Climb | ✔

Chapter 15 | Winter Formal

The Winter Formal was a sad affair of poorly-dressed folding tables and a below-average buffet bar. Still, it was plenty of fun.

"Did I already tell you that you look beautiful tonight?" Luke asked Winter, his hand coming up on the small of her back as he led her in a small circle on the dancefloor.

Winter quirked her head and smiled bashfully, a handsome shade of pink dusting her cheeks as she replied, "I think you might've, but thanks anyway. You're not so bad yourself." She smirked playfully.

Luke gave her a good natured smile and hummed in appreciation as they fell into a slow, swaying dance. The time was nearing 11:00p.m., and it would likely be the final slow dance of the night.

"Sorry I couldn't give you my first dance," said Winter.

Luke's lip twitched into a smirk. "Well, I know Daisy had dibs. No hard feelings."

At the mention of her friend's name, Winter used Luke as leverage to twist around and catch sight of the Asian girl. She was found dancing with Louis, their melded form weaving through the crowd of couples in quick, playful movements. Daisy was laughing freely, the purple-blue skirt of her dress twirling around her legs like flower petals caught in the wind.

Gina and a boy Winter forgot the name of were nearby, watching with pleasure as Daisy and Louis flitted passed them. The pair laughed as Gina hugged herself closer to her partner.

Winter sighed contently and wrapped her arms around Luke's neck. Then, she caught Evie's sight from over Luke's shoulder.

Evie had--miraculously--convinced Murdoch to be her date to the dance, and the two were in the midst of their second dance of the night. She was practically floating with each step he led her into. Murdoch, on the other hand, looked as stoic as ever, and when they circled around in place so that he was now facing Winter, he shot her a peculiar look.

A piece of Winter considered sending him a sympathetic one back, but she felt it would be a betrayal to Evie. Instead, she smiled sweetly as she was turned away from him in the motions of her own dance.

Luke's hands shifted uncomfortably on her waist. The song was just fading out, signaling the end of both the dance and the day, and Luke slipped away from her.

But the night was still young. As the group grabbed all their items, Evie came to make sure they had all the information they would need to navigate to her place for the afterparty. 

"Yep, we've got a way there. Wouldn't miss it," replied Winter. "Is Rick gonna be there?" she said to Murdoch.

"Yeah, actually," he said as he buttoned his navy sports jacket up. Then he tucked his hands into his matching dress pants. He opened his mouth to continue when Evie suddenly returned from making her rounds, leading him out by the crook of his arm and into the chilly night air.

By the time everyone took their turns changing into comfy clothes in the back of Luke's car, it was edging onto 12:00a.m.

By 12:20a.m., Evie's house was filled to the brim.

As annoying as it was to have to squeeze through oodles of sweaty teenagers, some relief was to be had at the fact that running into Fletcher became less of a probability for Daisy.

For the first hour after arriving, most of the group congregated around Louis and his soccer teammates playing beer pong in the basement. Gina, Daisy, and Winter only stopped their spectating when Evie came down to solicit them to play a drinking game with her.

"We need more girls. Don't worry though, It's nothing crazy. We do it at all my parties and everyone loves it. It does, however, involve kissing," she warned, looking especially at Daisy when she said it.