I’m about to eat my favorite sandwich in the entire world while sandwiched between my two best friends in the entire world. What could be better than this?
“Um … You’re one to talk,” Sid quickly barks back with a grin. I can’t help laughing.
“She’s got you there, Shaney.”
“Well, what was I supposed to do, just sit out there and wait for you two to try them on?”
“Um ... Yeah!” Sid says sarcastically. “I still can’t believe you tried on dresses with us.”
“But the blue one did look incredible on you,” I add with an impressed nod.
Shane sits up a little straighter. “Right?”
“At least you two can actually go to prom, since you’re both dating upperclassman.”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, I’m not sure who else you’re talking to at this table, but I, for one, am not ‘dating’ anyone.” Shane uses air quotes. “Besides, Johnny is already going with someone else.” He leans back into the soft, red, cracked leather of our booth.
Sid and I give each other a quick, shocked glance, making it clear this is the first either of us have heard of this.
“Who?” we ask in unison, turning back toward him.
“Who else? Courtney I’m-the-most-popular-girl-in-the-junior-class Fleming,” Shane says with a small air of hate that he’s masking with his calm, collected outer shell.
“He asked her?” Sid beats me to the question, the opposite of calm and collected, which is exactly how I feel.
“No.” Shane smiles. “She asked him.” His lips turn up into an even deeper smile.
“Really?” Sid and I both lean in farther, draping our elbows on the table, poised to hear more.
Shane raises his eyebrows with a smile. “Yup.” Then he starts to trace the edge of the table with his finger, switching his focus to the metal edging that lines the table.
Sid glances at me with a questioning look, as if silently nudging me to say something.
“What can I get you kids?” the waitress interrupts us, instantly changing the mood.
As soon as we place our orders and she walks away, I turn to Shane. “Okay, spill it. What is going on with you and Johnny?”
He just shrugs with a laugh at my interrogation-style questioning, but Sid nods vigorously silently backing up my question.
“I don’t know,” Shane says as he throws his hands up in the air as if he’s defeated. “I mean, we still hang out all the time, and we make-out all the time, but before, he was always the one pushing to be out in the open with everything, and now he wants the exact opposite. And I think now that he wants to be so secretive about everything it makes me want to scream it from the mountaintops.” Shane thrusts his arms out, Sound of Music style, breaking the seriousness of the conversation and causing Sid and I to laugh.
“Then that’s what you should do. Shout it from the mountain tops!” Sid says, matching his dramatic flair.
“Yeah, right,” Shane says with a snort, dismissing her.
“No, she’s right,” I say, sitting up a little straighter. “Don’t let Courtney Fleming move in on your man, or some dumb scout scare you into secret-hood. Show the world who you are and who you love. It’s time, Shane. I can tell you are ready.”
Sid jumps right in on my speech. “Yes, it’s as if this whole Johnny thing is like a gift to prove not only can you come out, but you need to.”
Shane looks at us as if we have lost our minds. “A gift? Really? That’s the best you’ve got.”
We both break into hysterics, which causes a little of the soda I was drinking to come up through my nose, but I don’t let that stop our momentum. I look at Sid and jump back to trying to keep a serious face.
“That’s right; a gift. You need to go buy that sparkly blue prom dress, put it on, and go get your man.”
Just as I say that, our waitress comes over with a huge tray of food. She obviously overheard the last part of our conversation, because she gives us a curious smile as she places our orders down. We all try desperately to hold in our laughs, but we totally lose it as soon as she walks away.
The smell of fries, grilled cheese, and bacon fills our table, distracting us for a second and taking us to our fried food happy place as we all take bites.
“You’re right,” Shane says with a mouthful of food. “I mean, not about the dress,” he quickly clarifies. “Pink is much more my color,” he adds as an aside. “But just because Johnny and I haven’t been in the same place at the same time doesn’t mean we can’t be. Maybe I need to tell him how I feel instead of playing along with his stupid game.”
Sid and I glance at each other with relieved smiles. I don’t know if it’s the greasy food or if it was our speech, but Shane finally seems comfortable in his own skin, comfortable enough to show Johnny just how he feels about Courtney Fleming.
Chapter 22: Prom
ASHLEY
We’re all meeting at Brian’s house for pre-prom pictures. My heart starts beating overtime as Dad backs out of our driveway. I can’t wait to see Todd in his tux. My brother, for some reason, decided on a light blue tux with a ruffled collar shirt. Watching him fidget with Gretchen’s corsage is pretty hilarious.
“Nervous about Gretch’s reaction?” I ask sarcastically, sitting next to him in the back seat.
“No,” he says quickly, but I can tell he is.
Our parents are driving us since Ryan already dropped his car off at the hotel. It’s just like when we were little kids. We rarely get driven around now that Ryan has his own car. There is something about all four of us in a car together that brings me right back to Ry being ten and me being eight and the two of us fighting over something absurd while our parents scream at us from the front seat. Now, in a few short weeks, he’s going to leave, and it will just be me and my parents.
“What?” Ryan asks, catching me looking at him.
I shake my head. “Nothing.”
“What, Ash Bug?” He nudges me in the ribs. “Do you have tux envy?”
“I can’t believe you’re leaving so soon. What will I do without you? Who will distract Mom and Dad?”
“Mom and Dad can hear you. We’re right here, Ashley,” Mom says from the front seat.
Ryan gives me a sly smile, as if he’s impressed, and I raise my eyebrows in response.
“I won’t be far, Ash.” He wraps his arm around my neck to bring me into as much of a headlock as my seat belt will allow.
“I know. It’s just—”
“Just nothing. I’ll always be here for you. You know that, right?” His face is completely serious, all traces of our joking wiped away.
I smile. “I do now.”
“Hey.”
I look up, and our eyes meet. His are the same exact color as mine.
“You look really pretty tonight.”
“Thanks. You’re not so bad yourself.”
He nudges me with his elbow. “That was tough for you, huh?”
“A little.” I smile. “Although, I’m not sure I agree with your tux choice.”
“Whaaat? What do you have against powder blue?”
“Nothing as a color. It’s more the accompanying ruffled shirt.”
He throws his head back and laughs so heartily I can’t help laughing, too. I love making him laugh, always have. It gives me such a feeling of accomplishment, because I have always looked up to him.
“Just wait,” he says as he gives me a sideways glance.
“What does that mean?”
“You’ll see,” he replies as we pull into Brian’s circular driveway.
Brian’s house is right on the lake, so it’s perfect for pre-prom pictures. I think back to last year when we were here for prom. So much has changed.
As we get out of the car, Brian opens his front door and shouts, “It’s about time.”
He’s wearing the same powder blue tux as Ryan. I try to hold in my laugh, but I can’t since Brian’s is even tighter than my brothers. And I know instantly that there are not just two.