Page 100 of True to You

“Hey, Mr. Garrison,” I greet him, grabbing a small drink from the table.

“Mr. Hillard, looking good. We’re all set up, and all the votes are counted. I saw Yvette and Oscar about five minutes ago, so I’m sure we’ll be able to announce the king and queen on time tonight.”

I try to hide the fact that my entire body stiffens with the mention of Oscar. He’s here, so that means Izzy is here too. Nodding, I turn and look around. The DJ is playing something fast and upbeat, but the dance floor is empty. Looking across the way, I see Yvette standing with a couple friends, but no Oscar. Then Yvette sees me and waves.

I wave back and try to start moving out of the room, but she catches up and gets in front of me.

“I’m glad you shaved.” She smiles, rubbing her fingers against my cheek.

“Why?” I grab her hand, pulling it away.

“Because, silly.” She giggles. “When we win king and queen, I don’t want that scruffy stuff scratching me.”

I nod, raising my eyebrows. “You really think we’re both gonna win, huh?”

“I don’t think, I know.” She leans in closer, not breaking eye contact. “I came with Dominic tonight, but he knows our situation.”

“And what situation is that?”

“Our situation.” She grabs my shirt, putting more emphasis on the words. “We’ll win. We’ll have the king and queen dance. And after prom,” she licks her lips, smiling, “we’ll celebrate.”

Good lord. This girl does not give up. Now I understand what Carter went through a few months ago. All I can do is stand there. My mouth open like a fish.

“I have to go,” I manage to stumble out and head outside the dance hall.

Carter and Emma are off to the side of the photographer’s area. While Jen and Franco are setting up to take a picture, a line starts to form as more people show up.

“Dude,” I walk over to Carter. “Have you seen Oscar?”

“Nah.”

“Say cheese!” Emma shouts, raising her phone up to take a selfie of all three of us.

I plaster on my fake smile, while Carter leans over and kisses her cheek.

“Emma, you just took pictures,” I say as she drops her hand.

“I know, but these are my pictures. Besides, it’s our senior prom, Matt. After tonight, no more high school dances.”

“Yeah.” Carter grins. “Now we got college parties to look forward to.” He wiggles his eyebrows at her.

I laugh, my first real one of the night. I have no idea what I’m doing for college, but I know I’ll still be friends with them. That’s at least a silver lining. My smile fades as I turn around and see Oscar standing at the end of the hallway, near another entrance to the dance hall.

“You good?” Carter asks as I realize I let out an annoyed grunt.

“Yeah,” I answer, turning away.

I see a couple other people with him, but don’t see Izzy. I don’t turn back around to look for her because I really don’t want to see how beautiful she looks. Cosplay dress or prom gown, I know she’s going to look gorgeous.

“Huh,” Carter mumbles, looking over my shoulder. I look at him for an explanation. “She’s not there.”

“What?” I turn around.

Sure enough, Izzy isn’t there. Or either of her friends. But Tammy is, and that’s when I see her lean into Oscar, whispering something to him. Jeremy’s standing next to him, his date already with her tongue down his throat. My feet move before my brain knows what I’m doing.

“Matt.” Carter grabs my arm, but I pull away, making a beeline for Oscar.

A small smile crosses my lips, as I see the bruise still on his cheek. The swelling on my lip is still there, but he looks worse than I do.

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