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Like little kids, the boys sat on one end of the couch and Lily and I sat on the other. Matt, or maybe Mitch, poured us each a plastic cup of sparkling cider. I can’t tell the guys apart, but Mitch is my date. They’re cute—tall, with dark hair and hazel eyes, but they’re both incredibly shy. They were homeschooled until their junior year, so, unfortunately, they have a hard time integrating and making new friends. It doesn’t help that they stick to each other like they’re glued together.
But they’re smart and polite. I’m pretty sure they’d both pass out if I raised my voice or shot them a dirty look, so they seemed safe as dates.
We laugh and joke about the sordid things people must’ve done on the very seats we’re sitting on, but my mind keeps wandering back to the look on Alex’s face when he took pictures of me and Lily with the twins earlier. Especially when Mitch put his arm around my waist. Alex’s brows instantly narrowed on the poor guy like a hawk stalking prey. Maybe it was his overprotective, fatherly side coming out, but I’ve never seen him look like that before.
Then, before we all left, he warned the boys that they better treat his girls right.
His girls.
Something about the way he said that made my insides flutter.
It takes twenty minutes to get to the banquet hall where the prom is being held. As we walk through the glass lobby, I feel like I’ve been here before, but I’m sure I never have.
We’re immediately ushered to a small sitting room where a photographer takes our photos in front of a fake backdrop. With a bittersweet pang, I wish I were here with a real date so I’d have memories to cherish forever. Although, I suppose the chances of going to prom with someone I’d end up spending the rest of my life with is pretty slim. That rarely happens.
Alex had that, though. He and Brianna were in love when they went to the prom, then married a year later.
Here, a tiny voice in my head suddenly whispers. They got married here.
How could I possibly know that?
“You okay?” Mitch, or maybe it’s Matt, asks me as we make our way down the hall to the banquet room.
Blinking, I nod, fighting off the sudden feeling that I might burst into tears. “Just admiring all the pretty decorations.”
A stupid lie. Balloons in our school colors aren’t the least bit exciting.
“You looked like you spaced out,” he says, eyeing me.
Lily makes a face at him and pushes herself between us. “She does that sometimes. Usually, it’s when she's inspired by something for her poetry.” Leaning close to me, she whispers, “Are you okay? Do you feel like you’re going to pass out again?”
“I’m okay.” I smile, but it’s forced and makes my face feel odd. “It’s just warm in here.”
“You write poetry?” Mitch asks as we navigate through small crowds of classmates to find our table.
“I do. My goal is to have books published with my poetry and artwork. I paint and sketch images that relate to each poem.”
“Her stuff is amazing,” Lily beams. “So haunting and thought-provoking.”
My cheeks heat as Mitch pulls my chair out. I’m not used to discussing my art and work with people other than my mom, Lily, and Alex.
“Is that what you plan to do career-wise?” he asks with a slight tone of skepticism.
I scoot my chair closer to the table. “Hopefully.”
“Can you really make money writing poetry?” Matt asks. Or maybe he’s Mitch. Somehow, I’m sitting between both guys, and I’ve lost track of which one is which.
God. I’m so confused.
I catch Lily’s attention. “Switch seats so we’re sitting next to each other,” I suggest. When she does, I turn to the boy still seated next to me, who, I hope, is Mitch. “Lots of people make money with their poetry and artwork.”
“Yeah,” he says. “But you have to be really talented.”
“She is,” Lily says before I can get a word in. “If you saw her paintings and read her words, you’d agree.”
“How about you? Do you have any career plans?” I ask Mitch, hoping to get the subject off me.
He nods. “I’m going to be an electrical engineer.”
“That sounds great,” I say, even though I have absolutely no idea what that is. Anything with the word engineer in it sounds important, though.
Lily tells the boys she wants to do mortuary makeup, and I almost crack up when they both make the exact same appalled face.
“The hall looks so beautiful,” I say to fill the awkward silence.
Everyone nods and murmurs in agreement.
Yup. More balloons and tiny fairy lights.
Olivia and Ava join us with their dates, and our table soon becomes busy with chatter. I hardly ever see Olivia and Ava. They’re both in serious relationships and spend all their time with their boyfriends or going on double dates. I wish me and Lily could go on double dates, but I don’t see that happening with the Mitch and Matt duo. They’ve been firmly placed in the friend zone.
