Draven

I felt like a gigantic ass face. Who wears these monkey suits? It looked so much better in the store. 

Steve had my tie all ready to go. He told me I could just slip it over my head, and pull it tight around my neck. 

It was a dirty, stinking lie. 

When I tried putting it on at Jett’s house, it was a total failure. It was too tight, and it was crooked. I was about to say –to hell with it, and not wear it at all, but after a couple of tugs it wasn’t completely horrible. Still crooked, but that was as good as it was going to get. 

I was trying to do better by Jenny, just like Steve told me to do. So when she didn’t want me riding with her, instead of being my usual asshole self and not caring, I decided to ride with Jett. 

Sooner or later, I was going to have to tell her how I felt. I was just waiting for the right time and place. Something in my gut was telling me not to say a word, maybe because I thought she was still mad at me, or maybe because she would reject me. I couldn’t be sure. All I really knew was that I had feelings for her, the deep kind. The kind of feelings that consumed my every thought, and scared the hell out of me. 

When Jett’s date finally showed up, she looked like a cheap stripper. The slit in her dress was so high it left nothing to the imagination. She had a pretty face, but all she needed were a pair of those tassel things over her nipples and a pole.

The ride to school was brutal. I was ready to throw myself from the backseat into oncoming traffic so that I wouldn’t have to listen to stripper girl say another word. She was annoying as shit.  

We showed up at prom when it was almost half over. I had an anxious feeling in my stomach wondering what Jenny looked like. I’d never seen her in a dress before. I started freaking out a little. I wondered if she left already, or if anyone had given her trouble. My palms were even clammy for Christ’s sake.

When I walked into the gym, I had a one-track mind. I had to find her. A couple of people tried to stop and talked to me, but I wasn’t feeling it. I was sweaty, my neck was itching, and my tie was freaking crooked. I wasn’t in the mood to chat. 

Where was she?

Searching through the crowd of people, I saw Lo on the dance floor. She smiled when she saw me and nodded her head to the back of the room. 

I weaved in and out between all the people on the dance floor until I caught sight of her. In that exact moment, I was pretty sure my heart stopped beating. It was unlike any feeling I’d ever felt before. She was sitting at the very last table in the back, her head down looking at her phone. I couldn’t see all of her, but what I could see looked beautiful. Never in a million years would I have thought I would’ve had a chance with a girl like her. I still didn’t think so, but I couldn’t stop myself from wanting her. 

I made the last few strides and stood next to her. 

When she looked up, her eyes grew wide and a soft smile played on her pouty lips. She wore her hair in the braid I wanted, and there wasn’t a girl in that room who compared. 

“Nobody puts Jenny in the corner.”

She cracked up. “When did you watch Dirty Dancing?” 

“It was on one of those channels you showed me. It was kind of dumb, but I liked that part.” I admitted. “Stand up,” I told her.

She squinted her eyes and gave me a questioning look. So I reached out my hand to her. She took it, and stood up from the table. 

I could barely swallow. “You look beautiful.”

She blushed. “Thanks. You’re not so bad yourself. Let me fix that tie.”

I raised my chin, and let her fix it. I couldn’t help but steal a few glances at her. She had this sparkly stuff on her neck that shimmered every time she moved. 

“I promised your parents we’d take one of those fancy pictures.” I told her. Since I wasn’t there when she finished getting ready, they wanted to make sure we got a picture together.

“Really?” 

“Yeah,” I grinned. “Can’t defy the parents.”

“Fine,” she replied. 

I placed my hand on the small of her back, which looked very sexy by the way, and led her to the photo section. They made us do one of those cheesy poses from the eighties, but I figured her parents would get a kick out of it. 

“I’m kind of ready to get out of here,” she told me. “I think I want to go home.”

“You’re not having a good time?” I wondered.

“I’ve been sitting at that table since we got here. I mean, normally that’s the one place I want to be, but I had all these expectations about prom night. It was kind of a letdown.”

It sucked that she wasn’t having a good time. I never would’ve dressed up and came. The two of us could’ve just stayed home on the couch. I had to figure out some way to make it memorable for her. I’d already screwed everything else at school up. The least I could do was show her a good time at her prom. I did like a good party after all.

“You want to dance?”

“You dance?” Her eyes shot up. 

I let out a deep breath. “I’m not the best dancer, but if it’s slow then I can move my feet.”

She looked around. I wasn’t quite sure what she was searching for, but when she looked back up at me she smiled and agreed.

I took her hand and led her to the dance floor. I wrapped my arms around her tiny little waist and locked them behind her. Her arms went up behind my neck and the two of us moved slowly to the music. The lights were dim, and though I really couldn’t dance, it didn’t seem to matter. Just having her in my arms was all I needed.  

“Why do you never like to be noticed?” I asked her. She was the prettiest girl in school. 

“I don’t like the attention. I don’t want people talking about me, like they talk about everyone else in this town. I’m too insecure, I guess. I’ve seen what rumors can do to people, so I try to avoid them at all costs.” Her answer was deep-rooted, and I knew she was being completely honest with me.

“I get it.” I told her. “I really am sorry about what happened. I never meant to hurt you like that. I hope you believe me.” 

“I do.”

“What’s going to happen after graduation? You just going to pack up and leave, never look back?”

“That’s the plan,” she nodded. “Ever since I can remember, all I have ever wanted was to get out of this town. I know my parent’s are here, and my mom tells me all the time that things are the same no matter where you go. But I need to experience it for myself. No one out there knows me. I’m allowed to do and say whatever I think,” she said with conviction. “Who cares if those people judge me? I have to have the experience. You can’t appreciate what you really have until you don’t have it. I guess I’m hoping that I’ll miss Borders, and that one day I’ll want to come back. But I doubt it.”

I closed my eyes tightly. I couldn’t tell her. I couldn’t expect her to give up anything for me. I was nobody, and I had nothing to offer her. 

“I understand.”

“You do?” She asked, looking up at me.

I nodded. 

She surprised me when she rested her head on my chest. She had to know that people were going to talk about us, yet she did it anyway. 

I may not have gained her love, but I had gained her friendship. That void feeling was still in my chest, despite it. I wanted more than her friendship and I’d likely never have it. You can’t reach for the stars, if the chains are too tight.

“I hope that you get everything you want, Jenny. You deserve to have it all. It’s only the beginning for you.” 

She sniffled and I wrapped my arms tighter around her. 

We spent the next two songs on the dance floor just like that. I don’t know if the music was fast or slow, and I didn’t care. I kept hold of her for as long as I could.