Star-Crossed

Part 45

It's the night of the Gala and Eva and I both have our dresses on and are just about to leave when someone knocks on our door.

"I'll get it!" I yell.

I open the door. It's Zayn and Max.

Zayn looks amazing. He's dressed in a slick black tux but instead of a traditional bow tie, his is hot pink. I guess it's to match Eva's dress.

"You look great," says Zayn, kissing me on the cheek.

"Thanks, you too," I respond.

"Max, you look amazing," I add.

Max's suit is gray, and with it, he's wearing a baby blue tie that matches his eyes. He really does cleanup well.

He gives me a thumbs-up and smiles.

"Come on in," I say to both of them. "We'll be ready in a couple of minutes."

"We'll just wait downstairs in the lobby then," says Zayn. "Don't take forever, please!"

I close the door. Nothing has happened between Zayn and I or Niko and I since we all had that conversation up on the hill. I guess I really did nip it all in the butt.

Eva and Max seem to just be friends - with occasional benefits.

And, Eva and Zayn both say they're just friends, but I know Eva still has the biggest crush on him. I'm not sure how Zayn feels about her, or me.

And, though I now call Niko by his name and not 'droid', like I did for a while, I still can't help but feel weird about the fact that he's, well, a droid.

Eva walks in.

"Are you ready," she asks?

"Yeah, let's do this," I respond.

We both head out and join Zayn and Max in the lobby.

When we arrive to the Gala, it is packed. The entire Squad has come out for the night.

Everyone looks so glamorous.

I spot Moxie in the corner. She looks stunning. She's wearing a floor-length dress that fits her perfectly and is covered in muted gold sequins. It cuts deep at the neck and is backless. Her hair is long and straight and black and she's wearing her signature shade of red lipstick. She has red heels on and huge, golden-chandelier earrings studded with diamonds, as well as a gigantic diamond ring.

She sees me and I wave and smile.

Then, someone grabs my hand and turns me around - it's Niko.

He's wearing a white suit, and wow - does he pull it off well! With his white-on-white ensemble, he has on a bright, emerald green tie that perfectly compliments the sparkling, emerald color of his big, dreamy eyes. For a moment, I do completely forget that he's a droid.

"You look incredible," he says, grabbing my waist and pulling me close to him.

"Thanks, Niko," I say. "You too. That white suit sure is something."

"I know, right?" he says.

He spins around and does a little dance move. We both laugh.

"Are you ready?" he asks.

"As ready as I'll ever be," I respond. "I just hope we do it."

"We will," he assures me.

Together, Eva, Zayn, Max, Niko and I enter the main room. The ceremony is about to begin. We find and take our seats.