ANNA SWEEPS ONE LAST clump of eyeshadow across my lid in a fashion that I never could quite master before stepping back with an accomplished smile on her face.
"Voila!" She exclaims, gesturing for me to check the results for myself in the mirror.
I turn to my vanity and am slightly taken aback by my reflection. I am already adorning the dress that Anna carefully selected for me at the store, but the girl wearing it seems to be a slightly more beautiful version of me. Her hair is perfectly curled, her cheekbones sharper and more defined, and her lips glossy and plump. I touch my hair, letting the curls bounce as I let them go, and move to touch my face when Anna reaches over and swats my hand aggressively.
"Don't touch!" She scolds me, a scarily serious expression on her face. She drops the eyeshadow brush she had been using back into the makeup bag she brought and begins to pack it up. "I just spent an hour on that masterpiece."
I roll my eyes, but obey her orders and instead stand up from my vanity. I walk to my wardrobe and pull on a pair of plain black strappy heels that I only ever wore for formal occasions due to my complete inability to walk in heels, and pluck my clutch from another shelf in wardrobe.
Anna claps her hands together in excitement as I emerge, her face filled with delight. "Let me take some pictures!"
I glance at my phone, noticing that it is almost six-thirty and begin shaking my head instantly. "Jaden's going to be here any minute!"
Anna rolls her eyes but starts toward my bedroom door regardless. "Fine — but you are not leaving this house without a photo, missy."
We both start downstairs, which takes far longer than usual due to the care I am taking not to topple down the stairs and hence ruin my night before it even starts. Anna waits at the bottom of the stairs, tapping her foot against the floor as if to tell me to hurry up, but I know better than to risk it.
"God, you really need to learn how to walk in heels," she rolls her eyes, gripping my arm the moment I hit the final step and dragging me into the kitchen.
I take a seat at the counter, watching in confusion as Anna opens the fridge and pulls out a bottle of apple juice and drops it on the table. She then reaches into my mother's cabinet of fancy glasses and selects a wine glass, then proceeding to fill it halfway with the apple juice. Anna then looks up to pass the glass to me, but she stops almost instantly and her face contorts to one of complete horror
"What are you doing? Get up!" I do as she asks without question due to her tone and readily accept the wine glass that she shoves into my hands. "I want a good photo before Jaden gets here!"
Anna huddles me toward a wall near my front door that she had probably pre-chosen as an adequate photo spot and quickly begins snapping pictures on her phone. I smile as she does so, feeling more awkward with every second that goes by.
"Why the wine glass?" I ask through gritted teeth, trying my best to pose in a way that won't turn out looking horrible, and by the fact that Anna hasn't instructed me otherwise I assume I'm doing well so far.
"So you have something to hold so that your hands aren't just... there," she explains, her face of complete concentration not faltering as she continues taking pictures.
Behind Anna, I see Calum slowly making his way down the stairs. I try my best to send him a twin-telepathy help signal, but he either doesn't hear it or doesn't care because he approaches our photo shoot with an expression of nothing other than his typical confusion and cluelessness.
"What's with the wine?" He asks, pointing to the glass in my hand.
"It's part of the aesthetic," Anna answers simply, refusing to provide the explanation she did for me.
Calum shakes his head and enters the kitchen without another word. I continue posing for a few more pictures for Anna, but thankfully after a couple of minutes the doorbell rings, setting me free from the seemingly endless photography. I hurry to the door, Anna already looking back through the pictures on her phone as I do so, and swing it open excitedly to reveal Jaden.
"Wow," he exclaims, looking me up and down with a charming smile. "You look amazing."
I feel jest creep up my cheeks at his comment and I only hope that Anna's makeup covers any hint of it. I step aside, gesturing for Jaden to come in. "Thank you. You're not too bad yourself," I compliment. Jaden is wearing a simple black suit with a white undershirt and yellow floral tie that matches my dress (as I advised him).
"Oh what, this? Just something I threw on," Jaden jokes. I laugh lightly, pushing the door shut behind him, and lead him into the kitchen where Calum is rifling through the pantry. "Hey, Calum."
Calum pulls his head from the pantry for a moment to acknowledge Jaden, flashing him a friendly smile — Calum had always liked Jaden. In fact, as far as I know everybody does. Well, except Luke.
"Hey, man," he greets briefly before going back to the pantry.
Jaden turns back to me, finally noticing the glass of apple juice in my hand and pointing at it with a confused expression. "What's with the wine?"
I roll my eyes, finally placing the glass down on the kitchen counter — for a moment, I had forgotten I had it. "It's apple juice," I explain, though it doesn't alleviate any confusion. "For pictures."
"It's a prop," Anna chimes in, finally approaching the counter.
Jaden spins around to face her, surprised but not unhappy to see her. "Oh, hey An—"
"Come on, I want pictures out front before you guys leave," she interrupts, gripping my arm and already dragging me out the front door. She only turns back to call out to Jaden, "Bring the apple juice!"
—
After a painful amount of time posing for pictures for Anna, my best friend finally allows Jaden and I to leave. We arrive at the banquet not long after it starts, so thankfully we're not considered to be late, and hurry inside with an influx of people.
"We're sitting over there," Jaden informs me, waving at a table with Finn and Jessica amongst some other people. I curse inwardly, knowing that the night will most likely consist of them flirting annoyingly with each other. However, once we get closer, I realise that Ashton is seated at the table, too.
"Hey, Ash!" I greet him with a friendly hug. Despite everything that has happened between us, I'm happy to admit that Ashton and I are finally in a good place as friends. For that, I am happy to forgive the things that he's done.
"Rory, you look incredible!" He compliments, taking in my dress. I find myself blushing again, not used to the compliments I'm receiving, and take a seat between Ashton and Jaden at the table.
"Thank you," I thank him politely, pulling my chair in closer. I look beside Ashton, noticing the empty seat, and cast him a look of curiosity. "Who did you come with?"
"Oh, nobody," he responds, and I instantly panic. Ashton must notice this, because he quickly laughs and shakes his head. "It's fine — the tables have uneven seating numbers, anyway, so it works out well."
"So, Rory," Finn chimes up from a few seats away from me. I look to him, already unimpressed with what he hasn't yet said, but try my best to seem friendly and kind. "You decided to give my boy Jaden a chance?"
I part my lips to speak, though I'm unsure of what I'm going to say, but thankfully Jaden beats me to it. "Finn," he warns, shaking his head sternly at the boy.
"What?" Finn reigns innocence, his hands flying up in defence. Beside him Jessica giggles, reminding me of precisely why I dislike her. "She came with you, didn't she?"
"As friends," Jaden reminds him. He casts me a quick look of apology, to which I shake my head. Despite his idiotic best friend, I do like Jaden and enjoy spending time with him.
"For now," Finn muses, a cunning smirk across his features that tells me he must have something planned — something I almost definitely won't like.
Jaden turns to me and sighs, seeming annoyed. "I'm sorry about him," he apologises. He seems far more cut up than I am about the matter. "I asked him not to make jokes."
I let out a laugh, shaking my head. "It's alright, really," I assure him — after all, it's not his fault that Finn is an asshole.
Jaden returns the smile, but quickly falls back into an expression of concern. "I should probably tell you," he begins, sending a jolt of anxiety through my heart. It's the start of the night — what could possibly be going wrong already? "Luke's on our table." Oh. That. "I tried to change us, but it was too late."
I instantly begin shaking my head, hoping that it seems genuine. The last thing I need tonight is to have Luke watching Jaden and I's every move, waiting for the moment he boils over in jealousy. But there is nothing I can do about it now, so I should try my best to enjoy the night with Jaden.
"It's okay," I assure him, casting the nicest, fakest smile I've possible ever portrayed.
"Really?" He asks, and I nod my head. "I'm sorry. I know you guys don't get along."
"Well, we will tonight," I tell him, earning a thankful smile in return. When Jaden turns back to listen to something Finn is saying, I let my guard drop. I quickly take a sip of water, hoping to push down my nerves as I swallow. I turn to face Ashton when I am done, only to notice him staring curiously at me. "What?" I ask, quickly regaining my happy expression.
"Nothing," Ashton muses, though it's clear that he's just witnessed my entire exchange with Jaden, including my reaction to hearing Luke will be at our table. "Tonight should be fun."
I almost scoff at his words — fun? With Luke and his jealousy involved, that outcome was unlikely. I find myself gazing at the spot where he is bound to sit, wondering where he is and why he's so late. All of a sudden, I consider the second empty chair beside his — the only two empty seats at the table — and a realisation dawns upon me. Was Luke going to bring a date?
Almost as if on cue, I see a tall, blonde head of hair saunter into my peripheral vision. I quickly turn to face the perpetrator, scowling unintentionally upon noticing that it's Luke.
"Sorry we're late," he apologises, glancing effortlessly over me as he smiles at the group. We, I think. We means plural. "Traffic."
Luke's eyes train on me for one moment — a fleeting, insignificant second — before he looks away and proceeds to take a seat beside Ashton at the table. Then, much to my horror, he looks back from where he came at something — no, someone — and a moment later none other than Cara Waters comes rushing over to the table.
"Sorry we're late!" She apologises, that evil smirk addressing everybody at the table before finally settling on me.
"Hi, Rory."