Honestly, I gave up on this story but just so happened to go through the reviews and saw how much people actually liked it and I realized how much I truly liked this story and needed to finish it too. It probably won't be much longer but I am going to finish this I've said it before lol but I'm so honest rn
"You have to stay still."
"Well I'm sorry, you're the one literally ripping hairs from my face." I said through clenched teeth.
I was sitting in the leather chair of my room, having my eyebrows plucked and in turn going through some of the worst pain I ever have endured by a makeup artist. And while she was putting my face through the torture of plucking and brushing color onto it, a hairstylist was taking the color out of the ends my hair with bleach and calling it a 'subtle ombre' and braiding and curling it.
But it was all to be perfect for the biggest night of my high school life. I never understood the whole 'beauty is pain' concept until that moment. That moment after I had took a whole school day off to sit in a salon for about three hours with my eyes closed, no clue of how I would look when I opened them again. And when I did open them, those three hours were worth every second.
The blue in my hair was taken out and replaced with blonde that appeared all over my hair, gradually but not forced. The idea of ombre had intrigued me but at the same time scared me but I figured what better way to start off the beginning of the end of my high school career than with doing something I was hesitant about. It was then curled in loose waves, I figured that everyone was going to have delicate updos and I just didn't feel like that fit me so I stayed safe with that which balanced out with the awesomeness of my makeup.
My lips were filled in with the deepest matte maroon color than borderlined on black. My newly plucked and still painful eyebrows were filled in with a dark brown that made them stand out along with my eyes. They were surrounded by super long eyelashes and the lids were covered with a dark smoky eyes while the bottom lashes were also long and had smudged eyeliner under them.
It was bold and daring and though I trailed along those adjectives this year, this was my time to be bold and daring without risking myself as well. I was celebrating me and my journey through the hell we call high school for one night. All that was left was the dress. It was hanging up on my door since I got it, waiting to finish off my look.
I pulled it on, making sure not to mess up any of the hard work just done on me. Then for the first time in my life, I put on heels that were black velvet and had a gold strap around the ankle. They weren't high so that I'd still be able to function with my high heeled virgin feet. When my outfit was complete and I thanked the girls in my room for transforming me into someone I never thought I'd see in the mirror, I grabbed my black clutch off the bed and put my phone and lipstick in it before walking out of the room. Downstairs, only Drew, Cam, and Sam were waiting for me. My dad had to work and couldn't take off for "something he could see in pictures". Those were his exact words. And I didn't have anyone else to invite.
So, I headed down the stairs slowly, suddenly nervous that everyone would be staring at me all dressed up. I hated attention and I was about to the center of attention. But before I knew it, I was already down the stairs and all six eyes were already on me.
"Wow." They said, staring at me with wide eyes.
"When you want to, you really clean up nicely." No one other than my brother said.
"I second that." Cam said, as they high fived.
"Thanks, I think." I said, turning to looking at Drew who stood in a suit, staring at me, "Your stare is starting to freak me out." I said.
"Sorry." He shook his head, moving closer to me, "I just… You look… amazing."
"As you do." I smiled.
"Ugh, can you two please save this for when you get in car." Sam's voice broke in.
"I second that, again." Cam said.
"Well, I guess we should get going." Drew said.
"Yeah." I said.
Before we left, I hugged both Cam and Sam even though all they were worried about was us leaving so they wouldn't have to witness us and so that they would be able to have the TV and the box of pizza that was on the way to themselves. I appreciated having that though, a best friend and a brother who didn't have to make me feel like the center of attention but I still knew they cared.
We walked out to the car, Drew's mom's car that she let him borrow for the special night. He got into the driver's seat, me into the passenger's seat.
"You really look beautiful tonight." Drew said, randomly as we had stopped at a red light.
"You told me that already." I said with a smirk, not knowing what to say anymore. Thank you felt overused.
"I know but I just wanted to tell you again, I just want you to know."
We pulled up to the hotel that prom was being held at fashionably late. When we got out, we heard the music from the ballroom already blasting. The doors opened to one of the most crowded rooms I had ever had the pleasure of being in. So many people that I had never seen in my life were dressed up in an array of colors and patterns, having what looked like the time of their lives.
"Do you want something to drink?" Drew yelled over the sound of the music.
"No," I shouted back, grabbing his hand pulling him to the crowd of people that were dancing.
An electronic beat was coming through the huge speakers, vibrating the ground along with the tons of people dancing. I was a horrible dancer, well horrible was an understatement but in that moment, I didn't care at all. I was just having fun, moving along to the beat of a song that made me happy. Spinning around with Drew and not caring about anything except that moment. That was a great feeling for me.
Then a slow song came on. I hated when that happened. It slowed down the excitement but that was when I never had anyone to slow dance with.
"Can I have this dance?" Drew asked, holding out his hand.
"Of course." I laughed.
Drew wrapped his arms around my waist and I held onto him with my arms around his neck. I put my head on his chest, my eyes closed, listening to his heartbeat in sync with the music. I was caught in the moment of just moving back and forth to music. Our bodies moving together with the song and our feet struggling to not step onto each other. It made me get the appeal of slow dancing. It made me understand why they always ended the night with one.
Then an electronic song came back on again. It was awful, the transition of slow to fast was awful so, I dragged Drew to the punch table. We were standing there, pouring punch into our cups when I felt someone staring at me. You know when you can just feel the heat of someone's eyes burning into your skin? That was the feeling I had.
I looked across the room to see Eli staring intently at me.
"What?" Drew asked. I must've had a look on my face that he caught onto because he followed my stare then said, "Oh."
"It's nothing."
"No, it is something." Drew said. He didn't sound angry or upset, he just said it.
"Drew-"
"Look, Summer. I care about you, more than I've cared about a lot of people. I enjoy being with you and I would love to spend more time with you but-"
I cut him off, "Are you breaking up with me? I mean, I think we were going out which in turn makes this sound like a break up. Are you? Because of Eli? We're not anything anymore. I'm over it and over him."
"That's the thing, you're not over him. You still look for his approval and you still care about him and that's fine. I'm not mad at you and I don't consider this a break up. I love you Summer and I love you enough to let you be with who you truly want to be with and even though I constantly want it to be me and I constantly try to make excuses, I know it's him. I know you want to be with him and I want you to be happy."
I looked up at Drew, wanting to tell him I didn't care about Eli but we both knew that would be a lie. I couldn't say another to make it better all I could do was hug him.
"Drew, I'm sorry."
"No," Drew said, hugging me tightly, "Don't be sorry. I can't thank you enough for even being in my life. This isn't goodbye. I'm still going to run into you, literally, every day. We're still going to be friends. You aren't leaving my life, you can't get away that easily."
"I wouldn't want to." I said, as we pulled away from each other.
"Now, go get him before his stare heats up this punch bowl and we have a modern Carrie." Drew smirked, pushing me in the direction of Eli.
I took a deep breath as I walked through the crowd of people to get to Eli. When I got there, I looked into his eyes, his eyes that I hadn't looked into in so long. It felt like I took a vacation and just got home.
"Got a second away from your boyfriend?" Eli's voice was sharp and cold, like a winter blizzard not like the cozy house I was hoping to walk into.
"He's not my boyfriend, not anymore." I said.
"Aw, I'd say I was sorry but we both know I'm not the lying type." He muttered.
"Alright Eli let's cut the crap. You hurt me, badly. You broke my heart and I couldn't handle it the right way. I got into situations that I regret and situations that have changed me. But I'm standing in front of you now because despite all that, I still love you. I still look at you and miss what we had. I still want to be with you. If you want to be together again, just tell me and quit trying to make me feel bad. If you don't, the latter still applies."
He just stared at me and even in the light I couldn't see an expression forming. I waited, thinking a response would come any moment now but nothing came.
"Alright, I guess I have my answer." I said, turning to walk away.
But like the past, his hands found their way back to my arm, pulling me back to him. This time, much closer. So close that I could look into his eyes and see that I was now home.
"Summer..." He whispered, his voice trailing off like he wanted to say something but I didn't have to hear it. Just hearing him say my name again, without a chill, let me know that was where I was supposed to be.
Without wasting a second, I grabbed the collar of his shirt and pulled him to me, our lips fitting together perfectly again. His hands were at the arch of my back, which my dress left bare, sending chills up my spine and through my veins, the chills that only Eli Goldsworthy could give me. Our bodies were so close together that I felt the pulses of his body increasing in intensity with mine. I was back home where the signature smell of vanilla and mint surrounded me, where my hands ran through dark and messy hair and where the inside of my body felt like a constant firework show. That was where I wanted and needed to be.
Out of breath, we pulled away from each other but I didn't dare to look away from his eyes. I felt like if I did, everything had a chance of disappearing and I couldn't take that risk. He stared back at me, but not with the same expression. His expression made me feel like I was all that mattered in the world. Like there was nothing else worthy of his attention that what was in front of him.
And there was nothing else I wanted more in the world than what was in front of me. Not even standing here at this stupid dance that I spent a week stressing about.
"Let's go." I said, grabbing Eli's hand and pulling him out of the room, where it was silent and all that was there were us. Which was all I wanted.
"Go where?" Eli questioned once we escaped the prom.
"A wise man once said, 'you have a big car and we live in a big city, there's endless amounts of things to do.'"