Sydney 8:20 PM
Just getting in the rideshare. Be there in twenty.
Lily 8:21 PM
Text me when you’re outside so we can have everyone yell surprise.
Dylan glanced over Lily’s shoulder, quickly reading the text thread, Lily not stopping her. “God, Sydney’s the worst.”
“Your words, not mine,” Lily said, raising her eyebrows in annoyance. It was taking more and more effort for her not to badmouth the absolute shit out of Sydney, but she was still Wren’s best friend.
At 8:40, the door to the private party room opened and a line of Puget Sound Pride Players entered, Wren sandwiched in the middle of the group, grinning ear to ear.
So much for that text,Lily snapped in her head, quickly jumping to her feet to yell surprise, the rest of the room joining in.
“Surprise!” Wren slurred, catching sight of Lily. “Lily’s here. You were right, Syd. You said she’d be here and she’s here.”
Of course Wren was already drunk. This was not how Lily wanted any of this to go. She shot a glare at Sydney, who shrugged, moving further into the room towards the group of people crowded around the tablet controlling song selections.
“Lily and Dyly!” Wren giggled, draping an arm around each of them, her balance a little bit off. Dylan helped Lily lower Wren into a chair. “This is so cool. Dylan.” She pulled Dylan closer as she whispered, “Did you know? Did you know that Sydney planned this party?”
That sentence made Lily’s ears perk up. Dylan caught her eye. “Uh, I don’t think you have that right, Wren. Lily planned all this for you. It’s your surprise party.”
Wren smiled dopily, looking around the room, only half listening. “No, I’m pretty sure she said she planned it. Hey,” she said abruptly, catching sight of the neon yellow wrist bands Lily and Dylan had tied around their wrists. “I want one of those.” Wren’s fingers hooked into the band Lily was wearing.
“Those are just for the kids, Wrenny, you know, because they’re still under twenty-one,” Sydney said coolly, reappearing. “So it looks like only Lily and…” She turned to Dylan, eyeing her up and down.
Heat flared in Lily’s chest as she bit back the response sitting on the tip of her tongue. She was ready to tell Sydney she could take her thoughts and opinions and shove them so far up her own ass and?—
But Dylan beat her to it. “My name is Dylan. And it’s honestly pretty rude of you not to remember, considering we’ve met like six times at this point. But then again, it must be so hard to focus on such trivial things when your ego chokes out all the air in a room.”
Lily stared at Dylan in disbelief. Her quiet best friend was never one to step into conflict willingly.
“Dyl, bud, you don’t have to be mean. She’s just, you know, not good with names.”
Dylan turned to Wren, shoving her hands in the pockets of her jeans. “You really buy that, Wren? You have a brain. It would be cool if you started using it.”
Dylan looked at Lily, blue eyes filled with an intensity Lily had never seen before. She turned on her heel and left, brown ponytail whipping behind her, and for a second, Lily wasn’t sure what to do. Go after Dylan or stay here. Wren’s attention was already pulled back towards the group as the opening notes of the song one of the other players selected began to play.
Lily rushed down the dark hallway separating the private karaoke rooms from the main stage area, catching sight of Dylan as she pushed her way through the door leading out onto the street. She picked up her pace, spilling out onto the street moments later.
“Dylan,” she called after her. “Dyl, hey, wait a second.”
Dylan stopped on the sidewalk, hands shoved into her pockets, waiting for Lily to catch up to her. “I’m sorry, Lils, I couldn’t not say anything?—”
Lily threw her arms around Dylan, squeezing her tightly. “Thank you,” she whispered.
Dylan hugged her back. “I know you love her, but damn, Wren can be the worst sometimes, and don’t get me started on Sydney. I hate watching someone as awesome as you get treated the way they treat you sometimes.”
Lily felt the overwhelming need to defend Wren surge in her chest, words already lined up and ready to go, but Dylan beat her to it. “I’m sorry, that was probably a little harsh. I hate seeing them disrespect you and watching you not stick up for yourself.”
A quiet hung between them, filled by the city’s ambient sounds. “Dyl, I—” she started, trying to explain, but Dylan just put her hands up.
“You don’t need to explain anything to me. I had to tell you where I was at and I’m sorry if that upset you or made things weird. Do you want me to come back inside with you?”
Lily checked her phone. It was 9:45, and her reservation for the karaoke room was almost up. “I can handle it. And you don’t need to apologize for anything. Go, I know you have an early lab in the morning, and you’ve already done so much to help me today.”
More silence followed before Dylan asked, “Are you still going back to Wren’s after this?”
