I have just made the most idiotic mistake of my life. All because I listen to them! My so called friends!

Actually, if I’m being honest, I wasn’t just them. It was about 50% them and about 50% promentality. What is it about Prom that sends everyone completely round the bend? It’s a great big mess of no one want to go with me, I have nothing to wear and what happens when it all goes completely wrong.

And just like that, mine all did! That’s why instead of having the best time of my life, as most teenage rom com clichés put it, I am stuck in the girls bathroom. I am locked in the smelliest cubicle, with panda eyes, and a puff ball that is trying to suffocate me!

I guess it all started at lunch on Monday…

4 days to prom

“Oh my god, I have finally found it!” screamed Rachel, running through the lunch hall towards us. She marginally missed having a few guys lunch all over her. “Found what?” I asked.
“I have found the perfect shade of lipstick and it just so happened it matches my shoes for prom perfectly” Rachel answered as she slumped down at our regular table out of breathe.
“Wow, that’s awesome” I replied, with all irony implied.
“Oh please,” said Lily, “Bitter much?”
“Bitter?” I questioned.
“Yes, because take away all your bravado, and deep down inside you wanna enjoy prom, just like the rest of us” answered Lily.
Me, Rachel and Lily have been best friends since we were 12 years old. Funny thing is, none of us got why. Rachel was flame haired skinny girly girly, Lily was long black hair in her face bitch girl, and I was brunette hair up however sporty girl. But somehow, even though nothings changed, we are still all friends, even more than ever.
“Ok, so I’m bitter, but only slightly. Anyway prom is just another way for the world to let everyone know, I don’t have a boyfriend!”
“You don’t need a boyfriend idiot,” said Lily in her favourite “I-love-you-really-I’m-just-moody” tone.
“Ok, I think it might be kind of inappropriate to take my dog Benjy as my prom date” I replied, with all sarcasm implied.
“No, Reece, Lily is not telling you to take your dog,” said Rachel, before looking confused, “Are you?”
“No stupid, I’m not. All she needs is an actual boy who is willing to take her, flaws and all.”
“Oh, brilliant Lil, I never thought of that. God, your so clever” I replied, while Lily rolled her eyes at me, “Quick question smart ass, where do you suppose I find one of those?”
“Find one of what?”
We all snapped out of our conversation to see who was talking. Stood behind us was my best friend in the entire world, the fabulous Jim.
Suddenly my head got confused, and I got embarrassed and spat out the first thing I could think of.
“One of those nose strips that stops you snoring like a cow.”
Jim raised his eyebrows at me.
“Seriously, I could hear her through the wall, it’s really bad Rach.”
Rachel starred at me as if to say “Why are you getting me involved.” Before replying, “Yeah, I think it’s hereditary.”
“Right”, said Jim, before looking at us all like we were insane. He placed his tray down next to me, and sat down. There was a few minutes of awkward silence, and eating before Lily piped up.
“So Jim, you like Reece right? She’s nice, not to bad to look at, great knowledge of football!”
I nearly choked on the mouthful of cake I was eating, but managed to stop myself from leaping across the table and stuffing the remainder of it in her mouth. Jim looked even more confused than he did before.
“I guess.”
“How would you like to go to prom with her?”
“Lily”, I hissed.
Jim seemed to just continue on with his lunch, before saying, “Sure, why not?”
“Seriously?” I said in a high pitched voice.
“Sure, no one else has asked me yet, so I might as well go with someone who is not going to annoy me half the night.”
I’m sure there was a compliment in there somewhere.
“Wonderful, anyway we better get going. Rach, Reece, we’ve got that test to work for, come on.!
Lily was up and out of her seat before we even registered what she’d said.

I’d never seen Jim in any other way. Not until flipping Lily had got us matched up for prom. I’d wished I’d never agreed to it, but then Lily took me to that dress shop…

3 days to prom

“It’s prefect” screamed Rachel in delight.
“Really, cause I always dreamed of looking like a wedding cake.”
Somehow, I had got it into my head that prom dress shopping would be exciting. Clearly, I was wrong. Rach and Lily had conducted a master plan for me right after lunch yesterday. I was going to be prom’d within an inch of my life.
“You look amazing Reece. I’ve never seen you looking so like a girl. I bet Jim will love it.”
“And why would Jim care. Jim only cares that I don’t mess up my legs for football.”
Rach and Lily looked at each other with raised eyebrows.
“What” I said, as I tugged at the dress.
“You don’t really believe Jim only agreed to go with you cause no one asked him” said Lily.
“Er, yeah!” I replied.
“Don’t be naïve Reece. Jim is hot, I’m sure plenty of girls asked him, but he only had one in mind” said Rachel.
They continued on looking at the other dresses, while I thought over what they’d said.

I had never till that day thought about Jim as anything more than my best friend. I’d certainly never used hot in the same sentences as his name. But since they’d said that to me, I couldn’t get it out of my mind.

1 day to prom

“Are you sure you want to go to prom with me?”
“Yes Reece,” shouted Jim, before returning to his regular volume, “How many time do I have to tell you.”
We were walking back home the day before prom.
“It’s just you could have chosen someone you really like to go with.”
“Yes, maybe but I want to go with you Reece,” he said bashing me on the side, “It will be fun.”
Jack smiled at me giving me and unusual feeling in my stomach.

Argh! I’m so mad at myself for being stupid. I should have followed my own head.

Why’d I have to go and tell Jim I thought I liked him. Even more idiotic then that, why did I try and kiss him! Everything was going great until …

Prom Night

“Wow Reece, I can’t believe how much of a girl you actually look.”
“Wow Lily, I can’t believe how much of a bitch you are, oh wait you always are, like I’m always a girl” I hissed.
“Ok, don’t get your knickers in a twist.”
“Oh believe me, this thing that you call underwear is already riding up my…”
“Ok, Reece little too much info my friend” Said Lily.
“So were are the boys anyway.”
“There over there.”
Lily pointed towards the bar area, where the boys were sat laughing.
“Hey guys” called Lily
Jim got up from his stool.
“Hey Lily, what have you done with Reece, I can’t see her.”
“Shut up Jim” I said whacking him with my clutch.
“Seriously Reece, you look really good.”
“Thanks”, I said hoping my make-up was hiding any of my blushes.
“Come on,” said Jim, taking my hands, “It’s time to show everyone how good we are at dancing.”
We laughed as she pulled me towards the dance floor.

“Reece?”
Oh my god, As if this couldn’t get any worse.
“Reece, I know your in here, I can see your dress sticking out from underneath the door.”
Oh my god, oh my god, go away, go away.
“Ok Reece, if your not going to talk to me, I guess I’ll have to climb on the toilet in the…”
“OK!” I said, sniffing.
He stopped moving around outside my cubicle.
“You alright?”
“Oh yes, I’m great. I just made a complete fool of myself, I am being suffocated to death by all this material, and I have a pain in my butt thanks to Lily, and her underwear rules.”
“I can’t help you with the second and third one, thank god. But I can with the first.”
“Unless you can forget it all happened.”
Suddenly, I could sense some one above me.
“Hey” said Jim.
“Go away” I said trying not to cry.
“You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Oh really.”
“No, you just got confused.”
“I know, why do I ever listen to them.”
“Ahh, I could sense that this had Lily and Rach written all over it.”
I laughed, sniffing back tears.
“Hey if it make you feel any better, no one saw anything.”
“Wow, that just fixes everything.”
I looked up at Jim, and he smiled back at me.
“Can you come out of there now, cause my neck is hurting. And if someone comes in this is going to look really weird.”
It’s stupid really being sat in this smelly cubicle. Plus, I think my legs are going numb.
As Jim got down, I slowly opened my door. Jim was stood right outside it. He looked at me for what felt like ages, before taking my hand.
“You know I love your right, in that whole best friend sister kind of way.”
“Yeah I do too.”
“But that’s it, just friends. But very, very good friends.”
“I suppose, yeah” I said.
“And I’ll always be your friend, no matte what, even when you do something stupid” he finished laughing.
I had to laugh too, and as I did, Jim took his thumb, and wiped away the black tear stains from under my eyes.
“Now I’m going to do something as a friend that is just between us, OK.”
“OK” I said confused.
Jim took hold of my other hand, and pulled them both round the back of his neck.
He stepped forward slightly and put is arms round my neck. The, he slowly leaned in, and kissed me, right on the lips. It seemed to last for ages before he pulled away.
“Wow” I said, feeling slightly out of breathe.
“Yeah, and?” said Jim.
I thought about it for a minute, before registering that he was getting at.
“Nothing” I said, smiling.
“Exactly,” said Jim, smiling back, “I told you we were just friends. Maybe you might want to listen to me once in a while.”
We both laughed, before Jim hugged me really tightly, which felt a whole lot better than the kiss.
“Now as a friend, I’m going to tell you something else to.”
“What?”
“You look like you’ve been a boxing match.”
I looked towards the mirror, and saw he was in fact, right.
“I’ll see you out there in a couple of minutes,” he said, “Prepare to dance you feet off.”
“I will.”
Jack opened the door to go out.
“Jack?”
Her turned to face me.
“Yeah?”
“Thank-You.”
He smiled and walked out. As I rubbed any traces of my silly mistake from my eyes, I had the strangest scariest thought. Maybe prom teen clichés weren’t so bad after all.