The Good Side Of You | Monty and Winston

Chapter 15: Prom Night

Prom loomed ever closer for the students at Liberty High. An important chapter of their lives was about to close, and the excitement and anticipation could be felt throughout the school. Many high school students looked forward to this night, but as excited as they were, prom night couldn't mean as much to them as it did to Montgomery de la Cruz.

A year ago, Monty would have never guessed that he would put that much thought into senior prom, but there he was, completely consumed by thoughts of how it would go, and what everyone would say when they saw him with Winston beside him, arriving with him as his date. It wasn't that he wasn't ready, he believed he was, but it was hard to shake a lifetime of being told that it was wrong, even shameful, to love someone of the same sex. He knew in his heart that his father wasn't right, that there was nothing wrong with letting the world know that he loved Winston, but there were times when his upbringing overpowered reason.

During those times, Estela was incredibly helpful. She pulled him out of the darkness and reminded him what was really important. She had a cheerful way of looking at things, a kind of free-spirited approach to life that was contagious. Even his mom, taking care that his father didn't hear her, gave him an occasional word of encouragement.

But Monty's greatest source of comfort was Winston. He knew that Winston was looking forward to that night, and all he cared about was making Winston happy. He was going to try his hardest to give Winston the prom night he deserved.

Prom had temporarily distracted them both from the conversation they had had with Clay and Justin. Winston was still furious at Alex, but Monty was more focused on the new life he was trying to build for himself—going public with Winston and going to college—and didn't want anything to do with cops or drama that could interfere with that.

Monty's excitement about the future made Winston happy, so he decided to push all thoughts about what Alex had done to the back of his mind, at least for the moment. Monty was taking him to prom as his date, it was something that Winston had been hoping for and looking forward to for a long time. He would not ruin it by thinking about Alex.

When the day finally came, Winston couldn't stop himself from texting Monty every few minutes.

Winston: "You're all set, right? You know what you're going to wear? You got your shoes, and everything?"

Monty read the latest text and rolled his eyes, but smiled all the same.

Monty: "For the third time, yes, I have everything. Estela helped me choose my clothes, though. If I end up looking ridiculous, she's the one to blame."

Estela had been peeping at his screen when he was typing that, and she scoffed when she read it. "You'll be thanking me later," she told Monty as she walked away to start getting ready.

Winston: "I know you're going to look so handsome! I can't wait!!!"

Winston: "❤"

Winston's texts kept coming throughout the day, and Monty's face was starting to hurt from smiling so much. It was adorable how excited Winston was, but it was also putting a lot of pressure on Monty. I can't screw this up.

Monty's plan was to pick Winston up at his house at 8:00PM, and from there head off to prom together. As for the others, Diego was picking up Estela, and Luke was going alone. Charlie hadn't given up on Alex, and had been pleasantly surprised when Alex accepted to go to prom with him. Charlie was in a similar situation as Winston and Monty. None of his friends knew he was bisexual, except for Luke. His father knew about it, and had always been incredibly supportive. The support of his family and the way he had been raised made all the difference, and he wasn't as worried as Monty was about everyone finding out.