"Which dress do you think is better for Isaiah's party?" Nicole asked, her brows furrowing in indecision as she held up two dresses she had been considering.

Victoria sighed, feeling a bit exasperated with her best friend's ongoing dilemma. She rolled over in bed to sit on the side, her patience wearing thin. "Just wear the red one," she said bluntly.

Nicole pouted and looked at the red dress skeptically. "But the red one doesn't match my heels," she lamented, holding up her peach-colored designer shoes with a sigh.

Nicole continued to rummage through her wardrobe, her frustration growing. "Forget it," she muttered with a hint of resignation. "I'm never going to find a dress for that party, and Isaiah is never going to notice me."

Nicole, in a rather dramatic fashion, plopped down onto the floor. She clutched the shoes to her chest in resignation, letting out an exasperated sigh.

Victoria mentally facepalmed herself as she looked up from her phone, observing her best friend wallowing on the floor. What Nicole exhibited was an obvious sign of weakness, and she wanted to yell at her to get up and tell her that no one wanted to date a wallowing mess. But she held herself back.

She had learned long ago that such an approach never worked with Nicole, and over the years, she had managed to develop a soft spot for this reckless bundle of emotions.

-------------

Victoria's earliest memory of meeting Nicole was a vivid one. She was only six years old at the time, but even then, Victoria had a strong sense of what she liked to call justice. On a sunny afternoon in their idyllic neighborhood, she stumbled upon a small group of kids gathered around Nicole, who was sitting alone at a tiny picnic table.

Nicole, dressed in a frilly pink dress and a tiara perched on her head, was hosting an imaginary tea party. Her bright blue eyes sparkled with delight as she poured imaginary tea from a tiny teapot into an even tinier cup. She offered a plastic cookie to one of her stuffed animals, seemingly lost in her world of make-believe.

Victoria watched this captivating scene from a distance, her heart aching for the lonely girl. But as she approached, she realized that the other kids were not there to join the tea party. Instead, they were making fun of Nicole, mocking her for her choice of games and her frilly dress.

Unable to stand by and watch the bullying unfold, Victoria marched right up to the group of kids and, with all the authority a six-year-old could muster, yelled at them to stop. "Leave her alone! Can't you see she's having a tea party?"

The bullies were taken aback by Victoria's sudden intervention. They exchanged nervous glances and scattered, leaving Nicole alone once again. But instead of thanking her rescuer, Nicole burst into tears.

Victoria was bewildered and annoyed. She had expected gratitude, not more tears. "What's wrong with you?" she demanded, crossing her arms and scowling. "I just saved you from those bullies!"

Nicole hiccupped and sobbed, her little shoulders shaking. "I wanted to be strong like you, but now you're yelling at me too!"

Victoria was at a loss for words. She hadn't meant to make Nicole cry even more. She sighed, feeling a pang of guilt and annoyance. "Well, you can't let them push you around, okay? Be tough like me."

Nicole sniffled but nodded, her tears starting to subside. "Okay."

Victoria wasn't the best at comforting, but she knelt beside Nicole and patted her on the back awkwardly. "There, there. You'll be fine. Just don't let anyone mess with you."

After a few more huffs of annoyance, Victoria finally agreed to join Nicole's tea party. As they sat together, sipping imaginary tea and nibbling on invisible cookies, Victoria couldn't help but feel a strange sense of connection with this quirky girl. And so, their friendship began, born out of an unexpected rescue, a scolding, and the promise of newfound strength.

From that day forward, they were inseparable. Victoria was no longer just the tough kid on the block; she had become Nicole's loyal friend, tea party partner, and protector. Their bond, forged in the fiery crucible of a children's tea party, would only grow stronger as the years went by.

-------------

"You're right," Victoria said, her tone a touch harsher than usual, making Nicole's head snap in her direction.

"What?"

"He's never going to notice you if you continue acting like this," Victoria stated bluntly. "Where's the confident, sexy chick that I used to know?"

Nicole let out a frustrated sigh, still clutching her shoes. "Probably buried under all these clothes," she muttered, gesturing towards the piles surrounding her.

Sighing, Victoria got up from her bed and joined Nicole on the floor, sitting down beside her. She couldn't help but sound a bit harsh; it was her way of pushing Nicole to be the best version of herself. She wanted her friend to succeed, especially when it came to matters of the heart.

Sighing again, Victoria continued, "You need to show him the Nicole that I know—the one who's smart, funny, and has a killer sense of style. The one who doesn't let anything or anyone hold her back."

Nicole looked at her best friend with a mix of annoyance and realization. She knew Victoria was right; she needed to find her confidence again. "You really think so?"

Victoria nodded, a hint of a smile playing on her lips. "Absolutely. Now, let's find you the perfect outfit for Isaiah's party. And if he doesn't want to take you out, I might just have to do it myself."

Nicole couldn't help but laugh, and in that moment, she felt a spark of determination to rediscover the confident woman Victoria saw in her.

And rediscover, she did.

With her new found confidence, Nicole had no trouble blending into the party. As soon as they arrived, she was swept up into the cluster her friends had formed.

Victoria, as unsocial as she was, had no other friends so she hovered around Nicole's group of friends. She had never had a problem with it and the other girls were too petrified of her wrath to oppose her presence so the arrangement worked out splendidly most of the time.

This was not one of those times.

As per the norm, Nicole was at the centre of attention, chugging down shots like there was no tomorrow alongside a random player from the basketball team Victoria should have known the name of if she cared for such formalities.

Bored out of her mind at the pointless activity, she left in search of more alcohol and possibly Ethan.

'Where has Ethan been?', she pondered as she walked past her fellow party goers. No one would dare stand in her way, even intoxicated, so getting around in these sort of settings was quite easy for her.

He had specifically told her he would meet her there fifteen minutes ago but from the looks of it she couldn't find him anywhere.

Frustrated and feeling lightheaded, she sought some fresh air. Plastic cup in hand, she began looking for the patio and was surprised when she, literally, stumbled upon it at last.

It was a whole other extension of the party out there. The back yard was quite spacious with a bar stand complete with a roof and bar stools and a pool, which was illuminated with underwater lights that occasionally changed colours.

Victoria would have enjoyed the sight and the new somewhat fresh air, had her mind not been occupied with another sight that infuriated her.

At the extreme of the yard, resting against a tree adjacent the pool, was Ethan in all his glory conversing with the girl from the cafeteria.

She hadn't thought it possible but she hated the girl even more at that very moment. Victoria couldn't fathom what sort of entertainment Ethan derived from the girl in question that would make him ditch her hebut her frown soon morphed into a smirk as she plotted her next move.

She scanned the expanse of land in search of a particular face, one she soon found.

'Or rather, Alicia's next move', she smiled as her eyes landed on a particularly animated sophomore.

Alicia Brighton, Mexican heritage, 16 years of age, class vice president, star student and active party goer. One would question how she managed to balance it all, and that was the key piece of information Victoria found herself scavenging for when the girl just so happened to report her 'upsetting' another student.

'I mean the girls clothes were so ragged, they could have been worn for four generations already. They belonged in a museum, not on a high schooler,' Victoria mused as she approached the dark haired girl.

After a while of fruitless searching, she finally found out the golden girl's secret. And it wasn't a pretty one.

Luckily for Victoria, Alicia hadn't seemed too keen on being expelled for examination malpractice when Victoria had confronted her. She'd been using Alicia ever since

'If it's entertainment Ethan wanted, I'll give him a show,' she smirked.

She approached the short girl and excused her from the company of her friends to explain her plan to her.

Though reluctant, Alicia agreed as Victoria had predicted.

It wasn't like she had much of a choice.

Victoria sat at a bar stool on the edge of the bar. She sipped her tequila as she witnessed her plan unfold before her eyes. Though it took a while, as Alicia wasn't naturally the sneaky kind, but her short demeanor made her hard to spot in crowds. Which was why Victoria had chosen her for the job.

But despite the long wait, finally, a cool smile graced Victoria's lips as she heard the satisfying splash she had been waiting for.

--
Today, I have a question for you little men and little women on the other side of the screen.😙

This question could change your view of life as we know it.

Bread and jam or bread and Nutella?
It is quite the life changing question.

Anyways, don't mind me.

Vote, comment, share, make yourself at home and get a snack!