The Prom Queen's Sidekick

Chapter Twelve: Dance Party

"Emilie, what the hell? I'm not your boyfriend," James protested, and then looked at me and my family. Both of my parents looked surprised and Topher looked like he wanted to murder James. I didn't know what my expression was, which perfectly matched my feelings, because I didn't know what to feel. "She's just kidding. I'm not her boyfriend!"

She chuckled, shaking her head. "Okay, maybe not yet my boyfriend. But we're going to be together someday," she said, smiling at him. Then she looked at my parents. "Why don't I show you guys where to sit? Mom prepared a seating arrangement."

"Dee, can I talk to you alone?" James asked, approaching me and taking my hand.

"Not now, James," Topher said, his voice dangerously low.

James glared at Topher. "This doesn't really concern you."

Emilie narrowed her eyes at James's hand holding mine. "James, why don't you go back to our table? You can talk to Madison later," she said, her eyes not leaving mine. Then she smiled but I was sure it was only faked.

James looked like he wanted to protest, but then gave in. He gave me a torn look and then let go of my hand. Emilie then led my parents, Topher and I to our table, which was in the farthest right. She was talking to my parents in an enthusiastic tone, but I was barely listening. My head was filled with Emilie's voice repeating the word "boyfriend."

Was this the end of my short-term relationship with James?

"Dee, are you all right?" Topher whispered as soon as we sat down on our chairs. Then he shook his head. "Of course you're not all right. I'm a stupid person."

"What was that all about?" Dad asked out loud, looking at Emilie's retreating figure. She left to sit down with her parents, since their table was at the center of the room. Dad looked at me with a concerned expression. "Did James ever mention Emilie to you?"

Still not saying anything, I shook my head.

"But James said that he isn't Emilie's boyfriend," Mom said firmly. "She was just teasing with us, that's all."

"Yes, but James was too defensive and it's a wonder why he haven't even mentioned Emilie to Dee before," Topher pointed out. "And James told Dee that he's going to be in a meeting tonight, which was why he couldn't come. This doesn't definitely look like a meeting to me."

My parents were silent after that. They exchanged unsure glances and then looked back at me. The three of them kept staring at me, as if I was such a fragile little thing. So I gave them a smile, which I hope was real enough to make them believe I was okay and doing well.

"I'm fine," I assured them. "Really. I trust James, you guys. He won't be lying to me."

"But—" Topher began.

"Topher, drop it," Dad said, not in a menacing tone but in a grown-up tone. Topher clamped his mouth shut, and looked away.

The program started right after that.

***

"I just need to go to the restroom," I said, standing up from my seat.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Topher asked.

I raised an eyebrow. "To the restroom?"

He smiled sheepishly. "I guess not."

I gave him a half-smile and then stood up. My parents were on the dance floor, dancing with the other grown-ups. The mechanics of the whole dance thing was pretty easy. Everyone should have a dance partner and should form a big circle before the dance will start. After about two minutes, the boys will move to their right and the girls will move to their left, changing partners. The dance will finally stop when you meet again with your original partner. It looked rather fun, and to add more into the excitement, the group was divided into two: middle aged people slash grown-ups and young people.