Bonus

I couldn't deny that, at first, Dante's presence was uncomfortable. I had nothing against him, but his self"absorbed behavior was annoying and brought back bad memories. Dante was very much like someone who needed, for my sake and Aurora's, to stay in the past.

But there was nothing I could do but keep him under control, at least where Aura was concerned. It was clear that his name was synonymous with trouble and the last thing we needed was another troublemaker around here.

The day passed too quickly for everything that needed to be done, but the large group of students took care of most of the tidying up, since the cheerleaders had done most of the work coordinated by Aura in advance, and when we arrived, there were only the heaviest jobs and parts of the decoration. So I spent a good part of the afternoon gluing bats and hearts, dragging armchairs into themed areas, but it didn't go unnoticed when Dante headed towards the tunnel with some boxes, disappearing inside for a long time and coming out next to Aura.

His fixation on her set off a million red lights in my head, especially when Aurora seemed to open up to him, even if unconsciously. But I decided, at least for the time being, not to say anything about it, after all, we're not as naive as we used to be, at least I hope she isn't.

When late afternoon arrived and everyone started heading home, I was nervous. The arrival of the ball meant that I needed a date, Day hadn't been in my plans for a long time, even if she kept insisting, we hadn't been together for more than two months. But needing a date wasn't the problem, that didn't matter to me, the problem was asking the one I wanted to be my date.

"Whenever you think too much about life, you end up freaking out" Aura said, coming closer and throwing one of her arms under my shoulders, smiling at me. "What's wrong?"

"It was nothing," I replied, rolling my eyes slightly and starting to walk towards the exit beside her. "What were they doing there?"

Trying to divert the subject was never a good option with Aurora, we've known each other for so long that it was impossible to hide anything from her, especially when I was clearly in a bad mood.

"No big deal, he was helping me with some decorations," she replied, shrugging and turning on the stereo, putting on some pop while we drove to her house.

I decided not to talk any more about the new guy, there was no point in worrying about someone who had only just arrived, was there? Although something inside me says otherwise, I don't think Dante can do any damage in such a short period of time.

Aura leaned back in her seat, resting her legs on the jeep's dashboard and looking at me with a half"smile. I knew exactly what she was going to say, but I preferred to stay silent, turning the music up a little louder in the hope that she would forget about it.

"She's not going to wait for you all her life..." said my friend, as if she wanted nothing, raising her eyes to me.

"And she shouldn't either, next year we'll graduate and your sister will stay in high school, we'll go to college and what will happen?" I asked, rolling my eyes slightly.

"Have you ever tried to stop thinking about things and just live?" her tone was accusatory, as she slapped me on the shoulder, Aurora sighed heavily. "It's a school dance, what could go wrong? Besides, you need a break, being my full"time best friend is very tiring!"

That question didn't seem rhetorical at all, but I sighed, defeated.

Perhaps thinking about the possibility of asking my best friend's sister to the prom wouldn't be so bad, maybe what had been nothing more than an exchange of glances for over a year would turn into something that would at least generate good memories.

It didn't take us long to get to Aura's house, the street was quiet and the sun was almost down. When we got out of the car, as soon as we reached the front door, the delicious smell of dinner reached us and it wasn't hard to imagine that Aunt Victoria was home.

We passed through the entrance and headed for the kitchen, Aura went to talk to her father and I took the opportunity to send a message to my parents, letting them know that I would be staying over that night and probably the next day.

My relationship with my parents has always been a bit strange. Although a little distant, they always cared a lot about me, it just wasn't in their plans to have a child so soon, especially with their careers on the rise and the hectic lives they led. For them, meeting Aurora was a blessing, as was her whole family; after all, they hardly ever stopped at home and, being always in the company of the Backers, I was never alone.

However, as the years went by, Aura was no longer the only thing that motivated me to spend days and days at her house. At first, Evangeline was nothing more than a little girl two years younger than me and in awe of everything her older sister and her best friend did. Sometimes it was even a bit annoying the way she chased us everywhere. But at some point last year, she stopped being just my best friend's sister.

But I never knew what to do after that realization.

I sighed heavily, sitting down next to Aunt Victoria and receiving her caress, which messed up my hair, making me laugh slightly as she offered me one of her strange cookies. When she was at home, Mrs. Backer had a strange hobby of trying out improbable recipes, which usually went very wrong.

"Mom, have you made Clay and Aurora try your beet and chocolate chip cookies yet?" Eva's voice flooded the kitchen, making me raise my eyes to look at her.

Her blonde hair was neatly tied up and she was wearing a men's shirt, probably her father's, and knitted shorts. There was never much shyness between us, we grew up together and, in the end, we were used to each other's company.

When her sister appeared in the kitchen, Aurora looked at me, then at Eva, then took one of the cookies and handed it to me and took another one for herself, making a face and starting a conversation with her mother and, as only she knew how, purposely monopolizing Mrs Backer's attention, giving me the opportunity to leave the kitchen unnoticed.

I passed Eva quickly, before her mother noticed me leaving, tilting my head to the side and hoping that she would follow me into the back garden.

I heard her footsteps behind me and, when we reached the garden, the sky was a delicate shade of pink, the daylight was dim and the lighting made her blue eyes look even more alive as Eva stared at me in confusion.

"I have something to ask you," I began, trying to contain my shyness, looking at her with a smile.

"Ask away then, I'm curious" Eva encouraged me, at least she tried to, as her smile lit up her face.

"Aura must have told me about the dance, we can take pairs from other schools, so..." I was nervous, my voice sounded a little lower than I wanted it to and, although I can handle girls in general, at that moment, I was on the verge of fainting. "I want to know if you want to go with me!"