After Everything

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Homecoming

Like last year, Brittany hosted homecoming pictures at her house.

She was wearing a tight navy blue dress that tied on the side, pairing it with silver heels and long earrings. Her mother was spraying even more hairspray into her hair to get rid of the flyaways. She found it quite embarrassing that her mother was doing that in front of her peers, and didn't want Trevor to see her getting practically bathed in the hairspray.

She swatted her mother away, fixing her dress, making sure it looked as stunning as it did in the mirror. She kept her eyes on the gate in her backyard, waiting for Trevor to arrive - and when he did, the smile grew on her face.

"Hi!" She exclaimed, running over to him with open arms. And again, she couldn't help but eye his grey suit. It was different than the one he wore at the fundraiser, but she still had a thing for the color grey on him. He had the best fashion sense.

"You look beautiful," he told her as he pulled away from the embrace and examined her dress. He then pointed to his tie that matched. "I think navy looks great on us."

She laughed, nodding her head. "So do I," she said as her eyes landed on her father. She was quick to grab Trevor's arm once seeing the sight of him. "My dad wants to greet you," she informed him, aware they had met before but wasn't sure he knew about the infamous firm handshake that could make or break the greeting. "Please give him a firm handshake. I'm begging you."

Trevor nodded as Diego approached him. Brittany prayed he took her words seriously as he watched them shake hands. When her father smiled, she knew it had gone well.

"It's nice to see you again, Trevor," said Diego as he took a look at his outfit. "Nice suit. The tie is a great touch."

Trevor smiled. "Thanks."

When the rest of their friends entered the backyard, they walked to greet them. Cassie was already struggling to walk in her three inch heels as her feet dragged against the ground. However, her pretty tight lace pink dress made up for the scene she was making about her feet. Juliana eventfully went out to buy a dress, and Brittany was satisfied with what she was wearing. It was plum colored and flattered her body.

Crystal and Max walked in after, looking the most disheveled. He was wearing an interesting color suit that didn't match well with her dress. Everyone figured that would be the case. Weird pairing equaled uncoordinated outfits.

Toby was the last friend to walk in, arriving by his lonesome. He knew it was only right to ride solo to homecoming, as he wasn't ready to find another girl, and he wasn't friends with any girls that weren't already taken.

Brittany thought this suit was stunning as well. His light brown hair was styled perfectly, looking less 'surfer boy' than it did at school. She walked towards him with a smile. "You look great. Thanks for coming."

"Thanks, Brittany," he said, smiling back at her. "So do you."

The smile stayed on her face as she started demanding her friends to take pictures. After all, pictures were the most important part of homecoming. If they didn't start now, they would arrive at the dance with only one-hundred of them, and that definitely was not enough.

Brittany's mother was getting all the angles, hyping up her daughter and her friends as she snapped a bunch of pictures with her expensive camera. Cassie figured she would have to rely on the pictures Brittany's mother was taking, considering her father was uninterestedly taking pictures with his five year old phone and standing seventeen feet away. He clearly didn't understand that in this generation, pictures were a big deal.

The background was perfect for the pictures, taken behind the canal with the many palm trees and blue sky. Madison tried her best to find the right lighting in fear her daughter would yell at her again for carelessly taking pictures without checking.

The fun continued as the parents who weren't occupied with photos were chatting over glasses of champagne and rating the girl's dresses like judges.

Brittany was getting pictures with Cassie when she watched Lola step into her backyard. She froze, not recalling inviting her to her house. Was she lost? Her picture party was invite-only, and she made that very clear to every guest in attendance to avoid unwanted people.

"What are you doing here?" She questioned as she approached Lola, who was wearing a hideous frill dress. It didn't matter if it was designer. Brittany thought she looked like a flapper girl. Not all designer items were meant to be purchased just because of the brand name. Her mother taught her that rule. "I didn't invite you."

Lola laughed. "Well, as Blair Waldorf once said, the most important parties to attend are the ones you're not invited to."

Brittany stared at her blankly, not appreciating the Gossip Girl quote in this context. How dare she use one of her favorite shows against her like that? "Well, Blair Waldorf has never met me, and I swear by invite-only," she said sassily. "That's your cue to go."

Juliana jumped into the conversation, backing Brittany up. She was finished with Lola and the drama that followed her. "I don't think anyone wants you here," she added. "You've caused enough drama for this entire friend group. We're dreading the next thing you're planning to do to hurt one of us. We're not the biggest fans of you."

Jake agreed, following after her. "You might have tried to split up two relationships, Lola, but we won't let you split up a third," he said as she looked away from him. "So, like Brittany said before, it's time you go."

"We're not your friends," added Brittany. "Never were and never will be. I wanted nothing to do with you from the moment you arrived. So, you can continue to be obsessed with us but you're no longer invited to anything we're apart of."

"I think New York is calling your name," Toby chimed in, surprising Brittany who didn't think he would contribute. He always stayed out of the drama.

But Lola didn't move from her place. She and her flapper dress were starting to irritate Brittany even more. "I'm not going back to New York. This is home now."

"Okay," said Cassie in an annoyed tone as she walked up behind Toby. "So, go home then. We don't want you here."

Lola then knew what Jake said about Cassie was true. She in fact was a little ball of fire. She never would have guessed that.

Sighing, she spoke. "You know what. Fine," she backed away. "If you don't want me here, then whatever. You all are fucking crazy, anyway."

Brittany watched as she turned around and exited her backyard. "Not as crazy as you!" She shouted, getting the last laugh. The friend group stayed silent, not believing what just went down. Brittany had a smile on her face when she turned around to look at her friends. "That was fun. Time for more pictures!"

Three hundred pictures later and they finally made it to the homecoming dance. With the lights off, the decorations looked amazing. Brittany was proud of her work for the second year in a row. Everyone knew it wouldn't have looked as good if someone else was in charge of the committee.

Trap music was blasting from the speakers as they ran to the center of the gym to dance. Juliana started with her unimpressive dance moves, making everyone laugh. She even created a new one as all eyes were on her. She called it 'the arm pump' as she threw her arms in the air wildly.

Trevor was spinning Brittany around as they were laughing and enjoying their time together. Cassie and Jordan were attempting to take her shoes off. Toby was encouraging Crystal and Max to jump into the circle forming behind them, which was spotlighting Jake and Juliana's moves. Everyone was cheering and clapping for them.

The dance couldn't have been going any better.