The buzz around prom was everywhere. The halls were filled with chatter about dresses, suits, and who was asking who.
Eliza should've cared. Normally, she would. She and Lucifer had gone to prom together every year — as friends, sure, but still. It was their thing. And this year, their final year, it wasn't even a question. Of course, they'd go together.
But lately, things felt… off.
Assignments piled up. Class tests felt endless. Everyone was stressed, but Eliza barely noticed. Her mind was stuck somewhere else — stuck on him. On Lily. On the way things felt like they were slipping through her fingers.
She stared out the window during class, her pen tapping absently against her notebook.
"Eliza."
Her heart sank at the voice.
Lily.
Eliza didn't bother looking up. "What do you want?"
Lily leaned on her desk, voice sugary and smug. "So… prom's coming up."
Eliza sighed. "Yeah. Everyone knows that."
Lily's smile widened. "I bet you think you're going with Lucifer again, huh?"
Eliza's jaw tightened. "Why wouldn't I? We always go together."
Lily tilted her head like she felt sorry for her. "Hmm. Well, maybe this year's different. Maybe this year, he wants to go with someone else."
Eliza's stomach twisted, but she kept her voice steady. "He would've told me."
Lily laughed — quiet but sharp. "Wanna bet on it?"
Eliza blinked. "What?"
Lily leaned in closer, her voice low and taunting. "Let's make it interesting. Whoever Lucifer asks to prom first — they win. And the loser? Well... guess you'll figure that part out when it happens."
Eliza didn't even hesitate. "Fine."
She was confident. Why wouldn't she be? It was their tradition. They always went together. He wouldn't break that — not for Lily, not for anyone.
Right?
---
That evening, Eliza decided she wasn't going to wait for him to ask. She was going to beat Lily to it.
She texted him first.
"Meet me at the café after school? Usual time."
His reply came quick, like always.
"Yeah, Princess. See you there."
Her heart felt lighter than it had in weeks.
She got there early — too early.
She picked their usual booth. The one by the window where they could watch the street and laugh at the people passing by. It felt safe.
She ordered his favorite drink without thinking.
The minutes ticked by.
She checked the door every time the little bell rang. It was never him.
Her drink got cold. Her heart did too.
She stared at her phone, the screen glowing back at her. She texted him again.
"You okay? You coming?"
No reply.
She tried calling. Voicemail.
Panic started to creep in. He wouldn't bail on her — not without a reason. Not without telling her.
She waited.
Even when the sky turned dark and the café emptied.
Even when they started stacking chairs.
Her phone buzzed.
Her heart jumped — until she saw the name.
Lily.
Her stomach dropped. She didn't want to open it. But her fingers moved on their own.
Lily:
Guess he forgot about you. He's with me tonight. Guess that means I win.
Attached was a photo.
Lucifer. Smiling. His arm draped around Lily like it belonged there.
The world blurred.
Her throat tightened, chest aching so hard it felt like her ribs were caving in.
She stared at the photo for too long, hoping — praying — that somehow, it wasn't real.
But it was.
Her heart was shattered into piece.. She tried to hold but can't anymore.
---
The walk home was a blur.
She didn't remember leaving the café. Didn't remember the streetlights flickering overhead. Her legs felt numb. Her chest felt hollow.
By the time she reached her house, her face was wet. She didn't even realize she'd been crying.
Her room felt too quiet. Too cold.
The second she closed her door, it hit her all at once.
She sank to the floor, barely making it to her bed. The tears came fast, harder than she could stop. She buried her face in her pillow to muffle the sound.
But it didn't help.
Her body shook with sobs, the kind that hurt her chest and made her throat burn.
She wasn't mad at Lucifer. Not really.
She was mad at herself. For wanting more. For feeling this way. For hoping — stupidly, foolishly — that maybe, someday, he'd want her too.
She thought she was enough. She thought she mattered more.
But Lily's words wouldn't stop repeating in her head:
Guess he forgot about you.
She squeezed her eyes shut so hard it hurt.
Because the truth wasn't that he forgot about her.
It was that maybe he didn't think about her the way she thought about him.
And maybe... he never would.
But right now?
It didn't feel like someday would ever come.
It felt like it never would.
To be continued....