know it’s hard and it doesn’t feel right now like things will work out, but they will. You and Noah have something extremely special, you always have. Nothing will ever come between the two of you for any length of time.”
“Thanks.”
“Let’s finish making you the hottest girl at the dance tonight.” She hugged me and got right back to work.
The minute we pulled into the parking lot, I felt like I was going to be sick. I was nervous about everything, the way I looked, socializing with Vincent, seeing Noah and Beth together, and just plain seeing Noah. I constantly tugged on the taffeta flowers that were stitched to my skirt during the ride over here. The cherry on top of my nerve sundae was the fact that I was sitting in the back of my parent’s car. I wanted Emily to drive me here and pick me up, but my parents insisted. They said that since I was meeting Vincent here instead of him picking me up at our house, they wanted to come and see us together and take pictures. I agreed, after all it was my first dance. This whole dance thing was already a nightmare and I hadn’t even gotten out of the car.
Dad parked and escorted me and Mom to the gym where the dance was being held. As we got closer, I saw a barrage of flashing lights as Vincent’s parents took picture, after picture, after picture. He really wasn’t a bad looking guy. Some would even say he was cute, in a nerdy sort of way. He had on a dark sports jacket, khaki pants, and a light blue button down shirt with a paisley bow tie. Not exactly GQ material, but it worked for him.
Vincent saw me walking towards him. I smiled as I saw his mouth drop open and his eyes blink a few times, like he was amazed at what he saw. I knew I probably wasn’t, but I felt pretty for the first time in my life. Emily had done a fantastic job for what she had to work with, which wasn’t much. Vincent and I stood there suffering as both sets of parents took what felt like a million pictures of us. Finally, we said our goodbyes to them and headed inside.
With every step I took towards the entrance, my stomach flip-flopped. The entrance to the gym actually looked nice, with an archway decorated with white roses and tiny white lights.
When we first entered, it was difficult to see anything before my eyes had time to adjust to the dim lighting. White columns were placed at each corner of the basketball court, strung with the same tiny white lights. Balloons in the school colors of white and navy blue had been tied everywhere. The DJ was setup at the farthest wall and a table with punch and snacks was set against the wall opposite of him.
I scanned the crowd looking for Noah and Beth. Neither one of them knew I was going to be there tonight. I wasn’t sure I wanted them to see me. A ton of people were already here, so getting lost in the crowd would be easy. I just wanted a quick look at the two of them, anyway.
Vincent and I took a spot up against the wall behind a crowd of girls and boys who were too scared to ask each other to dance. My gaze went from the entrance to scanning the crowd and back again.
“Do you want to dance?” Vincent asked nervously.
“Do you want to dance?”
“Well, we are at a dance.”
“Vinnie, let’s not let the rules of society dictate our actions. I thought you were an independent thinker, man. That’s the main reason I asked you to come tonight.” He simply shrugged and leaned back against the wall.
I had been standing and scanning for at least 40 minutes and still no sign of Noah and Beth.
“I’m going to get some punch. Do you want any?” Vincent sounded blasé.
“What? Oh, no thanks. I’m good.”
As Vincent walked away, he passed in front of me, blocking my view for a split second. When he moved I saw them. Noah and Beth had just walked in. I don’t know if it was the altitude of the heels I was wearing, but when I saw Noah, my knees became weak and I got dizzy. I had to lean against the wall so I
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