I woke up to the melodious chirping of the birds, lounged on the rails of the balcony. I was in the best mood possible, because today, was the day I never thought I would be so excited about.

Today was the day of the prom. I was looking forward to the dance, but most likely, I was looking forward to what Shawn had to tell me today.

I played 'Cool' by Dua Lipa on the music system and hummed and danced on the beat.

"Maya, hurry up. Do not waste time, we have a lot to do." My mom's voice echoed around the house.

"Mom, relax. We have ample time. There is no need to hurry." I reassured her while still dancing up on my bed.

"No, we do not. I have to take you to the salon. Get your hair done, facials, pedicure, manicure, make-up. Oh God, we have so much to do. We do not have time for this. Hurry up!" Mom whined.

I swear she had been behaving this way for the last three days. Once she learned that I got a dress from Arlene McDowell, she had been going crazy now and then, detailing every other detail for my prom. She was more excited about the prom than I was.

"Argh, fine! But first, let me shower. I stink in my pajamas." I grumbled.

I could hear her groaning from downstairs.
"Hurry up!" She yelled.

I jumped out of the bed and groaned under my breath. Nonetheless, I walked towards the bathroom and had a hot, relaxing shower, and donned in a black one-shoulder top and a paper bag waist striped shorts. I didn't bother with any touch up as I was going to get a lot of it, anyway.

"Maya! You'll be the death of me. Hurry up, get your butt down here, now!" My mom screamed from the top of her lungs.

"Jeez, Mom, relax. I'm here." I said, running down the stairs.

"Careful, Maya. I told you so many times not to run on the stairs." She warned.

"Bu- Never mind. Let's go." I plucked the car keys from the keyholder and headed our way to wherever my mother wanted.
                                   ~
After taking exactly thirteen turns, we reached my Mom's desired salon, Mia Bella. We reached out to the door and entered the light sky blue interior of the salon. The interiors were designed with bright white lights and several black leather swivel chairs, placed right in front of the clear mirror, decorated with small pale yellow bulbs.

The team of the salon busied themselves with their respective clients, dedicating their time to work on the contemporary hair cutting, coloring, and styling. A young lady, probably around her mid-twenties walked up to us with a welcoming smile and escorted us to the reception desk.

"Hello, how can we help you, Mam?" She asked in her most polite voice.

"Hello. I am here for my daughter. She has a prom dance tonight and for that, she must be looking on her best." She informed the receptionist.

"I see. Well, we have tons of services to offer you. Where would you like to start with?" She asked as she motioned to look over at the price board.

"We would like to start with the pedicures and manicures." Mom informed.

"Okay, and how about you? Would you like to have some services for yourself?"

She hesitated for a second but began to say something. I knew she would decline and I wasn't going to let her.

"Yes, she would. She would have the pedicure, manicure, and facial." I intruded.

"May-" My mom began to say something but I cut her off.

"I don't know any Maya for a few hours. Stay quiet and relax and let them do their job." I advised Mom.

She shook her head but decided to stay silent anyway as she knew arguing with me would be a lost cause.

We comforted ourselves on the soft, leather seat and the stylists began their work. It felt weird to feel them touching my hands and legs and rubbing the sharp objects on and through the corner of the nails. I decided to stay quiet nonetheless and tried to relax, but that didn't seem to be in my favor today.

After a long, rather tiring three hours of self-care and makeover, we were done with the salon part. Well, almost. I was still sitting on the swivel chair, uncountable brushes running through my face all at the same time.

"How long?" I asked in frustration.

"Just a minute." The make-up artist replied.

I huffed loudly and tried to glance at the mirror but the make-up artist just wouldn't let me. After quite some time, she let go of me and walk back, looking at the masterwork she created.

I landed my gaze in the mirror to look at myself. I could say I had never seen such heavy make-up on my face but oddly, I liked what I saw in front of me. They did a fantastic job, and I was happy with my temporary makeover.

Shortly, we left the salon and were on our way to get ready for my prom tonight. I couldn't contain my excitement. I was eagerly looking forward to everyone's reaction. Or more precisely, of a certain someone.
                                    ~
I immediately stormed towards my bedroom, making sure not to trip down and destroy my hair that took forever to style. I reached for the standing mirror to make sure my makeup was still intact. I heaved a sigh of relief after confirming so.

I walked up to my closet and pulled out the dress bag that contained my ravishing dress. I slowly unzipped and pulled it out and impose it again on me for reconfirmation. With that, I snuggled inside pulled in a champagne pink tulle strapped, embroidered with beads, long evening gown. I wore sparkling, sequin silver block heels and paired them with a matching purse.

I looked at myself in the mirror and admired for a few moments. It wasn't ordinary for me to adore how I looked, most of the time. But today, I did and wanted to cherish this moment. I took out my phone and clicked as many pictures as possible and as many angles as I could try. I ended up clicking 37 of them.

Soon, I heard a doorbell and almost jumped. I immediately slid the phone inside the purse and rechecked for all the essential stuff I would be needing. After reassuring it for the last time, I left my bedroom to join my date.

It felt weird to call him my date, to be honest.

I walked downstairs and found Shawn sitting on the couch, conversing with my mom. His gaze landed upon me as soon as he heard the clicking of my heels on the stairs. He stared at me for a complete minute with his mouth gaped open.

It suddenly felt like the whole scenario as a déjà vu. He eyed me from top to bottom as he stood up, and I didn't leave my chance either. He was well-groomed in a black tuxedo and pants with a white shott underneath and a black bow tie, with a white kerchief, rested on the breast pocket of it. His usual disheveled hair was combed perfectly into a neat side hairstyle. He embraced me in a quick hug and the fragrance of his cologne was intoxicating. It took me a few moments to zone in and catch the words that escaped his mouth.

"Maya?" He called, jerking me by my hand.

"Huh?" I replied reluctantly.

"I said you are looking incredible. I might have to save you from all the longing eyes that you are about to receive." He joked, poking my shoulder.

"I wouldn't exactly deny all the attention, even just for a day." I sassed back with a wink.

My mom started giggling and I looked over at her. She had a huge smile, as always, as she looked at us with such admiration and affection.

"You should leave now. It's going to be a long night. You don't want to miss out on all the fun now, do you?"

"Haha okay, fine. We'll leave now. Take care mom."I approached to hug her goodbye, but she stopped me midway. I raised my eyebrow in confusion as she fled inside her bedroom. I looked over at Shawn, and he had a clueless face as well.

We waited for her to come out and after five minutes and thirty-six seconds, she did. Yes, I was counting.

She returned with an instant camera and a bright, wide smile on her face. I scrunched my face as I knew exactly what she wished to do.

"Mom, no!" I warned as she approached us closer.

"Why not? You know it's our family tradition." She replied with a justifying face.

"What is it?" Shawn meddled.

"Ugh. It's a kind of tradition in our weird family to take a photo of me at every event of my life. There wasn't a single event where I wasn't forced to smile in front of that stupid camera." I whined.

"Hey, don't you dare call the camera stupid, Missy." Mom warned in an alarming voice.

"Oh really? Then why didn't we click one on our homecoming dance?" He curiously asked.

"Trust me, I was very happy that they didn't. Luckily, they forgot about it. But the next day, the house was on fire with mom whining about how she missed clicking my photograph on my only homecoming and that continued for a whole week."

"Woah! Then we should let Mrs. Matthews do her job." Shawn winked at mom.

Traitor.

"See! You should learn something from Shawn! He is so mature and understanding."

I rolled my eyes and walked towards him to stand beside him. My mom plastered a wide smile and positioned the camera right in front of her right eye to click the photograph.

"Say cheese." Mom chanted.

Nobody actually says that.

We smiled at the camera and a bright glimmered in front of us.

"There you go. You two look adorable." Mom said as she looked over at the photo.

"Cool. We should go now." I took Shawn's hand and dragged him out of the house.

We walked towards the car and Shawn opened the door like a gentleman. I chuckled softly and got in.

"Ready to go?" He asked.

"Hell yeah!"

And with that, we were off to the venue.
                                  ~
Surprisingly, it took us just an hour to reach the venue as it was a two hour drive, calculating the traffic. Fortunately, there wasn't any traffic, so we made it here more quickly. I pushed the door open and landed my feet on the ground. The area was surrounded by clusters of teenagers, dressed magnificently.

Several flashes twinkled around the yard of the huge white monument of the Swan Banquet Hall. Couples posing with their dates, flocks of friends scattered around everywhere, laughing and vibing, some twirling and dancing around.

It felt nice and strange at the same time. The fact that I wasn't entirely hating it was something very rare for me. I looked around to spot some familiar faces. But there wasn't any. I turned back to find Shawn looking elsewhere, in a direction opposite as mine, as if he was searching for someone.

I was about to ask him if he was waiting for anyone but before that, I spot four people, dressed casually, walking towards us. It didn't take me much time to figure that Lexi, Maddie, Andy, and David were walking towards us. I almost jumped and squealed as soon as I saw them and ran towards them.

"Oh my God! What are you guys doing here?" I asked as I hugged all of them in a group.

"We stopped by to see both of you. And holy Jesus, you look smoking hot, Maya." David complimented as he looked at me from top to bottom.

"Thank you, David." I responded.

I could swear I caught Shawn throwing a punch at David's back. Or maybe, I was just hallucinating.

"He is right. Damn girl, you look hot!" Maddie said as she shoved me with her elbow.

"Haha, thank you so much guys."

"We should probably head inside, Maya. Everyone did." Shawn informed, looking around.

"Sure. Will see you guys later." I blew them a kiss in the air and turned back to walk away.

Lexi suddenly yanked my elbow, making me turn back around.

"You are going to love what it is about to come, Maya." Lexi exclaimed, her voice dripping with utter excitement.

Maddie punched her in her arms and whispered, "Bitch, you were supposed to keep your mouth shut." She turned towards me and said, "Don't mind her. She's just too excited for your prom. Enjoy yourself, Maya."

I furrowed my brows in confusion but decided to not ask any further. I turned around and sauntered towards Shawn to join him. I looked back for the last time, and they all waved us off. I smiled and waved back and walked inside the door.

I gasped in amazement. The hall looked exquisite, matching the theme of the prom, The Great Gatsby. White balloons hanging in the ceiling, white orchids decorated, and hanged around the chandeliers. Few people danced on the dance floor, some sat by the tables and occupied themselves talking to their dates and friends.

We walked towards an empty table and sat down. Shawn sat in front of me and I looked around.

"Looking for someone?" He asked as he sipped the glass of water.

"Not really. I'm just looking around. Hey, I just remember, you were going to tell me something today, right? What is it?" I asked curiously.

"Patience, love. You will see." was all he said and sipped his glass again.

I pouted as I crossed my arms in annoyance. He should have known this by now that I was the last person who liked to be left in a suspense. I felt a light tap on my shoulder and turned around to see Veronica sending me somewhat, nasty glares.

"Hey girl, congrats." She greeted, her voice coated with thick layers of bitterness.

"Umm... thanks, but what exactly for?" I asked cluelessly.

"Don't pretend like you don't already know." She spat yet making sure her tone was obscurely sweet.

I shot her a confused look. I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about.

"You and one other girl are nominated for the prom queen." She tried her best to cover her wrath but failed to do so.

"Wait what? I mean... How? Who even in their right mind would do that? Who is the other girl?"

"Quinn. Speaking of which..." She abruptly stopped, making me look over in Shawn's direction to find her walking towards us.

"Hey, Shawn. You look hot today." Quinn didn't acknowledge our presence and went straight to talk to him, resting her elbows over his shoulder. I didn't know why but that got to my nerve.

"Uh... Hi, Quinn." He hesitated.

"Hey, Quinn!" I meddled in, with the most cheerful voice.

"Oh... Hey. How are you doing? Mind if I take him with me for a dance? Never mind, Shawn let's go and dance." She stated, pulling Shawn by his hand. I stared at her in shock. She had the audacity to blow me off like I was not present there.

"Umm... no, I can't actually. She is my date, and so she owns my first dance." He shrugged her off.

The expression on Quinn's face was priceless. She couldn't believe that she was just rejected by Shawn, the one she clung around like a lizard. I was delighted when he rejected her directly. She scrunched up her face and probably received the hint and left us alone. Veronica left shortly after. Shawn walked up to me with a warm smile.

"May I have this dance, Maya?" He asked as he opened his right hand and stretched it forward in my direction.

"You may." I replied with a smile and I deposited my hand into his.

We stepped on the dance floor and once again danced on the slow song. I entangled my hands with his, and he placed his right hand behind my shoulder and I wrapped my left arm around his arm and placed my hand around his bicep. We moved in the perfect motion of the beat of the song.

"Remember the last time we were here?" His voice echoed softly near my ears.

"Yes. How can I forget? This is where we started our friendship. I clearly remember you asking me why do I hate you."

"Um... Yeah. Funny when I think about it now."

"So do you still think I hate you?"

"No. The tables have turned now. One might say that you may actually like me now." He winked.

"Huh, in your dreams." I shrugged off as he twirled me around.

"Are you sure about that?" He smirked.

"I-"

Our conversation was brutally interrupted by the sudden noise of the mic. Mam Everly stood up on the stage, positioning the mic to speak.

"Good evening my lovely sugar pies. Before I start, I wanted to say that you all look... excellent." She adjusted her cat framed spectacles.

"Don't worry, I am not here for a lecture, I will leave really soon. Trust me, I wouldn't desire anything more right now than to watch these kids getting all gushy with each other. Anyway, I am here for announcing the prom king and queen of this year."

The hall was soon filled with soft murmurs, guessing who was about to win. After a considerable long pause, she continued.

"Alright sugar plums, here we go. The Prom King goes to..." She opened the envelope and examined the name before returning to us, "Shawn Daniels."

The crowd started to whistle and applaud loudly. I jumped out when his name was announced and I hugged him while I was still in mid-air from the jump. He started walking towards the stage but turned back to whisper something.

"Once this is done, meet me at the car in five."

I looked at him in puzzlement, but he left before I could question any further. Mam Everly shook hands with him and placed a king crown and a prom king banner around him. She twirled back on her heels to announce further.

"And for the Prom Queen we have..." she opened the envelope and smile as soon as she saw the name. She plopped it inside and returned to the mic. "The title of Prom Queen of this year belongs to... Quinn Rich." She announced joyously.

The crowd applauded loudly and some whistled and hooted. I clapped my hands as well. I didn't actually feel bad for not winning.

After enjoying the brief moment of feeling like an actual king and  queen, they took off from the stage and Shawn started walking in my direction. But Quinn stopped him in a midway and whispered something that I wasn't able to interpret from the distance. After a discussion of twelve seconds or so, Shawn walked towards me and took my hand, and we walked out of the venue.

We got in the car, and he started driving, opposite to the direction of our houses. It probably was the surprise that Lexi was trying to tell me before she was stopped by Maddie and the thing that Shawn wanted to ask. I patiently waited for us to arrive at the location but impatient was my middle name and it got the best out of me.

After a long silence, Shawn being lost in his own thoughts, I decided to ask.

"Where are we going?"

"You will see." Was all I got, as always.

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