The Promposal (COMPLETE)

14- Carpool

Edith's POV.

We leave with our dresses properly swapped and accessorized, ready for a party. However, Camila's still wearing sneakers with her dress, so that she can drive over to Justin's house without getting us in a car wreck. Her heels sit in the backseat, carefully packaged in a shoebox, pristine condition.

As she starts up the engine, I can feel Camila's apprehension. After what happened with her cheater ex-boyfriend, it must be a difficult task to face him again. But, inevitably, we have to drive to Justin's house in order to meet the limo. Everyone already split the cost before the couple broke up, and scheduled our pickup location, so it was too late to change plans.

The entire ride there, Camila grips the steering wheel tightly in a way that makes her anger abundantly clear. When she told me two days ago about how she caught Justin cheating, and the fact that he's gay, I had been shocked. I always saw them as the perfect couple. 'Relationship goals' as the comments on their instagram posts said. But I guess you can't tell everything about a relationship just through social media.

For all the reasons I listed above, the situation at Justin's house upon our arrival is very tense.

In the front yard waiting for us is a large group, split up into three small bubbles. Justin, Nolan, and Jonah are sitting on the front porch. Camila's friends Cynthia, Alice, Ananya, and Stacey are in a corner of the front lawn, standing under the shade of some trees. And in the middle of the driveway are a bunch of guys that are probably their dates.

I'm not sure which bubble to approach, since I don't really know anyone well enough to make conversation, so I decide to follow Camila. We walk over to the girls, who are all speculating about what snacks will be available at the dance. Ananya shows off a large purse that she's bringing in order to smuggle out food, and everyone else gushes over it. A few times, I catch Cynthia glaring at me, but pretend not to notice. She must still blame me for ratting her out for plagiarism. That or she's just decided she hates me now. Either way, I try my best to keep my distance from her, and avoid making eye contact at all costs. As for the food conversation, I don't really know what to add, so I just listen. Eventually, I notice a conversation the guys are having across the way.

Jonah is looking over toward me, probably confused about the dress I'm wearing. He turns and says something to Nolan, who shrugs in response. Only then do I notice the corsage he's carrying, and remember that I had asked him to buy one. Worried that he might be thinking he ordered the wrong thing, and feeling guilty that I had forgotten, I head over to where he's standing.

"Hi, I'm so sorry there was a last minute change of plans," I inform Jonah. I leave out the bit where this was originally Camila's dress, and that a sophomore bought the same one. I figure Camila would appreciate it if not as many people know, and try to think of some other exuse. But instead of questioning my lack of explanation, Jonah simply hands over the corsage.

"Oh, here, if you still want it," he responds, shoving his hands in his pockets awkwardly.

I smile and say "thank you" to make sure he understands it's not his fault this happened.

Justin steps up and hands me a box that was meant for Camila. "Could you give this to her if she still wants it?" he asks. Inside is a corsage that perfectly matches my dress.

"Yeah of course," I respond.

I notice Nolan and Jonah looking back at the two corsages and my dress in confusion, but neither say anything. A part of me wants to explain, but I remember how fragile Camila has been lately, and leave without saying anything else.

Camila takes the corsage that was meant for me without mention of the boys, and Alice helps her put it on. Ananya volunteers to help with mine, although I don't know her very well, and when she's done I help her in return. As everyone gets the corsages ready, they tiptoe around the subject of boyfriends, trying their best not to disturb Camila. Because she's a ticking time bomb, and nobody wants to be the reason she has a breakdown on prom night.

Before leaving, Justin's sister guides us through a few classic prom poses. A few of them are date centered, which is slightly awkward given the weird date situation we have going on. In Camila's case, Nolan fills in for Justin, which is a nice gesture, but I can tell that both of them are uncomfortable. And in my case, I know Jonah doesn't really want to do them with me. He keeps looking over at Cynthia, who stepped out for the group photos altogether. It's just a mess.

But then the limo shows up and we're all ready to leave.

It takes awhile to get everyone situated in their seats, since the limo is quite large. I try to get a seat next to Camila since I don't really know anyone else, but she's surrounded by the other girls, far too popular for me. Instead, the only empty seat for me is across from Jonah. Suddenly the nervous butterflies in my stomach wake up. We're near the end of the limo, cut off from the group conversation. Stuck facing each other, waiting for the other to think of something to say.

"I've never been in a limo before," I say. It's the only thing I can think of, the only conversation starter available in my brain. Still, I hope it'll help start some kind of conversation.

"Me neither," Jonah responds. I wait a little for him to add something else, but then realize that's it. My one conversation starter, and it goes nowhere.

The limo starts up, and I grip the edge of the seat to stop myself from falling. A few of the others do the same, while a few end up slipping into the narrow aisle in the middle of the limo. Chaos erupts from the sudden movement, but eventually we're back to normal.

"I always thought limos would have seatbelts," I comment. It's the only other topic of discussion I can think of. But this time, he doesn't even hear me. Not wanting to repeat myself for fear of making things even worse, I resolve myself to staring out the window in silence.

"Are you looking forward to the dance?" Jonah asks nervously after a few moments.

"Yeah, I'm not really sure what to expect, but I'm sure it'll be fun," I answer. "At the very least, I've heard they're going to have an ice cream bar."

At the mention of ice cream, Jonah's face seems to light up. He looks really cute, and I am forced to remind myself that he doesn't like me. Turning my head toward the others, I find Cynthia laughing, along with everyone else. I wish I was her.

"Ice cream?" Jonah asks, sounding excited. "Maybe I shouldn't have had dinner before this."

His response is so cute I can't help but laugh. But as I do, I accidentally make eye contact with him, and notice that he's not really looking at me. He's looking out the window, and doesn't really seem like he's looking forward to the dance. Flustered and confused as to what to say, I decide to respond with silence.

The rest of the car ride goes by quickly without much other conversation on our part. Then we get to the dance, and it's go time.

I'm the last person to step out of the limo because of my position at the end. When I do, I'm greeted by a mob of people, all waiting in a line to get inside. Our group is in the very back, which means it'll probably take awhile to get inside. I'm about to pull out my phone to keep me busy, but then Camila comes up to me and we chat while waiting.

"There's quite a few people here early," she mentions.

I nod, "guess we weren't the only ones with the idea."

Camila scans the people around us, looking to see if people are being let in yet. "Hopefully it won't take too long," she says finally.

Ultimately, the line wasn't as long as it looked. At least it doesn't feel like it, given me and Camila's long conversation about what songs we think are going to be on the playlist. I have my bets on Party in the USA by Miley Cyrus, while she insists that they're only going to play rap music.

I find our conversation a fun distraction from my apprehension toward the night. The possibility of slow dancing with Jonah seems closer than ever to a reality, yet it's not how I imagined it. How can I be crushing on him so much when I know that my feelings won't be reciprocated? Who knows, maybe his feelings for Cynthia aren't that serious. There's only one way for me to figure out. I just hope I can prolong that potential disappointment for as long as possible. But once we get through the front doors, there's no more procrastination or distractions.

This is it. Junior prom starts now.