A few weeks had gone by since my parents moved to South Carolina, leaving my little sister Bella and I in the watchful eye of our neighbors, the Caswells, and it seemed they got busier and busier as weeks went by. Not only were they teaching, mentoring students, and grading papers... they'd also decided to write a book about the experience, leaving them minimal time to do anything else.

Bella and I had talked to them a few times, not for long, but enough to remind me that my parents hadn't given up on us completely, they even told us they were planning on coming home for spring break, so at least we had that to look forward to; a week as a family, and I get to spend it in my actual bedroom, sounds exhilarating.

Still, it was hard not having our parents here, especially for Bella; tonight was her school's "sweetheart" dance, one the parents were supposed to attend with their kids. The other day, she was a mess over the fact that neither mom nor dad would be home to take her... so I stepped up, meaning I'm spending my valentines at the elementary school, surrounded by little kids and their parents.

"Okay, people," Carlos ran into the center of the bomb shelter, "The title song of Beauty and the Beast is the centerpiece of our show, written at the height of Ashman and Menken's powers, and it's their most romantic ballad since Suddenly, Seymour. As a reminder, Belle is finally falling for the Beast, and it's not because of Stockholm syndrome y'all. Love is love."

Gina nodded for our Belle and Beast to stand up, "Ricky and Ash, it's time to review the waltz... let's take it way under tempo." She instructed Seb, who sat at the piano; I leaned my chin in my hand, watching the rehearsal.

Kourtney sounded nervous, her voice not up to its full potential, while Ricky was practically falling asleep, stepping on Ashlyn's toes as they waltzed. "What's up with Bowen?" EJ whispered, quiet to ensure he wasn't disrupting the rehearsal.

EJ and I's relationship had not changed; he still annoyed the crap out of me and was very determined to be my friend. While I stayed consistent with my snarky remarks and reminders to him that it was never going to happen, but we talked more; I guess... it was kind of inevitable given that we live together.

"He took a bus all the way to Denver last night to surprise Nini. Meanwhile, she came home for the weekend to surprise him last night." I whisper, explaining what Ricky had told me this morning; I guess it's the thought that counts; I don't know any boy who would travel that far to serenade me at my window; then again, I wasn't all that into grand romantic gestures anyway.

"Oof," EJ cringed, shaking his head, "that's rough... then again, that's the price you pay for romance," I furrowed my brows at him; I'd forgotten that Valentine's Day was a holiday that some people enjoyed? I'd always disliked it, and it was only partially because I'm single.

I nodded, turning to face our friends again, "yeah, I guess...."

Rehearsals ended with absolutely no progress made; Kourtney was having a hard time singing the song. Ricky needed either a nap or a couple of energy drinks, and Ashlyn was extremely discouraged looking.

"Come on; waltzing is hard, trust me," Gina reassured her, as the three of us walked down the hall, "you've got two legs, but the songs in three...." She shook her head in disbelief, "that's madness."

"Plus, your partner was basically half-asleep," I remind her, trying my best to cheer her up.

We pause in front of Ashlyn's locker, and she sighs, "I guess, I just don't feel like a natural Belle yet." She admits to us, shrugging her shoulders sadly. "I mean, we've all seen the movie. She's..."

"A cartoon," Gina finished her sentence, "and you're her everything."

I nod in agreement, "no one can play this role like you can, Ash."

Ashlyn smiles, a small laugh escaping her lips, "well, now I wanna get you guys a valentine too."

Gina laughs, "No, I've actually got a pretty good one coming," She informs us, both Ashlyn and I raise our eyebrows, "I mean, it's from my mom, but you know, love is love."

"What about you, Rory?" Ashlyn asks, "any boys ask you to be their valentine?"

I nodded, "oh, tons," I reply sarcastically, laughing slightly, "but I had turn them all down, unfortunately; tonight's the sweetheart dance at Bella's school, and since my parents can't take her...." I dragged off, before gesturing to myself, "I am."

Ashlyn gasped excitedly, "I loved the sweetheart dance."

"What's the sweetheart dance?" Gina asks at the same time, her brows knitting together in confusion.

"It's a dance at the elementary school; it's almost like father-daughter; but more inclusive," I shrug, explaining it to Gina, "Wanna do a girls night tomorrow? We can invite Kourtney, buy discount chocolate and watch cheesy rom coms?"

Gina and Ashlyn both nodded as the redhead banged on her locker, opening it up; Ashlyn let out a squeal, and Big Red jumps out of her locker, causing Gina and I to back up, startled by his sudden appearance, "what is happening?" Ashlyn asked him, her eyes trailing from him to the confetti he'd thrown on the floor.

"Sorry," He explained, his cheeks turning as red as his hair, "I'm sorry."

"Um, was this the surprise?" Ashlyn asked, "because, surprise."

"Um, no, it uh kind of got ruined," He shook his head frantically, "my fault, just come by the pizza place later, okay? Trust me; it's going to be amazing." He reassured her, running off before she could reply.

All of us watched him run with wide eyes; what the heck just happened. "I just wanna say, I had no clue he was in there," I hold my hands up in defense; if Big Red had come to me with that idea, I would have shot it down very quickly... unlike Ricky, who probably loved the idea and encouraged it.

Ashlyn sniffed the air, "all my stuff smells like throb," She informed us, stepping closer to her locker; we all shared one last confused look before bursting out laughing; being single has one significant perk so far, no boys jumping out of my locker...

♥︎♡♥︎

Music played through the speaker in my room as I styled Bella's hair, pulling the front pieces out of her face and pinning them back with a sparkly gold clip. "okay, all done." I turned her around so she could look in my mirror, "give me a spin," I gestured for her to twirl; Bella giggled but spun around anyway, the tulle of the pink skirt billowing around her.

"Do you think we can facetime mommy and daddy before we go," She asked me, looking up at me, her eyes full of hope.

I nodded, not even sure if that was a possibility, "of course we can; why don't you go ask Mrs. Caswell while I get ready?"

When I used to go to this dance, mom and dad would dress up in their best, making an occasion of it even if we were just drinking juice and dancing to kiddie music in the elementary school gym. "Okay," Bella nodded, running out of the room; before I could move to shut the door, she peaked her head back in, "wear pink or red." She instructed; her face scrunched up seriously.

She ran out again, this time shutting the door behind her; my wardrobe didn't consist of many fancy things, mainly because I never had an excuse to wear anything fancy... still, I did have one dress, the homecoming dress I wore last semester.

It was a deep burgundy shade, made with soft velvety martial that hit a couple of inches above my knees... it was definitely fancier than my everyday wardrobe, but after pairing it with a pair of combat boots, it felt a little bit more like me.

Once I was sure my look would be Bella approved, I walked out of my room, heading to the living room where I hoped Kirsten had been able to get in touch with my parents, "Rory, come say hi to mommy and daddy," Bella waved me over, an excited smile on her face.

I let out a breath of relief, walking over to Kirstin's phone, "Hi," I waved; to the phone that sat on the counter, leaned against a plant, "happy valentine's day!"

"Hi sweetie," Mom called out, practically yelling; she did this every time we face-timed, thinking she needed to be extra loud so we could hear her, "you look beautiful."

"Thanks for taking our Bella boo the dance tonight," Dad said, in a normal tone, "we'll make it up over spring break, we'll make our own sweetheart dance; how does that sound?"

I liked the sound of that; as cheesy as it sounds, I missed my parents a lot, I miss our kitchen dance parties while we cooked or cleaned, I even missed my parents writing traditions. Our house would be covered in papers, and they'd come to me for advice for the plot and characters... everything at the Caswells felt more serious and quiet.

Bella nodded her head rapidly, "good," She smiled widely; I nodded in agreement.

"I can't wait," I chimed in, and I really couldn't; the thought of getting to be in my own home, sleeping in my own bed, was what was getting me through our time at the Caswells.

"Me neither," Mom smiled, still just as loud as before, "we've got a board meeting to get to, but take lots of pictures, okay? We can't wait to hear all about it."

I tried not to seem too upset that my parents had to leave so quickly, "We will," I nodded.

"Bye, mommy," Bella sang, "bye daddy, I love you."

I could see mom and dad's hearts melt through the screen, "we love you girls," Dad called out, waving to the camera before hanging up.

"Should we get some pictures before you go?" Mrs. Caswell asks; I nodded, moving into the living room to pass her phone over, "Okay, let me just grab EJ?" She smiled at me excitedly.

Grab EJ? Why on earth would she need him to take a picture of Bella and me; unless... oh crap; my thoughts were cut short as EJ joined us in the living room; he had changed out of his gloomy all-black attire from school and was now wearing a white button-up and dress pants.

"EJ's coming with us?" I asked Bella, trying not to sound annoyed, but it was hard not to be.

She nodded, "yup," She was so excited, so even though I definitely did not want to spend my night with EJ Caswell at our old elementary school, I was going to, for Bella. "Isn't that great?!"

"So great..." I nodded, forcing a smile on my face.

EJ glanced at me hesitantly before stepping closer to us, kneeling, so he was closer to Bella's height. "I picked this up on my way from school," He pulls out a small corsage, holding it out to my little sister; I hadn't even thought of that, but dad had always gotten me one before the dance when I was little... I guess EJ had remembered.

Once he'd finished helping my little sister put it on her wrist, Mrs. Caswell made us bunch together for photos; in some, both of us kneeled down to Bella's height, in other's EJ lifted her up, holding her in-between us.

"Why don't you take a few solo photos of Bella," I suggested, smiling at Kirsten, who nodded her head, leading my little sister over to the staircase to take pictures; as soon as the two of them were out of the room I smacked EJ's arm.

"Ow," He rubbed the area I'd hit, "what was that for?"

"What were you thinking?" I whisper yelled, glaring at him, "it's like purposely trying to get on my nerves."

"Well, I'm not purposely trying; you just get annoyed at a lot of things," he admits, shrugging his shoulders, "I was fully planning on sulking around here all night, but then Bella asked me to come, and what was I supposed to say, no?"

He had a point; him saying no would've crushed Bella; because, for reasons I will never understand, she really loved EJ, "you could have told me."

"I thought you knew," He whispers back, this time with an argumentive edge to his voice, "Bella told me you were okay with it."

I glanced over at her; she was watching the two of us, wearing a mischievous grin... I guess couldn't be mad at her though, I would have done the same thing at her age. "Well, I'm not," I admit to EJ, "but having you here tonight makes Bella happy for some reason, so I'm gonna pretend I am... but this changes nothing, got it."

EJ smiles; he definitely didn't get it, "got it."

The next chapter is the dance... be prepared for reminiscing, slow dancing, and cuteness❤️
Hope you all enjoyed this chapter!