Song: "1 step forward, 3 steps back" by Olivia Rodrigo

**

Heather excitedly ran up to her lunch group. "Hey, how's everyone doing?"

"Uh—" Gwen looked at Geoff. "I'm good?"

"What's got you in a happy mood?" Courtney smiled.

"Well—" she began.  "I got a new ring last night." She held up her left hand. Courtney and Bridgette gasped in unison.

"Oh my god, is that real?!" Bridgette said.

"Duh!"

"Whoa, Heather! Congratulations!! I can't believe my best friend's getting married!" Courtney hugged her.

"I can't believe it either! I swear to god, I'm in a dream!"

"When's the wedding? Are you guys moving in together?!"

"Courtney, chill, he just proposed to me last night." she laughed. "And yes, we're planning on moving in together after this semester."

"I know! I'm just so happy for you! I can't wait to help you plan!"

"If she lets you help," Duncan reminded her.

"She will," she replied confidently.

"Of course you can help, Courtney."

"Knew it! I think your theme should be Spring because your favorite color's pink, and Chandler's is blue! Perfect Spring colors!"

"Courtney! I am in no place to do any wedding planning right now. But I promise I'll let you know when Chandler and I start planning."

"Oh, alright! I'll be patient." She playfully rolled her eyes.

"I can totally host an engagement party." Geoff offered. "Chandler's been my best bud since middle school!"

"Whoa, Heather's the first to get married out of all of us. Who'd have thought?" Duncan smirked.

"You're so funny, Duncan!" Heather replied sardonically.

"Every damn day! You guys fight every day!" Courtney snapped. "I'm sick of it!"

"I have a solution. Stop dating Duncan." Heather shrugged.

"Or make Heather sit where the losers are with Harold and Beth!"

"You did not just go there."

"Oh, I went there!"

"Courtney, punish your boyfriend! He started this whole thing!"

"You could've just sat back and taken it."

"Who do you think I am?!"

"Guys, shh!" Gwen put her finger up as she picked up her phone. "Hello?"

Heather gave Duncan a "looks like I got the last laugh this time" smirk. He rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, ok. Really sudden, but I'm cool with it. See you next Monday!" Gwen hung up the phone. "Guys, my parents are leaving for the weekend."

Geoff gasped. "You know what that means?! Partay!!"

"That's exactly what I was gonna say." She smirked.

"Alright! Who wants to party at Gwen's?"

"I'm down,"'Duncan said.

"I'll go too!" Courtney held Duncan's hand.

"I should be able to go," Heather said. "I'll ask Chandler too."

"Sweet! Dudette, I'll come over early and help you set up."

"Thanks, Geoff, but you don't have to do that." Gwen laughed.

"To be fair, Gwen, your last party was a little—off-season," Courtney commented, cringing.

"Hey, I think Halloween should be celebrated every month!"

"I was looking forward to white elephant gifts." Geoff pouted.

"And Christmas cookies!" Bridgette said.

"—Yeah, Geoff should help this time."

Gwen groaned. "Fine. We can have a pool party since it's still hot out. Even though I burn as easily as bananas bruise."

"Don't worry. You're in good hands!" Geoff beamed.

"Let's hope so."

**

"Buen Trabajo hoy, todos! Remember, you guys have a paper due next Monday! I've gotta go to my meeting now; see you next week!" The professor hurried out of the room. 

Heather got up from her desk and swung her backpack over her shoulders. "Heather!" She turned around and saw Alejandro. He held a stack of papers in his hands.

"What?"

"Can I speak with you for a moment?"

She sighed. "Make it quick. I have a doctor's appointment in an hour."

"I promise you this won't take long at all." He pulled out one of the papers from his stack. "I'm not supposed to give out test grades until next week, but yours stood out to me."

"—Where are you going with this?"

"You made a C."

"Wait, what?! No way! Let me see that!" She snatched it out of his hand. "Oh my god—you probably rigged it!"

He cracked up. "You think I make the tests, chica? I just help the teacher grade them. And I noticed yours could've been much better."

"Well, duh! I never make Cs!"

"That's exactly what I thought. I've seen your work in class, Heather. I know how smart you are."

"Ew, you sound like a fucking stalker!"

"I can assure you I am not stalking you. I have much more important things to focus on."

"That was a backhanded insult."

"Whatever do you mean?"

"You're trying to tell me I'm not important!"

He smirked. "Maybe. In my world, you're not, at least."

"Was this all you wanted to say to me, asshole?"

"Nope. I also wanted to offer you a chance to redo it. All it takes is a tutoring lesson in the library."

"A lesson from you? Pfft, as if."

"Ok then. Keep that C on your midterm grades." He gathered his things.

"Wait! Fine, I'll do it. When's the stupid tutoring session?"

He grinned cockily. "We can do it tomorrow since we don't have this class on Fridays. Does 4:00 work for you?"

"Yeah, that's fine."

"Excellent. See you then, encantadora."

Her eyes narrowed. "What does that mean?"

"Maybe you'll learn it after our session." He winked before leaving.

Heather stood there with her jaw wide open. I swear to god if he's trying to flirt with me AGAIN—can he not see the engagement ring on my finger?!?! He must be blind or stupid!

**

Heather finished doing the second half of Chandler's homework on her bed while Chandler played on his phone. "There! It's done." She handed the paper to him.

"Thank you so much, baby. I don't know what I'd do without you." He kissed her cheek.

"No problem. I love showing off my intelligence." She smirked.

"You're the most intelligent girl I know." He put the paper in his backpack. She grabbed his face and kissed him. "Mmm." He kissed back with passion. "Trying to do more than study?"

"I've studied enough."

"Mm, yeah?" He kissed her collarbone.

"Oh wait, Chandler?"

"Mhm?"

"Before I forget—Gwen is having a party this weekend since her parents are gone."

"Ok? That's irrelevant but nice to know." He went in to kiss her more.

"That's not all I was gonna say, babe." She laughed. "We should go."

He pulled away from her, giving her a strange look. "Go to Gwen's party?"

She nodded. "Yeah. Geoff will be there."

"Since when are you friends with Gwen?"

"I'm not, but I tolerate her because Courtney hangs out with her."

"Why is she even inviting you?"

"Um—I don't know? Because it's a big party?"

"Well, we're not going because I'll be out of town this weekend. My parents and I are going golfing."

"Wait, why didn't I know this?"

"Because you don't need to know everything about my life, Heather."

"Oh, but when I have plans, you get mad that I didn't tell you sooner?"

He sighed, frustrated. "Here we go again. You're always trying to start a fight."

"I'm not! I'm expressing my feelings!"

"Then express them in a different way. You know I don't listen to you when you say shit like this."

"Ok, whatever. Back to the party. Why can't I go when you're the one leaving for the weekend?"

"Because I won't know who you're gonna be hanging out with when you're there."

"This is a wild guess, but I think it'll be people we go to school with."

"I know that." He rolled his eyes. "But think about all the guys who will be there."

"Oh my god." She groaned.

"They'll all be staring at you and trying to make their move on you. And I won't be there to kick their asses and tell them you're mine."

"I'll make sure they know I'm taken."

"And how am I gonna make sure you're covering up?"

"Oh my god, if you're that paranoid, I'll send you a picture of what I'm wearing!"

"But I won't be there to monitor whether you keep covered the whole night."

"Then you're just gonna have to trust me."

Chandler laughed. "Trust you? After the shit you pulled last night?"

"What did I do?!"

"You disobeyed me when I told you to cover up! You came downstairs with your shoulders and all that cleavage showing! Thank god your mom said something!"

"I "disobeyed" you?! Stop pretending to be my parents!"

"Everything I tell you to do is for your safety and well-being! I don't get why that's so hard for you to understand!"

"Because you're controlling me! I can't wear a fucking dress that I like because you think it looks slutty!"

"Your dresses are slutty! If you would just let me pick them out for you, we wouldn't have a fucking problem!"

Heather angrily crossed her arms. "Your logic is such a joke! It's my body! I should be able to wear whatever I want!"

"No, you shouldn't. Especially when you have a fucking fiancé! That's practically cheating!"

"Oh, this is priceless! Do you actually think that's what cheating is?! You're delusional!"

"Just shut up! You don't know what you're talking about," Chandler glared. "This is why I need to tell you what to do. You don't know shit about the world or other men!"

"Well, I know I'm going to that party whether you like it or not!"

Chandler lifted his hand and slapped her across the cheek. Heather's jaw flew open in disbelief as she cupped her face. She looked away from her fiancé, her eyes watering. "Look at me," he demanded threateningly. When she didn't, he roughly grabbed her wrist, exposing her now reddened skin. "I SAID, look at me!" She jumped and did as he told her. "Let me make this clear. You don't get to talk to me like that. EVER. Got it?!" She quickly nodded, a lump forming in her throat. A couple of tears came streaming down her cheeks. "Don't cry. You did this to yourself."

She squeezed her eyes shut, too scared to make a sound. He gently stroked her cheek, causing her to flinch by instinct. "Heather. I hated doing that to you. You have no idea how much I hated it. And—and now I regret it." He swallowed. "I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry." He broke down in tears. Heather looked at him, confused, but she didn't have the words. "Baby, I'll never do it again. I promise. Never." He hugged her tightly. She tensed, overwhelmed by his sudden mood swing. "Is there any way I can make it up to you? I'll do anything!"

"I—" Her tears cut her off. Chandler held her tighter.

"I'm sorry," he repeated. "I love you so much. I never wanted to hurt you. I never planned this."

Heather didn't know how to react. The amount of shock she felt was insurmountable. She laid her head on his chest. "I—I'm sorry for fighting. I don't like fighting with you."

He ran his hand through her hair. "I don't like it either. And I promise you; this will never happen again." He rubbed her back.

"Ok," she whispered.

"Can I take you out to dinner tonight? I'll buy everything. And then we can cuddle and watch your favorite movie?"

"Yeah, ok." At least he's trying to make up for it. That's all that matters.

Chandler smiled. "I'm so glad you didn't leave. I don't know what I'd do if you left. I wouldn't be able to live anymore. You're the light of my life."

Heather started to feel a bit better already. She took his hand. "Thank you. I promised you forever, didn't I?"

"Yes." He kissed her. "And I promised you. Nothing's gonna break us apart. Not even one little fight like this one."