The Decuplets 2

A Prom Confession

Ella

Prom. The night a little girl dreams of her whole life.

"I can't believe we're already this old," I said to Scarlett, shaking my head in disbelief as I reached for my highlighter. "Like, we're so old."

"I know," Scarlett agreed as she blended in her blush. "Do you remember that time we tried on prom dresses in the mall?"

I laughed. "Yeah, that must've been what, 7th or 8th grade? I remember trying on that turquoise dress. My tastes have definitely changed."

"Oh my God, that floral one I tried on? That was another level of ugly."

We giggled over old memories until we were ready to put on our dresses.

Mine was gold silk that matched the caramel highlights in my hair, and Scarlett's was a deep blue that sparkled against her dark hair.

I must say, we looked gorgeous and all grown up.

By the looks of it, Zach and Aidan thought so too as we had our cliche walking down the stairs moment.

When I reached the bottom, Zach took my hand and said, "you look beautiful, El."

I grinned. "You're not too bad yourself," I replied, squeezing his hand. Looking at him, I felt giddy like the little girl who had always dreamed of going to prom with Zach.

We walked to the backyard where the brothers and their dates were. They were all taking photos and all looked very happy, which made me smile. Reece and Clay were the only two to go alone; Gabe and Noah were taking girls they were talking to. But even they looked on top of the world!

Reece

Coming to prom alone, of course, was my choice. I could've pulled something off if I had wanted to, but tonight was a bonding moment for Clay and I. Besides, even with their dates, my brothers will want to spend plenty of time as a family tonight.

After all, I love being single, everyone knows that. Or, I thought I did.

Then I saw Ella walk in.

She was holding Zach's hand and smiling at every last word that he said. Per usual.

Seeing her every waking moment has made me numb to the pain, at least a little. But seeing her this beautiful was pure torture.

The inexplicable throb of pain in my chest was telling me something I had been repressing for months, ever since that conversation with Scarlett. I told myself I didn't, and I tell myself I don't every day, but I still love Ella.

I couldn't keep my eyes off them as they took photos, him putting his arms around her and her kissing his cheek. Torture.

"Hey, you alright?" Scarlett asked, breaking me out of my thoughts.

"Totally!" I said, sounding more forced than I had hoped.

"Maybe you should go take a breather. I know it must be hard," she frowned sympathetically.

"Yeah, okay," I nodded, heading inside.

I walked through the door into the kitchen and sat on the bar stool. I rested my head on the cool countertop until I decided to grab some water.

I walked over to the cabinet and something caught my eye. There was a whole counter full of different handles of hard alcohol, all of which I knew were for the prom house. But what's the difference if I take just one?

I picked a skinny handle of vodka and poured a hefty amount into the cup I had intended for water. I drank it all, decided it wasn't enough, and continued to chug from the bottle.