Cross Your Fingers

When Izy woke up she wished she hadn’t the splitting headache was enough to make her never want to wake up. She was on the couch with John while Justin and Stephen were passed out on the floor. Looking around she also took in the mess the house was in. She groaned this was going to take a long time to clean they were going to have to start soon. Before she could do anything though she was going to need advil and food, so she headed into the kitchen.

Like the living room it was also a mess and somebody was passed out on the counter. She walked over and saw Weston. “Weston,” she tried to gently nudge him awake. “Weston wake up.”

“Where am I?” he asked clearly out of it.

“You’re still at my house,” she informed him while heading over to the cabinet where they kept the advil. Opening the bottle she took two pills for herself and then handed two to Weston. “So do you know if JF is here too?” she asked.

“I didn’t even know I was here,” he answered.

“Good point.” She started going through the kitchen getting the supplies needed to make pancakes. She started making them and her and Weston didn’t say anything to each other while waiting for the headaches to start to die down. While she was cooking people started to join them in the kitchen. First was Justin who wordlessly came into the kitchen grabbing some advil and a pancake from the stake Izy had already made. Next was John he came in and went over to Izy gently kissing her and saying good morning. Stephen came in shortly after looking grumpy.

Something was off but she couldn’t put words to it until she had some food and her brain started to work again. “Where’s Jess? Did she leave?” she asked the group that just shrugged in response. “Well since you’re all just going to sit there I’ll go see, don’t worry guys,” she said. The guys all agreed to the idea of Izy finding Jess and she left the room.

She checked all the rooms downstairs before heading upstairs. She checked the first two rooms which were both empty. She reached the third room, which was a guest room. They do say that the third time is the charm. She opened the door and looked inside but then shocked she closed it again. Her jaw dropped she had found Jess who was passed out in bed next to JF while their clothes were scattered around the floor. She didn’t want to be the one to wake them up so she just went downstairs.

“Did you find her?” John asked when she joined the guys in the kitchen again.

“Yeah and JF is still here too,” she said.

John didn’t say anything at first. “Wait Jess and JF were they together?” he asked.

“Yep,” she said as she nodded her head.

Later on in the day Jess joined them followed by JF 10 minutes later. “It’s about time you graced us with your presence Jess,” Izy greeted her friend. “We should probably start trying to clean up the house so me and Justin don’t get murdered by our parents. Jess and me will take upstairs and you guys can take downstairs.” She led Jess upstairs before she could protest. “Ok spill,” Izy demanded.

“Whatever are you talking about?” Jess asked.

“Well I was looking for you this morning and I saw you and JF. The two of you looked pretty cozy,” Izy pointed out.

“Oh yeah that,” Jess started to turn red.

“Yes that. So what’s going on do you like him or was it just a one night thing?” Izy questioned.

“I do like him but I don’t really think we would work out. It’s probably not a good idea anyways with the band and everything. I just couldn’t stand watching him drool all over Melisa and then things went from there.”

“Aw Jess you don’t know what would happen, if you like him you should go for it,” Izy encouraged her friend.

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,”

“Come on Jess you’re a senior you should have some fun.”

“I will at the prom next week, that you won’t be able to go to if we don’t get your house clean,” Jess changed the subject.

“Fine,” Izy said while absentmindedly pulled her hair back securing it into a ponytail.

“And what were you and John up to last night?” Jess asked suggestively.

“The usual,” Izy said.

“Oh yeah and does the usual always leave you with a giant hickey?”

“What are you talking about?” Izy questioned while her hand reflexively went to the side of her neck.

“Other side,” Jess told her. Izy went to look in the mirror and when she did she saw Jess was right. This wasn’t good John can’t see this. Izy knew it had to be from Stephen. Before starting to clean the house she grabbed a scarf and wrapped it around her neck to hide the hickey.

When the two girls had finished cleaning the upstairs to see how the guys were doing. Surprisingly they were almost done, so Izy and Jess helped them out.
“Izy why are you wearing a scarf? It’s like 100 degrees right now,” Justin exaggerated. “You have a hickey don’t you?”

“Nope I don’t have a hickey,” she lied. “I’m just making a fashion statement.”

“Yeah sure,” Justin said before moving and taking the scarf away from her. “I knew it.” She looked over at John who looked slightly angry but he didn’t say anything, which kind of worried her.

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The day of prom Jess and Rose got to Izy’s house early and together the three girls helped each other get ready. The finishing touches were put on hair and makeup before the girls slipped into their dresses. Rose’s was a pretty blue color that brought out her eyes. It had beading on the waist and one strap that went over her left shoulder. Jess’s dress was cute and fun. It was a short silver strapless dress with a black and silver train trailing out behind her.

After Izy put her dress on she finished getting ready by adding a silver karma necklace that dangled delicately around her neck. She lifted up the end of her floor length red dress slightly so she wouldn’t trip on it as the girls started to walk out to where their dates were waiting. Taking one last look in the mirror at how the strapless gown clung to her body. The girls walked downstairs where the guys were already waiting. Right when Izy came into view she had both John and Stephen’s eyes on her, but hers where only focused on John’s. She smiled at him and he smiled back but his smile didn’t quite reach his eyes.

Right away everyone’s parents insisted they start taking pictures. They started out with a group shot. Then the girls got together for a couple pictures followed by a group shot of the boys. Next they did the couples photos. Izy and Stephen smiled while she put his boutonnière on him. He smiled at her and she smiled back but her gaze was directed to John over Stephen shoulder. She finished securing the boutonnière and they stood side by side for a few more pictures. He placed his hand on her waist and for the last picture he kissed her cheek.

“This is how things should be,” he whispered into her ear before they moved apart. She pretended he didn’t say anything and was relieved to be done with photos before her mom and John’s decided that they needed a picture of the couple. John glared at Stephen momentarily then walked over to his girlfriend. He felt the need to out do Stephen at the end, so in the final picture he turned her head towards him and kissed her lips while their parents snapped a quick picture each.

Finally the group was out of there. There was a limo waiting for them outside ready to take them to the hotel where the prom was being held. They stepped out and together they entered prom. People were already dancing in the overly decorated ballroom. Izy was having a good time until Jess stopped.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” she said to Izy while staring at the door. Izy looked over and saw Melisa walking in on the arm of JF. He dress was short tight and purple.

“Forget about her if JF hasn’t realized that she isn’t worth it by know he will eventually and then you’ll be there to snatch him up,” Izy tried to make her friend feel better. It didn’t really help though the girl was still furious. “Ok come on. You need to get out of here for awhile.” She went over to John and told him she was going to the bathroom. Her and Jess walked out into the lobby and Izy waited for Jess to come down.

“God it just had to her didn’t it,” Jess let out her frustration.

“Jess you just need to talk to him about how you feel. I know you don’t want to mess things up but you can’t do this to yourself. You deserve to be happy,” she told Jess. Jess was about to say something but she stopped as Stephen joined the two girls. He had seen Jess was upset and then her and Izy leaving the room so he went out to see what was going on.

“Is anything wrong?” he asked concerned.

“No everything is a ok,” Jess responded. “I just need some fresh air you and Izy can head back in I’ll be there in a minute.” Izy didn’t really want to leave Jess alone right now but she knew Jess wouldn’t talk about any of this in front of Stephen, so she reluctantly went back into the dance with him. John saw them as they walked back in together. Right away he was suspicious about the two coming back in together but when they reached him he didn’t say anything.

“Sorry about that,” Izy said before giving him a quick kiss. She could taste a trace of alcohol on his breath. Izy was having a good time but John didn’t really seem like he was. She was worried about him but she put it to the back of her mind and tried to enjoy herself.

The night was coming to an end when the music stopped and one of the chaperones took the stage. “It’s time to announce your prom king and queen.” The crowd eagerly waited to hear the results.

“And you prom king is Stephen Gomez,” the teacher announced to cheers from the crowd. John quickly left Izy’s side and disappeared into the crowd. Before Stephen had gotten up to the stage John had somehow gotten there before him and grabbed the microphone.

“Hi everyone.” Izy froze wondering what he was doing and Stephen had made it onstage by know looking surprised. “As you probably know I’m not Stephen Gomez I’m his brother. You all know Stephen he seems like a pretty nice guy. Right? And how many of you know my girlfriend, Izy Godsey, Justin’s little sister? We’ve been dating for a while know but recently I found out that her and Stephen had been seeing each other behind my back. So give it up for your prom king Stephen Gomez.” Shock took over Izy she didn’t think John would ever have to find out since she ended things with Stephen. The crowd was silent taking in what had just happened while John walked off the stage.

When John walked by her Izy tried to stop him. “John wait,” she desperately reached out for him, but he removed his arm from the grip she had on him. Without saying a word to her. She saw Melisa walk up to him and whisper something in his ear. He stopped momentarily before putting his arm around her and walking away. Izy felt heartbroken as tears started to fall from her eyes.

“Is it true?” Jess asked her with her voice full of concern.

“I don’t want to talk about I just want to go home,” she told Jess while she tried to wipe tears from her eyes, but it was useless the water wouldn’t stop falling from her eyes.