i'm allowed to do what's best for me, even if it upsets people

It had been a few days since Neve snuck Zach in for the first time. Since then, she'd managed to sneak him in one time other than that and successfully lied to Chris so she could go over to his house. It was nerve-wracking, but she began to love it. 

This was the first time Neve had felt alive in a long time. She felt something she'd never felt before, not to mention she enjoyed Zach's company. He was nice, sweet, and he even put others' needs before his own. It also felt nice not being so lonely, because even though most would consider her and Chris close, they weren't that close.

They hadn't ever been that particularly close, and the moment they moved to Shadowbrook they had only drifted further. The older Neve got, the more she realized she wanted to have more control. She had none after everything happened with her parents, and the older she got the more she realized she wanted the things that others had. That Chris had.

"What's that pretty little brain thinking about?" The sound of Zach's voice was heard.

Neve glanced over to see Zach sitting down next to her. He sat his lunch tray on the table and began to eat, his eyes looking over at her every so often as he waited for her response.

"Just stuff," She softly responded.

Zach smiled, a half-smile. "Don't want me to know?"

Neve's cheeks burned, and she shook her head at her uneaten food. "No—no, it's not that," she mumbled. I was just thinking about how different my life is now compared to the way it was a few months ago."

"Life changes pretty quickly," Zach said. He then smiled brighter, "Hey, are we still hanging out after school?"

Before Neve could respond, the table grew. Dina, Riley, Cece, and Cloe sat down, all taking different spots around the table. 

"Sorry, Z, but not today," Cloe said, smiling at the boy.

"And who says?" He scrunched his nose up, looking at the blonde.

"Neve and I have a date," Cloe said. Cece suddenly choked on her milk, causing everyone to look at her. She coughed a few times before wiping her lips with the back of her hand.

"What?"

"I've invited Neve over," Cloe said.

"For what?" Dina asked, looking between the two girls.

Cloe smiled, "Nobody's business but ours." She then winked at Dina before eating a grape.

"Either way," Dina sighed. "You guys going to homecoming this weekend?"

"I completely spaced it," Cece said, looking over at the other girl. "You going?"

Dina glanced at Zach, "Yes." She then looked back at Cece. "Do you all have dates?"

"Nope," Cloe quickly said, to which Cece agreed.

Dina's eyes then landed on Neve, who shyly shook her head. "No, I probably won't go."

"What?" Dina asked, looking at her before the other girls. "You're not going to your senior homecoming."

"I've never been to a dance," She murmured, messing with her uneaten food.

It was true. She had planned on going to her first high school dance the weekend after everything happened with her parents, but when everything happened she withdrew from everything, and Chris took custody of her. Then after that, nothing was allowed.

"That's crazy!" Cece exclaimed.

"Dances aren't that cool," Zach chimed in. "I mean is- is that what you think, Neve?"

"No I think they're cool I've just-" She paused, taking in a sharp breath. "I haven't ever really had a reason to go."

"Yeah, they are pretty cool." Zach nodded. It was obvious he was trying to impress her, and Cece and Cloe shared a look like Dina looked at him in confusion. "Well with the right people, they can be fun."

"Or with a date. Do you have a date, Zach?" Dina asked, leaning her head on her chin.

"Not yet," He murmured.

Neve realized the time and stood up, grabbing her tray. "I should get back to class. It was nice chatting."

"Me too," Zach said as he quickly stood up as well.

"But we just got here," Dina pouted at the boy.

"Class calls." He shrugged, following Neve toward the trash can. She dumped her contents before setting the tray on top of the trashcan where the other dirty trays were.

Zach copied her actions before following her out of the eating area and into the halls, in the direction of their class. It was silent until Zach decided to speak.

"You should go to homecoming,"

Neve couldn't help but snort. "Yeah, like Chris would ever allow that."

"She might. You should see. If you're surrounded by people and well taken care of, maybe she'll let you." Zach shoved his hands in his pockets.

"I doubt it." She mumbled.

"Do you- would you want to go to homecoming?" Zach asked quietly.

"I would if I could. I've never been to a dance. It'd be nice." Neve shrugged, "The odds are just never in my favor."

Zach stopped, and Neve continued not realizing he stopped. He then stepped forward and grabbed her hand, gently twirling her around. "Go with me."

"What?" She asked softly, looking up at him with wide eyes.

"I want you to come to homecoming with me. As- as my date. Please." He breathed, "I've never had a date before. An official date, that is." He looked to the side, before his light eyes met hers again. "Please be my date to homecoming, Nevie."

Neve couldn't help the flutter in her stomach as he called her by the nickname. Her cheeks turned red and she heard chatter behind her. She looked to see students beginning to head back to class, meaning their lunch period had officially ended. "Yeah, okay." She finally decided, looking back at him.

"Seriously?" He asked, his lips curling up into a bright smile.

"Seriously," She repeated with a nod, her cheeks burning.

Zach jumped forward, enveloping her in a bear hug. She couldn't help the laugh that escaped her lips, her body erupting with butterflies at their close proximity. "You're the best!" He exclaimed as he let go.

Neve just blushed as they made their way back into their classroom. She didn't know how to respond, and Zach caught onto this quickly. He didn't mind her silence, just happy to have been accepted as her date in the first place.

The rest of the school day went by fairly quickly. Neve met Cloe outside of the school as they planned, and it wasn't long before they were in Cece's car on her way to their house. 

She was a little anxious as she was lying to Chris, but at the same time felt a little less anxious since she'd been doing this for a few days now. She'd been spending so much time with Danny, she didn't seem to notice nor care about Neve's whereabouts.

It wasn't long until they arrived at Cloe's house, the trio getting out of Cece's car and heading inside. Riley hadn't arrived home yet, leaving the giant house to themselves.

"C and I already got everything we need," Cloe explained, leading the two girls up to her bathroom. They walked in to see all of the hair products they'd need, and Cloe sent a knowing smile to Neve. "Ready to get your pretty blonde hair back?"

Neve softly nodded. Chris didn't know she planned on doing this, nor did she care. She was older now and she had already caused enough damage to her hair by repeatedly dyeing it red. Not to mention Chris hadn't changed her hair at all besides a trim, so if her aunt could have the same hair - so could she.

"Okay, sit sit!" Cloe exclaimed, urging to the stool Cece brought into the bathroom.

The moment Neve sat down, Cloe began to prep her products. "C, I need you to go get a t-shirt from the room. One I have old dye on so we don't stain her clothing."

Cece immediately obliged, leaving Cloe and Neve alone.

"Zach asked me to homecoming," Neve blurted without thinking. Her cheeks burned and Cloe paused, looking at her with wide eyes. "I mean- he asked me to be his date. Is that okay?"

"Neve, did you just ask me if it was okay that Zach asked you to homecoming?" Cloe asked, her eyes searching the other girl's.

"Yes," Neve said quickly.

"It's obviously okay!" Cloe playfully slapped Neve's arm. "You know I'm a lesbian, right?"

"I didn't, but now I do." Neve softly said. "I wasn't asking if it was okay because I thought there was something between you. I was asking because I've never been to a dance before let alone on a date. I just- I don't know."

"I get you," Cloe softly said with a nod. "Well, it's more than okay. It's great, even. Zach doesn't show interest in girls much. He was always just more focused on friends than dating. It's nice to see him asking someone as more than just a friend."

"Makes sense," Neve softly said. "What do I wear?"

Cloe smiled down at Neve, taking in the nervous look. "I'll help you, okay? I'm a master at these things. Now-" She stopped as soon as Cece came back into the bathroom, a stained blue t-shirt in her hands. She took the shirt and passed it to Neve. "Put this on, I don't want to accidentally stain your shirt."

Neve nodded, grabbing the shirt from Cloe's hands. She quickly changed into the other shirt and Cloe didn't hesitate to get started on her hair.

Cece kept the two girls company, the three chatting about anything and everything that happened to come. Neve decided then that Cloe and Cece were two of her favorites here - not including Zach. They were kind and funny, and their dynamic was sweet. It felt nice to have friends and to be included when she'd never felt that way in her entire life.

"Clo, I'm home!" The sound of Riley's voice shouted out from downstairs. Cloe didn't bother to respond, her focus on watching a video with Neve while they waited for her hair.

"I'll go let her know you'll be down soon," Cece murmured, standing from her spot on the bathroom floor.

"Thanks, Ce." Cloe smiled at the brunette, shooting her a wink.

Cece blushed and nodded, leaving the bathroom. This once again left just Neve and Cloe, which Neve didn't really mind.

"Are you guys dating?" Neve softly asked.

Cloe's cheeks turned red as she locked her phone, standing from her spot. "Nah. Wish we were, but I don't think she's into girls. If she is, she's not out yet and I'm not the type to pressure another person."

"You're really sweet," Neve complimented.

"I try to be. Life's rough. It's nice to have someone be understanding. That, my dear Neve, is why we get along so well I think. We might be polar opposites personality-wise, but we're very similar when it comes to showing kindness and compassion. I'm very glad that Zach decided to include you in our friend group."

Cloe leaned Neve over the tub, getting ready to wash the dye out. Neve had done this numerous times, but instead of it being the bright red she usually dyed it - it was as close to her natural hair color as Cloe could manage. It made her nervous, as she hadn't seen this hair color on her since the night her parents died.

"I've never had a friend group," Neve admitted softly. The words came out echoed and slightly muffled because she was face down in the tub, but Cloe still heard them clearly.

She paused her movements, before softly smiling to herself and continuing on with her actions from before. "Well, you do now. I know Dina can be a little rough around the edges, the girl's just got trust issues. But then again we all kinda do, so that's no excuse. Truthfully, between you and me, I think she's a little rougher with you than anyone else because Zach's attention's on you instead of her."

"Why would that be?" Neve softly asked, her grip on the edge of the tub tight.

Cloe continued massaging her hair, running the handheld showerhead through her locks. She shrugged at first, thinking of a response before speaking. "Dina likes it when things are her way. I love her, but can only handle so much of her. She's- she's been into Zach for years. Years. And poor Zach - he doesn't realize. As I said earlier, he's more focused on friends than anything. Now that she can't easily get any attention from Zach on top of the fact that you're getting the attention, she's not liking it. Don't let that scare you though, Dina's been in the friend zone longer than I have with Cece."

Neve stayed silent, letting Cloe work on her hair and talk about the dynamics with the friend group. She had a feeling Dina had a thing for Zach, but Neve being Neve didn't question it too much. It was more than obvious Dina wasn't fond of Neve, but Neve assumed it was because she was new and intruding in the group.

"All done." Cloe suddenly said, breaking Neve from her thoughts. She grabbed a towel and began to dry her hair off, rubbing it to get as much loose water as possible. "I'm going to blow dry it too, to get a better look at my work."

Neve nodded, and once Cloe was ready she stood from the tub. She took the towel and continued to manually dry her hair as Cloe grabbed her hair dryer, plugged it in, and turned it to the setting needed. Neve sat the towel on the sink as the other blonde began to blow dry her hair, the loud sound echoing in the small bathroom.

The two didn't speak, mostly because the blow dryer was too loud. Neither girl minded though, Cloe keeping her attention on Neve's hair, and Neve studying the other girl in the mirror.

Neve felt warm. She felt butterflies in her stomach because the more she thought about it - the more she realized she liked this. She thought she had only felt this way before with Zach because he was a cute boy giving her attention, teaching her to live a little and break a few rules. And although she was still technically breaking rules, this was different. She had a friend. A genuine friendship with Cloe. Cece was a very good friend too, she realized. She didn't want this to end, she wanted more - as greedy as it sounded.

Cloe turned the hair dryer off, bringing Neve back down to Earth. She smiled at Neve through the mirror, her hair wild and messy and blonde - something Neve hadn't seen in years.

"Almost done!" Cloe exclaimed, unplugging the hair dryer and putting it away. She then grabbed a brush, beginning to gently brush through Neve's crazy hair.

The feeling felt nice, and Neve relished in it while she could. Once she finished getting any tangles out she parted it perfectly down the middle, as Neve usually did with her hair. She spread the soft waves out along her shoulders, the golden strands shining beautifully in the iridescent light from the bathroom.

"You like it?" Cloe asked, resting her chin on Neve's shoulder. Neve smiled brightly, nodding at the other girl.

"Looks just like it did when I was fifteen," She mumbled. She felt insanely happy and loved it. But she also felt sad, because all she saw when she looked in the mirror was the fifteen-year-old girl who had just witnessed the most brutal thing a girl could ever witness.

"I'm going to go downstairs, okay? Whenever you're changed and ready you can meet us down there." Cloe softly said, pulling her chin off of her shoulder.

"Sounds good. Thank you, Cloe." Neve softly said.

"Anything for you, Neve." Cloe winked playfully at the girl, leaving the bathroom.

Neve quickly pulled the T-shirt from her body, revealing the same shirt she'd been wearing before they started on her hair. She studied herself in the mirror, parting her hair and fixing the strands that got messed up when she took the shirt off. Her brows bunched together as she stared at her reflection.

She looked different, yet the same. She gripped the sink as she looked at her freckles, the ones that only grew darker the older she got. She looked at her naturally rosy cheeks and the dark brows she was born with despite having blonde hair. Then she looked at her hair again. If she thought about it hard enough, she could begin to imagine the day she looked the day her mother died. The blood on her neck and face, smeared into her bright blonde hair. The scared look of a girl who had just seen her parents murdered - who was almost murdered herself.

"There's my girl," A familiar voice asked, breaking Neve from her horrible thoughts. 

She looked over with red cheeks and wide eyes to see Zach leaning against the doorframe. He studied her, a small smile on his features.

"Didn't know you were changing your hair." He mumbled.

"I wanted my natural color back," She murmured, holding Cloe's t-shirt in her hands. "It's been a while." She looked back in the mirror again, her eyes looking over the sight.

Zach pulled himself from the doorframe, entering the bathroom. He stopped just shortly behind Neve, looking at her through the mirror. "I love it," He whispered. "The red was beautiful too, but this- this fits so much more."

"Thanks," Neve awkwardly spoke, smiling at him through the mirror.

Zach hesitated before lifting his hands, touching the ends of her hair. "You look- you look great." He cleared his throat, dropping the strands of hair. "Came up to check on you. Been waiting for you to come downstairs."

"Right. Sorry." She folded the shirt, setting it down on the sink. She turned, facing him. "Thanks for checking on me."

Zach nodded, his cheeks turning a bright pink color. "Don't mention it. Now let's get downstairs with the others."

"After you, Prince Charming."

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Long chapter. Sorry for not updating in a while <3 I know I've stated this before but life's pretty busy. Hope you enjoyed it <3