Rafa's POV:
School felt… loud again.
Way too loud.
"PROM IS IN TWO WEEKS!"
CJ's voice echoed through the hallway like he was announcing the end of the world.
"Why are you yelling?" Keagan asked.
"Because this is IMPORTANT," CJ said. "This is life-changing."
"It's a dance," Sam said.
"It's THE dance."
I walked past them, trying to ignore the noise.
After three days away—
this felt like too much.
Too many people.
Too many voices.
Too much everything.
"Rafa!"
I turned.
Angela.
Finally.
I smiled slightly. "Hey."
She ran up and hugged me quickly. "You're back! And I missed EVERYTHING."
"…yeah, sounds about right."
She pulled back, looking at me. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine."
She narrowed her eyes slightly. "You better not be lying."
"I'm not."
"…I'll believe that later," she said.
Fair.
Then—
CJ suddenly appeared next to her.
Way too close.
"Hi," he said.
I blinked.
"…why are you standing like that?"
Angela rolled her eyes. "Because he won't leave me alone."
"I'm literally your boyfriend," CJ said.
I paused.
Looked at Angela.
Then back at CJ.
"…what?"
Sam leaned in. "Yeah. That happened while you were gone."
I stared at them.
"You're dating him?" I said.
Angela sighed. "I know."
"HEY—" CJ said.
Keagan crossed his arms. "We're still questioning it."
"I'm RIGHT HERE."
I looked back at Angela.
"…are you okay?"
She laughed. "Barely."
"Wow," CJ said. "I feel so loved."
Felix walked up beside me, watching the whole thing.
"…you good?" he asked quietly.
"Processing," I said.
"Fair."
Angela looked between us.
Slowly.
Suspiciously.
"…wait," she said. "WAIT."
Oh no.
"What?" I said.
She pointed between me and Felix.
"Something happened."
"No," I said immediately.
"Yes," CJ said at the same time.
"CJ," I snapped.
"WHAT? I saw things!"
"You see things all the time."
"Not like that."
Angela gasped slightly. "You didn't tell me?!"
"There's nothing to tell," I said.
Felix smirked slightly.
"That's not true," he said.
I turned to him. "…don't."
"Don't what?" he said innocently.
"You're making it worse."
"I'm making it honest."
CJ clapped his hands. "OH THIS IS GOOD."
"Shut up," I said.
Angela grabbed my arm. "You're telling me EVERYTHING later."
"…no I'm not."
"Yes, you are."
"Absolutely not."
She smiled. "Watch me."
I sighed.
This is a disaster.
"Anyway," Sam said. "Prom."
"YES," CJ said. "Back to the important topic."
"Who's going with who?" Keagan asked.
Everyone went quiet for a second.
Then—
CJ immediately grabbed Angela's hand. "Already handled."
Angela sighed. "Unfortunately."
"Wow."
Sam shrugged. "I'm going alone."
"Same," Keagan said.
Calix nodded. "Same."
Then—
everyone looked at me.
Oh no.
"No," I said immediately.
"You didn't even get asked yet," CJ said.
"Still no."
Angela smirked. "Too late."
"What?"
She looked at Felix.
And then back at me.
"Oh no," I said.
Felix raised an eyebrow slightly. "What?"
"You're not doing this."
"Doing what?"
Angela crossed her arms. "You're taking Rafa."
"Angela—"
Felix looked at me.
Then smiled slightly.
"…I mean, I wasn't not planning to."
My heart skipped.
"…you're kidding."
"Nope."
CJ lost it. "YES. YES THIS IS HAPPENING."
Sam shook his head. "Of course it is."
Keagan sighed. "I saw this coming."
Angela grinned. "So?"
I stared at Felix.
"…this is peer pressure."
"It's a question," he said.
"It's a trap."
"Same thing."
I hesitated.
Everyone watching.
Waiting.
"…fine," I said.
CJ screamed.
"I KNEW IT—"
"But," I added quickly, looking at Felix, "this is NOT a big deal."
He smiled.
"Yeah," he said. "Of course not."
I narrowed my eyes.
"…you're lying."
"Maybe."
Angela clapped. "THIS IS PERFECT."
"No it's not," I said.
But—
I didn't take it back.
And somehow—
that was worse.
Or better.
I didn't know anymore.
But one thing was clear—
Prom was going to be chaos.
"Prom was going to be chaos."
"Correction," CJ said immediately. "Prom is going to be ICONIC."
"It's going to be a disaster," Keagan muttered.
"Same thing," CJ replied.
Angela suddenly grabbed my arm again. "We're going dress shopping."
I blinked. "…we?"
"Yes, we," she said. "You are NOT showing up looking basic."
"I was literally going to wear something simple."
She gasped. "Absolutely not."
"I'm serious."
"I'm not."
Felix leaned slightly toward me. "…good luck."
I glared at him. "You're not helping."
"I'm enjoying this."
"Of course you are."
Angela started pulling me toward the hallway. "Come on."
"Right now?" I asked.
"Yes, right now."
"I just got back to school—"
"Exactly," she said. "Perfect timing."
CJ followed immediately. "I'm coming too."
"No you're not," Angela said.
"I have opinions."
"No you don't."
"I DO."
Keagan grabbed CJ by the hoodie and pulled him back. "You're staying."
"BETRAYAL—"
His voice faded as we walked away.
Later.
Mall.
Too many people.
Too many dresses.
Too much everything.
"This is overwhelming," I said.
Angela ignored me completely, already scanning racks. "We need something perfect."
"We don't need anything," I said.
"We do," she corrected. "And we're matching."
I stopped walking.
"…what?"
She turned to me, smiling. "Matching dresses."
"No."
"Yes."
"No."
"Yes."
"That's embarrassing."
"That's iconic."
"That's unnecessary."
"That's happening."
I stared at her.
"…you're not giving me a choice, are you?"
"Nope."
I sighed. "…fine."
She grinned. "I knew you'd agree."
"I didn't agree. I gave up."
"Same thing."
After what felt like forever—
we finally found something.
Angela held up two dresses.
Same style.
Different shades.
One soft pink.
One deeper pink, almost rose.
"You like pink," she said. "So this works."
I looked at them.
"…they're actually not bad."
"Not bad?" she said. "They're perfect."
"They're okay."
"They're perfect."
I rolled my eyes. "…fine. They're perfect."
She smiled. "Good."
We both went to try them on.
A few minutes later—
I stepped out first.
The dress fit perfectly.
Of course it did.
Angela stepped out right after.
We both paused.
Then looked at each other.
"…okay," I said.
"…we look amazing," she said.
"I wasn't going to say it first."
"I was."
We both laughed slightly.
"Matching was a good idea," I admitted.
"I know," she said proudly.
"Don't get used to being right."
"Too late."
My phone buzzed.
📩 Felix
"Still alive?"
I smirked slightly.
"Barely. Angela is forcing fashion decisions on me."
A second later—
📩 Felix
"Send pic."
I blinked.
"…no."
Angela leaned over. "Who's that?"
"No one."
"Liar."
She grabbed my phone before I could stop her.
"ANGELA—"
Too late.
She took a picture.
Of both of us.
And sent it.
Directly.
To Felix.
I froze.
"…you did not just do that."
"I did," she said proudly.
"You're actually insane."
"Thank you."
My phone buzzed immediately.
📩 Felix
"…"
Another message.
📩 Felix
"You look—"
Pause.
📩 Felix
"Wow."
I stared at the screen.
"…he's being weird."
Angela grinned. "He likes it."
"He didn't even finish the sentence."
"That makes it worse," she said. "He's speechless."
I rolled my eyes—but I couldn't stop the small smile.
📩 Felix
"You're wearing that to prom?"
I typed back.
"Maybe."
📩 Felix
"Good."
My heart did that stupid thing again.
"…I hate this," I muttered.
"You love it," Angela said.
"I don't."
"You do."
I didn't answer.
Because—
yeah.
Maybe I did.
Just a little.
As we walked out of the store—
bags in hand—
Angela bumped my shoulder lightly.
"This is gonna be fun," she said.
I glanced at her.
Then at my phone.
Then ahead.
"…yeah," I said.
"…it is."
And for once—
I was actually looking forward to it.
Which probably meant—
something was definitely going to go wrong.