Chapter 2 FINALLY here. Sorry about the delay. I suck, and life is crazy :P
Anyway, in this chapter there's the ball, and I picked dresses for everyone, so if you don't like them, I apologize. I just picked some dresses from tv-shows that I like and described them.
And again, I'd like to remind you, if you don't like something that your character does, do not think of it as a personal insult. I'm writing, about the characters. Even though they are us, they're not as much as.. you guys are. Because I need to write a lot of drama XD

So, yes, chapter 2! Any reviews are welcome ;)

Chapter 2 ; This time it's sink or swim

It was around one in the afternoon when Laura got out of her bedroom, finally thinking it would be seguro to go out without running into anybody. She'd been childish with Rachel the night before, but she'd just driven her so crazy with all the Milo hate. Milo was perfect. And if Rachel didn't understand that, she didn't even deserve him.
Laura felt bad right after even thinking so, so she did what she always did when she was feeling anxious. She listened to music. A lot of music.
She laid on her cama and closed her eyes and kept hoping she could kind of just forget the world. But then..
A knock on the door.
"If that's Rachel's Prince Charming bringing her mais donuts, I swear..", Laura muttered as she walked to the door, but as she opened it, she raised her eyebrows.
"Milo?"
"Good, you're home", Milo said as he entered and Laura closed the door after him.
"What are you doing here?" she asked in confusion.
"Is this break-up between me and Rachel real this time?" he asked.
"Milo-"
"You always know. She always tells you. Just tell me, so I can start living my life", Milo said quickly.
Laura sighed and nodded. "Yes, it's real. She's moving on."
"Oh, thank God!" Milo let out a breath, and then smiled. "Why do you look so sad?"
"I just don't realize how a break-up can be a good thing", Laura said, bewildered.
"You saw how Rachel and I were. I didn't realize it before, but everything she said last night made total sense. We sucked together. I was crappy towards her, she was dismissive towards me. We just didn't work. And besides, sometimes when I was with her, I was thinking about-"
Laura looked up at him and her coração started beating faster. "About what?"
"Nothing, it doesn't matter", he said impatiently. "I just wanted to come and ask that, and also ask if things are going to stay the same with us."
Laura looked at him in surprise. "How.. How do you mean?"
"I mean, can we keep seeing each other, be friends?"
"Yes, of course!" Laura hurried to say.
"Ok, great. You are awesome", Milo gave her a light kiss on the forehead before heading back towards the door. "I have to go, I have a date-"
"If I tell you something", Laura interrupted, and Milo turned back towards her. "That might sound completely crazy or skanky or whatever, will you judge me?"
"What?" Milo asked in confusion. "What's going on? Did you do something dirty?"
"No, I.. Will you, for once, just listen to me?" Laura asked patiently, and after a moment of consideration Milo nodded and closed the front door. "I'm all ears."
"All these years, ever since we met, ever since you started dating Rachel, through all of your break-ups and getting-back-togethers, I've had feelings for you. And I've always considered myself to be a horrible friend. I had no right, right? But now that I know for sure that Rachel doesn't amor you anymore, I can tell you. I can tell you that I amor you. How I have loved you always, and there's a fair chance I always will. I hate myself for taking like this, but hey, a girl's gotta try. And I'm sure this'll be the first and last chance for me to ever say this, so here it is. I amor you."
All the while during the speech Milo had just stood there, staring at the woman he'd always considered to be her friend, maybe even her best friend, and then, when she was finished, he had no idea what to say.
"Oh, God!" Laura gasped. "I'm horrible, I'm a horrible friend and you're judging me and you're hating me right now."
"Just shut up", Milo said and Laura looked up at him, yet again, in surprise.
"What?"
"Shut up", Milo repeated and walked to her, beijar her and wrapping his arms around her.
Yes, Laura felt guilty. But she was sure that Rachel was over Milo, and Milo was definitely over Rachel, so what was wrong with the kiss? Nothing. And what happened afterwards.. Well, not as innocent, but just as right for her and him.

Rachel sat seguinte to Christian at the hospital cafeteria and gave him the brightest smile she could.
"Hi", he smiled. "Is today better?"
"Than yesterday? Yes, it is. Partly because of the donuts", Rachel said. "I'm feeling.. I know it's really weird of me to say this, but I'm feeling happy. I didn't even remember what that feeling felt like."
Christian just smiled.
"So, I.."
Rachel didn't know what she was trying to say, and whatever she had on her mind, she pushed it all away at once. "I was wondering if you had a surgery I could scrub in on."
"That would be favoritism", he pointed out.
"But you're the new guy. You can't have favoritos yet, so how could anyone ever doubt you?" Rachel smirked.
"I have a feeling you're using me to get surgeries."
"So what if I am? I am sure you have a gorgeous girlfriend or a fiancée to get back to at the end of the day. You don't need annoying dishrags like me."
"Did you call yourself a dishrag?" Christian asked in disbelief.
"Yes. Everyone I know says I have insecurity issues. I have no idea what they're talking about", she bit her lip, finding it annoying that he changed the subject. "You didn't answer my question."
"No, I don't have a girlfriend, or a fiancée or a wife, for that matter", he said. "And before you ask, I'm not gay, either."
"Sorry, I'm being pushy."
"No, it's fine", Christian assured her. "But.. I'm still not trying to get in your pants. I don't want you to think that."
"Ok, does that mean you don't want to get in my pants, or just that you're not trying to?"
He let out a laugh and got up. "Well, hey, who'd want an old dishrag like you, right?"
"Mean", Rachel said, but she was smirking as he gave her one last, kind smile before walking off.

"Hey", Bryan hopped in Holly's car as she was ready to leave the kindergarten to go home.
"What are you doing?" azevinho, holly asked. It was painful for her to talk. Or to drive. Or to think. Stupid hangover.
"I'm coming over tonight, remember?" Bryan chuckled. "I might as well come right now."
azevinho, holly let out a grunt and started the car.
"Enjoying the hangover?"
"Big time", azevinho, holly sighed. "I have tequila. Hate it, hate it."
"Did the new roommates encourage you to drink?" Bryan asked.
"No, it was...", she paused. For some reason she didn't feel like mentioning Josh to Bryan. "It was nothing. I hung out at the bar where one of my roommates, Margot, works, and the.. tequila was on sale. And I was thirsty."
"Right", Bryan chuckled. "Here", he handed her a paperbag from his own bag and azevinho, holly let out a gasp as she saw a urso claw (don't get excited, I mean the pastry) in the bag. "You shouldn't have!"
I know. I figured your friends could share it, but I think you need it right now", Bryan smiled at her, and she smiled back.
"What would I do without you?" she asked as she took a bite of the pastry.
"Let's hope you'll never have to find out!"

cerveja, ale was just finishing her dia off at the model agency when suddenly her phone rang.
"Oh, nice try", she muttered as she answered the phone, but couldn't help but to feel a bit excited when she heard Ed's voice.
"Hey, I'm sorry I didn't call you last night", he said.
"I hope you have one hell of an excuse."
"Well, my sister's kids needed babysitting, and I didn't want you to think I was ditching you for a bunch of kids", Ed sounded apologetic.
"Which you were", cerveja, ale said, but she started to warm up at the image of Ed taking care of little kids. "Uh.. Do you want to make it up to me?"
"Yes, in fact", Ed said as cerveja, ale entered the streets of New York, exiting the agency. "Turn around."
cerveja, ale turned around in amazement and saw Ed standing there, holding a bagel and a starbucks coffee in his hands.
"Hi", cerveja, ale smirked as she walked to him.
"Hi. So, am I forgiven?"
"You can't win my coração with food", cerveja, ale said, but took the bagel and the coffee anyway.
"I know. That's why I'm taking you somewhere", he smiled. Ed gestured at the limo parked on the rua right seguinte to them, and Ale's eyebrows rose.
"That is not yours."
"Yes, it is. Get in", Ed chuckled.
"What if you're a stalker?"
"Ok, I'll go alone", he said, but cerveja, ale was quicker. She jumped in the car, and Ed smiled as he followed her.

"So this is your place", Laura woke up to a loud male voice coming from the hallway, and when she heard Holly's reply, she gasped.
"Oh, no, no, no!" she realized what'd happened, and slapped Milo awake.
"I slept with my best friend's ex-boyfriend. Oh, God. And now Holly's here, and she's going to tell Rachel-"
"What's going on?" Milo asked, still half asleep.
"The fogo escape!"
"What?" Milo asked, alarmed.
"Go down the fogo escape. No one can see you. Seriously. Get dressed and go! Now!" Laura hissed and started to get dressed herself.
"Hey, wait", as Laura was about to leave the room, fully clothed, she turned to Milo, who was halfway out of the window, but looking at her. Then he asked, with a bit of insecurity (for the first time ever, I might add) in his voice: "What does this mean for us?"
"Just go", Laura whispered, and walked out of the room before Milo could say anything else.
"The walk of shame", Bryan said as soon as he saw Laura enter the kitchen. "You didn't tell me your friends were like this!"
azevinho, holly eyed Laura, and then smirked: "What have you done?"
"Nothing", Laura said quickly. "Nothing, absolutely nothing. So you're Bryan, then?"
"Yes", Bryan said in amusement as they shook hands.
"I'm Laura."
"Awesome. I'm going to go check this place out. Excuse me", Bryan walked out of the kitchen, and azevinho, holly asked: "What did you do?"
"Nothing", Laura repeated. "Stop smiling", she groaned as she buried her head in her hands.
"Ok, ok", azevinho, holly laughed. "But you better take a chuveiro before the others get here, unless you want them to detect your walk of shame as well."
Laura didn't have to be told twice, and azevinho, holly chuckled as she stood in the kitchen. "Some roommates."

"Hey, I am home. I went to-", Margot paused as she entered the apartment about an hora later and found Laura, azevinho, holly and Bryan sitting por the cozinha table, laughing about something.
"Ooh, Bryan! This one's Margot, the bartender", azevinho, holly said enthusiastically as she pulled Margot towards the table.
"Hi", he smiled. "I'm Holly's annoying friend."
"Nice to meet you, annoying friend", Margot said in amusement. "So, just the four of us?"
"For now. Rachel's supposed to get off work early today, but she's a big shot doctor, so.. Moosh and cerveja, ale both scored a date, so they're out", azevinho, holly said.
"What? They're ditching our company to go on dreamy dates? Shame on them", Bryan joked.
They didn't have to wait long for Rachel. When she closed the door after her, she had such a smile on her face it was hard to recognize her.
"What the hell did you do today? Ate magic mushrooms?" azevinho, holly chuckled as she walked to them.
"This the surgeon?" Bryan asked in amusement, extending his hand.
"Yeah, Rachel. You must be Bryan", Rachel said as she shook his hand.
"Well?" Margot asked, and Rachel raised her eyebrows. "What?"
"What happened?"
"Nothing", she said, and eyed Laura, who refused to look at her. "Laura, can I talk to you for a minute?"
"Uh, sure", she said mais than awkwardly as she followed Rachel into her room.
"How was your day?" Laura tried to avoid getting into the subject.
"It was perfect. Now, would you like to tell me why you acted like a raging cadela, puta last night?"
Laura didn't have time to say anything before Rachel continued.
"I mean, I am always a raging bitch, so, yeah, I was a bitch, too, but you're never like that. So what's up? Are you really that upset about me insulting my ex-boyfriend?"
"He's my.. best guy friend", Laura muttered. "I don't like people picking on him."
Rachel pondered this for a moment, and then said. "Then I'm sorry."
"You're not one to go down easy", Laura said suspicously. "Have you been eating mushrooms?"
"No. I got to scrub in on a really good surgery today."
"Uh-huh. His surgery?"
"Shut up", Rachel couldn't help but to smile as she pulled Laura in for a hug.
"Are we good now?" Laura asked as they pulled apart.
"We're great. Let's go hang out with Holly's friend now", Rachel said and they walked out, back into the kitchen.

"So, what's for dinner?" Laura asked as they rejoined the group. azevinho, holly eyed her suspiciously, but figured it wasn't her place to say anything. That was all she had, anyway. Suspicions.
"We are going to order in."
"We always order in", Margot groaned. "I changed my shifts to have tonight free. So we better order something good, then."
"Chinese."
"French."
"Ew, no way, French comida means like.. snails."
Apparently they couldn't come to an agreement.
"Canadian", Bryan said, and everyone paused.
"What the hell is Canadian food, anyway?" Laura snorted.
"I don't know.. snowflakes? I don't know. comida is food. Let's order something."
"Mexican food", Rachel said. "And I am already calling so no one can argue with me", she shouted as she picked up the phone and went to check the take-out menus for a number.
"I guess we're eating mexican", azevinho, holly said.
"So, azevinho, holly tells us you're a teacher, too", Margot said.
"I am", Bryan said and smirked. "Though, I may get off the tracks sometimes with what I'm supposed to teach."
"Yeah, his lessons mostly consist of superheroes and video games."
"I like Batman", Rachel said as she came from the other room.
"I do, too!" Bryan said with satisfaction.
"No superhero talk. No way. We are going to go watch tv and nicely wait for the food", azevinho, holly said.

"Ok, so.. you're rich", cerveja, ale said to Ed in the car.
"Define rich."
"Richer than me", cerveja, ale snorted, and Ed nodded.
"Yeah, I'm probably richer than you."
"What, you got a huge trust fund or something?"
"Aren't you a nosy one?" Ed smiled.
"We're on a date. We're supposed to be getting to know each other. Or are you really trying to kidnap me? 'Cause if you are, I swear, everyone I know will come after you and find you like Liam Neeson found those guys in Taken."
Ed smirked. "Ok, I've been warned."
"Seriously, though, where are we going?" cerveja, ale couldn't help but to ask, but before Ed had time to answer, Ale's phone beeped.
She took it from her bag and paused as she noticed Keegan's number.
"Do you need to answer that?" Ed asked, and with a moment of hesitation cerveja, ale shook her head and put the phone back into her bag.
"No, nothing important."

azevinho, holly watched, as she ate, when Bryan kept getting along with the other girls. He laughed, and they laughed, and they joked and he joked. And for some reason azevinho, holly had this weird feeling in the pit of her stomach. But she couldn't be jealous. That'd just be crazy. Right?
"Hey, you ok?" she was ripped from her thoughts when Bryan looked at her. They were all sitting in the livingroom area, watching tv and eating.
"Oh, yeah. I'm fine."
"Hey, look what's on TV", Margot smirked at Rachel, who turned to the screen.
"Grey's Anatomy. Reruns", Rachel chuckled.
"Oh, right! How's your McDreamy?" azevinho, holly asked.
"If he's McDreamy, does that mean I'm Meredith Grey? If yes, I'm very flattered. But I think I'm going to cama now", Rachel said and got up before anyone could ask anything else.
"Did we scare her away?" Bryan yawned.
"We certainly did. But hey, we've all got something to hide. Right, Laura?" azevinho, holly turned to Laura, who immediately turned red. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Rachel got in her room and after a moment of consideration, and one quick glance at the clock, she took out her cell and dialed the hospital number. A nurse she knew answered.
"Hey, Rebecca. Is doctor Christian Bale (Oh, my God, how stupid I felt while composição literária that..) still around?"
"Yeah, he's with a patient, but- oh, hold on, I see him", Rachel closed her eyes as she waited, and opened them when she heard his voice.
"You're calling me."
"No, I'm calling the hospital", Rachel said quickly. "I could have been calling anyone."
"That's funny, because I'm pretty sure Rebecca said you asked for me", Rachel knew he was smirking even though I couldn't see him.
"You know Rebecca?" she was surprised. Most hotshot doctors didn't bother to figure out the names of the nurses.
"Sure I do", he said, and Rachel considered the possibility that maybe he had a thing for her. Rebecca. She was pretty. Maybe that's why he knew her name.
"So, you ok..?"
"Yeah, I'm fine", Rachel said hurriedly. "This was stupid."
"No, it's fine", Christian rushed to say. "How are you?"
Rachel smiled to herself before sitting on the bed. "I'm good. How are you?"

Moosh was standing outside her office, waiting for Zayn. He was 20 minutos late, and Moosh was considering leaving. Maybe he blew her off. Just when she was about to get going, she heard a: "Hey!" from behind her, and as she turned to look at the other end of the hall, she saw him and smiled.
"You're late", she said, and immediately regretted doing so. Anything could trigger.. well.. any kind of reactions from him. His parents sent him to therapy for a reason.
"Sorry, I was stuck in traffic", Zayn said hurriedly. "You ready to go?"
"Yeah", Moosh smiled. They walked downstairs, and once they got out of the building, Moosh paused. She saw a motorcycle in front of her, parked seguinte to the sidewalk.
"What?" Zayn smirked.
"You want me to get on that?" Moosh asked suspiciously. "You even know how to ride it?"
"Of course I do", Zayn snorted. "Get on."
"Can I at least get a helmet?" Moosh asked. She was not at all sure about this. She'd never liked motocicletas much, anyway.
"Yes, you can get a helmet", Zayn smiled and handed Moosh one. It was green.
"I like the color green", she muttered as she put it on and hopped on, behind Zayn.
"You look nice, por the way", she heard Zayn say, but didn't have time to do anything but embrulho, envoltório her arms around his upper body before they were on the road.

"Why are we here?" cerveja, ale asked in confusion as Ed got out of the car. He led her to a restaurant around the dock. The water looked pretty, gleaming in the lights reflecting on the water when it was otherwise pitch dark.
"What, you don't like this place?" Ed chuckled.
"Not the place. It's that you never get a reservation here", cerveja, ale said. It was one of those fancy-pants restaurants where you never got into.
"Oh, yeah?" Ed smiled before opening the door for Ale, and when they got inside, Ale's eyes widened.
The restaurant looked as impressive as cerveja, ale had imagined, but there was nowhere in sight. No one but the waitress who walked over to them, smiling kindly. "Right this way." cerveja, ale couldn't help but to look around in awe as the girl led them to their mesa, tabela por the window.
"So.. What are you, really? A billionaire?" cerveja, ale asked as they sat down and the waitress left them alone with the menus.
Ed smiled. "One should never reveal their secrets on a first date."
"They should if their very demanding encontro, data is asking", cerveja, ale scoffed, but couldn't help but to smile anyway. No matter what would happen, that night would surely at least be the most impressive encontro, data she'd ever been on.

"So, your friends are nice", Bryan said casually as at the end of the night he and azevinho, holly were walking down the rua to the nearest comprar to buy ice cream.
azevinho, holly forced herself to nod. Was the jealousy there again?
"Don't be jealous", she heard Bryan say and turned to him quickly.
"What?"
"I won't stop hanging out with you, bringing you breakfast. Your friends are nice, but not that nice. I like you", Bryan smiled, and azevinho, holly smiled back.
"Yeah?"
"Yes. Now, should we get that ice cream?" Bryan seemed to want to change the subject, and azevinho, holly nodded, and off they went.

Moosh and Zayn had settled themselves for a quiet night at a pizzeria, and it was going good so far. Moosh was kind of alert, ready for Zayn to want to leave, or to yell, or simply just talk, like he'd promised he'd do. But Moosh was having too much fun just hanging out with him that she forgot the reason she'd agreed to go on a encontro, data in the first place.
"So, uh..", Moosh bit her lip as they were waiting for the check.
"Oh, right, I forgot", Zayn said and smiled. "I had a nice childhood. Good parents, no siblings around, though. So I guess I was a tad lonely - even though I had friends. Not a lot, but enough. And then I got to high school", he said, and Moosh nodded. High school was tough on a lot of youngsters.
"And when I was in high school (I would like to point out that I have no idea about Zayn Malik's - or some of these other guys - personal life, so this is all me, coming up with stuff for the story. Bare with me please!), I met this girl", Zayn said, and Moosh nodded. "And we started dating. It was nice, until.. Until she died."
"She died?" Moosh asked in surprise. His parents hadn't mentioned anything like that.
"Yeah, in a car crash. She died, and I got depressed."
"Did you amor her?"
"I don't know", Zayn muttered. "I guess I did."
Moosh nodded, and was surprised to see Zayn smirking at her.
"What?"
"This isn't a session, right?" he asked.
"No, but you did promise to tell me about your life", Moosh pointed out.
"Right. So that's why you said yes to a date?"
"Kind of. I'm not supposed to encontro, data patients", Moosh shook her shoulders.
"Maybe this is worth the risk, right, though?" Zayn smiled.
"Yeah, maybe", Moosh laughed.

Moosh and Zayn spent a lovely evening, and Moosh leanred a lot about Zayn - material that she was going to use in their actual sessions, but Zayn didn't seem to mind. He gave her a ride home, but that was it. Moosh really wasn't even the kind of girl who did anything in particular on a first date.
"I'll see you tomorrow?" Zayn asked.
"Tomorrow already?" Moosh asked in surprise.
"For our session", Zayn chuckled.
"Oh, right-", Moosh blushed, but didn't have time to explain herself before Zayn got back to his motorcycle,and with a last smile at her, drove away.

"So", cerveja, ale said as she and Ed were on their way to get back to the limo. "I had a nice time."
"Does that mean you're going to call me?" Ed asked.
"You're supposed to call me."
"Wow, someone's old-fashioned", Ed smirked.
"Well, I had a nice time. How about we leave it at that?" cerveja, ale forced a smile. She had had a great time with Ed, but she had to admit to herself that every once in a while her thoughts had drifted off to Keegan and his call that she had ignored.
"Can I ask you something?" Ed asked, crossing his arms.
"Yeah."
"Are you dating someone?"
"What?" cerveja, ale asked. As if Ed had just read her mind.
"No, I just.. I've been involved with a few women who only wanted to encontro, data casually, and my last relationship of that nature did not end well, so if casual's all you're in for, I don't think we should see each other again."
cerveja, ale eyed Ed in confusion. "You're forward."
"Hey, I don't want to mess with someone who knows people who can find me like Liam Neeson found those guys in Taken."
cerveja, ale couldn't help but to smile. "I'm not in it for the fun. I'm not sure if I'm even in this, but I'm not looking for casual, either. I've had that, too."
"So, are you dating someone?" Ed asked again. "As smooth as that answer was, I didn't forget my question."
cerveja, ale shook her head. "No, I'm not. Are you?"
Ed let out a laugh before pulling cerveja, ale in for a kiss.
It was a fast kiss, like a good night kiss, but it still managed to make cerveja, ale feel like fainting.
"Wanna head início now, then?" Ed asked as he pulled away.
cerveja, ale wanted to say no, but the rational part in her said: "Yes."
Ed nodded and opened the limo door.

"Hello?" Margot answered the phone at two a.m. She was already asleep. It was her night off, and she was going to do what she loved to do best on a night off: Sleep.
"Hey, Margot, it's Paul", Paul as in the bar manager. Margot groaned as she put the light on the nightstand on. "What's going on?"
"I'm sorry to bother you, I know it's your night off, but Corey is here, and he's.. not in the state to go início por himself, and he's refusing to call a cab."
"Corey?" Margot asked in confusion.
"He told me to call you."
"I don't.. Is he drunk?" Margot asked. She was already on her way out of bed, putting her shoes and casaco over her pajama.
"That's a understatement", Paul muttered. "Are you coming?"
"Yes, I'll be right there", Margot said and ended the call. As she got out of the room, she saw cerveja, ale and Moosh both in the living room, talking about their dates. Everyone else was asleep.
"I thought you had a night off", Moosh said in confusion.
"I do", Margot said, and without further explanation, lef the apartment.

She got a cab to the bar, and all the way she had to listen to that Rihanna's Diamond song from the radio, so por the time she was at the bar, she was no longer tired, she was just repeating the lyrics in her head.
"I hate it when songs get stuck in my head", she muttered as she opened the door and froze on the spot. Corey was sitting on the tamborete, fezes that he always sat on, but his head was laying on the counter, and his eyes were half closed.
"Oh, good, you're here. Take him home", Paul said immediately.
"Corey", Margot walked to Corey and poked him a little.
"Margot", Corey muttered, but didn't turn to look at her. "You came."
"Are you drunk?"
"Just a teeny tiny bit."
"I'll take you home", Margot muttered as she and Paul both carried Corey out of the bar, and into the cab that was waiting for them.
"I'm sorry about this, Paul", Margot said before heading into the cab herself.
"It's ok, it's not like he's your responsibility. He just insisted I'd call you, and you in particular", Paul said, and walked back into the bar.
Margot looked at Corey's passed-out figure in disbelief as she entered the car, and then she realized she didn't know where he lived, so she just gave the cab driver the address to her apartment.

When they got back, Margot called Moosh and cerveja, ale to come and help her carry him up, and together the three girls dragged Corey to Margot's room and threw him on the bed.
"This your boyfriend?" cerveja, ale asked.
"No", Margot sighed. "I'll take it from here. Thanks."
"Are you sure?" Moosh asked in concern.
"I'm sure. You guys go to sleep", Margot nodded and closed the door after the girls had left.
"Oh, boy", she sighed and brushed a strain of hair from Corey's face before she tucked him into her bed.

"Attention, people!" Rachel was shouting - very early in the morning. It was 8 am and she was already on her way out the door. "Tonight's the ball at the hospital, and you're all coming, whether you want to or not-", she paused as she saw Corey walk out of Margot's room.
"You're not Margot."
"And you're not my landlord."
"No.. Who..", before Rachel had time to finish her sentence, Margot stepped into the apartment. She'd been on a morning jog.
"How come you're awake?" she asked Corey in disbelief.
"What the hell happened last night?" Corey answered with another question.
Rachel groaned, seeing that she was being ignored, and turned to Holly, Laura, Moosh and Ale, who were eating breakfast at the table.
"You're all coming, right?" she asked.
"I don't know", Moosh groaned.
"Why not?" Rachel snapped. "It's a party. You get to put on fancy clothes, eat relatively good comida and there's dancing."
"You just want us to come with you so you won't have to dance with McDreamy", azevinho, holly said.
"No, I don't. I want you to come because I consider you people my friends now, and this is what friends do, damn it!" Rachel yelled, and the others looked at her in confusion.
"Sorry. I.. I get out of work at 7, and the party starts at 8, so be there before, ok? And it's formal clothing, seriously. If you do not own a dress, rent one or buy one." She had her dress neatly folded in her arms.
"That's yours?" azevinho, holly asked, and before Rachel had time to say anything, she grabbed it.
"Gosh, so pretty", she smiled. It was mostly black, but it had that princess-y style to it. It was strapless, full-lenght with a bit of sparkles here and there.
"Wow, I didn't know it was a ball at Cinderella's castle", cerveja, ale chuckled.
"Ha ha. I saw this in a store and thought it was cute. It was on sale, too, so.."
"Yeah, yeah", Laura smirked. "But yeah, we'll come to the party. Do not worry."
"You need help shopping?" Rachel asked.
"I-", Laura was about to answer when Rachel's pager went off.
"Shit, shit, shit..", Rachel hissed, and with that grabbed the dress from azevinho, holly and ran out the front door.
"What was that ungodly yelling about?" Margot asked as she entered the cozinha area.
"We're going to the hospital party tonight. Who needs to comprar for a dress?" Moosh asked, and everyone's hands rose.
"I can't come, though", Margot said.
"What?" azevinho, holly groaned.
"I have work today, remember?"
"Well, the party starts at eight. Stay for at least an hour, or Rachel's gonna cry. She was very determined to have us all there", azevinho, holly said.
"Fine, fine. Now I need to take care of.. Corey", she muttered and left the room.
"What was that about, the guy in her room?" Laura asked.
"Apparently not her boyfriend", cerveja, ale said. "We had to help her drag him inside last night. He was passed out."
"Huh."

"Hey", Rachel almost ran into Christian as she walked out of the Resident's lounge.
"Oh, hi", she smiled. "There's a party here tonight."
"I know. You going?" Christian asked.
"Yes, I am, in fact. Are you?" Rachel asked, and wished she actually wasn't interested to know.
"Yes", Christian watched as Rachel started to walk away, her body still turned towards him. "I'll see you there?"
"I believe so", Rachel smirked and then walked off.

"Not that one", cerveja, ale said. The girls were buying dresses. It was lunch time, so everyone had time to spare to go dress shopping. And they all trusted Ale, because she was the one who worked with fashion.
"I'm going to get this", Moosh said as she examined herself in the mirror. She was wearing a long, green dress with the strap only on one side.
"It looks good", Laura said. She wasn't such a girly girl, but she wanted to do something nice for Rachel, since she kind of felt guilty about the Milo thing, even though deep down she knew she shouldn't, and Rachel wanted them to come to the party, so..
"This is for you", cerveja, ale threw a white, beautiful dress made of delicate material. The straps were glittery silver, but otherwise the dress was indeed completely white.
"Why?" Laura asked.
"It'll look good on you. Jeez. Go try it on", cerveja, ale said, and then turned to Holly.
"I've got this covered", azevinho, holly smirked and showed the dress she was already wearing. It was deep blue with glitters on the waist area, and like Rachel's dress, it hinted princess.
"Okay, fine..", cerveja, ale turned to Margot and smirked. "How did it go with your drunk boy?"
"I sent him início to sleep it off properly", Margot muttered. "Look, I don't need any dress. I won't be at the party long, anyway."
"That's too bad, because I already picked one out for you", cerveja, ale said and took a quite simple blue dress from one of the hangers. it was beautiful, and the neckline made the dress stand out mais (and that does NOT mean it's too exposing). "You like?"
"Fine", Margot tried to smile as she took the dress and went to try it on, but the thing with Corey was still bugging her.
"And what will you be wearing, then?" Laura asked.
"I have a dress already. I designed it myself. You shall see at the party", cerveja, ale smiled. "Now chop chop. Your hair needs serious work as well."

It was 7 thirty, and Rachel was running late. She had put her dress on, made her hair all pretty, but she couldn't find her shoes, and she was still in the Resident's lounge.
"Rachel", she turned around to see Laura looking at her por the doorway. "You ok?"
"Yeah, I can't find my shoes", she groaned and looked under the benches, but nothing.
"You look pretty", Laura said as she helped her look.
"You do, too. Wow. Seriously. You getting married or something?" Rachel smirked. "If I don't watch out, you'll end up looking prettier than me in there."
Laura snorted. "Listen, I brought Milo.."
Rachel froze for a moment, but then nodded. "Okay. Like a date?"
"Not like a encontro, data date", Laura said quickly. "I just needed someone to go with."
"I don't have a date", Rachel sighed as she finally found her black shoes from her bag and put them on.
Laura smiled. "It's not who you come with, it's who you leave with, right?"
"That conselhos is barbaric", Rachel smirked. "Do I look good?"
"Yes, you do. Let's go", Laura chuckled, and they left the lounge.
"Did the others find dates?" Rachel asked.
"Moosh, cerveja, ale and azevinho, holly did. Margot doesn't have one, either."
"That doesn't count, she can only stay for half the party..", she froze as she saw the others standing a few feet away, close to the huge hall, where the party was at. She saw Milo, and he saw her, and the look on his face wasn't encouraging.
"Wow, I guess we're really not gonna be friends."
"You know how Milo is", Laura muttered.
"Yeah, whatever. I should probably go check on a few post-ops before.."
"No, you're not going anywhere", Laura said and dragged her to the others. "You guys ready?"
"It's lame going to a party early", cerveja, ale said. She wasn't with Ed. She was with Keegan. She'd told him about the party at work, and he'd insisted on coming along. And how could cerveja, ale say no?
"Your dress is amazing", Margot said as she admired her friend. The dress was red, and it was strapless and long.
"Did you design that?" Moosh asked in disbelief.
"Yes, she did. I was there", Keegan smiled, and cerveja, ale blushed.
"It's no big deal."
"Uh, can we go in?" Rachel asked.
"Sure", with that the group entered the hall, and Moosh dragged Zayn to the dance floor right away.
"They're cute", Margot said as she stood seguinte to Rachel. Milo and Laura had gone to get a drink, and azevinho, holly and Bryan were standing por them while cerveja, ale and Keegan had disappeared as well.
"Yes, they are", Rachel smiled, and couldn't help but to turn to look at Milo and Laura. They were laughing. Rachel was happy Laura was happy, but if there was something going on between them, she'd prefer to know.
"Hi", she turned around as she heard the familiar voice and saw Christian smiling at her. He was hot.
"Hi", Rachel smiled.
"You look beautiful."
"You look really hot", Rachel didn't feel the need to be subtle about it.
"Hey, Bryan, Margot, want to go dance?" azevinho, holly asked and dragged them both with her.
"Were those your friends?" Christian asked.
"Yes. You surprised I have some?"
"To be honest, yes. I feel like you're always here."
"You're always here."
"True", Christian nodded and extended his hand. "Do you want to dance?"
"I don't dance."
"Oh, is that why you put on that princess dress tonight? To stand in the corner of the room?" Christian chuckled.
"No. I'm standing in the middle."
"Come on:"
Rachel raised her eyebrows. "If you answer one question."
"Deal."
"Are you married?"
"Excuse me?" Christian snorted, pulling his hand back.
"It's a question", Rachel crossed her arms. Stupid Grey's Anatomy reruns.
"Yeah, a pergunta you already asked me", Christian said, and to Rachel's shock he started, for the first time, to seem annoyed.
"Look, I.."
"You clearly have a lot of trust issues. I don't know why, and I don't know why you-"
"It doesn't make sense!"
"What doesn't?" Christian asked in disbelief. "What doesn't make sense?"
"That someone like you would like someone like me! That doesn't make sense", Rachel muttered, and with that she turned around and disappeared in the crowd.

Margot was in the corner of the room, watching as Bryan and azevinho, holly danced. She keeped checking her phone to see if Corey had called. But why would he? Just because he'd asked for her, it didn't mean he cared about her.
"What's wrong?" she turned around to see cerveja, ale looking at her.
"Why aren't you with your date?"
"He's getting us a drink", cerveja, ale muttered as she sat seguinte to her. "To be honest, I feel stupid being here with him."
"Why?"
"Because I went out with this other guy just last night, and I told him I was all in. And now I'm here..."
"Maybe you're here just as friends", Margot suggested.
"I'm not. I have feelings for Keegan."
"Do you have feelings for Ed?" Margot asked.
"I don't know", cerveja, ale admitted. "I like being with him, but I've liked Keegan for so long..."
"Looks like you're in a tricky situation", Margot said.
"How about you and the drunk guy?"
"He's not the drunk guy", Margot sighed. "I guess... He just has a problem, and I don't know what to do."
"It's not your problem", cerveja, ale reminded.
"But he asked for me", Margot said.
"Still not your problem. Unless you want it to be your problem."
With that cerveja, ale got up to find Keegan, leaving Margot to her thoughts.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Laura asked as Rachel reached her and Milo. They were por the mesa, tabela where there was the soco bowl and some food.
"I was a raging cadela, puta again", Rachel sighed and took the cup of soco from her hand. "And just what are you looking at?" she snapped at Milo.
"Nothing", Milo snorted.
"Go find him. Apologize", Laura said.
"You think I should?"
"You should."
"I should. I should. Yeah, I'm going to find him..", Rachel muttered, drank the whole cup and then walked off again.
"See? She's moving on already", Milo said. "You have nothing to feel guilty about."
"Look, you don't want me. You think you want me because I was there, and you were there, and we..", Laura let out a breath.
"Come on", Milo said and led Laura out of the ballroom. They walked the halls of the hospital for a moment, until Laura stopped.
"What?" she asked.
"I amor you", Milo said, and Laura looked at him, really looked at him. "I never loved Rachel. Not like this. I'm not sure if I even liked her."
"That's horrible", Laura said. "You're a.. Why are you a jerk to everyone but me?"
"Because I amor you", Milo smiled gently before pulling Laura in for a kiss.
Laura couldn't help but to kiss him back. Because she loved him, too. And she had every right to. She wrapped her arms around him, but before she had time to think, he'd pulled away.
"I should go", Milo said, a little breathless.
"Wait.."
"I'll see you tomorrow", Milo promised, gave her one last light kiss and then walked off, towards the exit.
"Oh, gosh..", Laura muttered to herself before walking back to the party.

"Is this too much?" Moosh asked as she and Zayn danced.
"No, not at all. I'm honored you asked me", Zayn smirked. "You look amazing, in case I didn't already mention that."
"You did. Twice", Moosh gave him a gentle smile. "You look great, too."
"Listen, I think I'm going to quit our sessions", Zayn said.
"What?" Moosh asked, stopping in her tracks.
"I..", Zayn looked confused. "I want to see you properly, away from the office. My parents will understand."
"I thought you needed therapy", Moosh said, and from the look on Zayn's face she could see she should never have said such a thing.
"You think I need therapy?" he asked quietly.
"That's not exactly what I meant-"
"I have to go", Zayn said immediately, letting go of Moosh. "I'll see you on our seguinte session, if that's truly what you want..", and before Moosh had time to protest, he was gone.
"I watch a lot of TV", Rachel said as she finally found Christian. He was talking to some nurse that Rachel actually didn't know, but gladly she seemed to get it was a private conversation and walked off as Christian turned to look at Rachel.
"Okay."
"No, seriously. A lot of TV. Grey's Anatomy, in particular. And.. Oh, I'm so paranoid. So when everyone started calling you McDreamy, I started thinking about what made McDreamy not so McDreamy. And he had a wife, and-", Rachel paused as she saw that Christian was so close to laughing.
"You think I'm an idiot, don't you?"
"No", he said quickly. "That's just the first time I've heard that excuse."
"It's not an excuse!"
"I get that you don't trust people. That's fine. But how am I ever going to prove to you that I'm worth trusting if you don't give me a chance?"
Rachel was about to say something, and then sighed, giving up. "Would you like to dance with me?"
"Yes", Christian smiled and they walked to the dance floor.

"You do look amazing", Keegan pointed out. She and cerveja, ale were walking the halls of the hospital, not feeling like dancing anymore.
"Thank you", cerveja, ale blushed again, and immediately hated herself for doing so.
"So, I'll see you tomorrow at work?" Keegan asked, and cerveja, ale paused. Was he leaving already?
"I'd stay, but I promised a friend I'd go to a party of hers, and-"
"No, I get it", cerveja, ale rushed to say. "I get it."
Keegan paused, and then said: "I do like you, Ale. I'm just not sure I can give you what you're looking for."
cerveja, ale observed him for a moment before nodding. "I understand." She didn't get it. She didn't understand. Why was she saying such things?
"Tomorrow, then", Keegan said, touched Ale's cheek lightly and then left without another word.
"I'm an idiot", cerveja, ale whispered before finding a bench to sit on. She didn't feel like going back to the party.

"I hate suits", Bryan groaned as she and azevinho, holly were por the foods and drinks in the ballroom, and azevinho, holly was eating a cookie.
"You look hot."
Bryan paused. "I do?"
"Oh, shut up", azevinho, holly snorted. "Or I take it back."
"I didn't say a word", Bryan smiled, but kept eyeing Holly, even though her gaze was observing the hall.
"I want to go", she said. "But I can't find the girls."
"I think Laura; Moosh, cerveja, ale and Margot left already", Bryan said.
azevinho, holly raised her eyebrows. "You remember their names?"
"I have a good memory!"
"Uh-huh", azevinho, holly said and then raised her arms way up high as she saw Rachel, who walked to them.
"Hey", she smiled.
"Ready to go?" azevinho, holly asked. "The others already bailed."
"Yeah, sure, I'll just go say bye to-"
"McDreamy. Yeah, yeah", azevinho, holly groaned bitterly. "Just know that I hate you."
"I hate you, too", Rachel snorted before disappearing in the crowd once more.
"Well, for what it's worth, it's not true what they say about hospital food", Bryan said as he stuffed a slice of pizza in his mouth. "It's good."
"Yeah", azevinho, holly smiled, and looked at her friend. "Yeah, it's great."