Deadly Perception

I avoided Jack almost completely the next day. If he walked into a room, I walked out; if he was in the room, I turned back the other way. I was even able to walk to school instead of riding in the car with him and I always made sure my bedroom door was locked.

Now, it was Friday and I was putting on the touches to appearance for the dance. I couldn't seem to stop my hand that I was using to put mascara on from shaking. I wasn't nervous because of the dance itself, I was nervous because I might not even make it there alive. You see, Mrs. O'Keiff had forbidden me to walk to the dance alone in the dark. She that-especially with my outfit-some sicko would come along and kidnap me or mistake me for a prostitute. Little did she know that her son could be just that person.

So unluckily for me, I'm stuck driving to the dance with Jack since Nick's aunt was taking him after he babysat his cousins. I'll admit I was was still a little worked up about what happened on Wednesday, but it was either go with Jack or not go at all. And I wasn't willing to stand Nick up.

I put down the mascara and reached for a bottle of purple spray-on body glitter. I gave a few spritzes to my chest and arms. It smelled good, fruity almost. I fluffed out my curls a little bit and applied a thin coat of Cherry flavored lip gloss. I made sure the pearls Mrs. O'Keiff had lent me were evenly in place around my throat. Finally, I was ready.

Just in time too, because Mrs. O'Keiff called me down eager to see my outfit. As I made my way down the stairs like a movie star grand entrance Mrs. O'Keiff gasped in delight and Mr. O'Keiff gave me a small smile and a nod.

"Oh, where's my camera?" Mrs. O'Keiff mumbled searching a nearby desk drawer. Oh no! Not pictures. "Jack, where's the camera?" She called out. I tensed at the name. I didn't want to see him anymore than necessary.

"Right here," Jack answered sweetly as he came into the room holding the camera aloft. My stomach nearly dropped. As much as I hated to admit it, Jack looked absolutely amazing. His metallic green button down shirt was the perfect color against his skin tone and hair color. That paired with black formal pants made him look quite sophisticated. His dreadlocks were neatly pulled back at the nape of his neck and his light green eyes shone out against his shirt. How would a monster look so handsome?

When Jack caught me staring at him, he winked and ran his eyes over my body checking out my own outfit. I flinched slightly as Jack handed the camera to his mom. I had decided that I no longer liked Jack looking at me period.

"Jack, go over and stand by Riley on the stairs. I want to document this moment," Mrs. O'Keiff said eagerly ushering him to move next to me. I thought I was going to be sick, but Jack looked more than pleased as he stood next to me, Mrs. O'Keiff positioned the camera in front of her eye. "Aw, Riley's first High School Dance," she squeaked happily.

"Yes. Yes, it is," Jack said glancing down at me. His eyes glinted mischievously and the look unnerved me. His expression told me that something in his mind was entertaining him, something that I'm pretty sure I didn't want to know. I swallowed hard as Mrs. O'Keiff gave us order like a true professional photographer.

"Okay, Jack move in closer to Riley, and put your arm around her... Riley, chin up... Turn sideways so that you're angled toward Jack, but face me." All these command slipped right out of my grasp when I felt Jack's arm slip easily around my waist. I reluctantly turned sideways toward him, and he pulled me tightly to his chest. We were pressed up against each other, and it was more than uncomfortable. We shouldn't be taking pictures like this, he was my brother not my date. If it were Nick, then that would be an entirely different story.

"Ah, just like true brother and sister," Mrs. O'Keiff commented proudly. I begged to differ. This wasn't normal sibling behavior especially since I could feel Jack's had around my waist slipping lower and lower by the second. Unfortunately, Mrs. O'Keiff couldn't see so all I could to was stand there and try to ignore it.

"Okay, smile!" She said enthusiastically. Jack grinned effortlessly at the camera and I tried to keep my face pleasant even though my feelings were saying otherwise. After a few clicks, Mrs. O'Keiff shooed us away and told us to go have fun.

Jack grabbed my hand tightly in his and practically dragged me toward the open door. Once outside, Jack released my hand and instead wrapped his arm around my shoulders pulling me against his hip.

"Did I tell you how absolutely beautiful you look tonight?" He whispered in my ear as he opened the passenger side door for me. I gulped and shook my head as I stepped into the car; into the game of chance.

Would I make it out in one piece?