What a disaster this night had been. From her dress to her date to the way the dance had actually unfolded—none of it was anything she had expected. Especially not Embry, and not any of the confessions she had made. If not for the interruption by Blue Royalty and subsequently Hera, Daiane knew, without a doubt, what she would have said.
Admittedly, she was reluctant to leave Embry in the midst of her vulnerability, but she needed to sort this thing out with Hera first. She couldn’t place exactly what it was that upset her so—it’s not like Hera cheated on her—but there was something there that deeply offended her and she thought it best to deal with that before facing Embry again. So, with a promise to meet up with her later at the party, Daiane left with Hera, slipping with ease into the passenger seat of their car.
Upon arrival to the afterparty, Daiane found her insides warring with each other; Hera seemed to be in no rush to explain themself and though Daiane loved to avoid looming conflict, another part of her wanted simply for Hera to get on with it. So when they commented on the heat, seeming to want to pull Daiane aside, she instinctively hesitated for a moment before acquiescing and following Hera to the pool.
Although the tension still sat heavy on her shoulders, she couldn’t help but giggle as Hera shed the skirt of their dress like a snake shedding its skin. As if the dress was a burdensome weight that Hera felt safe to be rid of in Dai’s presence. “Is this the end of Hera in a very glamourous dress then?” She asked, pulling her lips down into an overexaggerated pout.
Daiane took a seat next to Hera, the plume of her dress gathering around her as she lowered herself to the ground. The quiet between them did not last long at all, except instead of Daiane rambling on, this time it was Hera breaking it with her words of explanation. Daiane kept quiet as they spoke, not wanting to interrupt as she often tended to do. She felt… sad most of all. Sad that Hera had to experience such a toxic relationship and sad that Hera hadn’t felt like she could tell her the truth about it. She hesitated before speaking, and when she did, her words were quiet: “But why didn’t you tell me all of this, Her? I would’ve understood that—I just don’t get, like, why you had to lie to me? I mean…” She looked down, staring at the intricate detailing of her dress. “… would you have even told me if Blue Royalty didn’t first? Did I—I don’t know—make you feel like you couldn’t tell me or that you had to hide the truth or something 'cause I never meant to and I definitely never wanted to. I want you to feel like you can tell me anything, you know, so I—if I’m making you not feel like that, Hera, tell me? I just, I don’t wanna screw this” she gestured desperately between the two of them “up, not when we’re finally friends again.”
Dai paused in the midst of her ramble, glancing up at Hera. “What’s the other thing?”