Girl In Red (R.HALE)

25

Rosalie pulled into the spot beside Edward's Volvo, cutting the engine. 

"Ready?" 

Leigh nodded, moving to open the door, but Rosalie was already there. She offered Leigh her hand, Leigh laughing as she took it. 

"What a gentleman you are," she said, grinning. 

Rosalie shrugged. "I do try." 

Their fingers remained entwined for a few moments, before Rosalie detached to lock the car and get her bag from the back seat. 

Leigh was surprised. The school looked so different.

There was a red-carpeted walkway, lit up by strings of lanterns leaking buttery light, in which people were lining up in pairs to go through a large, black-and-white archway that read 'Casino Monte-Carlo'. It looked very romantic in the fading evening light. 

"I'm impressed," Leigh hummed, nodding. 

Rosalie sighed. "Reminds me of the dances I used to go to." 

Leigh raised an eyebrow in questioning as they began to walk. 

"Courting used to involve dancing when I was human," Rosalie said, the ghost of a nostalgic smile on her lips. "People would throw these huge parties, sometimes with string quartets and sometimes with jazz bands - either way, dancing was involved." 

Leigh's stomach swooped as the image of Rosalie as a flapper girl flashed through her mind. It continued to baffle her just how beautiful Rosalie was, in literally any context. 

"Sounds like fun," Leigh said. 

Rosalie wordlessly took Leigh's hand, lacing their fingers together as they approached the red carpet. Considering their late arrival, it didn't take them very long to get to the archway, where a photographer was crouched. 

"Evening, girls," he called over the top of his camera. "Pose for a picture?" 

Leigh looked at Rosalie in questioning. If Rosalie could have blushed, she would have. Leigh slid an arm around her waist, turning to face the camera with a smile, but Rosalie angled her head to the side, lips brushing against Leigh's temple and cool breath tickling her skin. 

"Perfect, go on through!" The photographer called, just after the harsh click of the camera. 

Leigh's hand lingered on Rosalie's hip as they walked through two large doors. Music blared, lights flashed, and bodies swirled around in the centre of the room. Gambling tables were dotted around and an old car was set up in the corner for pictures. 

"They ran with the theme, didn't they?" Leigh chuckled, leaning close to Rosalie to be heard over the loud music, despite knowing that she would have heard her anyway. 

"It's not bad for a high school prom," Rosalie replied. "Trust me, I've been to a few." 

"I keep forgetting that," Leigh laughed. "Am I at the end of a long list of lucky prom invites that you've romanced?" 

Rosalie raised an eyebrow, smirking. "Who said I was going to romance you?"

Leigh gasped in mock offence, but couldn't hold onto it for long, as Rosalie pulled her by their entwined hands onto the dance floor. She didn't recognise the song, but that wasn't what had her attention. She hadn't been prepared for the sight of Rosalie dancing. 

Leigh had thought Rosalie was graceful and fluid in stillness, but in movement she was dazzling. 

~~~