Chapter Text
Amber wasn't nervous.
Nope. It’s not like Mindy kept pestering Amber about asking Tara out.
Amber was way too nervous to do it. They've literally been friends since elementary school, who was Amber to ruin that?
"You're a pussy, Amber." Mindy would say. She loved to berate Amber for the way she'd get flushed around Tara. As they all grew older, Amber began to hit puberty, and she began to get aroused. The most embarassing time Mindy had caught Amber is when Tara had walked by and she was practically drooling, her jaw slack. The taller girl laughed, pushing up her jaw. "Don't you dare."
Now she'd succumbed to the embarassment and pressure. Mindy and Chad swore that if Amber hadn't asked her out today, that they would embarass her everyday until she did, and she knew they were serious. She avoided it all day, but now she stood on Tara's porch. Knocking on the door three times, she moves away, hands behind her back. She shifts on her feet, and the door opens.
Now she was nervous. Especially when Tara's mother opened the door.
"Amber? Nice to see you." Amber swallows her spit, eyes widening as she struggles to speak. "H-Hi, Ms. Carpenter, is-is Tara home?" Her mother hums, letting her in. "Tara! Amber's here!" Her mother shuts the door behind Amber, walking back into the small kitchen where the brunette could smell food being made. There was a light shuffle coming down the stairs, making Amber's gaze shift from the floor to where Tara was descending. "Hey, what are you doing here?" Tara asks, almost nervously.
Amber smiles, rubbing her sweaty palms over her jeans. "Uh...well I was-uh, I was stopping by, and I wanted to-"
"Okay, your mom said you like hot sauce on your popcorn, so I seperated the bowls." Amber's eyes watched as Wes walked into the small corridor, two bowls of popcorn in hand. "Oh." She motions between the two. "I'm intruding." She chuckles nervously, and Tara quickly looks at her. "No! No, it's okay! You can stay, right Wes?" The boy frowns. "Uh-"
"No, it's okay, I was just...riding around the neighborhood, and I wanted to see you." Tara smiles. "Well, are you sure you don't want to stay?" Amber waves them off, awkwardly chuckling as she puts her hands in her pockets. "No, you two go ahead, I'll see you guys tomorrow." Before Tara could ask again, Amber is out the door.
She jumps onto her bike, speeding back down the streets towards her own house. If she hadn't had adrenaline from the embarassment she felt, she would've called an Uber. This was good for her, letting out all this energy. "Please, God, let me hit a tree."
The next day, Mindy sat next to Amber at lunch. "Did you do it?" Silence. "Amber." Silence.
"Amber Freeman, I swear to God-"
"She's dating Wes." Mindy's eyebrows raise. "What?" Amber deeply sighs.
"They were having a movie date when I got there." The other girl winces. "Ooh, that's-Do you want a side hug?" Amber turns to glare at her. "You should take this, I usually hate physical touch unless I'm being straddled." Amber scoffs, letting Mindy hug her. "You're gross."
A few seconds later, they let go after Mindy warns her friend that Tara was approaching. Tara knew Amber was being weird, but she didn't want to pressure her. After last night, Tara thought about why Amber was so quick to leave. She knew that Amber and Wes weren't exactly best friends, but it's not like her to miss out on movie night. "Hey, guys." Chad and Wes sat down at the table, and Liv sat down next to Mindy. Tara's eyes watched over Amber, who avoided her gaze.
"Hey, Amber?" Amber's eyes shoot up. "Can we talk for a sec?" Chad makes kissy noises as they walk away, Amber flipping him off as they walk towards a tree. "Is everything okay? Last night was kind of weird." Amber playfully scoffs, waving her off. "No! Of course not...So...you and Wes, huh?" Tara has a small smile on her face, nodding. "Yeah, he's good. I like him a lot, ya know?" Amber nods, not really understanding at all.
“Yeah, he’s cool I guess.” Tara sighs, grabbing Amber’s hands and pulling her closer. “Look, I know you guys don’t really like each other, but I want this to work, and I want you to feel comfortable with it.” Amber eyebrows scrunched as she attempted to ignore her beating heart.
“Why are you worried about me? It’s your relationship, Tara.” She moves back in shock when Tara tackles her in a hug. “You’re always so understanding.” Yeah, that was Amber “so understanding.”.