Prom was supposed to be magic. A final bow before life moved on.
Instead, it was war.
Talia hadn't spoken to Jace in a week. Not since *that* night. Not since Maya's kiss, the rumors, the secrets.
She wore red — not because she felt bold, but because she needed armor. The dress clung to her like defiance.
Felix fixed her eyeliner in the gym bathroom.
> "Are you sure you want to go through with this?"
> "I need to say goodbye on my terms."
They entered the gym together, the world stopping for just a moment.
Jace was there, leaning against the bleachers. He looked like sin in a tux. Maya stood nearby, clinging to his side like a victory flag.
When Talia stepped onto the dance floor, conversations stopped. Eyes followed.
Whispers buzzed:
> *"Is that her?"*
> *"She's leaving town after tonight."*
> *"Didn't she hook up with her stepbrother?"*
She ignored them all.
Instead, she walked straight toward Jace.
> "We need to talk."
Maya tried to interject.
> "Alone," Talia snapped.
Outside, under the parking lot lights, Jace looked wrecked.
> "I never meant to hurt you."
> "But you did."
> "I thought she was lying. But then... I froze."
> "You didn't fight for me, Jace. Not when it mattered."
Silence.
> "I'm leaving," she said. "I got accepted early to NYU. I leave in two weeks."
> "You weren't going to tell me?"
> "What would be the point?"
He reached for her hand. She stepped back.
> "You said we were real," he whispered.
> "We were," she said. "But even real things can break."
He stood there, helpless.
She turned. Walked away. Into the gym. Into the lights. Into the ending.
---
When prom king and queen were announced, no one cheered. Not really. Because no one could stop watching the girl in red who danced alone in the center of the floor — spinning, spinning, like she owned the night.
Felix joined her. Others followed.
It wasn't the fairy tale ending.
But it was *hers.*