Four of Clubs

24

I headed out to the parking lot, the tote bag filled with Maddie's belongings thumping at my side with each step. She'd sent the group chat a text from Ian's phone telling us all to meet up at her house, so I was headed back to Roy's car to ride with him.

I couldn't believe she did it, but there were already videos up on The Seven's app to prove it-- and if I needed more proof, we'd already gotten our points, which was a relief. Since the band stopped after only a few notes, I was pretty sure I messed up my countdown and shut the lights off early-- although on second thought, there was a good chance how anxious I'd been was to blame, too.

To my surprise, they got the lights back on pretty quickly. The bulbs only took a few minutes to light back up, and the band had been instructed back into position by the time I'd left the bathroom. I could hear them finishing up their set as I walked past rows of vehicles, looking for Roy's light blue car.

I spotted him then, leaning against the driver's side, his red flannel shirt swaying behind him in the breeze. I tried to ignore the way my stomach seemed to do flips just at the sight of him, telling myself I was just still reeling from the challenge, even though I knew that wasn't why I had butterflies.

 He tucked his phone into his pocket as he greeted me with a smile. "Hey, you got the stuff?"

"Yup, all her clothes and her phone." I nodded, letting out a huff of breath in an attempt to relax. "I can't believe she really did it."

"Me neither. As soon as I got pulled out of that bathroom, I thought it was all over for us."

"Tonight didn't really go as planned, huh?" I almost had to smile at the unlikelihood of it all. "One more thing wrong and it probably would've been the end."

"I feel bad that Maddie had to step in, but... it was kind of a relief," he admitted, eyes cast downwards. "I wasn't really looking forward to it."

"Really? I was." Somehow, the joke left me without me overthinking it. As soon as I said it his eyes snapped back to mine, and the way his face lit up made me blush even more than I already was. I shook my head, smiling in embarrassment. "I- we should go. They're probably already waiting for us at Maddie's house."

"Hey, I didn't get to ask you my question. Y'know, from the bathroom," he explained, refreshing my memory. With all the chaos, I'd honestly forgotten about it.

I raised my eyebrows in anticipation. He hesitated, swaying slightly and scuffing his shoe against the parking lot.

"Well, I know it's short notice, but... would you want to go to homecoming with me? Or, you know, if- I don't know," he stumbled over his words, the stutters only making my heart hammer harder in my chest, "If you don't like dances, maybe we could just... hang out or something."

I couldn't help the grin that spread across my face, my stomach twisting with excited nerves. Roy-- sweet, funny, cute Roy, who most likely had no shortage of girls to ask-- wanted to go to homecoming with me.