Savoring Silence

#10: The Dance

I slammed my locker shut, furious at Jeremy -- and myself a little. As I walked through the hall, everyone stared at me, and I felt like everyone could see into my mind, revealing all of my thoughts and life story. 

I hurried past the classes wing of the building and into the dorm wing. People lazily unlocked their doors, exhausted from school. I reached my dorm, and reached for my wallet in my back pocket. Before I had chance to pull out my card, James was calling my name and running down the hall toward me.

"Luna! Wait up!" I froze in place, turning and waving at James. He looked eager, and was practically dancing. 

"So?" He asked slowly, ending it in question. "Are you going to the dance tonight?" He grinned and held my hand. "Please say yes!"

I sighed and looked down, fiddling with my card, then looked back up and shook my head 'no'. Disappointment in his expression, he dropped my hand and frowned. I took the opportunity to unlock my door and enter. But before I could close the door, James caught it and followed in after me. I sat down on my bed, removed my shoes, then kicked back and relaxed. James sat down next to me, begging me to go.

"It's going to be so fun!" He tried. I nodded in objection. I was bound to see Roy there. Or Jeremy. Or Michael.

James was silent for a moment, as I stared at the ceiling in thought, of all the pain going to that dance could cause me. There's already a ton of drama in our every day lives. Take lunch for example. No one's safe.

"I'll be so alone, Lu." I gasped and my head snapped up to look at him. What did he just call me?

"What?" He asked, confused. I sat up, determination filling me quickly. I had to talk to Michael, and Roy. I had to fix everything I had broken. I looked at him, and with a quick nod from me, James was as determined as I was. He took me by the hand, standing me up.

"Let's go make you look gorgeous." He said seriously, which made me giggle slightly. He led me to my closet, shoving it open. He searched frantically through the mass of shirts and jeans.

"W-where are all your dresses?" He asked, bewildered. He stopped and stared at me for a moment. "Don't tell me you have no dresses."

It was true. I didn't own any dresses, and I'd never really worn a dress before -- aside from going to my grandmother's funeral, of course. 

"Well then." He said, staring at me in thought. A small grin crept upon his face. "I guess we'll have to buy one." He looked so excited, it made me laugh. Even though shopping wasn't one of my most favorite things ever, I let him lead me by the hand outside. He led me to a red Mustang GT convertible.

"Here we are," He said, politely opening the passenger door for me. I smiled at him and got in, closing the door behind me. Since there was no roof, he hopped in over the car door. I stared at him in amazement; I thought people only did that in the movies. He grinned at me and winked, making us both laugh all the way to the mall.

After a dozen dresses and shoes, I was ready to give up. None of them looked as perfect as I had wanted it to be. James searched frantically for dresses, his choices piling up on the dressing room door.

"Here, try this one!" He commanded. Dress after dress, shoe after shoe, nothing looked good. I walked out in my normal clothes, demotivated. James took one look at me and frowned.

"Don't give up, honey, we only just started." He looked at his watch. "We have four hours left. Let's get moving!" He tossed me a black strapless dress. I sighed and reluctantly headed back to the dressing room to try it on. It fit perfectly!

I examined myself, modeling in the mirror, really happy with this choice. The strapless top wasn't too showy, and I liked how it was tight on top, showing my curves, and loose on bottom, layering to look like a black wedding dress. The ribbon in the middle added to the look, and I decided that this one was absolutely perfect. I grinned.