Sparks Beneath the Surface.

ＮＩＮＥＴＥＥＮ- Something Blue.

AN: talk about forgotten bop??? omg i loveeeee this song u guys its so girly and fun and bubblegum glitterrrrr

lol enjoy the chapterrrrrr! comment, vote, and follow if you like it & wanna see moreee :)

All my love, 

-Vera 🪷✨

"IT'S MY BACHELORETTE PARTY!" Ivy squeals excitedly as Kiyo and Diana pop a bottle of champagne each. We all cheer happily and raise our glasses. I'm honestly so surprised I got an invite, I mean, isn't this supposed to be a thing for just the bride and her bridesmaids? I even asked Ivy on the phone and she said, "I just want you there! Is that so wrong?"

So I came! I thought Ivy's bachelorette was gonna be a quiet thing: herbal teas, a greenhouse stroll, perhaps one tasteful crown of flowers per head (the one thing I got right). Instead, we're all here in an AirBnB in Nevada. Fun fact about Ivy? She was born and raised in Reno. It's been a few weeks after New Years, and before you ask, no. I haven't seen or called or texted Elian. And I think he's gotten the hint. After a little while of me doing my best to avoid him and being paired up with everyone and anyone but him on missions, he stopped trying. Or, I just don't give him the time to try. Either way, whatever we had going on is done. And as much as it hurts, I know I shouldn't look back. I can't.

And the first step of solidifying that is showing up here today. To celebrate the woman he's getting married to.

The cool breeze whips through the air as the sun beginning to dip toward the horizon, painting the sky in shades of pink and gold. The entire place is adorned with peonies and gold heart shaped confetti. A garland of gold balloons that spell 'Bride to Be!' Hangs over the entrance to the below deck where we are. It's me, Andrea (Ivy told me to bring her along since she knows how much she means to me, her kindness is only making all this so much worse.), Diana, Kiyomi, Lilah, Kami, and some of the girls she cheered with on the Raiderettes.

Oh yeah, did I tell you that she cheered on the Raiderettes? Yes, THOSE fucking Raiderettes, only one of the sexiest and coolest cheer teams in all of the NFL. And she cheered for FOUR years. I feel amazing by the way, could you tell?

As the playlist continues to play some pop tracks, Ivy, Kiyo, and Lilah hit the dance floor with some of the other girls.

"Holy shit." Andrea sighs as she has a sip of her margarita through her purple penis-shaped straw.

"Yeah, that's about right." I sigh back, having a sip of my Aperol spritzer. Was this, like, a kind of cliche drink to order because, it's orange, and I'm- you know, I have orange fire powers and red hair and- whatever. I don't know what the fuck I'm talking about. Diana and Kami have been deadset on keeping me away from Ivy, but I don't know how long that's gonna pan out for because Ivy literally invited me herself to this fucking party. She wants me to be here. Admittedly because she doesn't know about me and Elian- holy fuck, am I a terrible person?

"Um, no, I think you're just flawed," Andrea replies, so I guess I said that last part out loud, "You don't make the best decisions at times, but you're not, like, I don't know- Woody Allen."

My eyes widen, "Woody Allen? That's the first person you could think of?!"

"I blanked, okay?!" She runs a hand through her hair, "And anyway, you're not with Elian anymore! And you guys didn't even really do anything that, like, Hell condemning. I think. God, this whole thing is fucked."

"I know." I groan.

"Anyways, listen," Drea turns to me, "It's over. Ivy doesn't know, otherwise there's no way she would've invited us, and I don't think either you or Elian are too content on letting that information slip. Right?" When I nod, she also nods, "Right! So, let's just focus on the moment and what you can control. Having fun and celebrating the bride."