|| Zoey ||

"Margo, I still can't get over how pretty you look!" Bryan threw his arm around Margo's shoulders, and she stood there stiffly with a smile. I just looked at my phone, contemplating whether or not I should message Josh again. Not going to lie, even though we had more girls in our group, I still felt like I was third-wheeling Bryan and Margo. They weren't official yet, but I knew soon after this they would be.

We were on our way to the dance since I wanted to be early and get a good table. Last year, Mar and I arrived later and had to stand the whole night since all the tables were filled. My feet ached since I couldn't sit and give them a rest. It was horrible.

Just as we pulled into the school parking lot, I looked around and noticed we were, in fact, the first students here.

Perfect.

As we parked the car, we went inside the school gymnasium doors. All around were the vibrant colors of an 'Arabian Nights' themed homecoming. The student council even managed to set up twinkling lights all around the gym, stringing them from one end to the other. I'll have to admit, they did a great job.

"Zoey...I just want to say that you look exceptional. Josh won't be able to take his eyes off you," my best friend sweetly said to me, enveloping me in a quick hug. Hugging her back, I noticed Bryan impatiently tapping his foot, waiting for Margo to come over by him.

Bros before hoes dude.

Margo is my bro and Bryan is a hoe; I would say the other saying, but we all know that Bryan's little willy isn't even considered big enough to be a di-

"Josh is here!" Margo exclaimed, shaking me from my mean thoughts. Don't get me wrong, Bryan's alright, but lately he was really starting to get on my nerves.

"Ugh." I snapped my head to Bryan at his comment of disgust. He just hates him since Josh punched him in the nose. A punch he deserved, and he knows it.

I glared at him, making him turn around and talk to some random guy that's also on the basketball team.

I shifted my gaze from Bryan to Josh. Brianna was next to him, but she was holding onto his arm. She saw me and her eyes lit up with excitement. With this, she let go of his arm with a mischievous smile. Josh looked at me like those guys usually do in those sappy romance movies. I gave him a sultry smile, giving only him my undivided attention.

It was like everything was in slow motion after that. We walked towards each other, meeting in the center of the dance floor. I swear it was only us in that moment, no one else seemed to matter.

"Z-Zoey you look beautiful," Joshy stuttered, and I seriously melted at how adorable he gets when he's nervous.

"Thank you, Joshy. Wanna dance with me?" I asked, smiling confidently. He nodded, his eyes still soaking in my whole appearance. The song was faster pace, so we both grooved and bounced around, not caring about all the people watching. Eventually Amira, Charlie, and Skylar joined along. Skylar, of course, stole the show with his insane 'Magic Mike' moves and amazing twerking skills. The boy never ceased to make me wonder if he would grow up to be a male stripper. He'd be good at it, that's for sure.

After about a few songs that got everyone pumped up, they decided to put on a slower song. The song was 'Perfect' by Ed Sheeran. Josh smiled at me as he extended his hand out towards me. I took it with an equally bright smile, and he pulled me closer to him, circling his arms around my waist. I wrapped my arms around his neck, letting my face nuzzle close to his neck, as we swayed to Eddy's beautiful voice.

Josh was thankfully taller, so with my heels on, making me around 5'10, he still had a few inches on me. He also smelled really good, like better than usual. Honestly, I could've just stayed in this position forever, but the song was cut short. He didn't pull away though, he clung onto me as 'Run It' by Chris Brown started playing.

He began to sing along to the lyrics; his breath tickling my ear, so I had to pull away from the crook of his neck. I laughed as he continued to sing along with Chris's voice, hitting every single note. To say I was impressed was an understatement.

Let me see if you can run it run it

Girl indeed I can run it run it

He then began to groove to the beat, as did I. Giggling as he twirled me around and doing cute little moves. I expected him to start grinding against me, but he didn't. He was fine with just doing funny moves with me. I looked around to see most grinding, some in what appeared to be a train of grinding. I shuddered at the very odd image. It was like the Centipede 4 was going on....ughhhh ew.

After the song ended, 'Candy Shop' by 50 Cent came on, but I was already starting to perspire, so I grabbed Josh and had him walk over to the table with me. Margo and Bryan made sure to 'reserve' our table since neither really dance much. I was going to make sure Margo danced with me at least once tonight though. Once we arrived at the table, Bryan gave Josh a dirty look before talking again with Margo.

"You got some moves, Joshy," I said to Josh, trying to talk over the booming music.

"What? I can't hear you?!" He yelled back, lowering his head to hear me better.

Getting frustrated, I got up and grabbed his arm again, leading him to the quieter hallway. Couples usually went out here to go make out and do whatever their horny teenage hearts desire. I just wanted to talk to Josh... although making out with him does sound nice too.

Once we made it out in the hallway, I swung around and nearly collided into Josh's chest. Geez he really was tall...but I liked it.

"It's nicer out here ... now I can actually hear you. For a moment in there I thought you were singing along to '50 Cent'," he joked with me, giving me his boyish charm smile. Right then and there I wanted to just kiss him like last night.

Last night.

Oh my god... it was one of the worst yet best nights of my life. It was a night I'd never forget, and thank gosh Josh made it better. Once I went home that night, I kept replaying our kisses over and over. He was by far the best kisser, and to think he only kissed Skylar prior to me.

I didn't count the supposed 'peck of a kiss' that Brianna gave him. I'd like to forget about that to be honest.

"Ha ha ha. Nah, I was commenting on how amazing your dancing is, actually," I said with a wink, my palms on his defined chest. I didn't realize how close we were until I could feel his breath fanning down on my face. It was surprisingly minty, indicating he put in some mints or gum beforehand.

"I could say the same for you. I-I really like dancing with you, Zo." He smiled and cleared his throat. I was about to say 'me too' but he continued to speak. "I ... I really like you, Zoey."

Now, most girls would be either A) blushing; B) 'at a lost for words' or C) say something really reserved/cute or quite embarrassing.

I went with a reply that is very typical of my character.

"I love you too, Joshy. I know 'really like' means love." I rose on my tiptoes to kiss him. He responded with eagerness, and within seconds the kiss turned into much more.

Get your minds out of the gutter!

I meant it was more of a make out than just a plain kiss. We didn't get it on or anything like that. I mean, we are still in the freaking school!

Just as the kiss was getting really good-and I mean really good-the sound of someone crying caught both of our attention. I pulled away right as Josh did. He bore a quick smile before it turned into a slight frown.

"That sounds like Brianna..." he quietly said, and I nodded along. Growing up with her, I've gotten used to what her voice and cries sound like. Heck, when her and Cam broke up, I'd listen to her wail for hours on end.

"It sounds like it's coming from the bathroom... I'll go check and see if she's alright," I said, walking towards the girls bathroom around the corner. Josh followed me up to the door before stopping. He decided to wait outside for me, which I thought would be best too.

I walked in, the door creaking as I pushed it further open. I scanned the stalls, all were vacant except for the large one at the end. I closed the bathroom door, making my way over towards the stall at the end.

"Bri? Girlie? You alright?" I approached the door, placing my hand on it.

After a couple sniffles her reply was hoarse and quite small. "Yeah." Her sniffling continued showing that she really wasn't alright.

"Mhm yeah okay girlie. Open the door. Talk to me."

After a couple moments, the door unlocked and out stepped Brianna. I didn't get a good look at how freaking cute she looked. Her blue dress was shorter but accentuated her curves nicely. Ugh honestly I dreamed to have curves that like.

The only thing that was a mess about her appearance was her eye makeup smudged under her eyes. She wasn't at the point where I'd call it "raccoon eyes" but if she continued to cry, then they would be.

Her eyes found mine before she pulled me into a hug. She began to let out faint sobs mumbling something about Cameron.

God. Freaking Cameron. He's caused her so much pain. Like he used to be nice, then right about when they broke up his whole attitude went sour. Yeah, he was always somewhat of a cocky guy, but he was never like he is now.

"Bri, calm down girlie." After a couple minutes she stopped and pulled away. She went to the mirror and began to wipe away the mascara under her eyes. "What did that asshole do ?"

She bit her lip, attempting to hold in another sob. Her hands clenched on to the sink as she lowered her head, tears dripping down her face.

"I went to go talk to him. He yelled at me and told me to go back to my 'two-timing' boyfriend. He knows that Josh and I are friends. Pretty sure the whole school knows you two are basically an item. He just said it to hurt me more."

She wiped under her eyes again, lifting her head up to look at my reflection in the mirror. I gave her a sad smile before a smirk crossed my face.

"I'm going to make that bastard feel like crap. Maybe he can get his head out of the sand and realize he's acting like a total jerk. Like, honestly, he's still butthurt about your breakup?"

Her face fell as she turned to face me. "Well... there's a reason why he is b-but that's why I need to talk to him. I need to clear it up because he never let me explain before."

I scratched my chin, trying to figure out what she never told me. I mean wasn't he the one to break up with her? She never really told me why except for he just got mad at her. I needed a complete reason in order to continue on with my plan to kick his ass once I get back into that gym.

"Why? Why was he mad at you? Why was he so mad that he broke up with you?" I crossed my arms as I questioned her. She fidgeted her hands, not looking me in the eye.

"Um well he caught his brother and I kissing and-"

"What?! This WHOLE time I thought he was in the wrong but OH MY GOD...What?! I-I can't even right now-" I interrupted her. To say I was shocked was a bit of an understatement.

"Ugh you didn't let me finish. His brother blackmailed me into doing it. He would've told my parents I took LSD and-"

"WHAT?!?! LSD?!?!" I nearly all but screamed. Bri tapped her foot in a irritated manner. I quickly apologized for my obnoxious interruption.

"I didn't mean to take it. He gave it to me, telling me it was something to help me feel better since I wasn't feeling good. I didn't take it out of pure 'yeah I wanna get totally messed up!' Well, he used that as a way to get me to kiss him. I don't know why, but then Cam walked in on me and thinks I'm a cheater. I'm not. At all." I absorbed all of what she just told me, nodding along. After a couple minutes of awkward silence, I smiled at her.

"First of all, you're officially just as crazy as me. Second of all, I'll get him to talk to you. Even though I still think you're better than him, he deserves to know the complete truth. And if he still doesn't believe you, we'll have to get his brother to confess. I have my ways." She lightly smiled as she gave a firm nod.

"Let's do this." We linked arm and arm before exiting the bathroom. Josh, keeping to his word, was still standing there, except now some random girl was talking to him. He looked un-amused, which made me smirk with satisfaction. The girl was batting her eyelashes while pushing her non-existent boobs up to make them bigger. I laughed as Bri and I walked up to the two.

Josh looked over at us with an expression of 'help me'. I smiled before shifting my gaze to the dark-haired girl. She had to be younger than us as I know basically everyone in the junior and senior classes , as I didn't recognize her.

"Hi. I need to speak to my boyfriend." I gave the girl a fake smile as her face fell in disappointment. She sulked away back towards the gym, finding her friends.

Bri let out a laugh as Josh gave me a cute smile. "So, I'm your boyfriend now?"

"Hey, you're the one who said it first. I just was repeating what you said." Bri quirked an eyebrow at my comment.

"Woah what?!" She shrieked with obvious excitement. "I can't wait to tell Charlie! I'm the captain of your ship. The 'Zosh' ship. So like this is so great and oh my gosh.."

"Um Bri. We have an idiot to deal with. Then we can talk about this very odd but cool ship that you're captain of. Okay?" I gave her a smile, cutting off her rambling. I mean, I usually am the one to ramble, but Bri can go on and on as well. It's probably a reason why we get along yet clash at times.

"Oh right yeah. So what're we going to do?" She asked as Josh just looked at both of us with interest.

"Well... it involves Josh and Cam getting jealous as hell."

With that Josh's face of interest was replaced with a very scared expression.

"Me?"

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Heyyyyyyy!!

Happy New Year my beautiful readers!! 😊

Here's a quick update in Zoey's POV! Also the gif I added just was too perfect with Dylan O'Brian <3 

Hope you all are having a blessed new year so far💕

Please don't forget to comment and vote!!

Much love <3
~Madelyn Joy