The Valentine's Note

Chapter 3

“The Ball?” I questioned.

“Yep,” he responded, reaching across me and opening the door to his car.

“You didn’t tell me anything about going to the Ball,” I stated.

I had no intentions whatsoever of going to the Valentine’s Ball. Going out with a stranger on Valentine’s Day was a huge deal for me itself. I wasn’t going to go to a romantic dance with floating heart-shaped balloons and soppy love songs.

He shrugged. “I’m telling you now and I would love it if you would accompany me.”

“I’m not really in the mood for it,” I told him. “It’s a surprise that I actually came for dinner with you.”

“I’m going to pretend that did not hurt,” he said.

“No!” I replied quickly. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just-I’m not the biggest fan of Valentine’s Day.”

“Well, then it’s up to me to make this day special enough for your liking,” he said with a warm smile. Noticing my hesitation, he added, “Please.”

I sighed. “Fine, but if I don’t like it, I’m going to leave.”

“You will like it,” he assured me. “After all, you are with me.”

“Quite confident, aren’t you?” I mused out loud while getting into the car.

He shot me a wink after shutting the door and made his way to the driver’s seat. On the drive to our school, we talked about a lot of things. One thing I loved about talking with Seth was that our conversations were not awkward at all so far. I felt like I could say whatever I wanted to and not be judged by him. Even if he did judge me, I don’t think it would bother me that much.

Entering our school, Seth parked his car in the car park and we made our way to the Dance. While we were silently walking, Seth slyly snaked his arm around my waist and pulled me close to him. My instant reflex would have been to wiggle away but I was too stiff to do anything. I didn’t object and quietly continued walking.

We entered the gym, where the dance was held, together. Few girls smiled at me while the rest raised their eyebrows dramatically and gossiped with one another. I simply ignored them and kept my eye for Kyla. She was meant to be here with Derrick after their dinner.

The gym was decorated quite decently actually. There were huge curtain-like materials attached to the ceiling meeting in the center to form an almost dome. The only obscene thing was the center-piece which happened to be a fountain. Who in the right mind decides to drop a fountain with water right in the center of the dance floor?

It looked plain weird as everyone danced to electronic songs around it but I guess it would look better when there were couples dancing around it on slow, mellow songs.

“I’m already bored,” I told Seth as he guided me through the crowd toward an empty table.

“We just got here,” he exclaimed, pulling out a chair for me.

“Fine, fine,” I agreed. “I’ll co-operate.”

“You make it sound like a school project that we’re working on,” he commented.

I rolled my eyes at him and looked around me. When my eyes landed back on him, I caught him studying my face. He didn’t seem embarrassed about it one bit. Instead, he continued staring at me; his eyes wandering from one place to another. I raised my eyebrows at him but he raised his eyebrows back at me.

“What?” I asked. “Why are you staring at me like that?”

He lifted one shoulder lazily. “You have pretty eyes,” he complimented me. “Want a drink?”