Deception

Shane, my hairstylist, put my hair in a neat bun, a ring of plastic pearls adorning it. "Who's the lucky boy?" he asks, spraying a mist of hairspray around my head. I cough. "You can't be doing all of this just for you."

"I could be."

He gives me a look. "I know you, Kaleb."

I take in a deep breath. "He's just a friend."

"It's this guy named Alex, and he's kind of cute," Miranda blurts out from the couch. Her curled hair bounces as she laughs, Shane raising an eyebrow. He tilts me head toward the ceiling. "I mean, he's not really my type, so..."

"Tell me more about this...Alex," he says, blond, plucked eyebrows still raised. "Miranda, dear, is he good enough for our little princess?"

Miranda suppresses a giggle. "There are arguments for both sides."

> >

I place my hands around Alex's neck. "This is the last one; I can't stand being here," I say as someone elbows me in the back. "What is everyone's problem?"

Alex shrugs. "They're jealous that you look better than they do," he replies.

They're jealous that I'm slow dancing with the Alexander William Gaskarth. I feel another quick jab in the back, but this time, it's Miranda and Jack, waltzing gracefully by. We raise our eyebrows.

"Did you know...?" I start.

"I had no idea he could actually dance," Alex says in awe. He clumsily steps on my bare toes. "Oh my God, I'm sorry, Kaleb."

"It's okay," I say through gritted teeth.

The sequins on my aubergine mermaid dress sparkle under the dim strobe lights. Alex and I sway back and forth, unsure whether or not to move. We stay stationary, watching other couples dance around us in shades of emerald, ruby, sapphire, gold.

"You look really great," he says, smiling. "I mean, really great."

"Thanks."

The song fades into an upbeat one, and everyone's grinding on each other. Jack and Miranda run towards the tables before they're enclosed by crazy dancers. Alex and I do the same, and we sprint back to the limousine. Kara and Rian are somehow already there, sitting comfortably.

"Let's open the sunroof. It's blazing hot in here!" Miranda exclaims, waving her hand in her face to cool off. "Ugh, everyone was way too close in there; it was disgusting."

"That's why we went out for some air," Kara replies, adjusting her short navy blue dress.

"Air?" Miranda repeats, eyebrow raised. Kara hits her.

Jack sticks his head out the sunroof and screams at the top of his lungs. "I never have to go back to high school again!" he shouts, and the cars around us honk at him to pipe down. "Thank God for graduation!"

"We've got two weeks," I say, but Jack can't hear me, he's shouting so much.

Miranda pats my knee. "You need to let him pretend that nothing important is happening anymore. We all need that. Sometimes, all we need is to be lied to."

I furrow my brow. "I think that's the worst thing you've ever said. Ever."

She smiles. "Kaleb, sometimes we need a lie to help us keep going. I'm not saying lie to someone about eating the last cookie in the cookie jar, but sometimes, pretending that things are okay, even just for a little bit, helps us overcome hurdles."

We stop at McDonald's in our expensive dresses and tuxes, buying McFlurries and fries. "I think this is probably the most fun I've had in a while," Rian admits, picking out his M&Ms. "We didn't have to spend all this money for prom; I think if we hung out in Alex's garage in our nice clothes and went out to eat here instead of that French restaurant, we would've had the same amount of fun, maybe even more."

"But who wants to hold a rebel prom?" Kara asks.

Alex and Jack look at each other and smirk.

"Guys, you missed your chance. You can't have a second prom," Miranda says, rolling her eyes.

"That's what you think." Alex nudges Jack. "We're doing this after graduation, having a second prom. And we're setting up dances in lots of peoples' garages, so people can go around to each of them."

"Miranda, why do you have to be such a downer?" Jack asks, frowning. She punches him in the arm.

"I don't think we need a second prom. I think what we need is a vacation from all this stuff before beginning a new life away from here," I say, reaching for the fries. "We could all use a break from all this high school drama bullshit."

Miranda holds up her McFlurry. "Cheers to getting out of high school, thank God. It's been one helluva year, and we all made it. We're graduating, and we'll never have to return to all this bullshit where people make up shit about each other just for kicks. We don't have to return to a bunch of assholes spilling their leftover cafeteria food on us. We don't have to return to people who pretend to be our friends to hurt us. And now, we're moving on and flying towards the bright horizon."

We all press our cups against Miranda's, shouting "cheers" at two in the morning at McDonald's, the janitorial crew giving us strange, steady looks.