~Althia~

I stood there alone for awhile until I saw Zach start coming my way
I quickly turned the other way where I headed for the bathroom
My breathing was uneven and I felt like I was going to throw up
A girl came rushing out of the bathroom, bumping into me but I ignored her and pushed the door to get inside
"Whoa, are you ok?" Someone said making me jump since I thought I would be alone
"Jess!" I exclaimed as I saw my best friend at the sink looking at me with a worried look
"Did something happen?" She questioned
"I need to tell you something and you need to promise me that you won't tell anyone else" I told her
"Of course" She promised
"Justin just told me that he had feelings for me" I said
"WHAT?!" Jessica exclaimed
"I don't know! We were dancing and having fun but then I asked him if he was alright since I noticed that something has been bothering him for some time now and then he told me that and left and now I'm panicking and thank god you're in here" I blurted out
"And just when I thought Chloe telling me she was pregnant before running out of here was the most shocking thing that could happen tonight" Jess mumbled but I heard every single word
"CHLOE IS WHAT?!" I yelled looking at her
"I know, it's insane" Jessica responded "But we have a bigger situation to worry about" She said as she went to the door and locked it to make sure nobody else would come in
"I know" I sighed as I closed my eyes
"Okay, you're going to need to tell me everything and we're going to figure this out" Jess told me
I took a deep breath before going over everything, starting with the second Justin asked me to dance
"Then he just left?" Jessica asked
"Yeah" I said "The song ended, I couldn't find my words and he just left like he didn't say anything" I added
"Maybe he's drunk" She suggested
"Jess, we both know that he's not drunk" I told her
"I know" She sighed
We both stayed silent for a few minutes
"I just can't wrap my mind around how he thought telling you that, would make this supposed weight on his shoulders disappear" Jess spoke "I get wanting to tell someone how you feel but telling your best friend's girlfriend, who also happens to be another one of your best friends, that you like her, how does that solve anything?" She questioned
"Honestly it's really fucking selfish of him to even think that telling me he has feelings for me wouldn't affect anything at all" I shook my head "I mean Zach and I had two fights and both times they were about him and now it seems like all he wants to do is drive us further and further apart for a chance to get it" I continued "It's not fair to me, it's not fair to Zach, hell it's not even fair to him yet he still said it" I finished
"Alt..." Jess started but then trailed off "I get that this situation is the worst situation ever to be in but Justin's feelings are just as valid as yours and Zach's" She told me
"You're right" I mumbled "What am I going to do?" I questioned
"We are going to walk straight out of this door and pretend that nothing happened, we are going to enjoy this last half hour of this formal because we fucking deserve it" Jess answered me "We are going to forget everything. We're going to forget about Jeffery and Claire. We're going to forget about pregnant Chloe. We're going to forget about this whole Justin thing. We'll just forget it all until we get to yours where we're going to figure everything out" She went on
"What about Jus? What if he acts weird or something?" I asked her
"Then fuck him" She shrugged "He should feel weird with everything he just laid on you" She added
"You're right" I nodded "Let's go end this dance with a fucking blast" I cheered
"You damn right we are" Jess smiled as she took my hand and unlocked the door
We walked out of the bathroom and saw the whole gang at our table
"There they are" Montgomery pointed at us
Alex and Zach turned around and walked towards us when they saw us
"Everything alright?" They both asked us at the same time
"Yeah, just had to go for some quick touch ups and some girl talk" Jessica answered
"Girl talk?" Alex questioned
"Mmh, girl talk about how our mans be looking fine this evening and how we want to go crazy for these last couple of songs" I responded
"Then let's do it" Zach said as he wrapped his arm around my waist and led me to the dance floor
We all started to dance together, jumping up and down, while yelling out the lyrics
I tried my best to stay in the moment and enjoy myself but Justin was still at the back of my mind. It didn't even seem to bother him. He was dancing and enjoying himself, basically acting like nothing had happened

-
"Wow that was awesome" Monty said as we all walked out of the school
We all agreed with him
"Ugh but I cannot wait to go home and take these shoes off" I groaned as I leaned on Zach
"Alex and I were planning on taking you girls to Rosie's but if you're too tired, that's ok" Zach told me
"Or we could go check out the after party" Alex said "It's up to you guys" He added
Jessica gave me a look saying that it's up to me to decide
"Ouu, Rosie's sounds good" I told them
"Thank God we're not invited to Rosie's" Justin spoke
"Yeah now we can go party and act like our friends aren't ditching us" Montgomery faked a hiss
"Do we have more Jeffs than we thought?" Justin asked
Zach faked a laugh before going to punch the two of them which made them start to run around the parking lot like some kids making Alex join them, surprisingly
"You sure you wanna go to the diner?" Jessica asked me "With everything we need to talk about and figure out..." She trailed off
"Let's just forget for a little while longer" I told which made her smile

//

"Are you sure you're ok" Zach leaned forward to ask me so only I could hear, even though that wasn't necessary
We had made it to Rosie's and we were sitting in a booth in the back. I had my feet up on Zach's lap as my back hit the window while Jessica and Alex sat across from us
They laughed slightly as they fed each other and were in their own little world
"Yeah, I'm just really hungry" I semi-lied to him
"Those desserts didn't do it for?" He questioned
I shook my head as I grabbed another fry
"I'm used to having actual meals at dances" I told him
"Wait, you had real food at your old dances?" Zach asked me, seeming amazed
I nodded as I slightly rested my head on his upper arm
"We would always have pizza or subs, or this one time we had this buffet" I answered him "But you had to pay extra to get the good food or else you would just have a small snack and water" I added
"Ah, there's always a catch in the big city" Zach teased
I laughed lightly before pressing a kiss on his jaw
"Are you really ok?" He asked me again and he turned his head towards me
I nodded my head to reassure him that I was
"Shit!" I suddenly said making everyone at our table look at me
"What?" They all looked at me
"I totally forgot to tell my parents we were coming here" I freaked out "They were expecting us home by midnight, fuck, I'm so going to get yelled at" I went on
"Alt, chill" Jessica spoke "I texted them when we left school, they know that we'll be getting home later" She added before I could say anything
I let out a huge breath
"Thank God" I closed my eyes as I rested my head on Zach
His hand traveled up and down my back tracing random lines
"Wait, how do you have their numbers?" I looked at Jess
"Babes, I'm practically best friends with your parents, I've had their numbers for the longest time" She told me
I opened my mouth to say something but then closed it right back
"You know what? I won't even question any further, thank you" I finally said
We stayed at the diner for a little while longer until Jessica and I grew tired and the boys decided it would be a good time to head home

-

"Zachy, I swear everything is alright and I'm okay" I told Zach for the hundredth time
"Okay, I'm sorry!" He responded as he grabbed my hand "It's just something seems wrong" He added
"I'm just tired, it's been a long night" I replied
Zach turned onto my street
"What do ya say, I stay over tonight?" Zach said
I couldn't see him well but I knew he had a dumb smirk on his face
"Ha, nice try buddy" I laughed "I already have Jess staying over and I'm passing right the fuck out as soon as I get in my room" I added
"You're no fun" He teased me as he turned into my driveway
"Another time" I promised him
I unbuckled my seatbelt and grabbed my clutch
"Thank you for tonight" I told Zach
"It was my pleasure baby" He replied leaning in
In the middle of our kiss someone knocked on his window
"You guys are not making out this time, oh no no no" Jessica said from outside "I'm tired and cold. I wanna take my shoes and makeup off, let's fucking go" She added as she crossed her arms and waited
I playfully rolled my eyes and gave Zach a quick small peck before opening my door and stepping out
"Hey!" Zach said when I was about to close the door
"What?" I looked at him
"I love you" He smiled
"And I love you" I smiled back a goofy smile
I closed the door and went to Jessica where she was making gushy faces, obviously hearing the last exchange between Zach and I
We watched as the boys drove down the street before hurrying inside my house where, to my surprise, some lights were still on
"How was the dance girls?" My dad asked as he appeared in the foyer
"Dad, you didn't have to stay up" I told him as I took off my coat
"I know but your mother wanted to make sure you two arrived home safely and she wanted to stay up but she has an early morning tomorrow and the only way I could get her to go upstairs was if I said I would stay up and wait" Dad explained "Thank you texting us, Jessica, we appreciate it" He added
"Anytime Mr Knight, at least one of your daughters cares enough to tell you about her whereabouts" Jessica joked
My dad joined her in laughing while I playfully pushed Jess
"How was it though?" Dad asked us again
"Dad, as much as we would love to tell you everything, we're pretty tired" I said "But I promise we'll talk about it all tomorrow morning" I added
"Yeah, I really just wanna fall asleep right now and get these damn heels off" Jess agreed with me
"Tomorrow morning it is. It's been a long night, I can only imagine" Dad said
"Goodnight" Both, Jess and I, replied as we started to make our way upstairs
Dad responded with the same thing

"Alright, what are we talking about first?" Jessica asked me once we had gotten in my room and started getting ready for bed
"Jess, I really am super tired and I kinda just wanna sleep" I told her as I took my makeup off
"Alt, I love you and everything, but we have a bunch to talk about" She reminded me as she brushed her hair
"Yes I know that" I replied "But I just wanna sleep it off and talk about it tomorrow with a clear mind you know" I added
"True, true" She nodded her head "But tomorrow we are talking about everything, no if's, and's or but's. I'm dead serious" She looked at me
"We will discuss every single event that happened tonight, tomorrow morning as soon as we wake up" I promised
"Ok" She responded
We finished what we were doing and got changed before getting in the bed and passing out as soon as our heads hit the pillow.

———————
Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
Much love as always xx