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"𝙔𝙊𝙐 𝙀𝙉𝘿 𝙐𝙋 𝙒𝙄𝙏𝙃 𝘼
𝙈𝙐𝙍𝙂𝘼𝙏𝙍𝙊𝙔𝘿 𝙆𝙄𝙎𝙎𝙄𝙉𝙂 𝙔𝙊𝙐
𝙄𝙉 𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙏𝙊𝙄𝙇𝙀𝙏!"

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"𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐓𝐖𝐎 𝐓𝐑𝐘𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐎 𝐌𝐀𝐊𝐄 𝐌𝐄 𝐅𝐄𝐄𝐋 𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐋𝐄 𝐎𝐑 𝐒𝐎𝐌𝐄𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆? I mean, one of you has got herself a boyfriend, the other one is engaged, and the most action I've had in the last few weeks was chasing after some random girl that stole my sister's trainers." Nas said with a huff as the three girls walked towards the Quad.

Mollie chuckled, an amused expression on her face as she reached out to poke Nas' side playfully. "Isn't that how all epic love stories start, though? I mean, for all you know, you might see her again and fall madly in love. Just imagine if you saw her-"

"Over there." Nas muttered incredulously.

"You wish, Nas." Missy chuckled, but the black-haired girl simply shook her head and pointed a finger across the Quad.

"No, I mean she's literally over there. That's her." Nas said, her nostrils beginning to flare with anger as she started to make her way over. Rushing along after her, Mollie and Missy followed Nas' gaze to see a girl chatting with Candice Murgatroyd. And, sure enough, she was wearing a pair of shiny red shoes on her feet.

"I'll be having those back please." Nas snapped, causing the redheaded girl to give her a look of confusion. Growing impatient, Nas spoke up again, this time through gritted teeth. "Those are my sister's trainers, and I saw you take them at the mosque."

"It weren't me." The girl replied defensively, squaring up to Nas.

"You know it was you, you were all dressed up like a chicken." Nas shook her head, which only angered the girl more.

"It. Weren't. Me." She fumed, taking a step closer to Nas .

At this point, most of the nearby students were congregating around the scene, desperate for some sort of drama to kick off on a Monday morning. Razia, in particular, wore a smirk on her face as she watched on from the side.

"Go on, Nas, let the lesbian have it!" She taunted.

Mollie looked to Missy with wide eyes, completely shocked by the venom in Razia's tone. But before they had time to do anything, their attention was diverted as the new girl launched towards Nas and grabbed a fistful of her hair.

"Woah, woah!" Missy yelled as she ran towards the fight, Mollie hot on her heels.

"Let go of her!" Mollie screeched, assiting Missy in grabbing the girl's camoflauge jacket to try and pull her off as Nas. But as she did so, she felt a different pair of hands yank her away and she came face to face with Candace Mugatroyd.

"Start on my cousin, and you start on me." She said through gritted teeth, pushing Mollie back slightly.

"Pretty sure she started on Nas first, brainbox." Mollie muttered sarcastically and rolled her eyes, pushing Candace back by her shoulders as the crowd grew more excited by the second. The two girls grappled for a moment, with Mollie resorting to pulling a strand of Candace's hair to try and escape from her grasp.

Noticing the commotion, Miss Keane rushed over to intervene, closely followed by an unfamiliar teacher with a stern expression. But just as she went to break up the fighting, the whole Quad went silent as the new girl's elbow collided forcefully with Miss Keane's face. As she clutched her nose in pain, the new teacher approached Nas and the red-haired girl with a look of fury.

"You two, my office. Now."

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"𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐒𝐔𝐂𝐇 𝐀𝐍 𝐈𝐃𝐈𝐎𝐓." Cory hissed over at his sister as they sat around the table in biology. "Getting in a fight with a Murgatroyd? I mean, you're lucky Miss Keane came over, or you would've been dead meat."

"Nice to know you've got so much faith in me, bro." Mollie muttered, shooting him an irritated look. Sitting up straight, Mollie flicked her hair over her shoulder confidently. "I easily could've beaten her."

Cory scoffed, a look of disbelief taking over his face. "No chance."

"You believe me, don't you?" Mollie looked to Riz for an answer, giving him a gentle nudge.

Riz hesitated, not too enthused to be caught in an argument between the Wilson twins. But one look at Mollie's slight pout was enough to bring a gentle smirk on his face. "'Course I believe you. Look at them guns."

Mollie smiled in satisfaction as Riz poked her upper arm gently, even if she had a slight hunch that he was teasing her. Cory, however, didn't seem quite as amused as he cleared his throat sharply, making Riz drop his hand quickly.

"Course you'd say that." He muttered, his tone filled with spite as he rolled his eyes and sent the boy a less than subtle glare.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Mollie frowned, growing serious.

"Nothing." Her twin brother spat as he got up from his seat indignantly. "I'm going to get another textbook."

Riz's gaze followed Cory for a second until he was out of earshot, before leaning somewhat closer to Mollie. "Shit, was I being too obvious?"

"A little." Mollie muttered bluntly in response, letting out a frustrated sigh. By now, her relationship with Riz had been going on for a little while and it was mostly smooth-sailing. Well, all besides the fact that it was pretty much a secret to everyone but Nas and Missy.

It wasn't that either of them were embarrassed of the relationship, because that was not the case at all. But news tended to travel fast around Ackley Bridge College, especially when it came to relationships. For now, it felt right to keep it a secret, without the judgment of Alya and her posse, and the hostile protectiveness of Cory and Jordan.

"I'm sorry." Riz let out a sigh of regret, placing a hand gently on Mollie's knee under the table and giving it a light squeeze. "I'll try and be more careful."

"It's alright, you don't need to apologise." Mollie said, giving him a soft smile as she instantly felt guilty about her blunt response. "Who knew this secret relationship thing would be so difficult, eh?"

"You're not wrong." Riz chuckled, before leaning closer to Mollie's ear and dropping his tone into a whisper. "Speaking of which, are you busy tonight? My parents are going out, and Alya's going to study at her friend's house, so I was wondering if you'd maybe wanna come over."

Mollie felt a smile creep onto her lips, not only because of Riz's invitation but also because of the warmth of his breath against her neck. But just as she was about to give him a gentle nod, the realisation dawned upon her that she already had plans for that evening. Biting down on her lip, she looked at the boy next to her with a guilty expression. "I'm so sorry, we're throwing Missy's surprise engagement party tonight. Simone's planned it all out and I don't wanna let her down."

"It's alright." Riz gave her a soft smile, though there was a hint of disappointment in his voice. Noticing the guilty look on Mollie's face, he reached out to squeeze her hand gently under the table. "Another time, yeah?"

Mollie nodded assuredly, a giddy smile growing back onto her face from his simple yet affectionate gesture. "Course."

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"𝐉𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐋𝐔𝐂𝐊, 𝐄𝐇?" Missy smirked as the three girls sat up on the scruffy sofa that was elevated on the skip. "You want some lady lovers to appear, and you end up with a Murgatroyd kissing you in the toilet!"

Nas rolled her eyes at her two best friends that were giggling away at the day's events, whereby she went from scrapping with the redhead, to having her phone number written on her arm. To say the day took an unexpected turn would be a huge understatement.

"Anyway, what are my mum and Hayley doing?" Missy furrowed her eyebrows at the sight of her family members carrying a trolley's worth of bags through the door.

Mollie bit her lip, exchanging a panicked glance with Nas before answering. "Uh, weekly shop?"

Missy looked confused for a second as the realisation dawned upon her, and a wide grin appeared on her face. "Oh my God, are they throwing me a party?"

The two girls nodded instantly, bursting with excitement for their best friend. It was definitely a surprise when Missy told them that she'd proposed to Aaron, but they were absolutely over the moon for her.

Mollie especially had sworn off builders after her last relationship, but Aaron was definitely an exception to that rule. He was kind, and funny, and clearly cared alot about Missy- and Mollie couldn't imagine anyone better suited to her best friend.

"You have to act like it's a surprise though. Your mum thinks you don't have a clue."

"Excuse me, but I'm Missy Booth. I'm the queen of cool."

"Right."

Missy pushed herself up from the sofa, a smug smile on her face as she climbed down from the skip.

"Where you going? It doesn't start for another 2 hours, and we're meant to keep you busy 'till then."

"Girls, if you think I'm going to my own engagement party dressed like this, you've got another thing coming." Missy gestured to her school uniform, a smirk on her face. "Now come on, it's makeover time!"

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𝐈𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 𝐖𝐀𝐒 𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐌𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐄 𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐋𝐃 𝐒𝐀𝐘 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐄, it was that the Booth family knew how to throw a good party. With Saleem Paracha on the decks, and Hayley pouring out the non-alcoholic drinks (it was a school night, after all), the night had certainly been one to remember.

Missy and Aaron seemed to be in their own world, despite the boy's initial reluctance over making a fuss about the engagement. As Mollie watched them wrapped up in each other's embrace, she couldn't help but smile softly. They really were the perfect pair. Besides her and Riz, of course.

Riz.

Mollie felt a sense of guilt tug at her heart slightly as she remembered his offer earlier that day. Due to keeping their relationship a secret, they's barely found many oppurtunities to spend time alone and simply enjoy each other's company as they wanted to.

She wanted to be as open with Riz as Missy was with Aaron, but it was hard. Cory and Jordan could get extremely protective over her, and she doubted that Alya would be the most welcoming in-law, either.

It would also be a lie to say that there weren't still doubts in her head from her last relationship, and where she'd ended up after being so open with Kieran. As much as she knew that things with Riz were different, the uncertainty would still cross her mind every now and then.

Taking a sip of slightly flat cola from one of the glittery pink cups that Simone had bought in bulk, Mollie tried to shake away her thoughts and tune back into the party. But it came to no avail as she couldn't get the thought of her boyfriend out of her head and the thought of being with him right then and there.

Would Missy even notice if she left? After all, she was so absorbed in Aaron and the engagement that Mollie probably wouldn't even cross her mind.

Taking a chance, Mollie pulled her phone out of her jacket pocket and opened up her text messages. Biting down on her lip, she typed out a question.

mollie🥰
fancy a visitor for the evening?

riz😍
YES
i mean...yeah cool
sure
whatever

mollie🥰
real smooth, babe
be over in fifteen xxx

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𝐌𝐎𝐋𝐋𝐈𝐄 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐄𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐃𝐎𝐎𝐑𝐁𝐄𝐋𝐋 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐍𝐀𝐖𝐀𝐙 𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐄, 𝐀 𝐒𝐇𝐄𝐄𝐏𝐈𝐒𝐇 𝐆𝐑𝐈𝐍 𝐎𝐍 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐅𝐀𝐂𝐄. Within seconds, it was opened by a casually dressed Riz who was trying desperately to play it cool despite the fact that he'd been awaiting her arrival by the door for the last five minutes.

"Hi." He smiled, stepping aside to let Mollie in.

"Hi." She replied, leaning in to give him a gentle peck on the lips before closing the door behind them.

"How was the party, then?" He asked with genuine interest, lacing his fingers through Mollie's own and leading her into the kitchen.

"It was really nice, actually. Missy was so excited, she was practically glowing with happiness." She explained with a smile, before effortlessly lifted herself up to sit on one of the marble counters. "I'm dead hungry, though. All they had was party snacks."

"Lucky for you, I just put a pizza in the oven." Riz replied, shifting closer to Mollie so that he was standing right in front of her.

"Wow, you sure know the way to my heart, don't you?" Mollie smirked, lifting her arms up to wrap them around Riz's neck and pull him even closer.

"What can I say?" He said with a playful shrug, placing his hands on the edge of the counter either side of her legs. "You look beautiful, by the way. Not that you don't always look beautiful, because you do. But-"

"Thank you." Mollie cut off his nervous, yet adorable ramblings with a bashful smile, a warm feeling washing over her face. "Not so bad yourself, I suppose."

Due to the counter, the two were practically at the same height and their faces were only inches apart. Mollie couldn't help herself from leaning forwards to connect their lips, a feeling that she could honestly say she would never get tired of.

Deepening the kiss, Mollie moved her hands from his neck to the top of his head and began to run her fingers gently through the natural curls in his dark hair. As she did that, she felt him smile into the kiss and place his hands on her sides, his thumbs gently grazing the skin between her top and denim skirt.

Usually, their kisses were soft and sweet. But this one was different, a certain intensity and passion in both of their movements as they did all they could to get closer to one another.

Riz stopped thinking logically and let his desire for the girl take over. He trailed his hand until he found the hem of Mollie's denim jacket and he started to pull it off, their lips still firmly attached to each other. As she realised what he was doing, Mollie took her hands out of his hair so he could pull her jacket off her completely.

They parted for a second, both breathing heavily as Mollie shrugged the jacket off onto the counter behind her. But just as she went to reattach their lips, she furrowed her eyebrows as her nostrils filled with a burning smell.

"Riz, what's that smell?" She asked, making the boy's eyes widen in realisation.

"Shit. I've burnt the pizza."

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what's heating up more: the relationship or the pizzas? ;)

(i'm sorry, i had to)

in all seriousness, mollie and riz simping for each other is my fave thing.

sorry for the inconsistent updates, life is a bit hectic rn! but i hope you're all well and keeping safe!

thank you for reading and supporting <333