The Boy Next Door

Chapter Seventeen

I nervously walked up to Olly's driveway. My hands were trembling, and my legs felt weak, hidden, and shaking under my dress.

When I knocked on the front door, he opened it promptly, standing there dressed in a black suit, white shirt, and purple tie. I instantly flushed and bit my lower lip, and my chest puffed, falling short of words.

My high school crush was standing in his prom suit, looking incredible with his hair brushed to the side and deep brown eyes sparkling at me.

As he released his first word, his welcoming lips performed the perfect o, "Wow, you look beautiful," he softly said.

"Thank you. So do you," I shyly responded with a gulp.

"Come in." He took my hand, and with one touch, the hairs on my neck stood up.

Olly constantly kept me on edge. I had slowly become addicted to how he made me feel. I was strung and couldn't think of anywhere I would rather be as he stood before me looking the way he did, like a dream.

He guided me inside his house, which looked identical to mine yet smelt like him, fruity, warm, and morish. I scanned the photos on the wall and saw him age within the pictures, which ached my chest. If he could see through me, I was sure he would see my beating heart glowing brightly for him as everything new I learned made him all the more perfect.

"My mum cooked us dinner before she went out. If you're hungry," he blushed, seeming nervous as he walked me into his dining room. I had never seen him nervous before, and it relaxed me slightly.

"Your parents aren't here?" I mumbled. The idea of us being alone was even more daunting, yet the swirling in my stomach stopped me from wanting to leave.

"No, it's just us. Is that okay?" I nodded and smiled at him, trying to keep my composure.

In the dining room, he had the table set out for us both, with the effort of a simple tea light candle sitting on the table and dimmed lighting. "This is sweet," I said timidly.

Olly took out my chair and sat beside me. We enjoyed a delicious meal whilst discussing anything and everything that came to mind. But even though the night was even more perfect than I could have imagined, the guilt I felt about him missing his prom night denied me to loosen entirely. I didn't want to be the girl who made him miss out on his high school prom and for him to have to reminisce about an evening with me instead, someday in the future.

"What's the matter?" he asked as he sensed my distance.

I shook my head a little in an attempt to avoid ruining the night with my usual negativity, "It's nothing."

"It can't be nothing. Something is bothering you," Olly muttered. "I can tell."

I sighed, looking toward him. "I feel guilty you are not at the prom."

Olly rolled his eyes, placing his fork down, "Ashley, why do you do this?" He used tone toward me, and his expression and body language changed instantly. I knew I had pissed him off. We may not have known each other for long, but he knew I was one for ruining the moment by being my own worst enemy.

I dropped my fork and pushed my plate aside, suddenly losing my appetite, "Do what?" I asked, and he looked away, clenching his strong jaw as he grunted a little.

I stood up, knowing it was my cue to leave; I knew prom night of any sort would be a disaster for me.

"Where are you going?" he snapped, standing up. The sadness in his eyes guilt-tripped me for wasting his efforts. A girl who was like him and could make him happy deserved this treatment, not some loser like me.