The Art of Being Alone (Together)

18 | The Deadly Trifecta

"I mean, it was just perfect." Lizzie plops her elbows on the wooden table, narrowly missing her bowl of applesauce. She rests her head in her hands, too busy on cloud nine to notice that she almost flipped the food onto her handmade halter top. "I feel like I should send Rita a thank-you card."

I laugh, blowing on my forkful of macaroni in an attempt to cool it off. Lizzie's been filling me in on all the details of what happened with Zack, who's still caught up in the dinner line. Apparently, things ended up being pretty simple: Zack confessed his feelings, Lizzie confessed hers, and a lot of kissing ensued. As of somewhere around two o'clock, they're officially a couple.

Allow me to repeat myself when I say: FINALLY!

"It sucks that we don't go to the same school, and we live like, forty-five minutes away from each other, but I know it'll be fine. I'd still want to make it work even if he lived halfway across the world, you know? Plus, two schools means two proms, which means I have an excuse to make two different prom dresses." Lizzie gasps, her eyes lighting up even more. "Oh my God, I should make one for you, too! I bet we could find a way to get into each other's dances-- screw the one guest only rule."

I shake my head, knowing how much work goes into one of Lizzie's creations. "I couldn't ask you to do that! But you're right about going to each other's proms. At the very least, you could come to mine as my guest, but I'd have to find another way into yours and Zack's."

My stomach twinges in anticipation-- it's exciting, talking about a future that I just accepted a few hours ago. Just yesterday, if anyone had asked me about senior prom, I likely wouldn't have thought I was going. But now, the idea of attending with Lizzie and Zack is something I'd hate to pass up.

"Uhh, no way!" Lizzie's tone screams, Duh! "We both know who your extra ticket is going to."

I feel my jaw drop at the insinuation, and Lizzie rolls her eyes at my surprise. 

"Oh, come on, Del! You and Ethan have something. It's been obvious to me since he told you to enjoy your food on the first day. You can try to deny it all you want, but I mean, the guy is painting you."

"And you just offered to sew me a dress, which is basically the same thing," I reason. She pouts, and I continue. "Ethan's great-- and he's obviously great looking-- but there's no way of knowing if he sees me as anything more than a friend."

"Well..." She smirks, picking up her spoon. "There's still plenty of time left to find out." 

"To find out what?" Zack asks, setting his tray next to Lizzie's. The two of them share a warm smile, one that looks like it says a thousand things no one else can hear.

"To find out a lot of things-- including our next prank on Rita and Mei," Lizzie covers, keeping my interest in Ethan between us, which I'm grateful for. Not that I don't trust Zack or anything (I mean, he doesn't exactly seem like the gossiping type), but I'd rather not talk about my crush on Ethan when I haven't even fully decided if it is a crush or not.

Is it? Ethan's handsome, he's smart, and he's funny-- the deadly trifecta. I don't know how anyone wouldn't be attracted to him. Every time I'm around him I get an equal mix of nerves and butterflies so intense that it's a wonder I haven't made a fool of myself yet. And ever since I met Ethan, he's been on my mind way more than I'd ever like to admit. 

I guess I really do have a crush-- I just didn't want to realize it, because I figured all my camp relationships would come to an end in a few weeks. But if I'm giving friendship a chance, that means I can give romance a chance, too. 

Which is a lot to swallow, so I'm thankful for the change of conversation topic.

Well, for about two seconds, anyway. Then my brain processes what Lizzie just said, and I realize it's time to tell them I think we should give the prank war up. A sense of dread tugs my heart down to my stomach-- what if they disagree?