💫GISELLE💫

"And where have you been all day, young lady?" Max greeted me, lost deep inside her closet.

"I was out with Angel." I damn near whispered my confession, as if I was hiding from the words myself. Max peeped out of the closet so fast, I laughed the moment I saw her expression. "Relax, Max." I laughed.

Then my phone rang again. I put my finger up, knowing she wanted details, but in no position to provide them. Aaron was calling for the fourth time. I took a deep breath, checking myself out in the mirror next to my bed, then flopped down and tapped the green button.

"Hey Star!" He smiled from ear to ear the moment he was able to see my face.

"Hey." I sighed.

"How was your day? You look like you've been out. Cute fit."

I laughed and frowned all at once. "Thank you. I was out with friends." I lied.

"Aahh!! The crew?"

"Something like that. What have you been up to?"

"Aahh...little bit of this...little bit of that. You know. I just left your parent's place, actually."

"Really? Why?"

"Just, um...helping out."

"With what?"

"Hey. I heard your dad wasn't able to make it. How are you holding up?"

Noticing the evasion, I brushed it off. "I'm fine."

"You sure? Because I know how much it meant to you to have him come down."

"Yep. All good."

"We've talked about the lies, Giselle. You don't have to do that with me, you know."

"Aaron, what do you want me to say?" I yelled.

"Tell the truth. If you're hurt, just say it. I hate when you bottle up your feelings to spare everybody else and then you end up hurting all by yourself. I hate that."

He was right. I always brushed off my own feelings to spare everyone else's. I never stood up for myself or spoke my peace. All I did was smile and nod, my entire life, fake ass showman effort to appear "okay".

Senior year, the night of my prom. I was dressed in the best of the best. From my halter, all white, dress with diamonds starting at the see-through material on my waist and falling downward right below my hips. To the long, exaggerated train ruffled and feathered by the Gods themselves. My diamond bracelet, and earrings from Tiffany's added an even more exaggeration to this top tier look. Aaron matched me from the white of his tuxedo to the diamond on his cufflinks, in his ear, and on his watch. We looked like we were headed down the aisle, spending all of our savings on the wedding of a lifetime. Meanwhile, we were only going to prom.

"You look amazing, Star." He whispered from behind me as we admired each other's reflection in my full-length mirror.

"Only as good as you."

"You'd look just as perfect without me."

"Good thing we never have to imagine that." I countered.

"Damn right. My girl for life." Aaron planted a kiss on my cheek. Then my neck. So gentil, sweet, and innocent.

"You read to go stun our parents?" I turned to face him.

"Let's get it!" He shimmied playfully.

Aaron took my hand and led me to the top of our winding stairwell. Both of our parents waited patiently at the bottom of the stairs, and when they laid eyes on the both of us, it was hard not to join them as they wiped their tears. I looked up at Aaron, who looked down to me, smiling his cheerful smile. He hooked his arm, and I locked mine into his.

"I love you, beautiful." He whispered so only I could hear.

"I love you." I winced, trying hard not to cry. I felt so loved. So welcomed. So cherished and appreciated.

"Don't you dare cry on me." He joked, leading me down the stairs.

Once Aaron and I made it down the stairs, we were already worn out from the flashing cameras. Not only did our parents hire a photographer, but they were also taking photos on their phones. Talk about going overboard.

"So, we were talking, and I've decided I'm going to escort you into the ballroom tonight." My dad randomly announced once we were done with the photographer.

"What? That's not the plan, dad." I frowned, looking over at Aaron.

"Aaron and I are going in together. As a couple. We've planned this for months."

"Well, I've planned this since now, Giselle. I want to walk you in."

"I—" I didn't know what to say. I didn't want my dad stepping anywhere near the ballroom. We'd already hired a car and made this plan for a grand entrance, he and I. Why on earth did my dad think he could just barge in there and change everything?

"Giselle, we already—" Aaron began.

I cut him off. "I know, Aaron."

"There's nothing to discuss. I've said what I've said. That's that.

I lowered my head in shame, not wanting to oppose my dad's decision, I avoided looking up at Aaron for a while, fearful of the rage that had boiled inside of him. I was a coward. I was too afraid to stand up for myself and too afraid to stand up for Aaron. But he wasn't.

"How dare you barge into town and make demands, dude?" Aaron shouted.

My head shot up, eyes darting over in his direction as I watched him challenge my father.

"Excuse me?" My mom shouted, stepping in between the two.

"Aaron?" His mom pleaded, grabbing for his arm.

"Fuck that! This bastard has pretty much abandoned her all of her fucking high school years and shows up for prom like a knight in shining armor. You're no savior. You're a con artist."

"Aaron!" I finally shouted.

"No, sweetheart. Clearly the boy has some things he needs to get off his chest. Let him." My father was calm, surprisingly.

"I've said all I'm going to say. All you do is abandon and control. You don't show love because you don't know love. Come on, Giselle. We're leaving." Aaron grabbed my arm and began pulling me towards the door.

I should have felt grateful. I should have felt relieved that I had someone like Aaron to defend me. Us. But somehow I felt exactly the same as I did with my parents. The way he pulled me and forced me to follow him. Why couldn't I have chosen that on my own? Once again, another person was choosing for me. And once again, I was keeping my mouth shut and allowing it. Both of our parents watched us in shock as we walked out of the door. Once the car pulled up, I got in and Aaron followed behind me. The driver, however, didn't pull away. My heart was beating at least ten beats per second. Hands clammy, pits sweaty, I was nervous as hell. I'd never witnessed Aaron so upset and I'd never seen anyone stand up to my father the way he did.

"Get out of the fucking car, Giselle." The door flew open and in pops my father's head.

"She's not coming with you." Aaron answered for me.

"Look kid, I admire the effort, but this is my child and I make decisions for her."

"What? Listen to the both of you!" I finally had enough. "Both of you think you can control me or speak for me. Both of you are exactly the same. What about me? What about what I want? What I need? Did it ever occur to either of you to ask that?"

Aaron and my father both looked over to me. I was mere seconds away from ruining my makeup. As tears welled in my eyes, I continued to shout at them, hoping they'd hear me for once. Hoping my voice would matter.

"Dad, I'm not going with you. Aaron and I made plans and we're sticking to them."

"Well, I guess you don't have a ride." My dad threatened, tipping the driver and walking back into the house.

Typical douchebag behavior. My dad thought paying the driver would stop us, but it didn't. We got out of the car and got into Aaron's parents' car. We stopped at a nearby exotic car rental lot and rented a Ferrari. Problem solved. Prom attended. Dad shut down. That was the first time I stood up to them. That was the first day I realized I was ready for change and the last day I saw my father before college.

Aaron was right. I made a promise not to hide behind my fake smiles. I made a promise to accept and allow change.

"My feelings were hurt. But I have really great friends and my mind was taken completely off of it for the rest of this day. Until now...with you bringing it back up."

"I'm sorry. Thank you for being honest, babe."

"Whatever. Why were you at my house?"

"Hey. I'm going to make it up to you, I promise. I have to go though. Can I call you back?"

"Sure?"

I hadn't noticed Max staring at me like I was the star of some main attraction. I felt like a circus clown, putting on the greatest show on my life, all just so I could be the biggest joke of the night. I couldn't help but smile when she continued smiling my way. I knew what she wanted. She wanted the juice on Angel. I was making an effort to mentally put my dad and Aaron aside and bask in my lustful memories.

"Angel?"

"Angel." I smiled even harder.

We both squealed like two high school girls, in the wake of an encounter with our biggest crush. You know that moment after something big happens, like him noticing your hair or saying your name for the first time and then walks away. That feeling.

"So, tell me what happened." Max looked down at her phone. "Oh wait. Wait." She jumped up and opened our dorm door. There stood Sevyn, of course none of this could go down without all three of us present. "Right on time. Come on." On her way back to my bed, Max started jumping up and down. Sevyn appeared lost. That didn't last long.

"So, you fucked?" Sevyn shouted, wide-eyed.

"Not quite." I winced.

I told them every detail from beginning to end. I watched their reactions, filled with excitement as I recounted each moment we'd spent together. Sevyn and Max were hanging on my every word, waiting for the next big detail after the next big detail. I loved telling them my stories. They were always so invested.

"Wait! That was y'all outside fucking on the car?" Sevyn screamed.

"What?"

"Me and some people from my chemistry class saw a couple on a dope ass red Mustang. They were literally fucking, I swear."

"Guilty." I shrugged.

"Holy shhhhh!!! Oh my God, Giselle, you're a freak!" She laughed.

We all burst out laughing in unison. Sevyn started exaggerating, getting on top of Max and humping her, moaning my name then Angel's . It wasn't long before they were both humping me and being completely obnoxious.

"Okay. Okay." I laughed. "You both are insane."

"I'm here for the Angel, Giselle union. I'll admit it. You two are hot as hell together. But um...." Sevyn started scratching at her head.

"But umm..." Max eyes widened as she implied a wordless question.

"Aaron." I huffed.

"Exactly."

All the happiness died in the room. The screams went silent. The stirring of wild girls going mad seized. We all just sat there and stared at one another. How in the hell would I tell Aaron? How in the hell would I leave him after all these years? How?

***Author's Words****

I know this chapter was a little slow, but I needed to set the stage for future chapters, 

digging into Giselle's past with her family and Aaron.

Hope it wasn't too bad for you all

Please leave comments/critiques/suggestions

⭐PLEASE VOTE⭐

➕ADD TO YOUR READING LIST➕