A/N:
Holy crap guys, I apologize for that hiatus. I was experiencing some bad writer's block.
~~~
I sneak behind my living room couch and grab Leah by the shoulders. She doesn't flinch, and I lean into her ear. "Wanna be my date?"
She snorts. "No."
"Why not?"
She looks at me as I come around the couch to sit beside her. "Because. We already went last year, and it's not iconic to do it again."
I raise a brow, a smile spreading across my lips. "You already have a date, don't you?"
Leah's sitting too consciously, her phone in her hand as she stares at me, eyes narrowed. ". . . No."
"Who is it?"
"I can't tell you," she says. Then she picks up her phone and begins typing furiously.
We're both in our pajamas, waiting for my grandmother to arrive. She told us specifically not to move or do anything until she returned.
"Fine," I say, pulling out my phone and pretending not to care. "I'll find out later tonight, anyway."
Leah rolls her eyes, then looks at me. "You'd better figure out what you're wearing. The dance is in a few hours."
I sigh. "I'm too indecisive."
Leah smirks. "Ask Hazel," she says, turning to her phone.
It amazes me how quickly I unlock my phone, tap Hazel's name, and type out the message. Leah turns back to me just as I hit send, and her eyes widen.
"Wait, I was joking!" she exclaims. "Don't actually ask!"
"Too late," I grin, and my phone buzzes. "Oh, look. She responded."
Hazel: I don't know yet. Maybe the green dress. Evan isn't responding. >:( But I think he mentioned he was gonna wear green.
I wipe the smile off my face when I catch Leah looking at me like I've gone crazy.
Me: Ooh ok. Idk what I'm gonna wear yet, either.
Hazel: Should I go hair up or hair down?
Leah peeks over my shoulder and grins when she sees my screen.
"I should say down, right?" I ask her. "She always wears it down."
Leah taps her lip in thought. "No. Tell her to wear it up. It's a good look on her."
Me: Wear it up.
Hazel: K.
I hear the garage door open, and soon after, my grandmother comes in with multiple bags on each arm.
"Oh my gosh, you went shopping?" I say, standing up to relieve her of some of the bags.
Grandma beams and Leah stands up from the couch to join us at the kitchen counter.
"Yes," Grandma says, setting the rest of the bags on the countertop. Then she looks to Leah. "I know you're wearing navy blue, so I got you gold jewelry and some hair pieces to choose from."
Leah gasps. "Oh my God, thank you. You didn't have to do that."
"Oh, hush. You girls deserve it."
Grandma then reaches into a white paper bag with red lettering and pulls out the Billie Eilish Eau de Parfum. Leah and I both gasp.
We turn to each other and squeal, then rush to either side of my grandmother and attack her with a big hug. She gingerly pats both of our arms, and we pull away.
"Thanks, Grandma," I say.
"Yeah, thank you so much." Leah echoes.
Grandma hits the counter with manicured hands, and I see the sparkling engagement ring on her left hand. "Alright, you two. Go get ready upstairs. I'll be down here trying to figure out the camera."
I do Leah's hair as I pester her to reveal more information about her date. She finally gives in and explains how they met at Emilia's birthday party and have been talking ever since.
I pause my brush strokes on Leah's hair and look at her. "You sneaky littleâWait. I thought you were done with boys?"
She looks away sheepishly. "Next question."
"Okay," I say. Grabbing the curling iron, I wrap her hair around the barrel and clamp it. "What . . . does he look like?"
Leah winces as the hot iron comes near her scalp. "Ouch."
"Oops, sorry."
She shakes her head, sighing. "He has dark hair. And he's really nice and sweet. And cute."
"I should hope so. We don't want a repeat of last year."
She folds her arms. "Shut up about that."
I smile. "He sounds hot."
Leah stares off into the distance. "He is."
I make a gagging noise and pretend to throw up, and she slaps me.
"Ow."
Leah does my makeup, and after some arguing, she applies my mascara and brushes and trims my eyebrows. Then she styles my hair, using products from under the bathroom counter that I rarely see. After wetting my hair, she applies a curl activator and curl-defining cream, and then orders me to scrunch-dry it.
"Okay, enough," Leah says after a few minutes of scrunching. She hands me a mirror.
"Ooh," I say, looking at my reflection and touching the dark curls that reach almost below my chest. "I like it."
Leah smiles with pride. "See? Look what I can do."
After half an hour of trying on different attire combinations, I settle on the burgundy button-down shirt, oxblood suit jacket, and matching dress pants.
When my grandmother sees us downstairs, she gasps and clasps her hands together. "You guys look so beautiful!"
We grin.
"Oh!" Grandma exclaims suddenly, turning as if she's forgotten something. She reaches into a brown paper bag on the kitchen counter and pulls out a black box with gold lettering on the top. I look at her, confused, as she hands it to me. "This is for you. It was supposed to be your Christmas gift, but I turned it into an apology gift," she says, cringing a little at the last few words.
I take the box from her hand, and my eyes widen as I open it. It's a golden necklace with the Celtic Knot symbol. I gasp. "Oh, this is so pretty," I breathe, placing the box on the counter and gently lifting the necklace for a closer look.
"I thought you might like it," Grandma says. Then she glances at the box. "There should be more."
Looking in the box, I remove the layer of black foam, revealing more gold jewelry. They're ringsâfive of them, to be exact. Each one has a different shape and style, and some I recognize as more Celtic symbols. "Woah."
I'm kind of at a loss for words. The pieces are gorgeous, but I wonder why they were given to me.
Smiling, Leah and I put everything on.
"I need a picture before you guys leave," Grandma announces, pulling out her camera.
~~~
Leah's 'date' is apparently going to meet her at the venue, so we ride together. I'm not disappointed when we arrive; it's dark and bustling, beautifully decorated. We find our friends at a table and set our things down.
Carson and Alex sit next to me, with a girl in between. Carson wears a black dress shirt and gold tie, matching the girl's dress. He catches my gaze and smirks.
"This is Sophie, my date," he says, grinning triumphantly. Then he turns to the girl. "Sophie, this is Casey, my friend."
We smile politely at each other.
I glance at Alex, wordlessly asking them the question on everyone's minds. Alex nods in response, their eyes wide, and I bite my lip and look away. I guess Carson's horrible charisma does work on some girls.
I wonder where Brandon is.
Leah's chatting with a few girls at our table, and I spot Emilia, Maddie, Taylor, and their dates sitting at another.
"Hey." I hear a familiar voice behind me. All five of usâme, Leah, Carson, Alex, and the girlâturn around.
My jaw drops. "Brandon?"
He's wearing black dress pants and a navy blue button-up and looks good. I didn't know he cleaned up this well. He beams at us, and I stand up to hug him, but Leah stands at the same time. Brandon gives her a side hug, and I watch in confusion until it finally clicks.
My eyes widen comically as I look at Leah. "He's your date?"
She smiles, then glances at Brandon. "Perhaps."
My gaze bounces between the two idiots. "What?! I thought you didn't like my friends."
Leah shrugs.
I turn to Brandon. "And I thought you were gay?"
His brows furrow as he takes the seat next to me. "I've never once said that."
My mind does a full three-sixty as I stare at him. "I swear I've heard you talking about some guy before."
Alex nods in agreement. "Me too. What was his name? Jackson Sommers?"
Brandon rolls his eyes, his ears turning red. "Okay, okay, fine! I'm bi."
Carson leaves with his date, followed by Brandon and Leah. Now, only Alex and I are left at the table.
Alex leans into me. "Brandon stole your date, huh?" they say, smiling a little.
I nod, rolling my eyes.
"I know a couple of single ladies, if you want," Alex adds, wiggling their eyebrows.
I look at Alex and then shake my head. "Thanks, but I'm good. I think I'm just tired."
Alex just peers at me as I play with the rings on my fingers. After a minute of just them staring, I say, "What?"
Alex puts their hands up. "Nothing! I just find it weird that you would rather sit here alone than meet people. It is your second-to-last winter formal, after all."
Sighing, I shrug. "I know," I say. "I just . . . don't really care."
Alex glances in the distance, and I follow their gaze. "Is that--?"
Sitting suddenly upright, I turn my body to face Alex, covering the left side of my face with my hand. But I already saw the nauseous sight. A breathtaking Hazel just walked in, held around the waist by none other than Evan.
"Oh God," I mutter.
Alex looks confused. "Casey, what are you doing?"
"Shut up," I hiss. "Don't let her see me."
"What?"
I grip the tablecloth between my fingers. "Maybe I should hide under the table."
Alex's brows furrow. "Casey, this is crazy. Why are you hiding from your tutor?"
"No reason," I say, still hiding behind my hand. "But she can't know I'm here."
Alex's gaze shifts away from mine again. "It's kind of too late for that now. She just looked right at you."
"Ack! Tell her I'm someone else."
"She's coming over here."
I close my eyes. "Shoot, man. I think I'm just going to leave."
Alex suddenly grins. "I'm kidding."
I shoot them a glare. Pointing my thumb out behind me, I say, "I think I'm going to grab a drink."
I quickly push my way to the table with the drinks, but my escape plan fails. Seconds after I get there, someone else does too.
"Hey, Casey." There's that smooth, commanding voice.
I slowly turn around.
Hazel lied to me. She is wearing the strapless deep red dress with the thigh-high slit. And she is fucking hot. Holy fuck.
"Hi," I choke out.
With heels on, she's about the same height as me, and if that isn't already intimidating as it is, her eyes trail slowly up and down my figure. I force myself to look away from her chest and rest a hand on the tabletop.
Act cool.
"I thought you were going to wear green?" I ask.
A small smile plays on her lips, those perfect lips that are now accentuated with a layer or two of tinted lip gloss. Her hair is tied up into a neat curly high bun, and curly pieces are coming down in the front and sides. It looks purposeful yet effortless at the same time.
"Yeah, well," she pauses and raises her arm to that of the guy beside her. "Evan here changed his mind at the last minute."
Evan, who I didn't even realize was there, stops staring apathetically into space and turns to us. grinning, he loops an arm around Hazel's waist. "I just thought you look better in this one."
I catch Hazel's quick eye roll. "Yeah, sure, whatever."
Evan doesn't catch it, and a random guy steals his attention again. He points finger guns at the guy, then says something unintelligible and leaves Hazel standing there.
"Um, did your date just leave?"
Hazel rolls her eyes once again. "Yeah. But I guess it's fine. It's not like we're dating."
I turn around while she is talking, picking up a plastic cup from the stack and filling it with the machine.
"Right," is my response.
I feel her lean over me. "What are you getting?" she asks.
I'm glad it's too dark and the strobe lights are too colorful for her to see my face flush. "Um, just Sprite," I answer. "I think."
My cup fills and I pull it away from the dispenser. Hazel smirks. "You think?"
I hold the cup up to my eyes and peer at it. "I actually don't know what this is."
Hazel chuckles. "I'll get something else then, and we can share if you don't like it."
What is it with this girl and wanting to share drinks?
"Alright. You do that." I say. I lean against the table with my arms folded as she scans the unlabeled drink options. "So, how did you meet Evan?"
"Hm? Oh, he's an old friend."
"Oh?" I glance at her, and she chews on her lower lip with a concentrated expression before choosing the drink in the middle.
She's so cute. I don't know how I can deal with this for the rest of the year. I need her for finals, and it doesn't seem like she'll hang out with her friends tonight.
"Yeah," she says, letting go of the drink dispenser and turning toward me. Everyone is still on the dance floor, including Alex. Hazel takes that as an invitation to sit next to me at the table, and continues. "I've known Evan since elementary. And no, before you ask, he has never liked me."
I raise an eyebrow. "I wasn't going to ask. I respect what you said."
She blinks. "Oh."
"Even if I don't believe it," I add.
"Oh my gosh." Hazel rolls her eyes, smiling. I laugh.
A/N:
I don't like this chapter and I don't know why.
But vote if you want.
<3