The Crush Plan

10

"Mom and Dad couldn't stop praising you," Caden filled me in, while we continued our walk to the lockers.

I smiled, pleased. "Really? They're too sweet."

The halls were already quite empty, considering it was Friday and dismissal was literally a minute away. I stopped walking when I remembered I was invited to Edith Stonehall's banquet. I'd totally forgotten, and was actually planning on spending my evening with Candice, wrapped up in my blanket and watching our favorite movie, A Walk To Remember.

"What's the matter?" Caden asked, confused as to why I stopped walking all of the sudden.

I shook my head, sighing. "Nothing." I resumed walking, while Caden followed after. "Hey, are you going to Edith Stonehall's banquet?" I inquired, seeming all casual.

He shrugged, not really caring, as if. "Depends if I'm in the mood. Why, are you?"

"Yeah, I actually like banquets," I lied, cringing as I did.

Caden nodded. "Alright, I'll come, then."

We paused on our tracks when we spotted Candice and Alfonso, talking by her locker. They were both exchanging looks at one another occasionally, their expressions quite flirtatious. My eyes widened in confusion and I stalked over to them questioningly.

"Hey, man," Alfonso greeted Caden. "Hi, Autumn."

I smiled at him faintly. "Are you guys coming to Edith Stonehall's banquet?"

Alfonso nodded immediately. "Of course. It's going to be one fun night."

"Yeah, you?" Candice asked, and I moved my head up and down in confirmation.

It didn't really surprise me that Candice was invited, since Edith wanted to join the debate team, and there wasn't enough room for her. But since Candice was the head official, she was the one in charge of such things, so if Edith really wanted to participate in the debate team, she had to be in Candice's good books.

"Autumn, I'll see you at the banquet, then, okay?"

I waved at Caden. "Okay, bye."

Once the boys were gone, I nudged Candice's arm. "What is brewing between you and Alfonso?"

"Nothing," she lied, biting her lip as she blushed.

I glared at her in insistence. "Candice."

She huffed, irritated. "Oh, come on, am I that easy to read?! What gave it away?"

"Well, for starters, you're blushing. And second, you were flirting with him when I saw you guys first."

Candice rolled her eyes, fed up. "I get the point, Autumn, you're too smart for me..."

I smirked in attempts to mock her. "Well, what is it?"

"I like him," she revealed to me. "He's just so... Gentlemanly. Pretty much why Caden is friends with him, I guess."

I thought intently as I put two and two together. "That makes sense."

Candice sighed. "Yeah... Now, don't you think we should go home? We still have so much to get done before the banquet. Let's go!" Before I could utter anything, she hauled me out to her car.

I figured we really did have a lot to get done.

***

"Rule number one!" Candice countered, her eyes locking with mine. "Stay classy."

I raised my eyebrows. "How do I do that?"

She motioned for me to wait. "Firstly, you dress nice. And secondly, you have to act like a lady. You show some confidence—guys love girls who are confident. You show them the bring-it-on attitude."

"Makes sense."

Candice smiled, a glint of motivation in her smile. "Next rule. Do not and I repeat, do not seem desperate. You have to show them that you don't need a guy in your life to be happy. Okay?"

I gave her a thumbs-up sign. "Got it."

"And the third and for now, last rule," she started, getting up and searching around her room with her eyes. They landed on her wardrobe and she crossed over, fishing through it for what I was assuming to be appropriate clothes for the banquet.

My mouth was ajar when I noticed the type of clothing Candice had picked out. For now, she'd zeroed in on two dresses. One of them being a red, sparkly dress that would probably reach up to an inch above my knees. It was sleeveless, with a silver belt around the waistline. The other dress was a baby blue one, which was designed the same, but it was strapless—unlike the red one. My eyes traveled over to Candice and I hastily shook my head, while she snickered slyly.

"Candice," I said, gritting my teeth in agitation. "No."

She ogled evilly. "Autumn. Yes."

I glowered at her in obstinacy. "No."

"Yes."

I exclaimed, "Candice!"

She mimicked me, picking up the blue dress and throwing it at me. "Autumn!"

"Can't I wear something else?"

Candice sighed, flopping down on her bed. "What was the second rule? To be confident. The reason I picked these dresses is because a lady is one who wears such clothing and still holds her dignity high. And you, Autumn, are a lady."

I rolled my eyes, not too fond of going to the banquet anymore.

"Come on, Autumn," she pushed out of urgency. "It's just a dress."

I looked back at her, pondering for a minute. "Fine," I gave in. "I'll wear it," I informed, taking the dress and going into the bathroom to change.

Stepping out of the bathroom, my pose was—to put it simply—unconvincing. I was bending down and trying to pull down the dress enough to cover my knees. Candice scoffed, coming up to me and pushing my hands back down to my sides.

"You look great," she complimented, straightening out the curves on it. "Minus the pose."

I tromped over to the dresser, combing my hair and leaving it down. As I began to apply makeup, Candice indulged in choosing a dress for her, and once she'd picked one out, she went into the bathroom to change. She came out in a floral black and white sundress, which was short-sleeved and reached up to an inch below her knees. It took about an hour and a half for the both of us to be dressed and done with the makeup. Now, it was time to decide if we'd wear heels or flats.

"I'm wearing flats, you're wearing heels," Candice announced, slipping into her black flats.

I gasped in shock and irritation. "Why?!"

She shrugged. "To show off your confidence."

"That's not fair!" I pouted like a little kid.

Candice tossed a pair of sparkly baby blue heels at me. "Quit whining."

I huffed in effort to relieve all the stress within me, and fit into the heels.

"You know how to walk in them, right?" she questioned, curious.

I shook my head quickly, hoping she'd drop the heels idea. "Nope!"

Candice rolled her eyes, not impressed by my reluctance. "Then, practice walking in them."

"Ugh, fine."

I began to walk the way I always did, and Candice groaned. She grabbed my arm, annoyed. "Autumn, do something right for once."

I watched, as Candice demonstrated the proper way with another pair of heels. After a few failed attempts, she finally said I did it right. I found myself shocked that I was sixteen, and still needed to learn walking. Candice handed me a baby blue purse, and grabbed a white purse for herself. I slipped my phone and the invitation sheet inside it, and we finally headed out to her car.

***

Candice and I arrived at the venue about an hour later, since her GPS decided to black out in the middle of the street at least three times. After messing up the directions about a minimum of five times, we finally got the GPS to work right. When we reached the venue—which was, Starlet Hall—I found butterflies invading my stomach.

The building was a white, medium-sized, two-floored building with extravagant lighting and decorations. There was a classy water fountain implemented right in front of it carrying out a sophisticated vibe. The parking lot was directed to be somewhere behind the building, so Candice kept driving ahead, until she saw a bunch of cars parked.

Once she'd parked it properly, the two of us slid out of the car and sensed the cold breeze hit us. Immediately, Candice and I rushed over to the entrance, but I had to undergo a hassle, because of the darned heels.

"Oh, my god," Candice breathed; awestruck. "This is stunning."

The lobby was marble-tiled, covered in colorful lighting and decorations. The walls were painted a bright yellow, going well with the lighting. Showpieces were placed by the waiting area, making the arena look even more eye-catching. At the reception, we showed the lady our invitation sheets, and she instructed us to enter through one of the doors that led to the banquet hall. I stiffened, as Candice pushed the door open and I was instantly introduced to the wild life.

Teenagers always found their way, no matter where they were. Banquets were supposed to be decent and elegant, but they've all surrounded the bars, began making out with strangers, and, of course, started dancing with the intention of stripping. I cringed, disgusted by the whole sight. Candice grabbed my wrist and hauled me over to a corner, where I noticed Alfonso, sitting on a sofa and scrawling through his phone screen.

"Hey," Candice greeted him, and he smiled as he looked up at her.

"Hi, you two."

I smiled a tight-lipped smile. "Hello."

She held out her hand to Alfonso. "Let's go dance." It seemed more like a statement than a request.

"Let's go," he said, placing his hand in hers and escaping to the dance floor.

I seated myself on the sofa, feeling left out. Pulling out my phone, I noticed a missed call from Dad. I groaned, slipping my phone back into the purse. That was when I spotted Scarlet, giddily laughing around with Edith and dancing with Riley. I thought you had standards, I scoffed internally. As my eyes gyrated over to Edith, I distinguished that was why Scarlet was invited tonight—she'd somehow gotten on Edith's friend list. My eyes instinctively began to search through the crowd, looking for Caden. However, they wouldn't lock in on anyone. If Alfonso came, Caden should have come, too.

"Hey," a male voice said to me, from beside me.

I tilted my head and saw Caden, sitting next to me, smirking. "Where were you?! I was looking all over."

He chuckled. "I was at the dance floor with Clarissa Brian, the cheerleading captain. She wanted to dance."

"You danced with her?!" I questioned, getting pissed off by his response.

Caden shrugged like it was nothing. "Yeah, she's a good dancer."

I looked away, wincing to how natural he found this. A strange feeling arose within me; some kind of fire. I didn't like the fact that Clarissa wanted to dance with Caden and he accepted her request. My body temperature heated up, and I caught myself fuming in aggravation.

"Do not and I repeat, do not seem desperate. You have to show them that you don't need a guy in your life to be happy," Candice's words replayed in my mind.

Without taking a second glance at Caden, I shot up from my seat and strode over to the dance floor. Before I could even begin dancing, I was hauled in by a hand I didn't recognize. I closed my eyes, and let my body shake with the music's beat. The frustration generating inside of me was getting relieved by all this movement. I didn't even bother to see who I was dancing with, because when I'd open my eyes, seeing the crowd would mortify me.

Two strong arms draped around my waist, and I continued to shake with the beat. Suddenly, my ears registered a thud, and the arms were lost from me. My eyes flicked open, and I observed Riley on the floor, his nose bleeding. Scarlet came speeding at him, bending down and examining his face to see what damage was done to it. But, Riley's eyes were fixated on someone standing across from him. I followed his flaring eyes over to see Caden, all angry and upset. His gaze shifted from Riley to me and his expression darkened. There was a glint of disappointment to it.

"Come with me," Caden demanded, grabbing my wrist and towing me out of the banquet hall.

I tried to squirm out of his grasp, but to no avail. "Caden, where are we going?"

He didn't reply, and proceeded out of the lobby, finally halting outside the entrance. Letting go of my wrist, he whirled around to face me. I sighed, still annoyed by him.

"What was that?!"

I raised my eyebrows. "What was what?"

Caden rolled his eyes, not having it. "Don't play dumb with me, Autumn. I told you what I was doing before you came and you got all upset, so you went into the crappy dance floor and began to dance with that—that Riley!"

"And?"

He shrugged. "And, why? Why'd you get so upset?"

I blinked, surprised that Caden was asking me this. "I don't know."

"You don't know?" Caden repeated, unconvinced by my response.

I repeated with a tone of confirmation, "I don't know."

He looked down, huffing. "Right... Of course." Caden looked up again, stepping closer to me. "Look, if you ever get upset or anything, just tell me upfront. Don't go dancing with people like Riley, okay? Please." I nodded in agreement. "They're not trustworthy, Autumn."

"Yeah...," I exhaled, glad that this conversation was over. "I know."

Caden took my wrist again, gently this time. "Now, let's go in and enjoy ourselves, yeah? Oh, and by the way," he began, making me peer into his eyes curiously. "If you want to dance that badly, I'm not that bad of a dancer... I'd love to dance with you."

I smiled softly. "Roger that."