We stuck by each other.
"I just don’t feel like going." I try to keep my voice calm, because I hate being annoyed with my mom. I’ve never even been big on dances anyway, so I didn’t see the point of going.
I don’t know why she bothers to guilt me into things she knows I don’t want to do.
Right now, football is my priority and going to the prom wouldn’t benefit it at all.
"Honey, I worked really hard to save money for your suit."
Here we go.
Groaning, I drag a hand down my face while I stare at the navy suit that she’s hung on the hook behind the bathroom door, coming to terms with the fact that the decision has been made for me.
Like always.
Fuck it.
"I’ll go for an hour, and nothing more."
"Better than nothing, Harley. Please, try to enjoy yourself. It wouldn’t kill you to let everything go for the night." Fat chance of that happening, but I nod and shrug instead of protesting, ripping the suit off the hanger.
Slamming the car door shut, I slowly lug my heavy body into the school gym.
Mom helped me do up my tie, but the moment I closed my front door, I loosened it around my neck because I felt too restricted.
I just want to fuckingbreathe.
"Hey, stud." Bea smiles as she approaches me, linking her arm through mine. "Let me fix your tie." She tries, but I nudge her hand away.
"Can we just get this over with?" I ask. I’d called her on my way, and she said she would meet me out front and we could go in together.
People would probably get the wrong idea and talk, because gossip was the hottest hobby in Grangewood, but I didn’t care. She and I knew we were just friends, and it’s no-one else’s business.
Bea’s wearing a black princess cut ball gown. Her long, blonde hair is dead straight, half-up, half-down. She’s rocking black lips like its nobody’s business, and bright red shoes slightly peek out the bottom. The only pop of color in sight.
I know absolutely nothing about fashion, but I know a pretty girl when I see one, and Bea looks immaculate.
"Are we doing this?" she asks with a deep, steady breath. She wants to be here about as much as I do, but she didn’t want to let her dress go to waste.
"One hour," I remind her before we step foot into the school gym.
"One hour." She nods, gets on her tiptoes to plant a kiss on my cheek that I wipe away, and into the gym we go.
'So What'byPINK!Is blasting through the speakers as the crowd jumps around, dancing and shouting the words like a bunch of drunk morons, and I already know to stay away from the punch. It’s at that moment that I decide to find a place in the gym’s corner to occupy myself for the remaining fifty-five minutes I have left.
Not that I’m counting.
Someone caught Bea’s eye the moment we pushed through the doors, and I haven’t seen her since we arrived.
"Hey, Harley," a soft, husky voice says from over my shoulder. My breath lodges in my throat, my heart skipping an entire beat. I would recognize that voice anywhere.
"Hey, Herring," I say, looking at her up and down, indulging in her for as long as I can. Her dress is long, sparkly, and deep green, hugging her body like a second skin.
The sleeves hang off her shoulders and a slight v exposes just the right amount of cleavage, with a slit on the right side, cutting almost high enough to see her underwear.
Almost.
"You look beautiful," I say, clearing my throat. She blushes instantly.
