[ love writing multi-part stuff tbh!!

warnings: language, the american public school system?? idk it's really late

stay safe,
lew. ]

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Surprisingly, Chase was still sitting there with their stuff when Lia and Bailey got back. He looked vaguely pissed, and as soon as Lia grabbed her guitar, he pulled Bailey in for a quick hug, did fingerguns, and took off running out of the room.

The girls exchanged a confused glance and a shrug, then Bailey smiled and pecked her friend's cheek before grabbing her backpack and running off.

Lia had an embarrassed little smile on her lips the rest of the day.

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"Hey! Uh... Girl with the guitar! Wait up!"

The shout stopped her in her tracks. She turned around, and there was the girl from the bathroom. In true Lia fashion, she nearly dropped her guitar case.

She brushed a bit of hair behind her ear, but couldn't find her voice to say anything. It didn't matter, because the other girl smiled and started talking like they were old friends.

"You're in music classes, obviously, and I was wondering if you'd be willing to help me out with something?"

"I literally don't even know your name," Lia mumbled, looking down at the sidewalk.

The other girl stopped, grinned, and said, "Lana. I'm probably gonna get thrown off the cheerleading squad soon, if I'm being honest."

"Lia. If I was allergic to flowers, I'd probably be dead by now." She offered, giving a statement that was probably just as cryptic as the other girl's.

Lana stuck her hands in her pockets. "Now we aren't total strangers. Are you down to help me?"

"What do you need help with?" Lia asked curiously, continuing to walk towards her house.

"I need someone to play guitar or bass with me for this talent search thing I signed up for. I'm singing and playing guitar, but I need someone else. You seem like a pretty loyal person, and my friend already has his own band thing," Lana explained, following her.

And the two of them talked the entire walk to Lia's house. Lana followed the older girl up onto the porch, and they kept talking out there until Lia's mother came home.

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"Okay, listen, Ronnie, just because your boyfriend got expelled from our school doesn't mean he's a bad person," Chase said loudly, rolling his eyes. "He's a dickhead for multiple reasons-"

Ronnie had enough of the shorter boy's bullshit, so she just pushed his shoulder and ended up knocking him over by 'accident'.

Bailey gasped and helped her best friend up, fussing over the small scrape he got on his elbow. After she was sure he was okay, she turned to Ronnie and mumbled, "That wasn't very nice."

"Tell him to be nicer about Ezra, then," she replied without missing a beat.

And Bailey, bless her heart, actually looked at Chase and told him, "Be nice to Ezra, stupid. He isn't even here to defend himself."

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"I'm going to scream," Lia sighed dramatically, falling back on to her bed. "Why are all the hot girls so unobtainable?"

Chase shrugged, looking over at the older girl from where he was sat in the window seat. "Because they're out of your league? Don't worry, all the hot guys are out of my league too, so I settle for whoever I can get."

"Chase, my man, I don't know how to tell you this, but you're a whore."

"I know it. Our entire school knows. Your mom probably knows. Hell, even my mom probably knows."

"My days of being like you are over. Believe me. I just wanna fall in love and have a cute girlfriend who actually likes all my flowers and wouldn't mind if I sang her songs I wrote," Lia sighed again, clutching her pillow to her chest.

Chase hummed, glancing down at the sidewalk below. "Maybe, your girlfriend and my eventual boyfriend or long-term fuckbuddy will be friends. You could do cute shit for my guy and I can claim I set it up and get my dick s-"

"Chase, shut the fuck up. Stop talking about your dick when I'm trying to be cute, goddammit."

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"Hey, Chase?" Bailey asked softly, clutching tightly to her backpack straps.

"What's up, babe?" He asked, the pet name just slipping out.

Her face flushed as she thought over what she was trying to say. "My girlfriend doesn't like it when you call me stuff like that. She wants you to stop."

"Your girlfriend isn't here right now, is she?" He countered. "Bailey, baby, you're cute and all, but you aren't in my very select taste in girls. Your girlfriend doesn't have to worry."

"Who's your type of girl, then?" She asked, obviously a bit more relaxed.

He laughed, but then paused to give it serious thought. "I dunno. Maybe that Lana girl that Ronnie hangs with sometimes. Definitely a girl that could fuckin' punch me in the face."

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