Back To You | Ricky Garcia

Chapter Nine

"Hey Charlene" they all said in unison. I grinned back at them, and heard a loud clap from the front of the room. Mrs. Phillips caught the whole classes attention, and Jon and Evan ran back to their usual spot next to Ricky across the room, where all the guys were leaning on the wall.

"Good morning class! Today, we are going to learn how to slow dance. Prom is coming up next year, and I would hate it if I let you go without learning how to slow dance properly!" She said cheerily. The class groaned, clearly not amused by having to learn a new dance. It's especially awkward, since we're going to have to be pressed up against each other.

"I'll assign pairs, and at the end of next month, we're going to have a small dance in the class room. You'll have to wear dresses and tuxes and all of that jazz. You, as pairs, will each take turns dancing,to the slow song of your choice, in the center of the room. I will grade your performance as your project grade for the term." She said happily, clearly proud of her unique project idea. We all stared at her, and gave her a look that read You have got to be kidding me.

"First pair! Mr. Winters and Ms. Clarens. Step to the side with your partner, please." Evan and his partner, Annabelle Clarens, stepped to the side. Annabelle has golden blonde hair, and blue eyes. I once did a project with her, and found that she's really nice and smart. Evan was safe with her.

"Next pair! Mr. Klaasen and Mrs. Garcia. Please step to the side." The two looked at each other, and gladly went arm in arm to the side of the room.

Great, my two closest guy friends are taken. Who the heck am I going to get paired up with?

A few more pairs were assigned, and I was beginning to worry. I didn't want to end up with a bad partner. I looked over to my side, all the girls obsessing over the possibility of getting Ricky as a partner. I rolled my eyes, and looked over to Ricky, who was smirking directly at me. Mrs. Phillips turned her head to look at me, and then to Ricky. A small smirk formed on her face.

Oh no. That's not a good sign.

"Mr. Garcia and Mrs. Jones, you two are going to be paired up. Please step to the side." she said.

Are you serious? I would've rather gotten Smelly Scott, at least he's a nice person and does'nt have an ego the size of the moon.

Ricky and I glanced at each other, and walked to our spot on the floor. As I was walking, Evan, Francesca, and Jon gave me sympathetic smiles. I knew they felt sorry for me.

I stood next to Ricky, who was staring down at me. I couldn't help but feel intimidated, so I just looked down and played with my fingers.

"I guess it was fate." I heard him whisper, still looking down at me.

"Yup." I said, trying not to look him in the eye. My voice came out a bit harsh.

"Look, I'm sorry for everything I did this weekend. Can we please just move on and forget anything ever happened?" he said, guilt rushing through his voice. I gave in, and looked up to him.

"Sure. I'll forget it ever happened. But that doesn't change the fact that you did it. It doesn't change the fact that you're a flirt, and it doesn't change what you did to me back then." I said looking at him, hurt flashing on my face. I felt so weak talking about it. Even after 4 years, I still cared. He never even explained, or said sorry. We never had closure on it.

He opened his mouth to say something, but I cut him off.

"I really don't want to get a bad grade because of you, so let's just pretend we're complete strangers, okay? You don't know me and I don't know you. We're just two students trying to learn how to slow dance. Got it?" I said to him. He just nodded, and stared at the wall in front of him.

Mrs. Phillips cleared her voice, and our attention went back to her.

"So, these are the pairs. Make sure you're familiar and comfortable with your partners. When you dance, you have to do it with emotion and grace. We don't want to move like zombies. Move to the center with your partner." She commanded.

Ricky grabbed my hand, surprisingly, and dragged me to the middle of the studio. When we reached our destination, he let go of my hand, which was still burning from his touch. I rubbed it on side of my pants, and went back to listening to Mrs. Phillips.

"Let's start. Girls, put your arms around your partners neck." She said, looking around the room to see if we we're following her instructions.

I looked at Ricky hesitantly, and wrapped my arms around his neck. He stood in front of me, stiff as a stick.

"Boys, put your hands on your partners waist. Not too low, I want you to be gentlemen, not hookers."

Ricky gently placed his hands on my waist, avoiding my gaze. He held on to me tightly, but in a way that made me feel safe, not squished.

"Jon, I think you need to place your hands lower. I think you're too much of a gentleman." Mrs. Phillips said, chuckling on the other side of the room.

"Oh, okay." I heard him whimper. Ricky and I both laugh at Jon's embarrassment, and looked at eachother with grins on our faces. Ricky's grin fell into a small smile, and he looked at me with a look in his eye that I could'nt read.

This is awkward.

"Now, pull your partner as close to you as possible, so that you're pressed onto eachother." Our teacher said to the class.

Ricky and I looked at eachother nervously, and I inched closer to him. His gaze was locked on my face, and I felt a blush rising on my cheeks.

Mrs. Phillips walked up to us, and examined us up and down. A small smile tugged on her face.

"You guys need to move a little big closer." She said, and walked away.

Ricky pulled my waisted a bit closer, and his hands gripped my waist tightly. I held on tighter to his neck, and my face was close to his. I felt his minty breath mix into mine, and heart started racing like it was in a marathon. I smelled his manly cologne on his shoulder, and my heart started doing back flips.

We were so close that I swear he could feel it beating against his chest.

I looked down, and a loose hair fell on my face. He removed a hand from my waist, and tugged the hair behind my ear. He stroked my cheek with his thumb softly.

I looked back into his green eyes, and saw that little twinkle in the corner of them. The same twinkle that I loved looking at whenever he sang.

Suddenly the bell rang, and all the students picked up their bags and walked out the studio.

Ricky and I pulled apart, and we grabbed our bags. I rush out the door, and Ricky rushed to catch up with me.

"Charlene! Wait up!" I heard him yell behind me. I walked a little faster.

The hallways were crowded by Ricky still managed to grab my shoulder. I spinned around to look at him.

"Charlene, I need to talk to you. About everything." He said, pleadingly. I sighed and shook my head at him.

"I have to go Ricky. I just- I have to go." I said, turning around and storming off to my next class.

My legs seemed to wobble as I walked up the stairs. I needed to run before Ricky comes and follows me again.

It's not that I don't want to talk to him about all of this. I want to talk about our past. I want to get closure. Its not that I'm scared of. I'm scared of falling for him all over again. I'm scared of him using his charm to win me back. I'm scared that if I do, he'll break me again. I'm scared of losing more pieces of the heart that was already shattered to begin with.