! . . . ⇢ ˗ˏˋ 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒂 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒓 ! ࿐ྂ
a   g r a n d   a r m y   f i c

( CHAPTER X. 𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕 )

𝑻𝑯𝑬 𝑻𝑨𝑿𝑰 𝑹𝑰𝑫𝑬 𝑾𝑨𝑺 𝑳𝑶𝑵𝑮 𝑨𝑵𝑫 𝑶𝑽𝑬𝑹𝑪𝑹𝑶𝑾𝑫𝑬𝑫. A gentle, chilly breeze seeped through the open car window as slight goosebumps arose upon Evie Perez's rich honey skin. She had the brilliant idea to leave her home without a simple jacket, the girl claiming that it contrasted with her beloved ensemble. For the rest of the starry night, the stubborn brunette would have to deal with New York's frigid breath of wind stroking the exposed segment of her skin as the pretty blanched white halter top she was sporting only covered her chest and a small part of her toned stomach. She stuck her head slightly through the wide opened window, her rich, chocolate brown eyes admiring the beautiful bright lights form her hometown, the girl never getting sick of how pretty they were.

All five of the present teenagers had been sitting in the back of the yellow vehicle, the back in which only three seats remained. Joey sat upon Tim Delaney's lap, the boy she still claimed to only be friends with as she knew his sister wasn't too pleased of living a ' best friend's brother ' scenario. If it was up to Evie, she would have ditched Anna Delaney's annoying behaviour for her brother the moment she'd receive a chance even though she wasn't really close to the mature boy. Fortunately for the dark-haired girl, she wasn't the one involved in the Joey-Delaney-siblings' dilemma.

Evie Perez was sitting upon George Wright due to the lack of space in the taxicab and let's face it, the fact that both of them had the tendency to go all out with their public displays of affection even though they were far from being in a romantic relationship. The bold girl sung along to the lyrics of So High by the artist she enjoyed the most according to the statistics that she had checked online, Doja Cat. Her relaxed arms flung along to the words and the beat of her beloved song as she moved, dancing as she sat upon the boy.

Everyone had an annoyed yet amused smirk plastered upon their pale features as they watched the girl enjoy herself ever-so freely. A unusually cheerful smile had tugged the corners of her rosy, plump lips as she fully indulged herself into the mellifluous, lyrical melody of the R&B tune. At this point, she sang candidly, not caring whether or not the driver or her lovely friends were in the mood to listen to her painfully average singing voice.

The singing girl felt the comforting warmth of George's paw-like hands situated themselves upon her well-rounded hips, slowly trailing upwards to her supple waist. His ring-clad fingers grazed against her soft skin ever-so tenderly, Evie feeling slight shivers from the two metal circlets as she continued to sway to the rhythm of the song, accidentally readjusting herself upon him countless of times. His soothing motions came to a fast halt, the teenager replacing his effortless gestures with a firm grip before he spoke to the brown-eyed femme fatale : " Eves, could you stop moving like that ? You're making me hard ".

" Geo, it's not my fault that you're a literal man-whore ". Evie teased, turning around swiftly and winking at the boy jokingly.

       " Hey, hey... that's not nice... " He responded as he placed his right palm on her inner thigh, cupping the plump flesh as he started to caress her at a slow pace. He left a quick kiss upon her right cheek making Evie giggle faintly.

" You know it's true... " She happily stated, turning the boys head around to deliver a gaudy, passionate kiss upon his thin, chapped lips, her dainty fingers somehow yet familiarly finding their way into the depths of his curly black head of hair.

" Could you guys do this somewhere else, we don't want to see you fuck ". Luke Friedman mumbled half-jokingly, Tim and Joey joining in on his laughter.

       " Awww shut up Luke, you're just mad you're not getting any ". Evie spoke up after releasing herself from the boys lips.

" Actually, remember that time in Mr. Frazier's classroom━━ " He started reminiscing of the heated quickie the two had shared before receiving a sudden, cold glare from the feisty young lady.

       Suddenly, the cab was reducing its speed, the driver halting in front of their favorite movie theatre, also known as their destination for the night. Evie and George ran out of the parked automobile, hand in hand quite rapidly as they wanted to avoid the burden of paying for their small car ride. The stench of popcorn and stale soda hit their faces as fast as the battery-powered air-conditioner when they entered the first door to the big building. They waited for their friends for a few seconds, their hands still inter-wined casually.

As Joey, Luke and Tim approached them, the group of five opened the last door towards the lobby in which for a city night, it was quite under crowded. They took their time to approach the ticket and concession stand, especially Evie as she was unaware of the person who was currently working the booth.

" Hi, welcome to United-Artists cinema, what can I━━ Evie ? " It was none other than Cassie Wayward a few minutes before the end of her seemingly long shift. She'd been looking on her phone for the time prior to the group's entrance as she was looking forward to go home to her warm bed. As Evie' attention finally left George once spotting the pretty blonde girl behind the cash register. She impulsively disentangled her soft hand from the boy while her sweet luminous brown eyes found the fair-haired girl's deep green ones.

       " Oh my God ! Cassie, I didn't know you were working here today ! ". She burst out in joy, her petite frame leaning over the surface of the long stainless-steel counter to give the girl a quick hug. Evie had a gentle smile on her face, two dimples fairly apparent as the corners of her lips turned upwards. Her bright, vivacious smile extended to her eyes and the apples of her sugarplum-like cheeks.

       " Well, just for a like another two minutes, my shift's about to end... " Cassie replied, returning the smile as she played with the tresses of her natural, flaxen locks.

       The two awestruck girls began to talk about everything and nothing as they joined their own little word, ignoring the confused glares from the teenagers that Evie had entered with a simple minute prior. If the cinema hadn't been so vacant, the Wayward girl definitely would've received a few unhappy comments and bad reviews from impatient customers. The vixen and the lovely blonde's short conversation came to a quick stop once's hearing the fake coughing coming from a confused Joey Del Marco, the girl not being used to a truly friendly Evie Perez.

       " Oh fuck ! Cassie this is Joey, Luke, Tim and George ! " She started, introducing her friend group to the pretty girl. " Guys, Cassie━━ but Geo, you know her already... " The girl continued, remembering the time she had seen Cassie at the boy's a while ago.

The clueless boy had a confused expression plastered on his white, upturned face. He looked up at the familiar blonde yet he couldn't exactly place his finger on where exactly he had met her, the boy being quite the womanizer. Evie, knowing the boy more than any body had spotted the bewildered look on his visage therefore stepping in and reminding him of their first and only encounter : " Oh come on ! This is why I call you a man-slut. You literally hooked up with her a while ago ! "

" Eves, you know I don't have the best memory... " George attempted to come up with an excuse, something he tended to do entirely often. " Besides, you're more of a slut than I am ". This snarky comment earned him a playful slap from the girl before turning her attention back to Cassie.

" So, Cassie, what movies are playing tonight ? " Questioned Luke, joining the Latina at the counter.

" It's horror night so Halloween, Friday the 13th, The Nun, Midsommar and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre... "

Evie Perez fake-yawned as she named the five thriller films that were being showcased, the girl hating the whole genre as she claimed to find them boring━━ really, she actually found them too scary but her pride blocked her from admitting that. Surely, her legitimate girlish dignity would forbid her from choosing to admit that ' embarrassing ' fact about herself. She blew off her baby hairs out of her rich tanned face, looking up at the girl before dramatically rolling her eyes, stating : " Those movies are so lame. Cass, what are you doing after this ? "

" Nothing, why ? " Cassie asked, soon after spotting Monet Harrison, a coworker of hers who would be taking her spot behind the concession stand.

" Horror movies are so boring... wanna watch a romcom at my house instead ? "

" Sure, Monet's here so i'll just go change ". The pale blonde's tone reeked of excitement as she nodded at Evie's friends, leaving the group towards the bathroom so she could change into the comfortable clothes that had came to work in.

" Come on Evie, you can't just ditch us and leave me with these dumbasses ". Joey Del Marco complained, rolling her eyes softly as she pouted her glossy mauve lips.

" Sorry JoJo, I love you, we'll hang out tomorrow after school ". Evie winked at the girl before approaching and wrapping her tan arms around the girl, pressing a sweet chaste kiss upon Joey's left cheek. The girls were used to showing platonic displays of affection as the pair of friends loved each other dearly. " Have fun at the party tonight, I'll try to make a hot ass appearance, bye ! " She finished, theatrically waving her hands in the air with a dramatic move of the shoulders before turning around and retracing her steps towards the front door of the cinema.

! . . . ⇢ ˗ˏˋ 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒂 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒓 ! ࿐ྂ
a   g r a n d   a r m y   f i c

( CHAPTER X P.2. 𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕 )

𝑬𝑽𝑰𝑬 𝑷𝑬𝑹𝑬𝒁 𝑨𝑵𝑫 𝑪𝑨𝑺𝑺𝑰𝑬 𝑾𝑨𝒀𝑾𝑨𝑹𝑫 𝑪𝑶𝑼𝑳𝑫 𝑩𝑬 𝑫𝑬𝑬𝑴𝑬𝑫 𝑷𝑶𝑳𝑨𝑹 𝑶𝑷𝑷𝑶𝑺𝑰𝑻𝑬𝑺. The two girls held quite the amount of differences. From their glowing personalities and their undeniable contrasting looks, it was easy to see how peculiar their 'friendship' was, the girls having little physical and mental things in common━━ in fact, they had more differences than the things they loved equally. Sure, looks could be quite deceitful, the incredibly well-known metaphorical phrase : Never judge a book by its cover being engraved into a child's mind far before they could reach their tenth birthdays but that didn't change the fact that both girls went into popular stereotypes, stereotypes which usually didn't mix well when placed together.

As Cassie changed herself in the cramped-up cinema bathroom, cleansing herself out of the ugly work uniform that she was forced to wear while serving customers at the snack bar, she thought of all the countless dissimilarities that they both shared. The girl would feel her heart race every time she'd think of her, her hair, her lips, her everything... She knew she was down for the pretty girl and that often, relationships in which partners didn't have the same interests could last longer but she also thought of all the ways their relationship could end due to their lack of shared hobbies.

On one end of the stick, there was none other than Evie Perez, a burning enigma of chaos, a rebellious hot mess one might even call her. She was a total wild card as she wasn't one to plan her days on a small calendar, never once really knowing anything about her Friday night plans longer than a day prior to the event as she prided herself in spontaneousness.

Evie was a teenage maneater, or that's at least what the student body had concluded on the pretty girl as according to the classmates she had barely ever even spoken to, her body count was quite elevated, having slept with half the school's population due to the nasty rumors she had been a part of in the ninth grade, the girl choosing to live up to her reputation as it already was established.

       The truth was, no one truly knew the real Evie Perez, only the projection of what she had made herself out to be, what others had deduced based on petty rumors and the frigid exterior she had so carefully put up in order to not get heartbroken once again by a significant other who hadn't done anything to prove their worthiness to her. The vixen bombshell had been plagued with a big heart that was slowly morphing into an ice-cold statue, a very small amount of people being aware of her true nature and just how kind the girl could really be.

       Evie Perez was used to the longing regards she received on a daily basis. Everyone she knew always had something to say about her whether it was good or bad. Her whole life, ever since she was a naïve little girl, she'd been deemed the centre of attention as her peers would always have their little eyes examining her. The tan girl realized this for the first time over a decade prior as she sat playing dolls with a few of the other classmates way back when her school life had fundamentally started━━ Kindergarten !

       Her thin dark hair had been tied up in pigtails with two purple ribbons wrapped in a small neat bow. She was concentrated on the petite doll, making it walk and talk with her fellow female classmates, the class being unofficially separated as in this point in time, boys and girls considered each other to have cooties.

The boys were playing in the sandbox with the tractors and the additional boyish playthings as the girls situated themselves far away from the messy little urchins, playing tea party with their stuffed animals and other girly knickknacks━━ the old sexist thought that boys couldn't play with dolls and girls couldn't enjoy cars being very much in place. It was fairly odd when the usually quiet schoolboy, Adam had approached the group of girls to pull on her perfectly tied-up hairdo like an annoying little menace, a word that wouldn't normally be used to call the boy.

       To make a short story even shorter, a young Evie Perez had dramatically complained to their teacher about her male classmate's irritating behavior, and quickly after, she had learned that the only reason he had pulled on her long tresses was because of his tiny crush on the girl. For the rest of Kindergarten, she was slightly disgusted and frankly, still offended by his stupidity, Evie intentionally steering clear of Adam as to not get her pigtails loosened up again but over time, she grew to see how young she was when she started getting truly noticed.

       From her mother's middle-aged female friends with their comments on how adorable she was, her father's business associates' unbearable need to state how much of an attractive young woman she would become in the near future and the intolerable borderline sexual harassment she would receive by the boys in her classes growing up, it was safe to say that Evie was accustomed to the non-stop attention coming from her peers and the older generations as apparently, their outdated opinions just had to be spewed upon the girl since she was just a little girl.

She'd received so much unwanted criticism from her father's side of the family, hell ! Some even from the man himself which caused a lot of unnecessary baggage that she had certainly never requested, the girl had been searching for any kind of male validation as her father was as distant when he was married to her mother as he was when he left. Nonetheless, she had always been confident in her looks, the girl not afraid to spend a dozen minutes admiring herself in awe in front of her full body mirror.

       Cassie Wayward was different and it was clear to whoever observed them side by side. The ditzy blonde was both physically and mentally the opposite of her newly-found soulmate. Cassie had a rare aura which made it easy to want to be around her as she radiated the sun even in a city such as New York. She had this invisible yet vibrant ray of yellow composed fully with love and happiness forever doing pirouettes around her like a dancing little ballerina wherever she went. She seemed to be the human reincarnation of the sun without its deathly flashes and beams, the inner brightness that came within her having such a good effect upon the people she surrounded herself with. The moment you'd think she was charming enough, you could hear her slight valley girl accent seeping through her words like honey wood, the sunny girl having lived on the West Coast for a third of her life.

       To the naked eye, the Barbie-like girl could be considered the epitome of positivity, her persona giving off the vibe that she came from one of those quirky, sitcom families that you would see rerunning on your television, the ones who could bring you comfort or a simple good laugh on a gloomy day. She seemed to have her future all figured out on every aspect as her angelic looks and perky tone of voice could only come from a perfect, wealthy, non-mentally draining type of family.

       Though, that was quite far-fetched as her life was far from what others expected. Big waffle breakfasts with delicious handpicked fruits and freshly squeezed, pulp-free orange juice were not existent in the Wayward family, the money for those savory, sweet meals going for their need of public transportation, Cassie's siblings needing a way to get to school five times a week therefor opting for a single banana or a bowl of off-brand frosted flakes would do the trick. With an absent dad only sending what he could as he pursued his trucking dad and the lack of a mother, the ditzy blonde had her work cut out for her.

       While she attended Grand Army for the first and only two years of her high school experience, the male species would approach her under the impression that she was just another slutty dumb blonde who would fall for their shitty flirting and end up lying under them upon their white mattress before never having to speak to her again as they got what they wanted : A quick fuck and dump !

Sure she had fallen for her fair share of typical womanizing jocks, she was far from dumb, her GPA remaining quite high. Most boys wanted a girl with a lack of substance who could be treated like some shiny object perched under their arm as they slut-shamed girls directly in front of her, ignoring her total presence. Teenage boys wanted the girl to fawn over them like a groupie, hoping that she would seek their validation in order to reassure herself.

They would find out soon enough that she wasn't just a pretty face and that she didn't think that being a benchwarmer on the football team was truly that impressive. Assumptions, assumptions and more assumptions, that was the only difficult thing that she had to deal with at that damn school, Cassie refusing to act a certain way in order to please them.

       Many finally accepted that their expectations were false the moment she had dropped out of school to take care of Carl, Carter, Chase and Christopher, her four mischievous yet extremely caring little brothers whom she gave up her love of learning for. Her kindness showed to be real when she told Evie that she wouldn't change her decision of becoming a high school dropout for the world as it meant that they had a better chance of having good grades, perfect attendance on their report cards and a larger number of colleges that they could apply to in the future, which even if that would be a mere six years away for Carl, the eldest of the brother bunch, it brought a smile upon her pale face. If four out of the five occupants of the Wayward residence could be deemed happy, she thought it was a win in her book.

       Her brothers━━ And now a certain Latina who had unexpectedly shown up into her eventful life were the only things keeping the girl sane as her self-hatred stayed at a 7/10 instead of growing like it had been the past year.

       Cassie Wayward struggled with self-assurance every day. Not her personality, God no ! She knew that she was kind and selfless and that was all she needed but to say she didn't exactly like her appearance would be an understatement, the girl avoiding the burden of mirrors like the plague as she knew that the moment she would step in front of the thin glass object, a million insecurities would pop up into her vulnerable mind, once again demeaning herself harshly on the nose she found to be too big, the cellulite on her thighs and plenty of the other features she would kill to change about herself, the things she and only her had noticed about her body.

Once, even went as far as to smash her bedroom mirror during an intense breakdown while she was home alone a few months prior. There was no doubt at all that she looked exactly like wretched America's beauty standard : Blonde hair, white, bright eyes, skinny... It was hard for her to see how similar she looked to the girls on social media that she was jealous of.

Everyone had different insecurities whether they liked to admit it or not but it had gotten worse for her as she was nowhere near close to accepting her body. Between the random trips to the bathroom directly after binging a big meal, the girl counting her calories immensely every time she ate and her massive self-hatred, relying on Evie Perez for happiness might be a bad idea, especially as the Latina had no idea of her horrid mental state.

Cassie buttoned up the baggy yet pleated mom jeans that she had been wearing prior to her shift, the tacky black khakis, the bright red polo shirt with the matching ballcap had been carefully tucked away into her work backpack. The blonde girl threw her old Jansport bag upon her left shoulder, the weight of it rebalancing her posture slightly as she unlocked the door of the bathroom stall, her heart beating faster as she thought of the unofficial date that she would be going on in just a few seconds.

A pure smile had found itself upon her rosy lips, extending to her soft green eyes, the eyes that held the same hue as the forest and its floral blooms during the summertime. Cassie Wayward had never lost the pure joy and excitement that came before a ' hangout ', the excitement that was usually lost before they could reach their upperclassmen years. That ecstasy could only come from her remaining childhood innocence, still so vibrant and free.

Soon enough, the angelic beauty and the audacious vixen had met up outside of the exceptionally average cinema, the overwhelming stench of melted butter, stale popcorn and recycled ventilated air being replaced with the sweet scent of Evie's mango-flavored disposable E-cigarette. The Latina's face lit up as she spotted the happy girl approach her. She shoved the toxic device into the pocket of her black distressed jeans, knowing of the girl's disinterest in the small addictive device. Cassie did not mind the fruity smell that came from the thin gray smoke but she wasn't too fond of its containment of nicotine as she had lost her grandfather to lung cancer caused by his cigarette dependency.

The Perez girl offered her arm to the blonde in a joking manner, the way the typical male prom date would typically escort his companion. " Ready ? " Evie questioned, her deep cinnamon-colored eyes glancing at Cassie for a response.

" Ready ! My house or yours ? " The blonde responded cheerfully, a soft beam still very much apparent as her cheeks rosied slightly.

" Yours ! "

! . . . ⇢ ˗ˏˋ 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒂 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒓 ! ࿐ྂ
a   g r a n d   a r m y   f i c

( CHAPTER X P.3. 𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒔𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒂𝒕𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕 )

𝑾𝑨𝑹𝑴𝑯𝑬𝑨𝑹𝑻𝑬𝑫 𝑳𝑨𝑼𝑮𝑯𝑻𝑬𝑹 𝑪𝑶𝑼𝑳𝑫 𝑩𝑬 𝑫𝑰𝑺𝑻𝑰𝑵𝑪𝑻𝑰𝑽𝑬𝑳𝒀 𝑯𝑬𝑨𝑹𝑫 𝑭𝑹𝑶𝑴 𝑬𝑽𝑰𝑬 𝑷𝑬𝑹𝑬𝒁' 𝑹𝑶𝑶𝑴. The two self-proclaimed soulmates had been laying upon the hostess' comfortable queen-sized mattress, inner peace radiating the fragrant and cozy bedroom. The evening had been replaced with the aroma of the night as they heard the distinct sound of the crickets chirping through the soft voices coming from the flashing television situated directly in front of their safe harbor. Cassie adored the ease, the serenity and the sense of tranquility as she occasionally observed the stars through the lone curtained window.

She had been barely paying attention to the plot of the early two-thousands movie she had helped pick, instead, she was taking in her surroundings as she had never stepped foot into the Perez residence as the two usually spent their time in public areas, their lack of love for their home lives to be one of the things they shared in common.

A room like Evie's was foreign for the pretty blonde as it was fairly the opposite of the way hers resembled. Cassie enjoyed the difference as she could easily find herself loving to have such an individualized room, the area radiating Evie's aura as it was tidy enough to show the respect she held for her own personal space yet just messy and wild enough to show others of her character, her boldness roaming free ever-so gracefully.

Cassie's own area in her little cramped apartment wasn't alike whatsoever as she shared her small square-shaped bedroom with her younger brother, Carl. Her spaced contained nothing but one of two out of the worn-out beds in the simple room and a rusty white desk that she had received as a birthday present on her fifth birthday incorporating all of her clothing articles and the minimal makeup she had purchased from the pharmacy. A fuzzy white rug had been placed directly in front of her full mattress and a few posters of her favorite musical artists were plastered across the orange peel walls. Though she hadn't had much luck on size and privacy, she still made her capacity work as even if her eleven-year-old brother kept his half exactly like a tween boy would, hers was still very much neat and tidy.

The fair-haired adolescent's non-stop comparing had halted once she felt a comforting warmth radiating from her chest. Evie Perez had been carefully readjusting herself on the limited space of her cozy bed, her light head finding itself nuzzling into the crook of Cassie's neck nonchalantly as her tied-up medium length nearly-black hair tickled the blonde slightly. Out of nature, the vixen's dainty little hand was placed upon the girl's stomach as she cuddled herself lackadaisically near the nervous girl. Cassie felt her minty breath hit her neck causing her heart to race unfeigned. As Evie was used to the subtle cuddles while watching a movie, the girl having done so countless times with the company of George, it wasn't the case for the lovely Wayward girl.

For hours consequent, Cassie admired the pretty girl ever-so dotingly. She adored the way the golden speckles glimmered in her eyes as she watched Another Cinderella Story, a movie she hadn't watched nor thought about since the mere age of nine.

Suddenly, as Evie peered upwards, Cassie had noticed that she had basically missed the whole nostalgic movie once spotting the credits roll in. " Cass, I swear it was as good as I remembered it ! Joey Parker had no business looking that fine, right ? "

Cassie's happiness only grew as she watched the pureness roaming through Evie's tan surface, the way she so happily spoke about the musical romantic-comedy. She tuned out for a few seconds, focused on her glossy lips and the cute little dimple directly beside her bright smile.

All she had wanted this very moment was to kiss Evie's plump lips, to connect in a non-platonic kind of way. " To be honest, I was barely even watching the movie... " Evie shot her a fairly confused look, the confusion peaking through her as she wondered why the girl had even suggested that specific motion picture in the first place. " I was busy looking at you... "

The audacious temptress could swear she felt her sugarplum-shaped cheeks heat up in flattery. As much as she would choose to deny it at any given time of day, cheesy, straight-out-of-Hallmark pickup lines truly did delight her, especially when it came from the pretty girl lying upon the soft bed beside her.

Her piercing eyes connected with Cassie's soft green ones as she swiftly moved her dark baby hairs out of her sight, smiling down at the girl slightly in a flirty manner, enough to make the following girl's face clearly blush as well. She adjusted her position in order to tower over the flaxen female, slowly but surely inching towards her as she intuitively sunk her white teeth into the rosy flesh of her lush bottom lip in an accidentally seductive fashion.

Soon enough, their faces remained a few centimeters apart, lips so close to attaching fully. Cassie would smell the gum that the bisexual had previously been chewing a mere ten minutes prior. Evie had finally let go of her swollen lip before she softly whispered a simple word : " Hey. "

" Hey. " The other girl repeated just as quietly, if not more as it came out nearly inaudible, not even a whisper, her smile tugging further upwards. Cassie was ready to lean in and meet their lips, to taste the Latina's cherry lipgloss in a tender yet passionate embrace, to close her forest green as she would enjoy the much-anticipated kiss. Unfortunately, their innocent sign of affection would be cut off before it could even start as the sound of Evie's door opening abruptly forced the girls to separate, the temptress jumping off Cassie in surprise at the fact that they were no longer home alone with nothing but time. Evie had never sat up so straight.

Oh, Carmen Perez, the dear roman Catholic mother of Evie, the only person she could according to hers truly, never be able to stand up to. That woman was riddled with outdated beliefs, beliefs that she had tried to push onto her very own daughter just as her mother had also done while she was growing up.

At this very moment, her confidence shot down, returning to the little girl she once was as she attempted to avoid the undoubted eye-scolding that she had started to receive from her strict mother. Evie stared nervously at the plain, grayish ceiling on top of her, an intense feeling of discomfort washing over her as she started to feel sick to her stomach at the dispute the two were unquestionably going to have the moment she would physically acknowledge her existence. Every single bad outcome came rushing towards her mind like a banshee, the girl knowing that the woman followed the bible to a tee and it would take much work to convince her that her daughter was in fact not the perfect heterosexual she had wished for.

The stern and cold silence broke suddenly, none other than Cassie Wayward being oblivious to the mother's religious beliefs and of her offspring's lack of confidence when surrounded by the stubborn parent. " Hi Miss Perez, I'm Cassie... " She smiled perkily. Sadly, she was ignored completely, Carmen Perez not wanting to acknowledge the teenager who was ' coercing ' her only daughter.

Evie finally looked up, the girl quickly being met with a cutthroat, furious yet disgusted glare set on her mother's face like dry concrete. Carmen's deep brown eyes mentally burned like fire, the mother-daughter duo not letting go of contact as they spoke without the use of words. Fumes were coming out of her ears like a cartoon character as she sternly spoke with such harshness : " Evie, it's late, she should go home ".

The fuming mother hadn't even bothered to refer her by name or look at the oblivious girl in the eyes as she shot daggers at her daughter, practically asking her to kick the blonde out. Fortunately for all of them, Cassie took the not-so-subtle hint to find her way out, not before brushing her soft hand against Evie's shivering arm as a sign of tenderness, this irking the mother even more. The two waited to hear the thud of the front door closing before pursuing their much-needed serious conversation.

" I don't want you hanging out with that girl, Genevieve ". Carmen Perez spoke using her government name, repulse ridden in her mild Spanish accent as she looked down at her only daughter with a hateful look.

" Why ? " Questioned the annoyed teenage girl in a tone that indicated that she already knew exactly the reason why. She just wanted her mother to out her unacceptance even more than she had already with her unwanted astute observations about one of her coworkers who happened to be a Lesbian.

" Because, that girl obviously has a crush on you and I don't want you hanging around those types of people. They'll confuse you. "

" ━━And by those, you mean ? " The girl asked, trailing her words as she crossed her arms in impatience.

Carmen Perez repeated her daughter's actions, crossing her arms sternly as a way to challenge her while she lifted her eyebrow. She thought that her daughter was being a little too bold with her responses, the attitude apparent in her voice as she replied to her mother's words. Carmen was being quite obvious with what she was insinuating but perhaps she would have to hint at her feeling even a little more : " You don't want people to think you're like that, Mija ".

" Mamá, would that really be the worst thing in the world ? " A glimmer of hope remained engraved into the currently naïve mind of Evie, hoping that her mother would have the decency to accept the girl's sexuality, a sexuality that she was born with, a sexuality that she never chose. " What if I told you I liked girls ? "

The religious woman scoffed, a sarcastic laugh coming out of her mouth before she pursed her overlined lips in thought. She was practically laughing at her daughter's moment of self-acceptance, finding the question to be ridiculous. Well, that was until she spotted the serious look plastered upon her daughter's olive complexion. There was a vicious, strict tone seeping through her word, like venom, spitting out harshly. " Don't be absurd, that girl is putting these ideas in your head. We're a family of God, you're not... that ! "

" Wow ! You really can't even say it, Mom. I'm bisexual, I like girls too ! " Evie was done with the implications and obvious hints she was putting out, she was tired of not living a big part of her life with her mother, the woman who had raised her.

And like that, Carmen Perez was walking away from her daughter, ignoring the pleading looks she was receiving to at least try to understand that she hadn't chosen to like the same sex as well as the opposite, to be attracted to girls.

" What did you think that Cassie and I were doing ? We were about to kiss ! That not good enough confirmation for you ? Or are you still gonna deny it for fucking eternity━━" The livid vixen followed behind her mom, attempting to overthrow her infuriating denial until she swiftly felt a strident sensation upon her right cheek. Carmen Perez had just struck the fierce adolescent with a slap, a loud smack echoing through the walls, the air thick. Never had her mother lied a hand on her as their mother-daughter relationship had been good prior to this specific heated argument. Touching the burning spot on her cheek, the moment still not seeming real, Evie spoke up : " Did you really just fucking slap me? "

" If you're not going to respect the rules under my house, you're welcome to leave... " Her voice laced with anger and a small hint of remorse of her previous action, yet still, being too stubborn to admit her wrongdoings.

" Fine ".

And with that final word, she was gone, not looking bad at the unacceptance riddled in the household, instead, she pulled out her phone and calling the boy who had been there for her since she could remember...

𝗲𝘃𝗲𝘀
can u pls come pick me up

𝗴𝗲𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗷𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲 🙈
You good?

𝗲𝘃𝗲𝘀
no

can i stay w u tonight ?

𝗴𝗲𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗷𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲 🙈
Yea but Eves what's up?

𝗲𝘃𝗲𝘀
phones about to die but just hurry

i'm at my moms

𝗴𝗲𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗷𝘂𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗲 🙈
Omw

! . . . ⇢ ˗ˏˋ 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞'𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬 ࿐ྂ
6378 ! okay IM FINALLY DONE W ACT ONE AND MY MAIN GIRLS ARE BASICALLY TOGETHER NOW !!! i already have every chapter planned for this fic and i can't wait to write and publish them all !!

THIS IS SO LONGGGG OMG !! i can't believe i wrote twice as much of what i usually write. i had a lot of ideas on how this chapter was going to go but i feel this way works best since everything's about to change next chapter

act two will focus on evie's character development so some of y'all stank bitches can stop hating on her cause she's finally gonna be released from the shackles of g*orge. we're also gonna get bre & dom lesbianism, josh hitting rock bottom and miss cassie's ed. eventful, OFC but i gotta finish this fic that way