19

Fifteen Years Old

"OH, HONEY, YOU LOOK great!" My mom is beaming at me as I stand by the stairs in my suit for homecoming.

"I can't wait to see what Ophelia's dress looks like."

"What about Moriah?"

My mom's smile softens a bit at the edges, but she nods. "Of course. I'm excited to see hers, too."

My mom is driving us to the homecoming dance. I was a bit hesitant, unsure if she would embarrass me in front of Moriah.

I never have to worry about those things with Ophelia. Ophelia knows every embarrassing thing about me. But Moriah…

I straighten my bow tie and follow my mom out the door to the car. Ophelia is already waiting.

"I thought I would walk over," she explains. "Since my dad couldn't be home to see me."

Her dress is stunning. It's simple, coral with gold accents on the top. Her hair is done up on her head. And she's wearing makeup, which isn't something she often does.

It looks good on her.

"You look amazing," I say.

She smiles warmly. "You clean up pretty nicely yourself." Her smile falters a bit. "Moriah will be very impressed."

I shrug. "I don't care about being impressive."

It's a lie. I absolutely care. That's why when I asked Moriah what color her dress was going to be, I got a purple bow tie to match.

We load up in the car, and my mom drives towards Moriah's house. I sit in the back with Ophelia. When we get to Moriah's house, her parents are already outside taking pictures.

And her dress is… shorter than I expected. It is many inches above the knees, showing off her very tanned legs. She's done her makeup in purple, and her hair is falling in ringlets down her back.

We all step out of the car. My mom introduces herself to Moriah's parents. I've met them a few times before. While they talk, I walk up to Moriah. "You look great," I say. And I do mean it. But the dress itself excites and terrifies me. Its plunging neckline is a bit startling. She looks hot, but I'm not really used to seeing girls dress so… sexy.

I've never cared much for what people wear, but this dress seems a bit out of place for a school dance. "Aren't you worried you'll get cold?"

Moriah smiles brightly. "I'm not concerned about that. We'll be inside all night. Besides, we'll be dancing, so it will be fine."

"Atlas, let's get a picture," Moriah's mom says.

I pose for a few pictures. Ophelia stands by my mom, and I wave her over.

"Oh yes," Mrs. Rodriguez says. "Ophelia, you should get in the pictures, too."

Ophelia walks over, though I can tell something has changed in the vibe around us.

After pictures, my mom drives us over to the school, dropping us off at the front. We're about ten minutes late. The dance has already begun.

"Behave, use manners, don't go off with anyone you don't know. And call me when you're ready to come home," she reminds us.

After she leaves, Trey finds his way over to us, taking Ophelia's hand. "There you are. I was waiting for you to show up before I went inside."

"Sorry, we were getting pictures. I should've asked for you to come by."

"It's okay. My stepmom took a crazy amount of me and my sister anyway. Ready to dance?"

Ophelia follows Trey inside. Moriah grabs onto my arm and leans her head on my shoulder. "Let's have fun," she says softly.

Walking into the gymnasium is nothing new for me, but I'm amazed at how great everything looks, better than my first dance last year.

Banners hang on the wall behind the sound stage. There are streamers of purple and blue hanging from the ceiling. Tables off to the corner hold snacks and fruit punch. I notice a couple sneak off under the bleachers, away from the watchful eyes of the teachers playing chaperone.

Moriah twirls around. "It's not exactly how my old school used to do things, but this is very nice."

Moriah comes from a richer city up north, where the school was much more refined and fancier. This is probably nothing compared to the dances her school would put on. But she seems happy.

We dance, we jump around, we drink punch, and we eat cookies. It's fun. Everything is going amazingly.

Eventually, Moriah says, "I need to go to the restroom. Maybe find Ophelia so she can give you that dance she promised you?"

"Okay."

I look around for Ophelia, but I don't see her. I assume she's with Trey. I push through the crowd of people, squinting against the strobe lights flashing to the beat of the loud music.

I look around, finding Trey by the punch table but no sign of Ophelia. In fact, Trey is cozying up to a different girl in a red dress.

I head off in a different direction, wondering where Ophelia might be. The gym is crowded and loud. If I know her, she's probably somewhere fewer people are.

I finally find her sitting behind the bleachers, crying her eyes out.

"Ophelia?"

"Atlas." She sniffles. "I'm sorry. I just needed a moment."

"What happened?" I ask.

"I made a fool of myself thinking Trey was anything but the jerk you warned me he was. He told me he thought I was cute and he asked me on a date. I accepted. But then he disappeared, supposedly to use the restroom. And then I found him making out with Heather Chang in the hall. He was playing me."

I pull Ophelia into my arms as she sobs. "I'm so sorry," I say softly, running my hand up and down her back in an attempt to comfort her.

She sniffles and clears her throat. "It shouldn't matter, honestly. I didn't come here with him expecting a date. I came because I didn't want to be a stupid third wheel."

"You're not a third wheel. It's you and me against the world. Always and forever."

Ophelia shakes her head. "I'm just going to walk home."

I shake my head, pulling her in for another hug. "You promised me a dance."

"I don't feel like dancing anymore."

"Okay, well, you can at least come hang out with me. You promised you'd hang out with me a little bit. Who cares about Trey, anyway? In a week, it will be some other girl he's messing with and Heather will be a thing of the past. That's how he is."

"Okay…" She's hesitant. But I pull her to her feet and lead her out to the dance floor.

"Come on. I've waited all night to dance with you."