Jessica's Fate

Chapter 24

I wasn't quite sure as to where the time went but almost before I knew it, it was prom day.

Started off like any other Saturday had been lately. Latte, kisses and an hour of running with Zack. Well, maybe not an entire hour of running.

Seemed like it was a bit of running and an hour of kissing before we ran back. We didn't have time for lunch at the diner so we'd kissed at the driveway and he drove off, reminding me he was going to be picking me up at 5 pm to take me to dinner before we went to the prom.

He'd just rounded the corner to leave the neighborhood when Gabriel arrived with Sang and I barely managed to stifle the groan that popped to the forefront of my thought process. I would actually rather have had at least another hour to shower and maybe take a nap before he arrived but, then again, I was aware of the rather arduous process to turn me into a prom night princess.

"Hey." I greeted them before opening the garage door and heading into the house.

"Ready for a royal day?" Sang asked as she followed me in, both of us ignoring the huge plastic tote that Gabriel was hefting into his arms to bring in to the house. "Don't worry, he didn't bring an entire salon." She reassured me.

"Good. I think." I frowned slightly.

"None of that." She smiled. "It's going to be fine."

"If you say so." I went to get a glass of water, downing it while Gabriel came in.

"Now... where are we transforming you?" He grinned at me.

"My old room and the bathroom down here if we need it." I said.

"Perfect." He nodded and headed into my old room to put the tote down. There were other noises from the room that I assumed were him fluffing the dress out and setting things up in the room.

"Did you eat breakfast before you ran?"

I blinked at Sang. "No. I had a latte." I said.

She tsked at me and went to the fridge. "So, we'll make you a tad bit of brunch first and then you'll be able to focus better on all the preparations."

"Ah. Okay." I said, watching as she made toast and quickly scrambled me a couple of eggs with some leftover chopped up bacon that was in the fridge from where I'd made a bacon mac & cheese the night before. "Mom's still sleeping, I think."

She shook her head at me. "Actually, she's having breakfast at the diner this morning. She'll be home in a little bit." Sang smiled.

I blinked at her and finished off my water as she brought me the plate of food. "Thanks, Sang." I said softly, picking up the fork and starting to eat. She went and got me some grape juice, knowing it was my preference over orange juice when we had any.

"My pleasure." She said. "So... are you looking forward to tonight? It's at Middleton Place, right?"

"It is." I nodded, eating the eggs. "It should be a lot of fun." I said, looking up at her. "Is it wrong of me to only be looking forward to it because I'll be there with Zack? I mean, if I hadn't met him and started dating him, I think I'd just be staying home tonight because what would be the point in going?"

She settled down on the chair next to me. "I don't think so. I mean, you were very clear at dinner that you were looking at finding someone specifically to go to prom." She said, reaching out and touching my hand. "You asked if you could borrow Luke so I don't think you would have been home alone. You were going to take someone who'd help you have a good time." She pointed out. I nodded slightly. "If at that point you honestly didn't want to go, I think that we could have managed a very nice dinner and movie night at our house for you." She smiled.

I chewed my toast thoughtfully. "Sure." I nodded. "I could see that and you're right. What was the point in asking to borrow Luke?"

She smiled again. "And not only that, but do you think you'd have caved and submitted the application to Harvard after all? You've got a totally different path to follow now. And you're happy."

"Yes, you are." Mom's voice came from the back door and I felt her walk up behind me and press a kiss to the top of my head. "And I love you so much for doing what you want to do. I can't wait to see where you end up."

I smiled. "Thanks, Mom."

She smiled at me and sat down on my other side. "So, did he tell you any of the plans?"

I shrugged. "He's picking me up at 5 and we're going to dinner. Prom runs from 7 to 11." I said. "I didn't ask about anything after."

"Well, you can stay out until 2 am tonight if there's anything you end up doing." She said. "I trust you. He's a very nice boy and I trust him with you." She said before leaning forward and kissing my forehead. "I love you baby girl."

"Love you too, Mom." I said.

"I'm just going to make sure Gabriel hasn't created a full-on salon in that room." She smiled as she got up and went to check on his progress.

"Luke said..." Sang smiled at me. "That if you're leaving prom and he doesn't actually have a plan, to text him. He'll come and open the diner just for the two of you. He'll make whatever you want and just stay in the office until you let him know you're leaving." She said.

My eyes widened. "He said that? That's great. That would definitely be a nice way to wind down."

"And if you want, you could tell him that I can tag along and if the two of you don't want to be alone in the diner, we could come join you for a piece of pie or something at some point. You know, save the awkwardness."

I laughed. "I will definitely let you know. Or him. Whatever." I finished the breakfast she'd made me. "I should probably get moving on the shower I need to take." I said, getting up and clearing my dishes.

"Oh wait. I think he has a shampoo and maybe a body wash he wants you to use." She said before going to ask Gabriel about it.

I heard him respond. "Oh yeah, thanks Trouble. Here. Body wash and shampoo 2 in 1." I rolled my eyes at the sound of a smacking kiss and covered a laugh by rinsing my dishes and sticking them in the dishwasher.

Sang reappeared, a touch of high color on her cheeks and bearing gifts of plastic bottles. "Here. His own concoctions, of course." She smiled as she handed them off to me.

"Thanks." I smirked at her. "Go and give him a thank you kiss from me. I give your permission to kiss him on the lips." I teased. She rolled her eyes at me and her blush deepened as I went past her to head upstairs to my shower.