"So, we'll each have $20 to spend. After one hour, we can walk over to The Spoon and share what we found for each other."
"This should be fun, Ambs!"
Both Amber and Andi were at Shadyside Thrift, taking on the $20 thrift store challenge. TJ and Cyrus had just taken part in the challenge for their YouTube channel, and Cyrus was raving over how much fun it was. Then again, Cyrus could probably be stuck in a ten-hour car ride with TJ and they would find a way to make it enjoyable.
Amber began sorting through racks of colorful clothing, smiling as she remembered that deep shade of red that brought out the blush of Andi's cheeks. Perfect, she thought to herself as her eyes settled on a glittering red dress with spaghetti straps and a large red bow to tie around the back. It was in Andi's size and only $10. Now, to find a cute headband...
Andi struggled to find the right gift for Amber. The thrift shops in Shadyside weren't exactly known for being abundant, and Amber wasn't the easiest person to shop for. She scanned the store tirelessly until her gaze turned to the perfect gift. This gave her another idea, and she saw Amber heading towards the checkout just as her shopping really began.
Both girls walked hand-in-hand to The Spoon, laughing and sharing kisses all along the way.
When they arrived at The Spoon, they sat down across from each other in one of the shiny red booths. A waiter came to take their order, and they got the usual: a large strawberry milkshake with two straws--a pink one, and an orange one.
As the girls sipped their shake, Amber lifted up her bag from the thrift store. "This is for you, Bambi," she explained with a grin. Andi beamed in response, giving her bag to Amber for her to open.
Both girls reached into their bags, grinning wildly at their new gifts. Andi practically screamed when she saw her new dress, pulling out a (new!) tiara from Claire's that was embedded with fake red rubies. "Both of those were only $10, Bambi!" Amber explained with a smile. "I'm going to try these on once we get to your house," Andi replied. Amber pulled out a huge pride flag--a Lesbian pride flag, to be exact. "I can't believe you found this!" Amber shouted. "And a locket!"
"We just need to put a photo in it," Andi replied with a small smile. Amber smiled as she carefully opened the locket, revealing a black-and-white photo depicting two people sharing a kiss. Amber looked a little closer and realized it was two old women sharing a kiss.
"Look, Andi! It's two girls!" Andi looked at the picture and grinned, reaching across the table to take Amber's hands in hers. "I wonder why this necklace was at the thrift shop...perhaps it's fate that I found it."
"How did you manage to find all the gay stuff?" Amber jokingly pouted. "I mean, TJ and Cyrus are gay, Jonah is bi, you're a lesbian, Walker and I are pan, Buffy is ace, and Marty is trans. Shadyside is just a really LGBT-friendly town."
Amber laughed thoughtfully at this, nodding in agreement. "Let's go to my house and you can try the dress on!"
Later, at the Kippen household, Amber sat on the couch with her new flag draped around her shoulders. "Come out, Bambi!" "Was that a pun? How gay can you be, Ambs?" "Just come out so I can see the dress, you goofball!"
Andi stepped into the living room and twirled around in her new dress and tiara. "What do you think?" she asked Amber, wiggling her eyebrows and giving a small smirk. "You look breathtaking, Andi. I love you so, so much. I--I mean, the dress. I love the dress on you so much."
Andi moved to sit on the couch next to Amber, gazing into her dazzling blue eyes and pressing their foreheads together. "I love you, Amber. And I love this dress, too."
Amber and Andi shared a smile, intertwining their fingers as Amber draped both of them in the flag. "Oh, I decided to keep the original photo in the locket," Amber explained. "Something tells me it was meant for us."
She opened the locket to show Andi once more, and both girls' eyes widened when they realized: one of the women had long, lightly-shaded hair, and the other had short, darkened hair. "Do you think that the women look like-" Amber began with shock in her tone. "I told you it was fate that led me to the necklace," Andi replied as she kissed Amber's nose. "The same way I know it was fate that led us to each other."
"The same way I know that our love is fated to last forever."