The Promposal (COMPLETE)

15- Soft Serve

Edith's POV.

When I decided to ask Jonah Parker to junior prom two months ago, I didn't exactly think through my plan too well. For some reason, I figured the dance would end up perfectly romantic like in all the movies and we'd end up in a relationship. I'd hoped that Jonah would like me back, that we'd have chemistry, and any potential problems caused by our lack of social skills would melt away.

In reality, that's not how prom went at all. It was more like a serious of unfortunate events. 

Things started out okay, with our big group of 15+ people all dancing together. Others who weren't even in our limo joined in, and soon we had a huge circle of friends. It was large enough that I could avoid awkward eye contact with Jonah, but also small enough that it wasn't a mosh pit. I thought the whole night would be like that, a big party, until one by one, couples started breaking off from the big group in favor of 'alone time.'

Eventually, I turn toward Jonah. With most of the group gone, it's about time for us to leave as well. I'm not quite sure what to say, or if he'll even want to dance with me, so I come up with an excuse. "Want to check out the ice cream bar?" I yell at him so he can hear. 

Jonah eagerly nods and leans over to tell Nolan something. Then the two of us make our way off the dance floor, careful not to get stepped on by the crowds of people jumping in heels. With the loud music pounding, I have a good excuse to walk in silence with him. It's time to think of what to say. But once we are far enough from the DJ, I realize that I have absolutely zero ideas. My time brainstorming ended up completely useless.

"So, uh.." I start to say something but then my mind blanks. Jonah looks over at me expectantly, so I improvise. "What do you think so far?"

"My feet hurt," he responds. I look down at my heels, and compare them with his cushiony oxfords. That comment seems slightly insensitive.

Jonah seems to notice this. "Oh, I mean I bet it's worse for you... sorry," he apologizes. His expression, full of regret, makes me feel both guilty and amused at the same time. 

"It's really not that big a deal," I respond while trying not to laugh. 

Jonah nods and looks down at his feet, not even reacting as we reach the ice cream machine. I, on the other hand, immediately feel my stomach ache for food. He might have had dinner before this, but I've planned ahead for a night of intense snacking.

I nudge Jonah in the side to get his attention, and when he looks up, I pay careful attention to his expression. The pure joy on his face reminds me of a toddler hearing an ice cream truck chime, and we both eagerly fill our cones to the brim with soft serve. 

"So this is where our ticket money goes," I comment while filling up my cone. Jonah either ignores me or doesn't hear, because he doesn't respond. It's honestly kind of annoying, because I feel like that comment is quite hilarious. The person who does hear, however, is one of the leadership kids, who gives me a sideways glare. 

I awkward laugh and say, "it's well worth it." But she doesn't seem to budge in her annoyance. Instead, I try to gently suggest to Jonah that we eat the ice cream somewhere else. 

"There's an empty table over there," I point out. It seems very fortunate, since all the other tables are full, so Jonah quickly agrees and we start walking toward it, soft serve in hand. As we're speed walking, I notice Jonah limp slightly. Maybe he wasn't lying when he said his feet hurt. I wonder what happened.

We're almost at the table when a small group of sophomores appear out of nowhere and surround it. I recognize a few of them from my chemistry class and silently clench my fist while imagining their faces if I beat them up. But then Jonah suggests we find somewhere else to eat, which gets the attention of every sophomore at the table. 

One of the girls who turns around is someone I've seen before, but I'm not sure from where until I realize that we're both wearing the same dress. She looks me up and down with a smirk, silently judging my outfit and possibly even my soft serve choice. Then she flips her hair, like a character out of Mean Girls, and I feel my blood boil. Next to me, Jonah stands completely unaware of the situation. 

When the girl's friends realize that we're wearing the same dress, they all start laughing at me. Finally, Jonah seems to catch on to the situation happening, eyes widening but otherwise not backing me up. "Well, at least I wore it better," the Regina George girl says before taking a sip of some drink that she probably only ordered so that she could look sophisticated and cool. 

"Yeah, we don't want to sit anywhere near these stuck up bitches," I say to Jonah, but really to the group. Their surprised expressions gives me a boost of confidence, and I walk away eating my ice cream with a new sense of pride. 

Once we are a safe distance away, Jonah turns toward me and says "that was awesome." I take the compliment as yet another boost to my ego, but don't really know how to properly react. My crush of four years just called me awesome? Awesome.

"Yeah I know," is my awkward reply.