James
I was not excited for homecoming.
Well, the only part of homecoming I'm excited for is getting to see Scarlett at the dance.
As I looked around the ballroom repeatedly, I realized she hadn't arrived yet.
We haven't spoken since the time I had dinner at her house. That was almost a week ago.
I'm not suprised she hasn't spoken to me, though. I wish she would, but then again she never does. It's always me going up to her.
"Do you want to dance?" Juliet asked me.
Not taking my eyes off of the staircase that lead to the entrance, I nodded.
Grabbing my hand, Juliet pulled me past all the other teenagers and in to the middle of the crowd where couples were slow dancing.
The ballroom was ginormous. There was the dance floor that felt like the size of the football field, and on each side of the dance floor were these tables set up with the most extravagant foods. Huge, crystal chandeliers hung from the domed roof. Two staircases were placed in the back of the ball room that connected as you walked up them. What made it more cool was that the stairs had red carpet placed over them which made it seem like a runway. And from the top of the stairs, there was the entrance to the dance. I felt as if I was in a movie based off of rich people and it was the scene where everyone went to the ball.
I swayed in sync to Juliet as a slow Waltz song played in the background. Usually they don't play Waltz at homecoming, but the theme was the 1800's. Nobody ever dresses to the theme, though.
"I like how you did your hair," Juliet complimented me, pulling my body closer to hers.
"You're the one that said it would look nicer like this," I reminded her since she was the one that forced me to gel my hair back, even though I preferred it parted down the middle.
I wonder if Scarlett will like my hair gelled back...
"You know, you haven't complimented me at all tonight...not even when you picked me up," Juliet whined. "Do I look pretty?"
Jesus. Didn't know it was fishing season.
I looked her up and down as we continued to sway.
Juliet was wearing a tight dark blue, short dress. Ok, but when I say short, I mean short. Any guy behind her looking at her would be able to see a sneak peak of her ass. It disgusted me how much attention she wanted not only from me, but from every guy in the room. I could even see some dudes checking the back of her out. What made it worse was that it was floral lace.
On top of that, her face was all caked up with makeup that appeared to be professionally done. It looked good...if her goal was to look like a drag queen.
"You didn't dress to theme." I changed the subject in attempts to avoid complimenting her. She didn't need her ego fed.
"So? No one did. Anyways," she purred, leaning in to my ear. "Do you maybe wanna get out of here?"
I knew exactly what she was hinting at. She wanted to hook up and probably even more. Like hell I would do something like that with her.
But god damn, imagine doing things with Scarlett like...
I needed a breather.
"I'm going to get some punch. Do you want some?"
Her phone burped a text. We both looked down. A boy who I've never heard of texted her, asking a question or something like that, I couldn't read it clearly because she pulled her phone away.
"Actually, I have somewhere to be. But we will dance in a bit, alright?"
I smiled, happy that she was leaving. "Ok! Bye!"
Her eyebrows furrowed at my happiness but nonetheless, she walked away.
When I got over to the punch bowl, I noticed one of my close friends sitting down at one of the circular tables with a random blonde chick on his lap.
He glanced around the room but stopped when he saw me. "Aye, James!"
I grabbed my punch. "Grant!"
"What the fuck is up, my guy?" He patted the seat next to him, suggesting that I come sit down.
I sat down and looked at the girl then back at him. "Where's your girlfriend?"
Grant Tanners is hands down the biggest player to walk the Earth. He is known for it, but at least he lives up to his reputation, unlike me, who is falsely accused of being a player.
I'm not suprised girls' love him. He is the definition of a surfer with beach blonde hair and brown freckles and ocean blue eyes.
"I don't know, dude. Hey, do you want me to set you up with some hot brunette babes? I found some last week when I was surfing at Cloudy Rock Beach."
"I'm not into just hooking up, Grant. I at least like to get to know a girl first and see if there's more to it then just a hook up and leave."
I watched as Grant ran his large, veiny hand down the girls thigh, then squeezed.
"Then what do you like dude?"
I thought about Scarlett, but I haven't told him about her yet. I've only told Jackson, my bestest friend of all time.
"Just...nevermind." I sighed, wondering where the hell Scarlett even was.
Is she with Ian? Do you think they're late because they're...
No. Don't think like that.
I stood up. "You have fun with your...", I looked at the girl, "...toy. I'm going to go find Jackson."
Grant gave me a thumbs up then instantly locked his lips with the girl.
I found it disgusting that he cheated on his girlfriend all the time. If I had a girlfriend, I would never do something like that.
If you're not ready for a relationship, then you shouldn't date. Grant was too immature for one but ends up having one anyways.
They were no longer playing the Waltz. Instead it was pop music that made you want to get out of your seat and jump up and down with joy. Personally, I wasn't in the mood for jumping.
"Hey!" Juliet ran towards me. I noticed her lipstick was smeared a little bit.
Pfft, her and Grant would be perfect together.
"Where have you been?" I asked, pretending I was oblivious to the fact that she just hooked up with someone.
"Well, my friend wanted to show me something in her car and we just sat there for a while."
I took a sip of my punch and looked up at the entrance. "Mhm, sounds like-''
The palace doors opened slowly, and in walked Ian, Scarlett, Cassidy and Chase.
My eyes locked on Scarlett.
Captivating was an understatement. She completely took my breath away.
Her light brown skin glistened under the light of the chandelier, making her glow as if she was a star. Her dark brown braids were parted half-up, half-down, showing off her perfectly sculpted face. Even from the staircase, I could see her highlight which toned her cheeks. She looked alluring in her short, tight black dress. Glitter sparkled on every inch of the dress. Unlike Juliet's, Scarlett's dress was long-sleeved, which I thought was way more attractive.
My hand tightened around my cup full of punch when I took in the sight of her arm wrapped around Ian's bicep.
All of a sudden, the music changed to Waltz again.
Setting down my punch on a table, I grabbed Juliet's hand and pulled her with me to the center of the dance floor. I needed to get my mind off of what I just witnessed.
Because all I could think when I saw her was that should be me.
I snaked my arm around Juliet's waist as my other hand held onto her hand. She pulled me close by the neck with her free hand as we swayed to the music.
"See, now you're starting to get it," Juliet whispered.
"Get what?"
She peered over my shoulder and smirked with satisfaction. "Looks like someone's jealous."
"Huh?" I turned around.
When I turned around, I saw Scarlett swaying to the music with Ian, but the whole time she was staring at me.
Did she want to be with me instead of him?
She thinks she can hide her feelings from me, but her eyes give her away. The eyes tell more than words will ever say.
Juliet pulled me closer to her body. Her lips grazed the tip of my ear. I shivered in disgust.
"I would be jealous if I was her too. I mean come on, you're dancing with someone like me." She was being way too arrogant.
I looked at her weirdly. I wanted to laugh because I felt like I was dancing with a baboon.
"Why are you smiling like that- oh, look who just walked away." Juliet laughed menacingly.
I watched as Scarlett left the dance floor and went out the back entrance instead of the grand entrance.
Pulling away from this clown, I stopped swaying. "Give me a second, please."
"Whatever." She walked off.
Once she did so, I ran as fast as I could off the huge dance floor and out the back entrance.
I pushed open the doors and took in the sight of Scarlett standing about ten feet away from a colossal, elegant pool, her back facing me. The only sound around us was the two tiny waterfalls that were built into the pool. The sound was very soothing.
I walked to her side, but kept a distance.
She glanced over at me for a quick second, then darted her eyes back to the pool.
"Something wrong?" I asked her.
She shook her head.
"Then why are you out here alone?"
She looked at me, her eyes shinning from the reflection of the stars in the night sky. "I'm not alone."
She had a good point. "Yeah, I guess not," I responded.
"Anyways, I came out here because I couldn't stand the smell of all the perfume and cologne."
"Really? I couldn't smell a thing." I could tell that wasn't the reason why.
"Maybe you just can't smell," she said.
I took a large deep breath in through my nose, then exhaled. "Nah, I can smell fine."
Scarlett changed the subject. "How's Juliet? I could tell you guys were really getting into it on the dance floor."
I could smell the jealously coming from a mile away. Not going to lie, it felt kind of good to see her showing an interest in me for a change.
"I bet she wore that short ass dress just for you," Scarlett muttered under her breath, unaware that I heard it.
I whipped my head towards her. "Excuse me?"
Scarlett rolled her eyes. "Forget it."
"I...I wanted to dance with you tonight," I admitted, my cheeks turning red.
She turned her whole body to face me.
"Did you want to dance with me?" I asked as I turned completely to face her.
She looked down at the ground, rocking on the heels of her high heels.
I tilted my head with confusion. "Is that a yes or a no?"
"I'm pretty bad at dancing. I'm sure you wouldn't want to dance with me," she said shyly. It was so adorable.
"You're a clumsy dancer?"
She nodded, smiling with embarrassment.
I felt my heart ache when she smiled.
Oh, this girl...
I held out my hand. "Let me teach you."
She hesitated at first, wondering if she should give in or leave.
I grinned. "I don't bite, love."
Her glare challenged me. "I told you not to call me-''
I grabbed her hand and pulled her against my chest. She gasped at the contact, but didn't make an effort to pull away.
I wrapped my arm around her tiny waist as she rested the palm of her hand on my chest, while the other intertwined with my free hand.
My body shivered in delight. Even so little as hand holding made me feel on fire when it came to Scarlett.
My eyes traveled down her body slowly.
"What? Is there something on me?" she asked with worry.
"No. It's just that...you..." I couldn't find the right words to describe her.
Her eyebrow lifted. "I...?"
As I looked at her, all I could think about was feeling the touch, the taste of her lips against mine.
I had to fight the urge.
"You just look so damn exquisite. It's very hard for me to keep my eyes off of someone as indescribable as you."
Her mouth parted as pink clouds of blush formed on her cheeks.
"You're just being nice," she responded.
"No, I'm just being real."
I rested the side of my cheek on the top of her head, closing my eyes in tranquility.
The second she rested the side of her face against my chest I felt our souls align. No longer was I aware of the outside world, only the haze we were in together as we swayed back in forth to the beat of our heartbeats.
The first time our souls have ever touched and now nothing around me, and everything inside me makes sense.
Never have I had a connection with someone as strong as this. Never.
"I thought you said you were a bad dancer," I recalled.
"I thought I was doing bad."
"You're doing just fine to me," I told her softly.
"Really? I didn't even notice," she mumbled against my chest.
I beamed. She was lost too.
After minutes more I could feel her head lift from my chest as she gazed into my eyes. The place where she touched felt cold now that her head wasn't heating it.
"James..."
"What.The.Hell." I hear a guy say from the back door entrance.
In shock, Scarlett and I both looked in the direction of the voice.
Ian stood frozen, glaring at us.
"Ian, trust me, it's not what it looks like." Scarlett pushed away from me.
Ian glared at me as if he wanted to stab me in the heart one hundred times.
But I smirked back.
"Let's go." Ian demanded, wrapping his hand around hers.
He pulled her fiercely into the ballroom, closing the back entrance doors behind them.
When they were gone, I started to smile so hard that I had to bite my bottom lip.
That...that was a feeling I can not describe.
And secretly, she felt it too.