Fighting to go on

Chapter 27

          On the night of the dance, I went over to Sarah’s to get ready. Ryan was going to pick up Chase and then come and get us. Charlie was meeting Anna at her place and they were going together.

            Sarah was doing my hair and makeup for me, because I never really bothered with either. She curled my hair so that it fell in soft waves to just past my shoulders. She kept my makeup light, only adding mascara and a bit of eye shadow.

            When she was done, I slipped into my dress. It was royal blue and it was longer in the back then in the front. The front came to just above my knees and the back was down to mid-calf. The top was halter style with a silver brooch that nestled in between my breasts. I added a simple silver bracelet and then I was ready to go.

            Sarah put on her green dress and gold jewelry, and then we made our way downstairs to wait for the boys. Sarah’s parents both complimented us, saying we looked very sophisticated.

            When the doorbell rang, Sarah’s mom answered it and let the boys in. When Ryan saw me, his eyes widened and he came to my side. “You look gorgeous Sammy,” he said.

            I smiled. “And you look really handsome,” I replied. He was wearing black dress pants and a black dress shirt, with a royal blue tie that matched my dress. Chase was dressed the same, just with a green tie to match Sarah’s dress.

            After Sarah’s parents had taken a bunch of pictures, we finally escaped out of the house. Ryan held the car door open for me and I slid into the passenger seat, being careful not to wrinkle anything. He shut the door and rounded the hood to get into the drivers seat while Chase and Sarah got into the back.

            When we arrived at the school, there were a lot of cars there already. We could here the music playing even before we got to the gym. Ryan and Chase went to get us some drinks, so Sarah and I moved off to the side to avoid getting run over by the people dancing.

            When they hadn’t returned after ten minutes, we went searching for them. When we found them, I had to clap my hand over my mouth to stifle a laugh. Apparently a group of girls who had no dates had decided to ambush the two of them.

            Sarah wasn’t successful in stifling her laughter and a giggling snort escaped her. That caused me to burst out laughing and Ryan obviously heard me, because he looked over at me. The desperate look in his eyes made me laugh harder, but I decided to go rescue him.

            I grabbed Sarah’s arm and tugged her to the edge of the group of girls. I didn’t really recognize any of them, so I assumed they were in the year under us. As we started to slip through them, one of the girls placed their hand on Ryan’s chest. My eyes narrowed as I reached them. I took the offending hand and removed it before Ryan had a chance to react. “Hands off,” I said.

            The girl turned to glare at me. She would have been pretty, with her long brown hair and light brown eyes, but she was one of the ones who tried too hard, and ended up looking desperate. “Back off, this one is mine.”

            I raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think so. I’m not sure where you’ve been for the past couple of months, but Ryan is my boyfriend.”

            She sneered at me. “Ryan doesn’t do girlfriends,” she said haughtily.

            I snorted. “Hate to break it to you, but he ‘does’ me almost every night. More, if I let him.”

            She flicked her hair over her shoulder. “As if,” she said.

             I sighed. Obviously, this girl needed a visual aid. “Ryan?”