Grace.

Chapter 41.

Nayeli and I went out to the mall with Mrs. Collins. We got our hair, nails and makeup done, a treat from Nayeli's mom. Before that though, we grabbed lunch. I was cherishing whatever form of happiness I got with everything that'd been happening. One thing I'd learned from my days of being bullied is not to dwell onto the bad things, that only leads you into a dark hole.
Although Gloria and I were speaking again, I could still tell that my sister wasn't entirely happy with me. Maybe she was still hurt. There was never a day that went by that she didn't mention what a bad person Edgar is. She had also been rooting for my friendship with Ethan. Anything and anyone except for Edgar.
But I missed him, and even though, I had to force myself to put my feelings aside and deal with the reality: Our relationship had been doomed from day one. Ethan had been really sweet, it scared me. He was a known player and I might have been falling for him. We spent so much time together.
Lucy organized an emergency chill session at her house before we went to the dance.
My parents made sure they got home early to see me before I left. Dad had his camera out and was taking pictures of me almost everywhere in the house!
"Lisa, isn't she just lovely?" He asked Mom.
"The loveliest girl there is," Mom beamed.
Gloria walked down from upstairs with Daniel. "Wow! You look so beautiful," she said to me. "Thank you, Ria," I blushed.
"Ethan will be all over you," Daniel added.
Papá shot him a sharp look and Daniel quickly went on to say: "In a good way!"
"Speaking of Ethan. No alcohol. No hands! Understood, mija?" He instructed.
"Daddy..."
"Come on, Richard. Let the kids have fun. You know Grace is responsible," Mom reasoned.
"Yes, very responsible," I spoke for myself.
Dad looked at me momentarily before calling us all into the living room. We took our seats on the sofas and waited on him to speak.
"I know I'm about to ruin your night-"
"No! Then please don't!" I begged.
"Mija, I want what's best for you. I won't just watch you live your life without giving you advice here and there."
"Dad's got some pretty good advice...sometimes," Gloria commented.
"Haha, very funny. Grace, just yesterday it was Edgar. I don't know what happened there but judging from what I saw, it wasn't good."
Ria and I cleared our throats and shot each other a look. Gloria nervously held Daniel's hand, trying hard to act normal.
"Dad..."
"Now, it's Ethan. Do you get my point?"
"Loud and clear, Daddy," I assured him.
"You're probably looking and that's okay but please...just wait till you've found the right guy before you...you know?" He struggled.
I looked at him then at Mom, then back at him.
"He means before you have sex, mija," Mom blurted out.
"Oh!" I exclaimed.
"Oh my god! Dad? I already had the talk with Grace. She's good," Gloria quickly intervened.
"Good? As in? You don't need her advice?"
"No! Dad! Good as in I know how serious it is and — and..."
"You're still okay, right? She's still okay, right? Lisa?"
"As far as I know," Mom chuckled.
"Oh no! Mom? Dad? I'm still your little girl! We're still okay there! Okay? I am still as I was when I was born," I panicked.
Gloria and Daniel burst into laughter. Mom looked at them. "I'm still waiting for a proposal," she said. They stopped laughing.
Luckily for me, Mimi and Donny arrived in the nick of time. I shot up from the couch and grabbed my purse. When I walked out, their jaws dropped.
"Holy cow!" Donna cried
"Straight from a freaking magazine!" Naomi drooled. "You look so hot."
My hair was brushed and pinned down with a beautiful small silver pin on one side. My fringe was combed away from my face. I had on red lipstick and my Diamond earrings. Also, I got my dress! The long black dress. Not just any dress! It was a deep v-neck, backless slip dress with spaghetti straps and a thigh-high slit. Bond girl much? Yes.
"Darling, Ethan's going to be masturbating to the thought of you for a good whole week after he sees you."
"Donny?!" Naomi and I shrieked.
We arrived at Lucy's house and at that point, my jaw almost dislocated. She had got on a cream maxi dress with straps and an open back, asymmetric neck line, also with a thigh-high slit.
"Hold on, are we going to Homecoming or a fashion show?" Donna asked.
We laughed at her.
"You guys look amazing as well, Donny," Luce chuckled. "Naomi, that dress on you?Absolutely gorgeous!"
When Bebe arrived, Lucy headed to the kitchen to get us her mom's best wine. "She'll murder me but, screw it," she admitted, opening it anyway.
"Where is your mom?" Donna asked.
"Upstairs, sleeping. She had one too many drinks."
We moved up to Lucy's room and as she was busy putting on her shoes, we took turns to look at ourselves in her mirror.
"Ladies, the night we've been waiting for has finally arrived!" Lucy started.
"It feels like just yesterday we were freshmen," I added.
"And we were so excited to be starting high school, you guys," Naomi laughed.
"Those years were the best, then it all changed."
"True. We grew up and made mistakes," said Lucy.
"Mistakes and regrets are memories made," I sang.
"But we're here now. We've held on for this long," Naomi continued.
"I know we still have a whole year ahead of us but...we should make this one count," Donny said.
"Of course! We can't let anything get in the way of us enjoying this year."
"It's our last one, ladies! I think I'm gonna cry!"
"A toast! To us. To senior year. To doing and being great -"
"To love!"
"To growth!"
"To being the baddest bitches!"
Our glasses clinked in the air as we cheered laughing at the top of our lungs. It sounded pretty promising and we were so sure it would happen that way. Little did we know that all we'd hoped for wouldn't happen and that it would be the complete opposite.
Caleb and Josh arrived, with Steve as well, he was Naomi's date. We all complimented each other on how great we looked. Apparently Hunter wasn't feeling well, so he didn't come. We'd decided we wouldn't arrive early so we chilled a bit.
Since I was going with Ethan, he stopped by Lucy's place. He found us drinking and chilling. I was in the kitchen with Josh and we were pouring out drinks. The others were in the lounge.
"So much vodka! Do you want us dead?!" Josh cried out.
"Stop being a baby. Weren't you the one telling me you're a 'man' now?"
As we continued making drinks, I felt a strong set of arms enfold me from behind. I knew that touch very well. He leaned in close to my face and muttered into my ear.
"Hey, Buttercup."
The sound of his voice sent chills down my spine. Josh quickly removed himself from the hot, steamy moment that was about to brew. With two shots in my hand, I turned around and yet again was met by his burning gaze. He still hadn't backed away from me and the veins on his neck were so visible up close.
"I still can't believe you agreed to go to Homecoming with me. Just look at you! You're-"
"You don't look too bad yourself," I blushed. "I'm really glad you didn't wear a jacket."
"Hell no! I wasn't planning on it. But it's in the car," he chuckled.
He looked so hot! The silk he had on looked so good on him! You'd swear he's the son of a Mafia boss. His chain! His watch! The rings on his fingers! He'd even styled his hair so nicely. His chiseled face was standing out more than usual.
With eyes locked to each other, I handed him one glass with a smile on my face. He took it and downed it. His eyes reverted back to me and slowly trailed down to my lips. "You look so beautiful. Honestly, you do. I thought your everyday look was breathtaking but tonight, you look like you're from another planet."
I blushed. Our fingers laced through one another creating an intense moment between us.
I could feel my heart race and my face flush. The moment was ruined by Lucy who cleared her throat loudly enough to break the deep gazing between us.
"Grace, we're about to leave so we're going upstairs to touch up," she interrupted, staring at Ethan with her arms crossed over her chest.
I looked at him with a nod and gently walked past him to follow Lucy.
"Wait!" Lucy blurted out. "I will kick you. I will kick you so hard in the balls," she hissed.
"W-what?" Ethan muttered, confused.
"If you ever hurt her, Ethan. I swear."
"Lucy, whoa!"
"I won't hurt her. If I ever happen to upset her, you have my full permission to kick me as hard as you want in my nuts."
"Oh, and I will, she threatened.
She grabbed me by the arm and we walked away, following the others to the bedroom.
"Lucy! What was that?!" I questioned.
"Ethan's an asshole, Grace. Worst part, he's Luke's friend. You shouldn't trust him like that."
"Like what? He's just a date and a friend."
"The way you look at him says otherwise."
"The way she looks at him?" Donna intervened. "Have you seen the way he looks at her?"
"Yeah, like he's imagining her in his bed!" Lucy grunted.
"No! Quiet the opposite actually. He's even going around telling people how much he enjoys hanging out with Grace and how he can't wait to see her," Donna revealed.
"What? Really?" I asked.
"It's a trap! Fall for him if you will but please, I know I said you should get laid but not by Ethan. Please!" Lucy begged.
"I wasn't planning on it, Lucy," I said, flatly.
"You look like you like him," Bebe opined.
"That would be a mistake," Mimi added.
"You're one to talk! Yours is waiting for you downstairs!" said Lucy.
Naomi had invited the quiet, weird boy, Steve to join us at Homecoming. I don't know what she was thinking.
"He probably thinks that you're his date," Donny laughed.
"What?! No! He knows I invited him because he had no one to go with! I felt sorry for him!" She shrieked.
"He doesn't know! Because you didn't tell him," I laughed.
"Hell will freeze over! He's not my type! Ew! Ew! Ew!"
"You're going to have to dance with him," we teased her.
We continued making fun of her until we were all done fixing ourselves and left. I left my car at home because I was with Ethan. The girls were with the guys. Cars were already parked outside and the hall was buzzing with people, music and disco lights.
"Are you ready, Buttercup?" Ethan asked me.
"Forgot to tell you, I've got two left feet."
"I don't believe you," he laughed.
"Well, I've got a few moves here and there, you know?" I joked.
"We'll see. But we don't have to dance if you don't want to. We could take pictures in the photo booth."
"I'm okay with both. You seem to have confidence in yourself. I'll trust you to take the lead on the dance floor."
"Deal. Now let's give you the night of your life."
He quickly got out of the car and rushed to my side to open the door for me. He held my hand as we stepped out. I was so excited! We held hands as we made our way past the other cars to the entrance. Before we got there, we found Bebe standing with Luke by Caleb's van. They looked really tense.
"Bro," Ethan said to Luke.
"Bebe, are you okay?" I asked Brooke.
The four of us stood there just staring at each other, Ethan and I trying to make out what was going on. I examined Brooke's face and the look on it was one I knew very well. I slowly moved closer to Ethan. "Ethan," I whispered, tugging at his arm. He looked at me and I motioned my eyes to Bebe and then back at him. Ethan cleared his throat.
"Bro, not tonight. Okay? It's Homecoming. Let's just have some fun. Please," he pleaded.
Luke's gaze shifted from us to Ethan. It was a cold, deadly stare but after a while he straightened up and walked away with a spit to the ground. Bebe's body relaxed. "Thanks, Ethan," she breathed.
We waited for her to finish what she was doing and walked back with her to the others.
"What took you so long?" Caleb asked Bebe as he lifted her up in the air.
"We did!" I quickly replied.
"Okay. Let's go! The night has just begun!" Josh called out.
I turned to face Ethan, quickly. "I guess tonight everyone's question about who your mystery lady is will be answered."
"Finally. I've been waiting my whole life," he smiled.
He took my hand in his and we stepped forward to take some pictures. We had a few decent ones and then the rest were just straight up wild! I loved it.