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"It's so cold..."
Savannah shivers, still waiting outside of Tamarack's porch. She directly went to her place after this, all alone. It took them a lot of courage to reject everyone else's invitations to walk home with her, and she almost lashed out on someone who was being incredibly pushy. After a minute or two, Granny exits the house to get some groceries, and Sav's presence isn't left unnoticed.
Mrs. Baumann's eyes directly dart to Savannah, "Sweetie, what are you doing here? I would've let you in if you knocked." She asks, raising an eyebrow. "It's fine... I need to talk to Tamarack." They reply, gritting their teeth from the low temperature. She rubs her arms anxiously, and Granny notices, giving her scarf to Savannah. "You can take this for now, I won't be long anyways."
They shake their hands with their palms facing towards Granny, directly showing their refusal of the offer. However, Mrs. Baumann insists that she needs it. "It's really no big deal, Tamarack won't take any much longer." She says, but Granny eventually just wraps the scarf around her, and Savannah is left with no choice but to accept the gift. "I'll take it back once you head inside. Tamarack is just eating at the diner with Serenity." She says, before leaving the house. They give her a grateful smile, and notice a familiar figure in the distance.
"Tamarack." Savannah calls out, and the two make eye contact for a moment. Tamarack looks away, heading inside the door before she's stopped by Savannah's wrist stopping them.
"Can we talk?"
Finally, the golden-haired girl stares into her Savannah's green and blue eyes. She ponders over it for a moment, but shook her head to filter her thoughts out; she realizes that ignoring the problem wouldn't do any good. Tamarack nods, giving into her friend's wishes. "Alright, we can talk."
Behind Omi and Opa's house, the two quietly walk together to the backyard. Tamarack sits on the wheel, and Savannah sits on the grass, directly looking up at the other girl. An awkward silence filled the area, and Tamarack finally cracks, unable to handle the lack of noise.
"What do you want to talk about?" Tamarack interrogates her, making eye contact briefly before averting her gaze again. Taking a deep breath, Sav scoots closer to their best friend, wanting to be completely honest. "I'm sorry about the party, Tammy."
"I was overwhelmed with all the people around me, but I wish I could've reached out to you somehow." She frowns, looking down on the ground. Tears slowly filled her eyes again, and she bites her lip to stop them from spilling out. "I understand why you're upset. I would've been mad at me too if I were you." Tamarack sees the sad expression on Sav's face, and she reluctantly sits next to them to pat their back.
Savannah covers her face, tears finally running down. "I really wish we had a dance instead, I didn't know why I was unable to say no to the people there." She tearfully says, shakily mumbling apologies as Tamarack frowns as well. Gently, she wraps her arms around Sav, patting her back shyly. "I was hiding behind the fact that people would have a bad impression of me if I rejected their offers. When in reality, I shouldn't care because you're someone who truly appreciates my presence."
"I don't hate you, Sav." Tamarack says softly, and Savannah peeks through their hands, finally looking at their friend for once. Her wall of defenses have fallen down, and Tamarack pulls Sav closer to let her head rest on her shoulder. "I should've been more careful with my words... I'm sorry too." Tamarack bites her own lip, regretting everything that was said during to the party.
"There's also one thing I wanted to tell you. I've chosen to be completely honest with you, and I think this is a step in the right direction." Eyes glimmering with hope, Savannah looks up at their friend from her shoulder. "Tammy, isn't it obvious I like you?" She mumbles, and Tamarack barely hears it, wiping their tears delicately. "Ah... I didn't realize."
Tamarack chuckles, and Savannah hits her friend's arm. "What was that for?" She pouts, and they laugh, grinning widely. "You're so oblivious, Tammy." Savannah teases and tilts her head, staring at her friend from below to wait for an answer. "I like you too, Sav." Tamarack whispers, tucking Savannah's hair behind her ear.
Hesitantly, she slowly gets off the grass, patting her own behind to get the clippings off. "Would you mind if we dance, right now?" She questions, "Well... uh- since you like me and that stuff." Savannah's awkwardness causes Tamarack to laugh, and she takes their hand, accepting the offer.
"I wouldn't mind that at all."