Selena glances around the gym as she chats with Ethan, her eyes landing on her dad and Counselor Blatt. Damn, my mom was right, this lady definitely likes my dad, she thinks as she observes how Blatt's practically drooling over him. Daniel scans the room and spots his daughter. They make eye contact and Selena pulls her phone out, quickly texting him. Feeling his phone buzz, Daniel takes it out of his jacket pocket and checks his messages.
Selena:
I'm telling mom
He quietly scoffs and glances at his daughter with a snarky grin, knowing she's joking. He hasn't noticed Blatt's behavior toward him and he doesn't believe she's crushing on him. Either way, he doesn't really care about her anyway, he's too focused on keeping his eye on Selena and Sam. Selena chuckles at her dad's reaction before returning to her conversation with Ethan. After a few minutes of chitchat, she notices Aisha standing alone. "Hold on a second," she excuses herself before going up to her friend. "Hey, girl," she greets her. "Hey," Aisha returns, grinning. Selena can tell she's not entirely enjoying herself.
"You look cute," she compliments her, the sincerity evident in her voice. "Thanks, you too. The wig looks great on you," Aisha compliments back. Selena touches a red strand of artificial hair draping over her shoulder and grins. "Really? Thanks!" she tells her. Just then, Sam nears them. "Hey," she chimes in, looking between the two. "Hey, prima! [cousin!]" Selena greets her. Sam eyes Aisha's outfit and comments, "I like your costume." Selena can tell that Aisha is a little upset. She barely smiles as she replies, "thanks, ditto. It doesn't really work without the chloride."
"I don't know. Sodium's pretty badass. It's the silent killer," Sam claims. Selena nods and adds, "Yeah and I think it's really creative, it's unique." She leans forward and lowers her voice as she speaks, "do you know how many pirates I've seen in the span of like five minutes?" Aisha laughs at this. "Dang, you really just called out Kyler and his friends," Sam chuckles. Selena turns to her with a face that says: oop. "Oh, shit, yeah!" she cackles, gripping Sam's arm, causing the other two to laugh along. Their laughter soon subsides and Sam sends Aisha a guilty look.
"Hey, look, I-"
"It's okay. I'd rather go as sexy than funny too... if I had that option," Aisha awkwardly chuckles. "Don't say that," both cousins simultaneously speak, feeling awful about how their friend talks about herself. Sam's friends' voices interrupt the conversation. "Hey, Sam, come over. We're gonna go live," Moon calls out. "Get your ass over here!" Yasmine adds. The trio turns around to see them and Kyler's group huddled together as Moon holds her phone up. I bet Aaliyah and my mom would love their costumes, Selena thinks as she examines their Laker Girl costumes.
"One second," Sam chuckles before focusing on Aisha and Selena again. "Can the three of us make plans to hang out soon? It's been way too long," she requests. "I'd love that," Aisha responds. "Yes, it needs to happen," Selena answers at the same time. Sam nods in satisfaction. "Stay salty, my friend," she addresses Aisha. "See you later, Sel," she tells her cousin, turning around to saunter off. "Bye, Clamantha," Selena says back. Sam stops in her tracks and gives her a look. "That nickname again," she groans. "You can't escape it," Selena teases, causing Sam and Aisha to laugh. Selena has been calling her "Clamantha" ever since the show, Fish Hooks came out eight years ago.
Sam doesn't hate it but sometimes wishes she'd stop calling her after an animated clam. She shakes her head and proceeds to walk away again. "I LOVE YOU, CLAMANTHA," Selena loudly calls, catching the attention of Yasmine's entourage. Sam spins around and scoldingly waves her hand at her. "Stop!" she mouths before going to her friends. Selena chuckles, having accomplished her goal of embarrassing her cousin. She turns to Aisha and offers, "Hey, me, my mom, and Aaliyah are going to the mall tomorrow. Do you want to come with us?" Aisha spent most of her childhood around Selena's family and she adores them. She smiles genuinely and answers, "sure, I'd love to."
Meanwhile, Daniel is keeping an eye on Selena and Sam from afar, making sure to avoid watching them like a hawk to not make them uncomfortable. Counselor Blatt approaches him with a plastic cup in hand, smiling cheesily as she gets closer. "Punch?" she pipes up. Daniel turns to her and smiles politely. "Oh, hey, thanks," he accepts the punch, switching his attention back to the dance floor. "I was kind of hoping you would show up in costume. Maybe a karate gi?" Blatt exhilaratingly speaks. Daniel shakes his head and chuckles. "No. Oh, God. I haven't worn one of those in a while," he claims before taking a sip of his beverage.
"You know, I still can't believe you and Rosala are still together after high school," she mentions, smiling stiffly. "Rosalía," Daniel corrects her. Did she call her that on purpose? Blatt releases a fake giggle. "Rosalía! Right, my bad," she innocently voices. A small smile graces Daniel's lips as he thinks of his wife. "Some things never change," he responds to her initial comment. Blatt purses her lips and nods, trying to mask her jealousy. Daniel notices her facial expression and thinks about how Rosalía said that she would always ask if they've broken up yet.
Huh, she mentioned it to me... oh, no, what if Rosalía's right, he wonders. At that moment, Miguel walks by in a skeleton costume, catching Daniel's eye. "Apparently..." he adds as his eyes follow the boy. Miguel points to a flyer on the wall before exiting the gym. Daniel spots the flyer and his face falls, bad memories from the Halloween dance of 1984 being triggered. "Hold on a sec," he pipes up, giving his cup to Blatt before nearing the flyer to read it. Oh, crap, not this guy, he thinks as he leaves the gym.
*Time skip*
Miguel, Demetri, and Eli stand by the punch table. Miguel keeps sneaking glances at Selena, who's dancing with Ethan and her friends, wishing he was in Ethan's place. Eli does the same thing, admiring how pretty she looks. Miguel takes his eyes off of her and turns to Eli before looking at three girls on the dance floor. "Okay, are we ready? Let's ask the dragon queens to dance," he suggests. He prefers to ask Selena but that's not possible. "Slow your roll. We got time," Demetri dismisses. As he speaks, another guy asks one of the girls to dance. "No... no..." Miguel mutters as he watches. "Shit! We just lost one to Doctor Who," he announces, disappointed.
"I have to go to the bathroom," Eli suddenly mentions. "Yeah, me too. That punch is going right through me," Demetri agrees. They head toward the restroom and Miguel exasperatedly throws his hands up but follows them anyway. Meanwhile, Ethan grabs Selena's hand and spins her around, making her giggle. As she spins, she spots Miguel trudge away from the table. This piques her curiosity. She wonders why he looks upset as her gaze lingers on him. "What are you looking for?" Ethan asks, turning to see what she's staring at. His voice brings her back to reality and her eyes dart to him in surprise. "Nothing..." she replies. Ethan just nods and they continue dancing.
Suddenly, Selena feels her phone vibrate in her pocket so she takes it out. She hears cellphones chime all around her as she clicks on the notification on her screen. A video of Aisha eating Cheetos with a pig snout edited on her face pops up, captioned: "the buffet table is under attack!!!" She frowns when she sees it, looking over at the table and spotting a distressed Aisha glancing around while people laugh at her. She fixates her glare on someone before storming away. Selena follows her line of vision and sees Yasmine, Sam, and Moon. That bitch, she thinks as she marches over to them.
"Okay, now we can go," Yasmine chuckles, turning to walk away. Just as she does, Selena harshly bumps into her, making her stumble forward dramatically and drop her phone. "Hey! Watch where you're going!" she shrieks. She looks up and sees Selena, who turns to her with a mischievous smirk. "Oops, didn't see you there," she remarks before strutting away. She knows her dad wouldn't approve of what she did but she couldn't stand that smile on Yasmine's face after humiliating her friend. Her mom, on the other hand, would just be glad that she didn't straight up punch Yasmine and would be proud of her protectiveness over her friend.
Sam scurries after her and calls, "Sel, wait!" Selena spins around and gives her cousin a quizzical look. "How can you be friends with someone like that?" she questions. Sam feels extremely guilty and has no clue what to say. "I hate what she did to Aisha," she admits. Selena can see the shame on her face. Sam is too pure for Yasmine so she hates that she hangs out with her. She also knows that Sam is too nice to just drop her. "Hey, can you take me home?" Sam softly asks. Noticing her upset tone, Selena responds, "I came with my dad. I'll ask Ethan if he can take us home... Are you okay?" Sam anxiously scratches her arm. "I'll tell you about it later," she utters before the two go to find Ethan.
[[[[[[[[[[]]]]]]]]]]
Selena texted Daniel that Ethan gave her a ride so he decided to go home. He enters the house and finds his wife wiping the kitchen table. "Hi, love," he greets as he approaches her. Rosalía looks up, beaming upon seeing her husband. "You're back already," she voices before Daniel kisses her. He places his hands on her hips and sighs. Rosalía places her left hand on the back of his neck and her right hand on his jaw, stroking his skin with her thumb. "What's wrong? Where's Selena?" she asks. "Ethan's bringing her home," he rolls his eyes when he mentions the boy's name. The woman nods but knows that's not the reason he's so glum. "And why are you so upset?" She lowers her hand to his collarbone, sliding it down to rest on his chest.
Daniel inhales a breath before speaking. "I... may have embarrassed Sam in front of her boyfriend... and now she's mad at me," he discloses. Rosalía raises her eyebrows at him. They sit down at the table and the man describes what transpired. "Yikes... I'd be mad too if I were her," she opines. Daniel nods in understanding. "But you were just trying to protect her and one day, she'll appreciate it... My parents were very strict and overprotective and it was overwhelming, truthfully but at the same time, I understand their fear, especially now as a mother," she explains.
She doesn't want to be like her parents, so she's tried her best to not smother her kids, but she'd be lying if she said she doesn't worry about them every time they leave the house. This is why she has a set of rules and boundaries with them. "Yeah... I hope she'll forgive me soon," Daniel says. Just then, Selena walks in, making them look over. "Hi, mama. Cómo te fue? [How'd it go?]" Rosalía acknowledges her. Selena pulls her wig off as she walks over to the table. "Bien [good]... pero [but]..." Selena states, taking the cap off of her head and letting her hair down. Her eyes dart to Daniel. "What did you do to Sam? She didn't want to tell me in the car because Ethan was there," she questions. Daniel frustratedly sighs.
*Time skip*
Selena took a shower and changed into pajamas, and is now lying in bed watching Netflix on her laptop. Her phone buzzes so she grabs it from her side and checks the screen. There's a notification from Instagram, reading: "miguel_diaz818 followed you." She quickly pauses her show and opens Instagram, making sure it's the Miguel she's thinking of. His identity is confirmed by the pictures on his profile. Selena smiles and follows him back. She scrolls through his pictures with a small grin on her face when she unexpectedly receives a notification that Miguel sent her a DM. Should I open it now or wait? She contemplates, not wanting to respond too fast. He messaged me right after I followed so fuck it, she decides, going to her DMs. She opens his chat and reads his message.
Miguel_diaz818:
Hello, Agent Romanoff
The girl lightly chuckles upon reading this and quickly types out and sends her message.
Selena_amaya:
I understood that reference
Miguel_diaz818:
I understood THAT reference
Selena giggles, happy that he played along. They continue to message back and forth, hitting different topics from movies to school. Miguel mentions that he was taking karate lessons but his mom found out and forbade him from continuing, prompting Selena to share that she learned it at a young age. However, he purposely leaves out the real reason his mom doesn't want him doing karate anymore. He's too embarrassed to tell her he got beat up at the dance.
Selena gets a notification from Ethan but rapidly swipes her thumb up to get it off the screen. I'll text him back in a little bit, she thinks as she searches for a meme in her camera roll to send Miguel. Miguel laughs at the meme and sends one back. They spend the rest of the night texting, smiling and laughing with every message received. The conversation is so entertaining that neither of them wants to leave the other on read. Selena is so caught up in her conversation with him that she forgets to text Ethan back like she planned to do.
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Damn, everybody wants the Juárez LaRussos lol... Can't blame them though, they're a hot family 🤷🏻♀️
Okay but the way Counselor Blatt just stares and smiles like a little kid at Daniel when she brings up his breakup with Ali. There is no way she's not crushing on him 😭