Girl Meets Collection of Stories

One Dance

Maya stood by the punch bowl at her senior prom, wishing she was anywhere but there. She couldn't figure it out. Prom was the highlight of senior year and she couldn't wait until it was over.

Lucas asked Riley, and she said yes before he even finished asking. They had gone to a bunch of dances as friends but this was the first one since they began seriously dating. She could see them dancing from her place at the edge of the room.

Riley's soft and flowy mint green dress and bun made her look every bit the prom queen she would inevitably be crowned by the end of the night. They didn't seem to be aware of anyone else there, her hands around his neck playing with his hair and his hands resting gently at the small of her back.

She was happy for them, that they had finally figured everything out, but it just reminded her of what she didn't have, what she was still waiting for. Sometime after she had started high school, Josh had made her a deal. If she could wait until she was 18 and if she still liked him, they could try dating. She'd still be 3 years younger but at that point it didn't really matter.

Her eyes wandered around the room until she spotted Farkle and Smackle, but you couldn't really miss them. Her yellow dress had bold strokes of different colors all over the skirt and her hair rested in waves on her shoulders.

Their dancing was like everything for them, a competition. They took it so seriously, you'd think it was the ballroom dancing finals. Even though the song was slow they flew around the dance floor.

For a moment she looked at her own dress. It was much softer than she would have expected to like. The girl at the store called it champagne but it was basically light peach. It wasn't too plain though, the top had its fair share of sparkles. She had pulled some of her curls back leaving most hanging down as she usually did.

Everyone was having a great time. Everyone but her, that is. Her solace came in the form of a buzz coming from her bag. It was her mom.

"Honey, I'm so sorry to ask this, but could you come close the bakery for me?" Katy hurried over the phone, "I've come down with something all of the sudden and I really need to get home."

"Uh, I guess so," Maya responded reluctantly, but secretly was relieved that she had a reason to leave.

"Great! Thanks!" Katy said quickly before ending the call.

Maya grabbed her stuff and quickly shot Riley a text, so she wouldn't worry when she noticed she left. She slid out the door and headed for the subway.

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As she walked from the subway to the bakery she let her mind wander. She thought back to when she got her letter to NYU earlier that year:

"Open it! Open it!" Riley prodded, having already gotten into Columbia. Her excitement for Maya, greatly outweighing her excitement for her own acceptance caused her to bounce on the bed in Josh's dorm. The three were all anxious for what the envelope contained.

"Don't you want to know?" Josh asked, though he full well knew the answer.

"I can't do it. Will you do it for me?" Maya responded handing the brown-haired boy the envelope she had been flipping through her fingers.

"Are you sure?" He questioned as he stood up to take it from her hands. He stuck his finger under the flap and ripped across the seal. He pulled out the contents and stoically read the contents.

"What does it say?" Maya exclaimed louder than she meant too. She hopped up, unable to sit still anymore.

"You got in," Josh said softly, a smile overtaking his face.

"What?" Maya asked in disbelief.

"You got in!" Josh repeated excitedly, engulfing Maya in a big hug and spinning her around.

"I knew you would!" Riley exclaimed waiting for her turn to hug her best friend.

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As she approached the bakery, her thoughts returned to the present and more importantly her aching feet. She reached down and slid the ankle straps down and pulled them off her feet. With the straps hanging on her fingers and her purse in her hand she reached for the knob.

She walked in, locked the door behind her, and flipped the closed sign before noticing something was different inside the café. The lighting was dimmer than normal and there were some white lights strung around the room. She turned a few times trying to figure out what was going on.

By the second turn Josh had walked in from the back kitchen.

"Wow, you look gorgeous. What do you think?" Josh asked, startling her.

"What are you doing here? D-did you do all this?" Maya stammered still processing the figure in front of her.

"I wanted to take you to your prom, but since I couldn't I thought I could at least get one dance with you," Josh explained himself, "I asked your mom to call you to close, to keep it a surprise."

"You did this for me?" She asked in disbelief, still standing frozen by the door.

"You've waited four years for me," He replied bashfully, "This is the least I can do. Aren't you at least happy to see me?" He stood there, arms open, surprised she hadn't hugged him yet.

"Of course I am," Maya replied grinning and she quickly made her way to him, wrapping her arms around his chest, Josh putting his arms around her. "So how are we gonna dance without--?" Before she could finish he turned on the stereo, Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran echoed throughout the room.

"I love this song," Maya gasped as the first bars reached her ears. She moved her arms from his waist to around his neck as they began to move to the rhythm.

"I know," Josh replied, with a grin, leading her around the floor.

"Riley told you, didn't she?" Maya guessed, knowing her best friend was the only one that knew that this had been her favorite song for years since it came out. I never failed to make her think of Josh. "Thank you, for all of this," Maya added, closing her eyes and resting her head on his chest.

"For you? Anything," Josh replied, lightly kissing the top of her hair.