All I've Never Wanted

by Ana Huang

  “Why are you telling me this now?” she whispered.

  He shrugged, turning a bit red. “When I was pretending to date Maya, I kept on thinking how she would be the perfect girlfriend. Beautiful, smart, funny, all that. And I really did like her—“

  A ripple of jealousy coursed through her veins, shocking her. She never felt jealous. Adriana opened her mouth to say something, but Parker held one finger up to her lips, shushing her.

  “—as a friend. Because the whole time, I couldn’t stop thinking about how much I’d rather be with you instead.”

  “So—“ Adriana’s voice was thick as she tried to process all this information. “So what—what now?”

  “Let’s take it one step at a time, hmm?” Parker rested his forehead against hers. “So will you go to homecoming with me?”

  It was a no-brainer. Adriana threw her arms around his neck, an act of ebullience she’d never done before. “Yes!”

  And with that one word, she knew her life had somehow completely, irrevocably changed in the space of an hour.

  * * *

  “Damn, I am on fire, if I say so myself!”

  I laughed as I watched Venice twirl in front of the three-way, full-length mirror in Adriana’s room, the skirt of her dress billowing out around her. Her dress was a strapless black number, splashed with brightly colored flowers that matched her personality perfectly.

  I had to admit, she did look good. Adriana’s amazing hair skills had even managed to tame Venice’s riot of fiery curls so they fell in smooth waves down her back, and her alabaster skin gleamed under the lights.

  “No moving,” the blonde now instructed as she finished curling my own hair. “Unless you want to end up looking like Shirley Temple.”

  I made a face. “Like you would ever let me out of the house like that.”

  Adriana laughed, wrapping one last lock of hair around the piping-hot barrel. “That’s true. I can’t wait till the boys see you. You look gorgeous.”

  “Not that I would know,” I groused. She hadn’t let me look in a mirror since we started getting ready.

  “She’s right, you know.” Venice bounced over, eyeing me critically. “You look like a goddess. Carlo is going to die when he sees you.”

  I blushed. “I don’t know about that,” I mumbled.

  I was so grateful that Carlo was still willing to go to homecoming with me though. How embarrassing would it have been if he’d already been going with someone else? A part of me felt bad, like I was using him or something, but honestly I was pretty excited about going with him. I always felt so comfortable around him, he was easy to talk to, and he wasn’t exactly hard on the eyes.

  “Done,” Adriana announced, turning off her gold-plated curling iron. She beamed down at me. “My finest work so far, I have to say.”

  “Really?” I reached up to touch my hair self-consciously. My hair had always been pin-straight, except when I went to the beach and it got all wavy from the sea water. I’d never purposely curled it before.

  “Really. Go on, take a look.”

  Venice clapped her hands excitedly. “Oh gosh, I can’t wait.”

  Eyeing them a bit suspiciously, I stood up and walked over to the mirror. My hair was the last thing we needed to do before we were completely ready, and according to the clock on the wall, the guys should be downstairs waiting already

  .

  I knew Adriana was a master with hair and makeup, and the dress was gorgeous—which it better be, considering how much it cost. Nothing prepared me for what I saw though.

  The girl staring back in the mirror looked exactly like me, only better, if that made sense. Her glossy black hair fell in big, lush waves down her back, setting off her bronze complexion that glowed as if lit from within. Her eyes were large and smoky, fringed by mile-long lashes, and her full, pouty lips were perfectly glossed to rival Angelina Jolie’s. The beautiful Fendi dress was clingy on top and bared her shoulders, while the skirt swished elegantly around her thighs, revealing just enough leg to be sexy but not skanky. The pair of gold Jimmy Choo stilettos Adriana had lent me completed the look perfectly.

  “Is this really me?” I asked, stunned.

  Adriana came up next to me, an unusually gentle smile on her face. “I told you, Maya. You look beautiful.”

  “Thanks,” I whispered, still a bit in shock. I smiled gratefully at her. “Thanks so much, Adri. You look gorgeous too.”

  And she did, even more than usual. She was all legs in her purple satin dress, and combined with her towering silver Blahnik heels and perfect golden locks, she looked like a princess, albeit a very seductive one.

  “Ooh, I can’t wait till the boys see us!” Venice grabbed our arms. “Let’s go down!”

  I laughed at her excitement, but I was feeling a bit fluttery myself. I knew Carlo, Parker, and Venice’s date were waiting downstairs. I’d been surprised when Adriana told us the story about how Parker had asked her out, but I was more than happy for them. It turns out my instinct was right after all.

  The three of us descended the winding staircase that led to the Perrys’ giant living room, and the butterflies increased when I saw Carlo standing at the bottom. He looked devastatingly handsome in his tux, with his hair slicked back and a smile on his face.

  “Hey,” he said, upping the wattage of his smile when he saw me. His gaze flickered appreciatively over me. “You look…amazing.”

  I blushed. Even though I had an inane crush on he-who-shall-not-be-named, I wasn’t blind. Carlo was on fire.

  “Thanks,” I murmured.

  He handed me a single, perfect white rose. “I thought it’d match your dress.”

  “Thank you.” I accepted the flower, touched. It was beautiful. No guy had ever given me a flower before.

  Just a gift basket…

  I shook my head, trying to clear my thoughts. No. I would not think about him. Not tonight. I deserved to have my fun.

  “Are you ok?” Carlo asked quietly, as the others moved towards the front door.

  I nodded, slipping my arm through the crook of his. “I’m fine. Perfect, actually.”

  The concern in his face eased a bit. “Good.” He glanced in front of us, where Parker and Adriana were whispering conspiratorially to each other while Venice talked her date’s ear off.

  I wonder where Roman and Zack were. Ugh, can’t I not think about him for even one second?!

  “Rome and Zack are picking up their dates,” Carlo said, almost as if he’d read my mind. “They’re meeting us at the dance.”

  “Oh. Ok.” My stomach fell a bit when I remembered Roman had a date too.

  Not that it mattered. I wasn’t going to let that bring me down tonight. Not one bit.

  * * *

  Where the heck were they?

  Roman scowled into the night, glaring at the limos that were pulling up, filled with couples who were not his friends.

  “Roman, who are we waiting for?” the accented voice to his left asked, sounding a bit annoyed.

  He turned and eyed his ‘date’ with aggravation. Objectively speaking, Solange was beautiful, as all supermodels were. The Brazilian had a thick dark hair, crystal-like blue-green eyes and a body most girls would’ve died for. She also had the personality of cardboard and was getting on his last nerve.

  And the night had barely begun.

  “My friends,” he said slowly, like she was too dense to understand the two words. Which she probably was.

  Roman glowered at Zack, who seemed to be all fine and dandy with his date, a willowy redheaded model from Idaho or Iowa or one of those states.

  The Scions usually brought models to school functions, if they went at all, because it was less hassle and they wouldn’t have to deal with the clinginess of Valesca girls afterward.

  That is, until Parker decided to go with Adriana—which had been surprising but fine—and Carlo decided to go with Maya. Which was decidedly less fine.

  Roman set his jaw at the thought. Out of all
the people in the world, Carlo had to go with her.

  What’s so great about her anyway? he thought furiously. She was upsetting the balance of everything, and he didn’t like it one bit.

  “Oh, I think that’s them!” Zack pointed to the Rolls-Royce limo that had just pulled up.

  “It’s about time,” Roman grumbled, stiffening a bit as he waited for his friends to get out.

  Maya’s little redheaded friend and her date were the first to get out, followed by Parker and Adriana.

  Roman tensed when he saw Carlo. The Colombian held out his hand to the last person in the limo, and a second later, Maya came into view.

  All the air whooshed out of his lungs. Roman swallowed hard, rooted to the spot as Maya started walking towards him. Her dress fluttered behind her from the wind, and she looked more gorgeous than he’d ever thought anyone could look.

  As he watched, she laughed at something Carlo said. In response, his friend wrapped an arm around her waist and said something that made her laugh again.

  The scowl reappeared on Roman’s face as he resisted the urge to rip Carlo’s arm away from her.

  “Hey, guys,” Maya chirped when she finally reached them. “You all look great.” Her eyes flickered over Solange before quickly looking away.

  Narrowing his eyes, Roman reached out to grab his date’s hand. “Maya, I don’t believe you’ve met my date, Solange,” he said coolly.

  Maya’s smile tightened a bit. “It’s nice to meet you,” she told the Brazilian politely.

  Everyone else quickly introduced themselves, but Roman’s blood practically boiled at her indifferent courteousness. What the hell happened to the fiery-tempered girl he knew?

  Whatever. It doesn’t matter, he thought darkly, as they made their way into the hotel ballroom where homecoming was being held.

  The dance was already in full swing, but instead of joining everyone else on the dance floor, Roman stomped over to the Scions’ reserved VIP table. The others followed reluctantly.

  “You don’t want to dance?” Solange asked in her thick accent.

  “No,” he replied curtly.

  “Well, in that case, can you look after our bags for us?” Adriana asked sweetly, placing her silver clutch on the table.

  “What do I look like, your butler?” Roman growled, but it was too late. Everyone else had already moved to the dance floor.

  For the next half hour, he just sat there and fumed, getting more and more irked as he watched everyone else have the time of their lives.

  Carlo spun Maya around and dipped her exaggeratedly, like they did in the movies, and she broke out into silvery laughter as he did so.

  Roman grabbed a glass of water from the table and took a huge gulp before slamming it down, causing the other glasses to rattle a bit.

  What right did they have to be so happy when he wasn’t? He set the standards!

  Who does Carlo think he is anyway, Fred Astaire? he thought rather nastily.

  “Roman, I’m bored,” Solange whined beside him.

  “So, go do something about it,” he answered disinterestedly.

  Solange huffed angrily and stood up, her chair screeching as she pushed it back. “I’m going to the bathroom.”

  When she didn’t receive an answer, she stormed off, but Roman barely noticed. He couldn’t take his eyes off a certain couple on the dance floor.

  Several songs later, his friends came back to the table for a rest, sweaty and out of breath. A disgruntled Solange had also returned, and though she didn’t say anything, he could feel the waves of annoyance coming off her.

  “I’m going to freshen up a bit,” Adriana announced, grabbing her clutch. “I’ll be right back.”

  “I’ll go with you,” Maya offered, and Venice and Zack’s date, Cynthia something-or-other, echoed the same sentiment.

  Apparently deciding another trip to the ladies’ room was preferable to sitting at the table not doing anything, Solange followed, leaving the boys to themselves.

  They were silent for a moment.

  “I’m sorry, what’s your name again?” Zack asked Venice’s date.

  The boy flushed, obviously unable to believe he was sitting with the Scions. “Gr-Grant.”

  “Grant.” Zack frowned. “That’s kind of a weird name.”

  Parker shot him a surprised look. Zack shrugged. “What? It is.”

  “Oh, y-yeah. My grandfather was named Gr-Grant, so—“ The boy shrugged, turning even redder.

  “Oh.” Zack sipped his water. “How do you know Venice?”

  “We-we’re in Eng-English together.”

  “Fascinating.”

  Any other day, Roman would’ve questioned Zack’s unusual snarkiness, but right now, he was too focused on the rose Maya had left on the table.

  “So, Carlo, did you give that to her?” he asked casually, leaning back in his chair as if he didn’t care about the answer.

  His friend didn’t even blink. “Yes.”

  “That’s a bit tacky, isn’t it?” Roman sneered. “I mean, I thought people usually tried to get laid after prom, not homecoming.”

  “Roman!” Parker’s voice was sharp, but Carlo shook his head, gazing steadily at Roman.

  “I’m not trying to get in her pants, Roman.”

  “Oh, really?” His grip tightened on his glass. “Judging by the way you two were dancing out there, I find that a bit hard to believe.”

  “Not every guy has sex on their mind, Roman,” Carlo said calmly, infuriating Roman even more. “Besides, you might want to pay attention to your date instead of mine. Solange didn’t look like she was having too much fun."

  “Yeah, well, she’s my date, so I can do whatever the hell I please,” Roman snarled.

  “And Maya’s mine, so I can do whatever I please. Although, I have to say, you need to stop making her uncomfortable.”

  Roman narrowed his eyes. “And if I don’t? What are you going to do about it?”

  This time, a challenging look flashed across Carlo’s face. His voice was quiet but threatening. “You don’t want to know.”

  * * *

  “Are you guys ready?”Venice asked, grabbing a paper towel from the dispenser and wiping her hands.

  “I am.” Cynthia, Zack’s date, smiled brightly. I’d been surprised by how friendly she was, though I supposed I shouldn’t stereotype all models as stuck-up snobs.

  As much as I hated to admit it, even Solange was pretty nice. She wasn’t exactly the brightest bulb in the chandelier, though, if you know what I mean.

  “Maya? You ready?” Adriana tilted her head.

  I swallowed, turning the faucet on and off. “Um, in just a moment. You guys go ahead first, I’ll meet you out there.”

  She gave me a curious look but thankfully didn’t say anything. “Ok. I’ll see you in a bit.”

  One by one, the other girls left the bathroom, and the moment the door closed, I slumped against the counter, breathing a sigh of relief.

  The truth was, I just didn’t want to go out there and face Roman again. More specifically, I didn’t want to face him and Solange together again.

  I swallowed hard, my heart panging as I thought about them. They looked good together. Better than I would ever look with him…

  No. Stop it. Don’t think about it, don’t think about it, I silently chanted, but I couldn’t stop. I’d vowed not to let him ruin my night but it turns out I was just fooling myself.

  It didn’t help that all the progress we’d made lately seemed to have disappeared. Roman had barely talked to me all night. He hadn’t even looked at me.

  I bit my lip. To my horror, I felt tears spring up in my eyes. Out of all the guys in this world, why do I have to like him? I thought bitterly. He was the worst person to have a crush on. It had been so much easier when I hated him.

  I still remembered how I felt when I first saw him standing there, waiting for us, earlier this evening. He’d looked…perfect, and for the briefest moment I’d imagined that wa
s waiting for me. Then I saw Solange, and it all came crashing down.

  Of course he wasn’t waiting for me. He had his own perfect, beautiful supermodel date, and I was just some charity case living in his house.

  I sniffled, trying my best not to cry and ruin all the hard work Adriana had put into my makeup. Most of all, I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction. I’ve never cried over a guy, and I certainly wasn’t about to start now.

  I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, counting to ten and trying to push all thoughts of Roman out of my mind. Once I felt I was calm enough, I pushed open the bathroom door and started to walk back to our table.