Previously on Her Safe Haven: Gray left for Las Vegas following his fight with Winter after her breakdown in St Louis. Winter went back to school and managed to distract herself with Lakeside Festival Preparation. On the other side of the story, Seth told Jonah that he had no chance with Winter because of Rohan, and Jonah thought it might be time to move on, after all, so he started going out with Helena. Kai was devastated at this so he prolonged his 'Friends with Benefits' arrangement with Riley. To refresh your memory on the "Love Polygon": Dylan -> Riley -> Kai -> Helena -> Jonah -> Winter <-> Rohan. An arrow symbolised romantic interest.
On the second week of the festival preparation, Lakeside High decided to throw a party to celebrate the cooperation of the student body committee of Lakeside and Dews High, consisting of more than three hundred people involved in the planning of the Lakeside Festival.
Being the rich school that they were, Lakeside High did not go halfway — they splurged and booked the biggest ballroom in the Four Seasons Hotel. That Saturday night, they decided to throw the ball of their students' lives.
Winter came in her long blue dress and white heels, and Rohan stared the moment his eyes saw her. Jake almost snorted at this, because Rohan never stared so blatantly at anyone before with his eyes in awe and his mouth wide like this, but after looking at Winter, Jake understood why.
Because he too, would stare at how beautiful and different Winter looked outside that too-big plain uniform of hers with a bit of make up and her hair curled up in a sideways pin.
"You look very pretty today..." Rohan murmured in her ear before he kissed her hand in greeting at the foot of the stairs to the hotel entrance.
She blushed and looked down at his compliment, her heart beating harder she had to hold on to his elbow not to lose her footing under his intense stare. 'Thank you,' she smiled and let him lead her up the stairs, waving her goodbye to a smirking Caleb sitting in his car.
The girls had prepared for the party together in Winter's house, because with the Homecoming cancelled this year due to their principal being "still in a bad mood" after the senior prank the previous year (what nonsense was that?), this was their first formal dance of the year, and the girls were excited to dress up and be pretty for the night.
But Helena's father booked a private make up artist for her, and last Riley heard, Helena would get ready alone with Jonah at her own place, so she wasn't there with them. When Riley brought up the topic, it was the first time Winter found out that there seemed to be something going on with Helena and Jonah.
She was surprised, and at first a little bit hurt that none of the two told her anything, but after the group received a picture from Helena of herself in a pretty white dress, smiling shyly with a grinning Jonah photobombing the picture behind her, Winter smiled and decided that, if the two were happy, she would be happy for them, too, despite the petty confusion she was feeling at the moment.
The girls then went on to choose their dresses.
Riley decided on a safe black short dress, with it being "more open" and, according to her, more suitable for the tomboy that she was. Though Winter suspected it might have less to do with Riley being a tomboy than a short dress being more... uh... accessible. (But Winter decided she couldn't really blame Kai if something did happen, anyway. Riley looked absolutely gorgeous.)
Tria, on the other hand, confident as she always was, decided on a striking half-cut red dress and a bright red lipstick. While Rose decided to go more conservatively in her sweet pink dress. Since Tria's boyfriend was in another school, Tria and Rose decided to go to the dance together, which Winter thought was cute.
The girls had then asked her how the quiet, awkward Rohan Garrison had asked her to go to the dance with him, but Winter only shrugged. Rohan was barely ever awkward with her anymore nowadays, and she felt he was even getting too playfully cocky, because he didn't even ask her to go with him. He just straight out assumed that she would and asked what time he should pick her up.
Though Winter decided that perhaps she enjoyed this new, confident Rohan more, because with her, Rohan did not have that guard he used up against everyone else; he did not feel the need to watch his every words with her, nor did he feel the need to hesitate before holding her hand or touching her, either.
That evening Rose and Tria left first in Tria's purple convertible, followed then by Riley being picked up by Kai in his motorcycle. And Winter went last with Caleb. Rohan had insisted to pick her up, but Winter didn't really think she could take Lennox and Jake's continuous teasing in their car on the way to the hotel (since the two of them were going together and the Garrisons only brought one car to Lakeside), so she had kindly told him that she will meet him at the hotel.
Winter's pride swelled a little with how Caleb's eyes subtly widened upon seeing her on top of their staircase. And as he complimented her, she felt the beginning of a promise of an exciting and happy evening building up in her, and she couldn't wait to get the party started.
+++
Not only Rohan, but Dylan's eyes widened too that night when he laid eyes on Riley, stunningly walking into the ballroom in her black dress and curly hair let down.
Though his awe immediately turned sour the moment he spotted her arm locked around Kai, ever arrogant with that smug look plastered on his face.
"Stop glaring, Dylan. You'll scare the freshmen if they look at you like this."
Seth smirked from next to him and Dylan glared at him, ten times more violent than before, but Seth was unfazed as he sipped down his mocktail.
Dylan did not know about Kai and Riley's current friends-with-benefits situation (and Seth would kill anyone who would be stupid enough to tell him — if Dylan didn't kill them himself), because doing that would definitely permanently damage Dylan and Kai's friendship. All Seth knew was that Dylan thought that Kai and Riley had been getting closer than usual. And all Kai told their group was just that he and Riley were still good friends.
Rose pranced then towards Seth and Dylan's small circle table, arm linked with Tria's, and she too must have noticed Dylan staring at Riley and Kai because she grinned and teased the exact same thing Seth said, "Careful, Dylan. Don't glare too much or you'll scare the freshmen."
"That's what I said!"
And Dylan's glare intensified as the three laughed around him.
"Tch. Idiots," Dylan only murmured then as he rolled his eyes and took a sip of his apple juice.
Though Seth almost couldn't hold his laughter after that. Dylan seemed to have decided to drink at the wrong time, because as soon as he did he almost choked the moment he heard Riley calling at them. "Hey guys! Here! Over here!"
Kai separated from her to get them drinks, and she skipped confidently towards the group. And as she did Dylan swore he didn't know what the hell was wrong with him, because his throat turned dry and his face noticeably warmed with her incoming presence.
Riley must have noticed his intense stare because soon she smiled at him curiously and shook him on the shoulder. "What's up, Choi? Why so tense? Do I have something on my face?"
"N—No, your face looks perfect! I mean— I was just thinking about... you know. The ceiling. The ceiling is very nice here."
"The ceiling?" Riley chuckled cutely at that, and the rest of the group had to step back for a moment to hide and hold their laughters watching this interaction.
Dylan looked like he was about to say something else, but thankfully (and really thankful, Rose thought, because who knew what other stupid nonsense Dylan was going to sprout out at Riley at this point?), Kai came at that moment and after a short greeting he and Riley went to look for food.
The moment they left Dylan noticeably relaxed, and as he let out a breath the group finally couldn't take it anymore and bursted out laughing at him.
"'The ceiling is very nice here'?" Tria hadn't laughed that hard in years. "What in the hell is wrong with you, Dylan? You started a conversation with her about the ceiling?"
Dylan gritted his teeth at them and huffed. "At least I said something!"
"Oh, true, true," Seth smirked at him. "I mean, of course. I don't know what Tria's talking about. I would love to discuss the ceiling with you, Dylan."
And with a last glare Dylan stomped off in fume to go look for his other, less idiotic friends, and the group bursted out once more in louder laughters.
+++
Jonah was angry that Rohan had said nothing about whatever it was that was going on between him and Winter. Yet at the same time he also never told Rohan before that he liked Winter, and Rohan immediately told him "yes" the moment Jonah asked about it, so Jonah found he couldn't really be angry at his friend.
And with everything that Winter had been through, he really couldn't be angry at her for something that seemed as trivial as this, either. Especially seeing her here tonight, dancing joyfully with Rohan, of course he couldn't be angry about her happiness.
Though Rohan thought that the matter would put a strain on his and Jonah's relationship, it turned out the two were friends long enough for them to just take it with a stride, and Jonah just settled on bitterly teasing Rohan whenever he could.
As Rose pulled Winter from him to dance with her, Rohan walked to the side, and, upon seeing his friend, he smiled a little bit awkwardly as Jonah waved him over.
"Having fun, Rohan?"
"Of course I am," he answered with a half-smile as he took one sip of the mocktail Jonah offered him.
Jonah nodded and gave a teasing grin. "Winter looks happy, doesn't she?"
Rohan smirked at that. "Of course she does."
Jonah blinked at his uncharacteristically playful confidence, and scoffed. "Sometimes you can be an ass, you know, Rohan?"
"I don't have the ability to transform to a donkey part-time, but thanks for the compliment, Jonah."
Jonah rolled his eyes and only smacked Rohan's laughing head in return.
+++
"Seven minutes in heaven?"
Tria nodded eagerly at Riley's questioning and Seth's annoyed look in front of her at the round table. "Yes. It's just a game that every party needs, isn't it? Something doesn't feel right without it!"
"And where, pray tell, is the 'heaven' supposed to be in this case? There are hundreds of people in this room, if you haven't noticed."
Tria rolled her eyes at Rose's incredulous question. "Upstairs, of course. I booked a room for tonight."
Eyebrows across the tables simultaneously raised at that.
"What? Come on, it will be fun! Just six of us, you know — and Dylan, Kai, and Helena. And we can invite Rohan and the Garrisons too if you'd like, Winter."
Winter shook her head at that and quickly wrote down 'no, thanks,' on her notepad.
"But why?" Jonah furrowed his eyebrows at Tria. "Why do we need to play it?"
"Because, Jonah! It's seven minutes in heaven! Imagine, you and Helena, making out for seven minutes..."
"But she's my girlfriend, I can make out with her whenever I want."
Winter couldn't believe she actually choked on her drink at that. Luckily only Seth heard, and he gave her a worried questioning look.
She tried to find Jonah's eyes, but he didn't return her look for the rest of that conversation.
+++
"Can't wait to get out?"
Kai looked up boredly at the voice, and he immediately smirked when he found Riley walking towards him, Rose and Seth trailing behind her.
"You read my mind. Can't wait for the party to end so we can maybe just... you know. Maybe book a room upstairs or something..."
Riley giggled as Kai kissed along her arm and pulled her to sit on his lap, but she playfully resisted and sat on another chair next to him. Seth and Rose looked at each other and they could swear they almost inwardly gagged before they took the seats opposite of the self-proclaimed lovebirds (or, well, hookupbirds).
Not a minute after, Winter and Rohan joined them, a small plate of desserts on each of their hands.
'Hey, guys. What's up?' Winter motioned at Seth who in turned translated it to the group.
Rose shrugged. "Nothing much. Just Kai can't wait to get his pants off."
"Rose!" Riley chastised, but the rest of the group laughed at that. "Language, please! Winter's here, for goodness' sake."
Winter blinked at that. 'What's that supposed to mean?'
"Means you're too innocent, Winter," Kai scoffed, then grinned at Rohan. "But don't worry, Garrison. She'll loosen up in no time. Just ask her to Netflix and chill at your place sometimes."
Rohan rolled his eyes.
Winter, though, furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. 'Netflix? What does watching Netflix has to do with any of this?' she asked Seth.
But Seth looked away awkwardly. "It's not what it means, Winter. It means something else..."
'Something else? So it's like a code or something?'
Kai laughed upon reading the notepad. "Oh, yes, Winter. A code to do something very... fascinating."
'Fascinating?' Winter furrowed her eyebrows even more.
Riley sighed then at Kai. "Shut up, Kai. Winter won't know that. She's a McHalen, she's too sheltered."
Seth blinked at that and shrugged. "Gray's not."
"And I'm not surprised," Rose rolled her eyes. "Winter's different. She's a girl."
'Tell me what it is!' Winter was getting annoyed at being left out.
To everyone's utter surprise, it was Rohan who answered her this time. "If you want I can even teach you what it is," he said with an amused smirk, and everyone's jaw dropped at that, and a dumbstruck silence fell upon them as they stared openmouthed at the pair.
But Winter mistook his answer as a challenge, so she was oblivious to the sudden freezing of the occupants of the table and angrily slammed the table in annoyance. 'Fine. Teach me. Right here, right now,' she glared him straight in the eyes.
Rohan's eyes widened and his lips parted as the rest of the table swore they almost died in shock. And everyone was so silent in trance, not a single movement, with Winter and Rohan tense in a deadlock, until a voice brought them out.
"Absolutely not."
They all turned to look at the source of the stern voice. And there, not five steps away from their table, was Gray, neat in his tuxedo with his arms crossed and eyes fixed coldly on Rohan.
AUTHOR'S NOTES: That's all for today. I apologise if these 2 chapters are not up to standard after my break. Nevertheless tell me what you think :) I think Gray's absence wasn't really felt in the 2 chapters, but I'm not sure how I feel about adding another filler in between.
Anyway, I'll see all of you again next week!