» V »

I had spent the entire rest of the day with Matt; surfing, splash wars, tickle fights, kisses, and everything in between. So when I climbed into bed that night, I had no problem falling right into a deep sleep.

Waking up the next morning, I groaned when I saw the time. Nine o'clock. It was way later than I thought, and I knew I had to get up soon or I'd miss my froot loop hour.

I yawned, stretching my legs before getting out of bed and analyzing my closet. After little consideration, I threw on a cropped white daisy shirt and a pair of ripped mom jeans; my go-to outfit. After brushing out my hair a doing my makeup, I headed downstairs for a very healthy breakfast of froot loops and chocolate milk to wash it down. Delicious. I met Jack at the kitchen table, where he was also eating a bowl of froot loops. "Don't tell mom," he muttered, shoveling the precious cereal into his mouth like a madman.

I nodded. "Only if you don't tell her either," I murmured as I poured myself a bowl. He gave me a thumbs up and we quickly finished our breakfast before my mom came downstairs.

My mom was a stickler for healthy breakfasts. 'They set the tone for the day,' she'd say. Personally, I wouldn't mind setting the day with froot loops, but apparently, that's not her idea of a good morning. So Jack and I had to get up earlier than we'd like to on the weekends if we wanted the precious cereal.

After popping my dishes into the sink, my phone buzzed and I pulled it out of my back pocket to see that my girls have been chatting.

hot bitches

baddest bitch: mall trip meet me in 15

literal angel: but i need a rideeee

hot nerd: I got you, be ready in ten

literal angel: aww tysm!!!

hot nerd: Don't make me regret that

literal angel: oh mkay

baddest bitch: dont bring $$

literal angel: but you use money to buy stuff

literal angel: dummy

baddest bitch: im paying

baddest bitch: dummy

literal angel: dont' mock me!!!

hot nerd: Yeah ok I'm leaving now

literal angel: quinn answer ussss

literal angel: pleaseee

literal angel: QUINN

me: be there in 10

I quickly pocketed my phone and looked over at Jack. "I'm heading to the mall. Tell mom I'll be home around three, kay?"

He rolled his eyes dramatically, sighing loudly. "Ugh, fine." I smiled, blowing him a quick kiss before heading out the door and driving to the mall, which was only a couple minutes away.

I pulled up to see Liv, Allie, and Lana already standing by the doors and grinned. "Guess who's here?" I announced.

Liv squealed, clapping excitedly. "Yay!" I laughed; everything seemed to amaze her.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" I asked, linking arms with Allie and Lana while Liv hung onto Lana's other arm, and we all headed inside. I immediately dragged everyone into Target, considering they were the only store with reasonably priced clothes and the giant bags of sour patch kids. "So, what's been going on since I left?" I asked, checking the price tag on a cute pair of jeans.

Liv looked like she was bursting with news. "Lana had a secret girlfriend!" she exclaimed, but Lana quickly covered her mouth.

I bet my eyes were as wide as saucers when I looked over at Lana. "And when were you going to tell me this?" I asked, incredulous. I was shocked that I hadn't heard about this sooner. A secret girlfriend? I tried to think of anyone that could have earned the lucky title, but no one came to mind.

"She's my secret girlfriend for a reason," Lana grumbled as we passed an eisle filled with sparkly pink skirts and sequinned jackets. Barf.

I laughed. "Well I think you owe me a little more of an explanation than that, considering the fact that I was only one who didn't know about this?"

Lana was still frowning. "The only one in our group, yes." I could see the corners of her mouth twitch and I knew that she was secretly enjoying this. Sharing juicy tea was one of Lana's favorite things.

I nodded. "Exactly! So, can you tell me a little about her?" I asked, putting on my widest and possibly scariest smile, causing Lana to snort loudly.

"What's her name?" Allie asked, cocking her head to the side.

Wait. "You guys don't know anything?" Liv and Allie shook their heads. "Well, we can find out together!" I exclaimed.

Lana rolled her eyes, but she was smiling. "Okay, fine." Liv squealed, causing a few passing shoppers to glare at her. "But you are sworn to secrecy. What is said here, stays here." We all nodded vigorously, grinning like madmen. Which, in all honesty, we were. Lana suppressed another smile. "Her name is Harper."

Allie's eyes widened and I squeaked. "As in Harper Williams?" Harper was basically the most popular girl at Laguna High. She was the head cheerleader, friends with basically everyone in the school, and not to mention drop-dead gorgeous. She had long blonde hair and bright blue eyes; the literal embodiment of the perfect girl.

Lana bit her lip. "Um... yeah." Liv squealed again and I decided to pull out the roll of duct tape I always kept in my purse, placing a piece of it over Liv's mouth so she wouldn't burst our eardrums. "Hmph," Liv pouted, frowning and crossing her arms.

"Wait, so how long have you guys been dating?" Allie asked, looking calm as always. I, on the other hand, probably looked like a five-year-old on Christmas morning.

"Seven months or so," Lana murmured.

I gasped. "And you're just telling us about this now?" She shrugged sheepishly. Hold up. "Wait, why is she your 'secret' girlfriend?" I asked while Allie was sifting through a rack of oversized sweatshirts.

Lana sighed. "Well, her parents don't know she's lesbian. They aren't... the most supportive of the LGBTQ+ community, to say the least," she grimaced. "And most of Harper's friends don't know either. She's just scared someone will rat her out to her family and that they might throw her out."

Liv clutched her chest and I frowned. "That's awful. I'm so sorry, Lana."

Lana shrugged again. "It's not a big deal. We just hang out at my house every other night."

"And do what?" Allie asked with her brows raised. Lana and I both laughed at her comment.

"Oh, this is cute!" Liv exclaimed, pointing to a cropped baby pink hoodie that said 'daydream' on it in white.

I didn't tell her to put the duct tape back on; she hadn't squealed since taking it off so I thought we'd be good for a little while. "You'd look adorable in that." Honestly, Liv looked adorable in anything, but pink contrasted nicely with her tan skin and light blonde hair.

Liv smiled. "Aw, thanks!" She looked at the price tag and grinned. "It's on sale, too!" I applauded dramatically and she bowed.

I hadn't really noticed, but I guess while we were talking about Harper, we'd combed through most of the teen clothing section and ended up back at checkout. I had picked out a pair of light blue ripped jeans, Allie was buying an oversized dark blue hoodie and a pair of black jean shorts, and Liv was buying her pink sweatshirt. Lana hadn't bought anything, and even though I threatened to cut her hands off, she still insisted on paying.

So stubborn. Huh, sound familiar? Shut up.

"Okay, off to JC Penney!" Liv announced and dragged us out of Target with more force than I thought she could muster. I mean, the girl was only five-one.

thanks for reading. i hope you liked this chapter!

~ bella