Demons

Chapter 41

"You mean he got you a prom dress? Do you know how expensive those are?!" Ava shook me excitedly as we walked through the lunch line, almost making me drop my nachos.

"Yes, I know all too well about the price. Which is exactly why I'm returning it," I spoke, and a pit formed at the bottom of my stomach.

Maybe I was just really hungry. But thinking about Zayn made me lose my appetite, the sorrow hitting me in the gut with unimaginable force. I did the right thing, I said 'no' to him. If I had said yes to him, I would have never forgiven myself for cheating on Harry. No matter who it was with.

"Lace, don't you see? It was a gift, and he basically showed you that he supports you and Harry together. He knows what you want, and he's helping you get it. How could you say no to that?" she asked, passing a five dollar bill for her meal to the school chef.

"No, Ave. I can't. I have said 'no' to him before and I will do it again. My prom isn't that important." I said sternly, and Ava crossed her arms, staring at me.

We took our seat, and Ava still said nothing. It was starting to make me even more uneasy, as she was usually so talkative.

"What did you say 'no' to him for before this?" She asked. I never thought she would be able to tie my discomfort together with an unspoken incident with Zayn, but she was a bright girl.

"It's no big deal. The point is: I am certainly not wearing the prom dress that he got me on the night I will be spending with my boyfriend, Harry." I bit my lip, and she continued to study me, examining the extent of my awkwardness. Damian saw us from his end spot on the lunch line and came running towards us once he had paid.

"Guess what guess what guess what!" He chanted excitedly, thankfully pulling the attention off of Zayn and me onto himself.

"What?" Ava asked, confused. Ever since we had found out about how the Shed was going to be taken down, it was rare we saw this type of genuine happiness on our best friend's face.

"Janelle Jones agreed to go to the prom with me!" Damian exclaimed, wearing a bright grin. Ava and I couldn't help but smile and cheer for him. I had missed seeing him smile like this for a while, so I gladly welcomed it.

"I told you she would." Ava smirked, and he kissed her head.

"Because you know how hot I am," he laughed, and she nodded.

"Whatever you want to hear," I chirped up, and Damian rolled his eyes at me.

"So Louis and I are going to this abandoned house party tonight, you guys want to come?" Ava offered, and Damian shook his head.

"Sorry, I can't. My grandparents are forcing me to come with them this weekend to visit my aunt and uncle upstate." Damian groaned, taking a large bite in his cheeseburger.

"Why are you always visiting family? We hardly hang out anymore." Ava complained, and Damian looked at her, shocked.

"Ave, I see you every day during the week and we spend Sundays together." He explained, and Ava nodded her head again, looking deep in thought.

"Yeah, I guess we do." She replied before turning to me. "But I hardly see you outside of school, Lace. So whether you like it or not, you're coming to the party tonight."

"It's funny you should say that. Harry and I were actually already planning on going. He's finally going to tell all of his friends about us." I smiled dreamily. It made me so happy that he was willing to take this step, even though it did take him seven months.

"Finally? Wait, none of his friends know about you two? That makes a lot of sense now." Damian muttered, and I shot him a confused look.

"What are you talking about, Damian?" I asked, and Ava looked at him, both of us waiting for him to respond.