Prom King

Adam leans down and gathers my things. He puts my books and pens back in my bag and gently puts the bag back on my shoulder. I can’t move as he does it. Then he hands me my now soda-stained and bloody copy of World’s Waterfall. He gives me a small smile. “Do you like it?”

I’m a little star-struck. Adam Carlisle helped me. He’s so close to me. “What?”

“The book.”

“Oh,” I say as Lorraine arrives next to me. “Yeah, I do.”

“I hope you get the chance to finish it soon.”

I can only nod, and he smiles again as Lorraine takes my arm and leads me away towards the doors and the nurse. The mistake I make is looking back, and noticing how the whole school is watching me walk away with blood down my face and shirt. By the time we’re outside the doors of the gym, I can’t hold back the tears anymore, but Lor doesn’t stop to comfort me, guiding me straight to the nurse’s office. Then she pulls me into a hug. “It’s okay.”

“It’s really, really not,” I say. “Sasha was already up to something, and this is only going to give her more fuel. People are going to stare at me for weeks, and Adam—” I hiccup, and flinch as the nurse is cleaning up my nose, seeing if it’s broken. “Adam probably thinks I’m a total spaz now. He’s seen me bloody and crying. That’s really sexy.”

Lorraine rolls her eyes. “Girl, I love you but sometimes you’re stupid as hell.”

The nurse gives her a look, and I’m staring at my best friend in shock. “I’m sorry?”

“Didn’t you see what Adam did?”

I wince as the nurse puts some antiseptic on the scratches. “No, I was a little busy flat on my face in front of the whole school.”

“We were about to win. Adam had the ball and was about to score, and then you fell. He dropped the ball and ran off the court when you fell. The game didn’t stop, the other team took the ball and scored and we lost.”

I think my heart stops in my chest. “What?”

“Adam threw the game to help you. So if you think that he cares about the blood on your face, you need to get your head on straight.”

My heart is pounding now. Lorraine has no reason to lie about that. But if it is true, what does it mean?

6

Ollie

Present Day

Like being conjured out of that memory, Sasha suddenly appears in front of me, a giant smile on her face. “Hi!” She wraps me in a giant hug that I absolutely do not want to be a part of and I hold my breath until she lets me go.

Lorraine is staring at her like she’s an absolute idiot, and even though I’m uncomfortable, I have to try hard not to laugh. That day on the basketball court was not the only, or even the worst, thing that Sasha did to me. There was the time she accidentally ruined my work in art class, got me blamed for a low score on a group project that was entirely her fault, started multiple rumors about me that resulted in more than one horrifying lunch hour, and of course, prom. And those are just the ones that are coming to mind now.

“Oh. My. God,” Sasha says. “I love your dress.”

Lor steps closer. “It’s Marchesa.”

“Well it’s working on you.” She smiles again. “How are you? I’ve missed you. It’s been so long!”

There’s a phantom pain in my nose, and I touch the bridge of it, remembering that day in the gym. It has been so long, but I sure as hell haven’t missed her. But I don’t get the same vibe from her that I got in high school. She seems more genuine, like she’s actually excited about being here. “Good to see you, Sasha.”

She waves to someone across the room. “I have to go say to hi to Corey, but I totally want to catch up! I’ll swing back around.” She blows us a kiss and floats away toward a group of girls that look like they might be from her old clique.

“Fake bitch,” Lor says with an eye-roll.

“I don’t know. She seemed a lot more genuine. I suppose it’s possible that in the last ten years she’s changed.”

Lor shakes her head. “Girls like Sasha don’t change. They think the world is something they can manipulate, and they never stop trying to do it.”

“Maybe.” I like to believe that people can change. That people do change. If not, that’s just kind of depressing. Now that I’m here, I need a drink. I definitely need a drink. I point to the bar, and Lor nods. I’ll find her once I’ve waited in line and have something that’s going to dull my senses a little bit.

Luckily the line isn’t too long right now—the Plaza bartenders are on top of it.

“Olivia.”

I turn, and my feet drop through the floor. It’s Adam. Adam is here, so close to me, and that same memory from the gym overwhelms me. That’s the last time we were this close. I can’t help how breathless I sound. “Hi.”

“Hi.” Then he grins. “I’m really glad you came. Honestly I didn’t think you would.”

“Yeah. I wasn’t planning on it. Lorraine convinced me.”

“Good thing she did.”

My body lights up with joy because he wanted to see me. But then I go cold. Is he making fun of me? Is this some kind of joke with Sasha? If Lorraine is right and people like Sasha never change, then what if Adam is the same too? What if it’s all another cruel joke?

“How have you been?” he asks quietly, and he glances down toward my hands. I stretch my fingers and the bracelet Lor gave me jingles. Probably just distracted by it.

I nod. “Pretty good. I was…very nervous about coming here.”

“Why?”

I laugh. “You really have to ask that?”

“I suppose not.”

“I have a life I really like,” I say, word vomit spilling out of me before I can stop it. “I moved on from all of this, so I wasn’t sure that I wanted to bring that back into my life.”

“I get that,” he says, and for a second we’re quiet. I move forward a place in line and Adam moves with me, hands in his pockets. “Listen, I—”

“ADAM!” There are whoops and hollers and I stumble out of the way as we’re swarmed by four members of what used to be the basketball team. A bunch of guys surround Adam, giving him overly amped up hugs and clapping him on the back. He looks as startled as I do, and I wish we hadn’t been interrupted. I wanted to hear what he has to say.

Adam glances at me apologetically, and says hello to his friends. It’s at that moment that they all decide to notice that I’m standing there. “Damn, Olivia!” It’s coming from a guy whose name I think is Brandon. “You got hot.”

“Yeah, when did that happen?” Another guy asks. “I’d be happy to take you home and—”

“Okay.” Adam interrupts.

Oh my god. Oh my god I can’t win. I have guys telling me I’m not attractive enough to spend the night with and then I have assholes telling me how fuckable I am because I have a pretty face.

“Come with us,” Brandon says. “We trying to get the Plaza to set up a hoop at that end of the ballroom and get the band back together.”

A third from the group puts his hand on Adam’s shoulder and tries to guide him away, but he shrugs the hand off. “No thanks, guys. I’m in the middle of a conversation. I’ll catch up with you later.”

“Seriously?” guy number three asks. Jason, maybe? And then he whispers far too loudly for me not to hear. “I mean, I know she’s hot, but it’s Olivia Mitchell.”

I feel myself flush red, and I watch Adam’s face go white with anger. “Fuck off, man.”

The guy backs up, hands raised in surrender. “Whatever. Come find us when you want some fun.” He looks me up and down, and I feel sick, the look on his face somehow conveying want and disgust at the same time.

“Go,” Adam says, and they leave. One of them nearly trips over a chair. It’s possible that they might be drunk already. “Are you all right?”

Again, I’m having déjà vu. He said those same words to me that day in the gym. I couldn’t believe that he intervened for me then, and I’m honestly having a hard time believing that he did

it just now. It seems like way too good to be true.

“I guess so,” I say. “Thank you for doing that. It was uncomfortable.”

“No kidding.” He shakes his head.

Finally up to the bar, I order a glass of wine. When I turn around, Adam is right there, so close. Closer than he was standing just a second ago. He reaches out and takes my hand. “I’d like to talk to you, if that’s all right. About that night and some other stuff. But I’d like to do it where we won’t be interrupted again.”

My heart is pounding in my chest, and I’m not sure that I can breathe or speak right now so I just nod. He looks down again, holding up my hands and sweeping his thumb across my wrists. “Thank you.”

I’m not sure about the wrist thing. Maybe he’s developed a wrist fetish in the last ten years, but honestly I’ve heard of weirder stuff and there’s nothing at all in this moment that’s going to stop me from saying yes.

Adam guides me toward the door and that perfect summer air. From across the room I see Lorraine’s jaw drop open. I manage to send her a tiny wave before we disappear out of the ballroom through a balloon arch that’s way too similar to the one that was at prom. The last time I saw Adam.