Evangeline had many acquaintances in Dessertville High.
It might have a lot of things to do with her angelic and freckled face, flawless body, and her blurted honesty. However, Eva liked to believe that her sweet persona and warm heart was the secret behind her popularity.
Or perhaps it was just because she was the biology teacher's daughter.
Either way, being known wasn't easy, not when every word and move she did was put under the microscope. The most thing Eva despised about popularity was the rumors - ah, the rumors. Eva didn't know where exactly to start on that one.
Eva knew she must be grateful, some people had it worse than her. She didn't mind people sharing details about her life, really, but what she did mind was how they twisted the truth, bending it to meet their dramatic hunger for gossip. Although, sometimes, Eva had to give them points for creativity.
Perhaps the rumor that was the furthest fetched that could've ended her life if her mother heard of, was how she was dating Ashton Quinton. According to the students of Dessertville High, the couple lost their virginity together, were sharing a secret relationship, and had a baby that was put into adoption. Apparently, Eva gave birth of the said child and moved to Dessertville for a fresh start.
Frankly, Eva lost her hope a long time ago of finding any reason in their useless blabber.
As Eva stared into Ashton's light blue eyes, ginger hair, and mesmerizing smile, she could understand why people shipped them. Both of them had similar hair color - although Eva's hair was redder and Ashton's was more on the orange side- both of them were popular despite being internal nerds, and both of them were nice, a bit shy, and smart.
They were the golden couple, quite literally.
And despite the romantic rumors, what Eva and Ashton shared was nothing more than friendship; that friend she only talked to when she accidentally ran into. Acquaintances was more like it.
It was Saturday's evening; the Spring Ball's night. Eva showed up, once again, alone to the school event. Despite boys constantly chasing her, she was too coolheaded to agree, definitely not because her mother would use her biological knowledge and decapitate her along with her date.
Eva ran into Ashton while looking for Trudy in the crowd of students that attended the Spring Ball. Eva thought it would be rude if she acted as if she hadn't recognized Ashton's light blue eyes among the crowd. Besides, Ashton was fun to be around, amusing, and a gentleman - the perfect recipe for the perfect guy.
Ashton sucked on his straw, the red liquid on his clear, plastic cup was emptying. "How are you doing?" Ashton asked, genuine concern in his light blue eyes. "We haven't talked in a while."
Ashton's sentence lingered in the end, almost as if he was blaming her. "I'm dealing with a headache," Eva blurted. Her tone was rude, and Ashton caught up that she meant him. Eva felt bad, but she was too occupied to comfort him. She needed Trudy because she was overthinking about Zarek again.
His light blue eyes shifted nervously to his drink, sucking on it. "I would love to buy you some painkillers," Ashton offered, frowning his face at the taste of the beverage, "But I'm afraid that would make me wanted."
Eva only half snorted at his cheesy line, watching his vivid red cup. Eva was getting more and more curious on what the substance was.
Ashton sucked more on his cup. "But that's-"
"What are you drinking?" Eva cut him off.
He pointed at his cup. "This?" Ashton frowned his brown eyebrows, taking a sip and lingered it in his mouth. "I think it's strawberry juice. Yeah, definitely strawberry juice."
Eva nodded, eyeing it. "Is it any good?"
Ashton shook his head. "Oh, no, it's awful." Ashton took another long sip.
Eva was perplexed at his irony. Her hazel eyes scanned the crowd until it landed on Ryan. Before she even knew it, she mumbled a few apologetic words and sprinted to Ryan.
So she did come off rude with Ashton despite trying not to, but it was nothing personal. The conversation was way too awkward, not to mention the fact that she wasn't the least bit interested. It wasn't like Ryan was any different, but at least she would be comfortable since they were friends. She wouldn't hang with him for long anyways, just enough to find Trudy.
Ryan was standing next to the beverages' table, the previous 'awful' strawberry juice was in a bowl next to a pack of clear plastic cups. Ryan cheered as he poured himself two cups, each in one hand. He was about to chug them down his throat when Eva tapped his shoulder.
Ryan's relaxed green eyes rested on Eva. "Hey, Evan, how ya doing?" Ryan slurred, shoving one of the cups in her hands, "There you go. Enjoy."
Evangeline sniffed the cup and cringed. She looked at the red liquid through her clear plastic cup and frowned in disgust. She couldn't believe that her school would allow alcohol in a ball. She seriously needed to make a complain to the principal, Mrs Biggun, about keeping an eye on the students' behavior. I'm talking like I have the guts to actually do it.
Eva put the cup on the table. She pushed her straight, red hair back as the flashing lights danced on her face. "I'm not drinking that."
Ryan's forest green eyes glowed everytime the light crossed it. Ryan patted Eva's shoulder. "Good girl. I'm proud of you," he said, looking directly at Eva's soft, hazel eyes, "You are good with everything. I wonder if you are good at se-"
Eva frowned. She pushed his hand off her shoulder and took a step back. "Are you drunk?" she interrupted before things got awkward forever. It seemed like Ashton was a better option now, but it was too late for go back, wasn't it?
Ryan ignored her question. With Eva retreating away, he had a better look at her. He gestured with his hand at the whole Evangeline, his forest green eyes getting darker as they looked her up and down. "Look at you, gorgeous as always."
Eva glanced at her little black dress and white snickers. A red flannel was lazily knotted around her waist. She thought her look was casual and plain. Nonetheless, she smiled at Ryan's complement. "Thanks."
Ryan's pouty, forest green eyes bored into her soft, hazel ones. "You're supposed to say the same thing to me too, you know? Boost up my self-esteem a little."
"Yes. Right. I'm sorry." Eva said. She took in his appearance; black shoes, blue jeans and a white shirt. His hair was a little shorter - he must've visited the hairdresser recently. His hair was as perfect it had always been, and Eva had no idea how he managed to make it look great all the time.
Eva shrugged her head. "You look alright."
Ryan playfully glared at her. "Mean."
"Hey, guys!" Janie shouted, joining Eva and Ryan. Her bright, natural colored, yellow eyes were the first thing that caught the attention; the color was unusual and weird, just like her personality. Her thick, brown hair was in wild curls around her face. She wore a sleeveles, if a bit revealing, pink dress that complemented her tanned, flawless skin. With a sharp winged eyeliner and nude lips, Janie was effortlessly gorgeous.
Janie's yellow eyes zeroed on the cup on the table. She gulped it down immediately, not caring to whom it belonged or even if it was spiked.
Eva eyed the girl, wincing at what she had done. "Unbelievable, Janie."
Ryan looked at the short girl in disgust. "You just can't resist, can you?"
Hypocritical, Eva thought to herself. After all, he was the one who offered her the cup.
Janie flipped her curly hair behind her shoulder to have a better look at Ryan. "Don't be so cocky. You're alright, but don't get ahead of yourself."
Ryan giggled - a drunken, hiccuping giggle. "That's not what I meant, but you just indirectly confessed that you can't resist me."
Janie smiled at him, patting her thick eyelashes. "Surprised? Want more confessions?"
Eva's hazel eyes shifted between Ryan and Janie, a smile tugging at her crimson colored lips - painting them behind her mother's back, of course. Ryan and Janie were both her friends, and honestly, they were each other's match; both of them were funny, caring when needed, and short. Cute.
Evangeline knew that Ryan had been single for quite a while now, and Janie was just fooling around; nothing serious. She hoped things would turn out great for them instead of awkward.
Before Eva could catch up to their flirting, Janie was guiding Ryan to the dancing area, claiming that her favorite song was on.
Way to ditch your friend, Ryan. Eva thought, looking around. The Spring Ball took place in the school's cafeteria. With flashing lights in the ceiling, a table for refreshments, and an amateur DJ shuffling on the prechosen music by Mrs Biggun without exceeding a certain volume - the decorations weren't that bad. At least the school made an effort.
Eva's hazel eyes finally landed on Trudy and her boyfriend Justin. Even though the school's cafeteria was dim, Eva saw Trudy's red, mini dress; classic but chic. Her normally wavy, dark hair was straightened and so, it looked longer than it usually did; all the way to her lower back.
Trudy was twirling a strand of brown hair around her fingers, sighting out of boredom while Justin was intently chatting and trying to entertain his girlfriend. Eva needed Trudy, but she wasn't about to impose herself on the couple. She didn't want to be a third wheel.
What an uncomfortable and an awkward night for me, Eva thought.
It didn't take long for Trudy's eyes to meet Eva's, and as soon as they did, Trudy smiled a smile of relief. Trudy called Eva over. On Eva's way there, Justin whispered something in Trudy's ears, and Trudy shrugged him off.
Justin wasn't quite happy about Eva's intruding, yet he offered her a warm smile. "Hey, Eva. How have you been? I haven't caught up with you as much lately."
Eva smiled back at him, playfully nudging his arm. "That's because you've been so caught up with your girlfriend to notice me."
Justin sheepishly glanced at Trudy, blushing when he caught her eyes. "Well, that is true."
Even though the music was playing in the background, Eva heard an annoyed grunt coming from Trudy's throat. Her hazel eyes widened as she hoped Justin hadn't heard it.
Eva quickly started a conversation with Justin to distract him. "To answer your question, I've been doing just fine. Nothing interesting happening in my life right now."
Justin knotted his thick eyebrows, his big eyes gazing at Eva. "Really?"
"Yes, really."
He nodded. "Okay, if you say so."
"Why?" Eva asked him, "Do you know anything?"
Justin opened his mouth to answer her but he quickly closed it when Trudy grapped his arm and squeezed it. "Nevermind. This is probably none of my business."
Before Eva could conclude more information out of him, Trudy linked her arms with Eva and dragged her. "Come with me to the bathroom."
As Eva was being dragged by Trudy, Eva spun her head around, "Sorry, Justin. We'll be right back." she said what Trudy should have. Justin was too focused on dreamily looking at his girlfriend to hear her. Cute.
As soon as they were in the bathroom, Trudy looked Eva in the eyes. "You have to break us up. I can't do this anymore."
"What? No." Eva refused, "The guy is so into you it's hopeless. You should've seen how he was looking after you when you didn't even excuse yourself and stormed away."
Trudy looked at the bathroom's mirror, running her fingers through her straight hair and fixing invisible smudges of her red lipstick. "He was just checking out my ass. This dress is too reveling it's giving him the wrong idea."
Eva flinched at Trudy's language but still decided to ignore it. "Can't you see how hopelessly in love he is with you?" Eva reasoned, "I'm pretty sure he hadn't said it yet because you two have been together for three months, but-"
"He had said it, actually." Trudy interrupted.
"I knew it. Haven't I told you he is in love-"
"Just saying 'I love you' doesn't mean he meant it."
Eva sighed. "Trudy, why can't you give the guy a chance? You just keep denying the whole thing-"
"Because there is nothing to begin with."
"God, stop cutting me off. You don't see me do it to you when you start ranting about me and Zarek-"
"Because Zarek means it. He is not just fooling around. He is serious about you."
"What did I say about cutting me off?" Eva glared at Trudy. "And I still haven't forgave you when you let him in my room. I can't believe you did that to me."
"I don't give a shit."
Eva held her hands up in surrender. "Alright. Just take it easy." she said, not wanting to fight and steer away from the actual problem, "The guy actually said 'I love you'? How are you feeling? Any butterflies or fireworks in your stomach?" Eva could only imagine.
"I'm feeling knots in my stomach," Trudy said, "Every time he calls be 'babe' or something like that, I feel sick. I'm not even physically attracted to him. I feel disgusted by him."
"But-... I thought you liked him!"
"At first, yeah. He looked cute." Trudy said, "But I don't feel the same anymore. I don't feel anything when I'm with him, except for the nausea."
Eva shook her head. "You're not being fair to him. The guy loves you, and you're leading him on, giving him false hope."
"No, I'm not." Trudy assured, "I never led him on. When he said he loves me, I didn't say it back. He thought I wasn't ready to say it back or something, I don't remember his words."
"But you're still with him, and that's wrong."
Trudy nodded. "Yes. That's why you'll break us up."
"I won't do that," Eva refused again, "I don't have the courage to tell him such news. Besides, this is unfair to his feelings. This is something between you two, and if you respect him enough, you should do it yourself."
Trudy opened her mouth to protest, but closed it again. She grabbed Eva's hand in hers and pleaded her with her brown eyes. "Please, do it for me. Can't you remember the bet? You didn't give Zarek a chance. So I can't give it to Justin." Trudy forced the words, "I can't - I'm gonna puke." She rushed to one of the stalls. The bathroom was empty. Everyone was too busy dancing outside.
Eva patted Trudy's back, helping her get her long hair out of the way. "You really are sick, huh?"
Trudy removed Eva's hand and pushed her towards the exit door, still clutching at the toilet seat. "Go and do it," she growled.
Eva had no way around it. Letting out a huff, Eva made her way through the crowd of teenagers and towards a super tall one. Justin was so tall that it was impossible to not find. His head would be the only one sticking out of the crowd. Trudy was short, so Eva thought they looked cute together as a couple.
Well, not anymore.
"Where's Trudy?" Justin asked the second Eva reached him, "Why did you take so long? anything wrong?"
"That rhythms," Eva stalled.
"Where's Trudy?" he pressed.
"Do you really love her?"
"With all my heart."
Eva sighed - this is hard. It was like saying no to her little brother, Joseph, when he gave her those pouty eyes of his, or taking a dirty lollipop from a little kid; It was difficult, but a must.
"You broke up," Eva blurted. Real smooth.
"No, we didn't. We were together a few minutes ago."
Let me rephrase that. "Trudy wants to break up."
Justin didn't wait any longer and walked away. Eva jogged after him, yet she couldn't catch up with him. He went to the girls' bathroom and swung the door open. Trudy was facing the mirror, wiping her mouth with toilet paper. It took Justin one large stripe to reach Trudy.
Eva was intruding on them. She stepped out of the scene, and left them alone.
That was her fault though. If she gave Zarek a chance, Justin's heart wouldn't have gotten broken. The guilt was eating her up that it stopped her from breathing. She felt as if the atmosphere inside the dance had no oxygen.
Eva rushed her way toward the exit door, when a hand caught her. It was Ashton.
"Hey, are you okay?" Ashton asked, a new filled cup in his hand.
"You shouldn't drink that," was what Eva said as she pushed him away.
She was past being nice at that point. She needed to be by herself. She left the school and heeded towards her mom's car in the parking lot. Hannah let Eva borrow the car because she knew the dance wouldn't end until night. Hannah was too hooked in her work to come and pick her daughter up, so she threw the keys in Eva's face.
The car was parked far away, and the evening air was chilly. It wasn't dark yet, but it would be soon enough. Eva remembered to wear the flannel that was previously tied around her waist. She fished her phone out of her dress-pocket and started typing a text to Trudy.
"I hope you solve things with Justin. I left the dance. I'm sorry but I needed some air. I don't know why I came to the spring dance in the beginning, but I wish I didn't. It was a waste of time. Anyways, I'll see you soon. XxXx."
Hitting the send button, Eva lifted her head up; she reached her mom's car. But the sight in front of her frozen her. Zarek Black was waiting for her on her mother's car.
hello, readers. finally, it's the spring ball. unfortunately, Eva showed up alone, again. was it wise of her to decline Zarek's offer or not?
buckle up, kids, the real fun is about to start.
enjoy.