The drive to the Ball should have been a happy one. Six friends sharing a limo, a bottle of champagne flowing, and a night of partying just around the corner… that’s how it should have been. Instead it was like a hearse. Deathly quiet. I sat near the door, staring out the window while Reece was sat next to me. I could see from the reflection in the glass that he was watching me carefully, and he wore a permanent scowl that ruined his otherwise not so bad looking face.
Erin and Mark were deep in conversation, casting wayward glances in my direction every now and then before Erin sighed and shook her head. She was gesticulating wildly with her hands, getting worked up about something, and Mark had to calm her down a few times before she accidentally hit James with a stray fist. James, meanwhile, was too preoccupied gulping down alcohol with Sam to notice any of what was going on around him.
When we eventually reached Merton House, Sam and James rushed out of the limo first, yelling something about shots as they ran for the bar. Mark gentlemanly escorted Erin up the steps outside the venue, his hand pressed to the small of her back as she struggled with the hem of her dress.
“Cadence?” Reece’s voice sounded so far away even though I knew he was still sat next to me. He offered me his hand, which I took, and helped me from the limo. “Ready?”
The answer was a loud, resonating ‘NO’ but my head nodded and suddenly I was heading for the Ball. The Ball that the boy I was pathetically in love with was attending with another girl. Did that even make sense? How scrambled was my mind?
The seating chart for the sit down dinner had been drawn up weeks ago, and naturally all my friends were sat at one table. I double checked the chart five times just to make sure, but there my name was: Cadence Newham. Sat right between Reece Nicholls and Dylan Nicholls.
Wait… Ashley Pendleton? That bitch was going to be at my table?
“Here,” Erin’s voice pierced my thoughts. She nodded towards her hand where a shot of clear liquid swam in the glass tumbler. “Down it in one, then down this one,” she indicated to an identical shot in her other hand, “and then we keep going until the night is over. Alcohol numbs the pain.”
I gave her a sceptical look, but did as I was told. I took the first shot and winced at the burning sensation, but still went back for the second.
“Atta girl,” Erin smiled brightly, looping her arm through mine and leading me to the bar. “So, you saw the table plan, huh?”
“Why is she sitting with us?” I whisper shout as we near the round table decorated in blue and white. The theme for the Ball was Frozen Ice- a redundant term really, because ice is frozen water, meaning it couldn’t be frozen itself. But whatever. That was the theme. No doubt conjured up by the vapid airhead already sat at our table. I slap on the fake smile I do so well and greet the bitch as brightly as I can. “Hello, Ashley. Great to have you with us.”
The table goes quiet.
James and Sam look at me like I’m an alien imposter. They blink a few times just to make sure that what they’re seeing is real, but then they smile a little nervously and turn to look at Mark. He’s as confused as the other two, and passes the buck to Reece, who is still cleaning himself up after spitting his JD and coke over his black trousers. When he’s done wiping up as much of the liquid as possible, Reece quirks an eyebrow at me and tries not to laugh.
“Cady,” Dylan stands to greet me, pulling me into a warm embrace that he holds for just a little too long. And why the hell is his hand at the bottom of my back? “You’re here. Finally. I thought you ditched me.”
“Ditch you?” I playfully slap Dylan’s shoulder, although even I know that full on smacking someone can’t be described as ‘playful.’ He deserved it. “Like I would ever ditch you. What type of best friend ditches? That’s just ridiculous.”
Dylan goes to say something, but I don’t give him the chance. Instead, I sidestep him and take my seat next to Reece. He’s still wearing that amused grin, and takes small sips of the dark liquid he’s drinking. When he puts the tumbler down, I reach over and pick it up. I sniff the contents first and then toss it back, swallowing it in a great gulp.
“That was nice,” I state as I hand Reece the now empty glass. “If you’re going to the bar, can you get me one of those too?”
I very rarely took Erin’s advice, because let’s face it, the girl thought it was a great idea to get her eyebrow pierced, but tonight I decided that she was right. Getting drunk would numb the pain. And seeing as my heart was in the process of being ripped to shreds there was a lot of pain to cover up.
Reece returned a few minutes later with two JD and cokes, placing one of the glasses in front of me. I was about to knock it back when instead of my lips touching the cold rim, they touched someone’s warm hand. I frowned down at the hand covering my glass and followed the arm up towards the owner’s face.
“Take it easy, Cadence,” Reece warned me. He pushed his palm down on my glass, practically forcing me to put the drink back on the table, and leaned over to whisper in my ear. “I don’t think you getting drunk is the answer.”
I snort. “Sure it is.”
Reece was just about to speak when I heard Dylan call me. I rolled my eyes, gave a wistful glance at my drink and then turned to smile at my best friend.
He looked dashing, I had to admit. His tux was a shimmery grey colour paired with a baby blue shirt and a black tie, and the fact that he had shaved before coming here told me he was making a huge effort tonight. It was just heart-breaking that the effort wasn’t made for me.
Ashley Pendleton was a Princess and everyone knew it. She was high maintenance. She also looked a lot like Taylor Swift, which was fine if you were a fan of Taylor Swift, but otherwise, that sugary sweet demeanour got tiring quickly. I hated how fake Ashley was and how she pretended to be everyone’s friends. She had one of those smiles that was sweet on the outside, but on the inside she was basically saying ‘fuck you.’
It was the same smile she was giving me now.
“I was just telling Ashley about that time we all went to the beach,” Dylan beams at me.
“Were you?” I say emotionlessly. “Well, don’t let me stop you. It’s a great story.”
I turn to move away from their conversation, but Dylan drapes his arm around my shoulder and pulls me into a sideways embrace. I try to shrug him off but he doesn’t get the message and instead starts playing with my hair, twirling strands around his index finger as he talk to his date.
Eventually, when there’s an opening in the conversation, I excuse myself. I pick up my glass and take a large sip, ignoring the looks I got from everyone around the table. When I set the glass back down, I felt my elbow being gripped as my body was pulled from the seat and guided to a dark corner of the room.
“What?” I snapped at Dylan once we were out of earshot.
“I could ask you the same thing,” he growled at me. “What the hell is your problem tonight? You’ve been acting like a bitch since you stepped foot inside.”
“I don’t have a problem,” I assert with a flick of my hair. “Everything is just dandy.”
“Cut the bullshit, Cady,” Dylan warns me, bridging the gap between us in one long stride. His face is inches from mine, and I can smell the whiskey on his breath. “I know you, and I know when something is bugging you. So tell me.”
“You should have told me about Ashley,” I answer him, jabbing my finger into his chest. “We’ve been planning this night since, well, I don’t know quite since when but it’s been a long time. We had it planned, Dylan. And then you… you… her.”
“You’re not making any sense,” Dylan sighs, rubbing his temples with his fingers.
“I’m making perfect sense,” I defend myself. “It’s you that doesn’t understand. You don’t get it.”
“Damn right I don’t get it,” he shouts, his face getting redder by the second. “I don’t get it, Cady. So why don’t you just tell me.”
“You ruined everything,” I cry. I could feel the tear singing my eye but I try not to let it flow. Instead, I blink it back and try to gather my thoughts. “Tonight was meant to be special. It was meant to be our night, but then you went and brought Ashley.”
“Oh, I get it,” Dylan throws his hands up in the air, taking a step away from me. “You’re jealous.”
“Damn straight I am,” I yell, gaining the looks of everyone in the room. Dylan stares at me, stunned by my revelation. Once he regains his composure he looks at me pitifully. “Don’t worry, Dylan. I’m not going to stand here and profess my love for you like a pathetic school girl in front of the whole Sixth Form. Hell, even if it was just us, I wouldn’t do it. And you want to know why? Because I’ve come to a realisation.”
“And what’s that?” Dylan challenges.
The whole room has gone quiet and they watch as Dylan and I argue. From the corner of my eye I can see Erin staring with a horrified look on her face. It’s the same look worn by everyone else at our table, bar Ashley. She actually looks like she’s enjoying this.
“You are a self-obsessed jerk,” I announce to the room. A few people whistled, a few people nodded, some even laughed. “You strung me along like a puppet all these years. You knew how I felt about you and you played me. Why? Because having someone be that infatuated with you was inflating your ego?”
“That’s not how it was, Cady,” Dylan sighs, hiding his hands in his pockets. He doesn’t even try to deny any of it. “You’re my friend. My best friend. I didn’t want to complicate things by going from being your friend to being your boyfriend.”
A few people had the audacity to swoon at Dylan’s words. Shame they probably came straight out of a movie.
“But you should have told me that sooner,” I counter, petulantly stomping my foot from frustration. “You should have been honest with me. At least then I wouldn’t have spent the last three years wrapped up in you. Or the idea of you. Or whatever. You should have told me!”
“I’m-”
“Don’t you dare say you’re sorry because we both know you’re not,” I tell him. I know he’s not. Dylan Nicholls has certain tells, and luckily for me, I know them all. When he’s really sorry for something, he does his hand motion and his left eye ticks. He’s not fidgeting and his eye isn’t twitching. He’s not sorry. “You say I’m your friend, so have the decency not to lie to me.”
Dylan sighs. “Ok, I admit it was kind of nice to have you like me,” he looks me dead in the eye. “But the more we hung out, the more I liked having you around. I didn’t want a girlfriend and then there’s Reece to consider.”
“Reece?” I actually stumbled backwards from the shock. “What the hell does he have to do with it?” I scan the table and see that the other Nicholls twin has disappeared. “And where the hell is he?”