Ella slams her books down on the lunch table, stopping our conversation. I wince as she throws her bag down on the floor and sits down next to me with a deep frown indented on her brow. For a moment, Janet and I exchange a silent conversation on who should ask her what's wrong first.

"Ella, what's wrong?" I ask tepidly.

"Josh hasn't asked me to Homecoming." She says and folds her arms.

"I'm sure he will, just give it another day or so." I try to comfort her but she gives me a dry look.

"Homecoming is in three days, Alisa. It's not gonna happen!" Suddenly her bottom lip starts quivering. "I picked out a dress that brings out his eyes!"

Ethan blinks a few times and rightfully decides that this issue is none of his business. "Yo, David, Anthony, you wanna go... get a pudding cup?"

"Dude, I love pudding cups." David stands up abruptly and the three of them walk away together, leaving behind their unopened pudding cups on our table.

Janet comes to sit on the other side of Ella and puts a hand on her shoulder. "I'm pretty sure that whatever brings out his eyes brings out the inner goddess in you, Ella! You're gonna look amazing and he's gonna hate himself for not asking you sooner and this time next week you'll be a couple again and Jessica will be bald!"

Ella looks at her, vulnerable. "You really think so?"

"I know so." Janet puts a hand to her chest and grins. "Besides, if you don't get asked out, you can always go stag and show all the boys what they're missing!"

"Only losers go to Homecoming without a date." She mumbles.

"I'm going without a date." I say. She stares at me blankly, like I just spoke a full sentence in perfect Japanese and she didn't catch a word I said.

"Anyway, I'll go with another football guy to make him jealous." She says, sighing. "It's pretty much bound to work. Or wait, is Ethan free?!"

The two of them turn to me as I start eating Ethan's abandoned pudding cup. "What?" I ask, dumbfounded.

Janet rubs her chin. "If he's not going with Alisa, he's probably free. You could always ask him!"

The two of them squeal while I finish off the pudding cup bitterly. Maybe I'm just bad at comforting Ella which is why I almost always get left out of conversations when she's upset.

David comes back with a handful of pudding cups. I guess he wasn't kidding when he said he loved pudding. "You look happy again." He comments, handing Ella one of them. She gives it to me and I pull off the cover, glum.

"Just figured out my dilemma, thanks to the help of my girls! Now, where's Ethan?"

Anthony comes over and hands some pudding to Janet, kissing her on the forehead when she grins at him. "Oh, er some junior is asking him to Homecoming."

Ella's face falls as she spots him and this pretty blonde girl talking underneath a tree. "That's Elaine Phoenix! She's like, the most popular junior, of course he's gonna say yes."

"He won't." I comment, halfway through the pudding.

She frowns at me. "How'd you know that?"

"He's been avoiding her all week because word got around that she was gonna ask him. He doesn't wanna go with her." I recite what he told me this morning in homeroom. The four of them stare at me with my spoon in my mouth. "What?"

"Is he going with you?" David asks, raising his eyebrow. I start yet another pudding cup because I seem to be in constant supply.

"No. I'm going with some people from the drama club." I realised quickly that due to Janet's new relationship status and Ella's obsession with Josh, I'd probably be alone this year. I wasn't planning on going to Homecoming at all until Sarah convinced me to get ready with her and some of the others.

Ella rubs her chin. "You think he'd go with me if I ask?"

As I'm about to say no, I spot Janet's expression from over her shoulder, telling me that I should go along with whatever she says in order to make her feel better. "It's worth a shot." I try to sound upbeat as I say it and lo and behold, it works because she smiles.

"Cool!"

Ethan comes over, looking a little flustered. "Well, that wasn't awkward – wait, who ate all my pudding cups?"

I raise my hand and then take a spoonful out of the last one. He glares at me. "What did Elaine say when you broke her heart?"

"Shut up Alisa." He says and I crack a grin as he sits down. "She was pretty bummed but I told her I was going with the drama club and she said she'd save me a dance."

"Who'd wanna dance with you? You're gross."

"I'm gross?" He asks, in disbelief.

"Definitely."

"That's what she said."

"Yep, I am the she and I'll say it again."

He sticks his tongue out at me and I show him his empty pudding cup. David puts his hand up between the two of us.

"Are we missing something?" He asks. I roll my eyes.

"Just some friendly banter between a gentleman and a pudding thief." Ethan says coolly. "Hey, you don't mind me and David hanging out with you and Sarah at homecoming, right?"

I shrug. "The more the merrier." Then I catch Ella's facial expression from the corner of my eye and remember her plan. "But actually... wouldn't you rather just go on a date with someone?"

She starts smiling and twirls her hair around her finger. He squints at me.

"Like who? No offence but I just got out of a serious relationship and then a fake one with Ella. I'm not trying to date again until I'm at least twenty."

Anthony holds back a laugh and I wince as Ella's face falls. Ethan doesn't seem to notice as he stands up and comes round the table to pull me up too.

"Now come on." He commands. "You owe me two pudding cups."

That evening, Janet, Ella and I go shoe shopping for homecoming. They almost have heart attacks when I tell them I don't even have a dress yet.

"Why didn't you come dress shopping with us last week?!" Ella asks.

This catches me off guard. "You went dress shopping last week?"

Janet gasps. "Oh shoot! That's when we forgot to invite you, Alisa, I'm super sorry."

Forgot to invite me? When did they even make the plan?

Realising that thinking too much about it will end up eating me up inside, I simply wave my hand and try to forget. "Whatever."

We move on pretty quickly after that. I choose a dress - it's pale pink with a 90's neckline, diamante detail and a sheer cover that extends past the dress, hovering over my knees. It's cute and simple and despite it being short underneath the sheer cover, I think my mom will approve.

"You're gonna look so cute in that, Alisa!" Janet squeals loudly.

"Yeah, you think?"

"Oh definitely, with your hair up and some light makeup and – Ella, what do you think?" She skips away and drags Ella over.

"Huh? Oh yeah, it's pretty." She says, staring at her phone. Janet sighs loudly.

"Come on, give a proper answer, Alisa's gonna look fire and –"

She puts her hand up and squeals loudly. "He asked me! He asked me!"

"Who? Josh?" I ask, realising it's easier to just divert the attention to her.

She shakes her head. "No, his best friend – Brett Vader!"

"Not his best friend, Ella! You are so bad!" Janet says.

The two of them launch into a conversation about her master plan to get Josh back and I sigh out loud. I don't know when it happened but they're suddenly a lot closer and it's really easy to feel left out when they're talking about boys and relationships especially when that seems to be the only thing on their minds nowadays.

When it becomes clear that their conversation isn't going anywhere, I pause them. "Girls, I'm super tired so I'm gonna head home."

"Oh really? But what about shoes and stuff for your dress?" Janet asks, her face falling. It makes me feel bad and I consider hanging out for longer – but then I remember that I've pretty much been a placeholder for them all evening.

So I make up a stupid excuse for why I can't stay and then pay for my dress. I go to TK Maxx and find the first pair of heels and clutch that matches my dress and then take the bus home.

Sarah and I made plans to get ready at her house along with another girl from drama club called Savannah. She said she could convince her brother into driving us there and I somehow enticed Ethan into getting me back home with a promise of inviting him to dinner for the next two weeks. Apparently living with his dad means constant takeaways and he's craving home cooked meals.

"Ugh, Alisa, you look absolutely stunning." Sarah says. She's wearing a sparkly plum coloured long sleeved skater dress with an insane plunge down the front. Her hair's been straightened and sits comfortably on her shoulders.

"I agree." Savannah says. She flips her dark hair over her shoulder and gives me a sincere smile. She's wearing a dusty blue sleeveless dress with flowers patterned down the front. "I can't believe nobody asked us, we all look perfect!"

"I thought Alisa was for sure going with Ethan." Sarah says, glossing her lips. "The two of you are like super close now."

"Nah, we're not like that. Just friends." I brush aside as I fix my hair into the perfect bun. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice the two of them share a look. "What?"

"Just friends... for how long?" Savannah says suggestively. I roll my eyes and the two of them laugh it off.

After we've taken enough photos to fill a museum, Sarah's brother drives us over to the school. It's almost eight by then and the party seems to be in full swing. I see Ethan's car parked in it's usual spot and mentally brace myself for all the insults we're probably going to exchange on how we look tonight. We were hanging out on my front porch and he told me he had his tux pants all pressed out earlier and I laughed for so long he went home.

The gym's all set up with streamers and flashing lights and there's space cleared out in the middle where people are dancing in front of the live band.

"Oh this is my song!" Sarah says immediately and drags the two of us over to the middle of the dance floor to dance. We laugh and get lost in the music, making up dumb routines and cheering each other on.

I spot Janet doing the same thing with Anthony and she gives me a great big thumbs up when he does an epic twirl. Laughing, I return the sentiment and look around to see if Ella's dancing too. To my surprise, she and Brett are dancing with Josh and Jessica who both have annoyed expressions on their faces. She doesn't see me but she looks like she's having a great time with them.

When I'm about to go and say hi, someone puts their hands over my eyes. I figure out who it is easily.

"Ethan." I say. He laughs behind me.

"How'd she know?" He asks, removing his hands. I turn to see Ethan and David standing behind me with smiles on their faces. Ethan stretches his arms out. "We're matching."

Startled, I look at his outfit and lo and behold, he's wearing a pale pink shirt and a sheer covered bowtie with – you guessed it – diamante detail all over it. Behind me, Sarah starts laughing as I face palm.

"Did you and my mom plan this?"

His grin never falters. "Maybe we did. Or, just maybe, we just have the same taste in clothing, sweetie."

Rolling my eyes, I reach over him to give David a hug and shower him with compliments. When he's positively blushing, I introduce him to Sarah and Savannah and the five of us head over to the punch table to get a drink.

Ethan slings his arm over my shoulder with a lazy grin on his face. "I don't get why you didn't compliment me."

"Did you compliment me?" I ask, not expecting anything.

Suddenly, a serious expression covers his face as he moves away from me. "Alisa Anderson." He says, his voice grave. It's scaring me. "You look absolutely amazing tonight and if I'm being completely honest, I am a little awed by your presence."

I stare up at his sincere face for far too long. "Well damn, Ethan, I didn't know you could act like that."

His face falls. "I'm being serious!" He claims.

"I don't believe you. But thanks anyway!" I turn around and head to the refreshments, joining the other three.

"Guys," He calls from behind me, hot on my heels. "Alisa doesn't believe I think she's pretty."

"Probably because you told her she had cooties yesterday at lunch." David rationalises.

Sarah laughs. "You seriously said that? Ethan how old are you?"

He blushes. "I only wanted to get her attention." He mumbles. "She was talking to David about a TV show I don't watch."

"You sound like a twelve year old with a crush."

His blush intensifies.

I end up dancing with everyone. First the five of us dance together in a huge circle, bopping to the upbeat music until the slow songs start. And when they do start, David asks Savannah for a dance. Sarah finds a guy pretty much two seconds after and it's just me and Ethan. He asks me to dance and I comply just because I don't want to be left out but I think the both of us figure it's super weird because we can't stop giggling. Even so, Ethan's a good dancer. Though I'll never say that to his face. Ever.

Janet finds me when they start playing a rock song: Ella comes dashing our way when it randomly switches to an old Rihanna song and then Savannah joins in too. Of course after that, the boys get involved and we're all dancing in a group once again.

My feet hurt by the time it hits half eleven but I've had a great time. Since my curfew's half twelve, I decide not to hit the after party but I give Sarah and Savannah hugs before they hitch a ride to Jessica's house.

"That was super fun, Alisa! We should hang out more!" Janet says, squeezing me tight. Ella jumps in on top and I start laughing, despite how tired I am.

Janet heads home with Anthony not too long after we all say goodbye.

"Are you going to Jessica's?" I ask Ella. She nods.

"Yeah, she's invited me to sleepover. I got ready with her."

I raise my eyebrows. "Really now? Have fun."

I wave her off as she goes towards Brett who hadn't really said anything all night but seemed really nice. She didn't seem attracted to him though and tried to get Josh's attention all night which was a shame but oh well.

Lastly, I advance to Ethan who had been patiently waiting in his car for me while I said goodbye. "Hey dweeb." I say as I open the door.

He looks up from his phone and sticks his tongue out at me. "'Sup nerd?"

"What happened to wise girl?" I ask and get in the front seat. He chuckles.

"You're nickname-able, remember?" He grins and pulls out of his parking spot. "Besides, you called me a dweeb, I had to call you something equal."

"You're so annoying." I say. He gasps, thinking I'm being serious but then catches the grin on my face and relaxes. "Why do I put up with you again?"

Ethan shrugs. "Maybe because I'm your best friend."

I start choking on nothing. "You're my – what?"

Like he hasn't said the dumbest thing I've heard all year, he shrugs again. "Face it Alisa. We're besties now. Do you think I'd let a person who wasn't my best friend insult me the way you do? Girl."

"You're not my best friend, Ethan." I tell him as we hit the freeway. "You're not even close."

"What a boldfaced lie." He says. Before I can pursue the conversation topic any further, he yawns. "You know you're making me miss the after-party, right?"

"What?!" I gasp.

"Yeah? I mean, I'm driving you home. I could be living it up right now but you have a curfew and morals."

I wave my hands in the small cramped space. "You could literally go after you drop me off."

"It won't be fun without my best friend though so what's the point?" He says. I scoff and he winks at me.

Our conversation pretty much centres on his insistence that he's my best friend up until we reach the front of my house. He keeps on pushing it without giving any sort of evidence for our supposed best-friendship at all and ignores me when I insist that he's not. It's so frustrating.

"I'm so done with you." I say, shaking my head and taking off my seatbelt. "I'll see you later."

"See you best friend." He says. I roll my eyes and close the door. He calls for me when I'm halfway up the front yard. "Wait, Alisa."

I turn back to see he's rolled the windows down. Ethan's smile relaxes from it's smug grin to a soft smile. "What's up?" I ask.

"You really did look great tonight. All jokes aside." He says.

"Oh – thanks." My cheeks heat up as I scramble for something to say. He waits patiently. "I guess you clean up good too."

He raises an eyebrow. "You guess? Wow. Tough crowd. After I went through all the trouble of roping your mom into helping me find a sparkly bowtie to match your dress."

I gasp and he starts rolling the window up. "I knew it!"

"Goodnight sweetheart!" He says and goes to park his car in his front yard. I shake my head but I find myself smiling because as insufferable as it is hanging out with Ethan, I always seem to have a good time.