That was how it all started: one little white lie to stop the harassment from my parents. Okay, so maybe saying I was gay wasn't a little white lie, but you get the idea. Then I spent four boy-talk free years. I dated and my parents were none the wiser. I told them I was dating some girl who didn't really exist, but like I had predicted, they didn't ask me anything about "her".

I thought life couldn't get any better.

Then, only a week before Senior Prom, it happened.

I was in the process of shoving books into my bag from my locker when I heard a deep voice behind me speak.

"Hey, Kayla," I turned to see Luke standing there. He was wearing a gray and black long sleeve, jeans, and shoes that were obviously too big for his feet. He was nervous, I could tell. The way he was on the balls of his feet, and his arm was stretched behind his head and the way he looked past me and at my locker. "I was wondering, if, you know, you're not busy or anything tomorrow, maybe you'd like to go to the bonfire with me." He scuffed his feet against the floor and looked at me with bright, blue eyes.

I almost fainted. I would've fallen over for sure if I hadn't already been leaning against the rows of lockers. I was running the entire conversation through my head again just to make sure I'd heard him correctly. Luke Grayson, the linebacker on the football team, had just asked me out on a date to the bonfire after the game. I blinked twice, making sure he was really there still. He was still looking at me, expectantly.

"I'd love to go to the bonfire with you, Luke." I said. I mentally thanked god that I didn't stutter.

"Cool." Luke said, nodding as he stepped back into the crowd of students. He gave a nervous and relieved laugh as he stumbled forward and disappeared in the crowd.

I bit my lip and grabbed the rest of my books in a frenzy. I hurried down the hallway and to the locker room. I burst through the doors, which caused everyone inside to jump in surprise.

"Jesus, Kay," My friend, Jordyn, said as she grabbed the area of her shirt above her heart. She widened her hazel-green eyes in a dramatic fashion as she looked at me. "I think you just gave me a heart attack."

"Well, I've just had three." I said excitedly. "Luke Grayson just asked me out."

I'll admit it, I squealed. Thankfully, Jordyn did too.

"He did?" Beth asked, tucking a strand of black hair behind her ear. Her dark eyes were inquisitive, but all knowing.

"He did!" I gushed. I couldn't contain my excitement. "He wants us to go to the bonfire after the game tomorrow. Oh, I can't wait!"

"Sounds fun." My third friend, Alex said, stumbling out of the changing stall. She wrestled with the curtain as she threw it away in a huff. "But I thought we were all going together. You know, to hang out?"

"I know, Alex, and I'm really sorry." I said, my face apologetic. "But it's Luke! You know, the linebacker! And he wants to go on a date, with me!"

"It's fine." Alex said as she shoved her clothes into her gym bag. "I'm sure Jordyn, Beth, and I will have tons of fun . . . without you." She added the last part with fake sorrow. We all laughed.

We were silenced by the door swinging open. A tall girl dressed in jeans, black and white over shirt with the buttons undone, and a light gray v-neck shirt led a group of other students inside the locker room. My friends and I shrugged at each other as she marched into a stall, changed, and marched back out, water bottle in hand. We finished changing ourselves and trotted out the door, prepared for yet another soccer practice.

By the time we'd changed and gotten outside, the sun had already set. The sky was painted various hues of orange and pink, causing the clouds to turn and angry purple. Beth, Jordyn, Alex, and I said our goodbyes before parting ways to our cars. I approached mine, noticing it was parked next to a mysterious black car. The trunk was open and various sounds of frustration could be heard from inside. By the time I'd gotten to my car, the person pulled free of the trunk and shut it.

"Having some trouble?" I asked, laughing a little.

The girl turned to me, inquisitive blue eyes beaming brightly from black-brown hair. "Not really. Just a huge load of junk in there. Too many cases and bags."

"Oh." I smiled. "I don't think I've seen you before. Are you new here?"

"Yeah." She said, leaning against the trunk. "I came here for my senior year. Guess I'm just really unnoticeable." She laughed. "I'm Blake. Blake August."

"I'm Kayla Johnson." I told her. "I'm a senior, too. Have you really been here all year?"

"Yep." Blake said, digging into her pocket for her keys. "I just haven't really been to any social events. I just don't know anybody yet."

"Are you going to tomorrow's bonfire?" I asked hopefully. "Never mind, you are going to the bonfire tomorrow. I'm sure my friends would love to show you around."

"The bonfire?" She stretched a hand up to her neck, holding it there. "I'd love to, thanks for the offer. But I have work that day."

"You can't take one day off?"

"Nope." Blake said, tapping her hand on the trunk. "Not one day. If I do, I'll be able to drive the car I can't pay for to the job I don't have." She pushed off from the car and walked around, heading for one of the side entrances to the school.

"You're staying here?"

"No, I'm going to get my bone head of a brother." Blake said. "Football practice should be over, and I told him I'd give him a ride home." She stopped at the door, waving at me. "See you around, Kayla. Thanks for the offer, and I'm sorry I can't make it."

"That's fine." I said, oddly disappointed. "I'll see you."

Blake disappeared inside the doorway, her footsteps fading on the linoleum floor of the school. I shoved my own bag inside the car before I drove off.

As soon as the bell rang and was followed by three knocks, I knew they were here. I almost died as I tripped over a shoe while running to the door and throwing it open. Jordyn, Beth, Alex, and I all yelled 'HEYYY!' like we always did whenever we arrived at someone's house. They hurried inside and wasted no time in making themselves comfortable. We all practically lived at each other's houses.

We ran upstairs and crammed into my room, closing the door shut. Like me, my room is nothing special. It's faded purple with white trim and a ton of posters and pictures hung up everywhere. There were three window, only two of which had curtains. You're average, ordinary teenage bedroom.

Immediately, we all went to work picking out clothes for the bonfire. I held up a top, but threw it away with a hint of disgust. I turned, distraught, to the others.

"Guys, I need to find the perfect outfit for my date with Luke." I whined, pouting a bit. There was an awkward moment of silence, but then we all burst out into laughter.

"Don't worry," Beth said, slinging an arm around my shoulder. "We'll make sure you look perfect for Mr. Linebacker." She pulled us all into a huddle and began talking in her generic guy voice. "Alright team! We have to help Kayla find the perfect outfit for her date with Luke! Jordyn, I want you to go wide and look for tops! Alex, take the deep run and look for pants! Kayla, I want you to look at shoes!" We all nodded.

"Hey, wait, what are you doing?" Alex asked, furrowing her eyebrow.

"I will be supervising!"

"Like hell you will be!"

"Fine!" Beth said. "I'll look at accessories! A-and, break!"

Laughing, we all scattered around the room, looking in various piles for the items of clothing we were assigned to.

It all ended when we each crashed inside my room. Beth was laying across the floor, a shirt strewn over her face most likely as a joke from Jordyn, who was curled up with a pair of pants. Alex was huddled in the massive pile of shirts, barely recognizable from a certain distance. I lay across my bed, comforter thrown to the floor and sheets strewn about in a mess. But it was well worth it.

I had the perfect outfit for my date with Luke. Or so I thought.