Chapter Twelve

Riley

Four weeks until prom

“Did you find a date? Or a dress? Or both?” Jane stops me in the hallway after class, and I can tell by her bright expression that she has news to share.

“None of the above.” My eyes dart around the corridor, scoping out possibilities like I’m expecting a date to magically appear. “What about you?”

Her smile is enough of an answer. “Jeremy asked me yesterday. You don’t mind, do you?”

I hug my books tighter to my chest. One of my best possibilities just went up in smoke. But Jane’s my friend, and she’s much more interested in Jeremy than I ever was. “Why would I mind?”

“Because he was flirting with you at the party and the barn cleanup day.” She chews on her bottom lip. “Jeremy flirts with everyone, but if you really want to go with him—”

“I don’t. And yeah, I noticed his high-powered flirting.” I manage a short laugh. Sure, he talks to a lot of girls, but still, he did seem like a definite prom possibility.

Jane bumps her shoulder into mine. “You’ll find a date. There’s always someone available. Try to decide soon, and we’ll start dress shopping. Hannah said the cheer girls already staked their claims on the hottest dresses at Francine’s.”

I step around a cluster of wide-eyed freshmen exiting the auditorium. “Do you know of anyone looking for a date?”

Jane eyes up the freshmen and shakes her head. “You could always ask an underclassman. I’m sure one of the junior guys would go with you. Or even a sophomore.”

My heart sinks at the thought of asking a random sophomore to the prom. It’s just not what I pictured. “Right now, my goal is to find another senior to go with me. Especially if it won’t be a romantic date.”

Catherine and Owen stroll out of a nearby classroom, heading our way. Owen’s head tilts toward Catherine as she talks to him out of the side of her mouth. I scan them from head to toe, looking for signs of unhappiness. They’re not smiling, but they aren’t fighting, either. Owen’s nodding along with whatever she’s saying, though the faraway look in his eyes shows he’s not really listening. As always, they seem to know they rule the school and everyone wants to be seen with them. Like, they’ve accepted their role, but they’re not necessarily excited about it anymore. High school eventually wears on everyone, I guess.

Jane makes a quick move to step away from me. “Riley, careful—”

I drag my eyes away from Catherine and Owen right before crashing into someone walking toward me from the opposite direction—Jordon, who’s also looking in Catherine and Owen’s direction. I go down hard, and Jordon throws out both arms, trying to stop me from falling. He loses his balance, tilting forward at a steep angle, and we both wind up on the floor in the middle of the hallway. Jordon’s heavy frames go flying. Before someone crunches his glasses beneath their feet, I stretch out my arm to grab them and hand them back to him.

“My fault, Jordon. I was talking to Jane and not paying attention to where I was going.”

He slides his glasses back on. “No, both of our faults. I wasn’t paying attention, either.” He extends a hand to help me to my feet. We stand facing each other, exchanging shy smiles as people dart around us like we’re part of a pop-up obstacle course. Suddenly, I get an idea. I decide to go for it.

“Hey, Jordon. Are you taking anyone to the prom?”

He shakes his head. “I’m planning on going with a group of friends from Drama Club.”

I shift my weight back and forth. A bell rings, and the trickle of kids moving to class turns into a fast-running stream. Now or never.

After sucking in a breath, I say, “Would you want to go together? Like a date, but a friendly date.”

A slow grin spreads across his face. “Sure.”

“Really?” I squeak. Apparently this will be the easiest part of my senior prom experience. “Okay, cool. I’ve, uh, gotta go. We’ll talk, right?” With a wave, I duck around Jordon and race down the hall, pausing in the doorway of the physics lab, my heart pounding. I have a prom date. And I may also have a detention slip coming my way. But Mrs. Peel waves me inside, brushing over my late entrance.

I slide into my seat, trying to catch my breath. Jane leans over her desk. “What took you so long? Did you hurt Jordon badly enough that he needed medical attention?”

I half laugh. “No, he’s fine. We were talking. We’re going to prom together.”

Jane’s eyes widen. “Riley Hart, you’re like the senior class Wonder Woman these days.”

I unzip my backpack and pull out my lab notes. “Yeah, after worrying so much about finding a date, it wasn’t so hard. I mean, neither of us had plans to go with anyone else, so it worked out.”

“Jordon’s cute and a good match for you. Are you interested in him? As more than a friend?”

Next to me, a book thumps to the floor. I jump in my seat.

“Sorry,” Catherine says, lasering a gaze my way. “Did you just say you’re going to prom with Jordon Oswald?”

“Uh, yeah. We’re going. Together.”

Catherine stares at me for a long time, and it’s a little uncomfortable.

The classroom door slams when Mrs. Peel yanks on the knob, prepared to launch into today’s lecture. Catherine flinches at the loud bang, then seems to shake out of her stupor. She lifts a shoulder and turns to face the front of the room. “He has a cool car,” she says. “It’s a classic, whatever that means. I’m sure you’ll love it.”

“Actually, I like Owen’s Jeep,” I blurt out. Catherine shoots me a curious look before she flings open her laptop and begins to type like her perfectly manicured fingernails are on fire. Beside me, Jane clears her throat. There’s this awkward tension in the air, but to be honest, I’m not sure what it’s all about.

Owen pauses when he passes by my locker after the final bell.

I finish jotting an update on my calendar. A change to the student council meeting schedule, because Jane wants to go shopping before all the best dresses at Francine’s are snapped up by the rest of the senior girls. “Yes, Owen?”

“Heard Jordon asked you to the prom,” he says in a dull voice.

“Wrong,” I say, aiming a triumphant smile at him. “I asked Jordon. Like the independent woman I am.”

At this, Owen appears somewhat amused. “Sure you are. Do you like him?”

Why is everyone so concerned about the liking part? Don’t people go to prom as friends all the time? “He’s a nice guy. And he was…available.” I shove my books in my backpack. “Gotta go. I’m meeting Barbecue Ray at the Cleary farm to talk about the menu.”

Owen straightens up. “You scheduled a meeting about food? Why am I not involved?”

“No one seemed to care about the menu, so I figured I’d handle it myself. Ray just wants to check out the space and find a good spot to set up his equipment. It should take all of five minutes.”

“I’m going,” he says. “Not for the food. You shouldn’t meet him alone in an empty field. Even if you are an independent woman.”

“Desmond said he’d go with me, but he’d be more than happy to step aside.” I pull out my phone and send Des a quick message. He sends me back a thumbs-up emoji. “Ready to go? Ray’s waiting.”

Owen follows me to the parking lot and offers to drive. When I notice the high clearance of his Jeep and remember the post-tornado mess at our prom site, I gladly hop in the passenger side. We head out to the Cleary farm and find Ray sitting in the cab of a black truck with his smoker equipment attached to the back. He’s dressed in overalls, with a red bandana tied around his neck.

“Classy,” I say. “Maybe the bandana goes with Hunter’s decorations.”

“I bet you won’t ask Ray to wear a tux to prom,” Owen complains. “But I still have to.”

“Ray’s a vendor and an adult. He won’t be named Prom King. If you want to grill up some burgers, you can wear overalls. I’m sure Catherine wouldn’t mind.”

“Why do you always bring her up?” Owen asks, ducking out of the Jeep and slamming the door.

“Um, because she’s your girlfriend? And the only reason you signed up for the prom committee.”

Owen mutters something under his breath. “I hope Ray brought samples. I’m starving.”

Owen is always starving.

“Hey there, kids,” Ray says, smiling brightly when he sees us. “So, what’d you want me to make for the party?”

“Something uncomplicated,” I suggest. “Something you can eat in a prom dress without spilling barbecue sauce all over yourself. Something delicious, yet still nutritious.”

“Huh,” Ray says, chewing on a toothpick as he thinks. “If you want healthy, I’ll throw some veggie burgers in the truck. And corn on the cob, maybe?”

“Too stringy,” Owen says. “Not good if it’s caught in your teeth during post-prom activities, if you know what I mean.”

“I sure do,” Ray says with a hearty laugh. “I was young once, too.”

Owen looks at me and nods as if he’s telling me how important it was for me to bring him along.

“What about dessert?” I ask. “Should we do a candy bar?”

“Like two hundred people split a Kit Kat?” Ray asks, confused.

“No, I mean a buffet table with all different kinds of candy. My aunt had something like that at her wedding.”

“Yeah, we’ll all get pumped up on sugar before we dance,” Owen agrees.

“And it’s cheaper than a real dessert bar,” I add.

Ray shrugs. “Candy isn’t my specialty. But I can offer you four different types of meat, veggie burgers, and maybe my wife can throw together a cucumber salad. With ranch dressing.”

“Sounds scrumptious,” Owen says, and I bite back laughter at his overenthusiasm.

“Okay, well, now I just need the rest of the deposit,” Ray says.

“Can I mail it to you?” I ask. “I’m still waiting for ticket sales to catch up with our expenses.”

“Sure, whenever you have it. I’ll see y’all in about a month. You gonna have the barn rebuilt by then?”

“We’re thinking of putting up a tent. Much better than a crappy-smelling old barn,” Owen says.

Ray flashes a tooth-filled smile. “Works for me. I can set up in the far side of the field, away from the trees. Just send me a picture of the tent once it’s set up. I need a wide clearance for the flames.”

I wince. “We’ll make sure to leave enough space for your smoker.” One more thing for me to research.

After Owen and I say goodbye to Ray, we backtrack through the field to the Jeep.

“So, are you more excited about prom now that you have a date?” Owen asks.

“Sure, why not. Catherine said Jordon has an awesome car.”

Owen’s eyebrows shoot up, and he halts mid pace. “She said that? Really?”

I feel like I’ve said something very, very wrong. “Yeah, um, earlier, in physics. She overheard Jane asking me about Jordon. Maybe I misheard.”

Hands in his pockets, Owen looks up to the sky. “No, you probably didn’t. Cat’s been hanging out with the drama crowd a lot lately. She probably saw Jordon’s car after play practice or something.”

“Cat and Jordon do seem to be together a lot,” I muse. “Does that bother you?”

“Not really. I want Cat to be happy, and she seems to love Drama Club.”

“What about you? What makes you happy? Baseball?”

He shoots me a wide grin. “I like baseball a lot. More than a lot if it gets me into a good college.”

“College is expensive,” I agree. “My parents might have mentioned that once or twice.”

Owen breathes out a laugh. “Once or twice a day in my house. But my parents are worried about my younger brother, too. We’re four years apart, which means when I graduate, they’ll start all over again with him.”

We hop in the Jeep, and Owen backs all the way up to the road. But rather than shift into drive, he idles the car while we gaze at the empty field, in no apparent rush to leave. “So, what makes you happy? Wasting away an afternoon playing Immortal Quest?”

“Only when I play with you,” I say, then feel myself blush. I turn to look out the window to hide the color of my face. “Getting into Bucknell made me happy. I worked hard for it.”

“You did,” Owen agrees. “I’m surprised you picked a school in another state. Won’t you miss home?”

“I didn’t think anyone would miss me. So why not leave?”

“I’ll miss you,” he says.

I laugh him off. “I’m pretty sure there’s wifi on campus. We can still play Immortal Quest, if that’s what you mean.”

“That’s not what I meant,” he says quietly. “Is that all you’ll miss about me? Playing video games together?”

We look at each other for what seems like a long time as he waits for my answer.

“No, it’s not all I’ll miss,” I say. “We’ve been friends for so long, it’s hard for me to imagine starting over and going to a school where I won’t know anyone.”

Owen sends me an encouraging smile as he squeezes my hand. The contact lasts only a second or two, but it’s enough to make my heart start pounding. “You’ll be fine. Anyone who can pull a prom out of nothing is destined for success.”

I take a deep breath and shift away. “We did it. Together,” I remind him. “This is our thing, remember? And it’s not over yet.”

A strange new sadness seems to cover the world around us with a blanket of gray. I need to hold on to these last few moments with Owen. I’ll miss knowing he’s always close by, even if he’s not really mine. I’ll miss his smile and the way he’s genuinely kind to everyone he meets. Knowing I can call him if I’m desperate and he’ll drop everything to help. And my heart aches because I’m not sure if I’ll ever find someone like him again.