Farmgirl

Chapter 9

"Woah," I said. She blushed. "Um, you look great," I said.

"So do you," she said, her face steadily turning redder.

"Time to start makeup and hair?" I asked. She nodded, and I giggled. We walked into the bathroom and I began brushing my hair as best as I could. "You keeping your hair down?" I asked.

"I don't know, does it look okay?" Abigail asked.

"It looks amazing, honestly," I said. "Do you want any makeup or anything?"

"No, I'm okay, thanks," she said. I shrugged and began pulling my hair up into a tight bun. A few minutes later, I was dabbing on some foundation, and then I was done. I'd never really been a fan of makeup, and I didn't want to make Abigail stand around awkwardly any longer.

"Are we ready to go?" I asked Abigail.

"I think so," she replied, and she linked arms and walked down the stairs. My mom almost cried when she saw us and spent the next few minutes fussing over the two of us, making sure every hair was in place and then she began to take pictures.

"Mom, really," I said, "we gotta get to the dance, we're gonna be late."

"Oh, fine, fine," my mom said, and began to hurry us into the car, making sure we had warm coats that wouldn't ruin our hair or our outfits. Abigail and I sat in the backseat, nervously grinning at each other. We were at the school before long, and my mom waved goodbye from the car as we walked in. Abigail stood awkwardly to the side as I dealt with getting us into the dance. I'd gotten all the forms signed for a student not from my school to attend the dance, and, luckily, there were no problems. Before we knew it, we were in the gym, on the dance floor. The lights were low, and the walls were decorated with glowing snowflakes all around. The music ranged from upbeat holiday tunes to the latest pop songs. I stuck my hand out towards Abigail. She stared at it for a moment.

"Want to dance?" I asked, and cringed. It sounded better in my head.

"Um, sure," she said, and I dragged her out onto the dance floor. Before long, I bumped into a couple of friends from school who I knew from the GSA.

"Hey! Ella! Lucy!" I exclaimed, upon seeing the two girls dancing together nearby.

"Hey!" Ella said. She was a pale girl, with choppy blonde hair and small, brown eyes. She was holding Lucy's hand, who had tan skin, curly dark brown hair, and a mischievous smile.

"Is this Abigail?" Lucy asked. I nodded.

"We've heard so much about you," Ella said, grinning. Abigail turned slightly pink.

"Um, thanks?"

"Anyway, we've got to get back to dancing," Lucy said, laughing a little. "It was really nice to meet you, Abigail!" The couple walked away. I elbowed Abigail.

"What?" she asked.

"Don't stare," I said.

"Sorry," she replied sheepishly, "I'm just not used to seeing people who are so comfortable being out, you know?"

"Yeah, I get it," I said. And I did. Right now, Abigail was in an entirely new world. I couldn't blame her, honestly. Soon we met other friends and acquaintances of mine, and Abigail grew more comfortable as we all danced together in a big circle.

Towards the end of the night, the DJ announced that he was putting on a slow song. I looked over at Abigail, a little nervously, and held out my hand. She took it. I put my hands around her waist, and hers went onto my shoulders.

"You're so tall," I muttered, wishing I'd thought to wear high heels. Abigail giggled a little. The song began. We slowly swayed together, not sure what to do. Neither of us had ever really slow danced before.

I'd never really contemplated how awkward dancing with someone else really was. I had always been rather awful at eye contact, and I now found myself staring determinedly at the floor, my cheeks hot. To avoid looking Abigail in the eyes, rather than holding her at arm's length, I drew myself in closer so that the dance was more like a hug, my cheek resting on her shoulder and my hands on her back. I heard Abigail breathe in sharply, startled when I did this, but she relaxed immediately. We were okay, we were fine. The singer in the background crooned about how difficult love was, and although I agreed that maybe there were some challenges along the way, falling in love was quite simple and easy. After all, who'd have thought that I'd be dancing in Abigail's arms, enveloped by her warmth and feeling at peace, and above all, loved?

🍂🍂🍂

Saturday morning, Abigail packed up and went home. She hugged Meredith at the gate to the farm, grinning.

"See you later," Abigail said. Meredith smiled, and they parted. Abigail walked back to the farm. Everything seemed so pretty, the grass, the sky, the trees. She walked into her house, still smiling. She wandered around, trying to find Andrew, and finally knocked on his bedroom door.

"You awake?" she asked quietly. She heard a groan and footsteps coming to the door. Andrew opened it, looking groggy, his hair messy.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," Abigail said, "I've got something to tell you." Andrew raised an eyebrow. "You, ah, might want to sit down," Abigail suggested. They went into Andrew's room and both sat on his bed.

"What's up?" Andrew asked. Abigail bit her lip nervously.

"You can't tell Dad," she began, "promise that you won't tell Dad anything."

"I promise," Andrew replied uncertainly. "What's up?" he repeated.

"Meredith and I..." Abigail said slowly, "we're, um, a couple."

"Hold on," Andrew said after a pause, anger suddenly growing in his voice, "you got together with the girl I asked out?"

"I like her too, Andrew, and we tried not to get together for you, but it just...happened." Abigail said apologetically.

"I can't believe this," Andrew muttered, and stood to leave.

"Andrew, wait," Abigail cried, "don't tell Dad, please, don't tell him!"

Andrew's face softened for a moment. "God, of course, I won't tell him, but I need some time alone." He left the room. Abigail sat alone, guilt-ridden and nerves flying.