My Savior

-25-

"Oh my gosh! You look absolutely beautiful!" Lydia squealed as she backed up to get a full view of me. "Hmm... I just need to fix this one piece of hair." She does something with my hair before motioning me towards my mirror. I stared at myself in shock. She didn't put a lot of makeup on me but it complimented my features so well. She curled my hair and did a waterfall braid.

I wrapped my arms around her. "Thank you so much, Lyd."

"No problem, hon." I sat down on my bed and she helped me put on my shoes. She grabbed my hand and we walked downstairs. My parents were at the end of the steps.

"You look beautiful, sweetie," my mom said. She pulled out her phone. I sighed and wrapped one of my arms around Lydia's waist. We both smiled and my mom took the picture. "Gorgeous."

My dad kissed my forehead. "You're growing up so fast."

I rolled my eyes. "Dad, it's just a dance."

He threw his hands up in the air. "And the next thing I know I'll be walking you down the aisle!"

My jaw dropped. "Seriously, dad?"

"You know it's true." I punched his arm and smiled.

There was a knock on the door.

"I'll go get that," my mom said as she walked towards the front door. My dad quickly stood in front of me to hide me. "Well don't you look handsome. Please, come in." Ryder stepped inside and he had his hair combed back with gel. He was wearing a simple tux. I've never seen him dressed like this before. It was strange, but I liked it.

"Where's Sage?" Ryder asked as he glanced around. I stepped out from behind my dad and when he saw me, his eyes widened like an owl's and his jaw dropped to the floor. I walked up to him shyly. He placed his hands on my waist and kissed my forehead. "You look beautiful, princess."

I blushed and looked down at my feet. "T-thank you..."

He chuckled and placed his fingers under my chin. He tilted my head up and pecked my lips. "Are you ready to go?" I nod.

I say goodbye to my parents and Lydia. I follow Ryder to his grandma's car.

We pull up in the school parking lot. Ryder walked over to my side and opened the door. He wrapped his arm around my waist and led me to the entrance.

"Are you nervous?" he asked.

"A little." That was far from the truth. I was extremely nervous. We weren't even inside yet and my anxiety was already kicking in.

We walked into the gym which was lit up by hanging lights. Some people noticed me, and I think they knew who I was. Ryder pulled me closer to his side with his arm still around my waist. I saw him glare at any guy that looked at me.

"Let's go get something to drink," he said.

"Ok." He guided me over to a stand where someone was serving drinks. I got a water and Ryder got a Mountain Dew. I scanned the crowd and saw Dante. "Dante's over there." We walked over to him and I gave him a small wave. "Hi, Dante."

"Hey, Sage. You look stunning tonight."

"Thank you." Ryder didn't seem bothered like usual, most likely because Dante is his friend.

Ryder whispered in Dante's ear, and I could only hear two words, stash and package. Are they talking about drugs? I wanted to know why they were whispering and if they were discussing drugs. Of course, I knew better than to ask. Especially when it invades Ryder's privacy and what he does when no one's looking. I know he doesn't like talking about his gang business with me. I can deal with curiosity and it may be best if I didn't know.