Fractured Fairytales

Chapter 21: Spiking The Punch Bowl

Elizabeth:

Alex and Christina were already arguing when they walked into the dance. He seemed to be trying to reason with her but she wasn't having it. It was just a mess of flailing arms and angry hand gestures. Their voices carried faintly over the loud music but not enough for me to distinguish what they were saying.

There was a tug from behind me and I heard Adam's voice. "C'mere," he said, grabbing my hand and pulling me along behind him, heading towards the long refreshment table. The words "A Night To Remember" were hung tackily above it and I couldn't supress the bought of giggles that came over me when I saw it.

"Stand here," Adam said, possitioning me so we were back to back, him facing the refreshment table, me facing the dance floor. A slow song was playing, something I didn't recognize. Charlie was dancing with Nick, and they were talking happily. Nick was smiling adoringly at her and I hoped we were wrong about him. Char deserved something good.

"I'm worried," I told Adam over my shoulder. He was moving around and I wondered vaguely what he was doing.

"Charlie's a big girl," Adam told me but I could tell from his tone that he was worried too.

I turned back to the dance floor to see Amy pulling Josh onto the dance floor. She pulled him close and he looked uncomfortable. But Amy looked happy, her head on his shoulder. 

"You're smiling," I mouthed at her, so she shot me a scowl and I threw her a double thumbs up.

And just follow the gaze of half the guys in the room and there was my roommate, clad in clearly the shortest dress of any girl in the room. She was looking bored, touching her wrist corsage carelessly. None of the guys staring came up to entertain her though. Because right there next to her was John, his arm on her waist as he attempted to engage her in the coversation.

Meanwhile, behind me, I heard the distinct sound of something being poured. "Are you getting me some punch?" I asked him teasingly.

"Something like that," he responed stepping up beside me, looking satisfied and holding two cups of punch. "You look hot," he said, handing me one of the cups. But he wasn't looking at me. His eyes had followed all the other guys' to the girl in the short red dress across the room.

Nikki looked back, momentarily, her eyes flickering to his quickly before he pulled herself closer to John and tried harder to participate in the conversation.

I took a sip of my drink and it burned down my throat. Classy, Adam. He took a long swig of his drink as well, his eyes not leaving Nikki, who had not pulled John onto the dance floor.

"This is a real nice touch you added to the punch," I told him.

"I thought so," he replied, turning to actually look at me for the first time. "This whole thing was just too cliche for me."

"And spiking the punch bowl isn't a cliche?"

"I simply do not know what you're talking about," he lied, smoothly. "Oh hey look!" he threw an arm around my shoulders and started to lead me across the room.

"What're you-" I saw Alex and realized it was his direction in which we were heading. "Aaadaamm," I whined, attempting to dig my heels into the ground but couldn't due to the shoes that Nikki had made me wear.

"You told me to think of a plan. This is my plan."

"You're crazy."

"Can we sit here?" Adam asked Alex when we got to the table, one hand signaling to two empty chairs, the other resting on the small of my back.