"You're turn, Ashley." Sadie passed the bottle to Ashley.
Everyone was now gathered around the coffee table and Winnie was much nervous than she was before. "I love that we're making this milestone happen for you." Madison smiles at Ashley and glances at Winnie with a smile. "Same for you, Winnie." From her place between Ashley and Brooke, Winnie smiled nervously in response.
"I love that we're connecting by doing something relatable." Ashley commented.
Brooke smiles at her. "I'm so proud of you." She starts to get teary eyes. "This is why I teach." Ashley smiled and she kneeled instead of sitting down, setting the bottle on the middle of the coffee table. Just as she spun the bottle, the door opened revealing Tad.
"Tad is in the house!"
Ashley's eyes widened upon seeing Tad and accidentally knocks over a can of soda with the bottle, causing some soda to spill on the white carpet below. While Tad greets some people, Madison gasps, standing up with a worried expression on her face. "My mom's carpet! She's gonna find out I had people over. Tonight was such a bad idea!" She walked into the kitchen before anyone could speak to her.
Ashley and her two best friends stand up with worried expressions. "Madison, I'm so sorry!" Ashley called out to her. She grabbed a towel off the table, kneeling beside the stein along with Winnie and Brooke. By now everyone went back to doing their own thing so they paid no attention to the three girls. Winnie and Brooke grabbed some towels as well, helping Ashley clean the stein, but it looked like it wasn't going to go away with only towels.
"She's gonna hate me, isn't she?" Ashley worriedly asked.
Winnie sympathetically smiles at her. "Maybe, maybe not."
"She's not gonna hate you," Brooke glances at Ashley sympathetically. "But it's not great."
"What am I gonna do?" Ashley inquired.
"Work on the stain." Brooke replies. "I'll bump into someone so they spill and make a bigger mess than yours."
Winnie cringes, pointing at Brooke. "That's probably not a good idea. More stains would probably make Madison mad."
Brooke smiles and stands up. "Still gonna do it."
Winnie couldn't help but chuckle and she continues to help Ashley with the stain as Brooke walked away.
****
Luckily, someone came to their rescue with cleaning up the stain and Winnie was surprised that someone would be Tad. She didn't think he would know anything about cleaning a stain. But he had found some wine, saying that it helped gets the stain out. The downside of it was the fact it took three minutes to set in. Tad did add that it could've take four hours, he couldn't remember, and Winnie just hoped it was the three minutes one.
Ashley and Tad were having a cute moment until Tad's phone dinged. He picks it up, panicking after seeing the notification and stands up. "I gotta go!" Tad quickly heads for the door. Ashley and Winnie exchange a confused glance. "Why?" Ashley asked, standing up.
Tad stops, turning to face the two girls. "My ex-girlfriend says she's on her way. We agree we can never be in the same room, so wherever Bella wants to go, I have to leave."
Ashley furrows her eyebrows. "Why do you have to be the one that has to leave? That's not fair."
Winnie nods in agreement, throwing her arms up out of frustration. "That's what I always say!"
"Me too!" Tad agrees. "But then she explained it to me. I was wrong."
"I think she's the one who's wrong." Winnie mumbled. She didn't like Bella at all for many reasons and the fact that Tad has to be the one to leave the room instead of her is one of the reasons.
"You two should be able to be in the same room together." Ashley spoke.
Tad chuckles and then his face is serious. "Oh, no. No, we made a deal. We signed a napkin. I break that contract, she'll get mad."
Ashley puts her hands on her hips. "So? Why do you care about what your ex thinks? You're your own person. What do you wanna do?"
Tad furrows his eyebrows, looking at her with a slightly panicked expression. "What kind of question is that?"
Ashley sighs. "Tad, seriously. That's something you need to ask yourself."
Tad is quiet for a few moments before he nods. "Okay." A confused look forms on his face as he tilts his head to the side. "Do I need to answer myself?"
Winnie sighs and facepalms. Ashley looked at Tad with a closed smile and nodded in response.
****
Winnie left Ashley and Tad alone, deciding to hang out with some of Madison's friends to get closer with them. To be honest, Winnie wasn't a fan of parties. When she was at one she would either stay by her friends or just hang out away from people. She was only at this party because she was already at Madison's house and it would probably make her look bad if she already left.
"Tad!"
Gasps fill the room and Winnie turn to the direction of the door, her eyes widening as she sees Bella standing by the door. Bella was looking at Tad, who was standing by Ashley, with an angered look. "What are you doing here?" Bella inquired.
"Hey, look." Tad glances around nervously until his gaze lands on the kitchen door behind him that was open. He points at the kitchen, his lips forming into an awkward smile. "They have a kitchen." He ran into the kitchen after he said that. Ashley followed him as everyone went back to what they were doing.
Winnie goes back to talking with Harper, Sadie, and two other girls when she heard the front door open. She didn't bother to look to see who it is since she figured it was just another guest who was late. Meanwhile, Stick was freaking out on the inside while he closes the door. "I can handle this." He tries to reassure himself. "Not party. I'm on a mission. I'm on a mission. Yeah."
Winnie glances away from the girls when she thought she heard Stick's voice which surprised her. She was even more surprised to see him at the party. He never went to parties after the last one he went to. Let's just say his last experience at a party was not a good one and he ended up hiding in the bathroom for the whole time.
"Hey, Stick." Madison greets him when he walks into the living room area. She smiles. "You came to my party." Stick didn't say anything and just nods as he smiles. Madison points in the direction of the bathroom. "If you need to hide in the bathroom, it's that way."
"Thank you." Stick immediately walked in the direction Madison pointed at.
A small frown appeared on Winnie's face, watching him walk away. Part of her hoped he would come talk to her, but she shouldn't have been upset at all since she knew he would've gone to hide out in the bathroom.
A few moments later pass and Madison announces, "Circle up, everyone. Spin the bottle is starting back up."
Winnie follows Madison, Harper, and Sadie into the kitchen to talk with Ashley. Winnie raises her eyebrows and smiles a bit upon seeing Ashley and Tad quickly move away from each other as if they were having a moment with each other. Tad walks away before the girls walk over to Ashley.
"Stain's gone." Madison assured Ashley as Winnie moved to stand beside Ashley.
"I'm so sorry about your mom's rug." Ashley apologized.
"Don't worry." Madison shakes her head. She shrugs, rolling her eyes. "Besides, she's my stepmom. And we cleared everything off the table, so nothing can go wrong this time."
"This is so exciting!" Sadie commented.
Madison smiles at Ashley and Winnie. "We're gonna get you guys kissed."
"Are you two ready?" Harper questioned.
Winnie bites her lower lip, fiddling with her hands that were folded in front of her. She didn't know what to say so she's glad Ashley said something first. "Actually, I was..." Winnie glanced at Ashley with confusion when her voice trailed off and saw the Latina girl staring at Tad, who was now eating spaghetti he found from the fridge.
"They have spaghetti!" Tad exclaimed.
Ashley pouts and Winnie pats her shoulder to comfort her. "Tad, come on." Madison encourages as Tad walks over to join the five girls. "We're about to play spin the bottle. More girls will play if you're playing. Please."
"Well, I don't wanna let anyone down." Tad smiled. He continued to eat spaghetti, walking into the living room.
"Girls, come on." Madison smiles at Ashley and Winnie. "You can pick what your first kiss taste likes."
Winnie raises her eyebrows. "That's a thing?"
"Yeah, what are you talking about?" Ashley asked.
Smiling, Madison holds up different flavors of lip-gloss. "Cherry, bubblegum, pink lemonade, bacon." Ashley and Winnie shared a look with nervous smiles.
****
Once again everyone is gathered around the coffee table. Winnie didn't expect to see Stick playing the game and him being there got her hopes up of possibly being able to kiss him. She still would rather to kiss him not at spin the bottle, but she wasn't complaining. Winnie sat between Ashley and Brooke again, sitting across from Stick.
"Spin the bottle, round two, is happening." Madison declared, setting the bottle on the table as she sat down.
"Hey, Stick." Tad picks up the bottle, handing it to Stick with a smile on his face and Stick looks at him with wide eyes. "You go first."
Stick takes the bottle from him, staring at it with wide eyes. As everyone anxiously waits for him to spin the bottle, Winnie looked at him with concern, noticing his shaky hand, and the way he glances around nervously with panic clear on his face.
"You gonna go?" Harper asked him. Stick stayed silent, too nervous to speak. Yes, he wanted to kiss Winnie. He really wanted to kiss her. But not like this. Not when everyone is watching.
"It's okay." Madison spoke in a reassuring tone, taking the bottle from Stick.
Stick lowers his hand still having a panicked look on his face. Tad wraps his arm around his shoulders. "You did great, man."
Stick nods, finally getting the courage to speak. "Better than I thought I would." Tad patted his shoulder and then took his arm off his shoulders.
"It's your spin, doctor." Madison smiled encouragingly at Ashley, handing the Latina girl the bottle.
From her place sitting on the chair behind Ashley, Sadie leans forward to whisper to Ashley with a smile on her face. "We're so happy for you."
Winnie smiles Ashley when the Latina girl looks at her with a smile, trying to make it seem like she wasn't even nervous about this when in reality her nerves were skyrocketing because she had a feeling she would have to go after Ashley. "You ready for your first kiss?" Brooke smiled excitedly at Ashley.
Ashley smiles excitedly. "Here goes." She sets the bottle on the table and spins it. Everyone waits anxiously for the bottle to stop spinning and soon it does. The bottle points at Tad, causing some people to gasp. Tad smiles at Ashley after they lock eyes with each other. Ashley picks up the bottle suddenly, standing up. "Um...Hey, look." She nervously smiles, pointing at the kitchen. "They have a kitchen."
Winnie and Brooke quickly went to check on Ashley when the Latina girl walked into the kitchen, both concerned for their best friend. "Ashley, are you okay?" Brooke asked.
"We put on this whole party for you and Winnie to get kissed and then you ran out?" Madison questioned in disbelief.
"I'm so sorry." Ashley looks at her with an apologetic expression. "I think I only agreed to play spin the bottle because you guys were so excited about it."
"Yeah, um," Winnie raises her hand, apologetically smiling at Madison and her friends when they look at her. "Me too. I didn't want to make you guys upset."
Ashley nods in agreement. "And you guys were being so sweet to me. I just wanted to be a part of the group. But I realized...I don't want my first kiss to come from some random spin of a bottle. I want my first kiss to be..." She stands up since she had been sitting at the table with a dreamy smile on her face. "Romantic. With someone I've had moments with."
"We'll look into each other's eyes, and the whole world will just melt away." Ashley continues. "And it'll be a moment we remember forever."
"Yes, exactly." Winnie nods in agreement, her lips forming into a smile. "We just want our first kiss to be special."
Brooke smiles at her best friends. "Oh, that's so sweet!" Sadie compliments, smiling at Ashley and Winnie along with Harper and Madison. "I wish my first kiss had been like that."
"Me too." Harper agrees. "Mine was behind a dumpster."
Ashley and Winnie share a look and look at Harper with surprise. "It's okay." Madison assures Ashley and Winnie. She smiles. "You know, it's actually kind of cute that you're holding out for a romantic kiss like that." She reaches out both her hands for Ashley and Winnie to take. Ashley and Winnie take ahold of her hands and the three girls smile at each other. "I hope you guys get it."
"Thanks." Ashley and Winnie spoke at the same time. Madison and her friends walked away and Brooke turned to face her best friends with a smile.
"You are so in with these girls." Brooke said to Ashley with excitement laced in her voice. She looks at Winnie with a smile. "And I think you just became even closer with them thanks to tonight."
Winnie smiles, nodding in agreement. "Yeah, they're actually fun to hang out."
"Ashley."
The three best friends turn to the direction they heard a familiar voice and were shocked to see Ashley's uncle standing there. Some of the students in the kitchen gasp and stop talking, keeping their gaze on the scene that was happening. "Why didn't you answer my calls or text?" Victor asks. He stands in front of Ashley. "I got worried about you."
"Tio Victor, what are you doing here?" Ashley inquired, looking at him with wide eyes.
"I'm breaking this party up." Victor outstretches his arms, glancing at everyone as he yells, "Everybody, cups down!"
Everyone who had a red solo cup puts their cups down immediately. Winnie move to stand beside Brooke as Ashley talks with her uncle. "You don't have to do this." Ashley pleaded.
"Yes, I do," Victor points at her. "And it's for your own good." He looks at everyone. "Your parents are all finding out about this." He scoffs. "You think I don't know what red cups mean?" He picks up a red cup off the kitchen island he's standing by. "I know what's in there." He takes a sip out of the drink. He furrows his eyebrows. "Mountain Dew?" As he took drinks out of random cups since apparently he thought they were drinking alcohol, people began to whisper with each other, wondering what was going on. Winnie understood why he was worried and concerned since parties usually had alcohol, but drinking out of random cups like this was just embarrassing for Ashley and himself.
He sets that one down, picking up another one and takes a sip out of it. "Root beer?" He takes a sip of a drink he gets off the table. "Iced tea?" He looks around with confusion. "What kind of party is this?"
"An embarrassing one." Ashley looks at him with a stern expression. "Will you please leave?"
"I know one of these has booze in it." Victor sets down the cup he held and picks up another one off the kitchen island. A disgusted expression forms on his face. "Ugh. Chicken soup?"
"Sorry." Harper apologizes. "I think I'm coming down with something."
Victor sets down the cup, laughing nervously while he looks at everyone. "This isn't the kind of party I thought it was." He leans over to his niece, whispering to her, "Even though there's no alcohol, you and I still need to talk."
Ashley starts to guide him out of the room. "Can we talk about this later?"
"Right." Victor nods and Ashley lets go of his arm as he walks out of the room by himself. "Later." He points at Ashley. "At home. By eleven." He goes to hug her, but Ashley raises a hand to stop him. Victor looks a bit disappointed, and he nods. "Right." After he left (along with Stick), the party continued like nothing happened.
Ashley faces Brooke and Winnie with wide eyes. "I can't believe my uncle showed up like that." She frowns. "I was so close to being in a girls squad. Now I'm out forever."
"Maybe no one noticed." Brooke shrugged, trying to cheer Ashley up.
"OMG, everybody saw that." Sadie said, walking over to the three girls with Harper and Madison.
Madison laughs. "How embarrassing."
"Yeah, like when my dad showed up to my fifteenth birthday party and did his Borat impression." Sadie commented.
"Or when my mom dropped me off at camp and screamed, 'have a lit summer'." Madison rolled her eyes.
"Or when my grandpa came to the bowling alley with a box of tampons." Harper chimes in. "I wanted to disappear."
"I remember my first football game and my mom showed up with her face painted with the school colors and screamed, 'that's my daughter' each time I scored a touchdown." Winnie cringes upon remembering that. "Plus she would yell at the reffs when she thought they did something that wasn't fair."
"Yeah, don't worry. Having your family show up and totally blow up your spot has happened to everyone here." Madison comforts Ashley. Ashley glances around at the room to see everyone nodding in agreement. She smiles nervously. "Really?"
"For sure." Harper replies. "Hey, we're gonna get back to the party." She smiles at the three girls. "See you in there." She left with Sadie and Madison.
Brooke smiles at Ashley. "Welcome to the squad. You're in." She looks at Winnie with a smile. "And you're officially in the squad too!" She grins at Ashley and Winnie. "I'm so happy."
"This night has been so amazing." Ashley compliments. She grins. "I made it to the squad," She wraps her arm around Winnie's shoulders to pull her in for a side hug. She shares a smile with Winnie. "Along with Winnie." She takes her arm off Winnie's shoulders. "I helped Tad stand up to Bella and then we had a moment."
Winnie and Brooke look at her with surprise. "Ash, that's huge." Brooke smiled.
"Wait," Ashley looks at the two blondes with confusion. "I thought you guys said that Tad and I could never happen."
Winnie and Brooke share a glance with each other before they look back at Ashley. "Well, if you guys had a moment that inspired that kiss speech," She points at herself and Winnie. "Then we're on board."
Ashley smiles widely at the two of them. "Really?"
"Of course." Winnie replied, smiling back at Ashley.
"Let's get you guys back out there." Brooke suggests. She smiles at Ashley. "Maybe your night with Tad isn't over yet."
Ashley giggles, beginning to walk backwards to the kitchen door with Winnie and Brooke following her. "I'm so glad my first kiss with Tad wasn't some stupid spin the bottle kiss. It would've meant nothing." The three girls walk into the living room where the rest of the party was playing spin the bottle again and Bella just spun the bottle.
Everyone gasps when the bottle aims at Tad. Winnie shares a worried look with Ashley and Brooke before they all look back to see Tad and Bella standing up. Winnie notices that neither one seemed to be happy about this. Everyone watches anxiously. "Are they really gonna do this?" Madison asks. "They hate each other."
Everyone watch with surprise when Tad and Bella kiss. For a long time. Winnie looks at Ashley sympathetically, wrapping her arm around Ashley's shoulder to comfort her after seeing the upset look on the Latina's face. "Hey, it's just some stupid bottle kiss." Brooke speaks, trying to assure Ashley the kiss was nothing to Tad and Bella although it looked like it was something. "It means nothing."
After Tad and Bella finally pull away, Bella smiles at him. "Wow. I've almost forgotten how good we are together."
"Yeah." Tad smiles back at her. "Me too."
Bella sighs. "Honestly, I can't even remember why we broke up."
Tad continues to smile and shakes his head. "I can, but I don't care." The two kiss again. When they pull away this time, Bella smiles widely. "I missed you, cuddle puddle."
"I missed you more, snickerdoodle." Tad pulled her in for another kiss.
"Glad I could help them figure out how to be in the same room together." Ashley smiles sadly with tears in her eyes. "Yay, me."
A/N literally had no idea how to end this chapter but just gonna end it like that cause i can :)