My Best Friend Made Me Dress In Plain Clothes For The Ball Selection

I changed back into regular clothes in the parking lot before coming up. I sat on my bed and pulled out my phone.

Colin had already texted me twice, asking if I got home safe and saying he had an amazing time. I smiled and texted him back, then shoved the phone under my pillow when I heard Alexis moving around in the living room.

The next few days were weird. I texted with Colin constantly but had to hide it like I was doing something illegal.

He wanted to see me again, wanted to take me to dinner or just hang out on campus, but I kept making excuses. Every time I thought about running into someone who might mention the ball to Alexis, my stomach hurt.

We finally agreed to meet for coffee at this place two miles off campus that no students ever went to. It was mostly older people and business workers on their lunch breaks.

I got there first and sat in the back corner booth where nobody could see me from the windows. Colin showed up 10 minutes later in jeans and a regular shirt instead of his uniform.

He looked different but still good. He slid into the booth across from me and smiled, then reached across the table to hold my hand.

I pulled it back and looked around to make sure nobody from the school was there. “Sorry,” I said, “I’m just being careful.”

He ordered coffee, and we talked for a while about nothing important. He told me about his classes at the academy, and I told him about my biology exam coming up.

Then he got quiet and looked at me seriously. “Can I ask you something?” He stirred sugar into his coffee.

“Why are we meeting two miles off campus like we’re having an affair? You know I want to take you out for real, like actual dates where we don’t have to hide.”

I explained everything, the whole story about Alexis sabotaging me by texting from my phone, how I’d fixed it without telling her, and how I’d let her think he ghosted me so she wouldn’t freak out.

I told him about lying to her about not going to the ball and how she still thought I’d spent that night alone in my room. Colin listened without interrupting, his coffee getting cold in front of him.

“That’s really messed up,” he said when I finished. “What she did with your phone, that’s not what friends do.”

“I know,” I said, picking up my napkin, “but if I tell her now that I went to the ball and we’re seeing each other, she’ll lose it. She’ll make my life terrible; we live together and share all the same friends.”

Colin was quiet for a minute. “So you’re going to keep lying to her for how long?”

“I don’t know, until I figure out what to do.” He reached across the table again, and this time I let him take my hand.

“I get it; toxic friendships are hard,” he said.

“I had a buddy at the academy who was like that, always competing with me, always making me feel bad about myself. But here’s the thing: you’re letting Alexis control your life even though she doesn’t know she’s doing it. You’re hiding and sneaking around, and that’s not fair to you or to me, honestly.”

That hit me harder than I expected. He was right; I was still letting Alexis dictate what I could and couldn’t do, just like I had been for three years.

I just nodded and stared at my coffee. A week after the ball, Colin texted me saying his sister was visiting campus for the day.

Her name was Margot, and she was two years older than him, worked as a teacher, and stayed over. He really wanted me to meet her and suggested lunch at the student union.

I almost said no because the student union was right in the middle of campus where everyone ate, but something about the way he asked made me agree. I met them at noon.

Margot had the same green eyes as Colin but darker hair, and she hugged me like we’d known each other forever. We got food from the cafeteria line and sat at a table by the windows.

I kept looking around nervously, expecting to see Alexis or one of our mutual friends. “You two had a great time at the ball,” Margot said, biting into her sandwich.

“He wouldn’t shut up about you for weeks before it.” “Really?” I looked at Colin, and he shrugged with this embarrassed smile.

“I told her about volunteering at the veteran center; he’d noticed me there months ago, apparently.” Margot listened and asked questions about my major and my plans after graduation.

She was easy to talk to, the kind of person who made you feel comfortable right away. Then she noticed me checking the entrance again.

“You okay? You seem nervous.” I explained the Alexa situation, the whole thing from the beginning to now.

Margot’s expression changed as I talked, going from interested to concerned to almost angry. “Let me get this straight,” she said when I finished.

“This girl made you dress down so you wouldn’t compete with her. Then when a guy chose you anyway, she sabotaged you and has spent years making you feel like you’re not good enough, and you’re still protecting her feelings?”

When she said it like that, it sounded insane. “I know it’s complicated.”

“It’s not complicated,” Margot said as she put down her fork.

“Real friends don’t spend years making you feel less than. They don’t manipulate you or tear you down, and honestly, sometimes the trash takes itself out; you just have to let it go.”

Colin nodded in agreement. I sat there feeling like they’d both just said something obvious that I’d been refusing to see.

We finished lunch, and I walked out with them, and that’s when I ran into Dominic from my dorm building. He was with his girlfriend, Sarah, both of them heading into the union as we were leaving.

“Hey,” Dominic grinned when he saw me. “You looked amazing at the ball the other night; I didn’t know you and Colin were together.”

My stomach dropped. I could feel Colin and Margot both looking at me, waiting to see what I’d say.

Sarah nodded enthusiastically and said something about how cute we looked dancing together. “Thanks,” I managed. “Can you maybe not mention it to anyone, though? It’s kind of private.”

Dominic looked confused. “Why would it be private? Everyone thought you guys looked great together; half the people there were talking about it.”

“I just would appreciate it if you didn’t bring it up, please.” He shrugged. “Okay, sure, whatever you want, but it’s not a secret. Like, people were posting pictures and everything.”