Chapter 8
“What?!” Everyone in the group turned to her and gawked in shock.
How the fuck?!
Hannah always dreamt of being prom queen but definitely not like this. She didn’t even move an inch forward. The shock was too much to handle.
“Just gimme a sec. I’ll handle this.” Jordan said to the others as he stood in front of her.
“I don’t want to go up there. Not with him up there.”
Mike stood awkwardly on the stage, looking like an absolute buffoon with his stupidly shocked expression.
Looking from her to Mike on the stage, he smirked. “Fuck him. Don’t let that asshole of all people ruin this moment for you.”
She took solace in his words. She didn’t want Mike’s idiotic actions to be the reason why her night went sour. She was already having a near perfect night and she had promised Josh that she would have a great time.
He held his arm out to her so she could hook onto it. Looking up at him, she interlocked her arm within his and with that, the two of them began to walk through the sea of teenagers watching their every movement.
Jordan let go when she finally reached the foot of the stage, making sure she didn’t fall. “Go get that crown, Han.”
Hannah carefully walked towards the crown holder and took a bow as it was gently placed on top of her head.
“Give it up for prom royalty everybody!”
The room lit up with cheers and claps of congratulations
“You look great, Hannah.” Mike spoke, looking at her through the corner of his eye.
“Thank you, Michael.” She flatly responded to his compliment.
His compliment frankly disgusted her and so did his presence. Especially after February. She couldn’t even be within two feet of him and she was going to be dragged out to eat after prom ended because the others were going to be starving to say the least.
She looked into the crowd and saw Jordan staring directly at her with a gentle smile on his face. A smile that just wouldn’t stop sending butterflies into her stomach and causing her face to erupt like a volcano.
He could hear the clacking of heels behind him. His body recoiled when it was Emily who stood next to him.
“You two look great with one another.” She said, clasping her hands together.
“Huh. Thank you.” He flatly responded, adjusting his cuffs.
Looking at her wrist he saw she wore a familiar bracelet.
Why does she still have that and why would she wear it now of all times?
“What do you want, Emily?” He asked, crossing his arms.
“I wanted to congratulate my friend.” She gently smiled.
Jordan cringed at the sentence and the implications behind it.
“You, Emily Davis, are not my friend. You stopped being my friend the day you decided to turn your back on not only me but the people who were there for you when you needed it the most. All for that douche bag you decided to call your boyfriend.”
His tone wasn’t one of anger but it was rather calm yet very serious. It was so calm but serious in fact that it intimidated her. Emily wasn’t one to be intimidated by anyone but her parents. Unfortunately there was something about Jordan’s currently foreign but very harsh words that hit her like she was an animal in the road.
Her smile faltered to a suddenly hurt frown as he slightly turned to her, his face changing from the calm yet serious one to a scornful scowl.
“Don’t you ever fix your lips to call me your friend again because you will never be my friend until you see the repercussions of the actions you’ve made.”
Em held her arm, tears fighting to escape her eyes.
“Does that hurt?”
Em nodded.
“Welcome to the club. Get used to it because karma is finally biting you right in the ass.” Jordan walked off towards the stage to retrieve Hannah.
“Was he right? ” Was all she could think of as she watched him walk away from her.
“You, Emily Davis, are not my friend.”
That line hurt her the most. They weren’t best friends per say but at one point, he was her only friend. Before Jess, before Mike before anyone she knew outside of the group. It was Jordan.
“Happy birthday, Em. I made you a bracelet.”
Fourteen year old Jordan was much more different than who he was now. He had helped her get through some of the hardest times of high school and to see how he treated her now truly felt like a knife was being twisted into her gut.
The night they officially stopped being friends was a night neither of them could nor would forget.
It was an argument of hateful words and insults still ringing within her head in particular.
She remembered the cause of the argument and the subsequent break of their friendship.
Mike. What he did. And who he did it to.
Em looked up where the group was.
Hailey.
At one point, Hailey was just like every other girl trying to impress a guy she liked, unfortunately that all changed when she encountered Michael Munroe one day.
Then that’s where things definitely changed for the worst.
It didn’t seem to bother Emily at first because in her eyes, Jordan was jealous but after a while, whenever she saw him, a part of her shattered more and more each time. It became worse when the smaller groups all eventually combined into one entire group.
But then a part of her realized far too late that Jordan was right about Michael and the prank truly solidified that further. The way he allowed Hannah to get that far. The way he put all the blame onto her.
Her boyfriend was what everyone was saying he was: A player. A selfish player.
“Hey, babe.” Mike appeared behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist.
When she didn’t respond nor hold onto his arm, he knew then that something was wrong with her. “Babe?” He turned her around to look her in her face. Mascara filled tears stained her face. “Em, what the hell happened?”
Her words jumbled up into an uncoordinated mess as she tried to explain to him why she was now crying.
He pulled her into his arms as she began to cry harder. He didn’t bother to ask any further because at that moment it didn’t matter, all that mattered was that she was ok.