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My hand shook slightly while I applied my mascara. I dusted sheer eyeshadow over my eyelids and tousled up my hair. I was almost done getting ready for prom, and I was thrilled. I had been excited all week, but on the actual day of prom, I was beyond ecstatic. Everything was playing out exactly how I had imagined in middle school: I was going with my long-time crush, I was wearing a beautiful dress, and I was going to be with my amazing group of friends. I was pretty sure Sam and I were nominated for prom king and queen, as well.
My parents were away on business, as usual, and Steve and I were left to get ready for the prom on our own. Steve was going with a girl from one of his classes, someone nice, and we were all going in a limousine together: Decker, Libby, Oliver, their dates, Steve, his date, Sam, and I. Soon, I was ready to leave, and I waited for Steve at the bottom of the stairs. I heard the limo pull into our driveway, and I was anxious to get going.
"Hey, stud! Let's get a move on, huh?" I shouted to the top of the stairs, encouraging Steve to put some pep in his step. "Shut up, I'm coming!" He yelled back to me. I rolled my eyes and walked towards the front door. "I'm going to the limo!" I shouted and heard him groan as I was no longer waiting for him. As I swung the door open, however, Sam was standing there, about to knock, and I smiled widely. "Damn, you clean up nice," I said to him, and I noticed him staring at me, so I did a little twirl for him. "You're not too bad yourself," He said in a sultry tone, getting closer to me. He leaned in, cupping my face in his hand, and kissed me gently. My cheeks burned a bright pink, and I made little effort to hide it.
"Hey, hey, hey, get your grubby hands off of my sister," Steve joked, clapping his hands as he walked towards us in his suit. "You look nice," I said, observing his attire, and he took a slight bow. "Is that a compliment I just heard?" He asked, and I punched him in the arm. "Don't take it to heart, dick-head," I said. "Oh, how I wish I had siblings," Sam said jokingly after witnesses the carelessness and ease of the bickering Steve and I so often did. "This one's free," I said, pointing to Steve. He scoffed and put two hands on his hips, "I'm gonna come over there and fuck up your hair if you keep it up." I inched away from him, knowing he might just do it. "You wouldn't," I said, testing him. Sam, looking thoroughly entertained, began to chuckle a little bit at our antics. "Alright, Hair-ingtons, if we don't get a move on, we're gonna miss the whole prom," He said, and we realized that we should probably get a move on.
All three of us piled into the limousine and I greeted Libby, Decker, Libby's date Ellie, Decker's date Katrina, and Steve's date Molly. "We're the last ones, huh?" I asked rhetorically, and we all nodded, slowly creating an awkward silence between everyone. We slowly began to talk and get more comfortable with everyone, making a more relaxed environment. We began to joke and laugh, and soon, we were at school. Hawkins High was lit up with lights very clearly hung up inside. We were all excited to go inside, but now I was really looking forward to it. Sam took my hand and we went inside the gymnasium. We handed our tickets to my Chemistry teacher from last year, Mr. Apelinsky, and we went straight to the dance floor.
We danced, drank punch that one of the jocks spiked, and had an overall good time at prom that night. I felt happier than I had in a long time, forgetting everything that had plagued my mind for the past few months. There was something else: My parent's divorce. They didn't know I knew that they were splitsville, but I had overheard a heated argument when I was picking up stuff to go to Decker's house one night. I didn't tell Steve because I didn't want him to worry. My dad was hard on him, and I didn't want Steve's kindness to cloud his judgment of our asshole of a dad. That and I didn't think Steve should have to worry about something like that when he was meant to be having fun in his last year of high school.
Alas, all of those troubles that bounced around my head on the daily simply melted away as I danced my heart out. The soles of my feet were hurting by the time the music died down and prom court was being announced.
A familiar face, Nancy Wheeler, stood up on the stage with two cards in her hands. "Hello, Hawkins High!" She said into the microphone, eliciting cheers from the rowdy senior class. I cheered, clapping my hands as the anticipation began to grow. "I'd like to announce the prom king and queen, but first: I'd like to call out all nominees! For prom king, the nominees are Sam McAllister, Parker Stevenson, and..." She said, trailing off. Nancy squinted her eyes at the paper as she prepared to read the next name. She seemed to shrug off whatever she was thinking, and read the name out loud, ", and Billy Hargrove."
I rolled my eyes, a new instinct for whenever I came across anything remotely related to the prick. Sam seemed to notice and began to lightly rub my arm. "It's not like he's gonna win," He said with a chuckle. "I guess not," I said with a light shake of my head.
"And the for prom queen, the nominees are Eleanor White, Tracie Morgan, and Jamie Harrington!" I smiled at my name being called. I knew I was nominated, but it felt oddly good to hear it out loud. "Now to announce this years prom king and queen! Drumroll please..." Nancy announced, and the anticipation grew higher. "Sam McAllister and Jamie Harrington!" My hand flew over my mouth, shocked that I had won, and Sam gave me a huge hug as we went up to collect our crowns.
I didn't usually get worked up over superficial stuff like this, but it was still kind of cool. We went onto the little announcement platform and Nancy put the crowns on our heads, smiling at me a little longer than at Sam. I smiled back, deciding that I would be civil. Suddenly, Sam asked for the microphone, which he was given, and he cleared his throat. I wasn't sure what he was doing, so I took a step back and let him talk.
"A few months ago, I moved back to hometown, Hawkins," Sam started, getting cheers from the crowd of buzzed teenagers. "I moved back, and saw that the girl that I had liked since middle school was here, just as pretty as I had remembered. But you know what else? She was real pretty, sure, but she was also sluttier than I had remembered. Yeah, when I found out she was hoeing it up with Billy Hargrove, I just knew I had to get her off of hat destructive path, starting by alerting my guys on the basketball team," Sam continued. You know the feeling when you fall or get hit by something and the wind is just knocked out of you? This elicited that feeling for me.
I frantically searched the crowd for a friendly face, not sure where we friends were in the mob of people looking up at us. I saw someone I didn't expect, but locked eyes with nonetheless. Billy was standing by the door to the gymnasium, looking dead at me, a cold expression on his face. He looked ready to kill, but I looked back at Sam, about to cry.
"So I guess this is what you deserve, huh? I don't think painting your locker did what I wanted it to. Maybe this will get it through your head," Sam said, his usually warm facial features turned mean and full of hate. "Now!" He said, and when I heard a vicious Tommy H. cackling from behind me, I knew there was something about to happen.
Suddenly I felt tons and tons of paint splatter on top of me. I stood there in awe for a minute, until people began to laugh slightly. "Yeah, folks, don't be afraid to laugh! It's fucking funny!" Sam shouted before getting the microphone ripped out of his hand by Nancy. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" She exclaimed. "It's what the whore deserves. It's been a long time coming," Sam spat in our direction.
"So it was you who fucked with my locker," I said, and Sam nodded. "You know it, babydoll."
I saw Steven Decker, Libby, and Oliver start to walk up to the platform, all looking furious, but I was done with the night. I ran out of the gym, tears rolling down my face.
I sat outside and cried, shocked that Sam had led me on for months and surprised that he would betray me like that. I felt a hand on my shoulder and I snapped my head around, eyes locking with ocean blue ones. "I'm sorry that happened to you," Billy said, but at this point so many emotions rushed through my head.
He never touched my locker. He never told anyone about us. He never did anything wrong and I accused him for all of it. "You're gonna get paint all over you," I sniffled.
"I don't care," He said, and at that moment, we seemed to lean in at the exact same time. He kissed me in a way that I had secretly yearned for for months.
"Let's get out of this shit-hole," Billy suggested and I nodded.
"I'd like that."