Chapter Four
Mia
Mia stared at herself in the mirror. At fifteen she barely reached five feet and had finally resigned herself to being short. Sometimes she wished she was taller, maybe then Gage Delacroix would notice her. It was hard for her to accept that someone she'd been so close to before they both hit high school would be so distant now. They still said hello to each other in the halls but in the last two years he'd gotten so wrapped up in being a jock and hanging out with his buddies on the team that he'd pretty much turned his back on his 'old life'. The only time she really saw him was when the Pard got together on the full moon to go for a run. It was sad, really, considering they lived in the same compound.
It was Homecoming weekend, everyone was still riding high from the win against their rival the night before, and the dance was supposed to be really amazing. They'd gone with a 'Blue Moon' theme and, according to one of Mia's friends who'd helped decorate, it was gorgeous. “Tell me again why I agreed to this?” She glanced at her twin.
“Because you want to go to da dance but you don't want to go alone and I can't take anyone else,” Jules replied. He'd recently come out to his family and was grateful they accepted that he was gay. His classmates, on the other hand, would never accept it so, since neither he nor Mia had a date to the dance, he talked her into going with him.
“You know everyone's gonna talk, right? Dey'll say we're pathetic, couldn't even get a date to da dance so we had to go together.”
Julius snorted. “Dat or dey'll tink we're committin' incest.”
“Ew! Gross. I really didn't need you puttin' dat in my head, Jules!” She punched his arm and shook her head. “I guess we better get out of here.” In a way she was dreading the dance but she chalked that up to the fact Gage would be there with his latest girlfriend. In the last two years he'd probably dated half the girls in school. Every single one of them was the complete opposite of Mia. Where she was short, they were tall. Where her hips widened, making it hard to find pants that fit right, they were all lean and slender. Where she was pure tomboy, they were the epitome of femininity. The only attractive thing about her, in her opinion, was her hair. Most girls in school had to use curling rods or chemicals to get the curls she had naturally. Not that most people got to see them since she often wore her hair in a braid or ponytail.
“Come on, you look fine,” Jules said when she checked her makeup again in the mirror. “You're just draggin' dis out and I wanna get dere so I can discreetly drool over Cody Brannon.”
Mia rolled her eyes. Cody was Julius's latest crush. “Fine. I guess I'm ready.” The dress she'd chosen was something she never would have imagined herself wearing. The top fit snug against her chest and pushed her breasts up a little. It had beads and sequins that sparkled when the light hit them just right. The skirt began just below her breasts and in the back it brushed her ankles. The front, however, came up above her knees. The inner layer was soft satin with an outer layer of chiffon. The dark green color went great with her red hair. For the first time in forever her hair hung free down her back and her mama had given her a pair of emerald earrings to wear with the dress. She felt under dressed in it but she wasn't going to show up at the Homecoming dance in jeans.
“Damn, Mia, you're barely wearing dat dress,” Beau teased. “You tryin' to catch someone's eye?” He knew damn well his sister had a crush on Gage and had for years.
Mia glared at him. “No. I just liked it,” she retorted. The two inch heels she wore put her a little over five feet but she was still considerably shorter than her twin. They suffered through several photos their mama just had to take before Beau gave them a ride to school. He'd graduated the year before.
Gage
Gage has his arm draped around his latest conquest, bullshitting with some of the guys on the team, when one of them whistled at someone who'd just entered the gym where the dance was being held.
“Damn, if I'd known she cleaned up so well I'd have asked her out.”
Gage turned to look where his teammate was looking and his pulse jumped. He'd never seen Mia so dressed up and god she was gorgeous. That dress, though. It was too fucking short! What was her mama thinking letting her wear something like that?
“Excuse me a second.” He let go of his date and made a beeline for Mia and Jules. He curled his fingers around her arm and pulled her aside. “What da hell are you wearin'?”
Mia arched a brow at him. “It's called a dress. I know I don't wear dem much but you know what a dress is, Gage.”
“Dat's not a dress, it's half of a dress,” he hissed.
She gave him a confused look. “What's that supposed to mean?”
He ran a hand through his hair. “I can't believe your mama let you wear someting dat short.”
“Mama helped me pick it out, thank you very much,” she said indignantly. “Don't you have a date to get back to? If you leave your latest conquest too long someone might try to steal her from you.” Who did he think he was trying to dictate to her what to wear?
Gage stared at her. This was a side of Mia he'd never seen before and he wasn't entirely sure how to handle her newfound assertiveness. “Fine, but don't get pissy when guys tink you're easy,” he grumbled under his breath before he walked away.
He returned to his date and wrapped his arm around her. Every now and then he found his gaze going to where Mia sat. More than a few guys stopped to talk to her but from what he could see, she didn't seem all that interested in any of them. “Hey, babe, I'm gonna go ask my friend, Mia, for a dance. We had a little argument earlier and I want to apologize to her and she looks a little lonely just sittin' dere.”
Christy pouted at him. “Fine, go be a good friend and have one dance with her. But only one. They'll be announcing Homecoming King and Queen soon.” They were in the running for it. Usually it was announced ahead of the dance but this year they were doing things differently.
“Sure thing, babe.” He gave her a quick kiss and headed to the table where Mia and Jules were sitting. “Hey, Mia. Look, I'm sorry about da way I acted earlier. Will you dance wit' me and let me make it up to you?”
Mia hesitated to answer. “Won't your girlfriend get mad?”
“Naw, she's cool wit' it. Come on. Let me make up for bein' an ass earlier.”
“I guess I can do dat.” She stood and slipped her hand into his. His fingers were warm where they curled around hers and her skin tingled from his touch.
Gage led her onto the dance floor and pulled her close. “You look really pretty tonight.”
“In other words, I don't look like me.” She tried to hide the bitterness she felt behind sarcasm.
“No, dat's not what I mean. I just mean dat dress looks really good on you, even if it is a bit short.” His fingers brushed against her hair where it hung down her back. “You should wear your hair like dis more often.”
“Like I said, I don't look like me. I like havin' my hair up but dis dress looked better wit' it down.”
“You still look like you, just better...different.” At the look she gave him he almost growled in frustration. “Why are you makin' it so hard to give you a compliment? You look good and I'm not da only one who noticed.”
At first Mia scowled at him but when he said he was trying to give her a compliment she sighed. “Sorry.” She bit her lip briefly. “Thank you,” she finally said.
Gage wanted to say more but the song ended. “I should get back to Christy. Dey'll be announcin' Homecomin' King and Queen soon.”
Mia took a step back, putting some distance between them. “Yeah. I voted for you, you know.” She mentally kicked herself for the admission.
Gage gave her a cocky grin. “A'course you did. You're my number one fan.” He winked at her and headed back to his girlfriend.
No sooner was Gage back at Christy's side when the president of the Homecoming Committee took the stage. “The moment you've all been waiting for. Thanks for bearing with us this year when we decided to try something new and announce it now instead of at the game. Last night was about the football team, it seemed fitting to keep the focus on them and wow, did our guys rock or what?” Cheers filled the gymnasium and she had to wait for it to die down before she could continue. “Will the nominations for Homecoming King and Queen take the stage?” She waited until the four pairs were on stage then announced the second and third runners up. There was applause for the two couples but everyone was really waiting to see who got the crown. “Okay, okay, I've tortured y'all long enough. This year's Homecoming King and Queen are...Gage Delacroix and Christy Telgard!”
Mia
When Gage first snarled at her about her dress being so short, Mia felt a fleeting moment of pleasure. He wouldn't have said anything if he didn't care, right? Then she remembered. She was like a sister to him. It wasn't like he was jealous because he thought someone else might actually ask her out. He proved that when he went back to Christy and draped his arm over her shoulder. She found a table while Julius got them both a glass of punch and sat to watch everyone. Several guys stopped at the table to flirt with her, which was nice, but she knew that come Monday they would look right past her again. They didn't see her, they saw her dress.
She was playing with her cup when Gage approached. “...dance wit' me and let me make it up to you.” She was only partially listening because she'd started regretting her decision to attend the dance. It took a little cajoling on his part but Mia finally let Gage lead her onto the dance floor.
She tried to keep her body stiff but when he pulled her close so there was little space between them she felt herself all but melting into his loose embrace. Why did she have to have such a crush on him? Why couldn't she have liked someone who wasn't so...gorgeous? She felt tongue-tied until he gave her a backwards compliment.
Of course she 'looked better' in a dress that showed off her boobs. He was a boy, that was all he could see; boobs. If she'd worn something that covered her up more, would Gage have even approached her the first time? By the time the song was over she felt...glum. No, he wouldn't have approached her. The only reason he had was because of her dress. He didn't even see her, not really. Not the way she wanted him too. “I voted for you, you know.” Why oh why did she tell him that? What was she thinking giving him that kind of power over her? She wanted to take the words back but she couldn't.
“A'course you did. You're my number one fan.”
Mia felt like her heart was breaking. He had no idea how right he was and she just knew he would never see her the same way. Some might say she was too young to know what love was, but Mia disagreed. She loved Gage Delacroix. She had for years. When he looked at her though, he didn't see Mia Lafleur, the girl who was crazy about him. He saw his 'pal', Mia, the girl who liked to fish and play ball like she was one of the guys.
Sitting back at the table, Mia tuned out the announcement of the second and third runners' up for the Homecoming Court. It wasn't until the King and Queen were announced that she pulled herself out of her own thoughts. “Okay, okay, I've tortured y'all long enough. This year's Homecoming King and Queen are...Gage Delacroix and Christy Telgard!”
After the cheers died down Mia looked over at her twin. “Can we go home now? I just really don't wanna be here anymore.”
Julius nodded. “Yeah. I tink I'm over my Cody crush.” Seeing him acting like an ass to some of the other kids at the dance who weren't as dressed up as everyone else had killed the 'Oh, I like him' buzz.
Mia spared one last glance at the stage where Gage stood grinning with his arm around Christy before she slipped out of the gym. She let Julius call Beau for their ride home and leaned against the side of the building while they waited. What had started out as a fun night had turned into a depressing one but she only had herself to blame for that. She was the one who'd convinced herself that maybe, if she dressed up, Gage would finally see her and want her as much as she wanted him. She'd been such a fool.
Gage
When they were finally able to get off the stage, and he was able to extract himself from Christy, Gage went to look for Mia. For some odd reason he felt the need to see her, to know what she thought of him winning Homecoming King. The table she and Jules were sitting at was empty and after a quick look he realized they'd left. He felt...hurt and disappointed. She'd said she voted for him but she didn't stick around to congratulate him.
For the first time in a long time, when some of the guys asked if he was going to the party that was planned after the dance, he said no. There was always a party happening on Saturday night but he really didn't feel like drinking with his buddies. He didn't even want what he knew he could easily get from Christy. It seemed a lot of the girls at school were ready and willing to put out as long as you were a jock. “I've got some stuff I gotta do early in da mornin' so I can't be out partyin' all night.”
“Dude, you're gonna miss all the fun,” Cole Ambrose said.
“You'll have to fill me in den.” Gage headed for his car before he could let himself be talked into going after all. He knew Mia would be up early. She often spent her mornings away from the compound at a lean-to they'd put up when they were kids. It gave her a quiet space to do the one thing that she really enjoyed; paint. He wanted to talk to her before she got too absorbed in her art.
The sun was just beginning it's climb when Gage dragged himself out of bed, got a quick shower, and dressed. He grabbed a cup of coffee and a biscuit from the counter where his mama was already up working on breakfast, and headed for the door. “I'll be back for breakfast,” he assured his mother before she could say something to him about needing more than one biscuit. After he'd gotten home last night he'd had a hard time falling asleep and as a result he was dragging a bit this morning.
Gage slipped inside the lean-to and sat to wait for Mia's arrival. He tapped his fingers against his leg and kept an ear out. He didn't want to startle her and he knew if he stayed silent that was exactly what would happen.
Half an hour later the faint sounds of footsteps reached his ears. He slid out into the open and leaned against the tree the frame of the lean-to was set against. “Mornin', Mia.”
Mia blinked and frowned a little. “Mornin'. What are you doin' here? You haven't come here in forever.” That was why it had become her refuge, of sorts.
“I knew you'd be here dis mornin' and I wanted to talk to you.” He moved so she could carry her supplies inside.
“What about?” She had a sinking feeling she already knew the answer.
“Why'd you leave da dance so early?”
She wrinkled her nose. “Didn't feel like stayin' any longer. I wasn't really havin' fun and neither was Jules, so we decided to leave. I tink da only reason I went, really, was because everyone else was goin' and I didn't want to be da only one who didn't show up.”
“Oh. I guess dat makes sense. Did you stay long enough to find out who won King and Queen?”
“Yeah. Congratulations. I knew you'd get it. Ever'body likes you.”
“Thanks, Mia. I guess I should get outta here and let you paint.” He was reluctant to leave though. “Why do you do dat way out here, anyway?”
“It's quiet and no one bothers me. Only person who knows about dis place is you and you stopped comin' out here when you hit high school.”
“Oh. I guess wit' ever'ting I had goin' on, I just didn't have time to come out here anymore.”
Mia shrugged. “It gives me plenty of space.”
“I guess so. I'll get outta here now. See you later, Mia.”
“Yeah. See you.”
Gage left without looking back. If he had he would have seen the sorrow and longing etched on her face before she ducked inside the lean-to and started painting.