Chapter 13: It’s A Code Red Situation
Previously in Code Red:
“DYLAN! ARE YOU STUPID?!” I screamed, looking at Missy dashing around the mud filled lawn. Her usual white hair was now a dirty brown and I’m pretty sure my face turned a nice cherry red.
“I’m sorry! She was barking at the door and I thought she had to go!” He explained, waving his hands in the air frantically.
“We need to get her!” I exclaimed, grabbing his wrist and pulling him towards the back yard. “Missy!” I called. “Missy! Come here!”
“Missy!” He yelled, following me down the steps. The grass was soaked against my feet and I sunk in with every step.
“Ew, ew ,ew!” I hopped from foot trying to ignore the disgusting feeling
“Grow up,” Dylan teased. I rolled my eyes and started to chase Missy throughout the yard, Dylan on my tail.
“Stop running!” I yelled. Of course she didn’t listen; she just continued to run across the yard. “Dylan, we’ll corner her! You go run that way!” We both ran after her in different directions, me coming up from the left, him coming up from the right. She stopped running for a second to lay down and Dylan and I charged towards her. Just as I was about to reach her, she dashed through Dylan and I causing the both of us to crash into each other. We both fell right in a huge mud pile.
But I didn’t notice the mud that was probably covering my hair and back right now. I didn’t notice that Missy was prancing around Dylan and I. But what I did certainly notice was the fireworks shooting up around me. Not from just the closeness of Dylan and I. No, definitely not that. But the fireworks were there, and you want to know why?
Well, let me enlighten you. Right now, as I lay covered in mud, the only thing I could focus on was that Dylan’s lips were pressed against my own.
***
Dylan immediately pulled away when he realized where his lips were. He looked down into my widened eyes, and I saw an emotion swirling in his gorgeous blue eyes. Oh my god, we just fucken kissed.
“U-um,” He stammered, unsure of what to do. “Fuck,” He whispered, standing up. He stretched out his hand for me to take, and when I placed my hand in his, he pulled me up. I had no idea what to say, I mean what do you say to the person you just kissed, who was your ex-best friend, and he all had to say was fuck? Did he not even enjoy it? Did he not feel the explosion that I certainly felt? I’ve kissed numerous boys since Dylan, but I’ve never felt that way before. Even if it was an accidental kiss, it still meant something huge to me and was probably one of the best kisses I ever took part in. Did he not feel the same?
Instead of showing him the hurt on my face, I picked up Missy who was now just laying down, and cleared my throat awkwardly. “Um, I’m going to go back inside,” My voice cracked and I swallowed the burn in my throat. His eyes flashed up to meet mine and I could definitely place the emotion now. He was hurt, in pain… he looked broken. And I had no idea why. I wish there was something for me to do, I hated seeing him this way.
“I can’t, I can’t,” He muttered, running his hands through his hair.
“What do you mean?” I tilted my head to the side and looked at him pacing away in my yard. Missy hopped out of my arms and ran inside where I heard a screaming Mary. Oh, so now she goes back inside!
“I need to… Ugh,” He seemed at a loss of words and before I knew it, he walked over to me, placing his lips on mine once again. I was shocked and frozen in place. After a second of feeling the heat on my lips, I responded immediately, our lips moving in sync. His hands were cradling my face and my hands found their way around his neck, my fingers tangling themselves in his hair. I had no idea why he was kissing me again, but I wasn’t going to be the first stop.
I parted my mouth to deepen the kiss and he took no time into pulling me closer to him. Unfortunately, I had to pull away to breathe and he rested his forehead on mine. We were both gasping for breath, our eyes searching one another’s.
“I’m sorry,” He whispered, and with that, he turned away from me, walking into the house.
***
I took my shower first to get rid of the mud but all I could do was think about the kiss. My lips were still tingling from the kiss as I traced them with my fingers. I could still feel the minty taste of his lips, the way they were pressed up against mine.
But then he ran away… why? And why was he sorry? Was he sorry for kissing me the second time? And why did he even kiss me again in the first place?
I stepped out of the shower, relieved to see my hair mud-free. I wrapped my towel around my hair and another one around my body. I spread lotion all around and slipped on a pair of Victoria’s Secret sweat pants and a dance competition T-shirt. I shook my hair out of the towel, and combed through it until it lay simply on my back. My thoughts were still swirling when I opened the door to Dylan’s room.
He was sprawled across his bed with his arm covering his eyes.
“U-um, I’m done with the shower,” I spoke, crossing the room to his bed. I climbed onto his bed and rested my head next to his.
“Thanks,” He muttered awkwardly, removing his arm from his eyes. He looked down at me wearily and moved to get out of the bed.
“Can we at least talk about this?” I grabbed his arm, pulling him down next to me. I needed answers and the only way my head could stop hurting would be from his words. It also didn’t help that I still had my concussion which made my head pound even more.
“Later,” He promised, he smiled weakly at me and then disappeared into the bathroom. I heard the shower start to run as I flopped back down on his bed. Was it going to be awkward between us now? I didn’t want that… I didn’t want that all. The water pattering down on the bottom of the shower lulled me to a peaceful state. My breathing turned shallow as my eyes started to droop.
“Nina?” Dylan’s voice sounded from the bathroom.
“Yeah?” I groaned, not bothering to sit upright.
“Can you grab me a pair of shorts from one of the drawers? I kind of forgot them,” His head popped through the small creak of the door with a sheepish smile on his face.
“You what?” I giggled, standing up from the bed.
“Forgot them… In that drawer over there,” He pointed to a drawer, a small smile playing on his lips. I rolled my eyes but went over to the drawer anyway. I pulled it open and grabbed a pair of his basketball shorts. I threw them to him and he caught the shorts with ease. When I turned back around, something caught my eye behind his drawers.
“Dylan?” I asked, glancing behind my shoulder to see if he was still in the doorway. When I saw he was nowhere in sight, I took a step forward and reached behind the structure. My hands wrapped around something plush and soft. When I pulled it out from behind his drawers, my mouth dropped open in shock.
I was holding my bear, the bear that I gave Dylan when we were younger. My bear. Tears brimmed my eyes as I stared it in shock. Did this mean that there was still hope? Did we still have hope? Did he actually still have feelings for me like everyone was telling me?
“Nina, what are you doing?” Dylan’s voice came from behind me. I swiftly turned around, my mouth still hung open in shock. His eyes widened as he sputtered out a few unintelligible sentences. “Give me that,” He dashed over and pulled my bear away from me, taking it into his arms protectively.
“You still have it?” My voice was hoarse as I processed the information in my head.
“Of course,” He whispered, taking my hand and pulling me to the bed.
“Why haven’t you been sleeping with it?” I quietly asked, staring at the bear in his arms.
“I’ve had you,” He admitted. “I think we should talk?”
“I think so too…” I muttered, walking to his bed and pulling one of his pillows to my chest. I leaned my head on his headboard and he faced me, looking intently into my eyes. I felt a shiver running up my spine as I clutched onto his pillow, his scent flooding my nose. “Were you sorry for me kissing me?” I blurted, looking up to meet his warming stare.
“What? No, of course not. I guess…” He paused, pinching the bridge of his nose deep in thought.
“You guess what?” I urged on, reaching out to grab his shoulder. Instead of resting my hand on his shoulder, he pulled my hand entwining it with his and resting it on his lap.
“Um, what I’m trying to get at is did you ever think about why I walked out on you?” My eyes widened as I realized he wanted to talk about it all. Not just the kiss, but everything from our friendship to now. I glanced up to find his normally piercing blue eyes, a dull broken blue. I opened my mouth to say something, but I felt lost. I had no idea what to say.
Of course I thought about his reasons. I thought about them every day for two long years, but I could never think of why he did it. Tears were already threatening to fall over but I found my voice and whispered, “Every day.” I didn’t meet his stare, I just stared at his bed covers begging the tears to not fall over. I guess that didn’t really work because the next thing I knew, he had his hand lifting up my chin so I would look him in the eyes. He brought his free hand to my face and rubbed under my eye, wiping away the falling tears.
“I never meant to hurt you,” He mumbled, his voice cracking at the end.
“Then why’d you do it?” I spoke in a hushed tone, feeling the uneasy in my stomach. “Why?!” I stood up abruptly, smacking his hands away from my face.
“I-I,” He was at loss for words.
I laughed sarcastically. “Do you know how much pain I was in? How hard it was for me to actually enjoy life after you destroyed me? Did you know that?! You destroyed me! You hurt me so bad, but you didn’t care because by the time we got back into school, you were already hooking up with girl after girl leaving me in the dust! Do you know how bad I felt? Do you know how I wanted to cry every single day because I didn’t have the boy who was there for me every day! I didn’t have the boy who made me smile when I felt like crying, I didn’t have the boy who made me feel loved, or special. He was gone!” I sobbed, throwing my hands in the air.
“Nina, please… please stop,” His eyes were bloodshot and his voice was hoarse. He sounded so broken, but at that moment, I didn’t care. I wanted him to feel how I felt for the last two years of my life.
“Why should I?! Huh? Do you not care now either?”
“Of course I care, you don’t understand,” He reached for me with his hand but I took a step back, watching the hurt flash through his eyes. “Please… please let me explain.”
“Then go ahead! Explain how you could actually break my heart!” I screamed, letting all my anger flow through my words.
“I- I broke your heart?” He questioned, looking into my eyes. Crap… I didn’t mean to say that out loud, it just kind of flew right out my mouth. I mentally face palmed myself at my word vomit. How could I have done that? How could I have let that out there?
“I didn’t say that,” I crossed my arms over my chest, looking up at his ceiling to try to stop tears.
“I broke your heart,” He stated, more to himself than me. “You loved me?” He stood up from the bed, closing the distance between us. He cupped my cheek with one hand and forced me to look at him.
“I… I, don’t know,” I stuttered, even though I think that both of us knew the real truth. “Why, Dylan? How could you do that?” My voice cracked at the end showing the real pain I felt.
He pulled me over to his bed and onto his lap. He wrapped his arms around me, rocking back and forth trying to stop my crying. “I am so sorry. I thought… I thought that you were going to leave me like everyone else did.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, balling up his shirt in my clenched fist. He kissed my forehead and paused before he spoke.
“A lot of people left me...”
“Like who?” I interrupted, wiping under my eyes.
“It’s not really important. But I thought you were going to end up like everyone else who left me. Leave me heartbroken. I didn’t want that to happen so instead, I left you before you could leave me. I broke your heart, before you could break mine.” So many things were going through my head at the moment, leaving me utterly confused.
“But how could I have broken your heart?” I looked up at his face with a confused expression. He didn’t love me back then, if he did, he wouldn’t have left me. He would have stayed.
“You loved me a-”
“And you left!”
“Don’t you get it?! I loved you too, Nina, I loved you too. But I was scared.” Explosion. My heart literally felt like it exploded from this confession. He loved me, just as much as I loved him.
“I wouldn’t have left, I wouldn’t have been able to,” I admitted sheepishly.
“I know that now,” He responded, squeezing me tight.
“Why did you stop? I mean… Loving me?” I pressed, not really believing the boy I was currently sitting on.
“I didn’t.” He didn’t? Does that mean he still has feelings for me now? He kissed my forehead just as Mary called for dinner.
“What do you mean you didn’t?” I stood up out of his lap and followed him out of the door.
He turned back around with a smirk playing on his lips, he shrugged his shoulders. “I just didn’t.” What the hell does that mean?! He disappeared down the stairs, leaving me shocked. I finally got the answer I’ve been waiting for for two long years, yet, I’m still just as confused.
***
“Nina,” Dylan whispered, removing his arms from around me.
“No,” I whispered, clutching onto his waist.
“You need to wake up,” He murmured, wiping hair away from my forehead.
“I don’t want to.”
“Please.”
“No.”
“Get up now or I will personally throw you into the shower,” He threatened, untangling our bodies from each other.
“Fine,” I groaned, throwing off the covers. I sluggishly crawled out of bed and made my way over to the bathroom. I turned on the light, momentarily blinding me. I turned on the shower and stripped down, cringing from the cold. I stepped into the shower letting the steaming water blanket me from the cold.
Today was the first day I was going back to school. I was nervous but not from seeing anyone, no I was nervous because I wasn’t sure if my concussion was fully gone. I didn’t want it to start hurting in the middle of day, leaving me to cry from the pain.
As soon as I was done with my shower, I wrapped my towels around my hair and body, and walked into my room. When I was finished drying up, I strolled into my closet and pulled out a warm outfit. I slipped on a cream sweater, black leggings, and my brown leather boots. I pulled on a maroon scarf and wrapped it around my neck. I pulled out my brown sunglasses, pushing it on top of my head and slipped on a few bangles. I tied my hair into a ponytail and started to do my makeup. I covered my lashes with mascara and did my eyeliner. I rubbed some lip gloss onto my lips and mushed them together in the mirror. I pulled on my back pack and skipped down the stairs.
“You’re coming to school?” Ryder questioned, taking a bite out of his waffle.
“Uh-huh,” I nodded my head and placed my own waffle on a plate. I spread some blueberries and strawberries on top and brought it to the table with me.
“Are you going to drive with us?” I nodded my head and took a bite. I moaned in delight and watched as Amber pranced into the kitchen, Dylan following right behind. We locked eyes and the kiss came rushing back. I looked away and bit down on my lip to stop from smiling. The things this boy gets me to do. I dumped my plate in the sink and grabbed Missy’s leash. She was sleeping on the kitchen floor by the wall.
I hooked the leash to her collar, waking her up. The walk was quick and everyone was waiting for me in the kitchen.
“Come on Nina, we got to leave,” Amber pulled my wrist behind and dragged me to the car. My phone buzzed with a message.
Dylan: You’re not riding with me this morning? Damn…
I laughed out loud and shook my head in amusement. I opened the back door to my brother’s door and got in.
“What are you laughing at?” Amber wondered, turning around in the passenger seat.
“Oh… nothing,” I unlocked my phone to reply.
Me: Don’t miss me too much…
Dylan: Oh I won’t. I won’t have to deal with you squeezing me like there is no tomorrow.
I rolled my eyes. I did no such thing! Maybe at first but that was before I actually liked riding on the motorcycle.
Me: Shut up and drive.
Dylan: Sure thing sweetheart ;)
We pulled up to our normal spot, and we all got out of the car.
“If your head hurts, go to the nurse and tell her to call me, okay?” Ryder demanded, swinging his arm around my shoulder.
“Got it,” I agreed, looking around at all the students. Huh, I really didn’t miss school at all. I didn’t miss all my boring teachers, all the bells ringing, all the longing stares. I didn’t miss it all. I followed my brother to the courtyard and met up with all our friends.
“Nina!” Tyler squealed, running up to me and attacking me in a bear hug.
“Hey Tyler,” I greeted, rubbing his back. Everyone came rushing to greet me and to see how I was feeling. God… what would I do without these people?
***
“Today we will be learning blah blah blah,” Mr. Woaring spoke, tapping the board with his marker. Maybe he didn’t really say blah blah blah but all the numbers on the board were making my head spin. I clutched my head with my two hands and leaned forward until my forehead was resting on the desk.
“Nina? Are you alright?” I felt Dylan’s hand on my back, his breath fanning my neck.
“N-no,” I muttered, squeezing my eyes tightly close.
“Go to the nurse,” He whispered, his palm rubbing up and down on my back.
“I’m fine,” I shook my head no, but winced from the shooting pain.
“Why do you always have to be so stubborn?” He muttered, removing his hand. No! Don’t! It actually felt good… Was that weird? “Mr. Woaring, may I please bring Nina to the nurse for her head?”
What the hell? I never told him to do that!
“Sure go ahead,” Mr. Woaring approved, returning to his lesson. Dylan’s hand wrapped tightly around my arm, pulling it away from my head. He dragged me out of my seat and towards the door. I ignored the whispers and stares and kept my eyes closed. He pulled me through the hallways and opened a door. “We’re here,” He announced, sitting me on a chair.
“Hi, how may I help you?” Nurse Linda smiled brightly at the two of us. She was always so perky and nice to students, sending you home immediately if you didn’t feel well. She had her blonde hair wrapped tightly in a bun and her smile was contagious.
“Her head hurts, can you do something?” Dylan spoke for me, standing in front of me.
“I can give her some Motrin,” She offered, standing up and rummaging through her cabinets. Dylan looked back at me hesitantly but I just nodded my head for him to agree. “Ah! Here it is,” She handed me two orange pills and a bottle of water. I drowned the pills and kept the water to my side.
“Thanks,” I weakly grinned and left the nurse’s office, Dylan following behind.
“Come on,” He grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the front doors.
“Where are we going?” I followed behind him hesitantly, but he managed to drag me to the front with no problem.
He looked back at me mischievously and smirked. “We’re skipping.”
“We’re what!?” I exclaimed in shock. I’ve never skipped before, now I never had perfect attendance but it was always from being sick or away, not skipping! I don’t know if I have it in me to actually skip.
“Sweetheart, stop overthinking it and get on the bike,” I looked up to find him already on his motorcycle, a helmet being reached out towards me. I took the helmet and placed it on my head gingerly; I hopped on and wrapped my arms around his torso.
“I can’t believe I’m doing this,” I muttered, watching as he revved up the engine and pulled out onto the street. “Where are we going?”
“Where do you want to go?” He questioned, driving along the main road.
“Can we go to CVS? I’m kind of in the mood for some candy,” I have weird cravings, no judging!
“Okay?” He stated unsurely, taking a turn into CVS parking lot. I hopped off the bike, cradling the helmet under my arm and rushed into the store. “Nina, wait up!”
“Sorry,” I smiled sheepishly and slowed down to normal pace. We entered the store and I went straight for the candy aisle. “Grab the cart, please?” I asked sweetly.
“Yeah, yeah,” He teased, grabbing an empty cart. He started humming a song and I stopped short looking at the candies. I grabbed a few bags and listened intently to his humming. I gasped as I realized what song he was actually singing. Love Story by Taylor Swift. When he got to the chorus, I joined belting loudly.
“Romeo take me somewhere we can be alone, I’ll be waiting, All there’s left to do is run!” I danced down the aisle, laughing loudly at his shocked expression.
“You’ll be the prince and I’ll be the princess,” He sang just as loud, earning a few weird looks from walking customers. I laughed out loud from the irony.
“It’s a love story, baby, just say yes!!”
***
Ding Dong! I hopped up from the couch and pranced to the door, Missy following behind me.
“Missy!!” Emily’s loud squeal rang through my ears. I watched as Missy dashed towards Emily, jumping into her arms. “Thank you so much for watching her, I hope she wasn’t too much trouble!”
Oh definitely not, I mean all she did was get me and Dylan to kiss, get us covered in mud, and then get us to have a heartfelt conversation about why he ended our friendship two years ago that still leaves me confused every time I think about it!
But all I responded with was, “She was great.”
“I definitely owe you! Love you,” She gave me a tight squeeze and I handed her the leash that was left by the door.
“Love you too,” I sang watching as she ran down the stairs. “Bye!” I shut the door and whirled around. “Ahh!” I jumped at the sight of Dylan right behind me. “You scared me!” I put my hand over my heart to calm my rapid breathing.
“I didn’t get to say goodbye,” He pouted, watching as Emily’s car pulled away.
“Oh grow up,” I teased, punching his shoulder. He stuck his tongue at me and I rolled my eyes. “By the way, thanks a lot for getting my mind off my head and buying me all that candy.”
“No problem,” His cheeky grin left me speechless. I stood on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek to show my gratitude before starting to walk up the stairs. When I didn’t hear any sound behind me, I turned around and saw Dylan stood in shock in the hall. A huge smile spread across my face and my stomach did a little jump.
I, Nina Parris, had an effect on Dylan Stone. What the hell?
***
“Alright ladies, it’s competition season!” Mrs. Jody cheered, clapping her hands together. She was a biology teacher that was probably in her late twenties. She had wavy blonde hair flowing past her shoulders and her eyes were a hazel green. She loved to dance so when they had an opening for the dance coach, she immediately took the position. She always helps us create the dances and she gets the most awesome costumes.
The whole dance team was scattered around the mini gym in tanks and shorts on Tuesday after school. Our hands rested on our hips from finishing our conditioning. My hair was probably a wild mess and I could definitely use a water right now. “As usual, captains get solos so Nina and Emma you have solos. Nina your solo is called Hold On Too by Lori Martini. Here’s your costume since we took measurements in the beginning of the year,” She handed me a plastic bag and I pulled out a beautiful costume.
“Oh my god! I love it!” I squealed, holding it up against my body. It was a two piece purple costume.
“Go try it on,” She urged, pushing me out of the mini gym. I scrambled towards the bathroom and knocked into a stone wall. Did I seriously just do that?!
“I’m so stupid,” I moaned, rubbing my forehead. Was I that excited about a stupid costume that I ran right into a wall?
“You are,” Dylan agreed, chuckling. Wait… Dylan?! I looked up and noticed Dylan’s football clad body with all the armor standing right in front of me. Did he look scary or what?
“Geez, I’m so sorry, I was just really excited about this,” I held up the costume and watched as his eyes flickered between me and the costume. “Are you mentally dressing me?” I teased, punching him lightly.
“Would you mind?” He licked his lips playfully causing me to laugh.
“Why are you in the school?” I questioned. Normally football players always stayed outside and would only come in for emergencies. “Is something wrong?”
“Oh, no, no. I had to get ice for one of the freshman,” He rolled his eyes, and let out an annoyed huff.
“Why do you have to do it?” I asked. Usually a freshman is opted into running around for water or ice. I wonder what happened that he had to do it.
“I volunteered,” A loud laugh escaped from my mouth causing him to smile in return. Now that sounded like it actually would happen.
“Well, I got to go try this on, I’ll see you later, yeah?”
“Yup.”
“Alright, bye,” I skipped into the bathroom and stripped off my sweaty tank and shorts.
I pulled on the costume and ran my hands along it. The top was like a bra, one cup a light purple which was covered in lace and the other cup was a deep sparkly purple. There was a sheer purple fabric that ran from the middle of the bra down to the shorts, curved around my back and back to my front, attaching to the top of my shorts. The shorts were short and a light purple, the same material as the lace cup. It was gorgeous.
I grabbed my clothes that I pulled off and ran back into the hallway. I heard a whole whistle from behind me and I turned to see Dylan walking backwards down the hall. I rolled my eyes, but a giggle left my mouth, causing me to blush. I waved at him which he returned and retreated back towards the mini gym.
“You look stunning!” Mrs. Jody complimented, looking me up and down.
“I love it, Nina!” A junior exclaimed. A few more compliments were thrown my way and I thanked them in return. Emma returned in a stunning yellow one piece with jewels running from the center to her side.
“Oh my god Emma,” I smiled brightly at her and she looked at me with the same expression.
“You look gorgeous, Nina,” She said, rushing over to me.
“What’s your solo name?” I asked.
“You Can Be Anything,” She answered. I nodded in approval and retreated to the corner to switch back into my practice clothes.
“The group dance will be to the song Love Me Right by the Swag Greeks,” She announced; everyone clapped their hands in return and you heard a few squeals echoing around the room. Love Me Right was a new song on the radio all about telling a boy to treat a girl right. It was one of my favorites. “Nina, Emma, and Nicole come up here to demonstrate the costumes. There are twenty one of you so this whole theme works.”
She handed Nicole a black and pink two piece costume. The bando and booty shorts were a sparkly black. There was a pink see through fabric running from the left shoulder down to the right hip. It looked amazing and went well with the song. She was also handed two black wrist bands. Emma was handed the same exact costume except the fabric that ran from the shoulder to the hip was gold. She was also handed the same wrist bands. I was handed the same style costume except the bando and booty shorts were sparkly silver. The fabric and wrist bands were blue instead of black.
“I love them!” I exclaimed and Nicole and Emma nodded their heads in agreement. We all tried on the costume and waited for everyone else to change.
“Places everyone!!” Mrs. Jody shouted, walking over to the center of the gym.
This was going to be one hell of a season.
***
Dylan’s POV
“Today is the pep rally, where all the senior football players hand out roses to the senior cheerleaders and dancers,” Coach announced at our last minute meeting he just so happen had to call. Today was Friday, the homecoming pep rally, the huge homecoming football game, and also senior night where parents would walk out their senior children onto the field. Posters were all around the school notifying everyone about the game and dance tomorrow.
Apparently the Homecoming Dance was a Masquerade and we all received masks in homeroom due to either the dress color for girls or tie color for boys. I received a black mask since I handed in a slip that just said black. I wonder what color Nina will be wearing. She refused all week to let me know her color or to see her dress.
“Does anyone have any special girls they want to hand the roses to?” Coach asked at the front of the cafeteria. The boys who had girlfriends raised their hands and went to speak to the coach. “If you have no one you want to hand out the rose too, you may leave.” Most of the boys gathered their bags and left the room. I hung back, shooing off my friends and went to wait in line for coach. Once all the other boys left, I made my way up to him with his notepad.
“Hey Coach,” I smiled, rocking on my heels.
“Hey Dylan, what’s up?” He asked without looking up from his work.
“I was wondering… if I could um, give my rose to Nina Parris?”
***
“Amber Parris!” One of the announcers called. Everyone watched as Jack grabbed a rose from one of the teachers and walked over to Amber.
“Thank you for everything,” He smiled at her widely and her cheeks turned a bright red. She kissed him on the cheek and gave him a hug like every other couple was doing. By couple I mean rose giver and rose takee. I gulped loudly waiting for Nina’s name to be called.
“Nina Parris!” And that’s my cue. Her jaw dropped as she looked at me, a blush like her sister’s crawling onto her cheeks. I took the rose from the teacher and made my way over to her.
“Thanks for everything,” I repeated the line out loud and handed her the rose. “Sweetheart,” I whispered, winking. She gave me a kiss on the cheek thanking me for the rose. “No kiss on the lips?” I teased in her ear, my arms immediately wrapping around her as she returned my hug. A loud “Aww” rose from the bleachers.
“I’m going to hurt you,” She whispered teasingly, letting go of me. I chuckled at the sight of her being embarrassed.
“Love you too,” I spoke in a hushed tone. She rolled her eyes but smiled none the less, making her way over to the dancers. The Quad immediately surrounded her, squealing in her ears. I shook my head in amusement and chuckled to myself. God…That girl.
Nina’s POV
“Let’s go Nina!” My mom called over the intercom.
I mushed my cherry red lips together one last time in the mirror checking over myself before dashing down the stairs. Everyone was waiting downstairs for me all in their uniforms. Amber in her cheer uniform, her hair pulled into a tight ponytail, a bow sitting perfectly on top. Ryder and Dylan in their football uniforms, their helmets tucked under their arms. And me, in my dance uniform, my hair done in perfect curls, a poof sitting on top.
“Come on kiddos. Don’t want to be late,” My dad pushed us all outside, Janie and Joe following behind us. My parents were walking Ryder, Amber, Dylan, and I all at once. Since Dylan doesn’t have his parents home, my parents immediately took their place in walking out with him. “We’ll meet you there,” My dad waved goodbye ad Janie, Joe, and my mom all got into his car. We watched as they pulled away, Amber and Ryder getting into his car. I hugged Dylan goodbye and got into the back seat. I wasn’t going on the motorcycle since I couldn’t mess up my hair with the dang helmet. We drove down the street, Dylan closely behind us all the way to the school.
Pulling into the school was a disaster. Cars were everywhere. Parents were here, sisters and brothers were here, friends were here, and students were here, leaving the parking lot backed up like crazy. My brother pulled around to the back where the spots for the athletes were reserved.
“Let’s do this thing,” My brother cheered, shutting off the car. Amber and I cheered, stepping out of the car. We met up with Dylan in the crowd, looking for our parents. I saw my mom’s brown hair flopping from the wind, and I dragged everyone behind me to get to them.
“Mom!” I called, shouting over all the people. She turned immediately, a huge smile on her face.
“Come on Matt!” She shouted, pulling my father, Janie, and Joe through the crowd and over to us. “You ready?” We all nodded our heads and made our way to the football field where senior dancers, cheerleaders, and football players were lining up. Janie and Joe stood off to the side of the field, playing a game that looked like Rock, Paper, Scissors, Says Shoot. My family was positioned at the back due to the number of people walking out. Dylan was placed next to me on my right, my mom on the left, Amber next to my mom, my dad next to Amber, and then Ryder at the end.
A static from the announcers box made everyone shut up. “Welcome to the Tenafly Senior Night and Home Coming Game!” A voice boomed over the speakers. A loud cheer erupted from the crowds, the butterflies growing in my stomach. Did I mention that I hate attention? When you walk out with your parents, all eyes are on you so of course I am going to be nervous.
Dylan’s hand found mine, interlocking our fingers, and gave me a reassuring squeeze. I leaned into his side and he smiled down at me. The announcer started calling names one by one. When The Quad’s, The Trio’s, and The Top 4’s names were called, the screams were the loudest.
My family’s hands were locked as we got closer to being called. “Ryder Parris, Amber Parris, Nina Parris, and Dylan Stone.” We all walked over to the rest of the seniors, Amber, my mom and I all being handed roses. The screams were deafening as we all posed for a picture. After our parents gave us kisses on our cheeks, they disappeared to grab Janie and Joe. Amber and I gave good luck hugs to Ryder as he left to go meet up with his team.
“Good luck,” I grinned at Dylan pulling him in for a hug.
“Good luck to you too,” He squeezed me tighter to his body. Is it a problem that I never wanted the hug to end? He pulled away all too soon, giving me a kiss on my forehead. “You’ll kill it.”
“Score for me, and let no one get past you,” I patted him on the back and he chuckled.
“I’ll try.”
“Good!”
***
As we reached home, I wasn’t surprised at all to see most of the student body already waiting for us to get here.
“Shit,” My brother cursed, rushing out of his car. He disappeared into the house, and in a matter of seconds loud music was being blasted through the house and out into the lawn.
“He wastes no time, does he?” I joke, stepping out of the car and onto the driveway.
“Nope, he does not,” My sister agreed, following me inside the house. I watched as drinks were already being passed around and our two huge coolers were being wheeled outside by Asher and Ryder.
It was normal for the Homecoming Party to be at our house, but tonight was even a bigger celebration due to the winning of the football game. It was a close game, 49-48, but we managed to pull out in the end, Dylan scoring the last goal.
Speaking of Dylan, where was he? The inside of our house was already filled up. I immediately spotted my friends in the living room, talking to the other dancers.
“Nicole! Emma! Emily!” I chanted, attacking them from behind.
“Nina!”
“Hey girl!”
“Wassup?” We all exchanged hugs, ignoring the already drunk teenagers pushing us out of the way.
“Have you seen Dylan?” I asked, looking around the house. They all gave me knowing looks, and I bit my lip in embarrassment.
“I think I saw him in the kitchen,” Nicole pointed towards the kitchen and I nodded, thanking her.
“Dylan? Dylan!” I shouted, pushing people out of the way.
“Looking for me sweetheart?” His husky voice whispered in my ear.
“Dylan!” I whirled around and attacked him with a hug. “Great game and touchdown!”
“I told you I get one for you,” He winked, shoving his hands in his pockets. He was wearing a pair of khaki shorts and his football jersey.
“That you did,” I smiled back and ran my fingers through my hair. “Last Hope” by Paramore blasted through the speakers.
“Can I have this dance?” He asked, holding out his hand and smiling cheekily. I nodded my head and rested my hand in his palm, biting my lip. He pulled me to his chest and started twirling me around the room.
“Dylan!” I giggled, letting him spin me around the room. People immediately moved out of the way, watching us dance.
“Look at that girl,” He whispered, nodding his head behind me. I craned my neck to look behind me to find a girl screaming birds in the middle of the room. I started to double over in laughter, resting my head on his chest.
“Look at him,” I pointed to the boy behind Dylan and he turned his head.
“Come on sweet cheeks, dance with me,” A drunk boy swayed, trying to get a blonde girl to dance with him.
“Ewe, no! Get your grubby paws off of me!” She screamed, running off in the other direction.
He turned around, chuckling loser under his breath. And that was how we spent the rest of the night, dancing with each other, making the other laugh hysterically, and just enjoying each other’s presence.
It was one of the best nights of my life.
***
“Oh my god,” My mom gasped, looking around at everyone in their homecoming dresses. “You all look so beautiful! Picture time! Picture time!” Everyone groaned, including me and got in line for a picture. I was squeezed between Bianca and Emma, smiling brightly at the camera. “Now one with the masks!” I slipped my sparkly black one on that covered my eyes and nose. We all grinned and my mom snapped the picture.
I had the black dress on that I bought with Amber, my hair falling in perfect ringlets. Amber did a Smokey Eye for me, covering my eye lids with brown and blacks. I had on eyeliner, blush, and a cherry red lipstick. To finish it off, I paired it with black pumps.
Emma’s dress was strapless and a dark pink. It had silver rhinestones that looked like a firework shooting out from her right waist. As soon as the jewels ended, the dress ruffled out in many layers, ending at her midthigh. Her hair was curled with two French Braids going away from her face. She did her makeup lightly, just some mascara and eye liner. And she had on sparkly silver heels, giving her a few inches. Her mask matched the color of her dress, it being sparkly like mine.
Bianca had on a purple dress, the straps going around her neck. The straps had small silver jewels that ran across the top and down in between her boobs. The dress flows out in two different directions, making it come down nicely. Her hair was straightened and pulled back like Amber’s, her makeup also dark. She had white heels with a huge white bow on her heel. Her mask was white to match her heels, it bejeweled at the bottom.
“Let’s go everyone!” Amber squealed, leading everyone to the driveway. Hailey and Bianca followed behind her into the car with Amber.
Hailey had on a strapless dress, the top bejeweled immensely. It started out with a navy blue, blended into a neon blue, and ended with white jewels creating an ombre effect. The bottom was a sheer white, even though you couldn’t see through, and ruffled out at midthigh. Her hair was curled, falling down her shoulders and her makeup was done like mine. She had on blue heels with a jewel on her toes. Her mask was also blue and bejeweled at the bottom matching Bianca’s.
Amber had on a strapless red fire truck colored dress that flared out at the end exactly like mine. It had a huge silver waistband with huge jewels covering her waist. Her hair was perfectly straightened, it being pulled away from her face. It really brought out her blue eyes and her makeup was also a Smokey Eye. Her mask was a red with silver sparkles. She had on red stilettos with large silver jewels like her waistband.
I hopped into Emma’s car with Nicole and Emily. Emily climbed into the front seat with her strapless black dress. It had a silver jeweled waistband exactly like Amber’s except the jewels grew from a clustered bunch to a few the more it reached the top. The bottom looked exactly mine and her heels were sparkly, matching her mask. Her red hair fell in waves down her back and her makeup was done with a silver.
Nicole climbed into the back seat with me in her strapless salmon pink dress. The bust was outlined with silver jewels that continued down her middle and flowing to her midright. The bottom continued down to her midthigh ruffling out. She had on silver heels and her mask was a salmon pink with silver sparkles. Her hair was pulled to the middle, and curled downwards. Her makeup was done lightly with bright pink lip gloss.
All in all, everyone looked absolutely stunning. All the boys left our house early thanks to me, and were going to meet us at the Masquerade. What would be the fun of wearing masks to already have all the boys know who you are? Exactly…
We pulled up to the front of the school, shocked at how many cars were already there. I decided to text Ryder to see where they all were.
Me: You guys there yet?
Ryder: Yes, what color is Nicole?
Aww, sweet, sweet love.
Me: We’re walking in. And not telling you
Ryder: I hate you
Me: Love ya
We met up with the Trio and I notified them all that all the boys were inside. We followed the drifting students into the school and into the gym. I gasped, taking in the scenery. There were black drapes outlining the walls, with feathers almost everywhere. Each table had a sparkly tablecloth, and its center piece was a vase filled with black and white marbles. There were plenty of black and white balloons all around the gym.
The student council went all out for this. Everyone had masks on and the music was playing loudly. As soon as we stepped inside, everyone dispersed, leaving me stranded by myself. Wonderful friends I have!
I walked past the dancing bodies until I felt a hand pulling me back. I was whirled around and I face planted right into this guy’s chest. What the actual fuck?
Dylan’s POV
Standing inside of the crowded gym was definitely not fun at all. All the guys had on black tuxes, these fucken itchy masks covering our faces. This fucken sucked, and not knowing where Nina was sucked even more.
“The girls are inside,” Ryder announced letting all of us know. I felt a jolt of excitement rush through me. She was in here, probably looking as beautiful as ever, but she was in here.
“You gonna find her?” Zach questioned leaning on the wall next to me.
“No,” Lies. Even he knew it was lie from the way he looked at me. I saw a bunch of girls walk through and I immediately started walking through the crowd to get to her.
“Go find her boy,” Justin called, slapping me on the back. A small grin broke out on my face as I felt a tiny hand around my forearm. I whirled around, my heart doing a little jump thinking it was Nina, but boy was I wrong.
“Ronnie,” I sighed, looking at her. She had her mask pulled down to her neck showing off her face. She had on a feather dress, making her look like a bird. Ugly…
“Hey Dylan,” She purred. When does this girl stop?! Jesus…
“Let go of me,” I shrugged my arm out of her hand and went towards the front where I saw that huge group of girls enter, except they weren’t there. Shit. As I turned around, I spotted a perfect shade of brown flopping around as she walked through the crowd. Was that her? I strode towards her, and grabbed her arm, spinning her towards me. She bumped right into my chest and her hand flew up to her nose.
“Owww,” She moaned, rubbing at her nose. Her warm brown eyes fluttered up to meet mine and my heart skipped a beat. Yep, definitely her.
Nina’s POV
“Owww,” I pinched the bridge of my nose and rubbed the pain away. Who the hell would grab me like that? I snapped my head up to look at this person’s face but of course, he had on a mask.
“Miss me?” He whispered in a husky voice. God, just his voice created butterflies in my stomach. Wait, butterflies? His smirk shone brightly in the darkness of the room and his blue eyes already captured me. Smirk? Blue eyes? There’s only one person who could make me get the butterflies with just two words. There’s only one person whose smirk is so well known. There’s only one person with such blue eyes that I lose myself in them every time.
“Dylan?”
“Did you think that I wouldn’t find you?” He chuckled, bringing me to the dance floor.
“Well I thought it would take you more than five seconds!” I exclaimed, letting him lead me. Reflections by MisterWives played in the back ground as we started to sway.
“I love how I’m still taller than you and you’re in heels,” He teased , glancing down at my feet.
“Oh, shush it big boy,” I stuck my tongue out at him as our principle walked to the stage.
“Time to announce Homecoming King and Queen!” She cheered into the microphone. Dylan and I glanced at each other before we started hysterically laughing remembering how all week we ran through the halls screaming “Vote for Amber and Jack!” It was absolutely hilarious to watch the kids’ reactions to our screaming.
“The Homecoming King and Queen are… Drum roll please!” Everyone started pounding their feet on the floor or hands on the table. “Jack Willis and Amber Parris!”
“High-five!” I cheered, high fiving Dylan’s hands. I watched as my sister strode up to the stage with an award winning smile plastered on her face. She took Jack’s hand as soon as she stepped onto the stage. Everyone went wild, screaming at the top of their lungs, including me. I was practically cutting off Dylan’s circulation in his arm but he didn’t seem to mind, cheering as loud as I was.
The crowns were placed on their heads as they smiled on stage. The song continued to play as they walked back into the crowd, dancing with each other.
Dylan spun me around until we were dancing like yesterday night. “Looks like your plan worked,” He winked, smiling hugely.
“I guess it did,” I laughed, staring into his eyes. A moment of silence passed as we lost ourselves in each other’s eyes. I found myself leaning closer to his lips inch by inch. I guess he had enough because he closed the distance between us urgently, our lips running wild with each other’s.
I couldn’t explain the blissful feeling I was having just by being connected to him in such a way. I had no idea what we were, but right now I was just too lost in the heat radiating off from our lips.
“What the fuck?” A voice raged from beside me. When I broke away from Dylan, gasping for air, I realized our masks fell down to our necks. How we didn’t notice that before? I will never be sure, but that left our faces open for show. At least no one seemed to notice us basically making out on the dance floor.
My head snapped to the angry voice and my eyes widened in shock.
“Ryder?” I squeaked, glancing at Dylan with a petrified look. He looked back down at me with the same look, clearly as scared as I felt. Before I knew it, Ryder was already dragging Dylan out of the gymnasium. What did I get myself into?! I quickly looked around for anyone and when I spotted Amber first, I dashed to her side. “Amber!”
“What’s wrong?” She immediately broke away from Jack and looked at me with horrified eyes.
“You have to help me! It’s a Code Red situation!”
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I hoped you guys liked this chapter!!
What do you think is going to happen between Ryder and Dylan?? Will he kill Dylan or give him his blessing? Hmm...
So this book now has over 12,000 reads and I can't thank you enough! It makes me so excited to see all the votes, comments, and reads I get so please don't stop!
The group dance costumes will be shown in a later chapter and the homecoming dresses are to the side!
I also have a new story in mind so if you reach these following goals, I will reveal the name to you in the next chapter! But I will not be posting anything until Code Red is done!
My goals for this chapter that should be reached by next update are:
Reads: 400
Votes: 60
Comments: 12 comments from 12 different people, it could even be a simple smiley face!
I know you guys can reach them!
Thanks for all your support!
XO Sam