IVY

I hadn't seen my best friend since he dumped me off in the school parking lot this morning due to some things he had to go do. Something about his dad making him go get something for practice later? Yeah, I don't buy it.

I don't know why, but he's been hiding so many things from me. Like the cliff on Saturday. Why did he say "you'll find out soon?" What does that even mean? Maybe I was just that blind.

We had ten minutes until lunch and if his ass wasn't sitting in that seat when I got there I was going to hunt him down.

Colton is my best friend, I eat, sleep, and breathe him. After that kiss...could I even call him my best friend anymore?

Have you ever wanted to know if you could be something more with someone but were too scared to find out? I would hate to break up our friendship over something like this. That's why I haven't tried anything more than to kiss him.

I'm honestly scared to do it again. If it happens again, who knows what could happen? Could I be catching feelings? I've never really thought about dating him until now. I only saw him as a best friend, but now, I just want to know what if we were something more?

The bell rings and I pack up my items to head to lunch. Before I got to the cafeteria, I stopped by my locker to place my textbook in there because I didn't want to carry that heavy thing around all day. I walk to the cafeteria to see a loud commotion going on. I curiously try to look around the crowd that has formed.

Suddenly a hand is gripped around my arm and pulls me towards the crowd. I feel all eyes on me as we weave through the crowd. What was happening?

Suddenly, a boy, not just any boy though, Colton appears. He has Noah holding a white sign behind him with lines showing the heights.

Colton was in an orange jumpsuit with a huge smile on his face. In his hand, he held a sign saying, "I would kill to go to homecoming with you, Ivy."

My hands flew to my mouth as I laughed and walked towards him. He walked up to me and I hugged him, "With a proposal like that, how could I say no?"

Colton laughs, "That's what I was hoping for."

The crowd fades away and it is now only our friends and I standing around. "All of you guys knew about this?" I ask. They all nodded, "You are all shitty friends! How could y'all keep this from me?"

Emily laughs, "I was bribed." She holds up a chocolate bar and points to Colton.

He suddenly has flowers in his hands and holds them out to me, "Oh, these are for you."

They were white roses with Ivy leaves in them. "These are so pretty, thank you!" I stand up on my tippy toes and kiss his cheek.

"You know you didn't have to do anything. I was just joking the other night."

"I know, but I didn't want to be lame if someone else got a huge proposal and it made you sad."

I roll my eyes with a smile, "You always think so much about other people. It's why you're the best."

We sit down to eat our lunch and he wraps his arm around my waist pulling me closer to him, "I had to skip all morning because I couldn't afford to spill the beans."

I chuckle, "Smart, you can't keep a secret, C."

He gasps, "Trust me I can. I've been keeping a secret for years now."

"What is it?"

He smirks, "Can't say it, it's a secret. You won't get me to tell you."

I roll my eyes and smirk, "You caught me." Well, I guess I need to start looking for a dress now then. Homecoming wasn't for another few weeks but I wanted to go ahead and find something to wear so it isn't last minute.

"Emily and Claire, wanna go shopping after school?" I ask.

They nod, "Meet you at your house after practice?" Claire suggested. I nod and continue to eat my lunch and scroll through my Snapchat. I see that a few people put videos of his proposal on their stories. I smile at the cute gesture. We were gonna be one smoking hot couple at the dance. Well, not a couple but date. I guess? I don't know what to call it.

-

It was now after cheer practice and we had just arrived at the mall. We first went to a prom store to see what they had. Maybe it won't take too long to find something. I shuffled through the endless numbers of racks disregarding the pink ruffled dresses and the sequins. I couldn't stand either, they annoyed the shit out of me. I mean sequins weren't terrible but ruffles. I couldn't stand them!

My eyes eventually land on a navy blue and gold, shirt high-neck dress. It was simple yet very classy. I pulled it off the hook and put it in a pile to try on. I also found a short white lace dress. It was stunning. I could honestly picture myself wearing it. I liked it so much. I went into the dressing room and put the white dress on.

I immediately loved the way it looked on me and contrasted with my skin. I opened the door to get the girls opinions and they squealed when they saw me. "Ivy if you don't buy that, I'm gonna kill you!" Emily screamed.

I chuckled and Claire eyed me up and down before crossing her arms in a smirk, "Colton is gonna have a fucking heart attack when he sees you in that."

I look down and sway a little, "You think?"

"Um, absolutely," Emily responded.

I smiled, "Well then I'll go buy it." I paid for the dress and we ended up going to the food court to get dinner. We settled on Chipotle, my favorite.

As we were halfway through eating our meal, the empty seats beside us screeched back making me look up to see three unfamiliar faces. "Uh, hi?" I asked.

The three boys smirked and waved, "Hey gorgeous, what's your name?" The one next to me asked.

I looked at the girls and they just laughed. I sighed, "Ivy."

They nod. The boy next to me says, "Well I'm Brandon. The others are Conner and Will." I nod and awkwardly look away. Can they leave now?

"So, are you pretty ladies single?" Conner asks.

"Uh—" I awkwardly start to say.

"No. They're with me. So, leave please," A voice from behind me speaks up. I knew that voice from anywhere.

I turn around and smile, "Hey!"

He chuckled before walking up to me and kissing me on the cheek, "Hey, beautiful. Meet some new friends?"

"Who are you?" Brandon asks before I can answer Colton's question.

Colton chuckles, "Oh, sorry for not introducing myself. I'm Colton. Colton Adams." Throughout this conversation, Emily and Claire stared at us wide-eyed as if it were a movie. They were just missing the popcorn.

I see Will's jaw drop before mouthing something to Brandon. He then turns and looks back to us with a chuckle, "Oh so you're SoHo's quarterback, huh? How's daddy doing? Still buying you a football career?"

Colton snarled before lunging at the bastard. I grabbed his hand before yanking him back. "Colton sit your ass down," I ordered him. He huffs before obeying me and making me stand up so I could sit down on his lap. Always being close to him like this helped calm his anger issues.

Conner laughed, "Wow, better listen to your girlfriend, Adams. She's a feisty one."

Colton grips my thigh tightly and huffs into the air breathing quickly.

"You need to fucking go," I bark.

"You will fucking regret it if you don't," Claire adds. They chuckle before standing up and leaving.

"What a bunch of pricks!" Emily yells.

I sigh, wrapping my hand around Colton's, "Who were they?"

"They go to Chelsea. Just a bunch of cocky no good football players." Colton responds.

"Wait—" I say, "Why are you even here?" I ask him.

He chuckles with a small blush forming on his cheeks, "Is it a crime to see my favorite girl?"

I roll my eyes, "Really Colton?"

He kisses my cheek, "I'm serious! But I was bored and you always keep me company at home but you weren't there so I came to you."

"That's the cutest shit ever," Claire responds from across the table, "But I gotta go. Are you gonna go with him, Ives?" I turn to Colton who nods. "Okay, well Em and I are out! See you tomorrow."

I wave to them, "Bye guys! Drive safely." When they are gone I turn to Colton, "You scared them off."

He gasps, "Did not."

I stuck out my tongue, "Yes!"

He eyes the bag that holds my dress curiously, "Did you get something?" He tries to grab the bag before I slap his hand away, "Ow!"

"You can't see until the dance." I giggle, "It's white though."

He frowns before smiling a little, "This dance won't be the only time I plan on having you in a white dress."

I smile and lean into his chest, "Yeah you'll see me when you're in the crowd as I get married to my multi-millionaire boyfriend."

He rolls his eyes, "I'm going to disregard what you said because I plan on marrying you."

Is he serious? I blush, "Do you not think I can't get someone else?"

He smiles, "Of course you can. You're fucking gorgeous! I'm just not gonna share you with anyone ever again." Oh. He's referring back to Luke.

"I'll tell you what," I say to him. "If neither of us are married by thirty, we will get married."

He chuckles, "I plan on marrying you by twenty-three, but okay."

"Talk very highly of yourself, aren't we?" I question.

"I only speak the truth, Ivy."

"Well then tell me something that's the truth, Colton." I couldn't help but hope he would say one exact thing.

"My love for you."