Angel

Chapter 11

When I was younger, back before Evan was old enough to even remember anything, my parents took me to Mel's birthday party which was themed after Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. I remembered the way her backyard had been decorated with what felt like millions of string lights. Some of them were coiled in glass jars set along the top of the fence, and the rest were wrapped around the porch and steps. Every time I thought back on the memory, I could still feel a sense of awe as a lady dressed like a fairy coated my cheeks with glitter and placed a flowered garland on my head.

Looking at the gazebo and the rest of the park, I felt a similar feeling. The gazebo was draped in tiny string lights that ended up connecting to a pole a few yards away. It created a tent-like illusion that hung over a space covered in something I was told was a portable dance floor. Like the jars in Mel's backyard, jars filled with lights were glued to wooden stakes around the edges of the park, so that if people weren't getting food or dancing, they had enough light to see by as the sky darkened.

The pagan holiday, originally a festive celebration devoted to the gods they believed in, had become a town-wide summer festivity that felt like it was something out of a fairy tale. I spotted Vix dancing to the music by herself and made my way to her. Before I reached her, I was intercepted by Will, who was dressed almost exactly like a prince would be. He held out a drink in my direction.

"Did you drug it?" I asked him. Uncharacteristically of him, Will's cheeks and ears reddened.

"I just thought you might be thirsty. I'll drink it if you don't want it though. It's no problem." Will spoke softly and retracted his extended arm.

"No, I mean thanks. I am pretty thirsty." I said quickly. Will reached his hand out again and smiled. I took a sip of the drink he gave me and tried not to cough. "There's alcohol in this."

"Oh yeah. It's like the one night they don't monitor teens when they get drinks so everyone over the age of like twelve ingests it." He replied, rubbing the back of his neck.

"And how many have you had?" I watched him count on his fingers like we were back in elementary school.

"This one will make seven." I nodded and took another drink.

"What is it?" I asked him when I noticed how long he'd been staring at me.

"You look really beautiful tonight Nicosia." I felt myself blush, and passed it off as the alcohol.

"Thank you. You don't look to bad yourself." Again, his cheeks burned bright, and he smiled. Not a smirk, or a half smile, but a genuine smile. I heard the music change to something slower and watched as Will finished his seventh helping of the festive drink. He held his hand out to me again.

"Would you dance with me? Please?" He asked. When I hesitated he added, "just one dance. That's all I'm asking of you."

"I'd love to." I accepted his hand and he, admittedly on the wobbly side, led me to the dance floor.

As we started to dance, we became surrounded by other couples, and soon lost to anyone watching from the sidelines. I felt the heat of Will's skin through the fabric of my dress on my hip. The same heat scorched my hand as I interlaced my fingers with his. For someone as drunk as he was, Will was a master at dancing. The hand on my waist pulled me closer to him and his fingers began to softly drum to the beat of the song. Like before, I felt that magnetic pull, and the electricity pulse through my veins.

"Nicosia?" He whispered.

"Hmm?"

"Do you think, if things had gone differently, you would have chosen me?" He took a moment to spin me around, then replaced he hand on my waist.