the bittersweet damage | ben plunkett

1 | prom? not really

For Avery's whole life, she grew up with boys and men surrounded by her. Her mother had passed away when she was eleven old, and she then managed with her two older brothers and father.

It was just a normal day for the Campbells---by normal, it meant screaming, yelling, shouting and breaking things everywhere. By now, Avery was used to it, and she had her own little tactics on how to get back at her siblings, and how to get the house to quiet down. Except, most of the times, Avery wouldn't care about the chaotic household. Hell, it was annoying, but sometimes there was nothing she could do about it.

This morning when she woke up, Avery took the picture frame on her night stand and gave it a kiss. "Good mornin' mom, I'm going to school, bye!"

She then stood up from her bed and changed her clothes to go to school. To mentally prepare herself for whatever was going to be happening outside her room door, she took a deep breath for a few seconds. And then, she opened the door to see her two brothers, Lucas and Sam, chasing each other while fighting for the car key.

"You know, you guys, it gets tiring to see this everyday. Don't you two ever shut up for one morning?," Avery scoffed as she walked down the stairs and grabbed her backpack from the rack just before their front door.

The two mocked her which made the girl slightly infuriated. This gave her an idea; she took the keys while the two siblings were busy arguing that they didn't notice Avery's little sneak. She gloated and then walked outside to start the car.

"God, what am I doing? I don't even like driving the car..." she scoffed to herself as she drove to school.

She parked her car, stepped out and then walked towards one of her friends, Hailey. Hailey and Avery were in a band called August Radio, together with their other friends, Vinny, Wyatt and Calvin. 

"Why is it even required to go to pep rally," Hailey groaned while Avery agreed. "Right, I bet you five bucks there's gonna be a promposal in there."

"Bet," Hailey agreed as she and the band walked to the gym inside the school. The five split ways on the bleachers going their own separate chairs and sitting with their own friends, and Avery sat with one of her close friends, Ben. 

"This prom committee's also going to announce this year's prom theme," the speaker announced.

"Ew, Ben, why are you so... invested." She said, disgusted at the boy's expression as she sat down beside Ben. "Ew, Ave, why do you care," he mocked as she chuckled. 

The pep rally went on as Avery's earphones were plugged in her ears, not caring about the event while staring at Ben, curious about how he could enjoy this type of thing. She brushed it off and pretended to watch the rally, but really, she was just listening to a playlist she made of her favorite band, Paramore.

She then noticed Mandy approaching the two of them so she took off her earphones and put it back in her bag. Avery discerned Ben cheering for the bulldogs while Mandy took her seat, and Mandy saw him too. "Really, Ben?"

"What? Why are you two so bitter?," Ben scoffed as he turned his attention back to the event. Avery remembered something, "wait, Mandy, how'd it go? The application?"

"Ugh, nothing. I kept refreshing it, and nothing pops up. I'm actually going to go insane." She rubbed her back and then the speaker kept on yelling which made her irritated. 

"Now, let's keep it going for your team captain, number ten, Graham Lansing!"

"Ew," Avery rolled her eyes. 

"Right, ew. Why do people insist on treating Graham Lansing like he's some sort of golden god?"

Ben scoffed, "because... he kind of is."