Rosalie had never been carried bridal-style before. She attributed it to the fact that she had been in strength training since she was in middle school, and before then, she had always been taller than the rest of her classmates. So when Dylan Cox swept her off of her feet, she felt her survival instincts kick in from the sheer instant of weightlessness, and the sensation of having Dylan's arms tight around her abdomen and legs.

"Ah! Put me down, put me down!" she cried, but couldn't stop grinning like mad. Ray took a picture of them like that, and she knew it from the obnoxious camera sound effect clicking from beside Lennie, who looked unamused but pleased. It wasn't often that she even saw him smile.

The loudspeakers around the stadium clicked, an a moment later, Weezer started playing. Dylan dropped Rosalie's feet, and she hit the ground staggering. He steadied her with two hands on her shoulders as Rosalie said, "Coach is gonna annihilate Jamie-Lee..."

She passed a hand over the side of her face as students from around the stadium whooped and hollered. With the sun behind the stadium, they could all see Jamie-Lee jumping up, fists in the air, through the Fortress glass. Coach Maguire was already on her way up the stadium steps to the very top of the stands.

Rosalie turned to Joanna, smiling so wide her cheeks strained to keep up. Joanna was staring at her openly, looking thoroughly confused, as if she couldn't quite stick to the present where they would be going to prom together.

Rosalie leant towards her, an arm out, and hooked it around Joanna's shoulders. She dragged her up beside her and Dylan, who gave them both a squeeze with his massive, football biceps. Rosalie giggled and Joanna groaned against Dylan's left pec.

Coach marched into the Fortress and shut down the operation, and thus was how Jamie-Lee wound up with a week of detention—for good reason, according to him. It was a miracle Coach didn't tack that sentence onto her as well, but she was convinced it had more than a little to do with her status on the soccer team.

Practice came to an end after Coach walked Jamie-Lee down to the field and out of the stadium. Jamie-Lee pumped his fists in the air as he passed the group of track gets getting lectured by their coach, and they all threw their arms up and laughed when their coach told them to stop enabling Berry.

When they were dismissed to the locker rooms, Rosalie was more than a little relieved to find Joanna walking in step with her up the grassy hill to the propped open door down the hall from the locker rooms. She felt it deep beneath whatever facade she was wearing subconsciously then. For the moment, everything that had kept her mind occupied and distracted during classes faded into a dull, distant fog at the back of her mind.

She knew it was an obsession just as powerful as the hold Arden had on her mind, but for now, she could tolerate Arden Dodge as nothing more than a particle in the fog.

The soccer girls were dismissed around the same time as the track girls, and as they walked through the locker room, rows of lockers were occupied by track girls, who had no shame in staring when they passed. Rosalie grinned as she caught Joanna glaring at them, and at the first compliment to Rosalie's promposal, Joanna flipped them off.

Rosalie pushed open the soccer girls' locker room door and stepped through to an onslaught of their teammates clapping. The concrete walls and metal lockers made it echo for ages even after Rosalie blushed and cried in embarrassment, "Stop! Please—don't make a big deal out of it."

Brynn got up on one of the benches, cupped her hands over her mouth, and screamed, "ROSALIE'S GAY FOR JOANNA—"

"I'll punt your ass to Mars, Fox," Joanna snarled from behind Rosalie. Rosalie stepped to the side, looking back at the fierce look Joanna had on her face that had the underclassmen in the soccer room and out "ooo"ing scandalously.

Joanna kicked the door shut, blocking out the sight of the track girls leaning in to see. When she turned back around, she met Rosalie's eyes, and Rosalie's brain kicked back into gear. Right, there was a task that needed to be completed.

"Guys, as far as anyone knows, I'm going to prom with Dylan—please don't... spread stuff around about Joanna and I," she said, waving her hands at the peculiar looks she got from the girls. She could see Ray glaring at Brynn, who started pouting and sulking on the bench, slumping and tipping onto her side. Juliana crossed her arms when Luanna rose her hand.

Rosalie called on Luanna.

Luanna turned to everyone else and said, "I know this isn't the situation Rosalie and Joanna are dealing with, but treat it like Rosalie's in the closet, alright? It's up to her who gets to know."

In a way, Rosalie did feel like she was in the closet—not for her mother's sake, but for the Sisterhood's sake.

Rosalie looked to her feet and offered a quiet, "Thanks, Lu," because she couldn't have said it any better. She really couldn't control what people said about her promposal, but she could try her best to make Joanna comfortable with it.

With that settled, the locker room returned to normal. Rosalie walked up to Ray and Juliana where their lockers were arranged side-by-side. Joanna's locker was on the other side of the room, so Rosalie approached alone.

Juliana nudged her arm and said, "That was so damn extra. I couldn't believe that was you."

"Yeah, well, I call it revenge for Homecoming," Rosalie said with a small, nervous smile. She giggled when Juliana flicked her ponytail.

She leant back on the bench where Brynn was still comatose. Ray and Juliana were talking about Prom plans, and now, Rosalie felt obligated to listen. A nagging part of her worried that Joanna had only said yes because they were in front of over a hundred students, but when she glanced back to look at Joanna, she thought to herself, No, the last thing Joanna would do was feel obligated to avoid secondhand embarrassment.

Joanna tugged her shirt over her head and turned it inside-out. Rosalie's eyes scanned the pale skin of Joanna's shoulder blades that were partially obscured by her sports bra. Her defined back muscles were punctuated by her toned obliques and lower back dimples—and that was where Rosalie's gaze ended. She dropped her gaze to the tiled floor and turned away, clearing her throat. For Joanna's short height, all of her muscles became compact and dense around her torso and arms.

She wondered how many pushups Joanna could do with deltoids like that.

Juliana shut her locker and twisted the dial, shouldering her duffle. Rosalie was on her phone texting Lennie, since her backpack was trapped in his car, and hoped Lennie hadn't committed murder by then. The chances of him finding out that she and Jamie-Lee took an accidental, reluctant joyride around the block were slim, but were there nonetheless. When Juliana started walking, Rosalie got up and followed, leaving the locker room with her with every intention of waiting for Joanna and Ray out in the hallway.

They had a lot to talk about that couldn't be said on the field.

The locker room was chaos until they exited, and even then, girls were coming and going from the room, and guys were exiting the men's locker room down the hallway and taking to the cafeteria and, likewise, the courtyard. Rosalie paused just beside the door and leant back against the cement wall.

Juliana turned around, walking backward as she pegged Rosalie with her finger and said, "Seriously—that was epic. I stand by you two being Prom Royalty—right next to Ray and Lennie, but slightly above them."

"Gee, thanks," Rosalie laughed. "You know we are in all of our hearts."

Juliana laughed. Rosalie looked down at her phone with a smile as they said their goodbyes, and Juliana walked off across the cafeteria to leave campus. Ray soon emerged, and Rosalie promised to be out by the car soon.

Ray waved her hand dismissively and said, "You know I've got plenty to work on while we wait for you."

Rosalie stuck out her tongue in disgust and Ray turned away, laughing. She siddled off, still smirking as she headed for the courtyard doors where Lennie was waiting with Jamie-Lee. Rosalie lingered at the cafeteria archway and waved. Jamie stuck his hand in the air and waved obnoxiously as Lennie held the door for Ray.

As she was watching them leave, she felt the weight of a hand at her lower back. She shivered and turned, her eyes finding Joanna's bright hair at her eye level, and Joanna's indifferent expression just below that.

Joanna had a hand in the pocket of her uniform slacks, her backpack strap on one shoulder. She dropped her hand from Rosalie's back and pocketed it. A shiver coursed through Rosalie, all the way to her flushed cheeks. She couldn't ignore the overpowering contentment she felt when seeing Joanna's narrow, annoyed expressions—because they weren't directed at her anymore.

She never really did believe they were ever directed at her.

"Could we talk for a second?" Rosalie asked.

Joanna glanced up at her and gave an indifferent shrug. "Yeah, sure. I could drive you back to your place."

"Oh, no, you don't have to," Rosalie said, waving her hands.

They fell quiet, because a group of track girls emerged from the locker room. Joanna shrugged, as if to say, "What can ya do?" Rosalie smiled and nodded towards the courtyard. Joanna started walking before Rosalie ever moved towards it.

Rosalie followed her to the doors, where Joanna pushed both doors open, one with each hand, and spun around to face Rosalie as she backed out onto the pavement. Rosalie crossed her arms and tipped her head to the side as Joanna's eyes scanned her face. She wondered what Joanna was thinking, and how much Joanna regretted saying yes—if at all. The pocket of fear in her chest, that Joanna had only said 'yes' because of the crowd, grew.

Joanna leapt up onto one of the stone benches and sat back on the tabletop, her hands braced behind her. Rosalie scuffed her sneakers against the ground, cleared her throat, and said:

"Did you mean it? It's... okay if you really don't want to go with me," Rosalie said, though it hurt to choke out those words. She was shocked by how painful they were, like acid in the back of her throat.

"Is this you saying it was all a ploy to actually go to Prom with Cox?" Joanna said with a laugh.

"No, of course not—"

"Then stop acting so self-conscious. I wouldn't have said 'yes' if I didn't mean it," Joanna said.

Rosalie looked up from her feet. Joanna looked away, scratching at her bun. "Yeah, I know," Rosalie whispered.

"Okay, good."

"Okay."

Rosalie rubbed a hand against her throat, to the back of her neck, and up to her ponytail. "I just... want to make sure that you're okay with this. With us. I want you to be able to look at us and not be worried about me getting hurt. Or you getting hurt."

"We will get hurt," Joanna said. "You just have no sense of self-preservation."

"I think we're looking at self-preservation differently," Rosalie said. "I know how to take care of myself and I don't need you to baby me, or treat me like I'm not capable."

"I just—" Joanna said, sharply. She clasped her hands together, her elbows on her knees, and leant forward with a curse. She looked away and closed her eyes. "I don't think you understand the consequences of dealing with Arden the way I do."

"I don't," Rosalie agreed. Joanna looked at her, brow tense. "But that doesn't mean I can't handle it. It doesn't mean I won't try to prevent shit from happening to me, to you. This is me telling you that whatever happens with me and Arden isn't on you. She can't get to you if we aren't codependent. I've never... looked for codependency in a relationship, Joanna. And I don't think it's healthy, especially if we'll be dealing with Arden."

"You've never been in a relationship, Rosalie," Joanna said. Rosalie frowned, her brow heavy over her eyes like the weight of Joanna's depreciation. Joanna put her clasped hands over her mouth and put them out with a sharp, vague gesture. "You don't—understand how a relationship works."

"I know that I have never wanted to be one half of a whole," Rosalie said, with just as much aggravation as Joanna in that moment. "And I know I'm not cut out for inseparability. And I was bitter before, when you said you didn't want to room with me. I'll admit that. But I can see where you're coming from, and I can see how it would benefit the way I function with other people. With people close to me. I don't want to be attached at the hip with you, Joanna. I don't think that was ever my intention."

"You preach about codependency, but we started out that way. If it weren't for me, we wouldn't have made it to goddamn Regionals—"

Rosalie took a step back with a scowl and said, "Soccer is different and you know it."

"I've been used emotionally before—for soccer. You don't think I know what that looks like? How that works with you?" Joanna said.

Rosalie dragged her hands over her face and groaned. "When we're on the field together, we aren't—we're teammates. Teammates are supposed to be dependent on one another. But when we're off the field, we aren't tied by external obligations. We can move at our own pace, keep our independence. And I'm not asking you to trust me on this, or to look to me for answers. I don't have them. At USW, we won't belong together. We'll have ourselves, and that'll make college and the Sisterhood situation simpler to manage.

"And I feel like you tend to forget that you're, like... one of the most intense and passionate girls I know," Rosalie said, meeting Joanna's eyes. After a brief moment, she released the breath from her lungs with a sigh and rolled her eyes. "Well, aside from Ray."

Joanna pursed her lips to keep from smiling.

"I know I'm badass, baby," Joanna said with a wink.

Rosalie laughed, and said, "Yeah, but you forget it when you're around Georgina. And I don't know the specifics about your relationship with Georgina, but... God, it just makes me wish you could act the same around her like you do with Jace Clemons or Whitney or... whoever else pisses you off."

Rosalie took a deep breath and stood her ground, arms crossed and facing Joanna. Joanna studied her for a long, dreadful moment in which Rosalie thought to herself, Shit, I said the wrong thing. She's going to take it all back.

Instead, though, Joanna gave a slow, shallow nod. She nodded again, this time with more conviction, and said, "Okay. That's... That's fair. I know I need to deal with my fear—that's justified."

Rosalie let out a relieved breath. "Okay. Then can we do this?"

"Is this... us having a relationship talk? Are you trying to date me, Mason?" Joanna asked.

Rosalie smiled. "Yeah. Yeah, I am trying to date you, Spencer. Or do you need me to sing Take A Chance On Me again?"

Joanna laughed, her hand reaching for Rosalie's wrist. Rosalie stepped back up, her knees touching the stone bench, her hips between Joanna's knees. Rosalie's lips pulled into a wide smile, her giddiness sending a shiver of delight up her spine at the way Joanna's eyes became lidded, her head tipped, and her attention all on Rosalie's broad, eager smile.

They hesitated. Rosalie's hand hovered at Joanna's waist, her thumb skimming over the fabric of Joanna's button-up shirt and her other hand settled on Joanna's knee. Joanna met Rosalie's eyes, for a split second, before tipping forward to cover her lips over Rosalie's.

She caught Rosalie's bottom lip between her own, and on their sharp inhale, the air chilled between them. Joanna's lips were soft and warm against Rosalie's mouth, and she found herself licking her lips to taste Joanna's minty chapstick on her tongue as she pulled away. She lifted her eyes up, and caught the subtle, but apparent smirk on Joanna's lips.

Rosalie glanced over Joanna's shoulder, tipping to the side, to see Lennie's blue Maserati parked at the curb. The passenger window was open and Ray's arm stuck out, waving to her. She bit her lip and winced a little, half-grinning as she met Joanna's eyes and said, "I should go."

"Then fucking go, Killer," Joanna said, slapping her hands to her thighs. She pushed herself to her feet, now easily two feet taller than Rosalie. She bounded off of the bench, grabbed her bag, and said, "You know, I've been waiting for today."

Rosalie rolled her eyes. "There's absolutely no way you could have called the promposal."

"I guessed one of two things," Joanna said, raising one finger. "One: You lost your mind and would ask me to prom, which I guessed right."

Rosalie laughed and said, "Okay, then what was the other?"

Joanna pocketed her hands and said, "Two... was that you would give up, so I would have quit the team and cancelled my USW enrollment."

"That's... really extreme," Rosalie said, eyes wide.

"I'm a dramatic bitch, what can I say?" Joanna said, slowing at Lennie's car.

Joanna bent over to look at Ray and Lennie in the front seats to make sure they weren't doing anything scandalous. Ray took her hand back from Lennie's hair, which Jamie had been blessed enough to watch as the two of them argued over whether or not Lennie even needed a haircut.

"Glad I didn't miss anything too exciting," Rosalie said as she opened the backseat door.

"Can't say the same for us," Ray said. She hooked an elbow over the open window, and Joanna rose her eyebrows down at her. "You two sucking face over there?"

"I prefer the term frenching," Joanna said.

Rosalie went bright red, slammed the door, and said, "We weren't frenching."

"Sure, girl," Ray said. Jamie-Lee clapped his hands and hooted.

Joanna leant up against Ray's open window and peered in to look back at Rosalie, who had a hand partially obscuring her pink cheeks. Joanna grinned, winked, and said, "Catch ya later, Killer. See you idiots bright and early tomorrow."

With that, Joanna drummed her hands down the hood of Lennie's Maserati while Lennie called out to her, "Hey, stop touching my car!" but she spanked the trunk like it was a juicy ass and followed up by kicking the bumper. Jamie-Lee was laughing so hard he was crying as Ray muttered, "You really know how to pick 'em, Rosie-girl."