Mr. Beauty Queen And Me

Homecoming Queen

Another chapter for you my friends!! 

Hope you enjoy it!

Much love,

Elle

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The only thing I could think about the entire drive to Homecoming was that the first stop I needed to make when we got there was the bathroom. Not only did I need to nervous pee, but I was chewing insistently on my bottom lip and I was sure at this point that my carefully lined lips were bare. 

It's funny how when you're nervous that an insignificant detail can be at the center of your thoughts. My insignificant thing was my fixation on my lipstick. Did I mess it up? Was it still there? Did Jake like the color? Did he even notice it? 

I could barely register anything Jake was saying at this point because my head was swimming with worry. Sitting in the car headed to the actual event finally stirred the anxiety monster that had been hiding dormant for the last week and a half. I really thought that maybe I was going to remain cool, calm, and collected about this whole thing. Oh, how wrong I was. The nerves instead had been piling up inside me and were now running rampant. 

Jake was a very popular guy and I was sure more than a few pairs of eyes were going to be following him around during the course of the night. He was going to want to hang out with his other athlete friends, which meant I was probably going to be introduced to more people than ever. Small talk was never my strong suit and I had a feeling I was going to have to chit chat with the other basketball players' dates. Did Jake like to dance? Although I was classically trained and danced more than the average person, the thought of dancing with another person, particularly Jake was anxiety provoking. 

More worrisome, looking past Homecoming, what about during the afterparty? Jake had already told me about the afterparty tradition and I had hesitantly agreed to go with him. However, Sam's warning still burned in the back of my mind. I didn't even know if it was true, but the possibility of the situation only further intensified my discomfort. 

When Jake put the car in park, I could hardly believe that I had not noticed most of the drive to school. The parking lot was fairly crowded, which made sense since Jake and I were 45 minutes late. Jake always seemed to be late when picking me up and I couldn't lie that it didn't rub me the wrong way. Being prompt was important to me and yet, I was trying to ignore the fact because it was Jake we were talking about. We both got out of the car and I trailed a step behind him on the way to the double doors. I tugged at the hem of the dress, suddenly hoping for inches of fabric to appear out of thin air.

"You're awfully quiet, Lucy," Jake commented, glancing back at me when we reached the entrance, halting my insistent pulling at the dress. "Is everything okay?" Concern was etched deep in his features. 

"Of course," I tried to enthuse, but it was a weak attempt. I don't know if Jake didn't notice my blatant lie or didn't care enough to ask any follow up questions because he took me seriously and gave me a smile in response. 

When Jake opened the front door of the school for us, I could immediately hear the loud thump of the music from the gymnasium and the wild chattering from the student body. Multicolored lights poured out from the gym door down the hall, which illuminated the dark corridor. We walked together down the hall that seemed to stretch into eternity. Jake's shoulders were pulled back and he walked with a confidence that let anyone know he was someone of importance. I caught a peek of what lay inside and the queasiness from the car became overwhelming.

"I have to go to the bathroom," I spurted out right before Jake stepped through the doorframe. He looked thrown off by my sudden declaration but righted himself.