Chapter Eleven

October 2002

As soon as Mandy, V, Isa, and Justin walked in the door to the homecoming dance, they were accosted by their other friends—Nikki, Laura, Sara—and their dates.

"What took you guys so long?" Laura complained as she ran her hands down her silver sequined dress that cut off abruptly at mid-thigh. "Oh my god. You two look adorable." She gestured to V and Mandy.

As predicted, Laura was the picture of perfection with her dark locks swept up, showing off her subtly blushed cheekbones and flawless beige skin.

"Yes, I love the color-coordinating dresses." Nikki pulled Mandy into a hug. "And your hair. It's gorgeous," Nikki said as she hugged Isa. The color of Nikki's dress—a ball gown style—was almost the same shade as Isa's.

Sara looked stunning in purple and gold. "You should've come to dinner with us. There was this guy there who was playing a ukulele, and…" Sara launched into a long story about something that happened at the restaurant, while V leaned into Mandy's ear.

"You were right," V whispered. She had been nervous about meeting Mandy's friends. V had met Isa before but not the others. Mandy had tried to assure V there was nothing to worry about. People at Mandy's small magnet school were very accepting—the LGBT club was the second biggest club on campus, after the environmental club. It was vastly different from what V had said her school was like.

"I knew you'd like them." Mandy leaned tighter into V's side.

Homecoming quickly turned into everything Mandy had hoped it would be. Mandy and V danced and danced and avoided the spiked punch—mostly because it tasted disgusting. And then they took more pictures—official ones under a balloon arch.

The event was in the school gym, but they had really done a nice job at making it look fancy even if it still smelled like rubber with a hint of BO. The basketball hoops rained a shower of sparkly streamers, and tables with black tablecloths and folding chairs were set up all over. Thankfully they didn't pull the bleachers out—because how embarrassing would that be?

Between "good" songs, they all would congregate around one table they'd claimed earlier in the night. It was a place the boys left their jackets, and the girls left their purses and shoes while out on the dance floor. V sat next to Mandy and tickled her palm with her finger under the table.

"That's it. I've had enough of these." Laura made a show of unbuckling her four-inch heels and then setting them on the table. They were silver with rhinestones and matched her sequined dress to a T. After all the other girls removed their shoes much earlier in the evening and Laura held firm, Mandy was sure Laura would spend the night in her heels just to prove she could. So Mandy was surprised when Laura finally gave in. Her poor feet were red, and it looked as though two blisters were already forming—one on each foot.

"It's so much better without them." Sara wiggled her nyloned toes, which were propped up on one of the chairs. Her heels weren't as high as Laura's—simple black with lots of straps—but she complained they pinched her feet, and removed them as soon as pictures were over.

Mandy was even happier about her shoe choice. Being barefoot inside the gym sounded like athlete's foot waiting to happen.

"Go request some Christina Aguilera," Nikki ordered her date, Julian, tugging on his pocket.

He nudged Bryan—Laura's date—and jerked his head, and the two were off toward the DJ's tables.

"Where's Isa?" Nikki asked as she began pulling bobby pins from her hair, creating a small pile of them on the table.

"She's still dancing." Mandy motioned with her head toward the dance floor.

Isa had her hands thrown in the air and jumped around with the rest of their classmates—smile stretched wide across her face.

The night had already been a success, and it wasn't over yet. Isa and Justin seemed to be really getting along, and then there were the moments that V or Mandy would pull each other into a hidden corner and kiss and tell the other how beautiful they were. V's fingers danced across Mandy's bare arms and then around to the back of her neck in a way that sent goose bumps down to Mandy's toes.

"Oooh, I like this one." V pulled Mandy back onto the dance floor. Kelly Clarkson sang about a special moment, and V and Mandy swayed together like reeds blowing in a warm summer breeze.

V tucked a stray hair behind Mandy's ear and rested her head on Mandy's shoulder.

This was the moment Mandy should say, I love you . Those three little words had felt like a caged bird inside her chest since the night they intertwined their fingers and walked down the pier more than a month ago. But Mandy had kept those words locked inside. Too afraid to say them out loud and scare V off. Things had been going so well for them the way they were, and Mandy didn't want to mess it up with professions of love. But now…now she could say them, right? It was the perfect night and the perfect moment. But should she? Would V still think it was too soon since they had only been dating officially since school started?

Mandy opened her mouth to finally let those words fly free, when she spotted Isa storming off the dance floor, so instead she said, "I'll be right back."

If V protested, Mandy didn't hear it, too worried about her best friend.

Mandy caught up to Isa as she pushed outside, a breeze whipping up the hem of her skirt. "What happened?"

The door closed behind them as Isa spun around, tears filling her big brown eyes. "It was awful. I tried but it…it was all wrong."

Mandy pulled Isa into her arms. "What was wrong? Whose ass do I need to kick?"

"No. Not like that." Isa's words were muffled by Mandy's shoulder. "He kissed me, Mandy, and it was the most disgusting thing ever."

Mandy smirked. Not big enough for Isa to see even if she was looking, which she wasn't. Sweet, innocent Isa. First kisses were rarely great with anyone. And first-ever first kisses were always doomed to be at least a minor disaster. Mandy's sure was. Instead of teasing Isa about it, which Mandy would do endlessly a few days later—when they could both laugh about it—that night she stroked Isa's hair and said, "It'll be okay. Sometimes kissing a frog is just kissing a frog." And then she said, "Don't worry, one day we'll find your prince."

Isa didn't say anything in response, but she did squeeze Mandy tighter—the rattling in Isa's body seeming to calm down—and Mandy squeezed back. And that is where they stayed; bodies locked together as if they were one. The scent of chlorine from the nearby swimming pool filled the air. The stars that weren't hidden by the passing clouds twinkled in the sky. Crickets played their tune, which was not in sync with the bass now thumping through the wall from inside the gym.

And then that song ended and the next one began. But it didn't matter. When Mandy and Isa were together, nothing else mattered at all. They were each other's shield from anything that could hurt them. When one of them felt weak, the other would give them some of their strength.

"I love you for real," Mandy said.

"I love you for real back," Isa responded.

It never occurred to Mandy to go back inside to find V. Mandy was exactly where she was supposed to be. With her best friend.