#i for the life of me could not get tinas buns right so please accept rare box braid edition tina instead

[devourable]

(he/she/they, she/her, any prns, they/them respectively)

i got this idea then blacked out and when i woke back up this was on my canvas. for girl likers and my t4t fellows 🫶 ft their siblings/my darling ocs!

[stillnotoverstillstarcrossed]

Promise Me

Another edition of the Hollywood Dreams series! I went back in time for this one! I felt like before I added anymore content to the story, I should write some more background for Rose and Ben's relationship. Hope y'all like teenage angst! (Also on AO3):

Benvolio’s footsteps echoed the halls of La Verona High School as he made his way to the gymnasium. The silence of the school was eerie to Benvolio, having been full of life mere hours ago when school was in session for the day. Now at 8 pm, not a single student or teacher could be found. Leave it to Rosaline to want to work this late on a Friday night. 

Benvolio knew that as Student Body President, Rosaline was under a lot of pressure to make prom the best night of everyone’s lives, but a fifth “final tweak” on the decorations was a bit excessive. And besides, if prom was actually the best night of anybody’s life, Benvolio figured the rest of said person’s life was bound to be very very sad.

Nevertheless, he would help Capulet do the finishing touches. Not only was he performing his job as a student council member, but he was also trying to not get yelled at again. He was not strong enough to take any more of Rosaline’s evil eye.

Benvolio was almost to the red and white double doors of the gym when he stopped short. He was astounded to hear a voice singing. Benvolio shook his head out of disbelief and leaned his face against the window slot of the door. Peaking through the gym doors, he spotted Rosaline perched on the make-shift stage, paintbrush in hand. She seemed to be touching up the sparkling banner that read “A Night in Paris”. Her hair was tied up in a bun, she had on an old t-shirt and jeans, and earbuds in. And she was singing.

Benvolio pulled his face back from the window in bewilderment. Either Rosaline Capulet was actually singing with the voice of an angel or Benvolio really had gotten a concussion from that fall he took in gym class earlier. But as her voice continued to drift through the door, his brain finally accepted reality. Rosaline was singing and she was stunning. Ben pressed his ear hard against the space, trying his best to make out the lyrics:

I don’t mind spending everyday Out on your corner in the pouring rain Look for the girl with the broken smile Ask her if she wants to stay awhile And she will be loved And she will be loved

Benvolio smiled widely as he recognized the song. He’d heard it at least a million times just this week as Mercutio had been rehearsing it for his promposal to Miguel. Mercutio had a decent voice. It wasn’t dreadful to hear the first few times. Eventually though, after listening to 1000 versions of the same song, Benvolio was sure he’d be just peachy if he never had to hear it ever again. But right now, listening to Rosaline’s silky smooth voice gliding over each note with perfection, he was sure he could stand being tortured a little more.

Capulet will kill me if she finds out I heard, he thought amusedly right as the door swung open and the lack of support made his face meet the floor.

“Montague!”

Rosaline appeared practically out of thin air and was now looking down at Benvolio with her arms crossed and that terrifying evil eye. Her face was scrunched up in anger, most likely an attempt to cover up any embarrassment Benvolio had cost her. Why was it that those two emotions were the only ones he could ever get out of her?

Dragging his hands up to rub his sore, floor-kissed nose, Benvolio sighed.

“Nice to see you too, Capulet,” he said cheekily.

“Mind telling me why you were standing at the door like a creep?” she questioned, her voice rising with every word.

“No, no, no, Capulet,” he began as he started to lift himself off the dirty gym floor.

“You misunderstand,” he said, arms raised in defense. “I heard you singing, and I was merely shocked. The Capulet actually can enjoy herself? Who knew?”

He was trying his best to act nonchalant as if hearing her voice hadn’t basically hypnotized him to the point where he didn’t notice Rosaline herself walking over to the door. She didn’t need to know that.

“You heard that?” Rosaline asked, even more outraged. Benvolio didn’t know it was possible for a person’s eyebrows to raise that high, but Rosaline always surprised him. She turned away from Benvolio and began to walk back towards the stage, groaning with her arms making angry gestures the whole way.

Benvolio sprinted to catch up to her as she reached for her paintbrush again.

“What’s wrong Capulet? Don’t want anyone to know you like to have fun and sing a little Maroon 5? Because there are worse things, trust me. Remember when everyone was convinced Romeo still wore diapers in the 8th grade?”

Rosaline looked up from her almost violent paint strokes and stared at Benvolio. She shook her head and sighed as if his joke was instead a request to copy her homework.

“Are you gonna help me or what, Montague?” Rosaline eyed him with an exasperated spread of her hands, so forceful it splattered paint on her jeans.

“I’m helping, I’m helping,” Benvolio replied as he hopped on the stage and grabbed a spare paintbrush.

Benvolio decided that if she wanted to ignore it, he’d let it go. Not worth making her more upset, which he seemed to be a natural at already. They worked quietly, the only sound being heard anymore being the soft splashing of lavender paint.

“Yes, I remember and no, Benvolio. That’s not it.” Rosaline said suddenly disrupting the silence.

Benvolio turned to meet her eyes.

“So, then what’s the problem?” Benvolio prompted. “Capulet, don’t let this go to your head, but you’re quite talented. I mean that.”

Rosaline’s face danced through several indecipherable emotions before landing on annoyingly pleased. “Thank you,” she said under her breath. Benvolio kept her gaze and patiently waited for her to continue her explanation.

“Singing for me,” she began. “is extremely personal. My mother used to sing to me and Livia all the time and she had the most beautiful voice you’d ever heard. Forget Celine, forget Mariah, forget Tina. I had my mom.”

Benvolio noticed Rosaline’s eyes had strayed to the star-shaped lights hanging from the ceiling. Her eyes themselves had almost gone starry, the brown mixing with gold, as Rosaline remembered her childhood. He could understand getting so lost in the past. Every time he thought of his parents, he got a little sentimental himself.

“After she died, singing was how I still reached out to her. I guess while I was working, I got a little lost in the task…”

“Not even Livia knows. I just like having this one thing I know I’m good at to myself. You ever get that feeling? Just wanting to keep this little part of yourself hidden away from everyone, before they can ruin it?”

She shrugged in a mock-casual manner, promptly ending her story. She turned her attention back to painting, obviously uncomfortable with sharing something so personal.

“Sometimes,” Benvolio said as he put his brush down and laid on his back, looking up at the lights once more.

“When I miss my parents, I grab the guitar they left me and I play. I haven’t really shared that with anyone, not even Merc or Romeo. I’m not as good at that as you are at singing, but I can imagine it’s similar.”

Benvolio turned his head slowly and dared a look at Rosaline. She was looking back at him with a soft smile on her face. Benvolio felt his heart beat a little faster.

“I guess we aren’t so different after all,” she said.

“Guess not,” Benvolio replied with a tender smile of his own.

He flipped on his knees and got back to work. They finished the banner, with Rosaline swearing this was the last touch up it needed. Benvolio just nodded, knowing that was extremely unlikely. They packed up the rest of the supplies and made their way to the exit, purple paint and sweaty-gym-smell all over their clothes. The crisp air in the parking lot was a welcome gift.

Benvolio wished Rosaline goodbye and turned toward his car. Before he could even open the door though, Rosaline called out to him.

“Benvolio, thank you for understanding,” she said from a few spaces down, standing next to her red Malibu. “But seriously. If you tell anyone I’ll kill you.”

Benvolio laughed as she dipped into her car with a sly smile and veered off. He knew very well that Capulet could be funny if she so chose. Benvolio only wished he could see that humorous side more often. But he had the wrong name, the wrong family. Too much history.

Benvolio got into his car and tried to clear his head. Merc and Romeo would be waiting for him, ready to go out to some party down the street. He didn’t want to show up and bring down the mood. As he pushed his sullen thoughts of lost parents and family feuds out of his mind, something else quickly replaced them.

“I don’t mind spending every day,” he sang under his breath as he made his way home.

[sebsmetal-arm]

So... for some reason I never posted chapter 4 of Medicine on here... honestly don’t know how I managed that one. That being said, if you have not read any of this please go to Chapter 1 and start there. Otherwise, enjoy chapter 4! :)

If you want to read on Wattpad, click here. Otherwise, keep scrolling!

After a couple days of texting back and forth and getting lost in conversation, Grace and Bucky finally found a date that worked for them both. It wouldn’t be for a couple of weeks due to his limited ability from work, but Grace was thankful that it would at least leave her time to mentally prepare, maybe go shopping for a new outfit. Bucky offered to come up with a plan for the evening so at least she wouldn’t have that to worry about.

To her surprise one of her Thursday classes ended up being canceled, leaving her the rest of the day off. She decided to take that opportunity to go shopping, leaving the building of her previous class and heading off to peruse some clothing stores in Soho. It was a rather brisk day and there were less people roaming the streets than usual, luckily for her. When she finally reached the Soho area she began casually window shopping, not entirely expecting to find something right away. 

She was intrigued by the fourth store front she peered into and decided to check it out. The interior was bright, with white walls, sand colored wood floors, and indie music playing over the speaker system. Well aware that it was possibly too trendy for her wallet to handle, she scoured over the clothes apprehensively until one of the store clerks approached her.

“Hi ma’am, is there anything I can help you with today?” the girl asked. She appeared to be around the same age as Grace, her vibrant red hair in a bun atop her head and a smattering of freckles on her face bringing attention to her stunning blue eyes. Her wardrobe was similar to the clothes Grace had seen thus far, appropriately so, and she had a septum piercing along with every ear piercing possible.

“No, thank you, I’m just looking around.” Grace replied, cordially but shakily.

“Okay, well if you need any help don’t hesitate to ask.” She said, sympathy in her eyes. She turned around to leave but Grace gave in to her internal war and spoke up.

“Actually… I might need some help. I’m going on a date soon and…” Grace trailed off, the clerk interjecting and finishing her sentence.

“And you need the perfect outfit?” She asked, smiling with sincerity. Grace nodded, letting out a shaky laugh. “Don’t worry, I’ve got you. Come with me, I can set you up with a dressing room.” She signaled, walking towards the back of the room. The clerk, whose name she had learned was Marissa, confirmed Grace’s size and set out to gather some items for her to try on. Grace was surprised, and slightly overwhelmed, when she returned with a giant arm-full of options. 

“Now, I didn’t know if you were looking for a casual or more dressy outfit so I got you some of both. Once you try each one on, come out and let me see. It’s always helpful to have a second pair of eyes.” she said with a smile before ushering Grace back into the dressing room.

Most of the outfits were a definite no despite Marissa’s excitement at how good they apparently looked on Grace. There was one outfit though that intrigued her and when she put it on and looked at herself in the mirror, her jaw dropped in surprise at how good she felt about her reflection. Marissa had picked a pair of leather pants that fit Grace’s figure surprisingly well, snugly enough to be sexy but not draw too much attention. She had paired those with a wine red, cold shoulder shirt with black, lace trimming around the neckline. When Grace stepped out of the dressing room her feelings were backed up by Marissa’s gasp and subsequent fawning over how it looked on her. In addition she knew she had a relaxed, black blazer at home that would go perfectly over the shirt. She would definitely need it since it was getting so much colder.

Grace changed back into her clothes and gathered her new outfit, not even bothering to try on anything else. On the way to the register a pair of shoes caught her eye, practically taking her breath away. Marissa stopped behind her, noticing what had caught her eye.

“Do you think those would go with my outfit?” Grace asked almost in awe.

“Yes, that’s a definite yes.” Marissa agreed, nodding her head enthusiastically. “We must have just gotten those in and if you don’t buy them, I will.” she said, making Grace laugh. 

Grace cringed at the price tag on the shoes and nearly had a heart attack when the total popped up on the register, but she reminded herself it was well worth it. She walked out of the store feeling happier than ever, an amazing new outfit in hand. Now all she had to do was make it through the next few weeks.

Though that happiness didn’t last long much to her chagrin when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket, looking at the caller ID. With a scowl she answered her phone, her voice monotone and somewhat emotionless. 

“Hello mother.” she said, her previously wonderful mood completely dampened. 

“What kind of tone is that?” Cheryl snapped, making Grace roll her eyes. “How is school going?” she asked uninterestedly, always quick to talk business.

“It’s going good I guess” she responded dryly.

“Well. It’s going well, and obviously not if you still don’t understand basic grammar Grace.” Cheryl said snidely, her voice dripping with condescension.

Grace was 2 seconds away from breaking her phone in half and punching the nearest wall, but a gaggle of children was headed in her direction so she restrained herself, for their sake.

“Are you staying busy? You shouldn’t be keeping yourself cooped up in the apartment with Tina-“

“It’s Tori, her name is Tori.” she corrected, getting more frustrated by the second.

“Whatever, I never liked the girl anyway.” she said in her snarky tone. “Maybe you should consider getting a job, a respectable one of course and-“

“I already have a job… although I’m sure it’s not good enough for your standards.” she spat back, her mother completely oblivious to the fact that she had been working part-time at a book store for the past two years.

“You need to lose the attitude, Grace.” Cheryl said angrily. “How do you expect to find a man with an ugly attitude like that?” she said, Grace suddenly reaching her breaking point.

“I’ll have you know I actually have a date in a few weeks! Not that it would matter to you!” Grace half-screamed, her face reddening in embarrassment seeing some concerned onlookers.

“Mhmm.” Her mother replied, clearly unamused. “What does he do for a living?” she asked, Grace groaning at the question she knew would inevitably come.

“He’s in the military,” she replied shortly. There was a moment of silence on the other end of line, Cheryl undoubtedly forming some bitchy response. Now leaned against the wall of a building in Soho, Grace began tapping her foot impatiently, waiting for the coin to drop and her mother to make some remark about it not being good enough or-

“I suppose that’s acceptable.” Cheryl said in defeat. Grace’s tapping foot came to a halt and she had to pinch herself to make sure she wasn’t dreaming. Her mother actually approved of something? She must be dreaming, she had to be.

“Sorry, I must be imagining things, did you actually just approve of something in my life?” Grace asked sarcastically. 

“Granted, if anything comes of it you’re guaranteed to live a fairly lonely life if he’s away a lot, but at least you could live a stable life.” Cheryl said, ignoring Grace’s question, “Especially if you can’t find a job with your line of work, you don’t want to end up being some starving musician living on the streets. Why didn’t you listen to me and do something useful.”

“Mother, I’m not having this conversation with you again. This is my life and I will do with it what I please.” Grace said through gritted teeth.

“So be it.” She said dryly. “Like I’ve said before, don’t come crawling back to me when you’re poor and homeless.” Grace’s face was red with anger, her emotions getting the better of her. She wiped a stray tear from her cheek with her shirt sleeve. “So will I get to meet him?” Cheryl asked, Grace choking out a laugh.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. You’re actually kidding right?” Grace scoffed. “I know you like to pretend we have a relationship, but we don’t. I haven’t seen you in over four years and every time you call you spend most of the conversation tearing apart everything I say or do. So no, mother, I wouldn’t count on it.” she spat. 

“You really should think twice about treating your own mother this way, you know, the one that raised you?” Grace laughed at the irony of Cheryl’s words.

“Yeah, and look how that turned out.” Grace said, now fighting fire with fire. “I’m sure you think I’m being a bitch, but I guess it takes one to know one.” Her mother scoffed, appalled at her daughter’s choice words. 

“How dare you.” Cheryl finally spoke. Her mother’s generally passive temper had turned into rage, seething just under the surface of her cold demeanor. Grace thought she was about to say something else but the line suddenly went dead.

Grace shook her head and shoved her phone back into her purse, letting out a breath she didn’t know she had been holding. Heading in the direction of her apartment she couldn’t help the smile that spread across her face. For once she had been able to really, truly stand up to her mother. Most of the time she would just tolerate the ridicule, not wanting to aggravate the situation, but she was proud of herself for not backing down and just taking the undeserved abuse.

* * * Stepping in to her apartment, Grace dropped her keys in the basket by the door and called out, “Tori? You home?” 

She heard a loud thump and Tori’s voice call out, “I’ll be there in a second!”

Grace set her purchases down on the kitchen table and decided to put a pot of water on to boil. She was busying herself with the tea bags when she heard the creak of a door from the other end of the apartment followed by the padding of feet down the hallway before Tori’s head poked around the corner, Grace’s back still turned to her. 

“Grace, hey… what are you doing home?” Tori asked, something odd in the tone of her voice.

“My last class got canceled and I decided to go shopping for, you know, the date and- oh my God!” Grace had turned around, her eyes finally landing on Tori standing there in nothing but a thin bed sheet, “Did I, uh… interrupt something?” Grace asked, giggling. Tori’s face was flushed and her usually smooth, sheen hair was a mussed and tangled bird’s nest. 

“Steve’s here.” She blushed, leaning against the wall.

Grace bit her lip to stifle a laugh, amused at her best friend’s utter infatuation. “I’m assuming he got leave again?” Grace asked, Tori nodding in response.

“Yeah, well, sort of. He had some appointments nearby and decided to drop by. I’m sorry, I figured you would be at class.” She said in slight embarrassment.

“No!” Grace threw her hands up reassuringly. “No it’s totally okay! Really, I’m happy for you.” She said, smiling. “Besides, it’s about time you got laid. Regularly, that is.” She joked, both of them laughing.

They both sighed, Tori tugging the sheets tighter around her body, “So, you were saying?” Tori asked, handing the floor back to Grace.

“Oh! Yeah, I went shopping in Soho and found this amazing outfit!” she said elatedly. The pot on the stove whistled and Grace poured herself a mug, setting it aside to steep. “I was actually really surprised how good I felt.”

“Ooh new clothes!” Tori said, clapping her hands together excitedly. “Are you going to show them to me?”

“Yeah, of course! I want your opinion on something anyway.” She said, leaning back against the kitchen counter. 

“Okay just, uh, let me go get dressed.” She nodded towards her room, laughing.

Once Grace had had her fill of tea and figured Tori and Steve were decent she threw the outfit on and knocked on the bedroom door.

“Come in!” Tori shouted. Grace entered the room and was immediately met with a chorus of ‘whoa’ and ‘oh my God, you look hot!’ making her turn almost the color of her shirt. “You. Look. Amazing! Are those leather pants?” Tori asked, in disbelief.

“Yeah… definitely something I never would’ve picked out on my own.” She laughed. “Luckily one of the store clerks was very helpful.”

“Well, go on, give us a spin!” Tori exclaimed, gesturing in the air with her finger. Grace did as requested and slowly spun around for them to see. “I don’t think I’ve ever said this before but I am jealous of your ass. I mean look at that!” She said, smacking Steve’s shoulder with a ‘thwap’.

“Believe me, I’m looking…” Steve said, his face flushing. Tori smacked him again, a little harder that time, all of them bursting out in laughter. Tori hopped off of her bed and began showcasing Grace like Will Smith and his wife on the red carpet, “Okay Steve, for the important question. What will Bucky think of her outfit?” She asked, waggling her eyebrows, making Grace laugh at her ridiculous behavior.

“Oh, this is for Bucky?” Grace nodded. “Well, I can tell you for a fact that seeing you for the first time in this,” Steve gestured up and down Grace’s outfit, “will send him to his grave. Especially those shoes.” He said, pointing at her heels. 

“The shoes?”

“Yeah, he’s got a… thing for heels.” He said implicitly.

“Aw, I’ve got a thing for heels, too.” Tori whined, turning to her friend with puppy dog eyes. 

“I already know you’re going to ask, and yes you can borrow them… after the date!” Grace added, Tori hopping with glee.

“Good because those heels,” Tori pointed to them, awestruck, “those are the kind of heels you start wars over.” She gushed, making Grace cackle. She wasn’t wrong though in her level of admiration, the shoes were absolutely to die for. The wine red suede perfectly complimented her shirt and the platform pump transformed her from short and sweet to a towering temptress. The shape of the shoe, along with the thick Mary Jane-style strap, deliciously framed her otherwise average feet. 

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure you’re thinking of Helen of Troy, but… close enough.” Grace said, patting Tori’s shoulder in mockery. 

“Well then call me Paris, because I would fight tooth and nail for those beauties!” Tori said, sitting back down on her bed with a humph. Steve leaned over and kissed her shoulder sweetly before pushing off the bed with a sigh.

“Alright ladies, unfortunately I’ve got to go. It’s getting late and I need to get back to the fort before rush hour.” he said defeatedly. Tori pouted her lip for a moment before accepting his departure and headed for the door. She had already made it halfway down the hallway but Steve stopped short next Grace, turning to her.

“If I don’t see you before the big day, good luck. I know he’s excited… hasn’t shut up about you actually.” He said with a laugh, sending a warm flutter through her stomach at the thought. “I can tell you one thing is for sure, he won’t know what’s hit him.” Steve winked, and with that, exited Tori’s room leaving Grace to mull over her now wracked emotions.

* * * Grace checked the time on her phone for the millionth time that class period. It had only been two minutes since the last time she checked. Her knee was shaking incessantly under the desk as her Charlie Brown voiced teacher droned on and on about whatever topic she couldn’t give a damn about that day. She checked her phone again, internally screaming when only another minute had passed by.

Today was officially the day and her nerves were at full force, absolutely body slamming her to the ground. Every lecture thus far had been a blur for her, only able to pay attention to the announcement of homework assignments. Unless of course they had been mentioned at dismissal, in which case she was already halfway down the hallway to her next class. She was on autopilot, her mind everywhere but the present, especially now with it being her final lecture for the day.

When she finally heard the words ‘class dismissed’ she couldn’t pack up her things quick enough. Her feet carried her down the hallway, out of the building, and all the way to her apartment before her mind was able to switch somewhat back to manual. Ascending the stairs quickly she let herself in the apartment and sped past the kitchen where Tori was cooking, heading straight for her bedroom. 

“Hey how was class?” Tori asked, watching Grace stream by her in a blur.

“Good.” she replied in monotone. When Tori heard the slam of a bag hitting the floor, the world’s longest, most weary sigh, and the abrupt creak of a bed, she made a beeline for Grace’s bedroom.

“Alright, what’s wrong, let it out.” Tori asked, plopping into the desk chair opposite Grace’s bed where she lay face first. Grace spoke a string of words but they were muffled by the bed sheets. “Okay, Grace honey, you need to take your face out of the covers so I can understand you.”

Grace lifted her head enough to speak. “I am so fucking nervous about tonight.” She said with a groan, her head promptly falling back to the covers. Tori stifled a chuckle.

“I mean I understand that but, are you excited at all?” Tori asked.

Grace sighed, crossing her arms in front of her and resting her chin on them. “Of course I’m excited! I don’t think I’ve ever been more excited for something, but… I’m also scared shitless.”

“What are you so scared about?” Tori asked, helping Grace to work through her worries.

“Well, for one, he’s amazing and I’m, well… me.” Tori sighed and leaned back in her chair. “And I know we’ve been texting non-stop and obviously I spent time with him on our double date, but those were easy! This time it’s just me and him, no other couple to bounce off of or phone to act as a social barrier.” Tori shook her head, chuckling a bit. “I’m just worried I’ll do or say something grossly awkward and scare him off, okay?” Grace said defensively, “You know me, you know how paranoid I get! I really, really like him so far and I just want to make a good impression…” Grace groaned. 

“You two have already met so technically-“

“Whatever! You know what I mean!” Grace cut Tori off, throwing a pillow at her head.

“Alright alright, no need to be violent!” Tori laughed, throwing it back at Grace. “Seriously though, he obviously likes you! I don’t think you have any reason to worry, just take a deep breath. I know you can do this. You deserve this.” Tori said wholeheartedly.

After a moment of silence Tori sat up. “Are you feeling any better about it all?” She asked, trying to gauge her best friend.

Grace exhaled and nodded. “Yeah… yeah I think I am.” She said quietly. “Thanks. I seriously don’t know what I would do without you.” Grace smiled, Tori returning it. 

“Oh I don’t know, melt into a puddle of paranoia and existential crises?” She proposed, making them both laugh and lightening the mood. Tori checked the time on her watch. “What time is he going to be here?”

“7:00.”

“Oh you need to get moving!” Tori stood up, ushering Grace towards the bathroom. “Go get in the shower. Let me know once your hair is done and you’re dressed. I’ll help you with your makeup.”

“Alright, I’m going mom!” Grace chided playfully. “Also, how’d you know I was going to ask for help with makeup!” 

“I don’t know, I’m omniscient, now go!” Tori exclaimed sarcastically, physically shoving Grace into the bathroom.

An hour and a half later Grace sat patiently at Tori’s vanity, letting her work her magic. Her hair was blown out as perfectly as she could manage and she was sporting her new outfit, including the blazer that ended up matching exquisitely with the rest. Tori put the finishing touches on her face.

“Alright, I’m done.” Tori said, pulling away and capping her products. Grace stood from the chair and checked herself in the mirror, her jaw dropping at the woman in the reflection. It was still her, but there was no mistaking the boost of confidence she got from seeing this version of herself. 

“You ready?” Tori asked, smoothing out the blazer and picking a couple stray pieces of lint from the black material.

“Yeah, I think so…” Grace said, taking an intentional deep breath and exhaling slowly. A sudden sharp knock at the door made her breath catch in her throat and all of her nerves came flooding back. She quickly reigned them in, vowing not to let her anxiety get the best of her, not tonight. She looked at Tori, eyes wide and hands slightly trembling. 

Tori placed her hands on Grace’s shoulders giving them a firm, friendly squeeze. “It’s time.” She said warmly, pulling her into a hug.