Prom complications

VIOLET


My jaw dropped as I blinked rapidly, my mind struggling to process the unexpected invitation. I opened my mouth, but no words formed, and it ended up closing back. I wished Ashley was there to slap me back to reality because no way—no way—was Ryan Jenkins asking me to be his date… to PROM.

One beat.
Two beats.
Three.

Realization dawned on me as I realized I needed to speak, say something. Ryan's eyes held mine, searching for an answer and I blinked one more time before my lips finally uttered...

"I–I don't know... I don't think... I'm not..."

Nothingness. The words tangled in my mouth, leaving me flustered and embarrassed.

Without a second thought, I turned and fled down the hallway, my face burning, my heartbeat racing. I slipped into my classroom and sank into my seat, finally able to catch a shaky breath. It was as if Ryan had sucked all the air from the hallway, leaving me gasping in his wake.

Ryan Jenkins—the school’s most notorious playboy, the guy every girl dreamed about—had just asked me, Violet Blake, to prom. It makes no sense.

Why?

Out of all the girls he could choose,Why would he choose me?

My mind spun with questions, each one more confusing than the last. I scanned the classroom, half-expecting everyone to be staring, somehow knowing that Ryan Jenkins had just asked me to prom. But they all carried on, chatting and laughing, oblivious to the hurricane of emotions inside me.

The more I think about it,the more absurd it gets. Unless Ryan has an impostor, there was no way in hell he'd ask me.

“I saw Luke walking towards the cafeteria and you weren't with him. Said something about Ryan talking to you” Ashley's voice snapped me back to reality and it was then I noticed she already took a seat beside me,her hands cradling a milkshake

“Here have one” She offered, passing the frosty drink to me before suddenly withdrawing

“Wait” She tilted her head, eyeing me curiously. “Wait a minute, are you blushing? Violet Blake, why is your face all red?”

I quickly turned away, but she grabbed my shoulders, spinning me back around with a sly grin on her face. “Don’t you dare try to hide this from me.What happened?”

“I—” I barely managed to start before she jumped in.

“You were with Ryan… you didn’t… kiss him, did you?”

My eyes widened, and I slapped my hand over her mouth, mortified. A few people glanced our way, and I shot Ashley a pleading look. “Are you out of your mind?” I hissed. “It’s Ryan, for heaven’s sake—my stepbrother, if you’ve forgotten!”

She rolled her eyes with a scoff. “Technicalities. That doesn't really mean a thing. Now spill. What happened?

I took in a few breath trying to steady my racing heart

“Ryan…” I finally managed, my voice barely above a whisper. “He…”

I was interrupted by the sudden entrance of Mrs Hawke. The scowl plastered on her face was enough for everyone to quit what they were doing and settle down.

Ashley gave me a ‘this is not over look–we’re definitely talking about it’ and I nodded, resigned to more interrogation later.

The class dragged on infuriatingly slowly, and for the first time ever, my attention wasn't on the lesson. Instead, it was still stuck outside the class, in the hallway, the words "be my date to prom" playing in my head like an endless loop.

The most logical thing would be to ignore it and focus on the class, especially with exams looming closer. But unfortunately, my decisions and logic didn't belong in the same sentence where my stepbrother was involved.

I glanced at Ryan's seat, but it was empty. Evelyn's seat too was. I felt an inexplicable tug in my stomach at the thought of them being together having one of their casual flings.

What if he was now asking her to prom because of how I’d completely embarrassed myself?

Was it normal for a human's stomach to tighten like this? I had checked up with my doctor earlier last week, and he said everything was okay with me, but I'm starting to second-guess him because something strange was going on inside my tummy, and I couldn't place a name on it.

The bell rang, and I could’ve sworn it was the sweetest sound in the world. Class was over at last. As if the universe sensed my need for a little relief, Ashley bolted from her seat, mumbling something about Kyle needing to see her. I watched her dart off, a knowing smile tugging at my lips—she was so head-over-heels for him and just hadn’t figured it out yet.

Gathering my things slowly, I took a steadying breath and walked out into the hallway, my thoughts churning with everything that had happened. Ryan. Prom. My reaction—or rather, my non-reaction. My steps were aimless, drifting down the corridor as I wrestled with what I would say to him if I saw him again.

"Violet!"

I stopped mid-step, turning around to see Luke jogging toward me, looking slightly out of my breath

“Oh, hey. I didn’t see you in class.”

The thought hadn’t even crossed my mind while I was in there—probably because my mind kept wandering … no, not down that path again.

“Yeah, I was busy with something.” He paused, eyeing me for a moment. “Are you free to talk now?”

A surge of guilt hit me like a wave. I remembered he’d wanted to talk about something earlier before Ryan's interruption and I had completely forgotten about it

Because you were thinking about your stepbrother

My inner voice wasted no time reminding me of that, loudly scolding me and I silenced it with a mental shout before refocusing on Luke

“Yes, sure,” I replied, managing a smile

We found a quiet corner in the school courtyard where a couple of benches were tucked under the shade of the trees. The late afternoon light filtered through the branches, casting shadows that danced across Luke’s face as he sat down next to me.

"So," he started with a smile "did you hear about Mr. Crawford's coffee incident this morning? Apparently, someone switched his coffee with cold brew”

I laughed, picturing our overly serious biology teacher scowling at his cup. "No way! Did he say anything?"

"Just stared at it like it betrayed him. I swear, his face looked like he’d just witnessed a tragedy. But honestly, it’s probably the most alive he’s looked all year."

The image made us both laugh, and for a moment, the heavy mood that had been following me all day seemed to lift. Luke had always been good at making me feel lighter, like things weren’t as overwhelming as they sometimes seemed.

“So what do you want to talk about?” I asked as our laughter died down. I'm sure he didn't call me here to talk about coffee switched with cold brew.

He took a breath, his fingers tapping nervously on his knee before he finally looked me straight in the eyes. “Violet,” he began, his voice softer, "I know things have been… complicated lately. But, uh, I wanted to ask you something before I lost my nerve."

My heart skipped, and I felt a twinge of anticipation. “What is it?”

Luke cleared his throat, hesitating for a split second before he finally spoke the words.

“Will you…will you be my date to prom?”