Even though Alex distracted me, my calmness went away when I saw her. She was talking to everybody, making friends, like the gym was her house and she was hosting. A royal blue dress, the color of twilight embellished with tiny sequins, clung to her every curve, relentlessly taking my breath away. I tried to swallow air, but I was too stunned. She sparkled and glittered in all the right ways, not too much, but still blinding. Her blonde hair curled glamorously around her shoulders and when she smiled, I smiled even though it wasn’t directed at me.
“Looking smokin’,” Alex whispered, nudging me in the ribs. I just nodded, ignoring the poke. No words could describe her to me. But then the asshole showed up trying to look cool. She somehow managed to still glow through his horribleness. He pulled her to the dance floor and started swaying to a made up, sex-like beat. I wanted to be rid of her, but I was too sucked in now to leave.
“Will you go to homecoming with me?” the sign read a couple of weeks earlier. Tyler, leaning against his car after school, held flowers in one hand and his arms spread to hold the sign. It may have looked like a mess in my eyes, but it still won her heart. Skyler squealed loudly and ran into Tyler’s arms.
“What a beautiful Kodak moment,” I mumbled to Alex, my best friend, confidant, and loyal taker of my bullshit.
“Hey, don’t get yourself down, its your fault you didn’t ask her,” he slurped his smoothie nonchalantly as we walked past them. I glared, close to punching him.
“How could I even ask her? She barely even knows that I exist,” now I started to sound like a horrible, whining teenager.
“Also your fault, bro.”
“Shut up already, I wasn’t looking for an answer, bro,” I glanced over at Skyler and her friends. They were squealing, talking dresses, comparing dates, and squealing some more. I climbed into my car, slamming the door in disgust behind me. A bad taste, metallic and blood, resonated on my tongue. It’s senior year and I still hadn’t manned up. I still can’t ask the girl I’ve had a crush on since sophomore year to a dance.
In the passenger seat, shaking his smoothie, desperately trying to get the last drops out, Alex said, “You know, they’ll probably end up dating afterwards.”
“Seriously? Are you even trying to help me?” Slapping the steering wheel.
“Just hear me out, I was actually going somewhere with that. They’re going to start dating after this dance; it’s going to happen, I’m positive. But then she’ll realize that Tyler is a douche and break up with him, and then she’ll need a rebound—that’ll be you!”
He did have a point, but I didn’t want to be a rebound. I didn’t want her to leave me once I had her.
“No matter,” he threw his empty cup out the window, hitting some girl’s car on the way out of the parking lot, “Joe, will you go to homecoming with me?” He held up a crumpled napkin and quickly scribbled the letters “BFF” on it. I laughed, but had to punch him in the shoulder when the kissy faces started.
“Lets face it, if Jackie had said yes, then I’d be screwed, so it’s a good thing that you are a loser and single like me.” He said and I smirked, but without laughter. Jackie is a girl who is only a little higher on the food chain than me, so I assumed that I could ask her. She is a cute girl with a nice rack, but she is no Skyler. Still I tried and failed. She seemed really excited throughout the day, but at the end of the scavenger hunt, when she saw me with the sign, she actually laughed with a horrified look on her face. Then she was asked by a Tyler wannabe and said yes. I guess some girls just don’t have hearts these days. But thankfully Alex was there to pick me back up and he was there to take me to our senior year homecoming dance.
Finally the homecoming dance came around. Alex dressed at my house, fumbling with a borrowed tie from my dad. My dad was at work, but he promised that he would kick both of our asses if we got in trouble. He has to work a double shift since Mom abandoned us for her yoga instructor. He’s just different, Joe. More passionate than your father and he loves me and I love him. Please understand. I still love you. Somewhere inside of me I just assume that he had more money and she didn’t want to see me anymore, so she packed up and left. Really, I don’t care, I don’t need her.
When I whipped out my “for funerals only” shoes, Alex questioned me. “I want to look nice in case she needs that shoulder to cry on sooner!” he just shook his head at me. Alex messed with the temperature and the music the whole way to school. But being distracted from thinking about Skyler helped a little with my nervous jitters. Plus, I got to punch Alex in the skull when he sang Taylor Swift off key to annoy me.
Later on, I noticed that Alex managed to slip by me, probably to spike his drink in the men’s room. So I went in search of the bastard who left me in my time of need. Without looking where I was going, I ran into someone.
“S*** sorry!”
“Watch it!” Tyler shouted, and I quickly realized I might have just embarrassed myself in front of Skyler, but then I noticed that the girl, who’s butt was being gripped by Tyler’s bear claws, was brunette and I’m sure that Skyler was blonde when she walked into this gym.
“Oh my god,” I whirled around, the sound of her voice electrifying something in me, and saw my girl, hands pressed to her face, eyes not wanting to believe what they were seeing. She fled, Tyler calling after her, but it was no use. She ran, her feet desperate to get away. My feet stayed glued. Tiny sequins glistened off the floor.