As we headed back to the field Nolan's hand found mine. Our fingers interlocked together just like they were meant to. I hadn't stopped smiling. When he caught me looking up at him he leaned down, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek.
"You're back together!"
Nolan and I stopped in our tracks, turning to face Bee who smiled like a maniac, and Gia who was genuinely confused.
"What do you mean they're back together?" She asked her girlfriend before turning to us. "You broke up? When? Why? How did I not know this? But wait, you've beenâ"
Bee clamped a hand over Gia's mouth, muffling her words but not stopping her from talking.
"Seriously, I thought I was gonna have to lock you two dumbasses in a closet to get you to talk to each other."
"Being locked in a closet sounds better than this stupid competition," Nolan grumbled.
I didn't know it was possible, but I smiled even wider. We were back to us. Nolan smiled at me and made jokes. My presence didn't pain him. How could I have been so stupid and almost give him up?
"I missed your pessimism, Lanny," Bee said.
He cringed. "I thought we agreed to never use that name again."
"I never agreed to anything," she said. "And you two need this competition to win back voters. There was only so much Gia and I could do."
Gia removed Bee's hand from her mouth. "Oh, I almost forgot, Ana and Tiffany were talking in the girl's restroom. They plan on embarrassing you two during the challenges."
Bee cut her eyes at Gia. "How could you forget that?"
"I was coming to tell you, but then I saw the cutest little squirrel. I tried to think of a name for it, only I didn't know if it was a boy or girl. Also, why do most people automatically assume a squirrel is male? Like, there has to be female squirrels, too. Right? I just don'tâ"
"Gia," Bee said sharply. "Did they say anything else?"
"The next challenge is tug-of-war and they plan on making sure you two take a mud bath."
The animosity they had toward us began to bore me. High school was over in a few months and hopefully I never had to see Ana or Tiffany or Deshaun ever again.
"If they want to embarrass us they're gonna have to try harder than that," I said. "I've had people throw eggs at me and the whole school has seen Nolan's ass."
"Every time I block that memory out someone is kind enough to remind me."
"Sorry," I said, flashing him an apologetic smile. "My point is that we've been through so much shit this year, if they think a little mud is going to get under our skin they're sadly mistaken."
"Yeah, I don't care what they do out there," Nolan agreed. "I just want this to be over with. Jade and I have some catching up to do."
"Seriously, when did you two break up?"
Bee slung her arm around her girlfriend's shoulders as she led her towards the field. "It's a long story, babe."
* * *
Back on the field, tug-of-war was being set up. The kiddy pool filled with mud didn't even faze me. All I could focus on was the fact that Nolan and I were okay.
"I think the red team to should be in the front. They're the reason we almost lost the first round," Skye said, her boyfriend nodded in agreement. I was beginning to side with Nolan, they were annoying.
"Agreed," Tiffany said, smirking. "Besides, if they're upfront we can keep an eye on them to make sure they don't cheat."
Mason not-so-discreetly coughed out the word slut, causing the rest of our team to snicker.
If looks could kill Nolan would've killed Mason on the spot. "What the fuck did you just call her?"
That made Mason laugh harder. "You must be thinking it too, because I could've been talking about you."
Nolan lunged at him. As much as I would've loved seeing Mason get punched in the face, I held Nolan back.
"He's not worth it," I told him.
It was obvious he didn't want to just brush it off, but he had no choice once Principal Gibson's voice blared over the speakers again to announce the start of the next challenge.
After putting on gloves to protect our hands from rope burn, we each grabbed hold of the thick rope. Nolan was closest to the pool of mud, I was behind him. To my luck, Tiffany was behind me.
"Looks like Beverly Hoover came to support your boyfriend," she whispered. "Or is he her boyfriend?"
"You know, it's weird how obsessed with us you are," I whispered back.
That shut her up. Principal Gibson laid out the rules of the game before an air horn blared, signaling the start of the game.
Our team pulled, the other team pulled harder. Principal Gibson's commentary made it all seem more exciting than it actually was. The crowd cheered either way. We fought back and forth for about a minute. Then, without warning, Nolan and I were face first in the mud.
"Two dirty cheaters right where they belong," Ana giggled.
Nolan and I stood, our red tracksuits dirtied with mud. Our spotless peers must've expected us to react negatively. But it was only mud. And being covered in mud with my boyfriend wasn't the worst situation to be in. So, instead of being annoyed that I'd have to spend the weekend washing mud out of my hair, I made the most of the moment.
As Principal Gibson announced the winners I bent down and scooped a hand full of mud and flung it right at Nolan's chest. No one was getting embarrassed today.
"Don't start anything you can't finish, Harris." Nolan had a mischievous glint in his eyes.
I planted my hands on my hips, playfully glaring at him. "What are you gonna do about it, Chambers."
Before I could react he had hit me with mud and suddenly we were flinging it back and forth. The other couples stood back, trying not to get caught in the crossfire.
"Even though they lost the red team seem to be having a blast on the field," Principal Gibson said. "That's a couple who can get through anything together."
The crowd cheered at our antics. They got even louder when Rainesha and Ivan joined, followed by Ethan and Jeremy. When Samuel reached for the mud Skye threatened him, he threw some at her anyway. She looked down at the brown spots on her orange tracksuit then back up at her boyfriend with so much rage in her eyes before storming off the field, Samuel chasing after her apologizing.
Ana and the others kept their distance as we stared a full-on mud war with each other. Jeremy aimed a hand full of mud at my head. I ducked just in time, dodging the brown goop. But the horror on Jeremy's face made me turn around. The mud that was meant for me ended up on Deshaun instead.
I pressed my lips tightly together to keep from laughing and pretended I saw nothing.
* * *
The next game was tic-tac-toe. A chalk grid was drawn out in the grass and each team had bean bags to toss. Our team were the O'sâor the blue bean bags.
Skye's and Samuel's competitiveness really popped out during that game. They were the only two on our team that had any sort of aim and if it wasn't against the rules they would've taken all the shots.
Unfortunately for them we each had a turn and I was up next. We needed one more "O" to win and if I missed the other team would most likely win. But if Skye yelled at me to focus one more time I was aiming the bean bag at her face.
Nolan came up behind me, massaging my shoulders as he leaned down to whisper in my ear, "No pressure, but if you miss this I'm positive Skye will strangle you in the parking lot."
I snorted a laugh, even though part of me believed it. Nolan stepped aside, giving me room.
"The teams are tied," Principal Gibson announced. "This toss could determine the winning team that'll make it to finals. Jade Harris, from the red team, is gearing up to take her shot. So far she's missed on each of her turns."
I tried to block out the principal's narration as I took aim at the blank square. As soon as the bean bag left my hand I closed my eyes tight, not wanting to witness my failure.
When people started cheering I wasn't sure why until Principal Gibson announced that our team won. I opened my eyes and saw that I managed to get the bean bag in the square.
Suddenly, I was lifted from the ground. Nolan picked me up from behind. I laughed at his enthusiasm. Then I saw Nolan looking at me with an amused smirk. My laughter stopped.
Whoever picked me up, quickly put me down. It was Skye. She looked embarrassed as she coughed out an apology before scurrying over to her boyfriend.
"Please tell me you didn't think those were my arms around you," Nolan said when I got to him.
"She's a lot more muscular than she looks."
"Lucky for you she won't use those arms to murder you."
"I wouldn't be too sure about that," I said as I wrapped my arms around his waist, looking up at him. "There is still one more challenge."
"Yeah, maybe we should let them win the three-legged race."
I glanced over at Skye and Samuel who were already practicing. "I think you're right."
* * *
"It's the final round," Principal Gibson announced from the stage. "The final three couples will compete in one last challenge to win their supporters an all-expense paid spa day."
Nolan made sure my right leg was securely tied to his left leg as Principal Gibson began one of his long-winded speeches.
"I need a bath," I complained, frowning at the mud caked under my nails. "Think we can ditch this last round?"
A slick half smile appeared on his face. "Are you inviting me to bathe with you?"
I playfully smacked his arm. "Pervert."
"Your teamwork will be put to the test," Principal Gibson went on. "You'll have to work as one to get to the finish line. Are you ready?"
At the sound of the air horn Nolan and I began the most awkward walk ever. It was easy to fall into a rhythm and walk as one. Skye and Samuel were ahead, of course. Tiffany and Mason kept falling over, barely making it a few steps from the starting line.
Halfway to the finish line Skye and Samuel got a little cocky, blowing kisses to the crowd as if they already won. Up until then I didn't care who won, but those two were beyond annoying.
"We can't let them win."
Nolan chuckled beside me. "I was thinking the same thing."
He put his long legs to work and we caught up with the orange team. Principal Gibson excitedly announced that we had passed them, only to say that they were in the lead a second later. It was a close race, but Nolan and I made it over the finish line first thanks to my boyfriend being freakishly tall.
The two of us collapsed once we were over the finish line, both out of breath. Skye yelled at Samuel for being slow and Principal Gibson announced us, the red team, as the winners.
"I need a nap," Nolan said, his chest raising and falling quickly as he tried to catch his breath.
"After our shower," I joked.
"They're cheaters!"
I sat up, my gaze shot over to the stage where Ana Lyons had taken the microphone from the principal. He tried to take it back, but she moved away from his grasp.
"They're not even really dating." She pointed an accusing finger at us. "Nolan hooked up with some other girl last weekend and who knows how many guys Jade has been with."
My face was inflamed as I turned to find Mom in the crowd. She looked more pissed off than shocked. Ana saying that stuff in front of students was one thing, but in front of our parents? What the hell was wrong with that girl?
The crowd began to murmur, their eyes judging me from the bleachers.
"She cheated on Deshaun," Ana continued. "She probably cheats on Nolan, too. They're making a mockery ofâ"
Ana's rant was cut short when Deshaun grabbed hold of the mic, Ana held on to it, though.
"Drop it, Ana," Deshaun said through gritted teeth.
"No. Everyone needs to know that they'll be voting for a whore!"
"Damn it, Ana. She never cheated on me." Deshaun looked frustrated and ashamed at the same time. "I made that up."
He finally admitted it. And it only took him almost the whole school year. Ana's face fell as she looked up at her boyfriend. Principal Gibson was able to get retrieve his microphone, desperately trying to get things back on track.
"Seems like our couples are a little more passionate than we thought," he said with a laugh, trying to lighten the mood. "Now, if the red team could come up to the stage and claim their prize."
Nolan untied our legs and we both marched up to the stage. The embarrassment of Ana's outburst hadn't faded away yet and I couldn't bear to look up at the crowd.
Nolan must've noticed. He took my hand in his and leaned down to whisper in my ear, "Keep your head up my queen."
The smile that broke out on my face probably showed off every tooth in mouth. I looked up at him, still amazed by the fact that he was all mine. "I love you."
Now he smiled and gave me a quick kiss in the lips. "I love you."
Principal Gibson gave us red sashes with "Prom Wars 2020" written in white font. Through Principal Gibson's final speech all I could think about was going home and getting out of these muddy clothes.
As soon as he was finished Nolan and I left the stage to get our things from the locker room and head home.
When I got my phone from my locker, Bee had sent a message to tell me there was an after party at her house. So much for Nolan wanting to nap, I was definitely dragging him to that party.
As I closed my locker, Ana walked over to me. "Deshaun told me everything," she said. "I swear I didn't know. I'm sorry."
I didn't know what to say to her. I didn't want to say anything to her. So, I didn't. I turned, leaving her and all the shit I had to deal with because of Deshaun behind me.