Chapter 3: No, Inner Beauty Matters Too

Amelia's POV

I arrive for my shift at Jessy's Cafe and step inside. On the weekends, I work to make some extra cash. Every penny counts when I go to live on my own. The sooner I get out of this town, the better.

I head towards the back, and my manager asks, "Are you going to your school's Valentine's Day dance tonight?"

"Of course. I finally got a guy to ask me to be their date." I say sarcastically.

She playfully rolls her eyes and says, "When I was your age, I would still go to dances with my friends. Nothing wrong with not having a date."

"Third wheeling isn't fun either. I'm just gonna binge watch something on N*****x." I say.

She laughs and says, "Have a good shift."

I return to the main area, and see someone waiting to be served. "Hello my name is Amelia, Can I start your day with a drink?" I ask, looking at my notepad.

"Oh hey!" I hear them say.

I take my eyes off my notepad and see it's Sylvester. "Oh uh hi." I say. Isn't there supposed to be like paparazzi? I don't know...

"I never got to apologize when I was at your house. I felt rude about our interaction, when Cassy suggested snacks. I didn't know she was gonna order you to make them." He says.

"It's fine." I say shrugging.

"Do they usually treat you like that?" He asks.

"...No. Anyways, is there something you want to order?" I ask extra cheerful.

He's quiet for a moment, and then says, "I'll have two Sprites. I'm waiting on my other friend."

"Great, I'll be right back." I say.

I fill up two cups with the soda, and place it back down on the table. I notice Jase has arrived and ask, "Are you guys ready to order, or do you still need a few minutes?"

"You ready?" Sylvester asks Jase.

He nods and asks for our beef soup and cheese sandwich. Then Sylvester orders the sandwich of the day.

"I'll be right back with your orders." I say walking away.

I wait in the back since there aren't many customers at the moment. "Is Sylvester Black really here?" The manager asks me.

I walk back out and see their orders are ready. I grab the dishes, and then walk back to their table.

They both murmur a thank you and I say,

Do you think you could ask for his autograph for me?" She asks. "My cousin is obsessed with him."

"Why can't you do it?" I ask.

"I have things to work on here." She says, pointing at a bunch of papers.

"No way. I don't want to look like a crazy fan." I say, not moving.

"If you do this, I will let you get food for free." She says, trying to convince me.

"My food is already free for working here..." I say.

"I'll make you clean the restrooms. You know I don't make you do that cause you're my favorite employee." She says grinning.

I glare at her and she smiles. "Thank you! Just have him sign this." She says, handing me a piece of paper, I take the paper and sigh. "Make sure he writes it to Nita"

"My manager was wondering if you could sign this..."

I notice Jase hide a smirk and Sylvester shrugs. "Anything for a fan." He says.

"She said her name is Nita." I mumble, wanting to leave them alone.

He hands me the piece of paper, and I say, "Thank you. Enjoy your meal."

I fast walk back to my manager and give her the paper. "You're welcome." I say.

"Hey, it's an excuse to talk to a celebrity." She says.

"I'm good... And he's not that popular." I answer.

"Is being on the radio not popular enough for you?" She asks.

I pretend to think and say, "Nope."

I serve a few other customers and they finally finish their meal. I go to collect their checks and see they tipped me $50.

"Thank you guys so much! Have a good day." I say, starting to clean the table.

"Your name's Amelia right?" He asks.

I nod and ask, "And you are?"

Jase laughs and says, "She needed to humble you."

Sylvester shoves him and rolls his eyes. "I'm Sylvester."

"I'm Jase." He says waving.

"Oh I know. My friends are obsessed with you." I say with fake excitement.

********************

When I got home I heard Tiffany scoffs and Cassy tries to fix her makeup. I pass by Esmeralda and she says, "Vacuum the kitchen. There's ants in that one corner." How fucking hard is it to clean up after yourself? You're a fucking adult.

"Better yet, vacuum this whole kitchen. You're obviously not allowed to go to the dance, but it's not like you had plans anyway. So really, you're welcome." She says walking out.

"I'll be back by 10:30, so the ants better be gone. I'll check on you when I get back, you know the rules." She yells, before leaving the house.

I hold in an insult and start cleaning. Only a few more months of this hell... I can do this. An hour later, I finish and decide to take a shower. My phone vibrates, telling me I got a notification.

Lily:

Hey...

What do you want?

I'm parked outside

Why?Why?

I slipped through your backyard :)

I'll call the cops on you

I hear a knock at my door and move to open it. Lily is carrying two long dress bags and I try to kick her out.

"No." I say, trying to dry my hair.

"Come on! This is our last semester of high school!" She says.

"You know why I don't care for dances." I say.

"I'm your date, now you have no excuse." She says, unzipping the dress bags.

"I never said yes." I say back. I glance at the dresses and say, "They look beautiful..."

"You'll look back on this day and regret not going to it. Even if you hate tonight, at least you went! There will always be times you can relax and watch N*****x." She says, trying to convince me.

That is true... I think we should go. I bite my lip and finally give in. "Fine." I mutter.

"We'll take a bunch of photos so I can remember this moment. Maybe you'll finally have something to post on your I*******m." She says laughing.

"Or I'll keep it at 0 posts forever." I say grinning.

She rolls her and hands me a dress. "Put this on and I'll do your makeup." She says, shoving me into the bathroom.

I step out and Lily gasps. "This dress looks perfect on you!" She says excitedly.

I smile and say, "Thank you for picking it out."

She steps into my bathroom to change, while I brush my hair. She opens the door and I'm stunned.

"Damn... You look beautiful." I say.

"I love the leg slit. Exposes just the right amount. And if it's too much, fuck it. They can't kick me out." She says grinning. They technically could...

After Lily finishes my hair and makeup, we go out to take pictures. I scroll through all of our photos and say, "I think I have some pics worthy of posting..."

Lily laughs and asks, "Should we get going?" I nod and we walk towards her car.

**********************

We walk into the gym and I see there's a huge crowd in the middle. I adjust my mask and glance at the decorations. Lilly drags me to the snack table, and I laugh.

"I suggest you stay away from the drinks." I say, staring at the suspicious bowl of punch. I notice someone walking in my direction, and give them room to look at the snacks.

He walks up to me and asks, "Would you like to dance?"

I look behind me to see who he's talking to, and realize he's speaking to me. I quickly look at Lily and see she mouthed, "Go."

"Okay." I say, taking his hand. A few seconds later, the song changes and I raise my eyebrow.

He smirks and I ask, "Is this your song request?"

"I was curious to see if you could keep up with my dancing." He answers.

"Really?" I ask, starting to take control of the footing.

He chuckles and quickly dips me. Surprisingly, our steps are flowing perfectly. I quicken the pace and he follows along.

"Not bad." He says.

I laugh and say, "I was a professional dancer when I was younger."

"Impressive. I feel like we're clicking well for our first dance." He says, guiding my feet.

"I'm not sure... You seem like you're having a hard time keeping up." I say, changing directions.

"Someone's a little cocky." He says, pulling me closer. I adjust my hold, and follow his feet.

I smirk and say, "I only speak the truth."

He laughs and I smile. When the song gets louder, I lift my leg up at the last beat.

"Wanna do a spin?" He asks.

"Why not?" I ask, oddly feeling safe in his arms.

He lets me go and I smile in the spotlight. But all of a sudden, my heel got caught on one of the floor decorations. Curse these high heels! I use my hand to stop my fall, thankful I didn't twist my ankle.

I hear some people laugh, and feel grateful I have a mask on. The mystery person helps me up and says, "You were amazing."

I adjust my mask and shrug. "Not my best ending to a dance." I say frowning.

"You still looked beautiful. I didn't know someone could slip gracefully." He says, trying to make me laugh.

My lips curve upward and I say, "It's really just the makeup."

"No, inner beauty matters too." He says, taking off his mask.

"Sylvester?" I ask confused. There's no way...

Lily grabs my arm and says, "Cassy's leaving and it's almost 10:30!"

My eyes widen and I start to run. I look back at Sylvester, and notice he picked up a bracelet off the floor. I glance at my wrist and see my bracelet is gone.

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