THIRD PERSON'S POV.
Homecoming was the perfect opportunity for Bless to just forget all the drama that had happened the past week. She loved dances and always looked forward to them, as it was a time to just forget about the stress of school or any drama in her life and dance the night the way with her friends. Though the boy standing before her, digging through his locker for his Trigonometry notes, did not fancy social events. Chase Miller was the type of person who'd rather stay in his room (whether it be doing his work, reading a novel, or watching a show) than go to a high school dance. However, his mom encouraged him to do so and now he was going with Bless.
"So, let's go over the plan for today," Bless said, deciding it was best to go over everything that was happening after school. "I've got a hair appointment straight after school and you said you're getting yours cut."
"Uh-huh," Chase confirmed. However, he was more focused on the items in his locker.
"And then I'll go home, get dressed, take some bomb photos, drive by your place and we'll-"
"Oh, crap!" Chase groaned, giving his full attention to Bless who gave him a confused look. "We might have to stay at my place for a while. My mom wants to meet you. Your moms are welcome to come too."
Bless's confused look turned into shock. "Uh, Chase, you're cool and I'm sure you'll find someone 'cause you're pretty good looking, but I-"
"Woah. Woah, woah," Chase quickly stopped her. "She wants to meet you because you're, like, the first person I've brought over my house to not do a school project."
"Wow, that is sad," Bless responded and Chase nodded in agreement. "But such a relief." Something else - well, someone else - caught Bless's eyes from down the hallway. EJ Caswell, who had his eyes on Chase and Bless and was heading toward them. EJ sent Bless a short wave, but she just rolled her eyes. "I gotta go, but I'll talk to you later."
"Yeah, sure." As Bless left, someone else joined Chase's side. To his shock, it was EJ who gave him a small smile. Regardless, Chase was wondering why on earth the boy was standing with him. "Can I help you with something?"
"Yes. I mean, no," EJ spoke as he shook his head. Chase furrowed his brows and closed his locker, watching the boy stammer on his words. EJ seemed nervous... which was weird to see on him. "I-I mean, I wanted to apologize."
"For what?"
"When I yelled at you in the bathroom while you were trying to help," EJ reminded him. Chase almost forgot about that event. "I... I was kinda a jerk."
"'Kinda' is an understatement," Chase remarked with a shrug. "But, hey, you're EJ, so."
EJ chuckled a bit. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Well, you're known for being a jerk."
"W-Wait, really?" EJ asked, his face falling a bit. Chase awkwardly nodded. He didn't think EJ would care so much about his remark. He thought EJ knew about his reputation. "Is that how people see me?"
"Uh... Maybe?" Chase answered, slightly grimacing. "You're not exactly known for being a good person."
"Seriously? But I'm senior class treasurer, team captain of the Waterpolo team-"
"And that's all cool, but honestly, have you done anything that shows people you're a good person, like, deep down?" Chase asked and EJ remained silent as the school bell rang for the next period. "Look, all I'm saying is try undoing your wrongdoings."
With that being said, Chase made his way down the corridor, leaving EJ in much shock and confusion.
. . .
Standing before his body mirror, Chase checked himself for the hundredth time. Tonight would be the first time he would be attending East High's homecoming dance and he was nervous. The last social event he went to was when he was ten and his cousin had a party. Ever since then, he usually never got invited to anything and since he didn't have many (or any for a matter of fact) friends, Chase always stayed home on nights like these.
However, befriending Blessica Salazar-Roberts, aka one of the most popular girls at East High, meant rejoining civilization and trying to make the most out of his senior year. He just hoped that she wouldn't wander around and leave his side.
After taking one final look at himself and being satisfied, Chase left his room and headed downstairs. He took a turn into his living room, seeing that his mom, Makenna Miller, was watching a reality show. However, her attention went to her son when she heard his footsteps and she turned around, giving a pleased smile.
"Look at you!" Makenna delightfully exclaimed as she got up from the couch, while Chase chuckled and did a turn for his mom. "I can't believe you're finally going to homecoming."
"Neither can I, but Bless said she wanted to go with me," Chase replied with a shrug.
"I'm just glad you're going with a girl." Chase's mom approached him and cupped his cheeks with a smile. "I was getting worried."
"Mmhmm." Chase pursed his lips, forcing a chuckle and hoping his mom wouldn't see through it. Thankfully, she walked past him, heading to the kitchen. He grimaced while rubbing his temple. Not warning Bless about his mom's... comments was risky and he wished he thought of it before. With a sigh, Chase turned around to face his mom. "Uhm, Mom, could you maybe not make those comments when Bless comes over?"
"Sweetie, I don't see how raising my own opinions in my own house would be a problem," Makenna countered. Just as Chase was about to reply, the doorbell rang, cutting him off while his mom squealed. "That must be your date."
Makenna made her way to the door and opened it, causing Chase to put in a fake smile. In stepped Bless and her mom, Carol, calming Chase a bit. He didn't want to imagine his mom's reaction if she saw both of Bless's moms. While the two mothers quickly began a conversation, Bless approached Chase with a smile and pulled him into a hug.
"You look so good!" Bless commented upon letting go of him.
"Yeah, so do you," Chase replied, a genuine smile falling on his lips. Bless had her hair curled and tied up into a high pony. She wore the same outfit Chase saw on their video call - a short sequin halter jumpsuit in a metallic blush color.
"Tonight's going to be amazing!"
. . .
Throughout the car ride, Bless couldn't help but notice one thing. Besides the fact that she and Chase looked amazing, something was off about the boy. He seemed tense - more than usual - and was super quiet. Chase was usually quiet, but Bless had noticed that when he grew close to someone, like herself, he was talkative. Tonight, he appeared to be different.
Although they were using Bless's car she shared with Nini, Chase was driving. When he eventually parked in the student parking lot, Bless could tell from the packed parking lot and the many lights on in the school, as well as the many students going in, that tonight was going to be one for the books.
Chase unbuckled his seatbelt and took the car keys out of the ignition. As he leaned for the door handle, Bless stopped him. "Wait." Chase furrowed his brows in confusion but turned to meet her concerned gaze. "What's up with you?"
"What are you talking about?" Chase asked.
"You've been quiet the whole ride. Actually, you've been acting weird since my mom and I arrived at your house," Bless stated. Chase didn't answer, but instead sighed lightly and rested his head against the headrest. "We're friends, Chase, so you can talk to me. I'm not all bad." Chase stared forward for a few seconds, hesitating to open up to Bless. It wasn't that he didn't trust Bless. She was one of the first real friends he had gotten in a long time and he was grateful for her. He just had never opened up to anyone about this matter and he was scared. "You don't have to say anything if you're not-"
"I-I'm gay," Chase's shaky voice gained Bless's full attention as she fell in shock but also delight.
"Well, that's awesome-"
"Not if you have a homophobic mom."
Bless raised her brows a bit, being a bit taken aback by what Chase revealed. His mom was so sweet to her and her mom and she seemed like such a loving person. She never would've guessed that she was homophobic.
"That's why you were so angsty earlier. You didn't want your mom to say something," Bless voiced, connecting the dots, and Chase nodded his head. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Bless, you're the first person who hasn't seen me as another kid in the shadows and who actually cares about me," Chase explained. "I didn't want to scare a friend like you off."
"C, you could never scare me off," Bless assured him, squeezing his hand which he reciprocated. "Thank you for telling me. And if you ever feel unsafe at your house, mine's always open."
"Thanks," Chase replied, letting out a small chuckle. "You know, thinking about it, this whole coming out thing would be so much easier if I were in your shoes."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, your moms are part of the LGBTQ+ committee so if, hypothetically, you were gay and you came out to them, it'd be super easy, wouldn't it?"
"Yeah," Bless said, forcing a smile while nodding. It would be easy, so why was she always so hesitant with telling her moms that she was bisexual? Bless tried shaking those thoughts away and cleared her throat. "Uhm, we don't have to go in if you're not okay."
"Oh, we are going in. We did not spend more than three hours getting dressed up," Chase remarked, causing Bless to chuckle. "Plus, a dance might be therapeutic right now."
"I guess it could. We should just shut our thoughts up and dance until we're cured," Bless agreed with a nod. "Like Walk the Moon once said, Shut Up and Dance."
. . .
East High's gym looked amazing much to Bless's shock. The area was covered in decorative fairy lights, red and white balloons. The tables were covered with white table cloths. An open space was in the middle of it all and Bless assumed it was the dance floor, considering many students were dancing there. She had to give the faculty in charge of decorating the gym some props. It really didn't remind her of school.
Upon entering, Bless and Chase first took another round of photos at the balloon arch. From there, they attempted to find table number 10. It didn't take long as it was one of the closest tables. Upon reaching it, Bless saw that the table was occupied with Ashlyn, Ricky, Carlos, and Big Red. Of course, Bless was ecstatic that her best friend was sitting at the same table she was at and she had no problem with Carlos or Big Red. Ricky, however, was a problem, especially after their last conversation. Nonetheless, she ignored her urge to roll her eyes as she and Chase happily greeted their friends and joined them at the table. Chase sat next to Ashlyn while Bless sat next to him, leaving two seats empty beside her.
Soon, the gym became more crowded, while the group of friends kept the conversations filled with laughter going. Honestly, this was the most fun Bless was having at East High, especially with this group of people. She had a bunch of friends from her previous school and although they were fun, something about this group of people felt different. A good kind of different she didn't hate.
Bringing up the next topic of conversation was Ashlyn, who demanded that she, Bless, Chase, and Carlos take a selfie, and Bless could not disagree with her friend's idea. After the four of them had taken their selfie on Ashlyn's phone, they all looked down at the photo and Bless grinned from ear to ear. However, her smile soon faded when a familiar voice perked her ears.
"Excuse us," the sound of Gina Porter's voice gained Bless's attention. The second she looked at her, a slight smile grew on her. Gina was a natural beauty, but Bless forgot how gorgeous she looked dressed up. However, her frown instantly came back the second she saw that Gina wasn't alone. EJ Caswell, of all people, had his arm linked with hers. "These seats taken?"
. . .
Gina and EJ.
Gina Porter and EJ Caswell.
Honestly, Bless still couldn't believe that out of all the people who had to come to the dance together, it was Gina and EJ. Sure, the two had a few similarities, but she never would've thought. She was angry, but she didn't know why. Unlike everyone else around her who managed to make things less awkward by bringing up other topics of conversation, Bless couldn't help but glance at the pair sitting beside her. Tonight was supposed to be fun, yet now she was full of rage. She tried to not think about them, but instead pay attention to whatever Ashlyn, Chase and Carlos were talking about.
"He'll show up," Ashlyn assured Carlos. "Maybe he just hit traffic."
"What's wrong?" Bless asked, wanting to get herself into their conversation.
"Carlos asked Seb to the dance," Chase began explaining the predicament, "and now Carlos thinks he's standing him up. Which is ridiculous. Carlos, Ashlyn's probably right. There might be traffic."
"This is Salt Lake City, not New York City."
Chase and Ashlyn sent Bless disapproving looks, whereas Carlos sighed.
"Bless is right," Carlos agreed with her. "We live in Salt Lake City. There hasn't been traffic since the 2002 Winter Olympics."
"Okay, then maybe he has an emergency at home," Chase tried to provide another reasoning.
"Yeah, don't assume Seb stood you up," Ashlyn added.
"Who knows. People aren't always what they seem to be," Bless bitterly remarked, earning pointed looks from Ashlyn and Chase. She sent an apologetic smile to Carlos's way. "I am not helping."
"Like I was saying, maybe he was just in a farming accident."
Carlos let out another sigh. "Not helping."
Bless's attention diverted from her friends' conversation and to the one happening on her other side between EJ and Gina.
"Could you get me some punch, babe?" Gina asked EJ.
"Sure... babe," EJ awkwardly replied.
A distasteful frown fell upon Bless's lips, watching EJ get up from his seat and leave the table, leaving his seat between Gina and Bless empty. A thought popped into Bless's head and after quickly thinking it through, she took a chance and moved over to the seat next to Gina.
"So, you and EJ, huh? I mean, I'm kinda shock," Bless voiced to her. "I didn't think your standards were that low."
"You're not exactly one to give relationship advice, assuming you've never been in one," Gina remarked with a raised eyebrow as she rested an arm on her chair. "And when I want your opinion, I'll ask."
"Well, from the looks of it, you seriously need someone's opinion, considering you could do much better than this. Your loss, but I guess this proves what everyone says about you."
Chase shared worried looks with everyone as they witnessed the small argument before. He had never seen Bless this infuriated, but he wondered why. He knew she and Gina didn't get along, for reasons he had yet to learn about, but it almost seemed like Bless was... annoyed at the sight of EJ and Gina.
"And what does everyone say about me, might I ask?"
"Bless," Chase uttered her name in a warning tone because it was obvious that whatever Bless was going to say wasn't going to be pretty. Bless, unfortunately, ignored him and instead reached for her punch cup.
"A little too ambitious for your own good," Bless stated. "Or anyone else's as a matter of fact."
Feeling satisfied that she got the last word, Bless took a sip of her punch. However, the rest of her friends sitting around her fell in utter silence, wearing looks of disbelief. Even Gina looked hurt by her words. Maybe Bless should've kept her mouth shut.
. . .
so i have decided to continue with cok, especially with season two here. i didn't think anyone actually cared about this story but seeing some of y'all saying you want me to continue it just makes my heart happy 🥰
the way i was freaking out when i saw ciara was in josh's mv !!
please don't be a ghost reader :(
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