Lies We Tell

39 : Sugar, Spice, Everything Nice

"Are you girls ready yet?" Noah's voice was muffled through the closed dressing room door, but his request was kind enough and without pressure. Half an hour before Gary had rather loudly demanded the girls hurry up in order to get the prom started, to which Lottie announced the girls would go on strike just to annoy him. Truth was they hadn't been ready, but now that Lottie had finished their makeup and everyone was dressed perfectly, it was time to head down. The boys must have thought Noah was the safest bet– or easiest victim– to send to face Lottie's wrath just in case they weren't.

"Yes, babes!" Shannon called out, standing from her vanity with her dress gathered in her hands so as not to trip over the hemline. "Wait for us outside, will you? We're coming out!"

"Amazing, see you soon." The girls heard Noah's retreat as he hustled quickly down the stairs, likely rushing to get the boys all rounded up for their arrival.

The girls were anxious, all fluttery and fidgety as they got ready for the prom. Zahra was just as antsy, but she'd been like that all day since the group had received texts about that night's plans.

Islanders, tonight is the prom! Looks are great, but they're not everything– now you'll each write declarations of love for your partners, which you'll read out even while dressed to the nines! Take some time apart to work on your speeches for your last night in the Villa!

It was nerve-wracking enough to have to plan out a thoughtful speech for Lucas to share with the rest of the islanders, but Zahra had been mostly struck by the knowledge that that evening would be their last in the Villa. Now the evening was upon them, and it was absolutely surreal to her that at this time tomorrow, they would be heading their separate ways. Zahra absolutely ached at the thought– her relationship with Lucas aside, she'd gotten quite used to their merry band on this island, and it was going to feel very weird returning to regular, daily life without Lottie around to spill gossip to and Chelsea to suggest a mixed drink early in the day "just because."

"Zahra? Are you coming?" It was Chelsea hanging back in the dressing room, the other two girls stepping out just ahead of her to make their way downstairs.

"Yeah, sorry." Zahra shook away her thoughts and stood up, careful to adjust the material of her dress's skirt just right so that she wasn't too exposed. With the slits up both sides, if she wasn't careful, both of her entire legs– and potentially more– could be exposed easily. It didn't matter that much with this group, who had been with her for so long and had likely seen even more with other islanders in tiny swimwear over the past month, but she wasn't too keen to flash anyone until she had a few drinks in herself first.

On her way out of the dressing room, Zahra grabbed her notecards, which were scribbled with notes of things she wanted to say to and about Lucas during her speech. She spent a lot of time earlier overthinking it, wanting to make it perfect and realizing too late that their relationship has been this great because they weren't perfect. Glancing at her notecards, she could barely read half of the scribbles, but she felt confident that once she saw him, it wouldn't even matter– she would find the right words once she saw him smile.

The girls filed one at a time down the staircase, mindful of each other's hemlines and high heels. At the bottom, they took one last moment to glance over each other.

"Let's show the boys how us girls do prom," Lottie said with a wicked grin. "We're all stunners tonight."

Chelsea was the first girl to head onto the lawn. Even from inside the Villa, the other three girls could hear the wolf whistles and cheers coming from the guys as she made her grand entrance, all of which were accentuated by Henrik's loud exclamation, "Babe, look at that dress!"

Shannon was summoned next, and even though she'd gained quite a bit of confidence in her relationship with Noah, she looked anxious as she reached for the door. "Please don't let me trip," she begged aloud, then pushed out through the door with a great big breath. Again came the wolf whistles and cheers, but Noah himself was much more subtle in his comments about her appearance.