never be the same | grayson dolan

fifty eight

The long stretch limo finally arrives at the breathtaking building where our prom is being held. It is one of the largest halls in all of Manhattan. Resembling a royal palace, the beautiful scenery leaves Grayson speechless.

They don't have anything close to this fancy in Florida. The theme of our prom is Hollywood, and that's exactly where it feels like we are. There is a long red carpet stretched out for us to walk on as we enter the hall.

Christopher and Danny get out first and begin their grand entrance into prom. Anthony softly holds onto Ava's hand as they follow them out of the limo. I turn to Grayson with a smile.

"Ready?" I beam with excitement.

"Of course I am." He gets out of the limo and I lock my arm in his. We walk up the long red carpet and step into the building. "Damn," Grayson says in shock. "I feel like I'm in some sort of castle." We walk up a flight of steps and join the rest of my grade on the upper balcony. Everything is set up beautifully. The interior is golden with stain glass windows that overlook the city.

"Is every place in New York this beautiful?" He asks while staring around at the atmosphere in front of him.

"Not every place, but most of it." I look up at him. I still can't get over how handsome he looks in his tuxedo. "You look so great in that tux," I bite my lower lip. "I can't keep my eyes off of you."

He looks down at me with a smirk. "Have you looked in the mirror today?" I can feel a rush of adrenaline take over me as I feel his eyes look my body up and down. "That dress is not fair."

"I knew you would go crazy once you saw it in person." I smile and look down at myself.

"You look absolutely gorgeous. It still blows my mind how perfect you are."

My obvious blushing causes him to place his hand on my lower back. He guides me over to where the rest of our friends are sitting. The tables are small, yet elegant. Beautiful white roses are placed in the center which really gives it a palace vibe.

"This place is sick." Anthony's mouth hangs open as he looks around the room.

"Doesn't it feel like we're in a castle?" Grayson asks him with a small chuckle.

"You'll definitely feel like royalty in this place." Ava looks at how mesmerized he is.

"With a beautiful queen sitting next to me, I already feel like a king." Anthony's grin quickly turns into a smirk.

"Wow, smooth one." Ava teases as she stares at him. "You sure know how to sweet talk a girl."

"I'm only good at it when that girl is you." He goes back at her. "You know Ava, this whole playing hard to get thing is getting really old."

"Finally, somebody said it." Christopher mumbles next to me.

"Is that so?" She crosses her arms over her chest and tilts her head.

"We've been talking for eight months now, don't you think it's time to make it official?" Anthony states. "You're coming back to Florida to spend the whole summer with me. I want you to be my girlfriend."

Grayson and I look at each other with wide smiles. I can't believe he finally said the word.

"Anthony, I said we can talk about this later." Her voice is soft and calm.

"I want to talk about this now." He stops her from continuing any further. "You're scared our long distance won't work but you won't even give it a shot. If we don't want to continue our relationship after summer, then fine. But I can't spend the rest of my life knowing you were never actually mine."