*Hands over an

Name?

Mr. King

Got it.

I locked my phone, throwing it on the bed, before sighing. "Remind me, why am I having this argument with you all?"

"Because you clearly don't understand that our best interests lie with you, dumbass." Perri rolled her eyes, proceeding with Mia's make-up.

"Just listen to us this once Em. You literally always wear black." Lex groaned, grabbing the outfit that I chose, off the bed and placed it back in my bag.

The colour of my dress.

That's what we've been arguing about for the last half an hour. Perri finished doing all of our make-up one by one with Mia being the last one and we've been going back and forth on what I should be wearing to the after party.

It was very uncalled for, really. They want me to wear a dress that they all bought without me knowing and have been pestering me to drop the outfit that I decided for myself.

I had chosen a black dress, like most of the times while the girls bought me a red one.

"Black isn't even a real colour." Mia said, making me gasp.

"You did not just say that."

She rolled her eyes, looking at me through the mirror. "Yes, I did."

I narrowed my eyes at her, while Lex groaned. "Just try it on Em. Your make-up already matches with the dress so just suck it up and wear it." She said, throwing the soft material at me.

"Okay fine. But I still think that you guys are being weird about this." I said, pointing at them, making Perri squeal and clap like a kid.

"Oh great! Ryder doesn't even know what he's going to witness tonight." She said, dreamily. "I can't wait for the moment his eyes land on you."

"Well let's just hope he doesn't pass out before giving a reaction." Lex laughed.

I looked at them, with a disgusted look of my own. "I'm right here, you know? And it's better if you guys stop dreaming of the impossible. Nothing's gonna happen between us okay?"

I said, trying not to get my own hopes high, along with the girls. No matter how close Ryder and I get, I can't assume things before they happen and get hurt later on. So, I'd rather, not expect anything at all.

"Oh please, don't, for a second think that we missed the Disney channel-like hug and twirl after his match." Lex said, making the others nod, with smug looks.

Okay so maybe I'm mostly trying to calm the damn butterflies in my stomach after what happened after his match.

*****

*A few hours ago*

We jumped up from our seats as the words TOUCHDOWN came up on the screen and yelled on top of our lungs.

We won.

Ryder scored a touchdown and we won.

The screaming on our side of the field was deafening as girls drooled over the sight of their MVP.

"Come on." Dylan motioned for us to follow him to the field.

Many people from the audience were already on the field, congratulating the players.

As we rushed into the field with wide grins on our faces, we noticed from afar that Ryder was surrounded by a crowd of girls who were squealing like a group of mice.

My steps faltered as I noticed Ryder, chuckling between them while rubbing the back of his neck and I realised how perfect this human really is.

Avoiding the mistake I made three years ago seems impossible to me, now.

I hadn't noticed that I had stopped walking as I looked at him with a small smile on my face, till his gaze finally met mine.

Just like any other cliche moment, I felt the time stop, and his eyes stayed glued to mine as he excused himself from the crowd around him and advanced towards me.

Everything else around us was just a blur as I automatically gravitated towards him as well.

The smile on our faces grew slowly as we walked closer to each other and then we met.

He didn't waste any time as soon as I was within his reach and pulled me to him by my waist while my arms automatically wrapped around his neck in a tight embrace.

He picked me up, off the ground, spinning me as our bubbling laughter was all I could hear.

At that moment, something changed.

I don't know what it was.

But at that moment I realised that maybe I don't hate my best friend, maybe I never did, and that, the love I hid from him all those years ago, is still there.

I'm doomed.

He stopped spinning and pulled away slightly, just enough to look at my face and we just grinned at each other.

"You won!" I laughed, my hand slowly going up and down the back of his neck.

"We did!" He chuckled, scanning my face with his sparkling eyes. "Now, are you glad you wore my jersey?"

"Totally." I chuckled. "You made a mistake by the way, because I'm not returning it to you."

He slowly placed me down with a small smile. "You're not?"

I shook my head, like a kid.

"That's the best present you could give me, really." He said, making me bite my lip.

He shut his eyes for a moment before opening them again. He moved his hand to the back of my head and pulled it softly towards himself.

My eyes fluttered shut, as I felt his soft lips meet my forehead and the butterflies in my stomach went insane.

*****

*Present*

"Yeah, and that kiss on the forehead..." Perri sighed. "I feel like everyone felt the heat that radiated off of your cheeks."

I looked around to see everyone sporting a dreamy look on their face, making me groan.

"Just give me the dress before I change my mind." I said, rubbing my temples.

Mia chuckled, handing me a small bag, making me frown, before she pushed me towards the bathroom.

"Your heels are in the bag too, babe." Mia called out, stressing the 'babe', making me groan.

They're all convinced that Ryder was being possessive around Ryan and did that to somewhat claim me as his.

They need to stop watching those teen fic shows.

'Look who's talking...'

Ah there you are. I thought you were dead.

'Well those butterflies in your stomach leave no room for argument that involves logic.'

... Bitch.

I shook my head, reaching into the bag to retrieve a smooth, very smooth material from the bag.

I almost gasp at how beautiful the dress was and immediately proceeded to strip out of my clothes without ruining my hair and make-up.

I slowly slid the dress on me and zipped it up from the side.

The dress was a beautiful red colour that highlighted all my curves but was not uncomfortable at the same time. It had a presentable neckline and a slit on the side that left the rest to the imagination.

Along with the dress were a pair of red strappy heels that weren't too high and probably won't make me worry about falling every 5 minutes.

I put them on and looked up at the mirror only to meet with a girl who looked familiar but very different at the same time.

She was dressed up and had tried to make herself look pretty, for a change. She had done a lot more than just brush her hair today, she had straightened them.

She had light make-up on, such that it made the blue in her eyes pop and her face structure highlighted.

She looked beautiful, almost happy.

"Em do you need help with the zipper?" Mia called from the other side of the bathroom door, making me snap out of my trance.

"No thanks, it was on the side. I got it." I replied, and with one last look in the mirror I walked out, while smoothing it out.

Sound of multiple gasps made me look up to see everyone looking at me wide-eyed and with their mouths hanging open.

"Way to make me feel awkward, guys." I said, looking around nervously.

"Oh my gosh!" Perri choked out, exaggerating the whole mom reaction. "You look so beautiful."

"You're never wearing this when you're around me again." Lex said, scanning the dress.

I frowned. "Why? I thought you liked it?"

"I do. I love it. It's- You look so beautiful and if we go out together with you wearing that, no one is gonna be able to look away from you. And do I need to remind you that I'm still single?" She whined, smoothing out my hair.

I rolled my eyes at her and her power to exaggerate things.

"Well, I did notice someone not-so subtly check you out today." Perri sang, making Lexi's eyes widen.

"Really? Who?" She said, grabbing onto Perri's arm.

"I'm not telling. I'm sure he'll approach you himself." Perri said, grabbing her purse, handed me mine and turned to look at a pouting Lexi. "He's a nice guy, by the way."

Lexi held up a finger as a 'hold up'. "Wait, nice as in, Logan nice or Ryder nice?"

Perri rolled her eyes. "Ryder nice."

"Ooh that's great." Lexi clapped her hands together like a kid, making me shake my head. "But how long do I have to wait?"

I took the moment to notice the other girls and, how each and every one of them looked like a Goddess. I have no idea why they were on about me.

We were all wearing dresses. Perri wore a gold one, that was tight on the chest and flowy from waist down and it complimented her red hair beautifully.

Mia was wearing a baby blue dress that was fitted and complimented her curves. Her blonde hair was curled and beautifully kept over her shoulder.

Lex was wearing a beautiful peach dress which was almost similar to mine, it was just a little longer and had a deeper neckline.

All in all, everyone looked beautiful and by the looks of it they were all pretty excited too.

As a smile grew on my face as we slowly made our way down the stairs and towards the front door.

I didn't plan on drinking tonight so I offered to drive everyone there and back.

As we got closer to Ryder's place, my heart beat began to pick up it's pace.

"At least give me a hint." Lex whined, poking her head through the middle.

Perri sighed from the passenger seat. "Fine. He's a senior."

"He is!?" Lex, Mia and I exclaimed at that.

"EYES ON THE ROAD!" She yelled at me, making me chuckle and turn to look away.

"Yes he is." She sighed. "And that's all I'm telling."

"That's like serving the appetizers and refusing to serve the main course. You're mean." Lexi whined, crossing her arms over her chest as she shrunk back in her seat, like a baby.

Perri chuckled. "It was pretty obvious, really. You're just not a very observant person, honey."

Lex stuck her tongue out at Perri. "Well in that case, you're not very observant about your surroundings either." She grumbled.

My eyes widened.

"What?" Perri frowned making Lex slap a hand over her mouth.

"What?" Lex said wide-eyed, making Perri turn in her seat. "I didn't say anything."

"Yes, you did." Perri narrowed her eyes at Lex, making me shake my head at her from the rear view mirror.

"Oh look, we're here!" Mia said, making me sigh as everyone's attention turned to Ryder's house that was just a few houses away.

"But-" Perri started.

"So, how much are you guys planning to drink tonight?" I asked, quickly. "Am I gonna have to drag you all home?"

Everyone chuckled and I drifted off of the conversation as I brought the car to a stop and looked out of the window to see Ryder's house lit up with lights and booming music that we could hear even from inside the car.

I heard the sound of doors opening making me move as well.

We stepped out of the car and walked towards the house, talking and laughing.

As we rang the doorbell, and it opened to reveal a very cheery Cole.

"Hey guyyysssss!" He sang before pulling us all into hugs one by one.

A very strong and familiar smell hit me when he hugged me, making me pull away and look at him, with concern.

"Cole, are you drunk?"

He stepped back and placed a hand over his chest, on the far right side. "Drunk? Me? You're breaking my heart Em."

"The heart's on the left Cole." I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

He looked down at his hand and smiled at us sheepishly. "Okay maybe I'm a little drunk."

"Where are the others?" Mia asked, looking around.

Cole only hummed into response and started making his way into the house making us frown and follow him.

We followed him into the house where we were met with a very sweaty crowd. People were dancing, chatting and doing what teenagers do.

My eyes wandered on their own, looking for the owner of the house but I couldn't find him. Instead, I was met with very hungry eyes of many boys.

After grabbing our drinks, the girls dragged me to the centre of the room and we danced to the beat of some very loud music.

I hadn't had so much fun in a very long time.

After dancing for about 10 minutes, we decided to take a break and made our way to the kitchen to grab some drinks when Cole grabbed my arm in a haste.

"Oh God, I totally forgot, I was supposed to lead you all to the backyard." He said, turning to drag me throught the crowd.

"Cole!" I exclaimed in surprise.

The girls and I exchanged confused looks before Cole suddenly turned back to us, motioning for us to get closer.

When we did, he looked around before whispering. "That's where the real party is."

I raised my eyes in amusement at the way Cole was behaving.

"This is gold!" Lex chuckled, recording Cole as he looked around like a secret agent.

"Guys stop it." Perri rolled her eyes, moving towards Cole, to hold him up in support. "Guess I won't be drinking anymore, tonight."

We chuckled at that before following a stumbling Cole to the backyard.

To be honest, I was very glad about getting away from the crowd in the house as they were just sweaty and drunk teenagers, grinding on each other.

There were guys openly staring in our direction and I think I heard several wolf whistles as well, making me roll my eyes.

Just as we reached the porch towards the backyard, a shrill sound grabbed our attention.

"HEY, YOU GUYS!"

My eyes widened at their own accord as my eyes landed on the source of the sound.

There stood Ashley, waving at us, motioning for us to wait for her as she made her way towards us.

What made me gape was the fact was that she was wearing a dress that was almost similar to mine. Even the colour matched.

And by the looks on all the girl's faces I could tell that everyone noticed that.

"What the-" Lexi gasped.

"Hey! I'm so glad you guys are finally here." She squealed, looking at us all with a hand over her chest.

"Me too!" Cole cheered, clinging onto Perri like a koala, making her stumble slightly.

She threw a confused glance towards Cole before turning back to us.

"You guys look gorgeous." She gushed scanning our dresses.

When her eyes landed on mine, I saw a different emotion flash through her eyes for a moment, before it was gone.

"Aww look! We match!" She squealed, grabbing my arms, making me force a smile and nod.

"Yeah we do." I gritted out.

"But where were you guys going?" She asked, looking around.

"To the backyard!" Cole cheered, before toning his voice down to a whisper. "where the real party is. But I'm not supposed to tell anyone."

At that moment, I knew I liked Cole a lot better when he was sober.

"Ooh that's gonna be fun. Let's go then!" Ashley squealed, making the girls exchange glances.

With having no other choice, we moved to the backyard along with a blabbering Ashley and a drunk Cole, leading our way.

As soon as we stepped into the backyard, I couldn't help but gasp at what I saw.

I hadn't seen Ryder's backyard before but I'm pretty sure this wasn't how it usually looks.

The backyard was lit up with lights and little lantern, making everything look like a fairytale.

There were already a few people out here with drinks in their hands, and grooving to the music but the open space and the beautiful set-up made everything bearable.

I was still gaping at the surroundings when a small sound of someone's breath hitching made me snap out of it and turn to look at Ryder.

A small smile automatically made its way to my lips as we stood there staring at each other.

He was wearing a black button up shirt and black pants, looking as breathtaking as ever.

His gaze still hadn't met mine, as his eyes slowly scanned my form with hungry eyes, making a shiver run down my spine.

I threw caution to the wind and stepped forward to make my way towards him. I stopped right in front of him, and I saw him gulp pretty harshly.

It was now that I noticed that he had a very subtle red lining on his shirt.

"You look... Uh... wow" He growled, finally reaching my eyes, making me chuckle.

"You don't look too bad yourself, Green." I said, tilting my head to the side.

"This dress- this- oh God..." He groaned, running a hand through his already perfectly messy hair.

I had a very very strong urge to do that myself. I can only imagine how soft his hair must be.

"There are too many horny males in my house for you to look like that." He groaned, making me scoff.

"Yeah you wait and see what happens if someone tries anything with me." I said, crossing my arms over my chest.