"What do you think?" I asked Alex as I twirled in front of my full-length floor mirror.

Mommy and I had already bought my dress the previous day and Alex had just arrived so I had to fit it again. I didn't mind it though because I was so in love with it.

I was wearing a black spaghetti v-neck floor-length dress with a thigh -high slit on the right side. I paired it with my black strappy, four-inch heels.

Alex was sitting on my bed, closely inspecting my dress. She urged me to turn around once more.

"It looks perfect!" Alex clapped. "But are you going to shave your legs?"

I smiled sheepishly at her.

"The dress looks amazing. It hugs your figure nicely and you look gorgeous in it but it has a slit, so..."

"You know I'm not fond of shaving my legs."

"Okay," Alex conceded. "Will you let your hair down or pull it in a bun?"

"I'm thinking of curling my hair."

I just thought of curling it for a change. I hadn't really done anything fun with my straight, black hair for quite some time and I thought curling it was the answer to my boring hair decisions.

"And a pretty barrette on the side! I just ordered a few online and I can lend you some."

I stared at my reflection one more time and smiled. I liked what I was looking at and I was feeling pretty and confident in this dress.

My door abruptly opened, and Hadley entered my room. Her face lit up when she noticed me wearing my dress.

"Oh, I didn't know you're fitting it again," she mumbled before sitting beside Alex.

"Well, I had to see it before the big day," Alex said.

"Why don't you like to wear your old prom dress?" Hadley asked, standing up to walk over to my dresser. She picked up my pink frame and pointed at my group photo with the squad. "You're still slim so it'll still fit you. Oh, and maybe you and Vino can match outfits again."

"Hadley," Alex tried shushing her.

"What? I still think they look cute when he matched his tie with her maroon dress. Plus, they both won an award that night."

"Shut up," I muttered. "That's six years ago."

"Kane's going to prom with Vino," Hadley chanted, placing the frame back on the dresser. "Kane's going to see her high school sweetheart."

I frowned as a familiar feeling washed over me. I sighed and sat on my bed. We were just a few weeks away from the reunion and I couldn't help but feel nervous about the whole homecoming stuff.

I removed my strappy heels and carefully placed the pair back into its respective shoebox before pushing the latter under my bed.

"What's bothering you?" Alex asked.

"Nothing."

"You won't have that frown on your face if nothing's bothering you," she insisted. "It's not because you're still..."

"No," I interrupted her, knowing what was on her mind. "I'm fine with not graduating on time."

"So, it's about something else," Alex concluded, staring at me from my mirror. "I assume it's someone else."

"It's Vino," Hadley butted in.

I narrowed my eyes at her and she sealed her lips.

***

8 years ago

We were at Summitville Academy for some interschool activities. Selected students from different schools had gathered that day to attend a seminar. Vino, Elisa, Noah, Jeff, Sophie, Miguel, and I had represented our class.

I didn't know how many schools were participating that day but it was pretty crowded inside Summitville's auditorium with a sea of students in various uniforms.

My phone beeped and I checked to see who texted me. It was Mommy asking me what time I would get home.

I tried sending her a message when I remembered I had no load balance left. I groaned as the 'Message was not sent' notice showed up on my screen.

Vino nudged my arm and asked, "What's the matter?"

"I have zero load balance and I need to reply to Mommy."

"Use my phone," he quickly handed me his phone. "We'll just buy some drinks. Want anything? Lychee-flavored juice?"

I smiled at him. "Nope, I'm good."

He turned his back to me and I clicked his phone. My eyes widened when I glanced at the screen.

He was about to leave his seat when he immediately turned to face me as if he had forgotten something. I clicked his phone again and the screen went black.

"Wait, can I have my phone back?" I think I set up a passcode."

I narrowed my eyes at him. "You never use a passcode on your phone."

"Uh, I'll just check if I have enough load balance."

"Vino, you're a postpaid subscriber, aren't you?"

He scratched his head, clearly annoyed at the things I was saying. He snatched his phone from my hand, making me gasp.

"What are you doing?" I demanded as I tried to take a peek.

"Deleting some stuff. I don't want you reading anything on my inbox," he replied as he covered his phone with his free hand.

"As if," I scoffed and rolled my eyes at him.

"Bro, you coming?" Miguel asked.

"Yeah, wait a sec," he responded as he continued clicking his phone.

Miguel looked at me in confusion and I just shrugged. I had no idea what Vino was up to.

"All cleared." He handed me the phone back and left with Miguel and the other guys.

"Seventeen minutes ago, they said the seminar's about to begin in fifteen minutes," Elisa grunted beside me, distracting me from Vino's phone.

"I know right. But let's give them five more minutes," I suggested.

Elisa exhaled sharply and decided to go back to playing mobile games on her phone.

I had unlocked Vino's phone and noticed that he had changed his wallpaper into a photo of different sneakers. I had smiled as I shook my head. He didn't know that I had already seen his previous wallpaper.

It was a photo of the two of us during last year's Christmas party.