The month flew by like a jet plane, I was practicing every day, but I also took time out to be with Eli and Demetri, I picked them up, we went out for ice cream, and I was helping Miguel keep up with school while my dad kicked his ass. I was keeping up with everything, somehow. Everything except Robby and my dad…. But that was a good thing at the moment.
“Hey El what’s up? How was practice?” I smiled answering the call
“Oh ya know, we’ve got a new girl who your dad’s obsessed with, he’s trying to play parent with me, and making me sit out of practise so I don’t get injured”
“Mmm, lovely” I snickered
“Yeah, honestly he’s driving me nuts” Miguel sighed “But change of topic, you found a dress for prom yet?”
“No” I scoffed “Honestly, I might just go in a t-shirt and jeans”
“Harley come on, it won’t be the same like that” I could practically hear Miguel’s smirk across the phone “You should try to find something”
“I have been!” I laughed “I mean- not to mention that I can’t afford it, but also…. Dresses aren’t my style”
“I know, I know” Miguel nodded “Hey I’m meeting up with Sam, I’ll call you later okay?”
“Yeah defiantly, and hey, use protection” I smirked
“You suck” Miguel sighed “Bye”
“Bye man” I grinned
We both hung up the phone, I smiled and let out a breath when a very loud car horn came blasting into Eli’s basement. What the- I spun around and just on cue Demetri and Eli came barreling down the stairs.
“Guys- what’s going on-”
“No time to talk, come on” Demetri grabbed my arm
“What-”
“Just come on baby, relax” Eli grabbed my other arm
They took me all the way out to the front yard, where-.... My mother was sitting in her car waving us over. I gave Eli and Demetri both a weird look, they just laughed and practically shoved me in the car before Demetri piled in the back-..... But not Eli?
“I’m- okay someone needs to explain this to me. What’re you doing? Why isn’t-”
“Just calm down sweetheart” Mom smiled “Demetri and I have a surprise for you”
“That sounds horrifying” I groaned
“It’ll be fun” Demetri encouraged “For us”
My mom started laughing right away. I was still completely confused, but I couldn’t stop myself from laughing and smiling like crazy. This is so weird…. Is this what being a normal teenager is like?
~~
I sat on my mom’s bed with Demetri while mom was eaten by her tiny apartment closet. I have no idea what she was looking for, all she said was that I wasn’t allowed to punch her, or Demetri.
“Ahah! Yes, okay” mom finally emerged, she was carrying a plastic bag with her, it had something inside of it, something black
“Oh no” I sighed, and Demetri quickly grabbed my arms to keep me from running away
“I know, I know,” mom chuckled. She stood in front of the bed, and carefully took away the plastic “This….. Was my prom dress from my senior year. Demetri- somehow found my number, and asked me if I wouldn’t mind helping you out a little bit with this so…. I thought I’d offer up this”
She held it up in the air. It was a black shiny kind of silky dress. The top part had tiny thin straps, and a rose pattern in red velvet that went over the black. The bottom half was sparkly see through black, it was short in the front and long and wavy in the back. It was a gorgeous dress, my mouth was catching all the flies.
“Mom” I let out a breath “It’s-..... It’s beautiful. I-I can’t-”
“You can” Mom smiled softly, reaching over and cupping my cheek gently “Honey I know damn well you are going to rock this dress, and that boy of yours is going to lose it over you. You can look beautiful in anything, not just your badass rebelion clothes”
That made me laugh. I looked back at Demetri, who was also smiling at me.
“At least try it on” he encouraged
I sighed, but gave in and nodded my head. Mom squealed and gave me a hug before dragging Demetri out of the room. I let out a groan, flopping back on the bed. Nope, get it over with, come on. I faced away from the giant mirror in my mom’s bedroom, I knew that was probably the best idea. When I got it all on the right way, I realized it fit me perfectly, and then, finally, it let myself look. I was right….. The dress is gorgeous, and it really did fit. The top part fit my chest the right way, it wasn’t too big or too showy, just showy enough. The front of the dress went down to just above my knees, and the back dipped all the way down to my feet. I fixed my hair a little, gave myself one last look over….. I look beautiful.
I very slowly, and very cautiously walked out of the bedroom, walking into my mom’s living room where her and Demetri were sitting. They both snapped their heads up when they heard me come in, and their faces lit up. They stared at me in shock for a few minutes, but it didn’t even bother me, if anything it actually made me feel confident.
“Okay- someone say something, please” I chuckled “You guys are killing me”
Mom and Demetri stood up, and made their way over to me. Mom was looking at me all over, then I saw her face. She was in tears. She reached out, the brightest smile on her face.
“My little girl” she smiled “Oh sweetheart you’re absolutely gorgeous”
“Thanks ma” I smiled, taking a deep breath before I started crying too
Demetri walked up next while Mom went to go find some tissues, he was in shock, he didn’t seem like he knew where to look.
“How do you feel?” Demetri asked
“I-..... I feel like a fucking movie star” I whisper shouted, trying to contain my excitement
Demetri chuckled, leaning over and pulling me into a hug. I held him close to me and boy I could not have felt happier. I couldn’t wait for prom night when I got to see Eli’s face when he saw me. Mom and Demetri were right he was gonna lose his shit. I was so happy and distracted with Demetri spinning me around and praising me that I didn’t hear someone else walk into the apartment.
“Oh! Oh Robby honey look! Look at your sister! Doesn’t she look gorgeous!?” Mom shouted
Demetri and I froze. I slowly turned around, seeing, indeed. Robby Keene, my dear old twin brother, was standing frozen in the doorway, staring at me like the ghost of Christmas past that had come to haunt him. He walked inside, looking me over, he didn’t even look upset, he almost looked sad or hurt.
“Wow” he nodded, looking up, looking me in the eyes- his eyes were wet….. Is he crying? “You- you look……” Robby cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his check, trying to come up with the right words. I half expected him to insult me, but he wouldn’t, not in front of mom “You look gorgeous Harley” Robby looked up at me, and what killed me, was that he was genuine. I could see it on his face, he meant it “Really you-..... You look beautiful”
I nodded, not knowing what to think “Thanks Robby” I tried to smile, but I couldn’t
Demetri had a protective hand placed on my shoulder, which was probably what was keeping me so calm. I wasn’t gonna forgive Robby, he didn’t deserve it after what he did and I think he knew that now. I was still angry at him, and I would be for a while. If this is the stepping stone to him giving me my brother back, I’ll accept it, but it’s gonna take more than that.
~~
And then it was finally here, the night of prom. I was standing in Sam’s bedroom, the Larusso’s had invited us all over for dinner, since Sam and Miguel were obviously going together. There was a lot of tension, considering Mr. Larusso and dad, me and my dad, Eli and my dad….. Goddamnit dad.
“I can’t breath” I groaned, looking at myself in the mirror one more time
“Halrey you look great” Sam reiterated for the tenth time, helping me slip into my leather jacket
I was wearing the dress, of course. I also added a couple, more dainty-er chains and a silver ring that Eli had bought me years ago. It was just a silver band, plain and simple, but it was my favorite ring. And then I added my leather jacket for comfort, considering I’d be getting no comfort in the shoe department, because I was wearing the heels Yasmine picked out for me
“I’m not gonna make it down the stairs!” I exclaimed
“That’s why I’m helping you!” Demetri called from outside the door
“Someone’s being clingy tonight” Sam chuckled, swatting my hands away from my hair
“Eh, he’s just bummed because Yasmine’s at her dad’s wedding so he’s, quote ‘taking the third wheel role very seriously to distract himself from his depression’ ”
Sam burst into laughter, the two of us looking in the mirror together. Sam smiled, her arms were around my shoulders hugging me.
“You ready?”
“Absolutely not” I nodded
We both laughed as we headed towards the door. Demetri was standing outside, Sam walked down first, I watched her from the corner as she went down the stairs with ease, I was frozen on the second stair landing.
“Wow you…. Look so amazing” I heard Miguel
“So do you”
I took a deep breath but I still wasn’t moving. I felt like my head was full of air. Like this was gonna be a dream and as soon as I got to the bottom of the stairs I was gonna wake up. Demetri shook my arm, giving me a reassuring smile and slightly pulled me forwards, which was a mistake because I tripped and he had to catch me.
“Nice going” I muttered
“Sorry”
“Harley come on! Quit hiding!” Mrs. Larusso shouted out
I had to laugh and roll my eyes, I just had to. Finally I stepped out around the corner, gripping onto Demetri for dear life. I saw Eli standing at the bottom of the steps, he was wearing a plain black tux, it was perfect. He was definitely staring at me, well….. Everyone was staring at me. But he wasn’t just staring, he was smiling, from ear to ear. Demetri slowly helped me walk down the stairs in these ridiculous shoes, I got to the third from the bottom before anything too crazy happened, and wouldn’t you know it, Eli was there to catch me.
“Holy” Eli gasped, setting me back on my feet “You…. are perfect. You look incredible”
“Mmm, you get this for two hours” I smirked
“Hey, I’ll take it” Eli chuckled, so did everyone else
“And you look amazing by the way” I smiled softly, pinning the little red rose I was given by Mrs. Larusso, onto Eli’s jacket
Eli had a matching one, probably also from Mrs. Larusso, and he put it nicely around my waist. It was all perfect. I had Eli with me, and he looked absolutely gorgeous, I actually felt good in my outfit, hey even Demetri was happy in his ridiculous pac man suit. It definitely suited him.
“Alright picture time, everyone let’s go” One of Sam’s family members rounded everybody up “Diazes, get together. Harley, you and your…. Crew go stand with your dad” we all laughed at that
I walked over to my dad, he was looking at me, even if he tried to pretend like he wasn’t.
“You look really pretty kid” he nodded
“Thanks dad” I smiled, giving him a break. I didn’t want any fighting tonight “It’s mom’s, she gave it to me”
“Oh yeah?” he smiled “You’re even more beautiful than her” he grinned, making me laugh
We all got together for a picture, us and the Diaz family. It was perfect, because we were all just one big happy family.
“Okay…. Beautiful” the random camera lady smiled “Let’s get all the Larusso’s together”
We all stepped away, I couldn’t stop messing with my hair. Sam had to beg me to let her style it and now I had no idea what to do with it. I usually just stick to work out ponytails.
“Hey, quit fussing, you look beautiful” Eli whispered, his arm nicely wrapped around my waist
“Yeah, it’s a wonder I haven’t sprained my ankle yet” I mumbled
“Oh there’s still time” Demetri nodded beside me, making me snicker
“Dude” Eli sighed
“Alright everybody now, one big happy family, let’s go” she beckoned us all back together
I was not letting go of Eli for the life of me, I was just waiting to trip over myself and these stupid heels. We all gathered around in one bug huddle, Eli, Miguel, Sam, Demetri and I were all in the middle with our family outfits. It felt amazing, a real life miracle that we were all there together. And no one tried to kill each other!
-'|'-'|'-'|'-
The fluff!