Just Pretend

Ivory Petals

"Can I go to prom this Friday?"

My mom drops her bag by the door, "Prom? Do you have a date?"

"Well, yes!" I say, "I do. Can I go?"

"But... aren't prom dresses mostly sold out now?" She asks.

Shoot. I forgot about that part.

"I'm sure it'll be fine"

-----

"Well, you still have that dress from your 6th grade recital"

I sigh, "this is a disaster."

"Let me check my closet and see if I have anything," My mom says as she leaves the room. We just got back from the mall, empty-handed. It turns out you're supposed to buy your prom dress a few months in advance, not a few days before. Who knew?

"Y/N! Y/N!" My mom calls as she rushes back into the room, "You'll never believe what I just found!"

"What?!"

She shows me a stunning red dress, sequins sparkling, even in the dim light of our living room.

"Where did you find that?" I shriek.

"I found it in the back of my closet from an old friend's wedding. It's your size too! Isn't this a miracle?"

I smile.

"Thanks, mom"

----- 

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The rain falls around me as I wait in the driveway. I protect myself with an umbrella as I hope to see a pair of headlights pulling onto our street.

"I'm sure he'll be here soon" My mom reassures.

"I hope so," I sigh. Soon enough, a black car turns onto the street and stops in front of our house. Beomgyu jumps out of the driver's seat and runs up to us.

"I'm so sorry I'm late!" he gasps, "there was a lot of traffic getting here"

"It's fine" I laugh.

"So this is your date" My mom muses, "it's lovely to meet you..."

"Beomgyu" He answers, water dripping down his bangs and onto his face.

"Beomgyu," she repeats, "well, you two better get going if you want to make it in time!"

He lifts his sleeve to check his watch, "You're right! We're already late"

"Bye mom" I whisper as we hurry to his car.

He opens the door for me, smiling, and I slide into the passenger seat as he closes the door behind me. He then gets back into the driver's seat and starts up the car.

It's a quiet drive to the venue. I try and think of something to say or some way to thank him for agreeing to go with me. Maybe it would've been better to just confess to him... that way, wether he agreed to go or not, I wouldn't feel indebted to him.

"Thank you for doing this, by the way" I mutter.

"Of course!" He grinned, "to be honest, I'm kinda looking forward to going"

I laugh, "me too"

Soon enough, we've arrived at the location. We can see people filing into the venue through a small set of double doors.

"Wait!" He exclaimed, "I forgot something!"

He quickly parks the car and turns to the back seats, searching through various papers and receipts for something.

"Found it!" He displays a small, clear box. Inside is a delicate arrangement of ivory flowers, so bright that they seem to glow.

"Wow, it's beautiful" I admire.

"I wasn't sure what color your dress was going to be, but I figured white would probably match it, right?"

"Absolutely," I continue, still in a trance from the dream-like petals, "Beomgyu, I-"

"Here," He gently takes it from the box and adjusts it around my wrist. His warm hands graze mine as he traces my skin. He looks back at me, "perfect"

The corsage was pretty, yes, but it paled in comparison to his eyes. They had this depth to them, warm and sweet that seemed to spark a million emotions in my chest. He looked at me like he could see right through all my disguises. A cinnamon-tinted gaze that felt like coming home. 

"We should go inside, huh?" He murmured.

"Probably"

The car door pops open as he walks over to my side, opening the door for me once again.

I laugh, "Y'know, you don't have to pretend when no one else's around"

"I'm not pretending," he drawled, "it never hurts to be a gentleman"

I giggle. We walk towards the venue, only centimeters between us. As we inch closer to the doors, we're welcomed by someone I only vaguely recognize.

"Beomgyuuu~" He calls, "I thought you said you weren't coming?"

"Yeonjun!" Beomgyu greets, "I wasn't planning on it, but then Y/N asked me, so I agreed"

"OoOoh," Yeonjun teases, "Good for you, man. I'm glad you could make it"

"Oh, I should introduce you two. Yeonjun, this is Y/N, my date. Y/N, this is my friend Yeonjun"

My face heats up as he calls me his date, even though I know it's just pretend.

"It's nice to meet you," I call.

"You too. I have to say though, you're too pretty to be with someone like Beomgyu. Wanna be my date instead?" He flirts. If I wasn't blushing before, I definitely was now. "I'm kidding, just a joke. So, you two got your tickets, right?"

We both pause in unison, hit with the same haunting realization. We turn to each other.

"By any chance, did you..." He asks. I shake my head no.

"Damn, I'm sorry" Yeonjun laments.

My first time going to a school dance and I forget to buy the tickets. Just great. Beomgyu's going to think I'm such a fool and never talk to me again.

"What should we do?" I ponder.

As we reach the front of the line, Yeonjun apologizes, "I'm sorry guys, it's my turn so I really should go. I hope you figure something out though!"

We thank him and choose to exit the line, walking back into the parking lot. The rain decided to take a pause, so we sit on the curb in silence. 

"This is all my fault, I'm sorry. I ask you to go with me and fake this whole thing only to not plan enough to buy the tickets"

"Hey, it's okay," he comforts, "It was an accident. I didn't think of it either."

"Yeah," I mumble as I rest my head in my hands. 

"Besides, you were just doing this so your mom stopped bothering you about it, right?" I nod. He continues, "So, if we just kill time for a few hours, she'll have no idea that we didn't actually go to prom"

I chuckle, "yeah, but... I don't wanna waste your time on something like lying to my mom"

"I already agreed to go with you, didn't I?" He jumps up and walks over to the car, "let's go somewhere. It'll be fun"