𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐒𝐀𝐃𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒 - 𝐡𝐬𝐦𝐭𝐦𝐭𝐬 (𝐢𝐢𝐢) | ✔

nineteen

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nineteen: sorry to disappoint you
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     The following day, the Honeycomb was a whirlwind of emotions from morning to night. That was due, of course, to nothing else than Camp Prom. 

     As soon as Maddox made the trumpet sound that morning and after all of them had had breakfast, they ran to ther cabin and began to get ready, even though prom didn't start until nightfall.

     All the girls had their carefully-planned outfits perfectly extended on their beds, so they did not have a single wrinkle for when the time came. Moreover, they spent the majority of the morning simply trying out different make-up looks and hair-dos on each other, so they could decide what each of them was going to wear that night. Even though no dates were allowed to prom, it was obvious that all of them wanted to impress someone that night. That had to be a night to remember.

     "Okay, I am very hyped for this dance tonight," Ashlyn smiled with rollers still in her hair, "but someone needs to explain to me why we're doing a vintage theme for camp prom."

     Gina, as soon as Kourtney stopped putting lip gloss on her, answered: "oh, I think it has something to do with Susan Fine's birthday. Or the day she died."

     "Definitely one of those two."

     "Honestly, I've never known," Maddox entered the conversation. She was already dressed, a beautiful patterned shirt with a big ribbon on the collar worn underneath a maroon dress. 

     "You look beautiful, Mad," Juliette complimented her when the girl approached her and as the rest of them continued talking. 

     "Thank you so much, Juli," she smiled. "And I bet you'll look stunning as soon as you put your clothes on. Planning on having a special dance tonight?"

     "Ben asked me to save him one."

     "You and I both know I wasn't talking about Ben."

     "But you should be, Maddox," the redhead sighed. "It's what's best for me. He's just so nice and so thoughtful... I should like him."

     "Yeah, but I don't think he fits the Ricky Bowen-shaped hole in your heart, does he?"

     Overwhelmed with the conversation, Juliette took her clothes and walked to the bathroom, not without throwing a smile towards Gina while she claimed that that night was all about sisterhood vibes. As she headed there, she could only hope that her feelings were not as obvious to anyone else as, apparently, they were for Maddox.

     Careful not to mess her hair, she undressed and looked at herself in the mirror. Some months ago, she would have probably picked at herself until she was completely destroyed, but she felt no need to do so now. Or, at least, not so much. Ever since she had admitted having trouble eating and ever since E.J. had made it his goal to get her to get better, she felt much more at ease with herself. She was regularly working out and eating what she needed to to stay healthy, all while understanding that food was not there to hurt her but to make her stay alive.

      When she put on her purple dress and her white tights, she looked at herself in the mirror and smiled at her reflection. She liked how that dress fit her, she had liked it ever since she had gone shopping with E.J., Gina, Kourtney and Ashlyn before setting out for camp.

     Getting ready for a dance took her back to their junior prom, which she had attended with Ricky and Big Red back when Ricky and her had not even kissed yet. That same day, she slow-danced her favourite song with her crush, she properly met her now-best friend and, to top the night, Ricky had waited for her on her doorstep and kissed her when she got there.

     Bare-footed, since she had left her boots outside the bathroom, she walked out of the small room and looked at the rest of the girls, who stopped on their tracks when they saw her.

     Her hair was still half-done and Kourtney had yet to do her make-up, but that did not prevent them from telling her how beautiful she looked. It was a fact that purple complimented redheads but it was not just that. Juliette was radiant. Whatever was going on inside her mind, which the girls did not know, made her beautiful on the outside too.

     It was then when Jett entered their cabin, with a mustard-coloured jacket and bell bottoms.

     "Oh my," Gina exclaimed as all of them complimented him.

     "Maddie, can we talk? Alone?"

     Said and done, all of them exited the Honeycomb, some without make-up, some without their hair done and none of them completely prepared. However, being outside did not mean that they were completely unaware of what was happening there, because they could not help it but spy on the siblings.

     At least, that was until a voice startled them from behind: "hi. Is Gagdet still in there?"

     They turned around to see a blonde girl, dressed in a very sparkly and colourful suit which, to be honest, only she could pull off. All of them took a moment to observe her. The girl was unbelievably pretty and it took them some seconds to react and tell her that Gadget was inside, talking to Jett. After thanking them, the girl walked to the door, which they took as their cue to leave.

     "Wow, girls, very pretty," another voice surprised them. Oliver stood there, already dressed and with his hair done, looking at them with a playful smile. The group of girls laughed: they were still half-prepared and, since something important for Maddox was taking place inside their cabin, they were basically locked outside.

     "You like it? We were thinking about just going like this."

     "You definitely should," the boy laughed. "Juliette, can I... talk to you?"

     The redhead nodded, telling the girls that she would not be lond, and walked with Oliver to the opposite side of the cabin, where no one could see her like that. She wanted her outfit to be a surprise.

     "Ben told me you're going to dance with him tonight," he began, "but I'm not too sure about that."

     "What do you mean?"

     "I saw you too at Colour War. And then I saw you with that other boy. And I can tell he's going to get hurt and... I really don't want that. I really care for him and he really likes you but I don't think you do."

     Juliette half-scoffed, looking at him: "why does everyone feel they have the right to comment on my feelings today? I care for Ben too, okay? Probably not as much as you do because I barely know him but I'm trying. I'm trying so hard to- to do the right thing. And I thought I was doing it but I'm not sure there is a safe choice anymore."

     "Forcing you to like someone is not the best choice. It's hardly one at all."

     "I like him. Well, at the beginning of this Godforsaken camp I really thought I would end up liking him but then fucking Ricky shows up and confuses everything like he always does. That's his specialty. And now, all I can think about is how happy I could be liking Ben but all I got is how miserable I am liking Ricky because we cannot happen again."

     "If you really think nothing can happen between you and Ricky, you really are blind, Juliette," he commented. "But the truth is that I don't care about him. I care about my cousin and... I don't really think you should dance with him tonight. Or any night for that matter. It's not the first time he gets his heart broken here."

     "I'm really sorry to disappoint you, Oliver, but I don't think you should be the one to dictate how I manage this. I don't want to hurt him but I have to fix things my own way," she said, before turning around and leaving the boy there, aghast. 

     The only thing she wanted now was to enter her cabin and let herself loose, dance with her friends and have an amazing night. She wanted nothing to do with Oliver, Ben or Ricky, not even E.J. The only thing she wanted was to have fun and not to worry.

     "Come on, Juliette," Gina said, her hands (and Ashlyn's, and Kourtney's) full of make-up bags, hair straighteners and combs. "Maddox needs privacy. Let's go get ready at the boy's cabin."

     Fan-fucking-tastic.