by RH Tucker
“Cool, that’s what I was trying to say. So, I hope you’re cool with it.”
“Cool with what?”
“Me going to prom with her.”
I blink, trying to wrap my head around so many things. Were they definitely going to prom now? If so, why’d she yes? But more importantly, why did he even ask her? I know he thinks of her as just a nerd and Oscar likes to come off as a player.
“Hold up.” I wave a hand. “Didn’t you call her a nerd freak?”
“Hey, Matt,” Carter calls out, walking over to me with Lucas. I motion to them as I stay focused on Oscar.
“Yeah, she is a nerd freak.” Oscar chuckles and looks like it’s common knowledge. “But you know what? She’s got a bangin’ body. So, I thought I’d keep her as an option.”
Everything he says just builds up a rage inside. “An option?”
“Yeah. I asked Yvette’s friend, Tammy, earlier this week and she’s acting all hard to get but I know she’s DTF. But just in case she tries to pull some shit, I thought I’d see what a couple other girls were doing. You know, the ones that are cute, but probably don’t have a date.”
Carter and Lucas are standing next to me. I squeeze my eyes shut as I shake my head at his entire scumbag plan. “Are you fucking kidding me?”
“Matt.” Carter pulls my arm, but I yank it away.
“What?” Oscar looks at me like I just slapped him in the face, and that’s exactly what I want to do.
“Dude, if you want to go to prom with her, that’s up to her. But don’t pull some shit move, asking her just in hopes of trying to hook up.”
“It’s not a shit move, bro.” He grins. “Who knows, if I act like I’m into all that nerd shit, I might even get a BJ out of it.”
“Motherf—” My fist is swinging before I finish the word and it connects right on his chin, sending him stumbling back.
“Matt!” Carter yells, grabbing my arm and pulling me back.
“I’m fine! I’m fine!” I yell, shaking my fist in pain, as I look at the knuckles seeing if I broke anything.
“You asshole!”
I look back up, and Oscar is swinging, connecting his right hand across my mouth. Lucas jumps in, wrapping his arm around Oscar’s chest, pushing him back. A crowd starts to form as I wipe a trickle of blood from my mouth.
“Get off me!” Oscar yells at Lucas, pushing him away.
We aren’t far from the door of our first class, and Mr. Garrison sticks his head out.
“What’s going on here?” he asks, immediately dispersing the small crowd.
I eye Oscar as he stares back at me, rubbing his face.
“Mr. Hillard?”
“Nothing.” I look over at him before back at Oscar. “I fell.”
“You fell?” Mr. Garrison eyes me before looking over at Oscar. “Mr. Cappelli? You fall too?”
“Yeah,” he answers, still staring at me. “I tripped over him.”
The silence builds for a moment longer before Mr. Garrison breaks it up. “Very well, gentlemen. Watch where you’re walking.”
The door closes behind him, and Oscar walks by me, bumping into my shoulder. I reach up again, wiping a drop of blood from my lip.
“What the hell was that?” Lucas looks at me.
“Nothing,” I grumble as I turn and leave without saying anything else.
Chapter 31
Izzy
I hate feeling nervous the entire morning, knowing I should at least explain to Matt what I did. It’s so stupid, and as soon as I did it, I immediately regretted it. But I did it in a fit of anger.
My first thought was that Veronica’s plan was working. But Matt was acting so possessive. Even though I liked that he wanted me to himself, I’d want him to myself too, but he never committed to the prom date. He didn’t even bring it up again. When he blew up in the parking lot, I was so pissed off that as soon as I got home I texted Oscar, telling him I’d go to prom with him. As soon as I hit send I wanted to immediately take it back.
Yes, Oscar is a douchebag. Yes, he’s a little sleazy. And Matt’s right, he is kind of a dick. But even with all that, and I’m not saying it’s a good thing, he was still who he was. Even if he is a tool, he doesn’t try to hide it. And I think that’s what pissed me off most. Oscar has no problem being who he is, while Matt is awesome and hides it.
The entire morning, I know I want to tell Matt what I did. Maybe he doesn’t deserve an explanation because we aren’t technically going out. We aren’t even going to prom together. But I feel like I want him to hear it from me. At least I might be able to explain to him why I told Oscar yes.
Getting to our class, I’m hoping he doesn’t show up as late as he usually does, so we’ll have a couple minutes to talk. As I walk into the classroom, he’s already at his seat. His hand is under his face, looking down at his book.
“Hey,” I say, sliding into my seat.
“Hey,” he answers bluntly, without looking at me.
“So, about yesterday and prom.”
“Just forget it.”
“What do you mean, forget it?” He finally looks up at me, and I see his bottom lip bruised and puffy. “Oh my God. What happened?”
I reach over to touch his lip, and I’m hit with a wave of sadness and rejection, as he jerks his head back. “Nothing.”
“Matt?”
“It’s nothing.”
“It doesn’t look like nothing.”
“Yeah, well, I got the first shot, so I can’t feel too bad.”
“You?” I shake my head, trying to understand. “Did you get in a fight?”
“No, just a disagreement.”
“With who?”
“Your prom date.” He rolls his eyes, looking back down at his book.
Before I can ask anything more, the bell rings, and Mrs. Henderson starts talking to us. I don’t want to chance drawing any unnecessary attention to us, so I turn around and try to focus, but fail miserably.
For the next hour, I’m racking my brain wondering why Matt got into a fight with Oscar? What had he told him, or what had Oscar told Matt? Sure, I said yes, but it couldn’t just be over that, could it? Matt didn’t seem like the type to lose his cool easily, so if he got mad enough to actually get in a fight, it must’ve been bad. Right? Or maybe Oscar was egging him on? Oscar seems like a person to do that. Like I said, I know the type of guy Oscar is, but he’s like that with everyone.
The bell rings as the thoughts still fly around in my head. Matt gets up quickly and leaves the room without saying a word. Grabbing my bag, I hurry after him.
“Matt!” I call out, but he just keeps walking. I grab his hand, forcing him to stop. “Please, just stop for a minute.”
He looks down at our hands clasped together. A slight wave of nervousness flies over me, but I push it aside.
“What?”
“Hey, don’t do this.”
“Do what?”
“Push me away.” I take a step closer to him, keeping my hand around his. “Please, just let me explain.”
“You don’t need to explain.” He lets out a deep breath. “Iz, you don’t have to explain anything. I’m the idiot who blew it.” He takes another deep breath and meets my eyes. “Just be careful with that ass, okay?”
I jerk my hand away, insult painting my face. “Matt, what the hell is going on?”
“Nothing, I just …” He lets out a frustrated growl. “I screwed up, okay? I shouldn’t have acted like I did yesterday. So yeah, I’m the asshole, okay? I’m the one who should’ve just did what you wanted, but no. No, I had to go and be stupid and stubborn. And I suck. And I have no idea what I’m doing for college, and stupid dickheads like Oscar think they’re God’s gift to girls, and I’m screwing it all up.”
My mouth’s open but I have no idea where to even begin to reply to his babbling string of whatever that was.
“Hey.” I reach for his hand again, this time interlocking our fingers. He closes his eyes, his face pained. “Wha
t’s going on? Why are you even talking about college?”
He shakes his head. “I got into this stupid argument yesterday with my dad. He found out I didn’t apply to any colleges.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah. He still wants to pull some strings and try to get me into UCI, but I told him don’t. I have no idea … just forget it.”
“I want to apologize.”
His eye shoot to me. “For what?”
“Everything with Oscar. I wasn’t really going to go with him, but I got so mad yesterday that I told him I would.”
“You see.” He shakes his head, staring at the ground. “That’s my fault too. Damn it!”
“Matt, I—”
“It’s fine. I mean, it’s not fine, but I get it.” Unwrapping his hand from mine, he takes a step back. “I should go.”
“Oh, okay,” I say, even though I don’t want him to leave. Even though I have so much more I want to say. But he’s already walking away.
At lunch, I slump down at our table where Cindy and Veronica are already sitting down.
“What’s up, chica?” Veronica asks.
“Nothing,” I grumble, before snapping my head up to her. “You. You and this stupid plan, I feel like it ruined everything.”
“What are you talking about?” She looks at me, confused.
“You told Oscar that I wasn’t going out with Matt.”
“Uh, yeah.” She still looks confused. “I know you regret saying yes, but if McFanboy is stupid enough not to put up a fight, then it’s his loss.”
“Oh, he put up a fight all right.”
“What?” Veronica and Cindy both look at me unsure.
“He got in a fight this morning with him.”
“Really?” Cindy leans in, excited.
“Yes. I saw him, and he’s got a busted lip.”
“Izzy, two guys are fighting over you!” Veronica squees.
“First off, I don’t think Oscar was so much fighting over me, as he was just fighting because of me. And secondly, V, this is horrible! I don’t want to go to prom with Oscar! He’s probably going to try to make out with me all night or worse.”
“So, just tell him you changed your mind,” Cindy says.
“No,” I groan. “That’d make me feel bad. I can’t back out on him.”
“Oh, please.” Veronica waves her hand. “He wouldn’t even blink an eye.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“No.” She shakes her head, reaching for my arm. “Not because of you. Oscar is just … he’s Oscar. You know that.”
“Exactly! Why did I ever tell him I’d go with him?”
“Because you were ticked off at McFanboy,” Cindy says.
“Why are you so mad, anyways?” Veronica asks. “I mean, yeah, he got a little territorial, but, that’s kind of hot, don’t you think? Like, he wants you all to his own.”
I bite my bottom lip. I didn’t tell them about the make-out session in the costume closet yesterday, but I know that’s exactly why I’m so mad. Because everything I’ve been feeling over that past few weeks seemed to come to a crescendo yesterday. I know exactly how I feel and now I can’t do anything to change things.
“Just tell Oscar you changed your mind and tell Matt how you feel,” Cindy says.
“Yeah, like it’s that easy,” I scoff. “Like I can just walk up to Matt and say, ‘Hey, I know I was mad at you yesterday, and I told another guy I’d go to prom with him, but I really want to go with you. I should’ve never given you an ultimatum or told you how to live your life. Oh, and sorry for slapping you across the face. So, what do you say, want to go to prom? Oh, by the way, I’m kind of falling for you’.”
Veronica laughs. “Iz, you’re being way too dramat—wait a minute. What’d you just say?”
My gaze bounces from her, then to Cindy, then down at the table.
“Izzy, are you serious?” Cindy asks.
I nod, looking back up at them. “I’m falling for him. Hard.”
Chapter 32
Matt
Awkward. That’s the vibe after school on Friday as everyone in ASB works on setting things up for prom at the hotel in Newport Beach. Yvette got Sarah and some cheerleaders to help out, and we have a list of volunteers from different school committees to help set up banners, balloons, and drink and snack areas. The bigger stuff like tables, chairs or the DJ area is set up by the party companies. Oscar and I have kept our distance after our altercation in the morning.
Even after I talked with Izzy, I still feel like I screwed everything up. And her words from yesterday keep ringing in my head. How Oscar is at least real. The guy is as big of a tool as Jeremy, and he doesn’t hide it. It just is who he is. Why do I feel the need to hide who I am? And ever since telling Carter and Lucas about my nerdom, I’m beginning to care less and less. Either people won’t care, and I’m worrying over nothing, or people will care, and if so, so what?
I think of Sam from the past week, just going along with all the prom court functions. He never blinked an eye when someone snickered behind his back. Sure, he looked a little nervous when we announced him on the court, but ever since then, he embraced it. And his friends embraced him. Great, I’m comparing myself to Sam and Oscar. Two opposite ends of the spectrum, but both have more of a backbone than I do.
“Hurry up, Matt,” Yvette says, grabbing a roll of tape. “I have a nail appointment I need to make after this.”
“Yeah.” I nod, climbing up a ladder to hang the banner.
She climbs up one right in front of me, stretching out the tape. “This is so exciting! Our senior prom. After this all we have is graduation, and then it’s so long high school.” Her smile fades a bit.
“I can’t wait,” I mutter.
“You’re not going to miss it?”
“High school? Nope. There were some fun times, but no.”
“I am.”
For everything I don’t like about her and the stupid games she plays, this is a rare moment for her. She actually seems sentimental. Like this has been the best time of her life, and she isn’t sure what the world is going to be like next. And in reality, I have no idea either. It never bothered me before, but after arguing with my dad, now I really feel like I don’t have a clue what I’m doing. Carter’s been accepted to UC Irvine, and Emma is going to art school in Laguna. I know Lucas got acceptance letters from Fullerton, Irvine, and Riverside. And here I am, still drifting about, no clue what to do. Even Izzy has a plan, going to the local community college so she can take some classes and still focus on her channel.
I frown, thinking about going to the same college and seeing her there. I really screwed everything up and have no idea how to fix it. Can I even fix it? Would she want me to? How can I be with her and not be who I really am? A new wave of frustration rolls over me.
“Matt, are you listening?”
“Huh?”
“I said is your date going to get mad when we’re whisked away to our dance tomorrow night?”
My eyes squint, stepping off the ladder. “What dance? And what date?”
“Our dance.” Her eyes sparkle, but not with love. It’s more like mischief. “The prom king and queen dance. We’re totally winning.”
“Oh, right.”
“Matt.” She swats my arm playfully. “We are. I campaigned like a bitch to make sure people voted for us. There’s no way that nerd is winning my crown.”
I wrinkle my nose at the derogatory tone she uses. “She did come in second on the court.”
“Yeah, but that’s because I didn’t take her seriously. I still don’t, mind you. Just make sure your date is fine with you leaving her because we are so dancing together.” She wraps her hands around my arm.
“Well, no issues there.” I wiggle my arm free, reaching for the ladder to fold it up. “I’m not going with anyone.”
“What?” The look of pure horror on her face would have you believe I just said I like to punch puppies. “Matt, you can’t be serious.”
“Matt, you’re our president. You cannot attend our senior prom without a date. It’s … classless.”
“Wow, thanks.”
“How can you not have a date? It’s unthinkable.”
“I didn’t want one. Look at all this stuff we’ve had to do.”
“Oscar got a date.”
“Don’t remind me.”
“Greg got one. Even I got a date.”
“Yvette, you could’ve waited till five minutes before it starts tomorrow and still shown up with a date. Any guy would kill to go with you.” I’m not lying. As annoying as she is, that doesn’t mean she isn’t gorgeous, and I’m sure most of the guys in school would have no problem being her date.
“Not any guy.”
I turn around after putting away the ladder and find her staring at me, her arms crossed. “Yeah, well … anyways, I’ve been busy.”
“Whatever.” She flings her hair over her shoulder, turning away. “That just means I can spend more time tomorrow night with my king.” She gives me a flirtatious smile over her shoulder before walking away.
Chapter 33
Izzy
I try and fail multiple times to work on a new video. Usually, when something is bothering me, I can vent in my videos. But there’s no venting I want to do. I’m just confused. I’m not sure what exactly Matt was mad about at school. If I didn’t mean much to him, there’s no way he’d get in a fight with Oscar over me. But he did. I texted Oscar after school, and he said it was ‘no big thing’ and didn’t reply after that. I agreed to go to prom with him but I’m regretting it every minute that passes by. And not just because I feel guilty about Matt.
Oscar hasn’t been specific about when he is picking me up. Or if we were doing anything beforehand. All he texted was, ‘I’m sure you’ll look hot’. That’s it.
I accompany Cindy and Veronica as we go get our nails done in the afternoon.
