"Finally," Ally said exasperatingly, throwing her hands around Dinah.
Dinah chuckled and reciprocated the action, "you're so extra."
"That's you," Ally rolled her eyes, pulling away.
"Mani," Dinah reached out, hugging the girl.
"Hey DJ," Normani smiled.
"What am I? Dirt?" Lauren came up to the trio, waving to their father as he pulled away from the roundabout.
"Hi Lo!" Ally exclaimed, pulling the girl into a hug.
"Hey Ally," Lauren laughed lightly, "hi Mani." Normani joined the hug.
"Ally," Dinah sang.
"What?" Ally copied her tone.
"Don't you have something to tell us?" Dinah asked.
Ally shifted and nodded, "yeah."
"Let's go to my room," Lauren said, noticing Ally's change in mood. Dinah reached for Ally's hand, the girl smiling up at her as she slipped her hand into Dinah's.
The girls walked in a comfortable silence towards the dormitories. Ally swung their hands back and forth only for Dinah to raise their hands above Ally's head to make her spin. Ally giggled.
"They should just get together," Normani whispered to Lauren.
"That's what I was thinking," Lauren whispered back.
"I think boy toy Troy is long gone," Normani said.
"What makes you say that?" Lauren raised an eyebrow.
"She'll tell you in a second," Normani said. Lauren nodded as they walked into the building. Lauren unlocked her door, her roommate, Emma, collecting things from her desk.
"Hi Emma," Lauren greeted.
"Hey Laur, I'm on the way out," she said, looking at Dinah, Ally, and Normani.
"No worries, take your time," Lauren waved her off, sitting in her desk chair. Normani sat in her lap with a smile, making Lauren groan. Dinah pulled Ally over to the bed and they sat against the wall.
"I'm out, see you later!" Emma waved, opening the door.
"See you!" Lauren said as the door closed.
"So," Dinah looked at Ally.
Ally exhaled a long breath, "you two can't get mad and storm out, got it?" she looked at Lauren and Dinah, who shared the same confused look and nodded, "okay. The party, yes. We were just hanging out, dancing by the fire. And by we, I mean Mani and I and a few of our other friends. Then Troy grabbed me and pulled me away from the party. Um, at first we were just talking and you know, kissing. But then, he uh, started getting a little more handsy. I tried to push him off, and I eventually did, so I ran back to the party," she finished at a whisper. She winced when the grip on her thigh tightened.
"Sorry," Dinah mumbled, taking her hand away. Dinah knew she was leaving out the major detail about a wolf attacking Troy, but couldn't say anything. She was silently grateful the detail was left out, Lauren will kill her if she finds out.
"It's okay," Ally shook her head.
"So he tried to force himself on you?" Lauren asked, Ally nodding slightly. Lauren threw her hands up and shook her head.
Dinah leaned down and buried herself into Ally's side, "I'm just glad you're okay." Ally smiled slightly and put her arm on Dinah's shoulder, rubbing it soothingly.
"He makes my blood boil," Lauren said in a low voice.
"Tell me about it," Normani concurred.
"Can we go to the cafe? I'm hungry and don't want to talk about it anymore," Ally said.
"Strudel?" Dinah popped up with an excited smile. The one thing about going home over the weekends was that she could no longer eat strudels until the following week.
"Sure," Ally chuckled. Dinah jumped up and pumped her fist into the air with a hissed 'yes!'
"I could go for a smoothie," Lauren nodded, tapping Normani's hip.
"Oh that sounds good," Normani nodded, getting up.
"Let's go!" Dinah exclaimed, bouncing out of the room.
"She really likes strudels," Lauren rolled her eyes.
== + ==
"Hey Lo," Ally smiled at the Cuban in her doorway.
"Hi Als," Lauren said, being let in.
"So what's up?" Ally asked, getting back onto her bed as Lauren sat next to her gingerly.
"Just wanted to see how you were doing," Lauren's eyebrows furrowed a little, "if you don't want to talk about it, it's okay we can just cuddle and watch movies."
Ally shook her head, "um, no it's okay. I think I should talk about it after avoiding it. To be honest I'm still a little shaken up, confused, frustrated. I thought, well I don't know what I was thinking, everything just happened so quickly, him holding me against the tree and then the wolf, I don't know what to think of it all."
"Wait, wolf?" Lauren cocked an eyebrow up. She hadn't mentioned it to the group when she told them a few days back.
"Y-yeah, a wolf came out of nowhere and pushed him to the ground as he was going to," Ally cleared her throat and looked down.
"It's okay," Lauren laid a hand on Ally's knee, "do you remember, by any chance, the color of the wolf?" Lauren asked.
Ally's eyebrows furrowed as she thought back to that night, "um, I think it was brown, maybe? Definitely not grey, though," she said.
Lauren nodded, feeling her blood boil a little, "okay, have you talked to Troy?"
Ally shook her head, "I don't- want to see him, not now at least."
"I assume he isn't happy with that," Lauren scoffed.
"Yeah," Ally trailed off.
"Sorry, I get he's still your boyfriend and all but I don't know Als," Lauren said.
"Neither do I," she frowned a little.
"Has he done this before? Other than that one time," Lauren questioned.
"Once or twice more, not too sure. But never as serious as in the woods. He'd joke about it or suggest it, but never tried to force me until Halloween," Ally answered.
Lauren sighed, "how's that make you feel?"
"Uncomfortable," Ally immediately said, "and a little rushed. I want to do it on my own time and own will, I don't want to be forced into anything."
"Have you talked to him about that?" Lauren inquired.
"I have, or tried to at least. Whenever we get to that topic he kind of dismisses it and waves me off, "Ally shrugged.
"He ignores the fact that you aren't ready," Lauren deadpanned, her lips pulled into a tight line out of irritation.
"Well when you put it like that," Ally snorted.
Lauren turned and took Ally's hands into hers, "yeah, Als. All I'm saying is maybe, just maybe, he isn't the one. I know you guys have been dating for a while now, but that doesn't change the fact that he did what he did and he acts like how he does. I'm not even going to tell you you need to break up with him, even if that'd probably be a good idea, but ultimately it's up to you and what you want. The girls and I will be there for you, as always. We just want you to be happy and we'll be accepting of whatever you choose. Some may not be the happiest if you choose to stay with him, but we'll get over it because we value and choose your happiness over everything else."
Ally sighed, "thank you. I also know y'all don't like him so it's okay."
Lauren snorted, "that obvious?"
"You've all made comments that prove me right, so yes," Ally chuckled.
"But seriously, we'll keep each other in check," Lauren said.
Ally shook her head and waved her off, "I think," she paused, "I think I'm going to break up with him."
Lauren nodded, "if you want us to be there for safety measures..."
Ally chuckled, "I know Mani would jump at the chance of seeing me break up with him."
"She isn't the only one," Lauren added.
"It's okay, I think this is something I have to do alone. Plus, I think he'd be mad if I brought my friends along," Ally finally said.
"Even more of a reason for at least one of us to go," Lauren sang.
"I'll be okay, thank you though. I'll keep you guys updated, I promise," Ally said, patting Lauren's hand.
"We better get explicit details like how many people are in the vicinity and your exact coordinates," Lauren raised her finger, taking on a motherly tone.
Ally chucked, "I will keep you informed. Unsure of how I'd get my exact coordinates though."
"Look it up," Lauren shrugged.
Ally rolled her eyes, "whatever. Thanks for coming to talk with me, I feel a lot better now that it's off my chest."
"Of course, thank you for letting me listen," Lauren nodded.
"Where are the others?" Ally asked.
"Dinah's on some stupid study date and I was on my way to watch movies with Mani, but I wanted to stop here first," Lauren shrugged.
Ally's face contorted, "study date? Dinah never studies," she scoffed.
Lauren laughed, "yeah, some kid Alex needed help I guess. Anyway, do you want to join Mani and I?"
"Sure, I could use a break from all this work," Ally nodded, gesturing to her desk, papers messily spread out with multiple tabs open on her laptop.
a/n: if you saw that no you didn't