The week flies by, and before I know it, I'm standing in front of the floor length mirror in my bedroom, dress on, makeup done, hair styled.
I had spent all night last night in the school gym, decorating with Ginny and anyone else I could convince to help. Ian and Amanda even showed up for an hour or so, hanging Christmas lights.
I love my dress so much, I can't stop running my hands over it. It's baby blue and shows just the right amount of midriff without being gaudy. The top is lace with off-the-shoulder cuffs, and the bottom is chiffon and flows seamlessly to the floor. When I tried it on, I felt just like Juliet—without the poison.
I decided to go simple with my hair, just some light curls and a few strands tucked back with bobby-pins to stay out of my face. My mom is standing behind me in the mirror with tears in her eyes.
"Geez, Mom, it's not my wedding day," I say, teasing her.
She nods, "I know, sweetie. You just look so beautiful...really."
"Thank you, Mom." I give her an appreciative smile.
She takes a deep breath, trying to compose herself. "Now remember, your father and I will be there for the coronation."
Parents are allowed into the prom if their kid is nominated for King or Queen, to be able to take pictures and congratulate them. Although some students complain, I actually think it's nice. At a big moment like that, you should have your family there.
"I remember, Mom, even though there's no way I'm going to wi—"
I'm cut off by Ian's voice from downstairs. "Bailey, hurry the hell up! We're all waiting!"
"Language!" My mom yells back.
I take a deep breath and one more look in the mirror before heading down the hall. At the top of the stairs, I look down to see Ian, his girlfriend Amanda, my date Derek, Mandy and Nick all standing in the foyer.
"Sorry. I didn't know everyone was here," I say and begin descending the stairs.
Everyone looks up at the same time, and I'm having an "only happens in the movies" moment. All I need is a romantic song and slow motion to complete the scene as they all stare at me taking every step.
Maybe I should be looking at my date, but my eyes are automatically drawn to Nick. He's staring at me with his mouth hanging open. When he catches me looking at him, he closes it and attempts his cocky, half-grin that I've seen so many times over the years.
Once I reach the bottom, Mandy is the first to speak. "Bailey, you look fucking hot."
I laugh as Derek wraps his arm around my shoulders playfully. Derek and I used to be very good friends, and even kissed once in eighth grade, but a couple years ago, we sort went separate ways. I dove head first into cheerleading while he starting hanging out more and more with the stoners. I certainly partake in the occasional toke at parties, but I'm not going to revolve my life around it.
I've never had any bad feelings towards him, though, and we recently found out that we're the only ones in our class going to SIU, so we kind of reconnected. It will be nice to have one familiar face around campus. I could never see him as anything other than a friend, and he's never given me a reason to think he feels any differently.
After we take a million pictures in my front yard, the six of us pile into the limo we rented to take us to the dance. Per usual, Nick sits as far away from me as possible.
Derek has a fake ID and snuck some beer into the back. Everyone has one on the way to the dance besides me. I'm too nervous. I know it's silly, but I'm afraid no one will like the decorations. All I could afford with my almost nonexistent prom budget was Christmas lights and tulle. I'm actually hoping Ginny is right. No will even pay attention to them. Derek more than makes up for my lack of drinking, though, by having four during the thirty minute drive.
It takes thirty minutes because we realize that none of us thought about the fact that we will need to eat something beforehand. Most people make reservations at one of the two fancy restaurants in town. We, however, went through the drive thru of Burger King and prayed like hell that we didn't get ketchup on our outfits in the back of the limo. To be honest, I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. We laughed, and shared our fries with each other. Even in the moment, I knew this would be a something I would never forget.
I am relieved when our group finally makes it to the school. The gym looks so much better with the fluorescent lights off and people scattered around. There are long waves of tulle along the walls, and the entire ceiling is covered in white icicle lights. Around the stage, there is more of a cluster of lights, creating a spotlight effect. It doesn't look nearly as tacky as I had feared.
The first half of the dance is pretty uneventful. I dance a little but mostly walk around socializing, telling every girl I see how gorgeous she looks. My eyes are drawn to Nick every few seconds. For the most part, he doesn't see me, laughing and talking with his friends, but every once in awhile I catch him glancing my way. When that happens, the familiar warmth encircles me.
He looks so handsome tonight, and I wish I could tell him. I had tried to picture him in a tux before today, but I just couldn't conjure the image. He wears baggy jeans and a plain black or white t-shirt seven days a week. I didn't know how I would feel about such a drastic change, but I like it--just not everyday because I love his "I don't care" wardrobe.
The announcement eventually gets made for all prom king and queen nominees to gather behind the stage for coronation. As I'm heading there, I spot my mom and dad walking through the door. They see me and wave big and overenthusiastically. I laugh and wave back.
What is suppose to happen during the coronation is simple. Each attendant stands on stage with his or her escort, and whoever is announced to be the winners share a dance on the dance floor.
What happens in my case is a panicked blonde girl in a baby blue dress on the verge of tears when her date doesn't arrive where he is supposed to be.
Where the fuck is he? He knew we had to do this at some point during the dance. Hell, he even seemed excited about it!
Mandy notices my worried face, "Bai, what's wrong? You look like you're about to throw up."
"Derek isn't here! He was suppose to be here. He said he would be here. But he IS NOT here!" I'm rambling.
At the same moment, Justin and Rebecca find their way to the group. I roll my eyes at them because they are literally the last people I want to see during my moment of crisis.
Much to my dismay, I see that Rebecca wants to say something to me. "Oh no, Bailey, where's your date?"
Shit. She knows something. I narrow my eyes and cross my arms. I look at Justin first to see if I can read him, but he is looking everywhere but at me. "I don't know, Rebecca. Where is he?"
She feigns innocence. "Well how would I know?"
I'm over this. "Listen you--"
Nick stands in front of me to stop me, facing Rebecca. "Just tell us where Derek is," Nick says calmly.
"Oh! Derek is your date? I had no idea!" She says, arching around Nick to face me. What a bitch. She fucking knew. "The last a saw him, he was passed out in some limo in the parking lot. Maybe I should have woken him up?"
I ignore Rebecca and look to Mandy. "Do I have time to go get him?"
She looks at the clock. "No, dude, we're going out there in like ninety seconds."
Fuck, this is going to be humiliating. No one goes out there alone. I've been to prom all four years of high school, and I have never seen it. But a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do.
I take a deep breath and get in line behind Justin and Rebecca. I stand as straight as I can. I can do this. I don't care what other people think of me. But shit, my parents are here. I don't know why, but that makes me feel worse about this whole thing. They will probably take tons of pictures, so I will be able to relive this moment over and over.
I look down at my hands and twiddle my fingers, willing myself to be strong. I can do this, I repeat to myself. The room is spinning, and I feel like the walls have to be getting closer. It's ridiculous to get this worked up about--
"Jesus Christ, Bailey, just take my spot." I hear from behind me. Nick looks just as surprised as me at Mandy's words.
"Mandy, no. I can't," I say, shaking my head.
"Yes, you can." She grabs my hand and forces it through the inside of Nick's arm. "You know I don't give a shit about any of this anyway. And you give a lot of shits about it. So just do it, for me. When you get Prom Queen, I need a picture of you genuinely happy for when I leave for Europe this summer."
"Wait, what? Europe?" But she's already scurrying away.
Leave it to her to drop a bombshell like that on me at this moment. I can't help but laugh. And laugh. And laugh. I laugh to the point that Nick, Justin and every one in line is looking at me like I've lost my mind. And maybe I have. I went from being on the verge of a nervous breakdown to practically giddy in seconds.
"Bailey, get it together. We're going on now," I hear Ian from the front of the line. I grab Nick's sleeve tightly, hoping he can steady me—both physically and mentally.
"Why are you so nervous?" He whispers as we begin to walk. "You know you're going to win."
"No I'm not," I say, distracted by my thoughts. He places his hand on top of mine, bringing me back to the present. "And besides, I don't care about that. I just don't like to be in front of all these people. All of them staring at me."
He laughs quietly. "Bailey, you have literally cheered at every football and basketball game at this school for the last four years."
"This is different, you know that."
He takes a deep breath, and I follow his action. "I'll be right here. You've got me."
I look up into his eyes and see that he's looking back at me. "Do I?"
I'm not talking about the coronation, and I think he knows it. So it surprises me when he answers, "Yes."
I take a deep breath and walk out on stage, holding on tight to Nick.