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Chapter Text

Jade sits quietly while the girls work on the runway project. She knows they can't stop working just because Bella left some days ago, the runway is a priority and she knows it. But still...

She looks at the table. Behind all those sequins, pens and cables, there was a bunch of scketches for dresses Skyler drew last week. She takes some of them while her friends talk, and she looks at the third one. Messy lines, a lot of notes but she notices only one thing. It was for Bella's dress. How does she know that? It was pink.

Jade hates pink, in all its shades. When she was in elementary school, her mother gave her a pink skirt because all the girls of her age wanted to be ballerinas, and maybe a pink skirt would make Jade fit in with them, even allow her to make friends. Well, after staining it completely with the green paint the teacher kept in the materials drawer, Jade realized that she didn't want to fit in or make any friends. Her mother scolded her that day, "Why did you do that, Jade?" She asked, "Pink is for girls, Jade, every girl likes it. You have to wear it".

Yep, she hates pink. Every toy, doll, dress she recieved for christmas, even her first shadow palette, those made for little girls, was pink. Every one of those gifts she stained with green and black paint, even the shadow palette. Again, her mother would say, "Jade, don't do that. Jade, be more femenine"

And Jade only heard "blah blah blah" and from then, that's the same thing she heard everytime someone tried to impose her what to wear, how to behave or what to think. By the time she turned twelve, she found a way to express herself even more: Makeup. She watched thousands of YouTube makeup videos, attended all the social and artistic makeup classes in her town, spent all her savings on beauty products, created social media accounts to post her creations, and soon found herself doing others people makeup: other girls, adults, even influencers. A Prodigy of makeup, people would call her. She remembers when she did all her classmates makeup for the 8th grade prom, and when she reached their eyes, and tell them to look up, she would ask them what color they wanted, wanting to do some dramatic blue/violet cut crease, or an amy winehouse eyeliner. But girls would say "Just pink", so she would roll her eyes and do it pink.

Girls. Girls were pretty. Jade loved girls, and all the girls she knew until then were so pretty but so... pink. Not just because they used the color in their clothes or makeup, it was more about the concept of it.
Because for Jade, pink was synonymous of the typical, the boring, the common and the expected, and Jade simply hated that. So, yes, for the third time, she hates pink.

Well, that was before she went to Rainbow High... Ok right, that was before she met Bella Parker. Because Bella Parker was pink, but she was the complete opposite of what is boring, common and expected.

"Great! I thought I had come too early" was the first thing Jade remembers hearing from Bella when she arrived at Rainbow High and opened her bedroom door. Yeez, from her hair to her shoes that girl was wrapped in light pink.

"Hey, I'm—"

"Wait, oh my god" She said walking towards her, "Wow, that makeup is everything! did you do it yourself? LOVING the lashes" She said.

Jade was wearing those enourmus fake lashes she kept aside for special moments, and her favorite black liquid lipstick, of couse. "Oh, yeah, I'm actually Makeup focus, and the more dramatic the better, y'know"

Jade started to walk but the pink girl quickly took the initiative and approached to look at the makeup carefully. Jade stiffened in surprise, she wasn't used to people getting so close to her, especially pretty pink girls with porcelain faces.

"It's scary"

Jade chuckled and raised her eyebrows, "Yeah. The scarier, the better"

"You are so talented, I love it! The details in the eyes are perfect and the lining of your lips is amazingly polished"

Jade felt her cheeks grow heated. The pretty pink girls from where she came from admired her, sure, but they didn't really wanted to get to know her and neither did Jade. And to give her such detailed compliments? Never. She swallowed nervously. "Thanks! Ehm..."

The pretty pink girl moved away from her personal space, laughing, "Right, sorry. Bella Parker" Jade smiled inmediatly. Wait, why did she do that? She felt her heart was beating a little faster than usual but she kept it cool. Bella continued, "I am dedicated to set design! from sketching to building and painting. Trust me, I have a keen eye for detail and perfection"

"Wow. Set design? That's sick! I'm Jade"

They talked more, and even agreed for Jade to scare the rest of their roommates (and the expressions of Ruby and Violet when they got scared were priceless).

After the first day of school, Jade tried to be closer to Ruby but somehow she was drawn to stay closer to Bella, and she kept it that way, and every time Bella spoke, Jade took a closer look at her makeup. It was pink, obviously. Pink lipstick, pink eyeshadow, pink blush. But, suprisingly, Jade didn't hate it... In fact, she learned to fall in love with it without noticing it.

She learned to fall in love with her without noticing it.

Ruby's voice takes her out of her thoughts, "Everything's ok, Jade?" Her friend looks at her, caring, and looks at the papers. She sighs. "That dress really have the Bella vibes, right?"

Then Jade sighs. It does indeed. "Yeah.... Anyways, I better go fill those makeup charts."

She gets up and goes to where she had left her backpack. She opens it to get the makeup charts but not without first checking her phone quickly, hoping for some sign of life from Bella. Taking the makeup charts out, she begins to sketch trying to ignore the little pain on the chest that the seen of her pretty pink girl left her.

Chapter Text

Ruby Anderson is not the type of girl who follows the rules, but she did had a very important specific rule. Do not fall in love with your friends. Especially. straight. friends.

One week and she was already starting to break the rule when she met her runway partners. All of them were so cool, and Ruby was shocked at how beautiful they were. There was one girl who was the prettiest though. Skyler Bradshaw and her thousands of denim outfits and her sweet blue eyes.

A few more weeks and she had already broken the rule to the worst of her limits by falling in love with Skyler (her friend) after cheering her up the night she broke up with her boyfriend (she likes boys, very likely to be straight).

Yep, Ruby Anderson is not the type of girl who follows the rules. But she was impulsive so she kept putting them on. So now she had the ironically called blue rule: to ignore her feelings for Skyler until she gets over her, ignore them even more when she listens to her talking with Amaya about handsome boys on tiktok (they were indeed handsome but that's not the point)

The point was to forget those feelings for Skyler, for good.

It was really hard, because they would even chat at night before going to sleep, sometimes deep talks and sometimes small talks. Tonight was a deep talk. Skyler mentioned that she had spoken to Colin and Ruby called an ASAP meeting outside the bedrooms.

"... And he told me that he was sorry, and asked me if I would give him another chance" Skyler muttered, staring blankly through the window. They were accommodated in the armchair at the end of the bedrooms hall, both looking outside the window, "and then I couldn't stop thinking about it"

"About Colin? Do you plan to go back with him?" Ruby asked, wary of every expression her friend slash crush which she was trying to forget, could make.

"I shouldn't" Ruby felt Skyler turn to look down the hall, "... but I think about how used I was to having him by my side. I was non-existent in middle school, Ruby. A nobody! I didn't have any friends, but he... he made me be someone, and— I don't know, maybe if it weren't for him, I'd still be just... a nobody."

Ruby sighed. Usually, if any of her friends had said something like that, she would reprimend them for having such a "patriarchal" thought, as Jade would say. But it was Skyler, and she was Ruby's weakest point. She knew how fragile Skyler was, and that she maybe did not know anything beyond what she had learned in a straight relationship with a clown since sixth grade. She though skyler already was all girl power... but now she realized that girl power doesn't come that easy after just one talk.

"Sky, we've already talked about this. You are literally a no-nobody! The friends you've made at rainbow high? You made them on your own. I mean, I had no idea that jerk of Colin was your boyfriend before the color block party and we were already super cool friends! And I can bet that you would have achieved everything you have achieved so far even without Colin. I mean, the talent you have? So fire! You are so meant to be a big fashion designer and you don't need a man to be someone, you are..." She turned to look at Skyler, and saw how her sweet blue eyes looked at her in surprise. Did she speak too loud or too fast? Sometimes she would get excited when talking and spit out ideas without thinking and she knew that Skyler was more used to quiet, but whatever it was now her blue eyes were shining and Ruby's head stopped working because of how cute she looked, "... you know, fire!"

Skyler smiled, "Thanks Ruby. I guess I forget that sometimes."

They both smiled and were silent for a few minutes. Ruby wanted so badly to know what was going on her friend's head.

"I don't need a man to be someone," Skyler muttered to herself, although Ruby obviously heard her. The blue haired girl used to get lost on her thoughts so easy. It was really interesting for Ruby, who was always aware of everything.

"Of course not. Boys sucks sometimes" She replied, trying to keep the same volume of voice as her, she laughed a little before continuing speaking, "I don't even know why I like them, god. The tragedy of being a bisexual, right?"

Skyler turned her head in the fastest way possible that even Ruby got scared that she maybe had a nervous breakdown.

"Being a what?" She asked softly but still surprised. Ruby turned redder than her own hair. She usually didn't comment much on her sexual orientation, but her comment slipped out of her mouth so natural and just now she begun to wonder if Skyler might be homophobic or something.

"Yeah uhm, you know, uhm, bisexual, like ... you know! Like when you like not only boys but ..."

"Oh no. No, no. I know what bisexuals are! I just... I didn't think you ..." Skyler blushed too and Ruby hated herself for making the situation so awkward, "I'm sorry, it's just that you surprised me. That you seems so sure about that at such a young age."

Ruby laughed at the comment, "that's exactly what my mom said when I came out"

"Wait. Does your mom knows?" All the sadness that had been on Skyler's face at that point faded and she now looked genuinely interested in the conversation.

"Of course she does, my whole family does" she smiled at how curious and cute Skyler looked, and felt she could start melting anytime by those sweet blue eyes.

"I didn't noticed" Skyler said and then raised an eyebrow, "That explains a lot huh?" 

Skyler was usually quiet and Ruby loved that, but when playful skyler arises, which was very countable times, the redhead totally loses her mind.

She dramatically gasped, "What do you mean by that, Bradshaw?" 

Skyler laughed hard, "I don't now! Maybe all the fingerguns should have told me something"

"That is so stereotipycal, i am offended!"

Both of them laughed so much. It was such a silly conversation.

After some minutes of laughter, they calm down and Skyler spoke again, "that is brave, Ruby. Letting the world know about that." 

 "Yeah... I mean, it's not something I shout about but I don't hide it either. I don't feel like being yourself is something to hide, right? "

And it was at that moment that she knew something was up. Because she noticed how Skyler's sweet blue eyes looked away, with a really tense expression. Her crush made a deep sigh before talking.

"I guess you're right" she murmured, her mind lost in the clouds. But it wasn't like those concentration whispers she made sometimes. No, it was a painful and sad murmur, and Ruby understood why.

She took her hand carefully to bring her back to earth, just as she took it on the day of the color block party, the night she broke her first rule of not falling in love with your friends.

Skyler's hands were soft and there were little wounds on her fingers from the needles, she though they were adorable. Nothing compared to her long hands dry from all the spray paint that ended up on her skin when she painted. 

"If you need to talk to someone, I think I can be of help" she tried to sound as soft as possible to calm Skyler down.

They both smiled. Ruby deep down hoped for Skyler to said something, anything. Something like 'Yes, Ruby, I also like girls and I am in love with you, let's create an empire of denim jackets painted with your amazing designs'. But there was only a long silence until Skyler spoke.

"Thanks Ruby. Really. But I think I just need to go to sleep, will you escort me to my room?"

"Sure" They got up from the couch and walked slowly to Skyler's room, still holding hands.

"Good night, Ruby. Thanks for being with me when I feel blue." said Skyler.

"It's nothing, really. See ya tomorrow?" said Ruby. Skyler nodded and let go of her hand. She waited for her friend to close the door and went back to her room. She wasn't surprised to see Jade still sitting on the couch of the living room, staring at her phone with her makeup supplies all over the table. Ruby jumped down next to her, placing her legs over her friend's legs.

"You came back" Jade said, still scrolling through her phone, "Where were you?"

"Nah. Just Around", Ruby raised the hand with which she had hold Skyler's. She remembered the self-imposed blue rule about ignoring her feelings for the blue girl. 

Yup, Ruby Anderson was horrible at following rules. She observed that she still had paint between her nails after working on some shoes in the morning. She smiled because of all the colors she used, she only had stained blue. Blue like those sweet blue eyes she now wanted to know more about.

Chapter Text

Sunny stockings had rainbow colors in it and she loved it. Yellow was her favorite color, sure, but she just loved all of them just like she loved all of her friends. And she loved seeing all colors mixed together, just like she loved all of her friends spending time together.

And talking about various colors, there was a knock on Sunny Madison's room door at 20:15, and she was sure it was Amaya Raine. Who else was going to knock on the door 15 minutes before the scheduled time? Amaya was the only person in the world who arrived everywhere so early. She closed her laptop, jumped out of the chair and ran to open the door.

"Amaya!" Sunny yelled and hugged her friend as tightly as possible, "Are you ready for the most amazing super mega best sleepover in the world?"

"Yes! I brought everything I should according to pinterest, I'm so excited!"

"Me too!" They both laughed and walked towards the couches. Amaya was carrying a backpack so full that it looked like it was going to explode at any moment. "It is also your first sleepover, and I assure you it will be the best one in the world! Poppy and Skyler are in the bathroom looking for things for our skin care session"

"Skin care session?" Amaya repeated as if she was slowly processing how magnificent the night would be. Her eyes lit up and Sunny loved seeing her so happy and expectant.

"That's right! Also I have several video games that we could play, do you like Mario Kart? I LOVE Mario Kart, I always play with Isabelle, she is soooo kawaii!"

"Mario Kart?" She repeated again, more and more excited.

"And we bought marshmallows to make hot chocolate!"

"Hot Chocolate!? Oh, Sunny! This will be the best best best sleepover in all of Rainbow High!"

"I know! I am just as excited as you! Come on, follow me" Sunny took her friend's hand and led her to her personal room. Sunny loved holding Amaya's hand, it was warm and never flinched at being greeted by her. She remembered Violet's cold and bony hands that Sunny always tried to warm but when her best friend began to be a bigger influencer, she changed Sunny's hand for the phone. And, even though that was a long time ago, Sunny still missed having someone she could hold by the hand. She until she met Amaya, of course. "I want you to help me choose which pajamas to wear, I can't decide! They are all sooo cute"

Amaya went through the pajamas one by one, just like a strict fashion designer would. As she did so, Sunny stared at her. She already loved her white hair with the rainbow pekaboo, but her new blue hair color looked wonderful on her, still having multicolor streaks. She soon felt the need to stroke Amaya's hair, and she mentally noted that she would do it for the rest of the sleepover.

Amaya picked up a light yellow nightgown, with long flared sleeves with elastic cuffs and lace, "I like this one, it's cute, but also elegant, and also, cute."

Sunny smiled because it was just one of her favorite pajamas. She took it along with her slippers and placed them in a small bag. "Amaya, you have an amazing sense for fashion."

"Thank you! Do you want me to show you my night dress? I finished it last night"

Sunny gasped, "Yes! Get it right now!"

Amaya left the room and returned with a dark blue silk sleeveless nightdress, short but accompanied by a long robe of the same material. It had rainbow ribbons on the sides of the nightdress and small colored sequins embedded in the robe, Sunny jumped in excitement, "Amaya, it's beautiful!"

"Do you think so?" Her friend blushed at the compliment. She changed her excited expression to a sadder one quickly and sat on the bed, stroking her pajamas and tucking a streak of hair behind her ear, "I wanted to show it to the other girls, but they were too busy looking for their things. Do you think I should have waited for them? Instead of coming so early? Sometimes I still feel like they don't like being with me"

Sunny immediately sat next to her. She knew that Amaya was still trying to adapt to the group and that she was doing her best, "I like being with you" She whispered, as if it were a secret, although it was not secret because she could shout it into a megaphone If she wanted to, "and they do like you, Amaya! Just give them a liiiitle more time and you'll see you will find your space. I will be with you throughout the whole process, I promise"

Amaya smiled, "Aww, you are amazing, Sunny."

Sunny took her hand, instinctively. Soon her friend jumped out of bed.

"I almost forgot something" she took out of her pocket a long band of multicolored cloth, "A friendship bracelet! I know how much you like them, so I made you one so you'll always remember me. I really owe you so much, Sunny. You are the best thing in my life right now" she smiled.

Sunny felt a warm sensation on her chest and squealed with excitement. Amaya reached over, took her wrist gently, and placed the bracelet on her. 

It was beautiful, Sunny couldn't stop looking it. It had three very thin multicolored ribbons, and between them two chains; one with charms of their initials, and another with a heart charm.

Sunny screamed again, "So cute! Heart emoji!"

They both left the room and saw the rest of their friends who had already arrived, and they settled in the living room. With their pajamas on, they put on makeup, ate, played video games and listened to music. Sunny was having so much fun and from time to time she checked that Amaya was adjusting well with her friends. At one moment, glances clashed and Amaya gave her a soft, sincere smile. 

Sometimes Sunny thought about the romance animes she usually watches. Could this be love? She had never felt like this before so she didn't know, but her chest was going to explode and it was the most addictive sensation in the universe and the only thing she wanted was to hold Amaya tight enough to never let her go.

It was like having millions of multicolored butterflies in her stomach. She wondered if Amaya would feel the same. She hoped so.

"We should play truth or dare," Violet proposed as they removed their makeup and put on masks.

"I'm in! But, you better not record anything, Violet" Ruby replied as she carefully applied moisturizer to Skyler.

Violet ran to hand her phone over to Sunny, who was sitting in the middle of the long couch. She hid it under the couch.

"I promise" she said.

They all agreed to play, and between silly questions and challenges like writing shameful messages to celebrities on Instagram or mixing sweet and salty food, they came up with the typical question that should come up.

"Amaya, truth or dare," said Poppy, sitting at the end of the couch, besides Sunny. Amaya was sitting on the floor, right in front her.

"True?" Amaya answered.

"I have a question" Jade said, sitting on the other end of the couch. She sat up resting her forearms on her spread legs, sidling up to the girl with multicolored hair, "Anyone you find cute? Maybe someone who's name starts with an R?"

The rest of the girls got excited by the question and surrounded Amaya. Sunny swore that for a moment her heart stopped beating. What? That could not be true. Amaya would have told her, right?

"Uhm, well ..." Amaya smiled nervously, "there is someone"

"O.M.G!" Violet moved even closer to Amaya, "Who is it? You have to tell us everything! Everything!"

"Ok, ok! But, this doesn't get out of here" Amaya commented, "... It's River Kendall"

"River Kendall? The sophomore?" Skyler asked.

"River, the majoring in theater, captain of the soccer team, crush of the entire school KENDALL?" Violet exclaimed.

"Yeah, that's him" Amaya couldn't stop smiling, "and I think maybe he likes me back? I mean, sometimes he asks me how I'm doing during recess, and sometimes we even clash glances..."

Sunny felt her heart clench with every word that came out of Amaya's mouth. She wanted her to stop, but how was she going to ask her to shut up? It would be very rude of her.

"He even once said that my hair was great! And I swear he winked! He is so cute"

"You should ask him out on a date" Poppy suggested, grabbing her phone to change the music.

"Oh no. I couldn't" Amaya laughed nervously.

"Oh come on, don't tell me you're going to wait for him to make the first move!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Isn't that how it should be? boys asking the girls out first?”Amaya asked, confused.

Jade chuckled, "Oh my god"

"Ok. From a small town girl to another: Girl, you have so much to learn" Ruby said before they all started advising her on dating and on boys, teasing each other. Sunny tried to follow the conversation as she analyzed the situation. Amaya was fitting in, she looked happy. That was all Sunny wanted.

Then why did her heart hurt so much?

The rest of the night went on and at 3 in the morning they decided to settle down to sleep. They put their sleeping bags, some pillows on the floor and left a dim light on. Probably an hour passed and Sunny couldn't sleep. She got up and carefully stepped over Amaya and Poppy, and tiptoed into her room.

She sat carefully on her bed, feeling like crying. The last time Sunny felt like the saddest emoji on her phone was when she thought Violet didn't want to be friends with her anymore, that she didn't love her like before, but then her heart quickly healed because Violet did love her.

She painfully sighed and a very small tear rolled down her cheek, then another and another. Sunny didn't like crying out of sadness, it hurt so much. She was confused, she couldn't even understand why it hurt so much. She felt so small.

Carefully, she squeezed her stomach with her hands, sobbing and trying to contain within herself the multicolored butterflies that floated happily a few hours ago, but even they were crying.

She stroked the multicolored bracelet Amaya had given her. Sunny loved rainbows and everything multicolored, but now all colors hurt.

Her hands, trembling, now caressed her chest as if covering a wound. She sighed.

How was her heart supposed to heal now, if Amaya did love her, but not like she loved her?

Chapter Text

Bella Parker was destined for great things and she knew it. She was thinking about that as she sawn some boards to build dog houses for community service. She was offered to work in a carpentry with other volunteers, but she rather being in her small workshop in the basement of her house, working slowly but confident.

As she sawed, she thought about what colors to use to paint the three dog houses that she had committed to making. It was entertaining and it also helped her not to think about all the disaster that had happened since ... That. At least regular school wasn't as demanding as Rainbow High so she had a lot of free time after doing her homework to work on these things.

As she sawed, she thought of Rainbow High. Bella had built a legacy of awards won in set design competitions, Rainbow High was the next step, Ramona Barnes the step that followed that and future Tony awards winner as the final step. 

The little problem was that she already failed in the second step.

She set the cut pieces aside and grabbed another board to saw. Failure. Bella Parker had never known failure until a few weeks ago. Her classmates at her school knew who she was after Violet's video went viral. She was the girl expelled from an elite high school, the girl who lost everything at her own risk. A failure.

Bella stopped and sat for a moment to rest. She wanted to paint the houses pink but they wouldn't let her, it had to be a more "neutral" color, so she looked at the samples of paint she had on the table. She thought of yellow, or red, or ... Green.

But not just any green. Bella quickly grabbed the swatches and scanned the range of greens. It had to be a soft green to be seen among the bright green of the plants in the park. 

She was thinking about a soft green, like the tracksuit Jade wore at the color block party, or like the eyeshadow Jade used to wear.

She sighed. So many shades of green and they all reminded her of Jade. The green of her jacket, the green of her hair, the beautiful green of her eyes. Bella felt butterflies in her stomach at the thought of her.

Her phone vibrated in the other corner of the workshop and she got up to look for it. She smiled because it was obvious who was writing to her.

JADE: sunny fell while dancing on runway practice lmao. now she's with a bandage on her ankle, look

There was a photo attached, Bella opened it and, indeed, Sunny was wearing a bandage but smiling happily at the camera. The bandage had cute drawings on it. Bella smiled.

BELLA: Omg!! Looks painful... but fashionable

JADE: ikr? it looks so sick, i might start wearing one too, just cause lol

JADE: oooh probably paint some spiders on it. what do u think

BELLA: Hahaha Yes!! but I would totally draw cute little pink hearts on it first if I were there and you know that.

JADE: what!? That would clash my style B !!

BELLA: I think it would look amazing. You could draw some spiders on mine ;)

JADE: would you wear one with me? seriously?

BELLA: Of course !!! We would rock them <3

Bella anxiously waited for Jade to answer back but she didn't. She stopped smiling and grabbed the handsaw back to start cutting.

And while she was sawing, she thought of Jade. She missed her so much. All of her friends, really, but she missed Jade a little more than the rest. Maybe because she was her best friend, or because of the enormous crush she had on her that never managed to confess, and now she'll probably never see her again.

She blew a streak of hair that was in her face, and sawed faster. She had to finish those dog houses. It was her way to redeem herself after failing at Rainbow High, a way to not feel like a failure for losing everything she had; her friends, her great opportunities, her planned future and above all, for losing Jade.

"Ouch" Bella muttered, dropping the handsaw. She had happened to cut her finger, "Great" she grabbed her pink handkerchief and wrapped her finger in it to keep it from bleeding.

It was simple doghouses, but what if she failed at this too?

Dog houses, Rainbow High, Failure, Jade. Dog houses, Rainbow High, Failure, Jade. So the thoughts in her head were spinning. Bella loved to help others by doing what she knew best to do, building, but her head had so many things spinning at the same time that she felt overwhelmed, anguished, just like the day she left the school of her dreams. But this time there was no one to comfort her, there was no Jade to calm and guide her. This time she was alone in her little workshop in the basement, cutting herself with handsaws.

Bella Parker was destined for great things but now she wasn't so sure about it.

She heard a vibration again. Bella took a breath and went to check her phone.

JADE: seems fine to me 

Then, Bella's thoughts cleared a little. She was alone in the workshop, but Jade was still there for her, even in the distance. She sighed and texted her.

BELLA: Jade I need help asap. Building time but can't concentrate on what I'm doing :(

BELLA: I feel like I'll mess this up

She waited a minute for her to respond, even though it felt like an eternity.

JADE: what? B dont ever say that again, you are the most talented person I've ever meet! you will not mess anything up ok?

JADE: you gotta stay confident, thats the bella parker i know! like, she is so sick and yet so classy

JADE: i mean you should totally meet her she works so hard and she always gets what she wants, very inspiring

And like that, Bella chuckled. Her heart was melting from all the emotions Jade made her feel. She always had the right words for her, and she had promised herself that she would listen to her from now on.

BELLA: Thank you, Jade. I needed that. <3

JADE: you're welcome b

Bella looked at her phone for a minute, and then she wrote: 

BELLA: I love you

She turned off her phone as fast as she could after typing that and she covered her face, her heart racing. Did it sound weird? They are friends, so it shouldn't sound weird, but usually when she wrote "I love you" she would also put "girl" or "bestie" or even just "jade" and that made it sound less... weird, or suspicious. Her phone vibrated and she opened the chat.

JADE: i love you more

JADE: i hope you miss me cause i miss you as hell

Bella chuckled, she read those two messages at least five times before replying.

BELLA: omg are you kidding? I miss you everyday! One day I will visit you, I promise

JADE: you better bring me a gift or something. Not pink tho.

JADE: Maybe something green and edgy? >:)

BELLA: Ok, no green just pink. And very chic. Got it! 

JADE: funny

BELLA: I'm kidding!! 

BELLA: I'll go finish my stuff now. Thank you so much Jade, for everything. I'll text you later

JADE: you got this b <3

Bella turn her phone off and checked the cut she made on her finger, it wasn't as big as she thought. She went for her colored band-aids and she put on a green one. She reached through the paints for the jar of soft green paint and carried it to the workbench. She cracked her knuckles, grabbed the saw, and sliced through the wood.

She remembered Jade's words about staying confident. Maybe her life plans didn't go the way she planned, but she was sure she could achieve her goals in other ways, one green doghouse at a time.

At the end, Bella Parker was destined for great things and she knew that. And she felt like Jade knew that too, and that was the push she needed to start again. 

Chapter Text

Karma Nichols always lived under the shadows of her sisters. Her sisters were talented, successful, and she always felt the high pressure on her to be like them, or better. It was consuming, but now that all of her sisters had graduated, she was ready to embrace her own colors by herself... Or color, a bright neon green color to be exact. 

No more "Karma Nichols the sister of...", but "Karma Nichols, the best influencer at Rainbow High".

It was the first friday of school year, and Karma was checking her acrylic nails while she waited until 5:30 PM in the school gym. Her nails were neon green, with a little fuchsia on the tips. The girl who made them said those two colors were perfect match and that she needed a little bit of fuchsia in her life.

Karma still wasn't quite sure about that, she didn't need other colors more than neon green from now on, because she was totally sure that her second year at Rainbow High was going to be the start of her rise.

She is the captain of the cheerleading team this year and it's gonna be the best team ever existed. Her first action as captain was to disband last year's team and make auditions to judge every single one of the boys and girls who had the courage to audition for HER new cheer squad. Sitting gracefully on the gym benches, she whistled her new green whistle for the first student to come in. 

Despite being the same age or even older than her, she could tell how many of them were nervous. Karma didn't blame them. They were being judged by Rainbow High's biggest influencer, the one who could give them a read with her eyes closed if she wanted to. 

Two hours later, the auditions ended and more than one group of friends had stayed to wait until the last of theirs auditioned.

"That's it for today, girls. On Monday I will deliver the results of who made the cut and their positions" she told them.

She saw how the groups of friends left the gym. She sat down again to check her phone. For being an influecer with great charisma and millions of followers, Karma had no real friends. She spent her whole first year besides one of her sisters so now she was alone, and she won't admit it, but making friends was kind of hard. Trusting people was kind of hard.

Anyways, she didn't need anyone by her side either, she had other business to attend, like the fact she was going to get two million subscribers in days. She also saw how the number of followers on her instagram was going up. She took a picture of her acryclic nails and wrote:

"Surviving a long day with my new baddies 💅 thanks @iconictulipnails for these amazing green and fuchsia nails. Totally in love. Xoxo"

And posted.

"Karma Nichols?" She heard a clear voice ask. She looked up and saw a girl with the most perfect posture in the world. She was wearing a fuchsia furry coat and her hair, of the same color, was parted in the middle with two small pigtails on the top of her head. Karma had never seen her before, she deduced that she was one of the first years.

"That's me" She answered confidently, "Nice jacket, by the way"

"It's pretty lovely, innit?" The fuchsia girl said, with a strong British accent. "And, you are the captain of the cheerleaders"

"Yes, I am"

"Good, because I want to join the team, shall I sign somewhere or ...?"

Karma looked confused, until she realized, "Oh, wait. Wait a minute. Aren't you the new royal little girl from the UK? I'm totally sure it's you. What's your name?"

"Stella Monroe, Marquess of Camford. It's my pleasure" She answered politely.

"Stella Monroe" Karma repeated slowly. She gave her a look up and down, admiring her as if she were a porcelain figurine. She was beautiful, her skin looked smooth and, honestly, her light eyes attracted her a lot. Her style screamed "Diva" but in the most fancy way possible. Karma found it difficult to come up with a comment against her, "Well, Marquess of Camford. Your style is straight out of a modern fairy tale and I'm loving it, but the auditions are over. Plus, you're a freshman. First years are not allowed"

"Who said that?"

"The statute. And me, the captain" That being said, Karma put her cell phone in her bag and got up to leave the gym.

"What? I can't wait a whole year! You have to let me audition!" Stella ran elegantly behind her, "I was a cheerleader in the most important teams back at home, it's my favourite hobby! and Rainbow High doesn't have an archery or dressage club"

Karma rolled her eyes. If she waited a lifetime for her sisters to graduate so that she could shine by herself, it shouldn't take that much to wait a year to join a cheer squad. She hastened the pass.

"Sorry, Boo"

She felt Stella grab her wrist, in an attempt to stop her. Karma immediately looked around. The hallway was empty, thankfully. As a good influencer, Karma took safeguards so that no one spoke things about her, she was the one who spilled the tea about others. But it was clear that the first year wasn't planning on giving up.

Stella stared at her and pulled puppy eyes, "Pretty Please?"

Karma looked at her and chuckled. She was a determined girl, and so adorable, it was difficult to ignore her, "Don't you have the power to pull strings so they let you in the squad already, Marquess? You are total royalty, after all"

"I am." She fuchsia girl answered pridefully,  "but I'm trying to do things by myself and in my own way. That's the reason why I'm even here at Rainbow High"

Karma raised her eyebrows. Stella sighed, and then asked,

"Have you never felt the need to break free from what you are, or what people want you to be?"

Karma looked at her in surprise as she felt her heartbeat quicken. She had. She was truly in need to be more than a Nichols sister.

She looked away. Who was this girl who came out of nowhere and had already struck a chord with her in less than an hour? 

Stella let go of her arm and stepped back, staring at her. Everything she did and said was so elegant and diplomatic, she literally acted like a princess.

"Karma Nichols, please let me audition. I assure you that you need me on your team."

Karma thought about it in a minute. All her life she had quietly waited for the moment to come out of the shadows of her sisters and show her own colors. She knew the feeling. And she knew that she would regret it if she did not help a disgraced soul with the same desire as hers. Also, her makeup was beautiful. Her eyeshadow was blended to perfection and Godness knows how long Karma has been trying to get a good blend. She sighed.

"UGH. Ok" The green-haired girl exclaimed, in a tired tone, "Come on, I am a busy woman"

Stella Monroe smiled and linked her arm with her. Karma felt her heart race again as she pulled herself closer. Stella told her that her majoring was cosmetology and asked her questions like where she got her nails done, what makeup products she used and what products she used for her hair. Karma answered everything.

"I love your nails" Stella said, "I never thought those colours would match so well. Maybe I should get some similar ones."

When they got to the gym, she didn't need to say anything to the marchioness, because she immediately accompanied Karma to the bench, took out a golden speaker from her bag, quickly took off her furry jacket and handed it to Karma, and ran to the center of the gym ready to press the play button in her phone. 

"Oh, a prepared queen. I stan that" The second year crossed her legs, "Impress me"

Karma would be lying if she said that Stella was the best audition she saw all afternoon, because the fourth year girls really showed off a few hours ago. But surely Stella had that something that Karma wanted in her team: elegance, confidence and the attitude of a winner. She gently stroked the fuchsia jacket, unable to take her eyes off the girl in front of her until she finished dancing.

She clapped her hands slowly. "Iconic" she said, then checked the time on her cell phone, it was 7:51 p.m. If she hurried she could speak directly to Headmistress Wright. Stella's determination was contagious, and Karma was sure she needed some fuchsia elegance on her team, "I need to go. But the results will be posted early Monday morning on the team's instagram account."

"Does that mean that I'm in?"

"Depends on how fast I get to Mrs. Wright's office" she smiled, handing her the furry jacket, "I'm trying to do things by myself and in my way too, babe"

Stella's eyes sparkled with excitement. She was the cutest thing Karma had ever seen in her life and she was going to make sure her eyes would shine even brighter once she was accepted into the team.

"I will wait until monday then, Karma Nichols"

"Just Karma, ok?" She winked as she walked to the exit. She quickly turned around, "And you have a date with me tomorrow. I want to fix my hair for my vlog. You should check it out, It's called—"

"Kontent with Karma. Yes, I already follow you, favorite baddie", Stella replied, smirking and raising her eyebrows.

Karma stoped. So she did know her already, and still acted like she has never seen Karma in her whole life? Karma smiled. That girl was sure something, "What are you waiting for then, Miss Monroe? Send me a DM like, right now!" Tossing her hair, she left the gym.

She headed off to speak to headmistress Wright. She wasn't going to give up until she got Stella on her team. 

She checked her cell phone notifications outside the office. A user named @thestellamonroe had sent her a pink heart emoji and a "thank you".

Her heart went racing. Karma wanted her, and she was going to have her no matter what. She looked at her nails as Mrs. Wright tells her to step in. 

Maybe she needed a little fuchsia in her life after all.

Chapter Text

To Poppy, colors meant things, yes, but sounds and melodies meant so much more. To Poppy, Sunny Madison was yellow because of her warmth and her playfulness, but it was also a J-Pop concert because of her excitement and jumping all over the place, and a Christmas carol because of how harmonious and loving she was. It was also the sound of a ukulele, and a trumpet and an accordion.

To Poppy, Sunny was her favorite sound. The melody that could be playing even on sad days and she wouldn't mind.

Today was one of those sad days. She had dreamed of waves and breezes again, only to wake up staring at the flat ceiling of her room. At least once a month, Poppy missed her home. The protocol was simple; time alone. She stayed away from her friends for a day, until her mood improved.

There was only one person who could get close.

"Poppy? May I come in?" Asked a very high voice on the other side of the door, "I didn't see you at dinner so I brought you some sandwiches from the cafeteria, I think they have... lettuce and tomato? But I also brought candy! If you don't want the sandwich, that is."

Sunny and Poppy had a... strange relationship. It would be a lie to say that there was nothing between them, but it would also be a lie to say that they have something.

The truth would be to say that Poppy loved Sunny but was afraid to tell her. She loved her when she held her hand, when she danced to her music, when she jumped in excitement everytime she was happy. Poppy dedicates her sweetest melodies to her, and Sunny adores them, and Poppy adored her; her long yellow hair, her little dimples, her adorable smile.

"Come in Sunny" she replied. She had her room totally messed up. Unfolded clothes on the floor, vinyl records on the bed, her computer and an electronic keyboard on the floor. She was sitting cross-legged on the floor and her back resting on her bed.

"Coming!" Sunny replied, slowly opening the door with her foot. In her arms she carried several sandwiches and sweets, "Oh, I missed you so much, Poppy! I know we room together and I saw you this morning, but I missed you aaaaall day!"

Poppy smiled, "Missed you too"
She observed the time from her laptop, it was going to be 9 at night.

"What are you doing?" Sunny carefully placed the candy next to the musical keyboard and sat next to her, taking her hand, which Poppy loved.

"Uh, trying to let some melodies flow out of here" Poppy replied, pointing to her head, "but can't find the right beat. Bad music day, I guess"

"Ow, sad face emoji" Sunny said, resting her head on Poppy's shoulder and squeezind her hand tightly, "Still homesick?"

"Mhm" Poppy nodded, resting her head on Sunny's, "Sorry to ignore you all day"

"Aww, don't apologize Poppy! We all need a day alone once in a while"

Poppy sighed, Sunny smelled of marshmallows and cinnamon, and suddenly she got hungry.

"What candy did you bring, Sunny?"

"Oh!" Sunny immediately jumped out of her stall and grabbed the candy she had brought. Poppy laughed at how abrupt that was, she nearly fell over to the side Sunny had laid her head on. As Sunny placed the candy in front of them, Poppy played a random playlist on her laptop.

"I brought a lot! Kitkats, snickers, twix, butterfinger, nerds..."

"Yaaas, kitkats!" Poppy said in a singing tone. She quickly grabbed one and opened it excitedly, "I used to eat these all the time at home! You have to eat them fast because otherwise they melt in the sun"

Sunny giggled, "Sounds really fun! I can imagine it! Oh, Look at me, I'm the sun! If you don't eat your treats, I will! Nam nam nam'" Sunny spoke in a slightly more deep and angry voice, as she grabbed a sweet kitkat and pretended to eat it. Poppy couldn't help but laugh, and Sunny joined in.

 Sunny brought Kitkat's rod to her mouth, simulating a microphone, "Maybe you could... tell me more about home?"

When Poppy stopped laughing, she smiled wistfully. She leaned a little towards the treat that Sunny was holding in her hand to pretend that she was answering into a microphone, just like her, "Well, I liked to meditate a lot" Poppy closed her eyes, "Breathing, listening to the breeze, listening to the waves... Feeling the sand between my feet, and the wind blowing all my hair over my face"

Sunny giggled, moving closer, "What else?"

"Mmh... I also liked the sun over there. I miss the sun's rays on my face. It was legendary! And how it shone in the ocean in the afternoon? And the sky! Pink, orange, yellow. Listening to music there was totally a vibe!"

Sunny smiled. Her eyes twinkled in a way Poppy couldn't make out, but she looked cute and adorable. She felt butterflies in her stomach fluttering as if they were playing a symphony.

Sunny brought the kitkat bar straight to her mouth, "Sounds beautiful," she added softly.

 "Yeah..." Poppy leaned against the bed, "Sorry to bother you with all of this, Sunny."

"What!? Don't say that! you don't bother me at all!" Sunny answered. She got up, and settled in to hug Poppy, "I love listening to you, Poppy! I love listening to you, to your music..."

Poppy wrapped her arms around her waist. She didn't know what to say, words came to her head in ballad form but she didn't know how to communicate them. Sunny broke the hug to look at her, right in the eye. Poppy blushed.

"I think I just really love you"

She didn't say it, Sunny did. But that was what she also wanted to say. Sunny laughed nervously, and her laughter echoed in harmony with the melody playing in the background. She heard a piano, a bass, a drums, and Sunny's laugh. The rhythm was way too soothing for how exalted her heart felt, and very calm for what she had associated with Sunny. However, with the sound of her laughter harmonizing with the song, Poppy thought that was exactly what Sunny was giving her; tranquility, security, love.

But she wasn't going to explain all that to Sunny, she didn't even know how to respond to what she had just told her! What had she just said? Ah, right. That she loved her. And Poppy thought about the song in the background and her laugh and her long yellow hair, and her little dimples and her adorable smile...

"Poppy?" She asked, tilting her head.

Poppy thought, "Huh?" She asked her.

Sunny laughed again, her cheeks red, "I said I love you!"

"Oh right!" She couldn't help but laugh, and the yellow haired girl joined her until Poppy looked into her deep green eyes. She sighed, her heart full of love, "I love you too, Sunny"

The butterflies in her stomach fluttered as she thought that she may miss the yellow rays of the sun from her home, but in Rainbow High she had the yellowest and brightest sun of all, with the sweetest lips in the world and the calmest and most beautiful melody in her soul. Sunny really was her favorite sound.

Chapter Text

"Amaya, relax! Only two days left until the final runway show, we got this" said a relaxed Ruby Anderson to a not very relaxed Amaya Raine, who walked in circles in the classroom 103, wearing her Runway dress. Jade was putting some makeup on Poppy, next to Ruby, and Sunny and Violet were chatting as they reviewed the last details of the video they had recorded.

Two days until Runway, two days until the most important moment in Amaya's life after being accepted into Rainbow High. would they pass the project? What if they don't? Too much uncertainty, too many options to think about. But she couldn't lose her mind.

"Ok, yes, you're right!" Amaya replied, "We got this. We totally got this! We got this, right? Skyler?"

"Uhm..." Skyler stared at Amaya's dress, which, despite looking wonderful, was not finished yet, "We need to work on the fold of the rainbow fabric, it looks a bit stiff... But like Ruby said, I also think we should stay calm, Amaya "

"Oh, sorry" Amaya stopped walking and sat in a chair near Poppy, "It's just that, I'm afraid I won't make the cut. I really don't want to be kicked out of Rainbow high, I was lucky enough to get in!"

"Yeah, you were so lucky" Jade said, with a rather... sarcastic tone?

Amaya looked at her, uncomfortable, "I— I mean..." She sometimes forgets that the only reason she had entered was because the former teammate of her group had been expelled. Was Jade still upset about it?

"We were all lucky to get into Rainbow High," Skyler interrupted, walking over to where they were sitting, "We're in this together, Right?"

"Yeah, totally!" Poppy replied, "I am also nervious, Amaya. You are not alone in this"

"Sky is right" Ruby smiled at Skyler briefly and then fixed her gaze on Jade, who looked a little annoyed, "We have to focus on the Runway and how well we will do as a group, because we are a group. All of us"

Jade rolled her eyes and continued putting makeup on Poppy. Skyler and Ruby left the area to check the shoes, and Amaya stayed there. Sitting. Thinking.

All of her friends were immediately chosen to attend Rainbow High for their talents, while Amaya was in the waiting list. That meant she was good, but was she good enough?

Later, at night, Amaya couldn't sleep. She sat on the couch in the living room, and thought. She thought a lot. She thought so much that she didn't even notice when Jade Hunter spoke to her.

"Amaya!"

"Yes?" She asked, exalted.

"What are you doing here? It's going to be twelve o'clock" her roommate leaned against the couch.

She got nervous. Jade was seriously an enigma to her, sometimes she seemed to like her and sometimes she seemed to hate her. Ruby told her she shouldn't worry about it, that Jade was like that sometimes. But, still, many times she wondered if Jade really considered her as her friend or not. She really wanted to know.

"I couldn't sleep ... you?"

"Neither. I was going to go on late night roll, see if I get sleepy after that"

Late night roll? Amaya could really use a walk around the school. Also, that would help her to bond with Jade! Amaya looked at her with puppy eyes.

Jade sighed and rolled her eyes, "Wanna come?"

"Yes!" She answered. She got up from the couch and grabbed her phone, ready to go.

They walked silently through the halls of Rainbow High. Amaya waited for Jade to say something, but the green-haired girl just looked around. The lockers, the giant unicorn, the benches, the stairs in the main hall. And, despite being a strange walk, she was not uncomfortable. The silence was rather pleasant, and Jade looked too self-absorbed to talk. Moonlight streamed through the school windows and settled on her almost melancholy expression, and her seafoam lime eyeshadow shone brighter.

She had seen Jade serious, angry, sad, sarcastic and confident, but Amaya had never seen her like this, so calm and vulnerable.

She looked beautiful. Her heart began to beat faster, and she was scared that Jade could hear every pump that sounded in her chest.

She didn't listen to them, instead, she sat at the foot of the Giant Unicorn, leaving a space for Amaya to sit next to her.

"I'm sorry for what I said in the morning" Jade said, "I was not in my best mood"

Amaya blushed, "It's okay. The runway has us all on the edge," she sighed, "Besides, you were right. My luck to be here was at the expense of someone else who probably didn't deserve to be expelled. Sometimes I don't even know what I'm doing here"

Jade looked at her, her green eyes gleaming in the moonlight, "Well, you have some sick skills."

"Oh! Uhm, Oh well, Thanks!" Amaya laughed nervously, she felt her face grow hot beneath Jade's steady eyes, "Y-You have sick skills too! The Runway Makeup you designed for me is a total glam! I felt so bold wearing it, you are uhm, so talented and, also, really cool, and— I'll stop talking now" She chuckled.

The last time she felt this way was litterally a week ago, on her date with River Kendall. She placed her hands on her cheeks to cover her blush.

And just like River used to do whenever Amaya got nervous, Jade chuckled softly.

"Thanks" she replied.

They were silent for a moment, and Amaya looked around her to avoid looking into Jade's beautiful green eyes, "So... Do you remember when I asked what was the name of that green eyeshadow you used?"

Jade smiled, placed her hands inside her jacket, "Yeah. I told you seafoam lime, not in the best mood either."

"Seafoam lime! Yes! I had forgotten which one it was" Amaya lied. She knew exactly it was lime green, she remembered it every day, every time she looked at Jade. Still, she was nervous and needed to keep the conversation going.

"You can borrow my palette if you really like that shade"

 "Maybe I will" Amaya laughed nervously, again. Jade was silent and couldn't help thinking that she was probably uncomfortable with her.

Why it was so hard to bond with her? Amaya sighed, and decided to break Jade's silence once more.

"Can I ask you something else?"

"Go ahead"

"Are you still mad at me? That a replaced Bella? I-I know you said you were sorry, and you have been nice to me... most of the time. But I just can't stop thinking—"

"I'm not mad at you, Amaya" Jade interrupted, staring at her, "You are actually nice. Annoying at times and incredible incapable of talking to a boy, but nice... "

"Thank you?" Amaya answered in between.

"It's just that, I can't help but be angry about what happened to Bella. Even after all these weeks, I just keep thinking about it. But it's not your fault."

"And... Have you been mad at her? At Bella?"

"I can't" She quickly answered.

Amaya looked at her, confused. She was afraid to ask too much, but she felt like she was bonding with Jade right now, and she didn't want to stop, "But ... Why?"

She groaned, "I just can't, ok?" She replied, "It doesn't matter what she would have done. Taken a picture, killed someone, I just can't be mad at her!"

Jade got up from where they were sitting and started walking in circles, just like Amaya did in the morning. She smiled at how angry she looked, but cute at the same time.

"But she's gone now. And the worst part? Is that you remind me of her. Everytime you come up with ideas to solve problems, I think about her. She always kept the group united, she always knew how to get out of problems like a genius and was so charismatic and fun. And you are very similar to her, even when trying to get close to me, which it stresses me out so much!"

Amaya had been flattered in various ways in her life, but this was the strangest, by far.

"Jade"

"What" replied the green-haired girl, annoyed.

Amaya tilted her head, "Why is that bad that I remind you of her?"

That girl, Bella, she was important to Jade. Did that mean that Amaya could be just as important to her? Because for Amaya, Jade was important. She didn't know why, but having her approval meant the world, and the thought of Jade seeing her best friend in her made her feel butterflies in her stomach.

"Why is it bad? Because, " Jade frowned and looked at the ground, but she couldn't hide the blush that Amaya clearly saw. "I don't know! I guess I'm afraid of forgetting her? and stop thinking about her, and then I would..."

She stopped. And then she would what? Amaya wanted to ask. But she tried to let the other girl speak before asking.

Jade looked around. She looked at the unicorn and the lockers, and she chuckled, "... and this was my place with her! God, I shouldn't have bring you here, Amaya." She left, and Amaya stayed still, confused.

Jade was acting very strange, and whatever was bothering her, she was willing to find out. That's what friends were for, right? She got up and walked behind Jade, who was heading quickly to the bedrooms.

"Jade, wait! Wow, you're fast!"

She caught her in the elevator, her breathing hard, and her roommate with her hands in her pockets. The door closed and Amaya spoke.

"You have to listen to me"

Jade looked at her distantly. She didn't say anything, so Amaya continued.

"Look, I know I remind you of her, and yes, I am trying to get close to you! But I don't want you to stop being Bella's best friend, or for Bella to stop being your best friend... if that's what you're afraid of, of course."

She noticed how her roommate blushed and looked down.

Amaya sighed, "I know how close you were, and I don't think the two of us will get there— Well, I mean, if you want, I would be delighted..." She chuckled nervously, "BUT, Jade! We are roommates! And you are my friend! And I really want to be yours too, just like Bella was"

The elevator doors opened. They stayed there for a minute, until Jade spoke.

"Bella was more than a friend to me" She finally muttered, loud enough for Amaya to hear, "that's why it's bad that you remind me of her. I don't want to forget her, or... replace her for someone else."

She walked among the dim lights in the hallway, and Amaya walked behind her.

So, Jade was in love with Bella Parker.

Wait. Amaya stopped walking.

Was Jade afraid of falling in love with her because she remind her of Bella Parker?

Her heart seemed to want to explode. This was a level of nervousness that not even River made her feel before.

Because now she was afraid of falling in love with Jade, too.

Her roommate entered the room first, and she adjusted her beanie, "We are not going to talk about this again. Not now, not ever. We have a runway in two days, got it?"

Amaya nodded. Jade nodded too. Imagining that both would head back to their rooms, she walked into the room that, she remembered bitterly, once was Bella's.

"And, Amaya?" Jade called her one more time.

Amaya looked at her, her face burning. Jade's wasn't less red than hers.

"Uhm. We are friends. So don't stress about that, ok? And don't stress about the runway either. It'll go great, we got this"

Amaya nodded again, smiling shyly, "We got this."

Jade said goodnight and later, Amaya found herself sitting on her bed, her cheeks still burning and her heart confused, and thinking of Jade's seafoam lime eyeshadow, as she did every day. But this time, thinking about how pink probably goes better with it, than any color of the rainbow.

Chapter Text

Sheryl Meyer has a rose pink rose on her bedside table. Daria gave it to her a while back. She told her that, whenever she saw a rose, she could think of her, nice but with, you know, thorns. And that's just what Sheryl thinks of every time she looks at her beautiful rose pink rose.

No one had ever given her flowers before. She loved it, and she made sure of taking the most care possible to keep the rose alive. She wanted to tell Daria about it, but she keeps and keeps forgetting it.

Sheryl made herself comfortable on her bed and grabbed the journal that was next to the rose. A journal with a golden cover and a padlock. She also took one of her favorite pencils with a dangling pom-pom. She wrote:

Dear Diary:

Ugh, it's so like, rainy outside. I've tried to sleep for two hours and twenty-four minutes and I give up. I can't stop thinking about the Radiant Week show! Gaby is a fashion design mastermind, but I know that with Bella's help our project will be even more fascinating, she is so smart :) Sadly, she's been like, down these days because of Jade Hunter :( I mean, I would act like the same if one of my best friends changed me for someone else, but then I say to myself "as if"!

Also, Ms. Wright didn't like our first project, I hope she likes the new one we are doing. Maybe I should go get a herbal lemon tea, So much stress dehydrates me </3

Sheryl placed her gold diary on top of her bedside table, put on her chihuaha slippers, and walked to the kitchen with the flashlight of the phone on. Despite knowing the way to the refrigerator by heart, she couldn't go in the dark. What if some stranger entered her room at night? What if a ghost appeared to her? Or if a dark shadow closed the door, humming a creepy song, just like what she was seeing right now?

Sheryl stopped half way when she noticed someone by the door, and she reacted in the only logical way she could think of. She softly said:

"OH MY GOD PLEASE DONT KILL ME I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE EVEN WORSE IM WEARING MY UGLIEST PIJAMAS TO BE KILLED IN THEM AND—"

"SHHH" She heard.

She squized her eyes to see through the darkness that this unknown figure was actually familiar and had the prettiest rose pink hair of all rose pink hairs.

"Oh, my sweet Daria, you scared me, like, so much!" Sheryl approached her friend, hugging her, but with many doubts in her head, "What are you doing up? It's like 2 in the morning, omg did you go out somewhere?"

Daria was in her pajamas, no makeup and with a blanket draped over her back, "I didn't go anywhere, Sheryl. I was checking to see if you kept the door locked."

Oh right. Sheryl chuckled. Daria had the biggest mom vibes, always checking to see if the door was locked or the gas was off in the kitchen. She was grateful to have her by her side, because she usually forgot to do both, and more. "And it was?" she asked, tilting head.

Daria smiled, "Yep. Good job."

"Thank youuu" Sheryl whispered, smiling, and she continued on her way to the refrigerator.

"And what are you doing not in your room?" Daria asked, following her. She leaned against the kitchen island.

"Oh, nothing much. I couldn't sleep, and I said to myself, I think I'll go grab some herbal lemon tea, I looooove herbal lemon tea. And here I am" she replied. She turned on the kettle and made her tea, "You can't sleep either, Deedee?"

Daria looked at the ground, a little flushed. Sheryl knew that her rose pink hair friend blushed when she called her names, and she loved it. Daria could be stubborn and scold her (more than she would like) but she knew that deep down she also had a soft spot.

She really liked delving into that side of her.

"Yeah... This Radiant Week thing, it's got me stressed. Working with Rainbow Dream is exhausting, and thinking that we only have three days left makes me more stressed"

Sheryl gasped, placing her hand on top of her friend's"Omg same. I'm so stressed, Daria! Besides, this rain prevents me from relaxing, I focus too much on external noise and I forget that I have to sleep"

Daria chuckled. "You should think of the rain as being serenaded to sleep"

"Why would I want to be serenaded to sleep? I couldn't sleep paying attention to what they are singing to me!"

Daria laughed, stroking her hand. Sheryl loved seeing her like this, calm, sweet. She hated hearing in the halls that Daria was a diva, sassy and mean. Well, yes, she can be diva and sassy, but never mean! They don't know her as Sheryl does, they don't see Daria as the Rose she is, sweet and beautiful, but with some little thorns.

Sheryl take the last sip of her tea. "Do you want to sleep with me tonight, Deedee?" Sheryl asked, without ties, "Could we continue talking, it's cold here"

"Oh, sure!" Daria stammered, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, she looking a little flustered, "Just, uhm—let me check the door one more time."

It's not the first time Sheryl has asked Daria to sleep with her. Sheryl was used to sleeping with friends at her countless sleepovers in Beverly Hills, though nothing beats her loving naps cuddling her chihuaha. But sleeping with Daria? That was different, the way they hugged when sleeping was different from any way she slept with other friends before. Sleeping with Daria gave her peace and tranquility.

She waited for Daria in the door to her room. Both inside, she settled on her bed so that Daria would enter as well.

"Are you comfortable?" She asked her, "we can arrange the pillows if you need it"

"No, it's ok, Sheryl" Daria answered, "Can I put on some music? I can't sleep without my lofi playlist, and maybe it will distracts you from the rain, too"

"Yeah, totally, do it!" Playlist playing, Daria lay down next to Sheryl, staring at her. Sheryl smiled.

"What do you want to talk about?" Daria whispered, smiling too.

"Whatever," Sheryl whispered back, "Maybe About Bella. She's going through all this, like, drama with Jade, it's starting to affect me too!"

Daria raised an eyebrow "How does it affect you too, Sheryl?"

"Like, in the working environment? You should see the way she sees her. It's a killing stare, and then, a sad stare. I know it because I do the same when I fight with someone. Gabriella and I try to don't mind in her business, although I think Gaby just doesn't care about Bella, but I do! Maybe I should go talk to Jade"

"Don't do that" Daria said, firmly "They'll figure it out on their own, don't worry" then Daria caressed her cheek gently, and Sheryl's stomach filled with butterflies, "When we fight we work it out on our own, remember?"

Sheryl sighed.

"You're right" She said, "I hope they do, I don't like to see my friends in a bad mood. Do you remember when I accidentally broke your airpods? That was a very ugly fight"

Daria chuckled, "of course it was! They were my airpods, Sheryl! My precious babies, I couldn't listen to music for a week, luckily Poppy lent me hers"

"I said I was sorry." Sheryl naturally snuggled closer to Daria. Daria placed her arms around her waist, caressing the fabric of her pajamas. "And I bought you an even nicer ones, so you're welcome"

"Ok, I agree with the last part. They are actually pretty nice"

They both laughed. Now Sheryl caressed Daria's cheek. Daria started humming, and after a few long seconds, Sheryl realized that it was one of the songs that Daria had composed a few weeks ago. It was a very romantic song, Sheryl loved it. She wondered if Daria had written it with someone in her mind. (Better said, if Daria had written it with like, her, Sheryl Meyer, in her mind)

And then, Daria looked at her lips. And it wasn't subtle, because Sheryl sometimes had a hard time paying attention to what little thing others were doing, but her looks were obvious. She looked at Daria looking at her lips and now she was looking at hers.

Kiss her. No. Don't. Maybe? No, maybe, like, wait for her to do it. After all, it wouldn't be the first time she'd done it. Kiss her. The first time it was just this way, but a month ago. Daria kissed her. It was totally the best experience ever. After that night, Sheryl's eyes saw her friend differently, and her heart became obsessed with getting Daria's attention and sweet kisses.

And she wanted to kiss her, so bad. But she was so nervous, she felt like throwing up roses.

Wait, she remembered!

"I still have the rose you gave me. It hasn't withered yet" Sheryl whispered innocently.

Daria smiled and raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, I saw it. To be honest, I was so afraid you might have lost it, or broken or fallen off the petals, or well, it might have ended up in the trash somehow. No offense Sheryl but you are kinda clumsy sometimes"

"Well, she is still there. Turns out I'm good at taking care of roses"

She didn't know if the darkness was playing tricks on her mind, but it seemed as if Daria's pupils were dilating. Oh Sweet Herbal Lemonade, She was just so pretty.

"Yeah... I'm glad to know that" Daria said, in the most lovely way.

They both smiled. Sheryl innocently closed her eyes, waiting for Daria to kiss her as only she knew how, and she was not disappointed. Daria's lips were a bit dry and parched without chapstick, like the thorns of a rose, but at the same time so sweet and delicate, like the petals of it.

The kiss was not over yet, and Sheryl already wondered when she will get Daria's sweet kisses again.

She wondered if Daria also felt rose pink roses blooming on her stomach like she did.S he always forgets to ask her about it, but it wasn't a problem, at least while she keeps getting those sweet rose pink kisses.

She would do whatever it takes to take care and to not wither her dear rose pink rose.