[center][img]http://txt-dynamic.cdn.1001fonts.net/txt/b3RmLjgwLmYyMDczNC5VMkZ0WVc1MGFHRWdTMmx1WjNOc1pYaywuMAAA/mandela-script-personal-use.regular.png[/img]
[img]https://media.giphy.com/media/12LsPS1s9WXDGg/source.gif[/img]
[i]She's a sunrise dressed like dusk
Going out, she's getting into something[/i][/center][hr][hr]
Still smiling, Samantha watched as Johnathan jogged up to her car and knelt in the patch of grass by the passenger window to be level with her. She giggled as she watched him explain that attending Avery’s party seemed like a dreadful idea, but that her offer had pretty much made him at least consider it. Then he asked if she’d been crying, and her cherub cheeks went red as she nodded. The girl had opened her mouth to blurt out the explanation, but the boy nodded in silent understanding. He’d patted her comfortingly in the shoulder before pretty much acknowledging all of her hard work with his kind words. Her green eyes filled up with tears again, but she’d caught herself before any of them spilled out. And after saying a quick goodbye and a brief acknowledgement to Eleanor, Johnny was gone.

Silence settled inside the vehicle as Samantha rolled up her passenger window and move her gaze forward. It wasn’t long before her mother piped up [b]“He seems like a sweet boy.”[/b], followed by shooting a suggestive glance at her daughter before turning her eyes back to the road. [b]“Do you like him? And I mean it like [i]like[/i] him, [i]like[/i] him?”[/b]

[color=crimson]“Oh my God, Mom!”[/color] Sammi’s exclaimed in embarrassment and disbelief, her cheeks flushed again. She let out a small laugh. [color=crimson] “I do like Johnny, but not like that. He’s just a friend, you know? Like Nate and Sam are.”[/color]

Eleanor raised up her hands in defeat. [b]“Okay, okay, I was just asking!”[/b] she said teasingly, pulling into the Juliano’s parking lot.

Shaking her head, Sammi and her mother both exited the car and made their way to the restaurant. They were quickly seated, tended to and soon enough enjoying the meal and conversation. Sammi had been halfway through her tiramisu when her phone chimed, signaling the arrival of a new text:
[quote=Johnny][b][i][colour=seagreen]Hello. If it's okay with you, I would like to take you up on your offer for a ride to the Henderson party.[/colour][/i][/b][/quote]

Smiling, Samantha typed up a quick response and sent it on his way before turning back to her dessert.

[quote=Sammi][color=crimson][b][i]Hiiiii! And yaaaayyyy! That’s awesome! I’ll pick you up at 8. See ya then! <3[/i][/b][/color][/quote][hr]
It had taken Samantha less than an hour to get ready for Avery Henderson’s, opting to keep things cute yet comfortable. She’d decided on [url=http://www.barnorama.com/wp-content/images/2013/02/Liana-Liberato/12-Liana-Liberato.jpg]wearing a black and white striped T-shirt dress with some black Doc Martens[/url] while also rocking a half-up top bun. The real kicker came when, venturing away from her usual washed-out face, she’d put on some dark red lipstick and a bold winged liner. Satisfied with the outcome of her short preparations, she dropped her essentials into a small handbag before skipping off to the car and driving off to Plum Hill Lake.

At five minutes before eight, Samantha was pulling into the park’s parking lot in her mother’s borrowed Corolla. She honked twice to let him know of her arrival before grabbing her phone to shoot a text to her ride or dies:

[quote=Sammi][color=crimson]Omw to the party, loves, and bringing a surprise with me! See u guys in a bit! 💖😘[/color][/quote]

She pressed the send command at the same time that there was a tap in her passenger window. The girl looked up to see Johnny’s face staring back at her from the dark, motioning for her to open up the door to him. She did so, and he immediately opened the door.

[color=crimson]“Hey Johnny!”[/color] Samantha greeted the boy, that bright smile back in place again. [color=crimson]“Hop right in, I’ve got something to show you.”[/color]

Once the young man occupied the passenger seat, Sammi pulled out of the park’s entrance and drove off in the direction of Avery’s house. Keeping her eyes on the road, she grabbed her phone and handed it to the boy. [color=crimson]“I know you liked some of the bands I listen to, so here’s a song I thought you might like. It’s not exactly our usual emo vibe, but it’s a great song nonetheless. Press play whenever you’re ready.”[/color]

Johnny did as he was told, and the first chords of [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQ017T_euy0]Bad Suns’ ‘Daft Pretty Boys’[/url] began playing through the speakers. Smiling, Samantha sang and danced along enthusiastically, as if putting on a show to an attentive audience. Usually, it was Nate and Sam the ones she would put through this torture. But since the two other members of The Trifecta were presumably at the party, it was Johnny’s turn to suffer through it. After the song was over, she turned to him with a curious expression.

[color=crimson]“Welllllllll, how was it?!”[/color] she asked excitedly, waiting to hear his opinions about one of her favorite bands.