Despite what my sister said, my "date" (if that's what you want to call it) to the dance was Quinn. And anyways, I already accepted his invitation at lunch - I wasn't going to take it back. That'd be mean.
It was the night of the dance. I was in my room, looking in the mirror that hung on the back of my door. The girl looking back at me had long blonde hair that was curled and partially clipped back. She wore a halter party dress that was silver on top and a darker shade of gray on the bottom. Paired with the dress was a pair of sheer black tights that were covered on the bottom by a pair of black high heels she may or may not have stolen from her sister's closet.
"Are those my shoes?" Kristen's voice emanated from my doorway. I jumped in fright - I thought I closed my door.
"Uh..." I began to say before she stepped into my room and crossed her arms over her chest.
"It doesn't matter. They go perfect with that outfit," She commented. I raised my eyebrow in confusion. "You look great, Len."
That's when I noticed that Kristen was wearing a pair of capri leggings and a sweatshirt with some college logo over the chest. "Why aren't you dressed up?" I inquired.
She shrugged her shoulders, "I'm not going."
"But it's your last year of school."
"I know," She turned and looked at my mirror, fixing her hair a little, "But no one asked me. And even if I did want to go, I didn't buy a ticket."
"You can get one at the door," I told her, "And nothing's wrong with going with a few of your friends."
"What friends do I have left?" She questioned, hurt in her tone. I stared at her, not knowing what to say. "Anyways, I've been to plenty of dances before. They're all the same," She looked over at me. She was going to say something else, but she was cut off by Anthony's car horn. She glanced over her shoulder with a glare on her face as if Anthony was in the hallway. She looked back at me and said, "Remember what I told you, Lennox. Quinn's exactly like his brother. He's only going to use you." And with that, she patted me on the shoulder and escaped into her bedroom.
I stayed in my room for a little, taking in what she told me. Did that mean Anthony used her? I thought to myself, Was I missing something? Was I taking the wrong side in this conflict? Anthony's car horn sounded again. I snapped out of the daze I had gone into and picked up my clutch, rushing down the stairs and almost falling on my face. Before I walked out, I screamed back to my parents, "I'm going to the dance!"
"Have fun!" My dad shouted back. I smirked before I opened the front door and saw Quinn leaning on the side of Anthony's convertible, a corsage in his hands. In the front seat sat Anthony and Mari.
Quinn smiled widely as he peeled himself away from the car and met me halfway up the walkway. "You look gorgeous," He greeted.
I blushed, "Thanks."
"Here, I got this for you," He opened the box the corsage was in and took it out, "Can I see your arm?" I held my arm up and he slipped the flower onto my wrist. He smiled, as did I.
"Come on, Quinn!" Anthony yelled from the front seat, "We're going to be late if you take any longer."
"Sorry," He apologized as he turned around and walked back to the car, opening the door and helping me in. I sat behind Anthony, who I noticed was looking at me in the rear view mirror. I swallowed hard as I grabbed my seat belt and buckled in.
"You ready, Len?" Anthony asked. I nodded my head yes. He slammed down on the gas pedal and we sped forward.
*****
Dances were most definitely not my thing.
I never noticed how small the gym was, until tonight. When there were people from every grade - freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors - and teachers monitoring your every move crammed into the gymnasium. It was just too crowded, so I ended up sitting with Quinn at one of the tables on the edge of the gym, with Anthony and Mari away from everyone. The only thing we couldn't escape was the loud music that blasted throughout the gym and the occasional couple who was stumbling around the gym, locked at the lips, as they tried to make their way to somewhere private.
One thing I did notice, though, was that Mari was trying to get Anthony to the dance floor, but he just wouldn't move. She actually ended up leaving him to go hang out with three other guys. Anthony, left alone with us, put his head down on the table and sighed. I kind of felt bad for him.
"So, are you having fun?" Quinn tried to start a conversation as he swirled the most-likely spiked fruit punch in his small cup.
"Yeah," I lied as I rested my head in my hands.
He laughed, "You know, I know this isn't the best way to spend your Friday night. Trust me, I feel the same way." I looked up at him and saw him smile, "Now I know why dances aren't your thing." I giggled.
"Alright, students of Sacramento High!" The DJ's voice sounded over the chatter of everyone and the music playing, "It's time to slow things down a little..." He pressed a button and a cheesy slow dance song started playing.
Quinn stood up and extended his hand out to me, "May I have this dance, Miss Lennox Smith?" I looked over at Anthony who was looking at us like we were aliens.
I chuckled and returned my attention to Quinn, "You're serious?"
"As serious as I'll ever be."
"Alright, Quinn," I replied, standing up and placing my hand in his, "Let's have this dance."
He led me out onto the crowded dance floor and we got into slow dance position, my hands on his shoulders and his hands on my waist. The two of us started swaying like all the other couples. But unlike other couples, neither of us would make eye contact with each other. And when we did, we just stared at each other, not knowing what to do next. That's when Quinn leaned in, eyes closed and lips pursed out, and kissed me.
