Page 76 of 10 Things I Hate About Prom
I head toward the closest available seat at Anna’s table, planning to give my feet a rest from these cursed heels while I can, when a low murmur spreads among the crowd. I lift my head, expecting to see someone trying to steal the crown, or something equally shocking, but instead Cordero’s newly crowned Prom King is walking directly toward me.
“What’re you doing?” I hiss once Joaquin is in earshot.
He ignores the question and offers up his hand. “Can I have this dance?”
As sweet as the gesture is, I can’t just leave Tessa standing on the dance floor confused and abandoned by her king. We’re not exactly best friends now, but leaving someone hanging so you can get your rom-com-worthy prom moment is a dick move. “But you’re supposed to—”
As if on cue, Tessa appears beside him. The two share a knowing look before she moves past us, eyes set on her own target.
“Wanna dance?” she asks, holding her hand out to Anna.
Anna grins, tossing aside the half-eaten mini quiche she just pulled out of her clutch, and takes Tessa’s hand. “I thought you’d never ask.”
“Did you—”
Joaquin shushes me before I can finish the question. “Yes, I knew. And yes, we planned this together,” he responds with a smirk.
Before I can throw another line of questioning at him, Tessa halts beside us, hand in hand with Anna. “You coming?” she asks, the question aimed at me.
Normally, the pressure of this many eyes on me would makeme crumble, but tonight it makes me stand a little taller. Feel a little bolder.
“Yeah,” I reply, taking Joaquin’s hand. “We are.”
The four of us make our way to the dance floor to the tune of a hundred whispers. Tomorrow morning we’ll be front page news, but for now we’re just us—four kids who fell in love with their best friends.
Principal Contreras seems flustered, but ultimately doesn’t stop our small act of rebellion. With a disgruntled nod, he signals to the DJ to turn up the music and let us have our moment. It seems his dance partner isn’t the only thing Joaquin managed to coordinate, as the opening notes of an all-too-familiar song begin playing over the speakers.
“You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?” I ask, resting my forehead against his shoulder as we sway to the opening notes of a smooth, slowed-down cover of “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You.”
“Why would I?” he teases. “Top ten moment of my life.”
Sure enough, my off-the-cuff promposal made the rounds through the Cordero gossip mill. More people knew Joaquin and I were dating before I did, considering they managed to circulate the video during the two hours I was occupied in the light booth. It’s strange, being catapulted back into the social spotlight for a second time in my high school career because of a boy. But there’s no shock this time. No confusion as to how someone like me landed someone like Joaquin. If anything, the bigger question is why we waited so long to make it official.
“How long did it take you to plan this?” I ask after he insists on lowering me into a dramatic dip. Despite my uneasiness onmy feet, he doesn’t drop me. And, I’ve gotta admit, it’s as swoony as the movies make it seem.
“About four minutes,” he replies with a shrug. “I’m in love with you, Tessa’s in love with Anna, just made sense.”
“Oh, so you’re in love with me now?”
He chuckles softly, letting his forehead come to rest against mine. “Always have been.”
“And what if I told you I loved you too?”
“Then I’d say I’m a pretty lucky guy.”
Before doubt can flood my mind, I close the distance between us and kiss him, because I want the world to know that he saw me. For me. A girl who hides in the background and builds happy endings for others, who found her own with the boy who was beside her the whole time.
Everything about our future is still unclear—whether the distance will tear us apart, whether we crash and burn before ultimately going our separate ways. But, for once, I don’t see all of those haunting what-ifs. I see something beautiful, something that takes my breath away. A life full of memories with my best friend.
When we separate and he gazes at me with the type of love I never thought I could have with him, it’s easy to see how he can believe in all of those cheesy love songs.
