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Love was at the top of most teenagers’ minds, at least that’s how Grace saw it. Most highschool flings didn’t last long, if they did they’d dissipate after college for a multitude of reasons.
But her love was strong, she loved deeply. That was why her love would never fail her, not ever. Her boyfriend loved her, as did she. She loved her friends, her family, and above all, Ari. She hated that feeling, deep down she prioritized her best friend over all. It probably made her a bad girlfriend, didn’t it? She had so much love to give, it was inevitable.
More often than not, she couldn’t help paying more attention to Ari when she talked than anyone else she knew. How her eyes shone when she talked about things she liked, how she defended her friends so passionately, how she loved so fiercely like she’d never seen before.
Her metamorphosis was beautiful, trading her high black ponytail and typical studious uniform for purple hair (eventually dying the ends pink) and a different wardrobe entirely, settling on pink pigtails and a stronger look, truly unafraid to be herself, and Grace supported her every step of the way. She loved that about her, loved how she took control of her life like that.
Those thoughts were on her mind as she pinned a new picture to her locker door’s interior; the recently taken photos of her and Ari at a carnival the other day from the photo booth fit nicely with everything else she’d pinned there from the school year. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her boyfriend, the love of her life walk up and hug her from behind. She faked surprise, made small talk, and the topic of the upcoming prom came up, scheduled to be held a few nights from now.
It sounded fun, it always was. An excuse to be able to spend the night dancing and having fun with those closest to her? Sign her up, she loved the concept. Of course, she’d go with him. How could she not? It was the most logical choice, they’d both enjoy it like they both enjoyed every dance their school had to offer.
Something at the back of her mind tugged at her, but she couldn’t quite grasp at what it could have been.
~~~
The night soon came, dressed in the dress she picked out weeks ago. The pink puffy sleeves and knee length skirt were perfect to her, she loved outfits like this. “Grace! Are you ready to go? You don’t want to be late!” Her mom called, and the sound of keys meant she probably should hurry up. “Coming, Mom!” She called as she left her room, bringing only her necessities in a small bag with her.
“You look wonderful!” Her mom said, her voice sweet. Grace smiled and nodded, muttering a quick “thanks.” “You’re meeting him there at the entrance, right?” Her mom asked, picking up her purse and heading for the door as her daughter followed behind. “Mhm.” Ari replied dismissively as she got in the passenger’s seat of the car, her mom sitting in the driver’s seat and starting the engine. “You know, I never liked him. He was always bad news to me.” “Yes, mom, I know. He’s fine, I promise. He’s great to me.”
~~~
The prom was wonderful; Grace met up with her boyfriend at the entrance to their school with a kiss and a hand around her waist as they said their greetings. They danced, chatted with friends, and he never left her side.
Soon, it was made known they’d be announcing the prom’s king and queen. With hope in her heart for a good outcome, Grace looked to the stage as they read off an opening statement and got to the nominees. Her name was called, and with a big smile she made her way to the stage, standing next to the other nominees.
She won, thank goodness. Waving to the crowd, she accepted her crown with a nod and placed it on her head.
Soon enough, the nominees for prom king were announced. The last nominee- her boyfriend- however, never showed up to the stage like she did.
As she looked out into the crowd, scanning for her boyfriend’s face, her heart sank. She left. She left him on stage to accept her crown without a king to dance with, at least not who she wanted to dance with. Though, did she? Was that really what she wanted? To dance with someone who’s made her feel unsure, especially at an event like this, who would stand her up like that. No, no way. He didn’t leave her. He probably got caught up with someone else, maybe it was so sudden that he couldn’t tell her.
The king and queen danced, as was expected, and as Grace spent the night rationalizing her boyfriend’s departure and hoping he’d come back so she could at least get some answers, the prom came and went. Students filtered out, streamers were strewn across the gym floor, and she was left to sit in a fold out chair and wonder what went wrong. Was it something she did? Had she really been a bad girlfriend like she feared. A part of her felt angry, angry at herself for feeling guilty over her boyfriend’s- ex-boyfriend’s?- decision. He left. He left her to wave and smile as she tried to choke back the tears that threatened to spill. Oh, her mascara’s probably running.
The sound of the gym door opening and closing with a bang startled her. She looked around, only to see Ari stomping towards the bleachers in a huff. She was furious. She sat down and pulled out her phone, beginning to type something as tears spilled from her eyes.
Slowly, against her better judgment, she walked towards Ari, and in a quiet voice she spoke.
“Rough night?”
As if she hadn’t heard her walk forward, Ari looked up, startled, before she wiped her tears and nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, I guess so.”
Grace sat down next to her, wiping away a few tears of her own. “I didn’t see you here, did you skip out? I don’t blame you.” She said, crossing her arms. She wasn’t mad, more or less… resigned. It was over, and she was with her best friend who she loved so much. What kind of love it was she couldn’t pinpoint, but it was love. “Well, I wasn’t going to at first, but…”
“Did he stand you up?”
“…Yeah.”
They sat in silence for a bit, neither of them could find the words to comfort the other, until Ari stood up, getting up to hook her phone into a speaker used during the dance. Grace got up to follow her. “What are you doing?” “We’ve both had an awful night, it probably can’t get worse. Only thing we can do is try to make it better.” A song started, playing from the speaker. Ari outstretched her hand.
“Dance with me?”
Without thinking, Grace took it.
“Sure.”
They danced, feeling the rhythm of the song as it played, and as they grew closer Grace knew something for sure. This love she felt for Ari was so strong, it had become romantic. The night had been so awful, but she made it so much better. She wished she could frame this memory, dancing with the girl she knew she loved.
As the song ended, they moved closer, soon hugging and holding each other, foreheads tenderly pressed together. It was going to be ok.
Grace was never one for believing in fate, but this felt right. This felt meant to be, like love had found a way to bring them together.