"I need a break from her." Is he giving me more of an insight into his life? This is a major breakthrough in our friendship. I feel like I'm included now. "Trouble in paradise?" "Paradise my ass," he says. Mrs. Beattie calls everyone's attention and I face the front of class before I get in trouble. Throughout class, I keep thinking about the dance, no matter how hard I try not to. Memories from the past two homecoming dances are flooding my mind and I can't stop them. Jacob and I went to homecoming together for the first time during our freshman year. He had been texting me the whole day, wanting to see what my dress looked like and I wouldn't give him any hints. Thinking back on it, that dress was a hideous blush pink that should've never seen the light of day. I'll have to start dress shopping soon. Maybe Casey will want to go after school. She's the picky one with her dresses, so it'll take her longer to find one. After class, I text her and ask her if she wants to go shopping. Obviously, she doesn't turn down the offer. During journalism, since the paper has been finished and sent off to the printer, Mrs. Thomas gives an easy-going lesson on grammar within news writing. I sit with Sophie and Seth while Jacob sits near the front of the class, completely ignoring me. I watch the back of his head, which sports a fresh haircut. I never really liked when he cut his hair. I liked when he grew it out a bit. There he is, the once love of my life, sitting in the same class as me for the first time since freshman year. How ironic. Freshman year, he'd been trying to woo me. Now, I'm trying cut him out of my life completely. After school, I tell Casey to meet me at the apartment so we can go to the mall together. As I'm walking to my car, a familiar figure starts walking next to me. "Hey, Lacey," Carlos flashes a smile at me. "Hi, Carlos," I say hesitantly. His sandy hair is swept up and for a second I think of us dancing at Raven's. "What's up?" "I was just wondering if you were going to the homecoming dance," he says coolly. The look on my face scares him I think because he quickly says, "I just need a yes or no." "I, uh, I think I'm going." Why does he want to know? He doesn't want to go with me, did he? "Why?" He walks ahead of me and walks backwards. "Listen, I'm not asking you to go with me. I'm just wondering." Why do these boys have to be so vague and strange? "Yes, but I better not have pig blood dumped on me," I warn him. I don't want to be humiliated Carrie style or anything. He chuckles and holds his hands up. "No pig blood. No embarrassing moments. I promise." "Okay then." "I'll catch you later," he winks before jogging off. I don't know what Carlos is planning, but I hope it doesn't have anything to do with Dylan. He's already annoyed by Carlos, and I don't want to be caught in the middle of their boy drama. When Casey and I get to the mall, she has an oddly specific look in mind. "I want to look like a glowing flower," she says firmly. A glowing flower. That's what she wants to look like and I don't fight her on it. If my best friend wants to look like a glowing flower, then so be it. There's a store we wander into that has a lot of formal dresses. We give it a go and Casey finds a peach colored dress, but decides it doesn't go with her hair and doesn't give her the glowing flower vibe. As we're searching the racks, a certain dress catches my eye. It's a satin, off the shoulder dress with a small jeweled belt. It's a vibrant emerald color that stands out against the neutral colored dresses around it. It's the nicest dress I've seen so far and the soft satin feels smooth against my fingertips. There's a gasp next to me and I glance at Casey. "That's it," she says. My heart drops a little. I don't want to be selfish, but I like the dress for myself. "You think?" I ask her, trying not to let the disappointment show. "Lace, that's definitely your dress. That color will look stunning on you," she smiles. Relief washes over me and I pull the dress completely from the rack. I check the tag and it's exactly the size I need. "Try it on. I have to see it," she says excitedly, practically pushing me towards the dressing rooms. In the dressing room, I scan myself over in the mirror. It shows a little more cleavage than I like to show, but the dress is flattering overall. When I step out to show Casey, she nearly squeals. "Lacey, that dress was practically made for you," she clasps her hands together. "You have to get it." Finding a dress so quickly surprises me. Maybe I should do some more shopping. "You don't think I should look around more? Maybe I'll find something—" "No, no. I don't want to hear it," she shakes her head. "I think you know that this is your dress." It really is beautiful, and the price is right. "Okay, I'll get it." After a couple more stores, Casey gives up on finding her dress. "I know it's out there. I have five days to find it." "There are still plenty of stores to look at. Don't worry," I reassure her. When we get to my car, I put my bag with my dress in the backseat before jumping in on the driver's side. I'm excited to put the whole look together for homecoming. It's my last homecoming as a high schooler, so it had to be epic somehow. Of course, prom will be a night to remember, but I can still get psyched for homecoming. Soon after Casey leaves the apartment, my aunt opens the door and immediately takes her heels off. She smiles when she sees me. "It was a hell of a long day. Do you mind takeout today?" she asks, setting her purse on the dining table. "That sounds perfect." "Great." She strolls to the kitchen, picks up a cup and gets water from the sink. She takes a sip before saying, "How was your day?"