Later that day Winnie walked into a restaurant called Pat's which was one where most teenagers hung out at. She was planning to hang out with her other best friend, Brooke. Brooke was someone who Winnie thought she would never be friends with. Brooke is an Instagram lifestyle, and a makeup guru while Winnie is a tomboy with a mix of girly girl. But the two hit it off and they always enjoyed hanging out with each other.
The blonde smiled to herself upon seeing Ashley and Brooke sitting together at a table. Ashley and Brooke used to be best friends before Ashley moved away. It surprised Winnie that the two were s close despite being the complete opposite. "Hi, Winnie." Brooke smiled when she spot her friend walking over to her and Ashley.
"Hi, Brooke." Winnie greets, taking a seat between the two girls. She glances at Ashley with a smile. "Hi, Ashley. So, what are we talkin' about?"
"Oh, just how that Ashley has never been kissed." Brooke responded.
"Hey, I never been kissed either." Winnie shrugs. She looks at Ashley with a reassuring smile. "It's not that big of a deal."
"Okay, but what is a big deal is the fact that she already has a crush on Tad Cameron!" Brooke shakes her head, looking at Ashley. "He's not the guy you should go after."
Winnie nods in agreement. "I agree with Brooke. Tad is someone who has on and off again relationships." She grimaces. "It's messy."
"Look, Ash, I wanna help you," Brooke sighs. "But you should set your eyes on more realistic lips."
Ashley tilts her head to the side. "What do you mean 'realistic'?"
"Hello, ladies." Stick greeted as he walks over to the table. He set a coffee in front of Winnie, causing the blonde to look at him with raised eyebrows.
"This for me?" She asked him.
Stick smiles at her. "Yep. Thought you might want one."
A smile made its way to Winnie's face. "Did you get-"
"A coffee with cream and two sugars?" Stick raises his eyebrows at her and Winnie looks at him with a bit of surprise. She didn't expect him to memorize her order but the fact he did made her heart flutter. Stick smiles. "Yeah, I got your usual order."
Taking ahold of the coffee cup, Winnie's smile widens. "Thanks."
"No problem." Stick responded before he walked over to join the football boys that were there.
Brooke smiles. "That's realistic."
Winnie glances at her with furrowed eyebrows. "Stick?"
"Yeah." Brooke grins at Ashley. "I'm gonna start talking you up to him right now."
"Wait, no." Winnie had to admit she was relieved to hear Ashley say that. "I mean, thanks, but I'm gonna be too busy at work to kiss anyone."
"Okay," Brooke shrugs. "It works out I guess 'cause I'm pretty sure Stick likes someone else." Brooke knew that Stick's crush was on Winnie. It was obvious to everyone just not her. Winnie raised her eyebrows upon hearing this information. She didn't know Stick had a crush on someone.
"But just so you know," Brooke says to Ashley. "There's no actual tongue shaking involved."
Winnie chuckles, looking at Ashley with an amused smile. "You seriously thought that happened?"
"Yeah." Ashley sheepishly smiles. She looks at Brooke with a thankful smile. "Noted." She then wrote down the note on a napkin in front of her, earning a small laugh from Winnie.
****
The next day Winnie and Brooke were hanging out at Pat's. She was sitting on the couch, scrolling through Instagram on her phone while Brooke got their coffee. They made a deal today where Winnie would pay for it and Brooke would go get it.
"I know nothing about boys." Winnie glanced up from her phone when she heard Ashley say that. Ashley was following Brooke over to the sitting area Winnie was at with her own coffee. Brooke sat besides Winnie, handing her coffee to her with a small smile on her face. Winnie thankfully smiled at her, taking the coffee cup from her and took a sip.
"Okay, what'd I miss?" Winnie asked, glancing at the two girls with curiosity while Ashley sat beside the right side of Brooke.
"I'm trying to get Brooke to be my Yoda." Ashley replies, looking at Brooke with a pleading expression. "She knows everything about boys."
Winnie furrows her eyebrows, now more confused. "That didn't help me."
Brooke chuckles. "She met a boy."
"Oh." Winnie nods in realization, reaching forward to set her coffee cup on the coffee table in front of her. "That makes more sense."
Brooke looks at Ashley with a small smile. "I hope you're calling me Yoda because I am wise and not because of my skin."
"It would definitely be because of you being wise." Winnie reassured her and the two girls shared a smile.
"Okay, let's see what I'm working with. You're alone with a guy, the conversation slows down, and he takes a breath mint. What does that mean?" Brooke questioned Ashley.
Ashley points at her and smiles. "He wants something sweet, but he's on a diet, and a breath mint is a perfect low-caloric alternative." She smiles proudly, pretending to be throwing a basketball into a hoop. "Swish!"
Winnie cringes. "No, Ash, that's far from the answer."
Brooke nods in agreement with Winnie. "It means he wants to kiss you."
"I mean, mine makes sense too." Ashley defended herself.
"A breath mint is for kissing." Brooke said sassily, earning a chuckle from Winnie. "You want to learn this stuff or not?"
"I do." Ashley immediately replies. "I really do. Go on."
"Okay, I got a little something for you." Brooke glances at Winnie with a small smile. "Nini, could you grab me my makeup kit by the couch, please?"
Winnie nods. "Sure." She turned to her left, reaching over the side of the couch to pick up the makeup kit and then handed it to Brooke.
"Thanks." Brooke tells her and sets the makeup kit on the table. "This is a makeup kit." She opens it up. "My travel one. Just the essentials." Ashley looks at all the makeup inside with a shocked expression. "Eyes, cheekbone, lips. Highlight, contour. Daytime, evening." Brooke explains, pointing at each one she said. She glances at Ashley with raised eyebrows. "Do you want me to slow down? Can't keep up?"
Ashley laughs and points at each stuff she said like Brooke did. "Eyes, cheekbone, lips. Highlight, contour. Daytime, evening."
"Ooh," Brooke grins at her. "Playa's got potential."
An impressed expression forms on Winnie's face. "Nice job."
"Yeah, the first time I showed my makeup kit to Winnie, it took her a few tries to get it right." Brooke commented.
Winnie shrugs. "Makeup's just not my thing."
Brooke smiles at her, patting her shoulder. "That's why you got me."
Winnie laughs lightly. "That's one reason. You're also great company."
Brooke smiles widely at her, putting a hand over her heart. "Awe, Nini." She leans her head on Winnie's shoulder and Winnie smiles, leaning her head on Brooke's head. "You're so sweet, girl." Brooke complimented. Winnie lifted her head off Brooke's head and Brooke lifted her head off Winnie's shoulder to look at Ashley.
"Don't get too cocky, young Padawan." Brooke said to Ashley. "There's still so much to learn."
"Hey, Brooke." Tad greeted when he walked by.
Brooke nods at him. "Tad."
"Hey, Winnie." Tad waved at the other blonde-haired girl.
Winnie glances at him with a small smile and waves back at him. "Hi, Tad."
"Hey, Ashley." Tad said to the Latina girl with a smile on his face. "I'll see you in a bit."
"Okay, bye." Ashley scoffed, pretending to act like she doesn't know what Tad is talking about. Tad left the restaurant while Brooke and Winnie shared a look.
They both look at Ashley with frowns. "You're hanging out with Tad later." Winnie realized.
"Ash, Nini and I warned you not to stay away from Tad." Brooke reminded Ashley.
"I'm just tutoring him." Ashley shrugged.
Brooke raises her arms out of frustration. "But you wanna shake tongues with him."
"I do." Ashley gives in, sheepishly smiling at the two blondes. "I really do!"
Brooke shakes her head. "Ashley, this is a bad idea."
"Very bad." Winnie chimes in. "Tad isn't someone who stays with girlfriends for long." She shakes her head. "I've lost count with how many he has had."
Brooke points at her in a sign of agreement. "He has probably had more makeup rub off on him more than," She points at Ashley. "You've ever put on."
"So, what?" Ashley frowns. "I don't understand."
"Yoda would not let Luke fight Darth Vader with one day's training." Brooke spoke in a way that Ashely would understand.
"It would be a total catastrophe." Winnie added.
"I'm sorry, I can't help you, Ashely." Brooke apologized, standing up and grabbed her bag off the ground.
"Fine." Ashley stands up. "I taught myself orbital theory when I was six. I think I can teach myself how," She picks up one of the brushes. "To use an eyebrow pencil."
Brooke narrows her eyes at the Latina girl, pointing at her. "The red one is lip liner."
Ashley groans in frustration as Brooke leaves. Winnie glances at her phone, her eyes widening upon seeing what time it was. "Sorry, Ash, I gotta leave to finish my homework." She picks up her coffee cup as she stands up, glancing at Ashley with a small smile. "Good luck with the makeup. I'm not as great as Brooke is with makeup, but I'm decent with it so let me know if you need any help."
Ashley looks at her with a thankful smile. "Thanks, Winnie." Winnie nodded in response and went to the counter, asking to get her coffee to-go. After she got her to-go coffee she left the restaurant to finish homework.
****
Winnie sat at her desk, working on her math homework when her phone buzzed. She stopped working on her homework to check her phone, seeing she had a text from Ashley.
ASH
something bad happened
NINI
what happened??
ASH
i tried my makeup and it's so so bad
NINI
oh, come on, it cant be that bad.
ASH
trust me, it's bad. i dont know what to do. im supposed to tutor tad and im kinda freaking out
NINI
there's no reason you should freak out. just take a deep breath & calm down. you got this!
ASH
okay. yeah, i got this. thanks, nini. you're the best!
NINI
i try! lmk how it goes
Winnie hoped that she helped Ashley calm down. When she did makeup her first time it wasn't good, but after a few times she got the hang of it, and she knew Ashley will too after she does makeup more. Winnie still doesn't like the fact that Ashley likes Tad, but Ashley is one of her best friends and she will do her best to be supportive of her and help her.
****
The next day Winnie is hanging out at Pat's with Ashley. Ashley was informing her on what had happened with Tad and how her mom came over and almost made her move back. Winnie was relieved and glad to hear that Ashley is staying.
"I'm sorry about what happened with Tad." Winnie apologizes, looking up from her phone and over at Ashley with an apologetic smile. "I wished it would've worked out better for you."
Ashley looks up from her laptop at the blonde sitting at the other chair by her. She smiles a bit. "It's okay, Nini." She shrugs and sighs sadly. "Maybe it's for the best that I don't kiss him. I think you and Brooke might be right about him. So I guess I'll just try to forget about my feelings for him."
"Let me know how that works because I've been trying to do that too and it sucks." Winnie mumbled, glancing back at her phone. She winced when she realized she said that out loud and she hoped Ashley didn't hear. But she did.
Ashley glances at her with curiosity. "You like someone?" She smiles excitedly. "Who?"
Winnie nervously bites her lower lip, her heart beat increasing with each second. Thankfully she didn't have to answer because Brooke walks over to the two and speaks before she could. "I'm sorry." Brooke apologizes to Ashley. She frowns. "I was a bad Yoda."
Ashley sends a look to Winnie, one that read 'we'll talk later' which earned a sigh from Winnie. Ashley looks at Brooke with an apologetic expression. "I was a bad Luke."
Brooke smiles teasingly. "How'd the tutoring go?"
"I tried to kiss Tad." Ashley replied.
Brooke grins. "Ooh!"
Ashley frowns. "But he was horrified."
Brooke's grin is replaced with a frown and she speaks in a sad tone. "Ooh."
Ashley points at her. "But I think it's because my uncle sabotaged me."
Winnie nods in understanding. "That would make sense. Coach probably threatened Tad to not get together with you."
Brooke looks confused and she shakes her head. "I don't have an 'ooh' for that."
"Hey, Ash." Tad greets, walking over to the girls. He glances at Ashley. "I never got your contact info. Are you on Instagram?"
"Yeah, I'm on Instagram all the time." Ashley was quick to reply to him and Winnie knew she was lying.
"Great." Tad smiles at her. "I'll follow you."
When he left, Ashley looks at Winnie and Brooke with panic. Brooke shows her phone to the girls, showing she had made Ashley's Instagram account during the time Ashley talked with Tad. "Got you covered. Just signed you up."
Winnie chuckles and goes back to scrolling through Instagram on her phone. "Nini, so it's later." Ashley glances at the blonde with an excited smile and a frown formed on Winnie's face. Winnie really didn't want to talk about this. "Now, tell me who you like!"
Brooke glances at Winnie with raised eyebrows. "You haven't told Ash who you like yet?"
Winnie sheepishly smiles. "No." She looks at Ashley and sighs. "Okay, Ash, you have to promise me you won't tell anyone."
Ashley immediately nods. "I promise."
Winnie takes a glance around the restaurant, making sure that Stick wasn't there before she confesses who she likes. She looks back at Ashley with a shy smile. "I like Stick."
Ashley grins. "Ooh!"
Brooke points at Ashley in a sign of agreement. "I know, right?!" She grins, glancing back at Winnie. "I got some info I really wish I could tell you, but I promised I wouldn't tell." She shrugs. "Although it is pretty obvious so I dunno how you don't know yet."
Winnie glanced at her with confusion, tilting her head to the side. She wondered what Brooke was talking about and she hoped maybe some day she'll find out.
A/N not for sure if i like this chapter, might edit it sometime later, but im loving winnie's friendship with ashley & brooke. nini is the only nn i could think of for winnie, but if you guys have any other suggestions for nickname's for winnie, pls lmk!!