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“You’re looking positively gorgeous today, my love,” Cleo murmured happily. With a mischievous grin, she ran her hand up and down the sleeve of Frankie’s jacket.
Frankie smiled up at her, all wide and genuine, and put their hand on top of Cleo’s. They gave it a little squeeze then leaned forward to give Cleo a peck on the cheek. Cleo blushed and Frankie let out a little giggle.
“And you’re looking outrageously beautiful today, sweetie,” Frankie mirrored. They nuzzled their face into Cleo’s shoulder and pressed a few kisses to the side of her neck. Cleo shook her head and softened her smile, before pressing a kiss on the top of Frankie’s head.
“You two seriously need to get a room,” Draculaura groaned from the bleacher beneath them. Frankie looked down at her and rolled their eyes before pulling away from Cleo.
Cleo huffed and shot Draculaura a death glare. “Do you seek a death wish?” Cleo asked dramatically, then turned back to Frankie who was now sitting patiently at her side with both their hands on their lap. “Way to be a buzzkill, Count Drag-ula.”
“Hey, it’s almost class anyway,” Frankie mentioned calmly. Cleo pouted and Frankie reached a hand out to caress her cheek. “What’s up?” They asked quietly.
Cleo sighed. “I’ll be cold without you,” she complained, wrapping her arms around herself. She looked up at Frankie imploringly. “I’ve got a free all on my own.”
Frankie frowned, then a zap came off their neck as they came up with an idea. “I know! You can borrow my jacket!”
Frankie shrugged off their jacket and passed it to Cleo.
“Are you sure?” Cleo asked, looking down at the jacket in her hand.
“Yeah! I have track anyway so I won’t be needing it.”
Cleo smiled warmly and slipped it on. It was comfy, if not a little oversized, but it was perfect to her. She dug her nose into the collar and sniffed it, grinning at that distinct Frankie smell. Then she looked up at them and caught them staring at her lovingly. Cleo giggled, then pushed Frankie’s arm.
“Go on then,” she said, nodding her head towards the others who were grabbing their bags. “The bells will go any minute.”
Frankie nodded and pressed another kiss to Cleo’s forehead before turning around and walking off with the others. Cleo watched as they walked away and snuggled into their jacket, choosing to spend her free period reading up on humans.
The ghouls all walked to the dorms together after classes were over. Frankie and Cleo held hands at the back of the group whilst the others argued over whether it was cereal then milk or milk then cereal.
“You don’t seriously mean to tell me people actually pour milk first?” Clawdeen asked with a scoff. “That’s so… impractical.”
“No! No! You don’t understand,” Lagoona protested. “It tastes different! Trust me.”
Draculaura rolled her eyes and sighed. “Ghouls, why are we even having this debate? It’s just over cereal.”
“Because it’s important!” Lagoona insisted, then she turned back to Cleo. “Right, Cleo?”
Cleo tore her gaze away from Frankie to look at Lagoona. “Huh?”
“It’s milk then cereal, right?”
Cleo knitted her eyebrows together and tilted her head. “Why does it matter? It all turns out the same anyway.”
“Oh my ra! I’ve been betrayed by my very own bestie!” Lagoona called out dramatically and Clawdeen shoved her gently.
“Get over yourself, Lagoona. I’ve won fair and square,” Clawdeen boasted.
“No one’s won anything,” Draculaura huffed. “It was a stupid debate to begin with.”
“Uh, guys,” Frankie interrupted sheepishly. The ghouls turned to face them inquisitively. “I hate to ask this right now but… what is cereal?”
The group laughed and Draculaura quickly pulled them aside to explain the concept of cereal. Cleo parted from them with a squeeze of their hand as she followed Lagoona and Clawdeen upstairs to their rooms.
“See you tomorrow, Cleo,” Lagoona said with a wave as she made her way into her room. Cleo smiled and entered her own room, flopping down onto the bed as soon as she entered.
She stared up aimlessly at the ceiling and sighed. She had been really enjoying life at Monster High as of late with her new friends and partner. Classes had been going well and she genuinely enjoyed going to school every day. Though, she was drained today and just needed to relax to some music.
She reached her hands into her jacket, only to then realise she was still wearing the jacket Frankie had lent her! Why hadn’t they asked for it back?
Cleo frowned, then sat up, wrapping her arms around herself. Perhaps it wasn’t so bad… getting to wear it for a couple more hours. She smiled and let her hands return to her pockets. She felt something heavy and rectangular shaped inside. She pulled it out and recognised it immediately - an iPod! Wait, she didn’t know Frankie had an iPod.
With furrowed brows, Cleo turned the device on and put on the adorning earplugs. Looking down at the screen, she scrolled through some of Frankie’s playlists only to find one labelled ‘Cleo <3’. Cleo’s cheeks warmed at the heart next to her name and she quickly pressed play.
We could leave the Christmas lights up ‘til January
And this is our place, we make the rules
And there’s a dazzling haze, a mysterious way about you dear
Have I known you 20 seconds or 20 years?
Cleo’s eyes widened as she listened to the track, her breath catching in her throat. “Is this…?”
Can I go where you go?
Can we always be this close forever and ever?
And ah, take me out, and take me home
You’re my, my, my, my
Lover
Cleo closed her eyes and tried to fight the cherry red blush that was so painfully obvious on her face. She noticed, by the end of the track, her cheeks hurt from smiling so much. Then the next song played and Cleo began to hum along when the chorus hit. She looked down at the playlist and scrolled through a couple more songs. All of them were very sweet and loving and they made Cleo feel all warm and fuzzy. She giggled and laid back on the bed, listening all night as the playlist played through.
The next day, whilst walking towards class together, Cleo returned Frankie’s jacket to them.
“Oh! Thank you, Cleo! Whilst it looked great on you, I’m glad to have it back,” Frankie said sweetly. “Need to keep up my style and all that,” they added with a cheeky grin.
Cleo laughed and nudged Frankie gently. “You’re super stylish, my love. Though I do have to admit, your jacket suits you well.” Frankie smiled and Cleo squeezed their interlocked hands together. They walked in an easy silence for a couple of moments, then a silly thought crossed Cleo’s mind. She let a little grin form on her face as she asked nonchalantly, “So, do you make it a habit to create playlists for your girlfriends?”
Frankie paled and slowly turned their head to Cleo. Then they smiled bashfully and scratched at the back of their head nervously. “So you saw that, huh?”
“I’m flattered,” Cleo insisted, leaning forward to press a kiss to Frankie’s lips. Frankie smiled into the kiss and kissed her back.
“I’m glad,” Frankie murmured, then pulled away quickly at the sight of a teacher turning the corner. They both laughed and bumped into each other’s shoulders playfully.
“I like listening to that playlist when I think about you, you know?” Frankie said suddenly, their eyes overcast with something different as they looked off into the distance. Cleo watched them intensely. “You’re… really great, Cleo.”
“Yeah?” Cleo hummed, reaching for Frankie’s hand once again and squeezing it tight. “I think you’re pretty great too, Frankie.”
Frankie smiled and they walked hand in hand into class.