Bailey's POV

"Are you sure you know what you're doing?" I ask Dakota.

"No, but that's why we have YouTube!" He replies.

"I swear to god Dakota, if you fuck this up..."

"Relax, I got this. Now, what do I do Denver?"

I sit in an office chair in the Weber's bathroom with a towel wrapped around my neck staring at myself in the mirror. Dakota said if I wanted to be a cheerleader, I first need to look the part. That includes bleaching and dying my hair a lighter color. We agreed a lighter color would compliment my fair skin tone.

However, I've done nothing like this before and the thought of doing this the first time ever in a bathroom terrifies me. The most I do to my hair is get it cut and even that, I only have them take off a couple of inches.

Denver and Georgia sit in the bathtub with pillows and a blanket. Denver reads the directions on the box out loud to Dakota and Georgia eats popcorn, watching a Netflix show on her laptop.

On the bathroom vanity, we have a picture of Ariana Grande with light brown hair. That's the look we are trying to go for. I know I can't pull off blonde hair, but maybe lighter shade hair will help me look more attractive.

Dakota finishes mixing the product in the plastic bowl that comes in the box and starts brushing it into my hair as if he is an artist. After I watch the first layer go on, I feel the burn on my roots and I shut my eyes for the rest of it, not wanting to witness the cateshrope that's about to happen.

"Did you hear about the party on Saturday?" Dakota asks, distracting me from what he claims is going to be his first masterpiece.

"No, where?" I ask. I open my eyes and notice he finished brushing the bleach into my hair.

"The garage behind Bridget Miller's house. Their parents are going out of town. The entire cheerleading squad will be there."

Dakota sets a timer on his phone.

"Levi never mentioned anything to me," I say.

"Maybe he's not going," Denver says.

"Maybe he wasn't invited," Georgia mumbles half listening to our conversation.

"Well, I was invited," Dakota says.

"You were?" I say.

"Yeah, Bridget and I performed in Beauty and Beast last year. I guess you can say, we're tight," He affirms.

"We should all go!" I suggest.

"I'm in," Denver says.

"Count me out. I don't do parties." Georgia says.

"Why are you such a Debbie-downer?" I ask.

Dakota turns toward Georgia, "You're going. You need to experience a high school party. You can't live in this bathtub and watch Netflix every day."

"Let's go shopping on Friday to find outfits!" I say.

"Yeah, I need a new outfit," Denver says.

"I thought we were going to the movies for my birthday on Friday?"

I roll my eyes, "We can do both. Shop first and catch a movie later."

"Ugh, fine." Georgia pouts.

We discuss what outfits we want to wear to the party and before we know it, the timer goes off.

Dakota has me lean back into the sink while he rinses the product out. After this, we will see what I look like with blonde hair. Not that he's finished but I'm curious to know if I can pull off the look.

When I look back up at the blonde, sopping-wet hair against my cheeks, I notice it looks awful! It's not the shiny platinum I thought it would be. No, it looks more of a brassy-yellow color that you would see on metal when it's starting to rust. I scrunch my face at the sight of myself in the mirror. Most girls look so pretty with blonde hair, why can't I?

"Don't give me that look, we still have to put the dye in," Dakota says.

"I know. I was hoping that maybe blonde hair would look good on me," I say.

"Blonde hair isn't for everyone, honey but trust me you will look good with this light brown shade against your skin tone." He assures and starts brushing the dye into my hair. After another forty five minutes of letting the dye sit in, Dakota rinses my hair again, blow-drys and styles it, revealing my new look on me.

"Holy shit," is the only thing that comes out of my mouth.

++++++++

"How is week two going for you?" Mr. Smith asks.

"Better than week one," I laugh.

"Good. I see you changed your hair color. It looks nice. I also heard that you've entered a relationship with Levi Bedford," he says.

Even Mr. Smith knows what goes on in a student's personal life but there's no way I'm telling him the truth about our relationship, or lack thereof.

"Yeah," I lie.

"He's a good kid. Does well in school and gets along with everyone," Mr. Smith says with nodding approval and continues, "I've noticed you haven't turned in any assignments yet. I hope your new relationship isn't affecting your most important job, being a student. I know it's fun being young and in love just -"

"I don't love Levi!" I blurt out, not completely sure why I thought it was necessary to admit.

"Alright, just know that if you don't catch up on your assignments, you will have to attend summer school. I think it will be best if you found a tutor," Mr. Smith suggests and my jaw nearly hits the ground. Attend summer school? I've never done summer school before! That will ruin my reputation at Baraboo before it even started.

After our meeting ends, I walk out of school and there's only one car left in the parking lot, a blue Chevy. Inside is Levi playing a game on his phone and I can't believe he actually waited for me. I climb inside and let out a loud groan.

"What's wrong?" he asks.

"If I don't get my grades up and my assignments turned in I will have to do summer school," I groan again.

"Damn, that sucks," Levi says and I roll my eyes. No shit it sucks.

"Mr. Smith says I should find a tutor," I lean back in the passenger seat.

That means I have to go to the library and be quiet and listen to someone point at a book and ask me questions I don't understand and it's never like the movies where two people fall in love. Not unless Hunter was the one tutoring me but considering he was benched all season for football because of low grades, I can only assume he would tank my grades.

"I can tutor you," Levi suggests like the ass-kisser he is but I can't think like that anymore now that he's my boyfriend.

Instead, I sit there for a minute and think this over. Levi tutoring would be free. We could do it at my house instead of a library. He is smart. Plus, if I work my magic, maybe I can get him to do the work for me.

"Alright!" I agree.

"But you have to do something for me," he replies.

"What?" I ask. I should have known there would be a catch.

"You have to come over at least once a week for dinner. I want my mom to think we are serious about each other. How about we do both tonight?"

"Ugh, fine," I let out an over dramatic groan.

"Oh, stop, you're getting a free hot homemade meal. I know inside you're ecstatic," he deadpans.

I crack a smile because it's true. I am glad I get to eat a homemade meal again and Judy may be annoying about her son's relationships but she is a boss chef.

++++++++

"Thank you for the meal, Ms. Bedford, it was just as good as last time, if not better," I say.

I'm not lying this time or kissing up to her for Levi's sake. Judy is a good cook and I can't remember the last time my mom cooked us a meal. It was before Jack passed away, that much I know.

"Please, call me Judy, and It's no problem. I can give you the recipe if you'd like," she says.

"That's okay, I don't know how to cook."

Judy drops her fork as she hears those words and the plate echoes as the two pieces of metal clash. Luckily, John isn't eating with us today, otherwise he would make a judgemental comment about me. However, Levi stares at me in disbelief. Yes, I'm an Italian who doesn't know how to boil water, sue me.

"Your mother never taught you how to cook? Or your father, grandfather, grandmother, no one?" she says.

"No," I answer shyly.

"You're a Moretti, though! It runs in your blood! Surely you know the basics," she says.

"No, I don't. My father didn't inherit the chef skills and my mother spends most of her time running the bar." I admit.

"That's a shame. I guess I'll have to teach you. Next time you come over for dinner, I'll let you shadow me in the kitchen," Judy's eyes sparkle with delight.

I smile at her words. The thought of me learning how to cook my own dishes excites me. Not having canned ravioli for the rest of my life also excites me.

"Thank you," I reply.

Judy picks up our dirty dishes. I'm not sure why she's dressed fancy tonight. It's a Thursday, unless she always dresses this way. She waltzes into the kitchen, her dress flowing behind her, just resting beneath her knees. Her short wavy black hair completes the all-American mom look.

"I have book club tonight, if you kids get hungry later, there are leftovers in the fridge," Judy yells from the kitchen.

That explains why she's dressed the way she is. All the big-name mothers in this town meet together for book club. It's an inclusive group of ladies, invite-only. That I know of AnnaMae's, Clair's, Levi's and my aunt Sistine are in the club. They're also the planning committee of the town. AnnaMae's mother put together the team when her husband became mayor, years ago. It's her way of contributing to the town whilst still maintaining the hierarchy.

Judy leaves while Levi and I go up to his room to study. As I walk down the long hallway, I see family photos of them hanging on the wall. Levi and Owen are together in one, wearing their football uniforms. In another, Judy sits in front of the fireplace with her two sons, all wearing matching pajamas. I stop and stare at the last photo of Owen graduating high school standing next to his father, mother, and Levi. Is this what a normal family looks like?

Levi walks up behind me, "My dad missed the planned dinner that night because of work and Owen was so pissed he left halfway through his own gathering."

He continues, "I know we may seem like that All-American family but it's just a facade." He walks into his room. I follow him.

"It is?" I ask.

This is the first time I've ever been in Levi's room. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it's a lot simpler than Jack's room. All the walls are white, with various paintings on them. Across the king size bed is a television, and two black chairs. His room is clean, and big but it's boring. I can tell his mother decorated this place because nothing about it screams teenage boy. At the back of the room are double doors that lead out to a covered patio. Now that is a cool feature to have.

"Yeah, my dad works too much and is forcing us to follow his dream. My mom is trying so hard to paint this perfect picture she has to pop pills for her anxiety and depression. Owen is only bringing home a girl to rub it in my dad's face. I wouldn't be surprised if they're fake dating too." He laughs.

I throw my backpack down on his desk and sit in one of the black chairs. Levi pulls out his desk chair and straddles it.

"Wait, you don't want to be a lawyer?" I ask.

He snickers, "Why do you care?"

Wait, why do I care? I blurted that out without thinking if I want to know the answer or not.

"Because I'm your girlfriend and it's my job to know these things," I tell him.

"You keep pulling that girlfriend card, but you don't open up to me and I think I deserve to know some things too." He argues.

I lean forward in my chair, "Okay, go ahead, I have nothing to hide. Ask away."

"Okay, how does it make you feel that your father is in rehab?" He asks.

I shake my head, "Woah, woah, woah. I don't want to talk about feelings and emotions. I can give you facts, that's it."

"Alright, why did you dye your hair?" He asks.

"Because I wanted to. Thought it'd make me look prettier," I tell him.

"It does look good on you. Why was your room a mess the other day when I was over?" He asks.

"I was pissed my dad was leaving and took it out in my room."

"Okay, why do you want to be a cheerleader?"

"Because I know Jack would hate it."

"Why are you doing this to spite him?"

"Because I hate him. He fucked up our family. Not that we were perfect before, but at least we were together. He did something stupid and now all of our lives are ruined and I hate him for that. Alright, you've asked a lot of questions. Now it's my turn. Do you want to study law?"

Levi rests his chin on top of his arms on the back of the chair, and sighs. "I don't know. Honestly, I don't know what else I would do if I didn't study law. My entire life has revolved around being a lawyer one day. The only reason I'm allowed to play football is that it looks better on college applications. Otherwise, my dad would make me study all the time."

Levi stops looking at me and instead fixes his gaze out the glass doors.

"Do you love football?" I ask.

Levi cracks a slight smile, "Yeah. It's always been my favorite thing to do. I remember all of us as kids playing in the field behind your house. Your grandpa was teaching us formation and passing. That feeling of laughter and enjoyment I had that day is the feeling I get every time I play."

I lean back in the chair and look up at the ceiling. I remember watching them practice in the backyard when we were kids. Georgia and I would play Barbies out on the swing set. Life felt a lot simpler back then.

Standing behind with his hands on the back of the chair, Levi appears in my line of sight, looking down at me. "Hey, we should probably start studying. It's already past seven."

I stare back into his hazel eyes and sigh, "fine."

~~~~~4/6/20 • 2442 words~~~~~

I know, I know, it's not Thursday but I posted an update. I'm playing catch-up for missing two weeks! 😅 No questions for you today. I just hope you are all self-isolating and staying safe! 🤞

🌸Thank you for reading. Please vote/comment if you enjoyed the chapter!🌸