're just riding around.

Zendaya has my Bluetooth speaker, since she has free hands, and we're blasting music down the walkway. I see a bunch of little kids running around and all of a sudden a wild soccer ball knocks Zendaya off her board. Since she didn't see it coming she fell into the grass. I stop by her board and Lani runs to pick her up. As she gets up and dusts herself off, I pick up the ball that hit her.

"Oh my god! Is she okay?! I didn't mean to hit her I swear!"

I look over and see a small Latina girl running towards us. I turn her direction and take in what she's wearing. She must have been working out or something.

"This ball your's?"

"Yeah my trainer, Sebastian and I were practicing and I must have kicked it too hard. Is she gonna be okay?"

"At the most she'll be embarrassed and have a bruise on her shoulder, but she'll fine."

"Okay but I should still go over and apologize to her or something."

"Relax she's gonna come over here anyway because I have her long board. What you should do is tell me your name tho."

"Rebecca but most people call me Becky."

"Do your friends make Lemonade jokes about your name?"

"All the time. After she dropped the album like all of my friends changed my contact name to a lemonade joke. It's really annoying actually."

"If it makes you feel any better, you do have good hair. Even though you're sweaty."

She blushes at the compliment and I mentally pat myself on the back. Still got it D-Mac.

"Thanks your hair looks nice too."

"Thank you, only half of its mine tho. Don't tell anyone."

"Are you done flirting? Because I think she wanted to apologize for knocking me off my board."

I look up to see Zendaya and Kehlani and standing behind Becky, along with who I assume is her trainer. They're all looking at me like I was the one who started flirting first. I was just making polite conversation. They always assume the worst, it's not my fault that I'm irresistible. I start to speak but Becky interrupts and runs over to Zendaya to apologize.

"I'm so sorry about the ball hitting you. My friend was pushing me too hard and I was aiming for his head not you."

"It's okay the ball didn't even hurt."

"What about your pride?" I interrupt with a cheeky smile.

"It's only a little bit bruised. I'll be fine, apology accepted."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes I'm fine Becky. This'll just be a funny story to tell people later. I'll see you at school okay?"

She goes to our school? I've never seen her before today. Then again I have like six classes with Normani but I didn't know she existed until yesterday.

And there I go bringing things back to Normani. I have never thought about a girl after a hook up before. But she caresses my tats and actually listens when I talk and now I'm sprung. What about Normani makes her so different? What about her makes so special that I can't stop thinking about her?

After Becky and her friend leave we continue walking through the park. We don't really have a set destination we're just walking through the crowd.

"Uh where the hell are we going?"

"What, not liking this walk through the park?"

"Did I say that? No, I'm just wondering is all."

"We're trying to avoid all the Pokémon hunters. The park is fucking full today."

"Ooh speaking of Pokémon Go let me pull my phone out. I can catch some before the girls get here."

"Okay first of all you're such a fucking nerd Kehlani. Second please don't tell me you invited your girlfriends to hang with us!"

"It would be a lie to tell you anything different."

"Why did you invite them? You just saw them yesterday at school. Wasn't that enough for your whipped asses?"

"When you get a girlfriend for longer than three days, you'll know how wrong you are."

"When that happens, I'll promptly cut off all my hair and eat it."

"Just let me know when you do it, we could go viral if we got that on camera."

I push her off the sidewalk and laugh as she almost falls, again, but this time in a puddle. After she catches up with me she pushes me back but I don't go flying like her skinny ass did. I look at Kehlani run around the park playing Pokémon Go and I smile at her having fun.

I turn to Zendaya to say something but she's texting so I leave her alone. After a while I start thinking about Normani again and I have to literally force myself to stop. I need to get this girl out of my head!

"Ayo Lauren just called me she said they already found a spot and that Normani is on her way."

"Do you know where they are?"

"Yeah check your girl's snapchat."

I watch her pull out her phone and check snapchat before putting her phone away.

"They're by the field house, we passed them actually. Come on Lani!"

"I gotta make my rounds, I'll meet you over there."

"Your sister is a fucking nerd Z."

"Yeah well she's my half-sister so it's not like we share that much DNA. Come on let me hop on the bike."

She hops on the back of my bike and I ride off towards the girls.

Normani's POV

I just got to the park and thanks to Tori, I don't need to look for them. God bless that girl's snapchat addiction, honestly. I see them a few feet from where I parked, and head over in that direction. As I walk up I hear Lauren's loud laughter and smile.

"Hey guys."

"Hey!"

"About time you got here!

Lauren and Tori get up to greet me with hugs. I let go of Lauren and slap her on the arm.

"Ow what was that for?"

"You know why! You know how far this place is from my house, I had to find it first! Not like you were any help Lauren."

"Why is it always my fault when something goes wrong in your life?"

"Because 9 times out of 10 it is your fault, especially when I get in trouble."

"Oh so like that one time when you missed curfew by a minute, and you couldn't lie so you blamed me?"

"It was your fault I missed curfew, you were the one driving!"

"OKAY married couple, times up! Lauren go over to Kehlani, Mani go sit next to Dinah."

After I sit, Tori sighs while basically sitting on Zendaya's lap. I pull out my camera and snap a few pictures of them. I may have been a bit mean yesterday at school, but I actually think they are a good match together. I sneak a few more photos of them before anyone notices me, but I get caught putting my camera away.

"Can I see the photos you took?"

I look over at Dinah and she looks genuinely interested, so I pass my camera over to her. As she looks through them I watch her face to see her reactions. The two couples are in their own little worlds, not paying any attention to us. She goes through all my photos before handing it back over to me.

"Your photos are really good, you really know angles well. How long have you been taking photos?"

"A few years ago, my grandma got me one of those poloroid cameras for Christmas, and I became obsessed with taking photos. The next year my mom got me this one for my birthday."

"So you only take pictures of other people?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well there aren't any photos of you in your camera roll."

"All my self portraits, even the ones that I took on my camera, are on my phone."

"That makes sense. Easy access to them for social media."

"I actually have two accounts on instagram, a personal one and an art account for my photos."

"That's smart, especially if you become a professional photographer. Separating business and personal and all that."

I smile at what she says then look over at my friends to see that Lauren and Kehlani are missing.

"Uh Tori, where did those two go?"

"They took Dinah's bike and went to the store around the corner for snacks."

"Why did they take my bike? They could have walked!"

"Yeah they could have but they took your bike, probably because it's faster than walking."

"I'm kicking Lani's ass when they get back. They better had got me something too or I'm beating her ass twice."

"You still have the long board if you need to go somewhere. It's no worries DJ."

Dinah's POV

Zendaya and I are talking when I hear a bike bell ring in the distance. I look up and see the  Mexican ice cream cart roll by in the distance. I wasn't the only one who heard it because Tori is looking over at the vendor too.

"Ooh babe it's a helado cart, we have to get some!"

"Okay well let's go get some. You two will be good?"

"Uh yeah we'll be good, you two go."

I look at Tori, and she's standing there looking at Zendaya like a child that's waiting for their parents to get done talking at a party. She's cute when she's impatient. She yanks Zendaya up and pulls her after her in the direction of the moving ice cream cart.

"The only thing Tori would ever run for is food. She's like a little kid."

"There's no way she's that adorable all the time. It has to be like a trick or something."

"That's how I felt when I first met her, but no that's her all the time."

"She's mixed, right?"

"Yeah Jamaican, Puerto Rican, Irish, and German I believe. She's a mutt."

I nod and then we both get quiet for a bit. A small part of me wants to talk to her about last night, but a larger part of me doesn't want to make it more awkward. I see her looking at Zendaya's long board and that gives me an idea.

"You want to learn how to ride?"

"Huh?"

"The long board. Do you want to learn how to ride it?"

"Oh no I was just looking at it. I wish I could get a picture of someone riding it. It would be really cool."

I think it over for a bit before standing and grabbing the board.

"Uh what are you doing?"

"You want a picture of someone riding a long board. I know how to ride one."

"Okay let's go then."

Normani's POV

She helps me up from the grass and I ignore the tingle going up my spine when she puts her hand on my back. We go to the walkway and I sit on a bench figuring out what I want Dinah to do.

"Just ride back and forth and I'll take as many as I can until you stop. You can do whatever you want."

"Okay."

She goes a few feet away and I wait for her by the park bench. Once I'm ready I hold my camera up and start taking pictures of her. I take at least forty pictures of Dinah-Jane before she stops in front of me.

"Are you done, let me see them?"

We sit on the park bench and she hands me the board in exchange for my camera. I place the board under my feet and wait as she looks through her photos.

"You really looked like you were having fun, it made the photos look more natural."

"Thanks. Will you send these to me? They would be great for instagram."

"Of course, I would just need your number or something so I can send them."

"Is that how you get all the girls? Take photos of them and ask for their number so you give them the photos?"

I duck my head to hide a blush. Even though my skin is dark, you would still be able to see my skin become slightly darker when I blush.

"No! What do you do? Play basketball shirtless and smile at any pretty girl that passes?"

"Only in the summer. Don't worry I would definitely pretend to lose a ball and roll it in your direction, just to talk to you."

Wait what?

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm trying to say that you're cute and I would definitely try to get your number."

"Why haven't you then? If I was one of the cheerleaders you would have already gotten with me."

"Wow is my reputation that bad?"

"I mean we've been going to the same school for almost three years. Is it just word of mouth or is it just facts?"

Dinah's POV

I am surprised at the direction this conversation has gone. It's clear to me now that she heard Jilly and I in the bathroom last night. I don't know why I haven't tried anything with Normani yet, but the fact that I haven't already means something is wrong. If I know I like her, why I haven't done anything? I keep trying to think of something to say to her to defend myself, but I can't because it's the truth.

Normani's POV

I keep looking at Dinah and hoping I haven't said the wrong thing. She hasn't said anything in the last five minutes and it's making me very nervous.

Thinking of something that break the tension I put my camera away and grab the long board. I stand in the middle of the path and put it back down.

"Is that offer to learn how to ride this thing still on the table?"

She looks over at me and stands up from the bench with a smile. I really like her smile.

"Yeah, If you really want to learn."

"I do want to, just catch me if I fall. I can't have no scars, I have to wear a dress tomorrow."

"Don't worry I got you."

Dinah's POV

I tell her about all the things that she needs to do and make sure she's standing properly before she even tries to move. I even repeat a few things just to be sure.

"Okay you ready?"

"I think you're more nervous than I am."

"I've never taught anyone how to do anything before, cut me a break."

"Okay and to answer your question, yes I'm ready."

I almost swoon at the sound of her giggle, but I force myself to rein it in to just a smile at her cuteness. I then guide her around the park with my hand on her waist slowly so she can get used to the movement. She's wearing a crop top and I'm trying to not move my hand, but it's hard for me because she has a great body. What even is her ass to waist ratio oh my god.

"Hey uh we're veering into the grass."

I look up and quickly steer her away from the grass, realizing that she was right.

"Oh shit my bad, I was a little distracted."

"By what?"

"Just my thoughts." That I was thinking about licking your beautiful skin until I taste chocolate.

"Must have been some good thoughts."

"They were completely depraved. My favorite kind."

"You're so nasty there are children around."

"I'm not saying anything out loud, the babies are safe."

"No one is safe around you."

"Another rumor you heard?"

"No this one is a fact. No one is immune to Dinah-Jane's iconic charm, not even teachers."

"Okay that's not true. I can't just charm anyone!"

She looks back at me with a smile and I smile right back at her.

"I'm not too sure about that."

"Whatever you say. Ready to try without me holding you?"

"Yeah I'm ready."

I show her what to do and what and she almost succeeds. She starts to lose her balance and starts falling, but I catch her right before she hits the ground. When we stand back up my eyes go straight to her lips and they stay there while she's talking. We are standing way too close to each other I can't focus. I feel her hand move and I snap out of whatever trance I was in to pay attention she was saying.

"Dinah, you can let go of me now."

"Oh my bad I was thinking about something and wasn't paying attention."

"It's cool thanks for catching me tho."

"Pssshhh I told you I would!"

She looks at me a little bit then grabs the board to try again. She goes back and forth until she can go in a straight line without losing her balance. When we get back to the spot under the tree Kehlani and Lauren are there with the whole junk food section of the convenience store.

"Damn Lani, you got enough to feed all kids in the park!"

"You better shut up before I take your shit back to the store."

I snatch the bag I know is mine and move it out of her reach.

"You can't return food items idiot!"

"Man whatever what we're you and Normani doing?"

"She wanted to take photos of her newest model."

I flip my hair and Kehlani rolls her eyes making me laugh. Lauren looks at Normani surprised, tapping her on the arm excitedly as she speaks.

"Ooh you took photos let me see them!"

"Calm down girl I was gonna show them to you anyway."

"Well hurry up then, you know how I am!"

As she shows Lauren the pics we took Tori and Zendaya come back and sit down like they weren't gone for 45 minutes to get one ice cream bar. They probably went on a walk or some other romantic thing. Stupid couples.

"Well look who finally came back. Did you have to chase the ice cream guy around the park to get one?"

"No we went on a walk through the park after we stopped him and ran into Becky as she was leaving. She wanted me to give this to you by the way."

Normani's POV

Zendaya hands Dinah a little piece of paper and I get that sinking feeling in my stomach I had last night when I left the party. I pull out my phone and pretend like I just got a text, and start packing up my stuff.

"I just got a text from my mom she needs me home."

Dinah looks at me and I'm sure she can tell I'm lying but I ignore her gaze as I grab my camera and put it in my bag.

"Oh man I'll see you tomorrow tho."

"You better be at church T you know I'm singing tomorrow, I need the emotional support."

I hug everyone but Dinah but seriously stops me before I can leave.

"Let me walk you to your car."

"Yeah sure."

We walk in silence to my car, but when we get to my car she finally speaks.

"Why are you leaving so suddenly? We were having fun."

"Because Becky gave you her number and I told you I liked you not even 30 minutes before that."

"Just because she gave me her number doesn't mean I want it."

"But you can't say you like me and flirt with random girls the same day."

"I'm sorry, but that's just who I am."

"No it isn't. You wouldn't be able to be sweet with me if that was who you are. What are you so afraid of?"

She looks away from me and I shake my head at the way she's acting.

"Look Dinah, I like you. I really do but I'm not gonna wait for you to figure it out if it means watching you flirt with other girls. When you get it together come find me, but until then leave me alone."

Dinah's POV

I just stand there and take in everything she says and when I don't say anything back she gets in her car and drives off. I stand in that spot for a few minutes and just walk back to our friends and flop down to the ground.

"Fuck."

"You okay DJ?"

"No.....I think I might have feelings for Normani and I'm pretty sure I already ruined whatever chance I could of had."

I look at my friends and they look at me different forms of pitty displayed on their faces.

"What happened when you walked her to the car?"

"She told me that if I don't get my shit together I can forget about her. What am I gonna do?"

"You're gonna have to get your shit together. You can't just flirt your way into her bed this time, you have to be real with."

"I think I'm gonna go home to think."

"Okay see you Monday Dinah."

I hug everyone and head home. I'm staring at the ceiling of my bedroom with my headphones in when I suddenly have to urge to draw. I grab my sketch book off my dresser and a piece of paper falls out. It's my assignment from class Friday. Looking at it now I get what Ms. Gilles was trying to say to me. It's way too plain to be the subject of something I find beautiful, but I know someone who is. I grab my art supplies and get to work knowing exactly what I'm going to do with this.

AN: Ooh what is she going to do? Uh next chapter is the last chapter so I hope you're ready. Vote Comment and Share until next time.

Happy Reading

Peace,

Meags