|| Chapter 4 ||

"Wow, Tessa, you look great!" Kill me now.

I smile with tight lips as I walk arm in arm with Drew into his Senior Prom. Drew is grinning, slapping hands with a few guys as we walk through the venue. The hotel lobby was decorated with royal blue and silver balloons with random pieces of cloth draped over thresholds. The actual room that the prom is being held in is massive. It seems as though the prom committee bought every single blue and silver balloon in Party City and just threw them all over the room calling it décor. The round tables are covered in confetti, which is just annoying and impractical. I put my clutch purse at my assigned seat, placing my green converse sneakers under my chair for later.

"Damn, Tessa, you look hot," Jesse, Drew's best guy friend, whistles as we stop next him and his date.

"Screw you," I roll my eyes. Jesse winks, wrapping his arm around the back of Allie's chair. Allie Sherman is a girl from Brianna's friend circle and Jesse's longtime fuck buddy. Allie scowls at Drew, ignoring his friendly hello. I grit my teeth and glare at her as soon as her gaze stops on me. Try me, bitch.

"Dude, you guys going to the after party?" Jess nudges Drew's shoulder with a sly smirk on his face. Drew nods his head, looking over at me. He tilts his head asking me if it's okay and I nod my head, shrugging.

Jesse spots the guys taking a bunch of pictures in front of the tacky romantic backdrop where the photographer is. He grabs Drew's arm and pulls him over to the rowdy group. The photographer rolls his eyes as the boys shout over each other.

I stand awkwardly next to Allie's chair where the guys left me. She keeps her face neutral, taking a timid step out of my way. We were never friends when Brianna and her group hung around us, so I feel no need to stay with her. I rock back and forth on my heels before nodding my head and leaving her to fend for herself. "Well, this was fun." I give her a sarcastic salute and walk over to Alyssa and Kendall who are trying to cover up their giggles.

"Look at Lloyd," Kendall cackles loudly, turning her head into Alyssa's shoulder.

I look over at Lloyd, one of our acquaintances and see him pulling his shirt up, pretending to flash the camera.

All the guys try to lift up Jesse but Mateo buckles making the rest of them drop him on the floor. Drew is at the bottom of the pile, laughing loudly. "Okay, okay, wait. Let's do typical girl poses." The guys laugh. "Everyone put their heads too close together and put your hands on your knees, like girls do for no fucking reason."

Click!

"Okay, now stand sideways, and put a hand on your hip, smiling at the camera!" Benji shouts as everyone gets into position. I laugh loudly, knowing that every pose they're doing is completely accurate.

Click!

"Hey Tess." I whirl my head around in the direction of Brianna's voice. Aw, Crap.

"Brianna." I glance at her indifferently, looking back over to the guys. Alyssa and Kendall stand quietly next to us, soaking up the tension.

"So, I was at the Diner the other night and I could have sworn that I saw you there with everyone else..." she trails off and I try to look disinterested but I already know where this is going. "And then I found a Sharpie line on my car. Know anything about that?" She asks with a little smile.

"Nope, no idea." Alyssa's eyes are wide. Kendall is looking at her nails.

"That's so weird, because your friend kept looking at you," she informs me with a teasing grin. "The really good looking guy, the one that was standing by my car? And you three were hiding behind another car."

I try not to act shocked but her nonchalance about this whole situation is putting me even more on edge. Fucking Isaac. "Doesn't ring a bell."

She tilts her head slightly, moving to stand directly in front of me. "Pity." She looks over her shoulder at the boys trying to pick up Drew and drape him across their arms. A small smile graces my face. "You know, just because Drew and I broke up doesn't mean that we can't still be friends, Tess."

I break my gaze from the photoshoot going on and look directly at her, my face void of any emotion. "You dumped him, for no reason. Pretty sure I have every right not to associate with you anymore." I state, effectively shutting her up.

She doesn't looked annoyed, only a little shocked. "He didn't tell you why I broke up with him." It's not a question. "You should really get all your facts straight before you become a raging bitch, you know?" She smiles again, waving at Alyssa and Kendall before walking away.

"Well that was fun," Alyssa comments, walking back over to me.

"Yeah, thanks for leaving me to deal with that alone," I tell her sarcastically, nudging her arm.

"You're welcome," she smiles brightly.

I move a few steps forward, towards the guys, "Okay, let's show them how it's done." Kendall squeals, rushing over to the backdrop. Alyssa walks right onto the backdrop area and stands in front of the guys as the camera snaps a picture, showing their annoyed and confused faces with Alyssa right in the middle.

"Alyssa!" Jesse complains, shoving her to the side. She laughs, putting her arms around Benji and Drew's shoulders, smiling brightly at the camera.

"Smile!" She shouts. Drew laughs and lifts her off the ground making her shriek as the camera flashes. She hits his chest hard. "You jerk, I was smiling cute and everything!"

Drew beckons me over and I shake my head with a reluctant grin, walking onto the backdrop. "Group photo!" Drew announces, gaining everyone's attention. Kendall hastily runs into Liam's arms and he lifts her up. Alyssa squats down in the very front, placing a hand in front of her face as she points at the camera. I attempt to jump on Drew's back however, my dress makes in a little difficult, but we laugh and smile anyway.

Click!

A slow song comes on and I internally groan as everyone pairs off and moves towards the dancefloor. Drew moves to stand next to me and grabs my arms, "Come on."

"Nooo," I whine. He grins, pulling me over to the dancefloor. "Drew." I try to dig my heels into the floor but he just lets out a 'humph' and swings me over his shoulder. "Drew!" I growl, smacking the back of his legs repeatedly, trying to make him buckle over.

He laughs, jumping a little making my stomach lurch. "Oh come on, Tess. Don't be a party pooper."

"You're such an ass," I grumble, digging my elbow into his shoulder. He places me back on the floor with a cheesy grin. I glare at him, folding my arms over my chest like a child.

Drew pouts dramatically. "Please dance with me, Tess."

I waver under his pout. Everyone is shuffling to the romantic slow song playing through the speakers. I cringe at the cheesy lyrics and Drew laughs at the awkwardness on my face. I take a deep breath and grab his wrist tightly, placing my arms around his neck, looking everywhere but at him.

"Stop making this weird," he chuckles.

"I am not." I turn to face him. His face is too close. I cough awkwardly. Alyssa swishes past us with a loud laugh when Benji twirls her. Kendall and Liam are being separated by one of the teachers that are chaperoning the dance.

"Two years," Drew says out of nowhere.

I look at him, confused. "What?"

"We've been friends for two years now," he smiles, letting go of my waist, holding my hand and twirling me. I smack into his chest, stumbling a little in my high heels. He looks around the room with a dazed smile on his face. He laughs at something behind us but I can't bring myself to look away from his face. His skin crinkles by his eyes as he laughs. His smile is so wide that it shows off the scar he got a couple years ago at a party my siblings and I threw. Sebastian had started a fight with some guys and when one of them tried to shove me, Drew stepped in front of me and the guys elbow smacked Drew in the jaw.

"Hey Drew, Brianna said something earlier to me-." I'm cut off midsentence by a force knocking into us. My heels can't balance themselves out and I fall onto my backside. "Son of a bitch."

Mateo has a guilty grin on his face as he stares down at me, "I am so sorry, Tess."

I ignore Drew's outstretched hand and pull off my shoes to stand back up. I wipe the back of my dress with a hand making sure there is no dust. "Yeah, you look it." I dust my hands off, folding them over my chest, staring him down.

Mateo tries, and fails, to wipe the grin off his face. Drew smacks him on the back of his head. "Ow, dickhead. I just came to let you guys know that we're going outside for a bit." I jerks his thumb in the direction of the doors leading to the lobby. We nod our heads and watch him leave. I walk over to our table, swapping out my heels, and grabbing the pair of socks that I had stuffed in my clutch, for the converse with a smile. I grin up at Drew and he shakes his head with grin, holding my heels in his hand as leads us outside onto the patio.

There's quite a few groups of people scattered around the outside area. Most of our group is sitting around the lounge area near the hotel pool. The humidity has gone down a bit so it's not ridiculously gross and wet outside. Alyssa and Kendall are sitting next to the pool with their feet in the water. Liam reaches into his tuxedo pocket and pulls out a pack of cigarettes, passing it around the guys. Kendall scrunches her nose in disgust. She's never liked it when Liam starts social smoking.

I hike up my dress and sit next to them, taking off my shoes and putting my feet in the water. "Mateo's cousin is bringing alcohol." Alyssa informs me, swishing her feet back and forth, watching the water.

"What's the point in that?" I ask, leaning back on my arms. She shrugs, looking up at the night sky.

"I thought that this would be more fun but it feels like we got dressed up for a lame ass party."

Kendall hums in agreement. I look over at Drew who is one of the only guys not smoking but he still has a smile on his face as he talks to his friends. "I dunno, at least the guys are having fun. We still have next year," I remind them.

I sense movement behind me and I don't even need to turn to know what is happening. "Touch us and I will end you, Mateo." His footsteps stop and he raises his hands in surrender.

"We cool, Hayes, we cool." He backs up a little before rushing forward and nudging Alyssa. She loses her balance and has to step onto the top pool step, causing the bottom of her dress to gets soaked up to her shins.

Kendall gasps loudly, reaching out a hand to help Alyssa out of the pool. Alyssa's head snaps up at Mateo and her glare is deadly. "You fucking asshole!" She shouts stepping out of the water, running after him. "You piece of shit, I can't believe you fucking did that!"

The loud expletives coming out of Alyssa's mouth cause people to look over in suspicion. I'm standing by the edge of the pool with Kendall, watching Alyssa chase Mateo around. She manages to get him running in our direction and I plant my feet to make sure I don't lose my footing. He's laughing, looking over his shoulder at Alyssa, giving us an advantage. As he steps within reach of me, I grab the sleeve of his blazer and pull him towards the pool.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Mateo yells out falling in completely.

He splashes around walking up to the steps up to his knees and looks up at me in shock. I shrug with a smile, "You asked for it."

"Nasty bitch," he grumbles.

"Oh boo, you hurt my feelings," I pout sarcastically. His eyes glint mischievously.

"Who wants a hug?" he wiggles his eyebrows at me, stalking forward, his arms open wide.

I dodge out of his way, scurrying towards the guys. "No, down Mateo, down." I scold him. The guys are laughing at the entertainment.

He tilts his head at me, "Woof." He takes a step closer to me and I take one back, bumping into someone.

I feel hands graze my waist and I quickly step away, turning to yell at the handsy person. Isaac stands with a neutral expression on his face. When did he get here? Wet arms wrap around me and I grunt, elbowing Mateo in the gut.

The commotion dies down when a teacher walks outside yelling at everyone to be respectful and quiet of the actual hotel guests. All while the guys are hiding their cigarettes behind their backs.

Isaac nods his head at me in greeting. "Nice dress."

I look down at the wet patches on my green dress. "What are you doing here?"

"Mateo called." That's the only information he offers up as if it explains everything.

Drew moves over to me, raising a slight eyebrow at Isaac. "Hey man," he holds out his hand for Isaac to shake. "I'm Drew, you must be Isaac." Isaac nods his head slapping Drew's hand in greeting.

I lean closer to Drew, my arm brushes his. "And you're here for the summer, right?" Another nod in reply. Drew looks at me awkwardly, not knowing what to do.

"Well, great catching up, we're going over there now." I point over my shoulder and grab Drew's arm, leading him away.

Drew leans down towards my ear, "Not much of a talker, huh?" I snigger quietly. He places an arm over my shoulder casually. I glance over my shoulder and see Isaac with an unlit cigarette hanging on his lip. He salutes me with a slight smirk, holding up his lighter to light his cigarette.

Alyssa and Kendall are fanning themselves dramatically. "Hot cousin alert," Alyssa murmurs. Kendall nods her head eagerly in agreement, not taking her eyes off of Isaac. Drew chuckles at their antics.

Benji comes up behind us, slapping Drew on the shoulder, "We're heading out to get ready for the after party, you in?"

They slap hands, "Yeah, we'll meet you there in an hour." Alyssa bids us farewell before walking off arm-in-arm with Benji.

Kendall kisses me on the cheek, moving over to Liam. He leans in to kiss her but she curves him, letting him kiss her cheek. He looks at her in confusion but she only glances down at the cigarette between his fingers for a fraction of a second.

"Sorry your prom wasn't that great."

Drew looks down at me with a grin, "Eh, it was alright, at least I had you stuck with me all night." I laugh loudly, bumping into his arm as we head out to the parking lot.

|| ✨ ||

Hope you enjoyed it!

Until next time,

Sammipott xx