by Erin Downing
“You have to come,” Emily declared. Though she wasn’t sure if that was really what she felt. She didn’t know if she was prepared to be with him and Ethan at the same time.
Charlie whined, “Yeah, Max, come on. It’s the perfect ending to your article.”
“Um, okay,” he agreed blandly. He opened the back door to Charlie’s Volvo and stepped in. “I’ll go. I don’t have much choice, since you were supposed to give me a ride home.”
Emily was now standing alone on the sidewalk, uncomfortable when she realized she wouldn’t be riding with her friends, as usual. Emily’s dress was in Charlie’s car—she had been leaving it in there after most of the proms so that her mom wouldn’t get suspicious—and she pulled it out of the trunk now, holding the shimmery fabric in her arms. Charlie gestured to Ethan. “See if he has anything to wear. Then you guys can follow us there.”
She nodded and returned to Ethan’s car. He rolled down the window and she leaned in. “Hey,” she breathed. “Do you have any interest in coming to my cousin’s prom with us?” Emily sort of expected him to say no. So far, he was a little too good to be true.
“Absolutely,” he answered quickly. “And this is your lucky day,” he continued. “My tux is in the trunk.” In a move that could only be classified as lucky, Ethan had put his tux in his car that morning, intending to return it to the rental place that afternoon. But his date with Emily had run over and he hadn’t had a chance.
“Great,” she said. “Then we’re good to go.”
Twenty minutes later, Emily and Ethan pulled up at South’s prom. Charlie, Sid, and Max had already gone into the ballroom. Emily and Ethan had stopped along the way so that they could change into their formal wear in a gas station restroom. As they approached the door to the dance, Ethan turned to Emily and declared, “This is exciting,” then leaned over to give her a kiss. Her lips burned.
Inside, they had no trouble getting into prom. No one was guarding the doors, and people were coming and going freely. Ethan looked a little disappointed.
Emily quickly spotted Max, who was standing by himself against one wall of the ballroom. She led Ethan toward her best friend, realizing again how uncomfortable she felt about having her two guys alone together. Had Max felt their connection the night before too? Was he feeling as uncomfortable around Emily as she was with him?
Once introductions were out of the way, the three of them stood silently for a few minutes, taking in everything around them. Emily was acutely aware of her position, standing between her hot new crush, Ethan, and best-friend-with-potential-spark, Max. Ethan had his hand resting lightly in the curve of her back.
After a few minutes of desperate searching, Emily finally noticed Charlie and his date, Natasha, across the room. She waved madly to get his attention. He left Natasha with her friends and came sashaying over. “This must be the yummy guy you’ve been talking about,” Charlie declared, ignoring Emily and giving Ethan the once-over.
Ethan reached his hand out toward Charlie. “Ethan.” He pretended he hadn’t heard Charlie’s comment. “You must be Charlie.”
“When does Sid go on?” Emily asked Charlie.
“Yo!” Sid broke through the noise of the prom by shouting at them from across the room.
Ethan turned to Emily. “Sidney?” he guessed. She nodded.
“I am flipping nervous,” Sid declared, storming over to them. She looked at Ethan suspiciously.
Emily smiled at Sid. “Nerves really do bring out the best in you, Sid. This is Ethan, prom guy.”
“Oh, right.” Sid sized him up. “Good to finally meet you. Hey, what happened after we left your prom last night?”
Emily clutched Ethan’s hand at her side. She caught Max sneaking a peek as their fingers intertwined. He averted his gaze.
Ethan laughed. “Brian finally found his tux, but ended up puking on it later. So he probably would have been better off without it. You sort of did the guy a favor by taking it in the first place. He stunk at the after-prom party.”
“Once again,” Charlie declared proudly, “a successful prom crash on all accounts.” He broke off, pointing to the stage area, where a DJ was playing eighties classics. One of Charlie’s drama club cronies—the guy responsible for lighting—was beckoning Sid to the stage.
“I guess this is it… ,” she said. She clapped her hands twice. “No amount of adrenaline can get you through the nerves of playing in front of your whole school. This is just messed up,” she said, then turned to Charlie. “Enjoy the rest of your night, Charles.” She winked cryptically, then strode off toward the stage.
“What did that mean?” Emily asked Charlie.
Charlie stared after her. “No clue.” He waved at Natasha, who was dancing with a bunch of their friends. Natasha had tied the hem of her ankle-length black slip dress into a knot near her knees to free her legs for dancing. She looked bohemian and chic, twirling and spinning in time to the music.
“Are you and Natasha having a good time?” Emily asked. When she did, Ethan released her hand and put his palm in the small of her back again. Her skin tingled where his hand connected with her body, then the tingle expanded outward like a firecracker. She turned to smile at him, eager to be alone again.
Charlie nodded. “Yeah, I’m having fun. I don’t necessarily think she cares that we’re here together—she just wanted to go to prom. Which is good, I suppose, since I’m hanging out with you guys.” He grinned.
Suddenly a static-filled shout broke through the room. Members of the prom committee were standing onstage, and one of the girls had shouted into the microphone to get everyone’s attention. People covered their ears and turned toward the stage. “Sorry,” she said with a shrug. “Okay, everybody, we have an amazing surprise for you all tonight. First, we’re going to announce this year’s prom king and queen, and then”—she paused, relishing in the suspense—“our very own Sidney Marquez—” Emily winced…that wasn’t even Sid’s last name. Ouch. One of the other girls onstage whispered something to the girl with the mic. Mic girl continued, “Sorry, Sidney Martinez, is going to play a few songs to finish our year in style! Our very own South High music celebrity!”
Everyone clapped, and Charlie laughed. He leaned over to Emily, Ethan, and Max. “It’s funny to see Sid at such a school-spirit-heavy event. This is just so out of character for her.” Emily laughed and nodded, but Max just stood silently, staring forward. “She must be dying backstage.” Charlie chuckled.
“So first”—mic girl waved an envelope over her head—“on behalf of the junior year prom committee, I’m delighted to announce this year’s prom king and queen!” The DJ turned on a CD with cheesy drumroll music. “This year’s prom queen is… oh, this comes as no surprise to anyone…. Marisa Sanchez!”
A pretty brunette in the middle of the room feigned surprise and waved her hands in front of her face. The whole room was cheering and clapping, and Marisa managed to muster up a few tears of happiness. She made her way toward the stage to collect her crown.
“And now,” mic girl announced, “we’ll reveal Marisa’s king! Drumroll please…. This year’s South High Prom King is…. Charlie Delano!”
Charlie jumped a little next to Emily. He turned to Emily, his face a mask of pure disbelief. A huge smile spread across his face as everyone in the room cheered. He raised his arms over his head and took a low, deep bow. Then he moved forward to collect his second prom king crown of the year.
As Charlie hastily made his way through the crowded ballroom toward the stage, Emily felt a little tap on her shoulder. She turned, and there was Marco, Charlie’s boyfriend, standing right behind her. “Hey!” she cried, giving him a hug. “What are you doing here? Does Charlie know you’re here?”
“No,” Marco responded. “It’s a surprise. I hit traffic coming out of Chicago, so I’m a little late. I just got here. You look great!” He grinned at Emily. They hadn’t seen each other in a few months. “Where is he?”
Emily pointed to the
stage, where Charlie was just ascending the steps to claim his crown. Charlie lifted his hands in the air and whooped as the crown was placed on his head. “You’re dating the prom king. How does it feel?”
“Again?” Marco smiled, referring to the Memorial High prom. “I wanted to be here for him. He called me earlier this week and told me how much this prom meant to him and how sad he was that I wouldn’t be here. I had no idea it meant that much to him. I’ve never heard Charlie be so earnest. So I e-mailed Sid and got the details. She knew I was coming, but I asked her to keep it a surprise.”
“It will definitely be that,” Emily said. “Hey, Marco, this is Ethan. My prom date.” She blushed a little as she said it. Ethan shook hands with Marco and nodded knowingly. “And you remember Max, right?” Emily said, moving in closer to Ethan to make a space for Marco between her and Max.
Marco moved forward and said, “Yeah. Hey, Max. How’ve you been?” Max just nodded. Charlie was now leading Marisa down the stage steps toward the dance floor for their inaugural dance. Sid walked onto the stage, her guitar slung over her shoulder. She sat on a stool center stage and started to play one of Emily’s favorite songs, “Hello You.”
Sid sang while Charlie and Marisa danced together. Everyone had formed a big circle around the king and queen and were cheering and taking pictures. Marco excused himself and moved away from Emily, Max, and Ethan so that he was standing on the outer perimeter of the dance floor, watching Charlie from a distance. About halfway through the song, Marisa’s boyfriend made his way onto the dance floor and cut in. Charlie hugged Marisa, then moved away toward the edge of the circle. The rest of the prom committee and their dates swarmed onto the dance floor and joined Marisa and her boyfriend.
Like a scene out of a movie, Charlie suddenly looked up and noticed Marco, who was now standing twenty feet away, right in Charlie’s line of sight. Charlie’s face broke into a huge smile. Marco moved forward, and Charlie pulled his boyfriend into a giant hug.
Ethan, who had been watching Charlie and Marco’s reunion, turned to Emily and murmured, “Care to dance, gorgeous?”
“Absolutely,” she declared. She looked at Max, who was standing alone next to them. “Do you mind if we dance?”
Max ran his hands through his hair. “Feel free.” He gave Emily a strange, uncomfortable look that caused her stomach to flip nervously. “Actually,” he said, “I’m going to take off. I have a story to finish. Tell Charlie I called a cab.” And with that, he spun on his heels and walked away.
Thirteen
“Hey, Em.” Max sauntered up to Emily the next Tuesday night, with Charlie in tow. Emily and Ethan were meeting the two guys to watch Sid’s first gig at French’s. Emily’s stomach leaped at the familiar sound of her best friend’s voice. She was scared to see him. Ridiculous, she chided herself. This is Max!
But Emily knew why she was uncomfortable—she hadn’t truly spoken to Max since their almost moment four days earlier. They had never gone this long with awkwardness between them. They had exchanged a few lame bits of chatter on Saturday night, but she hadn’t had a chance to really talk to him.
She was still haunted by the feelings she’d had on the boat Friday night and didn’t know what to make of it. She kept trying to ignore the sensation she had felt that night, but there was something tap-tapping away in the back of her mind that just wouldn’t let it go. And she had no idea if Max had felt it too.
“Hey, guys.” She greeted Max and Charlie as naturally as possible. But her palm was sweaty in Ethan’s hand. “Are you excited for tonight?”
Charlie beamed. “Definitely. Sid is so nervous.” He looked giddy.
“Did Marco leave?” she asked. Emily hadn’t really spoken to Charlie since Saturday night either, since she’d spent almost every spare moment with Ethan.
“Uh-huh,” Charlie said, his face turning somber. “I miss him already.”
“Did you guys stick around at prom for a while?” Emily asked. She and Ethan had only stayed at South’s prom for a few more songs, then left to grab a bite to eat. Ethan had dropped her off at home close to midnight, and left her with a scrumptious, exhilarating good-night kiss. Thankfully everyone in her family was asleep when she got there—she was able to sneak in and hang her prom dress deep in her closet before anyone saw it and started asking questions.
Charlie nodded. “We stayed until almost the end. It’s a prom king’s duty.” He grinned. “Then we hit the after-party at Marisa’s house. I think Marco had fun. He seems to be more proprom now.”
“Are you going to our prom after-party?” Max asked Emily suddenly, out of the blue. “Lauren is having an after-party at her house. I think I’m going.”
Emily turned to stare at her best friend. Lauren Ellstrom? “Oh,” she said, not sure what to say. She hadn’t realized Max was going to prom, and she wondered who he was going with. How could so much happen in four days?
She realized she was being completely self-centered, but Emily didn’t want Max to go to prom—she wanted to live out her own prom fantasy, but didn’t want Max to have his. Totally hypocritical. “We’re not sure yet what we’re going to do.” She looked at Ethan.
“Right,” Max said distractedly. “Well, have fun.” Ethan clutched Emily’s hand in his, oblivious to her discomfort. Max went back to silence.
Charlie grabbed Emily’s arm and pulled at her sleeve. “Can I talk to you for a sec?” he asked quietly.
She told Ethan that she’d be back in a minute, and followed Charlie toward a corner of the club. “What’s up?” she asked.
“What happened between you and Max? You’re acting like you hardly know each other.” Charlie looked back at Ethan and Max across the room, who were standing a few feet apart without speaking.
“I don’t know!” Emily exclaimed. “This is going to sound ridiculous, but I think something might have almost happened between us at Northwestern’s prom—right before you showed up. It was really, really surreal.”
Charlie gasped. “Like happened, happened?”
“Maybe?” Emily pushed her bangs away from her face. “I seriously don’t know. But it’s been weird between us ever since. I think he was really pissed at me for being late to East’s prom, and now it seems like he’s avoiding me, and I guess I’m sort of avoiding him because of the whole boat thing, and Ethan’s fabulous and hot and perfect for me, and I don’t know!” She sighed. “Oh, Charlie, have I massively screwed up?”
He gave her a hug. “Oh, sweetie, no. We’ll figure it out.” He waved at Ethan, who was shooting Emily a slightly desperate look from across the room. “What do you want to do?” he asked. “Could there be something between you and Max?”
“I might be imagining the whole thing. But I might not. Either way, I can’t really get into this relationship with Ethan if I’m messing things up with my best friend, can I? I mean, Max means the world to me.”
“I hate to ask this, since I sound like your mom, but”—Charlie paused—“what do you think is right? Aren’t you really into Ethan?”
“Yes!”
“And what about Max?”
“I don’t know. We’ve never gone down that road before, so I can’t say for sure. I guess it’s possible—there was an unfamiliar spark.”
Charlie studied both guys from across the room. “You can’t really go wrong with either one,” he teased.
“So helpful.” Emily grimaced. “I guess my biggest fear is that Ethan won’t fit in with you guys. Or what if I’m imagining my chemistry with him—though I don’t think I am—and I give up on Max, and then in a couple of weeks I’m left with no boyfriend and a best friend who hates me. I really need to know what Max is feeling right now. Or I need a sign that Ethan’s the right guy—or that Max is.”
Sid suddenly stepped onstage, guitar in hand, and the lights in the club dimmed. Charlie grabbed Emily’s arm and yelled over the sound of the music, “It will work out. I promise.” He pulled her back through the crowd toward the two guys waiting for
them on the other side of the club.
Emily returned to Ethan’s side, and he pulled her in close. Max watched them snuggle up together, then strode across the room to buy a soda. Charlie and Emily both watched him go, then shared a look.
This is bad, Emily mused silently. And it’s just going to get worse at prom.
After the show, Emily and Ethan split off from the others. Emily had spent most of Sid’s show thinking about the awkwardness between her and Max, and had finally come to a resolution about what she needed to do.
When they got to his car, Ethan pulled Emily toward him in the shadowy parking lot and ran his fingers along her cheek. She let him kiss her only briefly, then pulled away. “Can we go somewhere and talk?” she asked, walking around to her side of the car.
“Sure,” Ethan said, unlocking the doors. “Everything okay?”
“I don’t know,” Emily responded. It was the truth. During Sid’s show, Emily had realized that she needed to pursue whatever might be happening with Max. Though she felt like things with Ethan were going perfectly, she knew she could never fully enjoy their relationship if she thought it had potentially ruined things with her best friend. So she leaned back in her seat, took a deep breath, and said, “Listen, Ethan …”
He sighed. “You’re kidding me, right?”
Am I that obvious? Emily wondered. He seemed to know where she was going, which certainly would make it easier to say. It wouldn’t make it any easier for her to feel good about the decision, though. She continued, “I am having so much fun with you, but …”
He had started the car, but sat with the engine idling. “But?”
“But,” Emily went on, “there’s some stuff I need to deal with right now. I don’t know how long it’s going to take, or what I’m going to resolve, but I just need a little while to figure things out. I don’t think it’s fair to you or to me to keep hanging out.” A knot crept up into her throat. She felt like sobbing as she said, “I don’t think I can go to prom with you.”