SWEET NOTHING , Gracie Abrams

010. You're The Reason For This!

Gracie's room was cold when she woke up. It always was; she liked it that way. But it felt colder than it should. She felt colder than she should have. She felt blue—deep, dark blue. It was the morning of her 23rd birthday; she should be happy, shouldn't she?

Her phone buzzed on her nightstand. She picked it up and smiled at the many happy birthday wishes chiming in. Maybe she did feel happy. She certainly should; all her best friends and her beloved family were taking time out of their days to wish her a happy birthday. But she still couldn't shake the sadness.

She didn't even know why she felt sad, and that was, by far, the worst part of it all.

𝘿𝙤𝙧𝙮 <3: 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 !! 𝘪 𝘤𝘢𝘯'𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘶𝘭 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 <3

Gracie's lips curled up in a smile as she read the words portrayed on her screen. Dorothea was adorable, and she had this insane talent for cheering Gracie up.

But the sadness remained. When the high from reading Dorothea's message passed, Gracie felt sad again. Would she not see Dorothea today? She wanted to see the girl today. It was her birthday; her only wish was to spend it with her beloved friends — Dorothea especially.

Why did she feel such a need to be around Dorothea all the time? She'd never felt that way for anyone but Blake. And Blake was once her boyfriend. Gracie knew what was going on with Dorothea; she recognised every thought and feeling from the months before she and Blake officially got together.

But she couldn't be falling for a girl like Dorothea. She couldn't be falling for a girl at all. Gracie was straight; she'd always been. Dorothea had no right to step in there and mess that up. Gracie liked boys; Gracie dated boys. Not girls.

But Dorothea Bishop was the greatest girl Gracie had ever met. And she was beautiful; she was so, so beautiful.

Gracie felt her mind spinning, spiralling out of her control. She recognised that feeling as well. Her breathing became uneven, and her lungs started burning. With the familiar shaking hand, she grabbed her phone and clicked on Dorothea's contact. She needed a helping hand. Dorothea was the only one who knew how to calm her down.

"Dory? Hi. Could yo- uh, could you please...could you please come over? It's happ- um, it's happening again." Tears welled in her eyes and streamed down her cheeks. She could taste the saltiness when they reached her mouth. It only made her feel worse, and she couldn't explain why.

Dorothea hung up the phone, and only a few minutes later, Gracie heard a knock on her front door. She got up and hurried out of her room and downstairs to the foyer to open the door. To see Dorothea. To feel her safe embrace and smell her familiar perfume.

"Grace, what's going on? Why does this keep happening?" Dorothea cooed, wrapping her arms around Gracie and placing a delicate kiss on the top of her head. "Okay, you know what to do; hand on my chest, follow my breathing, hm?"

And that's what they did. Gracie fought for herself, and she calmed down not long after. She relaxed in Dorothea's embrace and took a few deep breaths to regain control over her own lungs.

"Good job, Precious; you did great." Dorothea smiled, wiping a strand of hair away from Gracie's face. "Can you tell me what happened? Do you have any idea why I've had to come over here four times over the past week to calm you down from a panic attack?"

Gracie stayed silent. She looked down at her lap, where her fidgeting fingers rested.

"Grace, it's okay. I'm not mad about it; I was serious when I said that I'd drop anything for you. I just want to know what's causing this so I can help you. I hate seeing you like this."

The room felt cold as silence embraced the girls. Gracie felt like a ticking bomb; soon she'd explode and dump her every thought and feeling on Dorothea.

And that's exactly what happened.

"You, Dorothea! You're the reason for this! You are always here for me, you help me, and you always compliment me! You're such an amazing person, and I think I am falling for you, and that scares me! I am straight; I can't fall for you!"

Dorothea looked at Gracie with wide eyes. She watched as the girl gasped and slapped her hand over her mouth. She watched her eyes fill with tears and her brows raise.

"Gracie...what? You're falling for me?" Dorothea's voice was soft, and Gracie hated her for it. Here she was, yelling and crying as she confessed her feelings, and Dorothea had the audacity to be calm and talk quietly. She made Gracie seem insane.

"Yes. I am. I think. I don't know; I've always thought I was straight, but then you came into my life and turned it all upside down. I've been so confused, and it's caused my anxiety to skyrocket. I think that's the root of all the attacks. Sorry."

Dorothea furrowed her brows and placed a gentle hand on Gracie's knee. "Gracie, don't apologise; you have nothing to apologise for. I think...I think I'm falling for you too? No. I am falling for you too. I've been down bad for you since the moment I saw you in Olivia's foyer."

"Really?"

"Really."

Gracie smiled at Dorothea, her eyes lighting up in a way that made Dorothea weak in the knees. All the Bishop girl wanted to do was kiss the precious girl in front of her. But that was too soon. Gracie just overcame a panic attack and confessed how confused she'd been about the whole thing. It was too soon.

Or maybe it wasn't.

Gracie leaned closer to Dorothea, and it didn't take long before their lips collided. Dorothea got lost in it. She could hear the angels sing, or perhaps that was just the voices in her head giving her a little performance.

When they both needed a second to breathe, they pulled apart. Dorothea hazily stared at Gracie with wide eyes.

"You are so beautiful, Gracie. Has anyone ever told you that?"

Author's Note
Kind of forgot how important this chapter was
Should've mentioned it in the last chapter to cause some excitement or smth idk

But uh here ya go!!

I have one more chapter ready after this, but it won't be published right now
(Probs tomorrow or the day after tho)

Kissies,
@hearthands