Chapter 29
Ipeeked out my blinds for the millionth time, checking once again on the house next door. The front door still hadn’t opened, and my eyes were starting to burn from the staring contest I was having with it.
And honestly, I probably set the new world record for no blinking.
When I was a kid, I used to take up the same position in the living room.
After school, I’d part the blinds—which Mom always scolded me for—and watched Maisie’s house until she finished her homework and was allowed outside to play.
It was a little funny to think that now, even after all these years, I found myself right back here again.
My legs were beginning to cramp when the door finally opened, and after a second, Maisie stepped out.
I jerked away from the window immediately, heart launching full speed in my chest. Calm down, I told myself sternly, pressing a palm to my chest. It’s just Maisie. She’s just coming over to look at dresses. You were fine when you offered it last night—why are you freaking out now?
Last night, after halftime had finished and after I’d changed back into my cheer uniform, I’d found Maisie by the bleachers.
“How’s Jade?” Maisie had asked, turning the bouquet of flowers over in her grip.
“Pissed,” I’d replied, offering an awkward smile. “But I think she realizes that she lost the game she was playing. Or maybe she realized that she was the only player.”
We hadn’t talked about what happened freshman year, and we didn’t talk more about Jade, but I had asked her if she was excited about the homecoming dance. She’d replied she didn’t have a dress. And then the words “You can come look at my closet, if you want” came out.
Which… craziness.
What was even crazier was that Maisie had accepted.
A soft knock came on the front door, once more sending my pulse into cardiac arrest territory.
“I’ve got it!” I shouted to Mom, hoping she’d stay in the living room. The last thing I needed was her crying in the foyer because Maisie and I were inching toward friendship again.
Tears pricked at my own eyes. We were, weren’t we?
Calm down, Madison.
I hauled the front door open to reveal Maisie standing on the welcome mat, rubbing her arm. She pushed her black glasses up.
“Hey,” I greeted awkwardly.
Maisie smiled just as awkwardly. “Hi.”
We both laughed at the same time, shattering the tension. “Come in,” I urged, stepping out of the way so she could. “I’ve already pulled out the ones I think would work best.”
“It’s funny,” Maisie murmured as I shut the door behind her. “Your house smells the same.”
“Bad?”
She shook her head. “It’s nostalgic.”
We walked down the short hallway to my bedroom, and her footsteps creaked behind me. It was almost a surreal feeling, like we were being transported back in time. Weird, but in a way I found that I enjoyed.
When Maisie came into my bedroom, she glanced around the space, giving a small nod. “This looks the same, too.”
“I’m pretty consistent.”
“Not true. Last night was very out of character for you.”
“I guess so.” Thinking about last night was strange—another thing that could’ve felt like a dream.
The game ended up going into overtime, but Brentwood secured their homecoming game win with a six-point lead.
The student section had lit up into deafening screams, and even though I was excited, I couldn’t quite tap into the earth-shaking enthusiasm.
Maybe it was because everything that had happened, but when it came to celebrating the win as a Brentwood Babe, it was just…
different. I’d been saying that word a lot lately. “Anyway, here are the dresses.”
Maisie thumbed through the fabrics I had laid out on my bed. I’d only found three or four that I thought would look good on her—dresses that were subtle in color but still flattering. She scrunched her nose at the last one. “You think I can pull off pink?”
“I do. I actually think that one would look the best on you.” It’d work the best with her skin tone.
That was enough to convince her to try it on.
She headed down the hall to the bathroom, and I sat in my desk chair, drawing my knees to my chest. I wanted to bring up freshman year, but the fear of that conversation still clung to me.
It was shameful, but I still pushed it aside, as if I could pretend it never happened to begin with.
When Maisie came back from the bathroom, I instantly knew she didn’t have to try the others on.
Judging from the small, pinched smile on her face, she thought so too.
It was a soft baby pink that was a bit off-the-shoulder, and the hemline on her fell just above her knees.
The tulle underneath the skirt added a bit more volume, which extenuated her waist more, creating a beautiful silhouette on her.
“That’s the one,” I told her, folding my legs. “And you should just keep it, because it looks made for you.”
“I can’t imagine you in this,” Maisie said with a slight chuckle, smoothing a hand down the front.
“I wore it to the basketball homecoming sophomore year.” Jade had wanted us all to wear pink. It was a cute dress, but I’d hated how I’d looked in it. I’d felt frumpy and hideous, even more so beside the perfect way her dress had fit her. “It hasn’t seen the light of day since.”
“Well, you’re right. I think this is the one.
” Maisie looked at herself one more time in my full-length mirror before heading back to the doorway.
Her steps faltered as she hesitated on the threshold.
“You know, Connor’s coming over later,” she began, glancing back.
“And Rachel and Ava are coming. I mean, I don’t know if you have a ride planned or anything, but…
you could ride with us, if you wanted. To the dance. ”
The stilted, awkward, but pure-hearted invitation was so Maisie that it nearly made my feet kick. Heck, I could’ve kicked my feet at the fact that she offered it at all. I wanted to say yes solely for that reason. “I don’t even know if I’m going, actually.”
“You have to go,” Maisie protested, eyebrows raised. “They haven’t announced Homecoming Queen. It might be you.”
I chuckled a little, because we both knew who’d win that crown. “The chances are never zero, I guess. But I don’t really care about winning.”
“It’s your senior year,” she said, attacking from a different angle. “You can’t miss your last homecoming dance.”
And that, right there, was probably the winning reason. It was my last homecoming dance at Brentwood High. Maisie was right—I’d regret not going. “Even if I don’t have a date?”
Maisie rolled her eyes. “You don’t need a date.”
“Says the girl who has one.”
She pressed her lips together at that, a sheepish look washing across her face. She hurried from my bedroom then, as if she could escape what she’d said, and I couldn’t help but laugh. Maisie hadn’t changed a bit.
I hopped up from my bed and began putting the other dresses back into my closet.
They were all ones, I realized, that Jade had picked out herself.
Dresses I’d bought and told her I’d liked, but ones I wouldn’t have picked out myself.
Like the pink dress. How long had I been a little doll in Jade’s life that she could make do whatever she wanted?
I hadn’t even picked out a dress that she hadn’t approved of first.
I moved back over to my bed and picked up my phone from where it rested amongst my covers. No texts from Jade, from Riley, or anyone in the Top Tier, but there was one from Logan. We’d been going back and forth on what we were going to do for our next date.
Logan: I don’t know, I think I could school you in that basketball game at the arcade if we tried again
Me: what are you doing tonight?
The doorbell rang ten minutes before eight o’clock.
My heart skipped a beat, and I readjusted the strap of my blue floor-length gown once more, careful not to scratch my skin with the sequins. It was the same dress I’d worn for the Homecoming game yesterday, but I felt worlds lighter putting it on tonight.
After checking my teeth for lipstick one last time in my mirror, I left my bedroom and practically pranced barefoot to the front door. I knew who waited on the other side, and I couldn’t wait to see what he looked like.
Except when I pulled the door open, I didn’t find Logan in a dazzling suit jacket with a blue tie that matched my dress. Instead, he wore a pair of jeans with wrinkles near the hem, and a dark blue sweatshirt that said BOBCATS on it.
“What are you wearing?” I demanded.
“You’re rubbing off on me,” Logan replied with an almost boyish grin, like a child proud of a drawing they’d done. “It was a little traitorous buying this, but I got it online, so not as painful.”
I, however, was not impressed with his public display of treason. “You’re in jeans. Totally not homecoming attire.”
Logan’s face fell a little then, and I realized the boyish smile he’d given had been more of a mask, anyway. He released a soft sigh. “I can’t go to your school dance, Madison.”
I didn’t want to step back and let him into the house, as childish as it sounded. “Why not?”
“Well, for one, I didn’t fill out any forms.”
I blinked. “You have to do that?”
“And for two, I know you know how bad of an idea it is.” Even though I didn’t step backward, Logan came forward, crossing the threshold so he could glance his fingertips off my cheek. “I love that you’re standing up for what you think is right. What you did for Maisie last night was amazing.”
I fought the urge to lean into his touch. “But?”
“But let’s not push the envelope all in one weekend.”
He probably had a point. I’d be really tempting fate. “Give me a few minutes, and I can change—”
“Oh, no. You’re going.” Logan pulled his other hand from his hoodie to salute me. “Chauffeur Castle, at your service.”
“I don’t want to go if you don’t go.”
“If you want us to go to a homecoming dance together, you can come to mine. Less dangerous that way. No rogue cheerleader is going to spill her punch on us.”