This is going to be a long chapter, hope you enjoy, though! Please vote,comment, add to reading list, and follow me:)
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Aria:
At our school, prom was for juniors and seniors. They were the only ones who could buy tickets. Sophomores and Freshman couldn't buy tickets, but they could be taken to prom buy upperclassmen. It was actually hilarious how some of the sophomore and freshman girls would throw themselves on upperclassmen, just trying SO hard to get us to take them to prom. Naturally, we all side-stepped inviting lower classmen, simply because it was prom. That's just how it was.
However, Fletcher was taking Rosalie. At least that's how it was planned. That's what we thought was happening until the afternoon before prom at school. Seniors and Juniors get off after lunch, so we all go home and ready. So after lunch, we were all clearing out. Jade and I walked out of the cafeteria, and we headed to our lockers together, excitedly talking about prom. I knew neither of us would have a problem with dances. Especially since the dance was masquerade, and I planned to wear a mask that at least made it difficult to see who it was.
We turned the corner and saw Fletcher and Rosalie. Normally, they were always so lovely-dovey in the hallways. They seemed to be having a fight. They were standing apart, and Rosalie was looking very agressive, Fletcher just looked confused and hurt.
We silently shuffled closer to hear what was going on. I pretended to try to put in a locker combo, and Jade automatically dropped her things on the floor, and pretended to gather it.
"Yeah, Fletcher. I lied." Her voice sounded so satisfied, like she'd been waiting forever to say it.
"What are you talking about?" His voice was weak, like someone had recently punched him in the stomach, or he'd been screaming for the past two hours.
"You heard me the first time. But I'll spell it out for you. I'm not going to prom with you, and we're over. You seriously disgust me. You deserve this all. I never liked you for a single moment. You were just a glorious, easy to win game. Best part is, I barely had to try." She looked victorious.
"I can't believe you're doing this... Please, stay with me, Rosalie, I love you." He tried to grab her hand, but she pulled it away.
"That's why it was so easy to blind you and get you wrapped up in me. But yes, it was all a joke. Just get over it. I honestly don't care, you can do anything you want. Just leave Spencer and I alone. You know, actually, I liked you a little, then you beat up Spencer. And now you disgust me, I never want to be around you anymore. I really don't care about you. You can go fuck youself, I really don't care."
Jade and I exchanged shocked glances. It wasn't like her to be rude or tell people to 'go fuck themself's' Then again, she hadn't been herself for awhile.
"Oh my god." Jade whispered, stuffing papers into a binder. She didn't look up at me, but I could imagine her shocked face. "She's not really doing this.."
"I think she just did." I could barely believe it, but I had to. The worst part was, I knew it was all my fault. She never would've thought of something so vindictive without me. Even Jade couldn't have.
Words don't describe the pain in his pale blue eyes. I knew that was exactly how I'd looked when I'd seen him with Jade. "Please, Rose..." He tried for her hand again, but she swatted him away.
"Don't call me that." She scoffed, and walked away, past us. She turned up her nose as she passed, and purposely stepped on Jade's folder.
We watched her in shock.She wasn't serious. "What the hell did we do?" I covered my mouth slightly, because if I didn't, I would've gone off cussing and screaming.
"We created someone as bitchy as Tayla." Jade gasped.
I shook my head and walked over to Fletcher. I looked at him, and the pain in his eyes was dull, like someone threw him against the wall, and he couldn't move, couldn't think, could barely even feel. I knew the feeling.
He looked at me. "Why? Why? Why? Why?" He muttered, blinking fast, like he was blinking back tears.
I couldn't think of anything to do, so I hugged him. It wasn't flirtatious, it wasn't romantic. It wasn't even friendly, really. It was just holding him to let him know that he was going to be okay. I felt a teardrop on my shoulder, then another, and another.
He just wouldn't stop muttering why. Everyone was staring, and I couldn't let him do this to himself. I couldn't let him embarrass himself anymore. "Fletcher, I know that you are in pain, you probably don't care what people think right now, but in 4 months, or weeks, you just might. So pull yourself together for just a minute and let me get you out of here."
He nodded and put his head up, pulling himself together momentarily.
I straightened my sleeveless cardigan and pulled Fletcher after me, my heeled boots clicking on the floor. I dragged him out into the parking lot, into my car. "Come on, we're going to get frozen yogurt."
"But we're not supposed to leave campus." Fletcher sighed, making circles on the window with his finger, tears still coming it.
"Oh my god.. Fletcher, you let yourself go. You're hurting right now, so I won't yell at you, but..... Just... get it together." I knew I sounded like a huge hypocrite, I hadn't exactly held it together well when we'd broken up.
He didn't respond, he was just looking blankly outside the window.
"Fletcher. Fletcher." I sighed, and drove quickly to the frozen yogurt place just three minutes from our school. After dragging him in, forcing to get strawberry and chocolate yogurt, paying for him, and making him sit in the loungey chairs.
"Eat." I instructed, face palming. I was thinking about what exactly I was telling him. What could I? I couldn't exactly say; 'Oh, and by the way, this all happened because Jade and I were bitter revengeful bitches who wanted to ruin your life. Aren't you so glad you have us?"
He robotically shoved it into his mouth. "The... The last 8 months of my life were a lie?" He mumbled, smacking his lips together.
"Hey, that's exactly how I felt I about you." I muttered under my breath. He didn't hear me, thankfully. "Listen, Fletcher." I began allowed. "She broke your heart. You've never felt that kind of pain before. I get it. I really, really do. But you shouldn't let someone like her destroy your happiness. She broke your heart and couldn't even do it nicely. She told you something you thought was real was all a lie. She lied." I felt like a hypocrite, but at the same time, I had asked her to end it nicely and earlier, but she wouldn't. My voice broke as I continued. "She lied about everything. Someone you held so dear to your heart, someone who made you smile every day, laugh every hour, made you feel attractive, funny, worth something. And when you look on those feelings, you feel hurt, and betrayed, and lost, and meaningless. You feel lesser, like nothing matters, and certainly not you. But remember, Fletcher. You are Fletcher Pierce. Hottie, athlete, and you may have made a lot of mistakes, and you may feel like Rosalie is just another, but she changed you. She made you realize how important love was, how you needed to forgive and forget, and let go of those, all in the name of love. She taught you so much, that your relationship may be a painful memory, but it should never be regretted."
He looked up, his puppy-dog eyes coming out. He was adorable, even when he was sad. "Do you really think I'm a better person, now?"
"I know you are. She changed, you Fletcher. For the better. She changed you in a way that no one else could."
"I guess.... I guess that's true." He mumbled.
"Fletcher, would you do me and Jade the pleasure of going to prom to with us? I know you're hurting, but you already payed, and it might be good for you."
He looked up at me and smiled slightly. "I would, but I doubt people would think that was appropraite after Rosalie and I breaking up TODAY."
I mock gasped. "FLETCHER PEIRCE. Did you just care if people think that you're a player? I am shocked!"
He laughed. "I guess I have changed."
"See? Now let's go back to school, and get your best 'I don't give a damn' face on."
"Let's go." He laughed.
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I pinned the bun in place and looked at Jade's hair. I'd fixed it in a bouffant bun style, with a jeweled headband. I took hairspray and shook it all around. "Close your eyes." I instructed.
She closed her eyes tightly, and waited. I sprayed it over her head, making a hairspray a mist over her head. I coughed and waved it away, looking at her hair. "Perfect." I smiled.
"Now that I have hairspray poisoning." Jade laughed. "I think my makeup is set in stone too."
"Sorry about it." I stuck my tongue out at her.
"My makeup is done, my hair is done, my nails are done. Shouldn't you start getting ready?" Jade asked me.
"I will." It wouldn't take me long to get ready, honestly. I took my hair and twisted it around itself, and pinned it back to start my makeup. I didn't take a lot of time on my face. I concealed, powdered, and that was it. On my eyes I did smokey, but spiced it up with gold eyeliner on my under eyes, and gold glitter in the corners. I took out my curling wand and began to curl my hair quickly. I set it in a waterfall braid, and walked over to where my dress was hanging. I picked it up by the hanger, along with the strapless bra, and walked into the bathroom with it.
I slipped off my shorts and t-shirt. I changed my bra to the strapless one, then slid my dress on. It was a bit stiff, and it was very tight in the chest, but it looked perfect. I had to struggle a bit to get it zipped properly, but I managed. I looked at myself in the mirror and smiled slightly. Something didn't look just right, and i couldn't put on my finger on what it was. I shrugged it off, and walked back into the room. Jade was standing in the doorway, and she looked so breath takingly beautiful. Her mask was on, and somehow she just looked so different. I loved Jade, but she really wasn't all that mysterious or glamorous. With her mask and vintage hairstyle, she looked like something straight out of a fairy tale. Her long, light pink and black swirl nails complimented the dress well, as did her black upper arm bracelet.
"Wow." I commented.
"You look seriously breath taking." A voice behind me said. I saw Jade blink quickly, like she was embarrassed, so I turned, and Chase stood behind me, looking over her. "Seriously, Jade."
"Like seriously." I mocked, laughing. But my laughter was short lived because I realized that... That my best friend and brother were having a.. a moment. And he was in a relationship. I loved Jade and I knew that she was so in love with Chase, but I also loved Sydney, and they were.. They were Sydney and Chase, Chase and Sydney, the one couple I knew would always be together. So I had to do something. I couldn't stand watching Jade make doey-eyes, and Chase so blatantly checking her out.
"Chase. Sydney... Syndey texted me and told me that you weren't answering her calls." I said. Hopefully mentioning his girlfriend would break his little Jade fantasy.
The moment broke, and he blinked, shook his head, and sighed. "We're sort of in a fight." He admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Really?" I was concerned. They rarely fought, actually I'd probably seen then fight about once. "Well, are you going to be okay?" I stepped forward, putting my hand on his arm, looking at him. I knew how he got with Sydney sometimes.
"Yeah. I'll man the fuck up and apologize tomorrow, I just need today to be pissed off." He admitted with a groan, tossing his head back.
"Well, good luck with that." I patted his shoulder. "So how do I look?" I spun around, just for the full effect.
"You look pretty sis." He smiled, then walked past me into his room, but not without a lenghtly look at Jade, who was blushing like fire. He closed his door quietly, and I laughed, and turned back to Jade
Jade had just been staring us the whole conversation, and now she was staring at the door that he'd just closed.
"Wow, Jade, creepy starer much?" I teased, tossing my hair over my shoulder.
"Sorry." She muttered, biting her lip. "What am I supposed to do? He's gorgeous. He's..."
"You really are a psycho." I laughed. "Come on, let's finish getting ready and leave."
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Prom was being held at the nicest hotel within an hours radius. It wasn't the Hilton, but it was decorated beautifully. I somehow managed to convince my dad to pay for Jade and I to get us a limo to prom, and so we arrived in style. Jade had been a limo before, and she was being sophisticated or whatever, but I was having fun with the mini-shot sized sprites. Maturity, I know.
As we pulled up to the hotel and got ushered into the room where dinner was served, and I saw so many people dressed nicely in suits, masks, dresses, heels, that kind of thing, it felt almost storybookish. I felt like someone should paint this scene and it should be Cinderella's ball.
Jade and I were seated at one of the long dining tables, next to each other. Across from us, it was obvious who it was. The mask was basically black lace. Not even thick lace. Just a thin black lace mask with a few black feathers on one side. She had a black lace mermaid dress, with the back dipping low, and the neckline plunging deep.
"Seriously, Tayla could've covered a little for the occasion." Jade muttered under her breath to me, obviously disgusted by the way Tayla dressed. She didn't dress the way she did for herself, she did it so every guy in a relationship or out would stare at her chest.
I laughed slightly, and then spoke to Tayla for the first time in months. "Hello Tayla." I had to keep from telling her how ridiculous she looked in that 'mask'
She ran her tongue over her teeth and looked at me, as you would look at a too-friendly cashier. "Do I know you?"
"Its Aria." I laughed, looking at the dislike in her expression as soon as she heard my name. I didn't resent it, however, I relished in it.
"Oh." She slunk her hand over to Shawn's protectively. "Who are you here with?"
"No one." I responded honestly. "Except Jade."
She paused, then openly laughed at me, actually pointing her finger at me. I had to roll my eyes. She was ridiculous. "Of course you are. I mean I'm hear with the only guy who's ever wanted to be with you, and you were stupid enough to end that."
"I mean, that is coming from girl who's longest relationship was 1 month." She was giving me shit for not being in relationship. She was.
Tayla shrugged. "I like my boys like my phone plan. No contract and unlimited." She sounded like a character. She couldn't be serious. No one was that much of an airhead. No one. Right?
"Oh, I'm sorry, I couldn't hear you over all your STD's." I blurted out, without thinking. I shouldn't have said it, but I was really pissed off at her, and just wanted to sock her over the head.
Shawn, Jade, Tayla and pretty much everyone else gasped. I honestly don't know what I thought her reaction would be, but it was certainly satisfactory to see her mouth gaping at me.
"That was too far." Jade whispered, her voice was in awe. I knew I'd taken it to far, because Tayla actually HAD a very public STI situation last year at school.
Tayla crossed her arms over her chest. "How does it feel, Aria? Knowing that the only guys you attract always end up in bed with me? Face it, I'm better than you."
What she said honestly opened my mind. I realized exactly why she treated me so badly and hated me so much. "You really feel so unloved, don't you? Two guys now have wanted to love me, to have me as theres, and when it comes it you, they just want to bang you and not have to feel any pain. You know that Shawn touches and you and thinks of me? Don't deny it, its true. Oh god. You are jealous of me. Not just because of them though. You're jealous because I have friends, good grades, a family, and people want to talk to me instead of feel me."
"I'm not jealous of you." She laughed, but they way she looked at me, it was so obvious.
"And you think that because you are here with Shawn, I'm somehow going to think that you're... That you're better, and you think that if jut one person believes it besides you, it'll be true. My god. You are really like the bitch in the movies, unloved and desperate for someone's attention."
Tayla stood up, eyes ragingly furious. She punched me flat in the side of my face. It hurt, of course, but my first reaction wasn't to feel. I swung back, of course. I had my hand open, and I cracked her on her jaw. She squealed and jumped back after she felt the sting.
Shawn, as always, did nothing to stop a fight. He just watched in awed fascination as Tayla swung again, aiming for my nose she missed, and hit my mouth. I felt my lip sting as her sharp ring ripped my lip open. I was about to swing back, but Jade grabbed my arms. "Stop. Stop. Aria, ignore her. You are so much better than that. Don't let this continue."
"Yes, Aria, back away before you get your ass whupped." She crossed her thin little arms, and patted her glossy together. I hated her. I really hated her.
I wasn't a body builder, but I possessed enough rage and strength to pull out of Jade's grasp and I stepped onto the table and onto Tayla's side of the table. I grabbed her hair forcefully and smacked her head against the table top.
She screamed in pain. "LET GO OF ME." She whined, struggling away, trying to punch me. I knew her head would bruise, that wasn't a gentle smack.
"A little hint, Tayla, this isn't even what getting your ass whupped is like. This is you getting what you deserve." I let go of her hair and shoved her to the ground, hard. She crumpled up, crying. I knew I hadn't done any real damage, as she was just crying, not screaming anymore. The worst of it was on the side of her face, which was already bruising.
I looked up everyone, and I could see all eyes on me. I shakily picked up a napkin and held it to my lip. "What are you all staring at?" I asked, rising my eyebrows.
"You just beat up Tayla." Someone said. And suddenly, swear to god, this honestly happened. Every girl, 70% of the guys and even one of the teacher's aid who was supposed to be supervising us fell into clapping. The other two aids tried to qiuet everyone down, but they didn't even get me trouble, they just helped Tayla up, and got her cleaned up.
I laughed softly and bowed slightly, very sarcastically. "Come on, guys. Who needs food anyway. LET'S HIT THE DANCE FLOOR." And I walked out, followed by all my friends, classmates, enemies, and everyone in between.
People overestimate prom, sometimes. After all, it is just dance. You play a lot of music, dance, eat, and party your butt off. But other times, prom is exactly how you always imagined it. Dancing all night with your best friends, Even Fletcher joined Jade, Shawn, me, and a bunch of other people who I'd never really talked to have the best night of our lives together.
I won prom queen, believe it or not. It was a huge shock to me, but exciting. And prom king, of course, was none other than Fletcher Peirce. So obviously we shared the the rest of the dance together after that. It was slow dance after slow dance, laughter after laughter, and for the first time that year, I felt like I had Fletcher. I had the one I would always love