Chey's P.O.V.
Prom: The day I've been dreaming of since my first day of freshman year.
I had my dress, my date, my friends, and now all I needed was to go. I didn't go last year because I didn't have a date and none of my friends wanted to go. This year would be great though because I have Max.
"Are you ready for tonight?" I heard Jessie ask me as I entered her bedroom where she was nursing the twins o her bed.
"I've waited for this day for so long, Jess. Of course I'm ready," I replied, sitting at the foot of her bed, careful not to move too much.
"You're like...glowing," she laughed.
"I'm just really excited!" I felt like I was floating on a cloud. I knew I was kind of the only one who felt this way. Whenever we talked about prom, Mila and Jessie never shared my excitement. That didn't stop me from squealing with excitement every five seconds.
"So when is Mila coming over?"
"She should be here any minute now...what are you and Alex gonna do all night?" I asked, a little concerned that they'd be completely bored all night.
"I don't know, sleep maybe?" She said as she let out a big yawn.
"Fun," I said sarcastically.
"Hey, I'm exhausted."
"I know. I'm still just a little upset that you guys don't get spend the night with us." I picked up the baby sock next to me, smiling to myself at how small it was.
"Hey, it's not like I was dying to go to that dance anyways," She said, fixing the baby blanket that covered her chest.
"What about Alex?"
"For once, the football star doesn't actually want to go to prom."
"Never heard that one before."
"There's a first time for everything," she replied.
"Hey guys," Mila chirped as she walked into the bedroom.
"Hey Mila," both of us greeted her.
She walked over to the closet, hanging up her prom dress and sitting next to me at the foot of the bed.
"Feeding time?" Mila chirped.
"Yeah, which is why it is totally awkward talking to you guys."
"Want us to leave?" I laughed at the twist of Jess's face as she fixed the baby blanket again.
"Nope, they're done," she assured us, letting Mila and I hold the babies while she fixed her shirt.
"Jess. they're so cute, I just want to take them home." Every time Mila saw the babies, it was like she wanted to take them home and keep them forever. I would want to do the same if I didn't already live with them.
"Tell me that after they keep you up all night," Alex interrupted us, walking into the bedroom with a smirk on his face.
"He's not wrong," I whispered to Mila.
"What's up ladies," He greeted us, walking over to Jessie and kissing her cheek.
"Chey, Mila, your boyfriends are raiding the fridge, so give me my children." We laughed as Alex outstretched his arms and we gave him the babies. Mila and I hurried down the stairs, hoping to catch ax and Luke off guard. I expected to find one of them with a chicken drumstick in their mouth, or drinking out of the milk carton.
"What are you eating?" Mila asked with a disgusted face as she watched Luke eat something.
"I don't know, but I like it," He answered, taking in another spoonful of whatever was in his bowl.
"Where are your guys' tuxes?" I looked around to see if maybe they were lying in the kitchen somewhere considering it was the first place the boys decided to go.
"They're not here," Max told us, taking a gulp of orange juice.
"What do you mean they're not here?" Mila said. I sensed that she was beginning to panic, so I gave her a reassuring look.
"Calm down, they're at my house," Luke said.
"So then why are you here?" I asked jokingly.
"Oh please, don't act like you aren't happy to see us!" Max hopped over the counter, sitting on the counter space directly in front of me.
"Your butt is on the counter. People eat here!" Mila said, walking around the counter to give Luke a hug.
"Hey, I have a high class ass," Max laughed, holding his arms out for me to hug him.
"I won't hug you unless you promise to never say that again."
"No promises." He pulled me into a hug, kissing the top of my head.
"Seriously though, when are you guys going to start getting ready? We only have three hours to get ready now.," I heard Mila ask from across the counter.
"Oh! Only three hours? However will we manage to put on a tux in less than three hours?" Luke made his voice high pitched, pretending to worry.
"That's all you're going to do? Put on a tux?"
"Pretty much..." The boys replied in unison, causing Mila and me to roll our eyes.
"What ever floats your boat. But you guys have to leave anyways because we have to start getting ready now" I pulled Max off of the counter, pushing him in the direction of the front door.
"Kiss goodbye?" Max puckered his lips, hands behind his back.
I pecked his lips. "There you go, see you later." With that, I ran up the stairs and into Jessie's room again, leaving Mila in the dust.
"What's the rush buttercup?" Alex laughed, drying his wet hair with a towel.
"Did you just shower? You better not have used all the hot water!" I was now a hot mess. Prom was the only thing on my mind. I grabbed a towel from the hall closet and rushed into the bathroom, smiling at Mila as I watched her furrow her eyebrows at me as she walked up the stairs.
"Chey, you're insane," I heard Jessie say outside the bathroom door.
"You're not wrong," I replied back before hopping in the shower.
I took a quick shower, careful not to wet my hair because it was easier to do my hair when it wasn't wet. I put on a tank top and basketball shorts so that I could do my makeup and hair without putting my prom dress on. I went out of the bathroom, sitting in front of Jessie's vanity, waiting for Mila to get ready with me.
"How are you doing your hair?" I asked her.
"Ponytail," said as if it was some crazy hairstyle.
"Okay then...wanna do my hair?"
"I knew you'd ask me that," She laughed, pulling a chair next to me to do my hair.
The three hours flew by in a flash. Pretty soon, Mila and I were twirling around in our dresses, complimenting each other on how great we looked. Mila's mom, Aunt Mary, and Uncle Chris waited for us downstairs as we waited for that crucial moment before prom when we got to walk down the staircase.
"You guys ready for me to'introduce' you?" Jessie- our official MC for the night-said, peeking her head into the room.
We nodded our heads with a few chuckles, preparing for that special moment.
"Well, get ready ladies. This is your moment."
I heard Jessie call out our names, so we started walking down the stairs. It was funny because I pictured this moment so many times in my head and it was amazing. But actually doing it felt no different than any other time I'd walked down these steps. I looked over to Mila and it was like she was feeling the same thing I was-disappointed. But then that changed when I saw Max smiling up at me at the bottom of the steps. It was the brightest smile I'd seen in my entire life. That was what made this moment a good one. When I pictured this moment four years ago, I never had the opportunity to picture Max being there, but I'm glad he was.
We made it to the bottom of the steps and I smiled at how great Max looked. His gray suit and his navy blue bow tie matched perfectly with my dress.
"Pictures," Mila's mom cheered, interrupting the long gaze I set on Max.
We took a ton of pictures. Some with our dates, then some with just Mila and I. A couple with Tanner and his date, Casey Thompson,and some all together. Everyone waved at us as we got into our limo. The drive to the school gym felt longer than it actually was. We all talked about the songs we hoped they played so that we could dance all night. When we pulled up to the gym I felt that disappointment nagging at me again.
"Starry Nights..." I trailed off, rolling my eyes at the most cliche prom theme known to man.
"Everything is so bright," Mila said with a laugh as we entered the gym that was done up to look like a magical twilight zone.
"Man, there's a lot of people here," Max whispered, interlocking our hands.
"Let's hit the dance floor, party people!" Luke sang out, pulling Mila towards the dance floor. Wee all followed behind them to the dance floor. We danced for a long time, and I could've sworn it had been hours. But after dancing to the first slow song and checking my phone for the time, I realized it had only been half an hour. I had fun for the firs thirty minutes, but I was growing bored by the minute. I could tell that everyone else was getting bored as well when we all walked to a random table and sat there in silence for a few moments.
"Is it bad that I want to go home?" Luke said out loud with a slightly embarrassed look.
"Not at all!"
"I'm g;ad someone said it."
"I totally agree."
Everyone wanted to leave, and I wondered why we didn't. This was our special day and if the dance wasn't making it feel special, there was o point in staying.
"So let's leave," I said, staring at the gym door.
"You really want to?" Max asked, playing with the promise ring on my finger.
"I really want to," I replied, standing up, ready as ever.
"Let's go then!" Tanner piped up, holding Casey's hand as he led us back to the limo.
We piled into the limo again, laughing. I could tell everyone relaxed again. Being in that gym set a certain standard for everything. Going to prom was always like the most important part of high school for a lot of people. But for some reason, being in that limo was the highlight of the night.
"Where to?" The chauffeur asked from the driver's seat.
'I know a place," Luke told us with a smirk
-
We arrived at the beach at approximately 9:30 pm. We still had time to have our special moments. Luke called Alex and told him we were going to the beach, saying that he should meet us there. As we got out of the limo, I felt the beach breeze blow across my face. It was a refreshing feeling.We saw Alex and Jessie waving at us from next to a fire pit. The fire from the pit being the only source of light on the desolate beach.
"We brought s'mores and blankets," Alex told us, tossing a bag of marshmallows into the air.
"Rough night?" Jessie asked as I sat next to her on a blanket.
"Not anymore," I said looking up at the star-filled sky.
"I like it here. You can see all the stars," Mila said, sitting on the other side of Jessie.
"Yeah, this is a much better starry night than prom."
I watched as Luke and Alex 'dueled' each other with two sticks that they found in the sand. I laughed as Max stuffed his face with what was probably his fifth s'more. I teared up when I watched Tanner kiss Casey on the cheek without feeling like he had to hide it. My face lit up when I saw Mila trip on her dress. I smiled as I watched Jessie do something that didn't involve being a teen mom. And I sighed in content when I realized that this was actually happening.
"Chey!" Max broke me out of my thoughts.
"Are you coming down to the water?" He asked me, already puling off his tuxedo.
"I can't get this dress wet!" I said, obviously.
"Cheyenne, I know for a fact you have basketball shorts under that dress."I laughed at his very correct guess. He tossed me the t-shirt he wore under his prom clothes, running off into the water where everyone else splashed around in their t-shirts and underwear.
As soon as I was down to my basketball shorts and Max's t-shirt, I ran down to the water. Everyone was laughing. Not forced laughs, they were just happy laughs.
"Chey!" They all shouted when they spotted me at the shore.
Max ran out of the water and grabbed my hand.
"It's really cold, just a fair warning."
"I don't care," I said, wrapping my arms around his neck and kissing him sweetly.
"I can tell." He pulled me towards the water, lifting me up when a wave came crashing towards me.
Inside my mind, I kept hoping that when we all leave high school we'd still be able to have these moments with each other.
Everyone was so happy. It was better than any dream I've ever had.No one was meeting any standards of a special night.
We were simply making our own.