Paper Rings - (J.F.)

Bonus: From His Eyes

Delilah was with him at the event, and Jeremiah was adamant that he would not leave her by herself and leave with his other friends on the opposite side of the hall. But from here, he could see the other girls motioning for him to come over, and it was becoming overwhelming. He could certainly just take Delilah along, but she wasn't a big fan of his group of friends. He was aware that it was important for him to be there for her because she didn't have many friends and only really hung out with him or Kenzie at school.

He was also her plus one, after all.

It had been half an hour since they first arrived at the event and several guests — well, teenagers — were slowly occupying the space from inch to inch. Even his friend group's attendance was growing in size, but still, they were all hanging around the other side of the hall, a bit far from where Delilah and he were currently standing.

He would only smile as Delilah spoke to him, her enthusiastic voice and apparent passion for whatever she was saying evident in the way her eyes sparkled. He genuinely wanted to be there for her, but he also realized that he was beginning to get a little bored. The opposite side of the hall would provide him with the more lively environment he was used to. Maybe even more of motivation to stay here longer considering how much he didn't want to come here in the first place.

Just then, he heard another one of his friends call out again, "Jeremiah, Come here! Chase wants to show you something!"

Knowing how important this evening was for Delilah, Jeremiah certainly shouldn't have asked, but he reassured himself by telling himself he was going to return to her eventually. Delilah focused her gaze up at him, waiting for him to speak the words that were written all over his face. He didn't need to say anything, though, because she understood immediately. She only sighed, like he was a boy asking his mother for permission to do something. Even though he had been trying not to make it seem obvious that he wanted to catch up with his other friends, he figured that she had probably caught him glancing in that direction throughout the entire time anyway.

"Fine."

"Wait, really?"

"Yeah . . . I know you want to."

"That's — thanks, Dell. I'll be with you soon. You should get yourself something to eat in the meantime." He grinned like a little boy, reaching out to gently touch her arm before he pulled away and scurried away towards the others. She watched with sadness as his smile widened as soon as he was in the presence of the other girls, even hugging a few of them.

Delilah sighed and peered around the enormous hall to see everyone else having a good time. No one was lingering around by themselves like she was at the moment; instead, everyone was partying on the dance floor and enjoying the refreshments and snacks.

She then decided to listen to what Jeremiah suggested and made her way over to the drink and snacks bar, where she took a seat alone and ordered herself a glass of fruit punch.

Meanwhile, a high school boy who was named Hansel Chwe was also present at the event. While two of his friends, the guys he attended the event with, were making out with a few of the event's girls, he was leaning against the wall, aimlessly scrolling through the apps on his phone. Although he wasn't very interested in his surroundings, it was the weekend and he didn't really need to think about his job at the moment. Also, he wanted to lend as much support as he could to the event because it was being hosted for a worthwhile cause.

However, one individual who caught Hansel's interest was a girl he didn't know. She was sipping something from a cup while sitting alone at the bar. He could immediately tell that she was incredibly beautiful from here. Despite her gloomy facial expression, he was captivated by her subtleties, such as her royal blue dress, which fell just before her knees and shone as if it was made just for her. Moreover, her dark hair colour complimented her bronzed skin. A part of him wanted to go up to her and introduce himself, but another part of him was feeling quite shy.