I wasn't in the next day but not because I was still ill. It was because I couldn't be bothered. I faked a stomach ache and Louise had believed it for some reason (she probably just sympathised with me). I laid in bed again all day which couldn't have been good for my physical health but I didn't care.

Lance didn't come over once school ended. I watched the clock (it was literally all I could be bothered to do) and it was past six before anyone even entered my room. Even then it was just Louise with a bowl of soup because she was well aware that I hadn't eaten anything all day. My room was practically a cave with shut curtains that let little to no light through and a mysterious draft. I didn't have my light on so it was almost pitch black. I liked it that way because it almost made me feel disconnected from all the shit in the outside world.

My phone buzzed at around seven so I reluctantly rolled over and looked at the message displayed on the screen.

Lance: Hope you're feeling better

Me: A little

Lance: Will you be in tomorrow?

Me: Idk

Lance: Ok

-

When I went back to school, it was like everything was fine. Lance didn't mention our fake relationship once which I was immensely grateful for. I caught up with my classwork easily enough and no one had really noticed that I hadn't been in. At lunch, I sat down in the library and let out a long sigh as I did so. Lance watched me with thin eyes. "Are you still not feeling well?" He asked. 

"Yeah. Something like that." I mumbled with another sigh. He leaned over and pressed a hand against my forehead before retracting it again.

"You aren't very hot. Is something else bothering you?"

"Yeah but I really can't talk about it right now. I need... time." It came out almost like a snap so Lance looked a little taken aback. I wanted to apologise but I chose not to so the right message was sent across.

"Okay," Lance met my eyes for a second; as if it was an attempt to read my mind. "I won't force you. Just know I'm always here."

I nodded. "And I'm always here for you too."

-

Before I knew it, it was the day of the dance. I woke up with a sinking feeling in my stomach, even though the dance was hours away. It was a school day so I still had to power through my morning routine like I would every day. The only difference was I skipped breakfast because I felt nauseated. Just looking at food made me want to throw up.

I hadn't been sleeping well that week which probably didn't help my nausea but there wasn't anything I could do about it. I stumbled into school, a little dazed. When I saw Lance, I greeted him and he looked more excited than nervous but didn't have any secret feelings for me so us breaking up wasn't going to negatively affect him at all. I wanted to curl up into a ball and just cry all day so our feelings juxtaposed each other massively. I really didn't want to have to end things with Lance but I didn't have any control over our relationship. It was fake. That's it. Lance saw it that way and I should have seen it that way too.

My lessons seemed to fly by much quicker than usual and it definitely wasn't because I was having fun. I was a ticking time bomb that was set to detonate at the dance. When the final bell rang, I wanted to cry a little bit. I walked out the school gates at the pace of a snail so it took almost double the time to get home compared to usual. Louise was so excited and insisted I started getting ready at five when the dance started two hours later, at seven.

So I was showered, dressed and styled with forty-five minutes to spare. Louise tried to hide it but I saw a tear crawl down her cheek when she first saw me. She said something like, "You look so grown up." When I looked in the mirror, I hardly recognised myself.

With gelled up hair and a snazzy bowtie, I didn't look anything like the person I was a few hours ago. I looked cool, confident and, dare I say it, a little handsome. I smiled, showing off the white teeth I had brushed a million times. When I heard the knock at my front door, my heart skipped a beat but I still raced to open it before Louise could. I didn't need her blubbering in front of my fake date.

Time stood still as I stared at Lance. He was holding a bunch of flowers that he claimed his mum had forced him to buy but that wasn't what I was focusing on. He was wearing a light blue suit that would have looked ridiculous on anybody else but it suited him perfectly. It matched my bowtie. His own bowtie was black and just as cute as mine. His hair had been done up in a quiff, a style that he hadn't really explored before. It looked so attractive that I just wanted to wrap my hands around his neck and kiss him right there and then. Sadly, our relationship was fake. I wasn't supposed to want him this way. I forced myself to tear my eyes away from him to look at the flowers in his hands.

I took them from him. They were all so bright and full of life that I was almost jealous of them for a fraction of a second. I called Louise and she sorted out a vase for them so they didn't die. I hope they'd never die so I had one memento of the night. Lance took my hand and guided me down my drive to his mum's car. We were definitely going to arrive in style.

Lance, like the actual gentleman he was, opened up the door and held it open for me to get in first. I blushed as I climbed into the car. He then followed, sitting so close to me that our sides were touching. He placed his hand on my thigh so in my head I had to repeat, 'this isn't real' over and over again.

I couldn't help but notice Veronica sitting in the passenger seat on her phone. Lance let out a tiny chuckle before turning and whispering, "She insisted on seeing what you were wearing," right into my ear. I'm not sure if I was flattered or a little creeped out. "I didn't want her to come but mum let her."

"This isn't awkward at all," I muttered, eliciting another laugh from Lance. Lance then wrapped his arm around my side (rather awkwardly because of the seat belts but it was still sort of comfortable) and we set off.

When we arrived, I felt like a prince. He held the door open again and grabbed my hand, walking me into the hall. As expected, the venue looked like shit. There was a radio on the front, blaring out music at the worst possible quality. Disco lights flashed around the room but they didn't look quite right. There were about twenty other people there but their outfits didn't look anywhere near as expensive as mine and Lance's. But we didn't care. What I cared about was what Lance did as we walked in. His mum could still see us and that probably the only reason why he did it but he kissed me. He wrapped his arms around my neck, pulled me closer and kissed me.

I melted. Mentally at least. I kissed back and never did I want them to have to part. Eventually, we had to, of course. Galway Girl came on and Lance and I exchanged this look of utter joy. Then we started jumping up and down, screaming the lyrics as if we were back at the first party we went to as a 'couple'. People were staring but we didn't have a care in the world. All that mattered was the fact that we were having fun. At that moment, we were the only people in the world and nothing else mattered.

At least I could pretend. As the song moved on to something slower and we continued dancing, I could pretend that it was all real and Lance meant it. I could close my eyes and imagine that I was in an alternate universe where Lance and I were hopelessly in love with each other. The slow song came to an end and his lips hovered over mine for a moment. Then they touched.

His mum wasn't around; nor was anyone else who'd care. That meant there was a minute possibility of the kiss actually being genuine. My heart did that special gymnastics routine that it only ever did around Lance and I felt like I was back on cloud nine. We pulled apart and stared into each other's eyes.

The room was dimly lit but I could still see the sparkle in his eyes. The sparkle was always there if you looked hard enough. That's what I loved about his eyes. Don't get me started on the rest of him. He was just so beautiful.

At that moment, I knew one thing: I loved him. Oh, and I was in way too deep. There was no way I could get out now without being seriously hurt.

"Drink?" He yelled over the music. I nodded and followed him over to the table filled with cups. I took one and filled it with some knock-off Coca-Cola. We both leant against the table and watched the others make fools of themselves with terrible dancing. We chuckled every so often because there was this one guy dominating the dance floor with dabs and other stupid dances that were once considered 'cool' but were now insanely cringey. "You know, people always diss these dances because they suck so much but really that's what makes them lovable. They're unique, stupid and just some time to have fun and act ridiculous with a mate."

Mate. Right. I was seriously thrown out of that alternate universe where Lance and I were hopelessly in love. "Yeah," I took a long sip of my coke. "I suppose you're right."

"Maybe next year we could come again. This is fun." He reached down with the hand that wasn't holding his drink to take my hand.

"It is," I whispered because it was fun, even if there weren't any romantic feelings involved. "There's no way I'm spending this much on a suit again though."

"Me neither. Why are suits so expensive?"