Page 58 of The Wrong Prom Date

I watched her slowly start climbing the stairs to her room, a feeling of defeat welling up inside of me. This was a problem I didn’t know how to fix. I couldn’t force Mom to change because I wanted her to. She needed to want to fix it for herself, but it was clear she wanted nothing of the sort.

I went to my room, not bothering to check if there was food in the kitchen. I already felt certain that there wasn’t. I lay on my mattress and stared at the ceiling for what felt like hours. I’d been so overwhelmed and hopeful about the kiss I shared with Liam today, but coming home to this harsh reality made all that positivity disappear.

Liam was a fairy tale—a fantasy just as elusive as my hopes of escaping to Hollywood one day. He’d been acting when he kissed me, and there was no way he was affected by it in the same way I had been.

He was unattainable, so I needed to push him from my mind and concentrate on the things I could control. There was a talent scout coming to our play, and that needed to be my focus right now. After Mom’s performance tonight, I felt the need to get out of here more than ever.

It didn’t stop me from thinking about Liam’s kiss as I drifted off to sleep though. A girl could dream, after all.

20

Liam

Ireally needed to stop watching Teagan. Whenever she was in the same room as me, my eyes seemed to zero in on her, and I became completely oblivious to everything around me. I couldn’t seem to help it though. Ever since we’d kissed in rehearsal it was like she’d put me under some kind of spell. I’d acted out plenty of kisses before, but they all seemed to blur into insignificance in comparison. They had been neutral and completely platonic. Not one of those kisses had struck me in the heart like the one I’d shared with Teagan.

I was leaning on the back legs of my chair watching her in English when a swift kick to the legs made my chair fall backward. I threw my body weight forward and somehow managed to leap from the chair before it fell to the ground and save myself from completely crashing out. The whole class noticed my near fall though and started laughing.

“Sorry, Mr. Randall, I slipped,” I quickly said as I righted my chair and sat back down. I shot Tanner a hard look, knowing he was to blame. He was sitting next to me, and his cheeky grin only confirmed my suspicions as he gave an innocuous shrug. I’d have to figure out a way to get him back later, but he was far too big for me to repay him in kind.

I faced Mr. Randall once more and saw his eyes were narrowed on me, as though he was waiting for my undivided attention. “Perhaps, if you focus a little more on my class and less on Miss York, you’ll find it easier to concentrate,” he said.

Chuckles drifted around the class, and my cheeks warmed as Teagan slowly turned in her chair to look at me. Her eyes were wide, and her cheeks were flushing pink. When I caught her eye, she quickly looked away, embarrassed.

My head sagged into my hands as the teacher started talking again. I couldn’t believe he’d called me out like that. It was like he enjoyed humiliating me in front of the entire class. If that had been his intention, it certainly worked, because I didn’t dare look in Teagan’s direction again for the rest of class.

As soon as the bell rang and everyone started rising from their desks, I turned to Tanner. “I’m not sure how and I’m not sure when, but you better believe I’ll be extracting my revenge on you for your little prank.”

“Good luck with that, Hollywood,” he said, like he didn’t believe for one second I could possibly get back at him. He didn’t realize how much I observed the people around me though.

“You’re right, there’s no way I could ever uncover your greatest weaknesses,” I said, as I gathered up my books. “How’s Stacy by the way?”

Tanner swore. “How the hell do you know about Stacy?”

“I have my ways.” It was completely accidental, but Tanner didn’t need to know that. Laurie had been talking with one of her friends during class the other day, and they’d been speaking so loudly it was impossible not to hear their conversation. I now knew far too much about Tanner’s on-again, off-again relationship with a girl named Stacy. I was glad I’d followed Tanner’s advice and avoided Laurie though, because she sure did like to gossip.

Tanner looked impressed rather than annoyed. “I guess you’re more perceptive than I gave you credit for,” he said. “How about we call it a truce?”

I laughed and shook his offered hand. “Truce it is.” I really didn’t have time for anything as petty as revenge anyways.

“So, Mr. Randall was out of order for calling you out like that,” Tanner said, as we walked down the corridor to our lockers. A few people smiled at me as I passed, but the excitement surrounding my presence at the school seemed to have calmed down this week, and I wasn’t being stopped every few steps for a photo. It was a massive relief, and I hoped the rest of my time at Lincoln High would be this peaceful.

“I don’t think he likes me very much,” I said.

Tanner laughed. “I don’t think he likes anyone, so I wouldn’t take it personally.”

“I’ll try not to,” I replied.

“So, you and Teagan, hey?” he prompted, nodding his head toward where she was standing at the far end of the corridor. She was smiling brightly as she talked with a girl I didn’t recognize. She always seemed to have such an effortless ease about her, and it didn’t take a genius to see why people gravitated toward her. She was kind and sweet and always made the people around her feel good about themselves. I’d been watching her long enough now to know how special she truly was.

I glanced down at my textbooks as I considered Tanner’s question. “She’s cool,” I finally said. “But there’s nothing going on between us.”

“Really?” Tanner questioned.

“Yeah,” I repeated. “We’re just spending a bit of time together because of the play.”

I kept my voice neutral, but I felt disappointment rise up inside me as I spoke the words. If this week was anything to go by, there really was nothing between Teagan and me. It felt like she’d been avoiding me ever since we’d rehearsed the kiss, and aside from a very one-sided conversation in the auditorium the other day, we hadn’t spoken since.

“It looks to me like there’s something more than just the play between you guys,” Tanner said, his voice more serious than it usually sounded.

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