*Edited*
Uriah came over as soon as Elijah left after leaving me to think about what he had muttered under his breath. It confused me so much that I just chose to forget about it.
Butterflies fluttered around nervously in my stomach as Uriah climbed up the steps to my front door. I held the door open for him as he entered my house and I turned to him shyly after shutting the door.
His nimble fingers came up under my chin, lifting my head up so I was looking directly in his eyes. His gaze was intense as he looked at me.
"You look beautiful, Veronica," he said, giving me one of his famous smiles with the dimples. I blushed and said, "Thanks. You look good, too." And he really did. Uriah had his brown hair slicked back so I could clearly see his brown eyes. He wore an expensive dress shirt, similar to the one Elijah had been wearing, but he had actually buttoned the collar.
My mom came in a few minutes later, busily taking a thousand pictures of us. I rolled my eyes and groaned so many times, but it seemed like Uriah didn't mind at all. He had a huge smile on his face the entire time and laughed each time I made an annoyed sound in the back of my throat.
"Alright, you kids go have fun," my mom said. She held up a finger and continued. "And no smoke, drinking, or-"
I held up my hand. "I got it, Mom. Thanks!" I yanked Uriah out the door and quickly shut it behind us. I practically held onto his arm for dear life as I walked down the steep driveway in high heels. I slipped a few times and he would adjust his grip on me to make sure I didn't fall flat on my face.
Uriah carefully helped me in his car before getting into the driver's side. I looked at the radio to see what time it was. 7:30. The dance would start in about thirty minutes and took about half that time to get to the school.
Since our town was so small and all, the homecoming dance would be in the cafeteria. The teachers and staff had stayed after school today to help prepare the decorations for the occasion.
I bounced my legs up and down in the car as Uriah drove. He looked over at me with a smile of amusement.
"Don't tell me you're nervous," he said. I stopped bouncing my legs and waved my hand in the air, trying to play it off. "Pfft, no. I'm just excited," I replied. He chuckled and turned on the radio.
I instantly perked up when I heard what song he had put on. Do it Now, Remember it Later by Sleeping With Sirens blasted through the speakers. Uriah's hand hit a button on the radio and the song changed to some pop song that I didn't recognize.
"Sorry about that. My brother likes that kind of stuff and I'm forced to listen to it whenever he's in the car with me," he said.
Ugh. Elijah would like the same type of punk rock music that I listened to. I didn't want to have anything in common with that jerk.
I forced a laugh. "It's alright."
We arrived at the school to find the parking lot already packed. Uriah drove the car around a few times until he found an empty spot near the back. He opened the car door for me and held my hand as we walked to the school where a long line of students were shivering in the cold. Noticing my shiver, Uriah wrapped his arm around my shoulders, tucking me against his side for warmth.
His body scorched mine where we touched. I was no longer cold and I was pretty sure my red face was there as proof.
Ten minutes later, we were allowed to enter the school. When we reached the cafeteria, my jaw dropped. The staff had done such a great job transforming the cafeteria that I could hardly recognize it. Colorful strobe lights pulsed to the beat of the loud music blasting from huge speakers around a DJ who was bobbing his head up and down. Students packed together in front of the DJ to dance.
Uriah led me over to a table set up off to the side of the room. I slipped off my heels, earning a laugh from Uriah. I grinned as I placed them under the table along with my wristlet that held my phone inside with a bit of cash and makeup, just in case. When I was all set, Uriah grabbed both of my hands and steered me out onto the dancefloor, right into the middle of the group of dancers.
I was hesitant about dancing at first, but quickly found a rhythm and lost myself in the music. Uriah and I danced together and I was having so much fun. Bodies all around us jumped, shook, and danced to the music. Uriah opened his mouth and was trying to shout something over the loud music.
"What?" I yelled, getting dirty looks when I stopped dancing and accidentally screamed in someone's ear.
"I'm gonna to get a drink. Do you want one?" He said over the music. I nodded and walked over to the table I had put my stuff under and sat down as he went to get drinks. The chair next to me scraped over the ground and I was surprised he was already back with the drinks. I turned to thank him when my jaw dropped for the second time.
Uriah wasn't the one sitting next to me.
No, it was his brother. Elijah.
" 'Sup, Vivian," he drawled with a huge smirk. I punched his arm as hard as I could. He rubbed his bicep as if it had hurt him. I rolled my eyes.
"My name is Veronica. And what do you want?" I asked, angrily.
I was not going to let Elijah ruin my night. I was having a great time with Uriah so far so I refused to let this asshole ruin it.
Elijah's green eyes swept around the room before landing on me again. "First time?" He asked.
I didn't understand what he meant. "What?" I asked, stupidly.
"You're first time at homecoming, idiot."
"So?"
He shrugged, leaning back in the chair so he balanced precariously on the back two legs. He folded his arms behind his head as he said, "So, dance with me."
At that exact moment, the DJ announced that he would be playing a slow song shortly and to grab your date to get ready to slow dance. Elijah raised his eyebrows at the irony.
"Excuse me?" I said, exasperated. How long did it take Uriah to grab drinks?
"You heard me."
"Uh, no. I'm not going to dance with you," I said, crossing my arms over my chest and turned away from him.
"Why not?"
"Because you're a jerk and I hate you-"
"Is everything okay over here?" Uriah asked, standing in front of me with two plastic cups in his hands. I shook my head at the same time Elijah said, "Vicky said she wants to dance with me."
"Oh..." Uriah muttered, setting the cups down on the table.
"No! He's the one who told me to dance with him, but now he's pissed off that I refused," I told Uriah.
"Elijah." Uriah warned.
Elijah stood up, banging the front legs of the chair on the floor. He looked down at me and smirked. "Like I would ever want to dance with you." Then he swaggered away, leaving me fuming in my seat.
Uriah took the now empty seat that his brother had just been sitting in. He handed me one of the cups and said, "Elijah really likes to mess with you for some reason."
"You think?" I said, taking a sip of fruit punch. Uriah chuckled, setting his cup back down after taking a few sips.
The slow song the DJ had promised to play, began. Uriah stood up and offered me a hand.
"Can I have this dance?" He asked. I placed my hand in his hand, allowing him to help me stand up. "Of course," I responded.
We walked out onto the dance floor as a few students gave us weird looks. They probably wondered why someone as good looking as Uriah would want to dance with me. I ignored them.
Uriah placed his hands lightly above my hips and I put mine around his neck. We swayed to the music and I had to admit that he was a really good dancer. Something bumped into me and I looked over my shoulder to see what it had been. Or rather, who it had been.
"My bad," Elijah said without an ounce of an apology in his words. Bianca had her head rested in the crook of his neck as they slow danced. His hands rested right above her ass, fingers splayed in the slits in the sides of her dress. I wanted to vomit.
"I can't believe your brother likes her," I heard Bianca's muffled voice say.
"Don't worry about them. That girl is nothing special. Uriah will realize that soon enough," his deep voice rumbled.
I focused my attention back on Uriah to see if he had heard what they had said about us. It didn't seem like he had, so I chose to not let it get to me. Elijah and Bianca were perfect for each other in every way. They were both sarcastic, cocky assholes.
Uriah and I danced for the rest of the song. A huge smile lit up my face afterwards.
"Excuse me. I'll be right back," I said to Uriah, "I just have to use the restroom real quick." I wanted to make sure that my makeup still looked decent or if I would have to fix it.
He nodded. "Okay."
I made my way over to the table and bent over to reach underneath it to where I had put my shoes and wristlet. My hand scanned the area underneath the table and I bumped into my shoes, knocking them over. I continued to run my hand over the floor where I thought I had put my wristlet. When I didn't feel it, I lifted up the table cloth to get a closer look.
It wasn't there. I could see my shoes, but my wristlet was missing. I stood back up, ready to go tell Uriah, when I collided with a solid chest.
"Sorry, I didn't see you..." The words died on my lips when I realized who I had knocked into.
"Looking for this?" Elijah asked, dangling my wristlet between his fingers.
"Yes!" I jumped up to snatch it, but he lifted it higher out of my reach. I jumped again and missed, fingers just barely scraping against it. "Give it back," I demanded.
"I'll give it back to you under one condition."
I groaned. "What?"
"Go to the after party at Bianca's house."
"No way."
"My brother was planning on going with you anyway. Either go to the party or dance with me. It's your choice." He cocked an eyebrow.
There was no way I was going to dance with him after what I had heard him say about me and the way he treated me. I sighed. I really didn't have a choice but to go to the stupid party that I knew I was bound to have an awful time at.
Way to ruin my first time at homecoming, Elijah Reed. I thought to myself.