The Little Winston

Chapter 22- I Go To Prom

 That Saturday was prom, a day I knew I would never forget. I stared at myself through the mirror. I had always dreamed of this moment as a kid, Prom. I always would think of myself going with the perfect guy in the perfect dress, just it being perfect I guess. My dress was a gorgeous shade of mint grin with rhinestones in all the right places. It looked like something straight out of a fairytale, and Sodapop was my prince charming. My hair was french braided behind me, and my makeup was minimal. I felt for the first time in my entire life, like the most beautiful girl in the world.

"You ready yet, Nicole? We gotta take pictures!" Ponyboy called up the stairs. He was probably the most excited about prom besides me, of course. He had even went with Sodapop to pick out his tux.

I giggled as I walked out of their bedroom and made my way down the stairs. The whole gang was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, smiles plastered on all of their faces like they had been when Soda had first asked me to go with him.

Sodapop took a deep breath in as I came into view, and a grin started to form on his face. I felt butterflies come alive in my stomach and saw the world slow down. They always talk about that moment in movies, when you see your soulmate when you go somewhere special. Usually there's a spiral staircase and a song, but I never was a flashy person, so I was happy just the way it was.

Ponyboy flashed about a million pictures before I even finished walking down the stairs, so I stumbled my way over to Sodapop and practically fell into his arms.

"Sorry." Ponyboy smiled at me apologetically, then of course snapped another one.

"You look beautiful." Sodapop whispered into my ear as we stood next to Steve and the girl he was taking. I think her name was Bri. We had a couple of classes together, and Steve really seemed to like her. She was just as crazy as he was, and was the only person that could give him a run for his money when it came to flips. She was a cheerleader.

"Thanks. How long do you think until Pony stops snapping these pictures?" I whispered back, trying to keep lips straight in a smile so I didn't look weird in his pictures.

"One of us has a seizure." We both laughed a little bit, and I guess Pony heard our exchange because he stopped clicking his camera.

"Okay, kids, have fun, and be back at a reasonable hour." Darry bowed at all 4 of us as Steve opened the door for Bri.

"No funny business with my kid sister." Dallas nodded at Sodapop, who cracked a smile at him.

"Yes, sir." Sodapop pulled me closer to him by my waist.

"Good. You look beautiful, kid."

"Thanks, Dal." I smiled at him as Sodapop let go of me and grabbed my hand, leading me out the door to Darry's truck. I stumbled down the driveway and almost broke my ankle a couple of times as Sodapop laughed and attempted to help me to the best of his ability to get to the car. I definitely was never going to wear heels again.

There was only enough room for 3 people in the front, so we let Steve drive while we hopped in the truck bed. Darry was nice enough to put a blanket over the metal so we didn't freeze to death. As soon as I crawled into the back, I took of my shoes. They were black suede stilettos with about a five inch heel. Sodapop laughed while he climbed in as I rubbed my foot.

"What?" I asked as he wedged himself next to me and put an arm around my shoulder. He looked down at me and continued laughing.

"It's just I think that's the shortest time someone has had heels on before taking them off. I never would have taken you for a stiletto girl."

"That's cause I'm not." I laughed along with him as Steve started the car and we drove to the high school.

Most of the people there were socs, since most greasers didn't care enough to go to school dances. They would have their own parties, and many of them would go down to Bucks for a drink.

Steve and Bri were out of the car first, not even waiting for me and Sodapop to get out before heading in. We both climbed and jumped out. Sodapop gently pushed his lips to mine before linking my arm to his and we both headed in to the gym.

The few greasers that were there kept to the back of the gym, not bothering to start anything with the socs. This was technically their territory, starting a fight would only end in 10 of them ganging up on you and cutting you to ribbons.

Dancing was hard at first, but after a while I got used to it and was able to keep it so I only fell once in a while. We danced for about 30 minutes, then went and talked to a couple of the guys we knew that were there. Angela, Tim Shepherd's little sister was there, and surprisingly we hit it off right away. She told me funny stories about Tim and I told her about Dallas. 

At about 12, most of the people were gone as they announced it was going to be the last dance of the night. A slow song started playing loudly.

Sodapop took my hand in his and brought it to his lips, making me giggle as he led me to the dance floor. He put his hands on my waist and I wrapped mine around his shoulders. He rested his chin lightly on my head as I nestled mine into his chest, feeling his chest rise when he took a breath. I felt safe when I was with him, like no matter what happened, I would be okay.

"I wish we could stay like this forever." I whispered as he tightened his grip on my waist.

"Me too." I smiled into his chest as we swayed in rhythm to the song. It ended not too long after that, meaning it was time for us to go home. I wanted to stay there and dance and talk some more, but I knew that wasn't an option.

I smiled like a maniac the whole time all four of us walked to the truck.