Chapter Text
Chatter all around the area, students snickering about. There was some laughter in the air. Some were running to an area in the quad of a High School that led to others to look over and follow suit. In the middle of it all, a male student stood. He was very confident, handsome to the girls at the front giggling together as they had their phones out pointing his way. He held a sign that read, ‘PROM?’ All the girls were hoping it was for them, and the boys watching were hoping that it would lead to embarrassment. The boy with the prom sign lifts his head up, looking for his possible date. His eyes widened when he did, leading everyone to follow where his eyes were.
“Cassie!” He yells out in her direction. This was the girl who kept to herself. Textbooks in arms with an oversized hoodie, jeans, a pair of shoes and her hair was a mess. She looked as if she could barely dress herself.
Unaware of the crowd that was formed, Cassie looks up. Her eyes widened in shock, she was the last person to expect this to happen to. Especially now, of all times. Cassie hoped that there was another student with that name that happened to be walking along her same path. Once she heard her name once more, she knew it was for her.
Cassie looked up at the man who was wearing a tuxedo, had a bouquet of flowers in one hand and holding a sign up to his chest that made her stomach drop. It was Manuel. To Cassie, he was a friend of a friend.
“Do you want to go to prom with me?” Manuel asked her, his voice full of confidence. He wasn’t the type of boy you’d say no to. However,
“I-I’m sorry Manuel…” Cassie began to say as she heard whispers from the students standing all around them. “I can’t.”
Manuel has never been told ‘no.’ It wasn’t something he was used to. The surrounding students were shocked as well, some gasps were heard between the both of them.
“What?” He scoffed.
“You’re a cool guy!” Cassie tried to salvage the incoming embarrassment she knew he would feel-if that was possible. “I just…” Cassie tried to find the words to say, but with all eyes on her all she could simply say was, “no, thanks.”
Cassie turned away and began to walk towards the nearest building. The crowd that formed around Manuel began to hoot and holler. Some were even recording the interaction, ready to post on various social media platforms. One of them, a girl, walked up to Manuel, putting her phone right in his face.
“Poor Manuel never gets told no, how does it feel to be rejected for the first time?” She asked him.
“Selena, get that camera out of my face!” Manuel, for the first time it seemed, walked away defeated. Selena kept the camera on him as the crowd went back to what they were previously doing before Manuel had his unsuccessful promposal.
Selena stopped recording and giggled to herself. “This is going to be a great promposal fail video.”
She looked up from her phone, to the sky. Daydreaming. “I can see it now. A million views on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram.” Selena smiled to herself. She could already feel success from capturing this embarrassing moment. As long as it benefitted her, she did not have a care in the world.
“Do you think it’s weird she said no?” Selena heard from her left shoulder. Her best friend, Reyna, was standing beside her. Selena and Reyna are best friends. They practically wore the same thing but in different shades of colors like you’d see in the movies.
“No.” Selena simply said as she began to upload the video onto the Internet. “She flakes on us, her best friends, all the time.” She shrugged. Lately Cassie was closed off from her two friends, they had no idea why or how considering they’ve been a trio since elementary school. “Why would she give Manny the time of day?” Selena looked over at Reyna, there was a little bit of annoyance in her voice.
“But it’s prom! We talked about prom since we were kids!” Reyna remembered the times they would have sleepovers together and play dress up and pretend they were princesses. They all wanted to be princesses at the upcoming prom. “Besides, Cass doesn’t flake on us.”
Selena looked up from her phone and gave Reyna a ‘really?’ look.
“I’m sure it was once-”
“It’s all the time.”
“Maybe she’s just super busy!”
“Doing what?” Selena put her phone away now so she could question Reyna, who was having a hard time defending her best friend. “She’s not in any sports, or clubs. Beside’s TikTok and YouTube, which she hasn’t uploaded a month, I doubt she’s busy.” She snapped.
Maybe Selena was right. All three of them are Influencers in their own way. Selena was the most popular of the three with 1 million followers across all her social media platforms and Cassie was a close second with just under 500,000 followers, however, the numbers were going down because of the lack of uploads on her socials since the past month. Any time they would bring it up, Cassie would change the subject.
“I’m sure there’s a good reason?” Reyna kept trying to defend Cassie.
Selena looked around the quad, scrunching her brows. All the students that were huddled to view Manuel’s failed promposal were doing their own thing before lunch ended. “What if she’s hiding something?” Selena asked.
Reyna immediately rolled her eyes at the thought. Selena was always overdramatic about every little thing. She wondered if that was the reason why she was so popular on the Internet.
“I’m serious. Have you ever been to her house?” Selena waited for an answer. Reyna opened her mouth and then closed it. Selena was right, although she wouldn’t say it to her face. They had never been to Cassie’s house. Every get-together since childhood was either at Selena’s grand two-story home in the rich part of town or at Reyna’s family filled home.
“Well, no.” Reyna admitted. “What could she possibly hide?” Reyna crossed her arms.
“She could be a serial killer.” This almost made Reyna walk away from Selena.
“You watch too many crime TikTokers.”
“After school, let’s follow her!” Selena’s eyes lit up with an idea.
“No!”
“Why not?”
“Cass is our best friend. We can’t just invade her privacy like that!” Reyna was the only point of reason.
Until.
They found themselves hiding behind a sign post, watching Cassie walk into the school bus with other students.