Page 66 of Drama Queens Don't Fall For Charming Boys

“Okay, I think I might just die from pride.”

I laugh and open the door.

“Mia?”

“Yeah?”

“Remember the rules. No drinking, no drugs, no running off with a boy you just met. And call an adult if you feel unsafe.”

“Of course, Dad. You know I know the rules backward and forward. I’ll see you later.”

I get out and shut the door.

“Mia?” Dad rolls down his window. “No boys.”

“Ha.”

It’s a joke between my dad and me. Obviously he wants me to find love, but he also doesn’t want his little girl to grow up. So his message is basically telling me that I shouldn’t feel like I need to rush to grow up. He’d rather I stay a kid for as long as possible.

I ring the bell and Zoey’s mom, Bailey, answers the door. After she hugs me and tells me how beautiful I look, I say hi to Zoey’s dad, Zane, who is brainstorming for his book, and then I make my way up to Zoey’s room. I can hear her and Rylee chatting and laughing.

“Hey, favorite people,” I greet as I walk inside. Rylee is wearing a light purple long dress while Zoey is still in her hoodie with the Edenbury High Lions logo. She has three possible outfits laid out on her bed.

“Why is picking something to wear so difficult?” she complains. “I wish I could wear my hoodie.”

“You can,” I say.

“Yeah, that’s so you,” Rylee agrees. “And Kade doesn’t care. He just wants you to be yourself and do whatever is comfortable for you.”

“Yeah, I know. But it’s fun to dress up a little, too, sometimes.” She twists her nose before grabbing a black dress. “Looks like Mia and I will be twins tonight.”

As she gets dressed, Rylee and I set up our makeup. I already put some on before I left, but I add a bit more and then work on Zoey. She can never sit still and doesn’t really like wearing makeup. So I do the minimum.

“I have some news you might like,” I announce as I apply eyeshadow to Zoey’s eyes. “Declan and I are no longer enemies.”

They gape at me and cry, “What?”

“Yeah, there was a…development yesterday.”

“A development?” Rylee grabs my arm, shaking me. “Tell us! Why do you always leave us in suspense like this?”

I raise my chin. “I am an actor. I live for the suspense.”

“Mia,” Zoey says.

“Okay, okay. So he offered to give me a ride to the mall yesterday so I could buy a mouse. You know, a replacement for my beloved late mouse that neither of you gave a darn about?”

They exchange a glance and roll their eyes.

“So anyway, I didn’t want to be alone with him in a car because I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to hold back from wringing his neck, but he told me he wanted to buy a headset. Did you guys know he games? And he plays Chronicles of the Eternals, too.”

“Looks like you have another thing in common with him.” Rylee playfully shoves her shoulder into mine.

“Yeah, weird. Well, I finally agreed to go to the mall with him and we went to the game store and bought what we needed. And then…”

They both lean forward, eyes bright with intrigue.

“Someone recognized him and yelled his name. And then a huge crowd ran toward him. No, it wasn’t a crowd. It was a mob. And Declan actually looked scared. So I tried to help him escape, but HartHeads popped up from all over. It was crazy.”

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