When I get home, the house is filled with loud and upbeat music from the 70s. Nina is dancing on the sofa and my mom is trying to coax my dad off the lazy boy to dance with her. He does, finally. No one sees me as I pass the living room and make my way upstairs, singing along to Abba's Dancing Queen. (It's one of my mom's favorite songs, so I've heard it a lot). The music travels up the stairs, so I dance along as I kick off my shoes and unleash my hair from a small, overstretched hair tie.
Only a few minutes pass before my phone vibrates in my pocket, just as I'm taking off my jewellery and stashing it in the pretty glass box my paternal grandmother got me a few years ago. When it's really bright out, the light causes a spectrum of colors to shine from it. It looks like a rainbow. My last silver bracelet goes clink, clink inside the box and I pull my phone out and discover that it's Dean, well not Dean, but my match, (because, thanks to the girl in auditorium, now I was seriously unsure about what was going on).
Hey, princess :)Liked the show?
I smile and nod, but then remember that I'm alone in my room and no one can see me.
I did. :)Did you?
Yup. Someone sang a song about Delilah.
I laugh out loud. Yeah. So? And then it finally clicks. The song that Dean sang, the pick up line... both having to do with Delilah. More than a coincidence. And then, as if I didn't know what that meant yet, my match confirms it.
You know it's me, right? D.P?
I remember that the app doesn't allow us to write names. These were initials. D.P, for Dean Pinkette.
So it was him, after all.
I smile to myself again, truly pleased. The famous D.P I type, and hit send. And when I don't say anything else, he messages me again.
Disappointed?
On my bed, I purse my lips. I don't answer right away, but choose my words carefully.
No. Just surprised.
***
"I love you, Josie. I can't remember not loving you."
She runs her finger gently along his jawline, taking him in, the livid scar near his ear, the stubble on his face.
"Then love me, Caleb. Do it now."
Someone in the crowd sniffles.
Caleb's hands are on her face, his gold ring pressed against her dimpled cheek. The wind blows hard around them, having fun with her short blond hair, but it's a movie so it still looks perfect. Their eyes flutter closed. Suddenly the wind dies down and everything is still. Everything is is slow motion now and zoomed in to catch every single black-and-white detail. He grabs a handful of Josie's hair. Her lips are parted: they're going to kiss.
Closer.
Closer.
Lips against lips.
I imagine it's me and...
Dean snickers in the seat next to mine and shakes his head. "Damn, this movie is cheesy." He says, "And old. Very old."
Someone turns around to shush him. He laughs again, quietly this time and pops some Skittles into his mouth. His other arm is around my chair, super casual, right? but Macey keeps smirking at me about it. I shake my head at him, which I've been doing a lot lately. It's my brain's only other option other than blurting out my secret:
I'm your match Dean! I'm Delilah! Me! Val! Can you believe it?
I shake my head again. I can't help it.
It's Thursday afternoon and the whole school is in the auditorium once again. This time, the lights are off and it's dark all around, except for the soft glow from the large screen set up at the front of the auditorium that's playing the movie Ms Fitz decided to pick: And old black and white film called Love Me Now. Macey and Dean have been critiquing it the whole time. But some people are actually into it, and I'm one of them.
The kissing scene is long and passionate and it gets awkward, fast. And to make things worse, the couple in front of us starts making out, until someone, probably a teacher startles them with the bright beam from a flashlight.
"That will be you and you-know-who in a couple of days." Macey 'predicts', pointing to the screen and giving me a look. I glance at the screen again, where Josie and Caleb have started to remove their clothes and I wonder why Ms Fitz chose this movie out of all the other good ones that Dean and I suggested.
I pretend to gag and Macey elbows me in the ribs. "Oh please, Val." She hisses, "I know you're thinking about it too."
I giggle and shrug, not bothering to deny it any longer. Macey and I have been friends for so, so long, she's developed the uncanny habit of being able to read my mind. Sometimes, it can be handy, like when we're figuring out the best time to ask to use the bathroom so we can escape Math class, but not so handy when I'm trying to sneak the last slice of pizza.
I turn back to the screen and it's all blotchy and black because apparently Ms Fitz has her hand over the projector to block out any 'inappropriate bits'. Dean laughs the whole time. I steal a glance at him.
Without even thinking too hard, I drift back to my daydream, where he was Caleb and I was Josie. In my daydream, my curls are perfect in the wind and so-not-like-real-life. Our eyes are closed and his hands are on my face.
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Closer.Closer.
"Did you see that?" Dean startles me, "The graphics are so bad! You call that an explosion? And how does that even fit into the plot?"
My eyes open wide and I curse myself for becoming such a mush these last few days. I am a NOT mushy person. I also am NOT falling hopelessly and desperately in love with Dean. I just like him, that's all.
I shake my head. "Shit, I missed it." I say. I didn't even notice when the movie came back on.
Because Dean's arm is around my neck, and I can smell his shampoo and it's, well... distracting.
