"It was alright. Casey and I went dress shopping earlier." "Find anything?" I hold a finger up before I jog to my room and pull the bag off my bed. In the kitchen, I gently reveal the dress, holding it up for her to see. She puts her hand over her mouth. "Lacey, that is so gorgeous." "I think Casey would have killed me if I didn't get it," I explain. "She didn't find one, but she's going shopping again tomorrow." "Are you two going to the dance together?" "Yeah, she's set on finding dates by Saturday, but I just want to go with her. I don't want any boy drama for once." She has a look on her face that I can't quite decipher. "What are you thinking?" I ask her. Shrugging she says, "I wouldn't be opposed to you going with your friend that came over." "Are you talking about Dylan?" "That's his name," she grins. I shake my head. "Oh, no. Definitely not. We're just friends. Nothing more." She gives me a look like she doesn't believe me. "Lacey, he changed your tire for you, invites you to hang out with his friends, and you're always on the phone with him." "Not always," I stress. Then it hits me. "How do you know we talk on the phone?" "Your room is right next to mine and these walls aren't that thick." When she sees the surprised look on my face she says, "I don't eavesdrop or anything. I just figure you're on the phone with someone other than Casey." "We do what friends do: talk and hang out." "Well, I sure wish I had friends like Dylan" She doesn't look convinced, but she drops it. "We should order our food soon. I'm starving." While waiting for takeout, I ignore my homework and go on social media. I'm scrolling through Instagram when a thought strikes me. I wonder if Dylan has any social media. I go to the explore page and search his name. A few Dylan Parker's come up, but none of them are him. Dylan doesn't seem like the Instagram type anyway. I search on Snapchat and Twitter and the results are the same. Maybe he has a Tinder. Dylan is a player so it only seems fitting. I'm not about to download the app for the purpose of seeing if I can track him down. I lock my phone, lay back on my bed, and stare at the ceiling. There's an urge to look up Jacob. I'd unfollowed him on everything after the break up and I've been trying to stop myself from going stalking his social media, or even Lauren's. Just as I'm picking my phone up, the doorbell rings, signaling our takeout has arrived. I silently thank the delivery person for stopping me from making a stupid decision. ~ I perfect my winged eyeliner in the mirror and I admire my work before I realize I have to do the exact same thing on my left eye. Sighing, I glance over at Casey who is taking out a bun she's spent about thirty minutes finalizing. "These stupid YouTube videos are useless for creating a decent hairstyle," she rants. "Homecoming is canceled." I laugh at how overdramatic she can be. "Just wear your hair down." "Lace, my hair will cover part of the dress if I wear it down. It has to be up in order to get the full effect of the dress." I hold my hands up in defense. "Okay, okay." Casey's kind of stressing me out over all this homecoming stuff. Earlier she told me to be here at her house so we can get ready for the dance together, then she said won't show me her dress until she gets ready, and now she wants me to let her know when it's a certain time so she can pace herself. "Everything has to be perfect," she says as she starts to put her hair up into a ponytail. I focus on my eyeliner again. With careful precision, I swipe it over my eyeshadow. Once I finish, I lean back and inspect my eyes to see if both wings are even with each other. My right wing is slightly lower than the left, but it's barely noticeable. "Good enough," I say to myself. The rest of my makeup comes together and I walks over to Casey, who has settled on an elegant up-do. "Very nice," I tell her. "I have so many bobby-pins in my hair right now. One wrong move and it might come crashing down," she says, standing up carefully from her chair. "Time to switch." I take her spot and turn the curling iron on. Unlike Casey, I'm going to wear my hair down. My plan is to throw in a few big curls, brush them out, and create somewhat of an old Hollywood hairstyle. "So, I have something to tell you," Casey says suddenly. Whenever Casey says something like that, it's usually about something she's done that I've asked her not to do. "What did you do?" I automatically ask. "I got us dates for tonight." "You what?" "Don't worry. They're perfect for one-time dates." I should've known she'd do something drastic on a day like today. I haven't been feeling stressed out over a date, but after learning about her little setup, there's pressure. I style my hair, which doesn't take long, just as Casey finishes her makeup. She waves her hands in front of her face, probably to cool herself down. "Now for the dresses." She opens her bathroom door carefully. "When I come out, I'm going to be a glowing flower."