𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐈𝐍𝐂𝐋𝐔𝐃𝐄𝐃

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

Twenty-Two

    Nora already knew that prom was not going to be what she always thought of it going to be. She always pictured a limousine, matching outfits with Mason, anything a girl could dream of. Now, waking up on that Saturday morning, she would be the first to admit she was incredibly ill prepared for the dance. It had crept up on her like some sort of blaring alarm clock warning her that high school was almost over.

    At least she still had her best friends by her side, both of which had spent the night in anticipation for the big day. God, it sounded like one of them was getting married. This was just prom, why did it have to be such a big deal? She hated how important it seemed, but at the same time she couldn't stop herself from holding it in such a high regard. However, with their three dresses hanging in the closet and the promise of a crazy night, Nora was holding out hope that things were going to go well tonight.

    "Rise and shine, girls and gays, it's the moment we've been waiting for!" Amarie greeted them bright and early, handing both girls iced coffee from the shop down the road. Their town didn't have a Starbucks but their own mom and pop coffee shop was good enough without it. "I got up early so I figured I would get you guys some coffee because it's such a big day. Ah, I'm so excited! I love dances!"

     "I know you do, but it's eight in the morning, is nothing sacred?" Kristen groaned, her ginger hair all over the place as she happily took the iced coffee and took a sip.

    Nora laughed at their antics as she took a sip, "My boss is mad at me for taking today off, but fast fashion and minimum wage can wait... I can't believe this is actually our senior prom, guys, this is it."

    Maybe it did mean something. This signified the end of something. Not just the end of senior year, but the end of the last four years of high school. Unless any of them joined a sorority (not likely), this was going to be their last school dance ever. Besides graduation, this really was one of their biggest events of senior year. This was it. Maybe being excited for a school dance was trivial, but it was monumental no matter what.

    "Get out of your head it's time to feel like princesses! What time is Edison picking us up?" Amarie spoke in a sing-song voice as she hopped back onto the bed and wrapped her arm around Kristen. Pressing a kiss to her cheek, the curly-haired girl stole a sip of her girlfriend's coffee.

    "At four-thirty for pictures, dinner reservations at five, dance at seven, we've been over this," Nora humored her, a giggle passing through her lips, "Do you need me to print out an itinerary?"

    Amarie scoffed, reaching over to rustle her best friend's already messy hair, "That won't be necessary, smart ass. So, we've got time... what do you guys wanna do?"

    "Sleep," Kristen mused as she placed her coffee on the bedside table and slammed her head back down onto the pillow.

    The curly-haired girl rolled her eyes, but a smile still teased the corner of her lips. Quietly, she spoke to Nora, "For real, what's going on in there? I can tell you've been in your own head for a while now. What's up?"

    Nora sighed, talking as quietly as she could in an effort to not disrupt the sleeping girl beside them, "I just... this whole thing with Edison is so confusing. With Mason, things were so easy and I'm not used to it at all."

    "Well, the first thing you have to do is stop comparing Edison to Mason. They are two very different people, just like everyone you date will be. Not every romance is going to be worth it, do you remember what Kristen asked you to think about yesterday?"

    The question rang through Nora's mind: Is this worth it?

    "I think it is, I'm just... waiting for the pay-off," Nora sighed, "I have a feeling in me that this thing with Edison can really go somewhere, I'm just scared because of all the games we've played up until now."

    "I think," Kristen interjected as she sat up, looking tired as always, "that since you guys won't shut up, it's only fair I get a say in this. I can't promise you that Edison is going to be everything you ever need in life, but I can tell you, she'll be a whirlwind and that girl has the capacity to love people more than anyone I know because, and you didn't hear it from me, she doesn't know very much of what it's like to be loved. Be patient with her because as much as you may think she's the more experienced one, you're probably way, way more experienced in healthy love than she will be. You're learning, but so is she. Chances are, it'll be worth it and I'm sorry if i got into your head about it. I'm not justifying the games, but I am. Someone please love this girl, she's been through some shit."

    "How do you know all this?" Nora asked with furrowed brow, looking over at Kristen with confusion written across her face.

    The redhead sighed before she explained, "You didn't hear it from me, but her dad kicked her out freshman year. We had a thing at the time, as you know, so she stayed with me until her older brother saved up enough to get them a place close enough to let her stay at the school. Girl's got daddy issues, so give her a break."

    "How come she never told me about this?"

    "That's not exactly something people like to talk about, Nor," Kristen shrugged, "It was never my story to tell. I've rethought my stance on you and Edison and I know you didn't need it, but you have my full approval, just be careful."

    "I will, I always will."

    Nora's brain was practically shorting out with this new information. The three of them never went over to their houses very much when they were younger due to the distance and lack of drivers' licenses, but how has Nora gone four years without knowing Edison and Kristen lived together for a period of time? The girl was right, this wasn't something people liked to talk about. Even with that perfectly valid reasoning, Nora was still shocked. She felt lied to, but she knew she had no real right to be upset by this. So, she did the best thing she could which was brush it off and forget about this stupid feeling. This was not a time to start an argument with one of the most important people in her life.

    "Well, I, for one, think it is way too early to be having a deep conversation," Kristen broke through the serious tone of the conversation with a small jest as she rubbed her eyes. "Can we just like... binge watch trashy TV until it's time to get ready?"

    Nora laughed as she pulled the three girls into a hug, pulling away and saying with a grin, "Sounds like quite the plan."