"Best anti-prom ever," Avery said aloud in the empty house.

She scrolled through her queue list on Netflix -a list now absent of her favorite romantic comedies- when she paused on Stranger Things. She heard good things about the series. Plus it was science fiction-horror. No romance. Shrugging her shoulders she pressed play and snuggled into the couch cushions. Soon she was so engrossed in the the story she hadn't heard the doorbell rang. Her pizza was here.

With two slices on her plate, she returned to her original position and pressed resume. The story line was that good. Good enough Avery was starting to almost believe skipping prom to binge a Netflix show was the best anti-prom ever. Even whenever she heard Mike's character name. She didn't like the reminder of her ex at all.

Before she could stop it her eyes began to water as she remembered the blow to her heart whenever she saw Mike and his new girlfriend together. Then the images juxtaposed alongside memories her and Mike holding hands. Laughing together and hanging out at the mall and going to the movies. The way he held her. Kissed her.

Taking a deep breath pass the tightness in her throat Avery rapidly blinked her eyes. She wasn't going to cry.

She dried her eyes with the back of her hand and took another bite of gooey cheese, pepperoni, salami and sausage.

"Yeah Hopper," she mumbled between chewing. "Still think it's 99% of the time?"

***

"You can't be serious Austin," his best friend Jenny's voice trilled through the car's speaker phone. "You broke up with that Ariel girl weeks ago."

"You know her name is Aria. Besides I promised."

"If you have to miss your own prom then promises can be broken. Especially when you've broken up," she said stressing the last two words.

Austin sighed again. "Well, I'm already here-"

"I bet you she's not even there. That she went to her own pr-"

"So depending how it goes you might or might not see me later." There, that's a compromise of sorts Jenny should be happy with. Considering she's been harping on him about Aria for the past forty-eight hours.

Jenny snorted what sounded suspiciously like 'yeah right.' "I'm sending you directions to get to the place. See you soon."

Austin sat in the car and thought it over. He didn't want to admit it but Jenny might be right. So what was he doing here, idling in his dad's Rolls Royce that he had to put his spleen and kidney on loan to borrow tonight, in front of Aria's house?

Twenty minutes. Twelve hundred seconds. That's the reason. A chance encounter at Hobby Lobby with a sweet, cute girl who smiled as if she was a little kid in a candy store. Fabrics, beads and threads were her candy.

He wondered again how could the girl he met then was so different from the one he'd dated. Did the breakup with her boyfriend changed her that much? Made her more willful? More shallow about her looks? Or given the short time he got to know her, he really didn't know her at all as he thought he did. The questions went round and round in his head in hope in finding the answer.

Bang.

Austin jumped at the noise. The next door neighbor's trash can laid on its side, a pair of ghostly, glowing eyes from within. He jumped as the eyes moved closer then breathed a of relief. It's just a raccoon, he thought as he watched it scurry across the front yard and scaled the fence into the back.

Shaking his head, he stepped out the car, walked up to the porch and pressed the doorbell.

Here goes nothing.

He waited a few seconds but no one came to the door. Someone had to be home because the house wasn't as dark or void of people like he thought. He could see the glare of the television through the transom window.

Maybe they left the TV on.

The door opening stopped his musing and seconds later erased his nervousness as it was replaced by aggravation.

He really should stop hoping. Not when it gave you false expectations. For some stupid reason he'd actually imagined Aria greeting him dressed up as beautiful as an angel. Not wearing baggy sweats.

God, he felt so stupid.

She continued to stare up at him, her mouth forming a perfect circle, as if she couldn't believe he was here. Austin wrenched his eyes away and tried to apologize for showing up. Unfortunately, his mouth had other plans.

"What's wrong with you Aria?" he demanded in a harsh voice. "First you beg me to give up my prom and promise to go to yours," wasn't this Jenny's exact words? "And though we broke up, stupid me, I show up to keep it. And you're what? Sitting around at home? What are you trying to pull," he demanded knowing full well no one told him to show up. Even Jenny tried to stop him. It was his fault he was feeling this way.

"Austin," Aria breathed in wonder halting his rant and damn if his heart didn't quicken. She was looking up at him, genuine relief and joy, shining in her glassy, red eyes.

"Have you been crying?" His hands, another body part that did what it wanted, reached out and cupped her face. His thumb caressing her cheek as he pulled her closer, over the threshold and up against him. "Why are you crying?"

Her mouth opened and closed, drawing his gaze. Weird, strangled and garbled sounds came out.

Was she that surprised he'd shown up? Did she regret what happened between them?

"What are you doing here?"

And just like that, the same as the day they met, a lock fell into place. A click. A feeling, stronger than before, that this was the girl for him.

***

Someone was ringing the bell again. Maybe if she ignored it whoever it was would go away.

Ding, dong. Ding, dong.

Nope.

Huffing in frustration, she grabbed the remote, hit pause and stomped towards the door. All the while promising retribution underneath her breath. Whoever it was had no etiquette at all.

When Avery opened the door to her unwanted visitor several things happened at once. She was inflicted with shortness of breath. Thousands of butterfly wings fluttered inside her stomach. She was pretty sure her mouth opened and close like a fish reeled out of the water and onto dry land. For the unwanted visitor standing before, on her parent's front porch was absolutely scrumptious. Wearing a classic white air tie and black tuxedo, accenting eyes the clear blue of offing when the sea touches the horizon. And she knew him. Austin. The cutie she met a few months ago and never thought she'd see again.

Avery became aware that he was saying something. The agitation on his face told her mushy brain that he was upset with her. She forcefully dragged her brain to come to grips with finding out why he was here. How he found her? But it shut down again when the growing concern in his face chased away the hurt she saw in the stiffness of his shoulders. In his voice.

Next thing she knew Avery was melting against him. She was on fire. Then the fire was doused when her brain started working again.

Did he call her Aria? How did he know her sister?

She disentangled herself from his embrace. A strangled noise unfortunately spewed from her mouth before she cleared her throat and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I came to take you to prom."

She watched as he jammed his hands into his pockets and wished she could feel them on her again.

"What do you mean take me to prom?"

Austin raked his hand through his hair the look of disappointment back on his face. Avery felt a twinge pain for causing him hurt but remembered whatever was going wasn't her fault. This had Aria written all over it.

"I know we broke up," they were dating?! Her heart plummeted to her toes and she vowed to kill Aria, "but I promised to take you to prom so stopped by to make good on it."

Austin shook his head. "Jenny said you wouldn't be home," Who was Jenny? A friend or sister? "Said you'd probably gone to prom," whoever Jenny was knew her sister well, but how well? thought Avery as a pebble of an idea began to form in her head, but dismissed it, "And to just turn around, head to the hotel. But here you are. And here I am."

Yeah, here you are, thought Avery. But now what should she do? Tell him the truth? She didn't want to hurt him. And Aria should be here apologizing.

Her eyes glanced up towards her bedroom and she chewed her bottom lip. The dress she worked so hard on with auntie Rina's help was hanging in the back of her closet. So were the cute pair of shoes she found and bought online. She never finished the reticule she was making with the leftover fabric from her outfit. But that only needed a quick stitch to finish.

No, this was insane. She couldn't trick him by pretending to be Aria pretending to be her just so she could go to prom. Could she? Besides Aria and their friends would be there. He'd be humiliated and angry once he saw them together.

"Aria?"

Avery jolted out of her thoughts and for a second she feared he could read her guilty thoughts.

"Huh?"

"Did I make a mistake in coming? You don't want to go prom?"

A hazy memory about someone named Jenny came into her mind and she latched on it like a lifeline.

"What about your prom?" she asked hesitantly, hoping to god she was right.

"Are you saying you want come to mine instead?"

"Yes," she replied. Her hands dropped to her sides. Clenching them open and closed she silently hoped she was doing the right thing. Besides, he came over because he wanted to take her. This way they both get what they want.

Austin was smiling brilliantly stunning her out of her brief dismal thoughts with his enthusiasm. It was attractive and disarming. It was what she remembered every time she wanted to kick herself for being stupid. And never getting his number, while being foolishly loyal to Mike. Maybe fate was giving her a second chance.

"Okay then." He glanced up and down her body and she had to refrain from fanning herself. The boy was cute but she didn't have to give him proof just how much his cuteness affected her. "Are you going to go in that?"

Avery glanced down and peeled the hem of her sweatshirt from her body then looked back at Austin and laughed.

"Hell no."

She invited him inside, offered the rest of her pizza, ran up the stairs to her room and sent her sister a quick text. Then a quick text to her parents.

She was going to prom.