AVA'S POV

Oh hell no.

I do not want to deal with this right now, today of all days and after all the shit I went through last night.

'What does he want now?' I thought irritably as I registered the fact that for some reason, Tanner was standing at my locker with a paper bag in one hand (adorned with a large pink bow), and a single red rose held in the other.

"Hey Ava." He greeted me sheepishly as I approached him with caution.

"Tanner, why are you here?" I responded icily. "It's the end of the day and I just want to go home so I can forget about today."

Today I'd been numb; I successfully suppressed any anger, sadness, confusion and frustration I'd experience since the aftermath of the party. But Tanner's sudden appearance pushed me dangerously close to the edge.

"Can we go somewhere private to talk?" He asked earnestly, his sincerity catching me off guard and pulling me back from the brink.

"Talk?" I repeated unintelligibly. "Uhh I guess." I conceded.

'What could he possibly want to talk about?' I wondered as he led us to the bleachers of the football field.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry." He apologised all of a sudden as he hurriedly placed his gifts in my unexpectant arms.

An apology? A rose? And – I peered inside the paper bag and was met with the heavenly aroma of freshly baked cookies. I was taken aback, this wasn't at all what I'd mentally prepared myself for.

"Tanner you've done a lot of things to be sorry for in the past, so would you care to tell me exactly what it is that you're apologising for now?" I asked sternly, trying to hide the fact that I was sorely tempted to shove one of those cookies into my mouth.

"I'm sorry for everything." He reiterated sombrely, his hands clasped awkwardly in his lap as he looked to me with guilt in his eyes.

"Let me start from the beginning," he began to elaborate while I gave in and began to munch on my first cookie.

Tanner explained that after that incident at the winter formal he was suspended (which everyone in the student body was aware of), and the football coach threatened to kick him off the team if he couldn't get his act together. They were going to force him to do counselling and anger management classes, which he had initially refused. His dad severely expressed his disappointment in him and he revealed that the whole ordeal made his mother cry.

Things seemed pretty bad, but it was only when he failed a major English test that he felt he hit rock bottom; he'd been just scraping by with his grades, relying on his athletic ability to secure him a future in a good college. However, considering his past actions (and now this), coach did indeed decide to kick him off the team.

I was a little speechless and unsure what to say about Tanner opening up to me. But it was obvious that it was important to him that I listen to everything he had to say. One thing's for sure, they were more words than I'd ever heard him say in any conversation we'd had in the past.

"My dad...has refused to speak to me even up til today. Many of the guys I thought were my friends have started to distance themselves from me, as if they were scared that just by being friends with me coach might decide to kick them off the team too."

"At first I felt so lost; my whole life was football and I didn't know what to do with all of this free time I now had. So I decided maybe I should see the counsellor. And after many sessions I realised that there was a time where football hadn't been everything I was interested in."

I was now well into my 5th cookie as I listened intently to Tanner's heartfelt confessions.

"I started talking to my Mom a bit more. I used to be teased for being a mama's boy when I was younger, and my dad would always criticise me when I cried. He'd tell my mom not to baby me and spoil me with the treats she baked, or I'd never grow up to be a 'real man'." He trailed off bitterly.

"I don't know if psychoanalysing myself so much will amount to anything significant, but that might have been one of the reasons I am so bad at expressing myself."

The last bite of my 5th cookie nearly fell out of my mouth. Were we suddenly living in an alternate universe where the pride and arrogance of one of the school's biggest f*ckboys had seemingly evaporated?

"Anyway, since I've been spending a lot more time with my Mom, she's been teaching me how to bake. I'm not very good at it yet, but I definitely enjoy it; it helps calm me down and it's relaxing for me. I also like seeing my mom smiling a lot more...I think I definitely hurt her in the past when I rejected her, trying to be tougher to get my dad's approval."

My head was spinning. Was this really Tanner sitting next to me right now?

"Wait, Tanner...did you make these yourself?" I asked in disbelief as I help up my 6th cookie.

Tanner blushed immensely as he tentatively replied. "Yeah I did, but I don't know if they're any good; I still can't quite get the sugar ratio right, to get that perfect consistency of a crunchy outer crust and a chewy centre."

"No, no they're amazing just the way they are now." I told him honestly as I took another bite of the crumbly, buttery cookie to prove it. Man, if I can't fit into my prom dress tomorrow I am really going to regret this moment right now...

"Really? Wow thank you, it's my mom's recipe but I tweaked it a little." His face brightened instantly, with a smile more genuine than I'd ever seen light up his features before.

"Whether it comes to baking or expressing my feelings, right now I'm no good at either of them. But I'm trying hard to learn, so here goes nothing:"

He paused for a second, as if he was gathering the courage to speak.

"Ava it may not have seemed like it to you, especially since we only dated for a few days, but I loved you, and I think I still do. But in a different way now. More that I care about you and I want to be your friend...if you'll let me."

He loved me?

I found it hard to swallow (literally and figuratively speaking), even though the butterscotch cookie I'd taken another bite out of really was fantastic. It was all very surprising, shocking even, to hear such a 180° from someone like Tanner. But maybe it was a sign that people really do change; after all, haven't I?

"I know I've done a lot of bad things, things I regret, especially coming between you and Haywood when it was clear that he made you so happy." He continued on.

I just about choked when he mentioned Ryan so suddenly. Right now, Ryan was doing the exact opposite of making me happy. I heard warning bells in my head as the feelings I'd been suppressing began to rise up, before I forced them to simmer down once more. Don't think about it. Don't think about how strangely he was acting this morning.

"I guess I was jealous that he could make you smile in a way I'd never seen. And maybe it hurt my pride too much, so I tried to force you into giving me another chance to prove to myself that I wasn't a failure; that I was stronger and more of a man than Haywood was and you'd eventually acknowledge that." He admitted openly.

Damn, counselling really worked for Tanner. He was way more honest with himself now than I think I've ever been. I never thought that a meathead like him (who usually thought with his dick instead of his brain), actually had a sensitive heart.

"We both know I've been chasing you since middle school and I kept tabs on the guys you dated, but I've never seen you act the way you do when you're with him. And that's why I was so desperate to have another chance to be with you." He smiled bittersweetly.

I had never considered Tanner's feelings before, nor had I realised that he'd been paying so much attention. And I started to wonder whether Melissa would have a similar story? Don't get me wrong, I hate her guts as much as the rest of us but if I knew more about her reasons for going this far...could I understand her as I now understand Tanner?

They say every villain is just a victim whose backstory hasn't been told, but I don't really know if I want to believe this is true. What kind of past could Melissa have had that would explain her wrath towards me?

"I know it's a lot to take in, but do you have anything to say?" He asked hesitantly.

Tanner looked more sincere and vulnerable than I'd ever thought possible, and suddenly he was just a lost little kid that was trying to find his way.

I took a deep sigh and gave him a small smile. What was the use of keeping a grudge against him?

"Thank you for the apology, and for sharing all of that with me. These last few months must not have been easy for you."

He gave me a wistful smile in return as he looked out over the bleachers to the football field. "I've had to make a lot of adjustments, but I have to say not all of them have been that bad."

His blue eyes became increasingly clouded by a myriad of emotions the longer he stared. And for a brief moment, I understood the gravity of the situation he was currently in. I imagined what it would be like if I was told I was no longer allowed to dance or to sing; something I'd known my whole life. Except, for Tanner this was something he thought was going to be his future.

Those things could be your future too if you decide to go to TISCH and not Julliard...

"Hey, this might be a little too much to ask and I'm sorry if I'm crossing a line," Tanner's voice banished anymore of those thoughts as he brought me back to reality. "I know that you don't have a date to Prom tomorrow and I was wondering if you could give me a chance to make things up to you?"

"Are you being serious?" My eyes widened as this day just became even stranger.

"I know I'm not the star quarterback anymore, and I don't think my friends will let us sit with them and the rest of the team, but I'll do my best to make you happy in other ways even if it's only for a night. Even if you need me to beat someone up, or shake some sense into Haywood."

I burst out laughing at that last part. "Shake some sense into Ryan?"

Tanner seemed for a moment to be surprised and proud that he'd made me laugh so loudly.

"Sorry, I don't really know what happened between you two recently, but it makes 0% sense to me why he's going to Prom with Melissa when he's clearly crazy about you."

"Ok, I'll give you a chance to make it up to me." I finally accepted.

"Really?! Yes! I won't let you down this time Ava." He exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air.

Somehow, I felt like this chance I was giving him meant much more than just proving to me he had changed. I got the feeling he was also trying to prove to himself he could be different.

Just like I'm ready to prove to Ryan that I'm different now.

_________________________________________________________

Prom night, Maxwell Residence, 7pm:

'Whatever happened to senior prom supposedly being the best night of your life?' I thought as I stared at myself in the mirror.

Prom night had finally arrived, and we were just about ready to leave home.

I was wearing an ankle-length, spaghetti-strapped black dress that wrapped around my waist such that the skirt formed a tulip-like shape. With my hair tied low to the side in a romantic chignon, I could've been dressed for a wedding, or a funeral, depending on who you asked.

My makeup was perfect, but that face staring back at me gradually grew aged and weary the longer I looked.

I just felt a heavy sense of dread and apprehension which I wanted to be rid of quickly – I wanted to have good memories of this night.

Suddenly Rose's reflection appeared behind mine in a flourish of blush-pink chiffon and cascading honey blonde curls.

"Tanner's just arrived," She informed me gently before proceeding to squish my cheeks with her hand, making a deformed fish face that made us both burst out laughing.

"Hey don't ruin all my hard work! It took me ages to get my highlight on point." I scolded her playfully as she ushered me away from the mirror and down the stairs.

"Smile kids!" My mom said as she tapped rapidly at her phone and snapped several shots of us in the same pose.

"Is it just my cheeks that are starting to cramp up?" Tanner asked as my Mom gave us a break. We all just laughed, because we were so used to this by now.

My friends had been nothing short of sceptical when I first told them about Tanner turning over a new leaf. They had to see it to believe that this really was the same person we were talking about.

"You've all grown up so much!" Rose's mom gushed as she snapped a few more pictures.

"By the way, when is Ryan going to arrive? We wouldn't want to leave him behind." My mom asked all of a sudden, causing me to nearly choke on my own spit.

"Oh we're going to meet Ryan there, he had something to do earlier which is why he couldn't make it here." Alyssa kindly explained.

"What a shame, I was hoping to get a photo of all of you together. And he's such a NICE and SWEET young man. Always POLITE and RESPECTFUL." My Mom commented, not-so-subtly emphasising that while my friends had warmed up to the new Tanner, she certainly still disapproved.

I felt my heart throb a little as I imagined what it would be like if Ryan was actually here, and how his arms would feel around me as I gladly let my mother take as many pictures as she wanted.

I'd just have to wait til we got to Prom before I could catch a glimpse of him. And then devise a plan to kidnap him from Melissa.

"hah" I laughed out loud as I imagined physically carrying him away in my arms princess style.

"I think that that's the first time I've seen you smile genuinely all night." My mom said as we began to head out the door to the limo.

"What! I've been smiling for the camera all night!" I defended myself.

But the flat look she gave me told me she wasn't buying it.

"Ok..." I sighed in defeat.

"Ava, I sense that you're not yourself. In fact, you haven't been yourself for a little while now." She began as she regarded me with concern wavering in her eyes.

"Maybe it's because you're going to be graduating soon and you're not sure what the future will bring," She continued. "But I want you to live in the present and enjoy this moment."

I lifted my head to meet her gaze.

"Don't be like me and look back wishing you had. You're far too young to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders."

She pulled me gently into her arms and went on her tiptoes to kiss my forehead.

"Life is going to keep throwing bigger and bigger challenges at you and you can't let them get in your way. So, you need to go and enjoy these happy moments while you are blessed to have them."

I opened my mouth to speak, but couldn't find the right words to articulate how grateful I felt in that moment.

"Thanks Mom." I offered simply yet sincerely as I returned her embrace.

"Now go and have the best night of your life!"

As we rode in the limo to school, I supposed that there were far worse things in life that could be happening right now: my mom could have some incurable illness, Poptart might run away from home and forget the way back, Ryan could lose his mind and decide he actually prefers Melissa after all.

I decided not to let any of this bother me anymore; as I probably should have done much earlier on. After tonight, the hospital promotion would be finalised and I would have no more reason to keep allowing Melissa to hold this over my head. I had more than half a mind to get revenge after everything she put me through, but I was so tired of playing her games that I just wanted to lay low until graduation.

When we finally arrived at Prom, I was genuinely amazed that the Prom committee had managed to transform the gym into a fairy-tale kingdom, as the theme was Cinderella's ball. My friends and I were so excited that for a while I did manage to forget about all my worries, and just had fun laughing and taking countless selfies together. We danced, voted for Prom King and Queen, and immersed ourselves in an intense debate over who was the best-dressed amongst our classmates.

And then...Ryan and Melissa arrived.

Ryan was never one to be so late, so I knew that Melissa must have held him up.

'Damn, he looks so good.' I cursed as heat ignited within my chest and rushed to my cheeks as I watched him move across the gym floor. His eyes were downcast and his face devoid of any real emotion, whenever Melissa (who was clinging tightly to his arm like he was a Gucci handbag) turned away. Never mind myself, I sincerely hoped that Melissa wouldn't ruin this night for him.

I knew Ryan had been avoiding me all week. I knew it had been on purpose, but it still put me on edge. And I wondered just what it was Ryan wanted so badly that he had to fawn all over Melissa like a queen while I was treated like I was invisible.
But after today, I felt more like I might as well have been the dirt under his shoes.

Something definitely happened on Thursday after school; Ryan had been acting so strange earlier today. He was cold, and he stiffened and turned away every time he passed me in the hallway. Even when Melissa wasn't with him to see his acting (which must have significantly improved if it could make my heart wrench so painfully).

Unless it wasn't acting at all.

For one second, I was seized by the fear that Melissa had somehow fed him enough lies to actually make him hate me.

No, there's no way Ryan would believe her, right?

But then what had I done to earn such a crushing and disappointed look from him?

Confusion, sadness and a slow-burning anger simmered away quietly within, as we sat down for dinner and I watched him being dragged to the Bumblebee table on the other side of the gym.

Melissa whispered something into Ryan's ear, a little too intimately for my liking, and placed her napkin on the table as she got up and headed towards the punch table.

I felt Kim's hand on my tightly clenched fist, as she gently tried to pry the steak knife out of it.

"Avey, honey, normal people eat soup with a spoon." She drew my attention back to the table. I instantly felt embarrassed that I had let this distract me again so easily.

Then I noticed that Rose had also been staring intently in that direction.

"I'm feeling really thirsty all of a sudden is anyone else hot in here or is it just me?" She burst out without warning as she stood up abruptly from her seat.

My eyes narrowed in suspicion as I gazed up at her. "But your glass is still full of water." I commented dubiously.

I watched her long lashes flutter as she blinked rapidly and tried to recover. "uh, yes but I feel like I could really go for some punch right now. Annnd – Oh I also want to say hi to Ryan and some of my friends on his table!" She added on far too enthusiastically.

I told you Rose was a terrible liar.

"Right..." I responded and went back to attacking my crusty bread roll which was impossible to eat daintily.

"I'll be right back" She said distractedly as she hurried off.

I absolutely detested this lack of control I felt and I was so frustrated with everyone keeping things from me, but I was too tired to kick up a fuss. All I could do was watch them and try to piece together just what in the hell was going on.

I observed Rose as she reached the punch table and approached Melissa (who quickly poured her drinks and left in haste). Rose followed her back to the table and I nearly choked on my soup when I saw her trip over thin air, and spill the contents of her glass all over the organza skirts of Melissa's overpriced magenta prom dress. Our eardrums were assaulted by an almighty shriek that followed soon after.

"What the heck just happened?" Tanner asked Rose as she returned to our table and took a sip of water as she sat back down.

"Uh it was my fault, I'm not used to wearing such a long dress and I ended up tripping and spilling my punch." She explained as convincingly as she could.

Liar. You wear maxi-skirts all the time!

After dinner, it was finally time for the part of the night I was dreading the most; the slow dance. I felt a sudden pang in my heart, against my will.

"Alright, alright boys and girls." Mrs Jones (the announcer for the night) chimed in. "There will be 3 slow dance songs tonight, for all you Seniors out there to make some good memories before you graduate."

At first only a few people moved to the dancefloor, many were couples...and then there was Melissa and Ryan. My heart was already hurting as I watched him take her by the waist and begin to sway. But all this hurt I was suppressing had accumulated into an anger that bubbled and boiled and threatened to spill over if I didn't keep myself in check. Just how much longer would I have to endure all of these images of Ryan fawning over Melissa that kept bombarding me at every turn? Plan or no plan, it was becoming way too much for me.

"Do you want to dance Ava?" Tanner asked gently, his hand on my shoulder breaking me out of my thoughts. "It may not mean much to you, but I can guarantee I can make Haywood plenty jealous."

I laughed genuinely at that last part "Don't try anything funny." I warned, "And anyway, I'm beginning to think Ryan won't feel that way..." I replied as I took Tanner's hand and let him lead me to the dancefloor. He pulled me close and wiggled his eyebrows as we began to move in time to the music. But no matter what, he always steered me in the opposite direction to Ryan and Melissa, facing me the other way so that only he could see them as we danced.

"Ava, he's been glaring daggers at me the whole night, but the way he's looking at me right now... I'm scared to even go to the bathroom in case he breaks my nose again." Tanner whispered into my ear, as if he feared for his life.

I couldn't help but laugh again as he pretended to be scared of what Ryan might do. This was a side of Tanner I never knew; he really did care.

"Ok maybe stop laughing, seems like Haywood might actually break more than just my nose if you don't!" He joked around with a laugh of his own, as he playfully nestled his head into the crook of my neck. But all that did was make me laugh even more as his breath felt ticklish on my skin.

Tanner was doing a very good job at distracting me and making me smile, in spite of how emotionally drained and unstable I've been feeling all night.

But maybe he too became momentarily distracted, because we slowly turned around, and I saw that Ryan might not be the only one who was disturbed by the sight of me and Tanner:
Melissa's voluminous blowout of curls almost looked like flames as her nails dug into Ryan's shoulder-pad and she stared straight past me; directly at Tanner.

As the song ended, Melissa dragged Ryan back to their table to sit down. She seemed like she was on edge, breathing rapidly as if she was trying to control her anger.

"Do you want to keep dancing?" Tanner asked politely as he noticed they had left the dancefloor.

What I really wanted to do was go home, curl up in a ball in bed, and binge watch rom-coms while I cried my eyes out and ate ice-cream straight from the tub.

But thankfully I didn't have to explain that to Tanner as Kim suddenly waved us over, my phone in her hand. "Hey Avey! Your phone is ringing!"

"Sorry Tanner, maybe the last song." I apologised and headed back to our table.

An icy chill went down my spine as I took my phone from Kim and saw the caller ID; it was my Mom. The fact that Rose's phone also started to ring from her handbag on the chair next to us just made me even more paranoid.

"Hello? Mom?" I answered, deciding to leave the gym to step away from all the noise.

"Hi Ava, sorry to bother you while you're at prom. Are you having fun?" She greeted me calmly. And maybe I'm going crazy, but I swear I could hear the faintest tinge of worry in her voice.

"I guess... But more importantly is something wrong? Why did you call?"

"Well, I just needed to let you know that I've been called to the hospital so if you needed to contact me by any chance call my cell phone."

"Oh ok, will you be done with surgery by the time I get home or will I see you tomorrow?" I breathed a small sight of relief. It was nothing out of the ordinary, she was just on call.

"I'm not sure when exactly but I'll definitely be home tonight. Actually, I'm not supposed to be on call. I requested the night off to help you get ready for prom, but the CEO of the hospital said it was urgent, so I couldn't really refuse."

What?

My stomach sank once again. After all my efforts to convince myself that everything was going to be fine.

"Anyway, Heather has also been called in, so if you see Rose let her know her Mom's with me."

"Mom did they say what it was about?" I was beginning to panic. Melissa's threats weren't so empty after all.

"Well, no but they did say that it was complicated so it would be better to talk about it in person, and that it couldn't wait til next week." I could tell she was wondering why I was asking so many questions.

"Do you want me to come with you?" I asked anxiously, not realising I'd been holding my breath.

"Don't be silly Ava, stay at your senior prom and have a good time. I'm sure whatever it is they need to discuss will be fine." She reassured me. But I could sense she wasn't as confident as she tried to sound. "See you later, don't worry about me."

I can't just stay here and let my mom lose her job!

I needed to find Rose to discuss what was happening and let her know that I'd decided to go to the hospital despite what my Mom had told me.

If shit was about to go down, I was not going to let my Mom deal with it alone.

I hurried back towards the gym when Kim and Alyssa appeared at the entrance and pushed me back.

"Ava don't come out, go back." They warned me adamantly.

"What why? I need to find Rose, it's urgent" I protested and tried to break free of their hold.

"No! You can't go out there right now." Kim pleaded, as they backed up involuntarily into the gym against the force of my stubborn will to get past.

"Guys seriously I-"

And that's when I saw what they were trying to protect me from.

Across the dancefloor, over at their table, Melissa sat on Ryan's lap, groping his body and making out with him like her life depended on it.

I felt my phone slip from my grasp and fall to the ground with a thud. I barely registered it, or anything else happening around me for that matter; time and place ceased to exist my mind processed just what the f*ck was happening.

My eyes narrowed into a death-glare, and my hands clenched into fists so tight that my nails threatened to cut into the flesh of my palms. All noise seemed to be drowned out to silence except for a faint ringing in her ears. My shoulders started to tremble – no, my whole body was shaking, rumbling and surging with an irrepressible energy.

The rage and hurt, anger and frustration that had been building up for so long, that I had tried so hard to rationalise, to suppress, to forget about...

Was about to be let loose, at last.

"Shit." I thought I heard Kim say as I felt myself moving forward, like an animal with her eyes on an enemy trespassing into her territory, and one resounding command in her head – kill.

"I think we're about to witness the hurricane." Kim warned the others, holding an arm out to prevent Alyssa from stopping me.

And those were the last words I heard before ourSenior prom erupted into chaos. 

*******************************************************
To all my patient readers, I'm so sorry for not being able to update regularly.
Things have been a bit hectic as I've just started my PhD this year and it's taking up all my time.
I hope you understand :'( You guys really are the best and your messages keep me motivated to keep writing even when I'm exhausted.

For now, enjoy this chapter and look forward to the next!
Don't forget to comment and vote!

Take care,
Cerise xx :)