Thanks to Music [complete]

Chapter Thirty-Three

Chapter Thirty-Three

Julien's POV

No words could describe the sheer difficulty of sitting still in the driver's seat of the car while Matt and Mackenzie cuddled and Jamie sat with Josh's arm around her shoulders, chatting about...something or other. Really, half of my mind was concentrated on driving and the other half was thinking about how amazing she looked tonight.

A girl like Jamie had a wardrobe that mostly consisted of jeans, denim, collared shirts and tshirt jerseys. Maybe she had one or two pretty dresses for the formal occasions, but she's never looked like this. Her dress hugged those luscious curves perfectly, and her hair and make up did all the justice it needed to her already fine features. I guess I had to thank Mackenzie for that, considering that Jamie only knew the basic cosmetics, but tonight she was just...breathtaking.

My fingers gripped the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles were slowly turning white. It was a routine to hear a comment in Josh's voice, followed by Jamie's laugh and then her reply. It was painful to hear her so happy with him, heartbreaking to see her looking so wonderful tonight.

It felt like forever to reach school, where I parked the car in one of the alotted spaces. Matt and Josh got out immediately to hold the door open for their dates tonight, acting like complete gentlemen for this special event. I could imagine Josh's smirk and Jamie's shy smile as she got out, and in the rearview mirror I saw him take her hand into her his and kiss her cheek. My hands, still on the wheel, held it tighter when I saw the unfolding spectacle in the mirror.

I sat in the car, turning off the engine and trying to calm myself fully before I got out to rearrange his face. I hated him on a daily basis, but tonight it stretched to even further lengths. "Hey, bro, you coming?" Matt's voice sounded.

Stealing a glance in the rearview mirror, I saw all four of them turn around. For the briefest moment, my eyes met Jamie's, before hers flicked away and back to Josh. As my heart broke for the millionth time as they walked away from me, I swallowed to buy the time I needed to hold back the tears that have been threatening to fall since she left my life.

"Yeah, I'm coming," I managed, doing stupid things like running a hand through my hair in the mirror and straightening my already straight vest so that I could just...go by myself and avoid the two seemingly perfect couples. "You go ahead first."

In the mirror, I saw my brother nod, before shooting a shy smile at his date and girlfriend, curling an arm around her waist and take her to the auditorium.

Heaving a sad, dejected sigh, I waited until they were out of sight before I got out to follow them.

The auditorium was usually packed with tall sweaty bodies dunking hoops and shooting baskets, with cheering fangirls on the side and cheerleaders during a competition. But tonight it was fully decked out in a blue and white light due to the spotlight shining on the slowly turning disco ball hanging from the ceiling. The stage was fully set up with red curtains, set in the theme of purple and red.

The entire school must've been here. All around, there were groups and cliques and couples talking, laughing, drinking and eating. Naturally, the girls were the real star of the show, being decked out in all manner of dresses from the slutty to the overdone.

Directly ahead of me were Jamie, Josh, Matt and Mackenzie. Josh had resorted to keeping a light hand around his date's waist, keeping her close. What hurt the most was that she didn't mind. In fact, she welcomed his freely given warmth. I caught several glimpses her way, but as the jealousy nearly overwhelmed me, I realized painfully that I had no right to her anymore.