I perched on the edge of Felicity's bed and watched as she meticulously applied a set of fake eyelashes. The quilted white duvet bunched under me as I shifted to get a better view. "How do you do that so well?"
"Witchcraft," Rose said from her position in front of Felicity's bathroom mirror. She released another section of hair from the curling wand. "And human sacrifices."
Felicity huffed. "Practice, Rosie dear. Abby, I'd be happy to teach you sometime."
I eyed the tube of eyelash glue on the counter. "Um... I'm good, thanks."
The weekend had finally arrived, and with it, formal preparations. It'd been a tradition since freshman year to meet at Felicity's house and get ready for the dance together. I wasn't going with them to homecoming, but I could still enjoy our pre-dance hang out and snap a few pictures. In fact, I was sure there was a picture of the three of us, grinning with mouths full of braces (Felicity and me) and pimply skin (Rose) floating around somewhere.
It certainly wouldn't be in Felicity's magazine catalog-style room, though. She would never put up a photo where she looked anything other than perfect. Or something that didn't match her aesthetic, which was mostly white with some gray and pink accents.
"So, are you excited for this fancy gala with Kieran?" Felicity prompted, jolting me out of memory lane. "By the way, watch out for the shrimp ceviche—it's dangerously addictive."
I hesitated just a beat too long. "Yeah, it should be fun."
Rose paused in the middle of curling her hair to shoot me a look. "Then why don't you sound more enthused about it?"
If there was anything I was ready to be done with in this fake relationship, it was definitely the lying to my friends part. Then again... since we were almost done, it couldn't hurt to tell them, right?
I settled on a half-truth. Better to clue them in slowly. "I think Kieran wants to break up with me."
"Thank God," Felicity said. I blinked at her in surprise. "I mean, it's not good that he wants to break up. I was just tired of being the only one with relationship drama."
I almost snorted at the irony. If only she knew the whole story.
Rose set the curling wand down on the counter and came to sit by me on the bed. "Why would you think he wants to break up?"
Because he told me so. I fidgeted with one of the pleats on Felicity's duvet. "Just a feeling, I guess. He's kind of hinted at it."
"Well, you don't want that, right?" Felicity pressed.
"No, of course not," I said, surprising myself with the speed and sincerity of the response. It had become easier and easier to slip into the role of the fake girlfriend, though I refused to dwell on what that meant. "But I don't know what to do about it."
Felicity fluffed her golden curls in the mirror. "If you ask me, I wouldn't worry too much about it. He'll change his mind, and if he doesn't, he'll be back as soon as he realizes what he's missing."
"Considering Felicity and Ash's track record," Rose said, ignoring the glare our icy-eyed friend shot her, "I would take that advice with a grain of salt."
The two of us laughed at that. Felicity narrowed her eyes at us before cracking a smile. "Fine, joke about it. At least we're on good terms now." She checked her phone. "In fact, he's picking us up in half an hour."
I shook my head, still in disbelief that the two of them were going to homecoming together as just friends. They went from screaming their heads off at each other at Maddox's party just over a month ago to this? I never would have predicted it.
Rose frowned. "I know you guys made up, but I'm surprised you're going together. I thought he had a thing for Kennedy. Didn't he nominate her for homecoming queen?"
Felicity rolled her eyes. I glanced between them. Clearly, I hadn't been paying attention to the latest school gossip. "Wait, who's Kennedy again?"
"Kennedy Stanton," Rose explained. "She's a photog for the yearbook and school magazine? And a physics genius. She's practically a shoo-in for MIT."
"She's also a ballerina with stick thin legs," Felicity grumbled. "And she's Ashton's neighbor. Not that I care about that last part anymore."
"The fact that you dumped coffee on her in English class says otherwise."
"I already apologized for that," Felicity snapped. "Besides, that was like two months ago."
We hadn't even been in school for a full two months yet, but I wasn't going to be the one to argue the details with Felicity. It sounded like this dance was going to be rife with drama, none of which I would be there to witness. "I should go get ready, but you guys keep me updated on the dance!" I stood from the bed and pointed at Felicity. "No more pouring drinks on people, okay?"
"That was one time!"
Rose stood as well, heading back into the bathroom to finish curling her hair. "Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on her. Good luck with Kieran, though I'm sure everything will be fine."
"You're coming to the afterparty at Henry's, aren't you? Let us know how it goes then." Felicity grinned.
"I'll be there for sure." I waved at them and headed for the door. "See you guys later! Have fun!"
I let myself out and got in my car. Felicity lived in the same neighborhood as Cairo, which boasted some of the largest houses in the area. It was only a few minutes away from where we lived, but the size of the houses made it seem like it was another dimension altogether.
Minutes later, I pulled up to the familiar scene of my own home. Both of my parents had a rare day off from the hectic bustle of the restaurant, and they called greetings to me as I walked through the front door. I returned their hellos and headed up to my room to get ready for the gala.
I was no makeup expert like Felicity, but I could clean up pretty nicely. It was a stark contrast from my middle school tomboy days, where anything even remotely related to makeup seemed like a blight upon my reputation. I was glad I'd grown out of that phase. After all, wearing or not wearing makeup had no effect on what kind of person someone was.
Pulling out the dress that Chanel had lent me, I paused to admire it again before putting it on. It had clearly been tailor-made for Chanel, who was skinnier than me—the emerald satin material clung tightly to my hips and chest, emphasizing those curves. I needed to hand write Antoine Giroux a letter of appreciation for this dress.
The doorbell rang. I heard my parents answer and let Kieran in, exchanging small talk. I cursed and dug around for my nude heels and a purse to throw my stuff in. Before heading downstairs, I gave myself a final once over in the mirror. Jewelry, hair, and makeup—check.
I grinned. I looked damn good.
Clutching the heels in my hand, I slung the purse over one shoulder and made my way downstairs. Kieran was standing by my parents in the foyer, back turned.
My mom saw me first. She smiled and nudged my dad. The two of them very un-subtly made their way out of the room, grinning like a pair of idiots, as Kieran turned around.
His gaze swept over me at the same time I admired the cut of his tuxedo, the sharp angles emphasizing his broad shoulders and long legs. His tie was emerald green, the same color as my dress. I had no idea how he'd known—I certainly hadn't told him what color I'd be wearing.
Our eyes met as I reached the bottom landing. The corners of his eyes crinkled as he smiled softly. "You look beautiful." There was an undercurrent of some emotion I couldn't identify in his voice, but it set butterflies fluttering in my stomach.
My mind flashed to the day in the park, to the fact that I'd be losing this after the weekend. Then I pushed those thoughts far away. One more act, one last dance. I returned the smile. "You look fantastic, as well. Ready to go?"
"Not just yet!" came my mom's voice. I started, having forgotten my parents were in the other room. "I want pictures." She rounded the corner, where my parents had clearly been eavesdropping, and held up her cell phone.
"Come on, Mom," I complained. "It's not like this is actually a school dance."
My mom narrowed her eyes. Kieran nudged me with his shoulder, looking wary. "Um... maybe just a couple of pictures?"
She beamed at him. "See, this is why I like you."
I sighed, knowing I'd lost this round. After strapping the heels to my feet, I stood and posed according to my mother's instructions in front of a white wall in our living room.
The front door opened as she was preparing to shift us into what felt like the hundredth pose. Finn sauntered into the living room, carrying the tux he'd picked up from the dry cleaners, and frowned in confusion. "What's going on here?"
"What does it look like, dum—" I caught my mother's warning glare and hastily revised the end of my statement "—dear brother of mine? Mom's having us take pictures before we leave."
He gave me a weird look, then turned to Kieran in mock offense. "You're taking couples photos without me? I can't believe you would do this to me!"
Kieran protested dramatically. "I'm so sorry! I thought we would be done before you got back!"
I rolled my eyes. "Get a room, you two."
Kieran gasped and clutched my hands, startling me. "Abby, mi amor, I would never betray you like this! You're the only one for me!" I could see the barely restrained mirth in his brown eyes.
"What is this, a telenovela?" I retorted, before breaking out into a smile at the irony of it all. I mean, I was fake dating my brother's best friend. How much more cliché could things get?
He laughed, flashing the dimple in his cheek, and my smile widened. Then the sounds of a camera shutter interrupted the moment.
"That was adorable!" my mom exclaimed. "Alright, you're off the hook for pictures. Go have fun and enjoy the fancy food!"
Finn gagged. "Get out of my sight, please."
When my mom wasn't looking, I flipped him off. Kieran snorted, then faked a coughing fit when my mom glanced over. We grabbed our things and headed for the car, still laughing.
The gala was being held at Union Station, which (true to its name) used to be a train station in downtown Kansas City. Now, though, it was an event venue and a popular tourist destination. I didn't even want to think about how much money must have been spent to rent out the entire place for this event—which included entrances to Science City, several escape rooms, a movie theater, and a multitude of restaurants.
"I'm actually looking forward to tonight," I said as Kieran pulled onto the highway to head downtown. "A fancy event, great food, and we get to hang out with everyone later at the afterparty."
He winked. "Not to mention a wonderful date, right?"
"I mean, that's debatable." He made a disgruntled expression, and I laughed. "Okay, sure. Let's add that to the list. And a wonderful date."
"I knew you'd agree."
"There's still time for me to change my mind," I warned. "I could just go hang out with Eden all night." He burst out laughing at that, and I couldn't stop a smile from twitching at my lips. "Fine, maybe you are marginally better company than Eden Sayed."
"Only marginally? Guess I have some work to do tonight to prove myself."
I shrugged. "You can try."
Kieran grinned at me, setting my heart fluttering again. "Believe me, I will."
We lapsed into an easy silence. Well, maybe it was easy for him. I was busy berating myself in my head. What were we doing, flirting with each other? We were supposed to be on the outs after this weekend, and here I was, getting sucked deeper into whatever the hell was going on.
I was setting myself up for a world of hurt, but the worst part was that I didn't mind. I was determined to enjoy every last moment of this. If that meant a little unabashed teasing, so be it. But Kieran's equally flirty responses confused me too. Talk about mixed signals.
Before long, we pulled up in front of the grand facade of Union Station. We weren't the first to arrive, but we didn't seem to be late. Women in glittering gowns and men in crisp suits were getting out of all manner of fancy cars and limousines all around us, heading for the main entrance.
Kieran pulled up to the front and got out, handing his keys to a valet. I reached for the passenger handle, but the door swung open before I could pull it myself. He offered me a hand.
I was inexplicably reminded of that day at Homer's, the coffeehouse where all of this had started. Kieran had pulled open the door for me then, too, back when I just thought of him as my brother's friend slash teammate. Little did I know we'd end up here just a couple months later.
I took his hand with a smile and stepped out of the car. "How chivalrous," I teased.
His eyes flashed with recognition, likely remembering that same day. "Still no thanks for being a gentleman, I see."
With a dramatic sigh, I proclaimed, "Thank you, dear Kieran, for opening my door like the kindly good sir you are. I would never have made it out of there by myself!"
Kieran rolled his eyes. "Sarcastic as ever."
"You know you enjoy it."
"Never said I didn't." He nodded at the doors. "You ready?"
I linked my arm through his. "Hell yeah, I am. Bring on the fancy appetizers!"
He laughed, and with that, we stepped through the doors into the grand hall.
✰✰✰
AN: CRISTIANO RONALDO IS GOING BACK TO MANCHESTER UNITED