Only Time Will Tell

Head to Head

It's Jade. Last Friday night, as we all know, was a complete disaster. So I was surprised at myself for saying yes to Jasper's party invitation tonight. He is a very convincing host you could say, he texted me into the decision.

"Come on Jade it'll be fun!"

"I have homework sorry," I replied.

"Homework can wait, who doesn't wanna be on the dancefloor! We have a professional Dj tonight, you can't turn him down." He pointed out.

"I don't wanna dance alone."
"Whoever said that? In fact, I think a special someone is waiting to dance with you tonight,"

"Who?!!"
"You'll have to find out when you get there."
I know that it's not Jake, he'll be too interested in Emily. Some guests of the last party said that the couple had the best dance moves in High School. I don't know why Jasper would want to dance with me, he has a major crush on Kendra for some absurd reason. With that attitude, it's hard to believe how anyone could even like Kendra let alone want to date her.
I guess the only other possibility was Tyler. But my head told me he liked Mia, but maybe I'm his second option since Mia likes Jake and she would probably decline. But he knows that I like Jake too, so why would he choose me? I explained my problems to my mom but she said I was overthinking the whole scenario, and she may be right. Whoever wanted to dance with me was hopefully a nice person. As long as I'm not dancing with a jerk, I'll be fine tonight.

I arrived at the party fashionably late as usual, and the center of the dance floor was cleared. In the middle in a fashionable tuxedo was Tyler. He carried a rose in his left hand as I joined him.

"What's all this?" I asked as Tyler whispered something to the Dj.

"It's all for you," He replied as a slow song began to play.

"Tyler, I don't-" I was interrupted.

"I know you don't like me," He whispered, "You like Jake, and I'm doing this to make him jealous,"
"But-"

"You can thank me later," He interrupted me a second time, "Now dance with me, Jade,"

Tyler quickly pulled me against him as he clenched my back. I put my hands on his shoulders as we began spinning slowly. I smelled the cologne he had sprayed, it was fresh. He must have been planning this move for a long time. The scary thing was I had no idea if this is a friendly action or his personal fantasy being fulfilled.
"Do you think this will work?" I whispered in his right ear.

"There's only one way to find out," He returned.

The other guests at the party had begun to watch us intently and some even began to cheer. Whispers flooded around the room as more students began to shuffle onto the floor. Soon it was crowded as High School couples began slow dancing like Tyler and I. I scanned the room for Jake, and I found Mia sitting alone on a wooden chair in the back. I wanted to comfort her but something told me not to. Kendra and Jasper had taken the floor and began to ease their way towards us.

"How's the plan?" Jasper asked casually.

"I don't know if Jake is even at this party," Tyler said.

"Oh, he'll be here. If Jake's not here, then I have no idea who I've been chilling with for two years," Kendra said cheerfully.

"How many people are in on this?!!" I asked.
"Only us, and Mia. Don't worry we didn't tell the whole school." Jasper said wearily.

"Wait, what's Mia's role supposed to be other than looking like a nobody?" Kendra asked as if that was not offensive.

"First of all, that's rude. Second of all, she's supposed to tell Jake once he gets here about Jade and me." Tyler said.

"Ugh, you sound just like Mia when she told me never to say crap."

"That's enough!" Jasper raised his voice, "If we want this to work, we'll have to work together nicely," He said in a stern voice.

Kendra looked like she was about to defend her words when she stopped herself. For once she actually listened to somebody other than her rich, snobby parents. Just then the back door opened revealing Jake and Emily holding hands. Mia stood up abruptly and began quickly walking towards the new couple. She said something to Jake and he turned his head toward us.

"Action!" Kendra whispered to Tyler and me.

We began looking into each other's eyes and improving our dancing skills. To be honest, Tyler wasn't a bad guy, and if it weren't for my feelings for Jake I would be interested in him. He had strong arm muscles and probably a four pack from his basketball career. He never missed the opportunity to take a trip to the gym, and he was so athletic he biked to and from UFC! I heard he asked his parents if he could set up equipment to create a workout area in his garage but they declined because they thought the supplies were expensive and useless. Jake sometimes voyaged with Tyler but he played football so he didn't need the extra exercise.
Kendra veered her head in Emily's direction and sharply turned it back to face me.

"She's coming!" Kendra said urgently.

"I never planned this part," Jasper said fretfully.

"You didn't plan any part!" Tyler said in a frantic voice.

Mia shot us a warning glance as Emily pushed past the students and was gaining speed now that more guests knew where she was going. Some Seniors cleared a path for her and then I knew we were doomed. A few seconds later and Emily was face to face with Tyler and me, Jasper and Kendra had stepped to the side to join Mia and ask what was going on.
"Hey Jade, can I talk to you for a second?" Emily asked as if it was a command, not a question.

"Sure," I said hesitantly as we both walked through the cleared path. A few students snickered at us but Emily gave them stares as we stepped off the dance floor.

"Ooh, she's in trouble!" A tiny guest said to us.

"Like the time when you got in trouble with your mom when you showed her that F?" Emily inclined.

"Ooh, burn!" Another one said.

"Like the time when you realized that you were terrible at being a chef which was your dream passion and you realize you will forever be a jobless hippy?" Emily asked.

The rest of the students had become quiet, and the pathway got wider as more and more people began getting afraid of Emily. She usually was a very nice person and never broke the rules. She attended church every Sunday and her parents were very strict on her. I guess that when she's someplace other than the school without her parents, she could finally say whatever she wanted. She led me upstairs into the family room where a few seniors looked like they were playing Truth or Dare.

"Can we have this room please to talk?" Emily asked sternly.

"Uh, sure," A student replied, knowing an argument would go nowhere with her.

They all walked out of the room leaving just the two of us. Emily closed the door behind her and walked over to the couch to sit. She gave an obviously annoyed look before she began to speak.

"I know that you like Jake." She told me.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I lied.

"Come on Jade, it's obvious. I've noticed the way you look at him longingly,"
"Well, he's yours."
"That's the thing I wanted to talk to you about. I've noticed that Jake looked at you longingly as you danced with Tyler. I know you're just friends with him, was this some sort of idea to make him jealous?"
"No, not at all,"
"Well, it better not be. If you're trying to get Jake to like you, then stop because he's my boyfriend."
I sighed. "Okay, fine,"

"OKAY GUYS YOU CAN COME IN!" Emily yelled.

The seniors who were once playing Truth or Dare on the couches returned. They all took their spots as they sat on the black leather and Emily exited the room. I gave her a solid minute before exiting the room as well, I didn't want to collide with her in the halls. I walked down the stairway and noticed that Tyler, Jasper, and Kendra were waiting for me with nervous looks.
"What did she say?" Tyler asked anxiously.

"Did you rat us out?" Kendra asked.

"Calm down," Jasper told her.

I took a deep breath. What I was about to say would probably ruin their plan and maybe even their nights. They all gave me curious looks and I knew I couldn't stall any longer.

"She knows everything,"