tell me who i am, guess i don't have a choice
all because i liked a boy

Aurora Holland

Christmas break was over, meaning we all had to go back to school. Although I was excited to get the last semester of my senior year over with, I couldn't help but feel a little upset that I had to go back.

I spent the majority of the break with Garrett, and the two of us connected more after New Year's. It was odd, as I wasn't used to having someone drive as long as he did to come see me. I even went and saw him a few times, but it was much harder for me to see him in Arrowway due to me not having my own car.

That being said, now that school's started up again, we don't see each other as much. That doesn't mean we don't talk, however, as he's made it a point to FaceTime me once a day, mostly before bed.

I've accidentally fallen asleep a few times on the phone with him, but instead of hanging up or attempting to wake me up, he just falls asleep on the other end. It was kind of cute, in my opinion, as I hadn't gotten to experience something like that before.

Paige did all the time, especially back in Point Prep. She was constantly on the phone with someone, whether it was a phone call or FaceTime. Either way, it was often she was talking to someone, whereas I was more alone and never had anyone to call, let alone text.

Garrett's also gone to a few hangouts with the friend group. If they were bothered by his presence or didn't like him, they never said anything, which I was glad about. Although I think they do favor him, as now when he comes around, instead of glares and threats, it was jokes and hugs.

Especially with Elijah, which was a completely different switch-up from the day I first met Garrett.

Unfortunately for me, I had joined the PROM committee. Apparently, the night of the New Year's party, I told Bailey I'd join and help with the decorations - something I barely remember doing as I'd been so caught up with Carter and Ashley that I just agreed to whatever had left her mouth so she'd leave me alone.

After realizing I'd accepted the invitation, I couldn't change my mind. It'd break Bailey's heart, which she didn't deserve since I was the one who said yes in the first place.

I guess something good about joining the committee meant less time being stuck at home. Katherine had gone back to her own house shortly before Christmas break ended, the only reason being that her mother had gotten back from her trip and blew a fuse.

She'd accused Katherine of 'mooching' off of us, which is anything but the truth. Instead of arguing, Katherine just packed her bags and headed back home, thanking me for being so kind to let her stay over break.

It was a little depressing without her over as much as she had been before, as I'd gotten used to her basically living with us. But Katherine was only a junior in high school - a year younger than me - and she still had to listen to anything and everything her mother told her to, even if it was unfair to her.

That being said, now that Katherine's not around and both sets of grandparents are gone - my mother's back to her usual antics. She's the same as she was before - if not worse - and has been doubling down on her insults toward me. It's just like it was when we first moved to Riverway, and I couldn't help but despise her more than I had before.

"Rory, are you listening?" Bailey asked, catching my attention.

I blinked a few times as I looked around, seeing the entire committee staring at me. I just nodded as my face began to heat up, clearing my throat. "Just tired. Keep going."

Bailey obliged, continuing to talk about the possible choices for the theme of PROM. Everyone listened, taking in the ideas and even throwing in their own thoughts every once in a while.

PROM committee consisted of Bailey, Eliana, Lila, Maya, and Gwen Larson, as well as a few other people I never really interacted with. I definitely talked the least out of everyone here, but that's mostly because Bailey really only wanted me to join for my 'artistic abilities' as she says.

"Don't forget, since we're the committee and the ones making the magic happen, we need to dress to match the theme! So when you're buying your dresses - or tuxedos - just remember that we're the ones representing the theme, and pulling the strings!" Bailey exclaimed.

"Wait, so we have to go?" I couldn't help but ask, tapping my pencil on my sketchbook.

"Of course!" Maya looked at me with a look of judgment. "Why wouldn't we? Even if we weren't on the committee, PROM isn't something you just skip out on anyway."

"I just didn't intend on going," I spoke with a shrug.

"Well, now you don't have a choice," Gwen said from next to Maya.

I didn't say anything as Bailey began to speak up again about how the deadline was approaching quickly and we'd yet to choose a theme.

The debate was between a Masquerade and a black and white ball, both of which very much just reminded me of the movie Another Cinderella Story.

I'm not one to know much about previous PROMs or one to have actually been to a big PROM like this before, let alone be on the committee, but it seems like out of most teen movie choices like the ones thrown out today were the most basic ones you could think of.

I would know, considering I'm a pro when it comes to those types of movies.

Then I thought back to what Bailey had previously said. Because we're the committee and the ones who made PROM happen, we need to dress the part. She said the word 'magic', as we need to be ones to make magic happen the night of PROM.

I stopped tapping my pencil on my sketchbook, leaning back in my seat. "That's it," I said, catching the attention of everyone else in the room. "Black and White Balls and Masquerades are overused. We need to do as you said, Bailey. Something Magical."

"What, you mean like fairy tales?" Maya laughed with a snort, earning an eye roll from Gwen.

"Not fairy tales, per se, but magic. Magic is such a nice word, and what better way to bring the 'magic' to life than the theme being magic? But fairy tales could work too, in a way." I responded.

"Wait, you're serious?" Maya's smile fell. "No, but seriously, you're kidding, right?"

"It's actually not a bad idea," Lila chimed up from next to me.

Bailey's face lit up. "That's perfect, actually! I've never heard of Riverway doing a theme like that! Magic's perfect!"

"So if Magic is the theme, what's it going to be called? What would the decorations look like? It's easier said than done." Maya leaned back in her seat, crossing her arms over her chest.

"There are plenty of names we could use. We could keep the cliches and do something along the lines of 'A Night of Magic' or 'A Magical Night'," I began to explain random titles. "Or something more unique, if anyone has any ideas."

"Hmm, those might work." Bailey tapped her pencil to her bottom lip in thought.

"Well, the fairy tale thing was kind of an amazing idea, honestly," Eliana spoke up from the other side of Lila. "Maybe Magic can be the overall theme, but we put the title something to do with a fairy tale."

"Ooh! A Night of All Fairy Tales!" A boy whose name I didn't know suggested, but Bailey immediately shook her head.

"No. Too cringey."

I bit the inside of my lip as I thought, my head beginning to hurt from how much thinking this simple thing was taking. "Why don't we just call it 'Fairytale'?" I asked, "Simple, cliche, kinda too cheesy. But that's what we should expect for a PROM theme, right?"

"I can get behind that," Eliana agreed, Lila nodding after.

"Still think my idea was cool, but that works too." The unknown boy commented, sending a kind smile my way.

"Fairytale," Bailey made a humming sound, tapping the table. "I think that might actually work."

"Seriously?" Maya asked in disbelief. "That's the worst name I've ever heard."

"Well, it's simple. Cheesy. Slightly cringeworthy, which all PROM names usually are. Basic but not too basic," Bailey began, holding a finger up with each reasoning as to why the name would work. "Matches the theme of Magic perfectly without using the name, something you don't hear of often, making it unique but not so unique that it's just simply stupid. I think it's perfect!" She concluded, a giant smile on her face.

Everyone agreed, except for Maya, who just sat back in her seat, slumped. She didn't agree with the name of PROM, which I didn't blame her for. I didn't expect everyone to like it - or for it to even be chosen in the first place.

Bailey began to say who was in charge of which decorations. The fliers, the actual decorations for the place where PROM would be held, and anything related to it. I, of course, was put in charge of the artwork.

As she continued to give jobs out to everyone on the committee, I got lost in thought. I was now required to go to PROM, whether I wanted to or not. This meant I either needed to find a date or go alone, which I really didn't want to do.

My thoughts then drifted to Garrett, the boy who's been taking up a lot of space in my mind lately. He's kind, nice, and quite the gentleman compared to when I first met him. He wasn't the ideal person to take, but it would be good considering we've been on the topic of spending more time together.

It'd be a date, without it being a date. Right?

Everyone went to their own separate tables after Bailey was finished with her ideas, beginning to start on what was needed for PROM. I was sitting at a table across from Bailey, with Eliana and Lila on either side of me.

I continued to fight in my head about whether or not to ask Garrett or just go alone, but my thoughts were soon interrupted by the sound of Maya letting out a giant gasp.

"Did you see Ashley's latest post?" She asked Gwen loudly, not seeming to care that we were supposed to be working on stuff for PROM.

"No," Gwen softly spoke, much quieter than the brunette sitting next to her.

"Carter asked Ashley to PROM!" Maya squealed. One would think she had just gotten asked herself, the way she was extremely happy for her friend.

But then again, maybe that's just the bitter thoughts of me saying that, and she's just being supportive of her best friend.

One by one, people began to leave as our meeting was technically over. Eventually, it was only me, Gwen, and Maya left in the room.

Eliana and Lila had plans, so they left for the day, whereas Bailey had to run and get something from a different classroom.

I had begun to go with her, but decided against it as I wanted to spend as much time as I could working on the details for ideas for the decorations before it was time to leave.

The sound of knocking on the door caught my attention, and I looked to see the familiar curly-haired boy with brown eyes and a bright smile walking into the room.

Garrett made his way over to my table with the same signature smile he usually wore, ignoring the gaping stares from both Maya and Gwen.

I ignored them as well, knowing they were going to run and talk to Ashley about this, whether I gave them any attention or not. And so I didn't, putting my full focus on the boy making his way over to me.

"Still working on your PROM decorating, I see." Garrett was the first to speak. He sat down in the spot Lila previously sat in, which was to my right.

"We only just found out the theme a little bit ago, so I'd like to get as far ahead as I can." I shrugged, putting my pencil down. "I'm sure I'll figure it out, I just don't want to put it off till the last minute."

"Still down to go get ice cream after this?" He asked.

"Of course. I could never turn down a strawberry ice cream cone." I smiled at him, causing him to smile in return.

I could hear Maya mumbling to Gwen, but didn't bother listening to what they were saying. They were talking about us, I was sure of it, mostly because they didn't bother to lower their voices until Garrett had come in.

We began to talk about Garrett's plans for us once I was finished here, but it wasn't too long before we were interrupted.

Cameron had walked in, sitting down on the other side of me as he noticed where I had been sitting. "Where's Bailey?" He asked, lacing his fingers together on the table.

"Ran to a different class. She'll be back." I answered.

Cameron nodded, glancing around the quiet room. His eyes landed on Maya and Gwen before turning back toward me, tapping his fingers on the table nervously. "Hey, can I talk to you?" He then asked me, with a more serious look on his face than only moments before.

"Sure. Need to step out?" I asked, motioning to the door.

"No, nothing like that." He shook his head, "I just wanted to thank you. For all the advice you gave me on Bailey's birthday. It- it really meant a lot, you know?"

"You don't need to thank me," I told him, shaking my head. "It was nothing."

"But it was. It was kinda everything to me at the moment, and I really needed it. Plus, it was kind of dumb for me to attempt to get in between Layla and Bailey like that. Layla's one of my best friends, and Bailey's my sister - blood or not. I don't wanna ruin anything with either of them or ruin their relationship either." He explained.

I sent him a sad smile, unsure of what to say. I completely understood where he was coming from, as I felt similar when the whole Asher-Paige situation happened. Despite being upset and angry, I acted as if nothing had happened because I cared deeply for Asher, and I loved Paige and didn't want to ruin anything with anyone.

"You've been quite the addition to our friend group. And I mean that in the best way possible. You've done so much good for us, and I don't think all of us have ever been as close as we are now." Cameron added.

I opened my mouth to respond to his kind words, but was cut off by the sound of heels clicking as someone else entered the classroom. I looked ahead of me to see Ashley walking, stopping at the table Maya and Gwen were at.

We made eye contact, and the blonde smirked. "Still clinging onto every boy you can, I see."

"Still being a manipulative bitch, I see." Cameron was quick to say, a glare covering his features.

Ashley's jaw dropped at the comment, but instead of saying anything, she just put her attention back to her friends. They continued to talk about us, but I just looked down at the sketchbook in front of me.

"Ignore her, okay? She's just mad that she'll never be what you are." Cameron mumbled, tapping my hand.

"He's right. I got lucky with not having to go to this school, but I've attended enough parties with Ashley Wilde to know how she is." Garrett chimed in. He scooted his stool closer to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

I felt my face heat up at the action, but nobody said anything about it.

"Besides, you've got much more important things to think about," Garrett mumbled. "Like your beautiful artwork."

"They didn't have what you wanted," A familiar voice spoke, the person entering the room as they made their way straight for Ashley's table.

I looked up to see Carter. He looked at me, his eyes then trailing to Garrett. He then looked at me again, before looking at his arm wrapped around me.

"It's okay, baby, you can just-" Ashley's words were cut off as Carter just scoffed, leaving the room.

He'd been in here for not even ten seconds before leaving, and it was obvious it was because of Garrett.

I couldn't help but laugh, rolling my eyes at how immature he was being.

He's mad that I'm getting closer to Garrett, yet he's the one who left what could've been with me for Ashley. He chose Ashley over me, and even though he supposedly realized his true feelings for me, he still didn't bother doing anything about it. He still stayed with her, even though I told him I didn't care if she had my journal.

He made his choices and he made them loud and clear, and now that I'm moving on with my life, as I should - he's choosing to act like a child.

Ashley, who'd been livid at the fact that Carter walked out, glared at me. "You're still a prude who can't even get a date for the PROM." She snapped at me as if it were my fault that Carter left.

I mean it was, but not in the way she was acting.

Gwen and Maya followed her out of the room, leaving the three of us in there alone. Which was fine, I preferred it that way anyway.

"I'm sorry you have to go through this," Cameron mumbled from next to me. "I don't think I've ever seen Ashley hate someone as much as she hates you."

I shrugged, not really in the mood to talk about it. I could go on about how unfair it is, especially since I've never exactly done anything to Ashley. I don't count 'stealing' Carter as they weren't a thing when I met him, and he was never mine in the first place, so I don't understand why she hates me so much.

Cameron started to say something else, but was cut off by Bailey entering the room, a big smile on her face. "Cam, hey!" She exclaimed. "I didn't realize you were already here, we can go!"

She packed her things up, shoving whatever she'd run to the other room to grab in her backpack along with her other belongings.

Cameron stood from his spot next to me, letting out a deep breath. "See you around, Ror." He softly spoke before walking out with his sister, talking about something they had to do with their family.

It grew quiet in the room, the only two left being Garrett and me. I felt awkward, especially since he witnessed the wrath of Ashley that I have to deal with on a daily basis.

The good thing about Garrett going to Arrowway instead of Riverway was that he didn't have to be here to witness what I dealt with. He didn't see the comments I got every day, all because I gained more attention than I asked for.

"You don't have to be dateless, you know," Garrett spoke up as he moved his arm off of me. He leaned forward on the table next to me, studying my face as he spoke. "For PROM, I mean."

I shrugged, not knowing how to respond.

"We could go together if you don't have anyone else to go with." He offered, "Meaning if you don't have anyone else in mind that you'd like to go with."

I stayed silent for a moment, my stomach growing with butterflies at the sudden offer. "You don't have to do that just because Ashley said what she did," I mumbled.

"I mean, we already talk daily anyway. We see each other when we can, and things have been going alright between us, in my opinion. I think it'd be a cool date, bringing the cutest girl at Riverway to PROM." He nudged me with his arm, and I couldn't help but smile.

"Okay, yeah." I agreed, "I'll go to PROM with you, Garrett."