Let My Heart Rest In Pieces

Let My Heart Rest In Pieces 083

Our Last Dance

“Aw, come on Envy, come back down here. I promise not to bombard you with pictures anymore!”

“That is such a lie! I wasn’t even down all the steps before you were snapping away at me.”

My father continued to whine while I holed myself up in my room. I was completely and utterly ready for Prom—only waiting for Jeremy—but my father had chased me back to my room. I hadn’t allowed him to see me all day while I primped with Roxy and Taylor, got dressed, did my hair and makeup. I think him coming at me like the paparazzi was revenge for that.

While I had my back pressed against the door—a defense if my dad tried to get into the room—the doorbell rand, echoing around the house. Very faintly, I heard the door opening with low voices talking to one another.

“You have to come down now V, Jeremy is here!”

That traitor! He would show up at a very inopportune moment for me. I was so close to winning! Letting out a large breath, I opened the door and begrudgingly made my way down the stairs, holding the soft, royal blue dress in my hands. I didn’t need to trip and fall in these heels.

As promised, Dad didn’t take a crazy amount of pictures as I came down, but he couldn’t help taking at least one. I just smiled at Jeremy’s shocked face when he saw me all dressed up. He was looking stunning as well, matching the vest to my dress with having only seen the color. My prep had been a complete surprise to him too.

“Wow V, you look gorgeous.”

The natural blush that bled into my cheeks was covered by the light blush makeup I was wearing. I gave him a shy smile before I came closer to give him a hug and kiss. Another flash of the camera caught me and I narrowed my eyes in my father’s direction. He just grinned and took another of my angry look.

“Just let him have his fun. This is our last Prom, he won’t have another occasion to take wild and crazy pictures until you get married,” Jeremy whispered into my ear. I just let out another sigh but nodded my head, knowing that he was right. Even though Dad hadn’t heard our conversation, my sigh of defeat prompted him to continue.

He got pictures of almost every moment: Jeremy giving me my corsage, the two of us standing together and talking, Jeremy promising him he would bring me back home safely, and even us getting in the car and leaving. I didn’t really mind anymore. If this was making him happy, I would let him do it.

“You really do look gorgeous Envy, I almost don’t want to take you to Prom.”

“I am going! That ticket was way too expensive not to go.”

“Fine,” he whined, pouting. I giggled and leaned over to give him a quick kiss on the cheek while he drove. His white smile was my reward.

Prom was one of those things that out school took very seriously. The Student Government spent the whole week prior to this day to put up all the decoration, get together our party favors, and other things like that. All of that, plus the ballroom like place the school had rented out was the reason why the tickets were so expensive.

It was about an hour to get to the building and get a valet to take our car. Both of those things had been annoying, but when I walked into the ballroom, I realized it was all worth it.

“Wow,” Jeremy and I said at the same time, looking at all the decorations and elegantly dressed students. Everything in the place was so beautiful; it felt like it belonged in the Royal Palace.

The chandeliers that hung from the ceiling had the lights dimmed down somewhat low, allowing the other decorative lights to glow and the candles to flicker on each table. The tables had a slate of glass on top of them, though when you looked closely at them, you realized why. Under the thick glass was the golden tablecloth that shined almost like real gold. Pressed between the two were dozens of white rose petals, completing the color scheme for tonight.

On top of the tables were vases filled with more white roses, looking like they had been plucked when the morning dew was still fresh on the leaves and petals. The small water droplets reflected the lights from the candles on the table, which were in tall glasses—seemed like a safety precaution.

“Wow,” I repeated, moving out of the doorway so the other couples could enter and ogle like I just had. My date and I looked around the room, searching for our names at the designated table, but were didn’t have to. Rox and her date, Quinn—Gerard was too old to come with her—along with Taylor and her escort, Mikey, waved us down. With a big smile, I dragged Jeremy by the hand over there and sat next to Roxy.

“Isn’t this place beautiful?” the smaller girl sighed, doing another once over of the room. I had to agree full-heartedly with her. It was gorgeous.

“I have to say, it turned out better than I thought it would,” Quinn acknowledged.

“Not as fluffy and girly as they made it out to be.”

“I feel like I’m having dinner with the Queen,” Mikey said.

“Trust me, the food isn’t that good,” Taylor corrected.

One by one, our friends with their dates came through. Jepha with a nice girl named Melody, Dan with one of the Juniors in our volleyball class with the name of Ashley, and Bert with a surprisingly beautiful brunette named Paige—someone he knew from his English class.

Unfortunately, only 8 could fit at each table, so their pairs could only sit at the table next to us. We still talked, but it wasn’t as easy. The last couple we were waiting for was Tamara and Frank, which didn’t take long.

“Tamara, look at you! It’s like our whole Prom matches your dress!”

Tamara blushed but thanked us anyway. Her dress was a creamy white with gold braided trimming around her waist and made up the straps.

While everyone was obsessed with the red head’s dress, I gave Frankie a bright smile. He looked even more handsome than he usually did. He looked damn good in a tux, especially with the gold vest and white tie underneath his suit jacket. His hair was gelled back so that you could see his strikingly beautiful hazel eyes. He smiled back at me and it made my knees weak.

“Hello Prom goers of 2000! I hope you are enjoying the decorations of tonight’s events. Now, it’s time for you to enjoy your elegant meal before we dance the night away.”

~~~~~~

“You were right Tay, not as good as I thought it would be.”

“At least it wasn’t a frozen TV dinner,” I said, trying to defend our decent meal.

“I like TV dinners!” Bert shouted from across the table, making our group laugh. Mikey turned around and gave him a childish look. Bert had been making these comments all night and I was really surprised that Paige hadn’t run screaming. She actually found him hilarious, which he was, but girls usually found him appalling most of the time. Where had this girl been all his life and why hadn’t he introduced her to us earlier?

“Who cares about the quality of the food? It’s had time to settle, let’s go dance!”

Tamara was like a firecracker tonight, full of energy she barely showed us, let alone a room full of strangers. That didn’t stop us from following her lead, however, and our group of friends trailed behind her like a train. As it always was for Prom, the girls had their shoes tucked under the tables. Who was crazy enough to dance in those?

Before I got to the dance floor, Jeremy swept me up in his arms, turned me around, and kissed me. I kissed him back when the shock wore off, and we pulled away with giant grins on our faces.

“What is with you tonight?”

“I’m just having fun,” he teased, though I felt like he was hiding something from me. I frowned for only a second before I pushed the thought out of my mind. Whether he was or not wasn’t important right now, enjoying dancing with our friends, though, was. I took his hand in mine and dragged him away again, only to join a large amount of teenagers dancing. I had a flash back to dancing at homecoming, though the theme was so different. Had it really been only a couple months since then? It felt like a lifetime.

As Jeremy and I were about to dance along with everyone else, I was pulled out of the boys and into Taylor’s, who stuck her tongue out at him. “I want the first dance. You can have my date.”

Jeremy and Mikey looked at each other and just shrugged their shoulders, dancing like they really had gone to Prom together. We laughed and danced right next to them. Since Taylor was a little bit taller than I was, she led us around in a circle, and when the song ended, dipped me—though it wasn’t a move that really went along with the song at all.

This time, Mikey swept me up into his arms, going farther away from the other two to dance. “And the second dance is for me!”

“Am I ever going to get to dance with my own girlfriend?” Jeremy shouted back at us.

“Probably not!” Mikey and I said at the same time, which caused us to look at each other and crack up.

I put my arms around the tall boy’s neck and let him lead me around, though it wasn’t so much as dancing as it was swaying. I had to admit, though, that he was better than some of the people dancing around here. And that was saying something.

“Do you even know how to dance?” I questioned, raising one of my eyebrows at my friend.

“I usually just wiggle my finger to the beat, you know, old school dancing.”

I snorted, a very un-lady like sound, and covered my mouth with my hand. Once the giggles were under control, I shook my head and mumbled the word “idiot”.

With the remaining time we had left for the song, I tried to teach Mikey how to move to the beat, key word there being tried. I don’t think he really had one dancing bone in his body, but be damned if he didn’t try. His body was just so lanky that he couldn’t get away with moves that most guys could. In the end, he just went back to swaying after I told him that pelvic thrusts were inappropriate with this song.

We both swayed together like idiots, looking like the inflatable men that car dealerships had outside on a windy day. No one questioned us though. I guess it was something our school expected from our group.

“Now, we have to go find our dates. We got a little lost.”

“How did we end up in the middle of the dance floor again?” Mikey asked, moving around dancing couples as we tried to go back towards our tables, where hopefully everyone was.

“I think you lean to the right when you ‘dance’,” I replied, putting air quotes to the word dance. He shrugged and just accepted the fact.

As we continued through the crowd, the two of us were stopped a couple of times to talk to a couple of friends or just say hi to people in classes we had. It slowed us down somewhat, so by the time we got to the tables, most of our friends were having a resting period.

“Look who finally got his girlfriend back,” Quinn teased when I sat down. I gave him a sheepish smile and gave Jeremy a side hug.

“I actually get to dance with her now?”

“Maybe,” Roxy shrugged, sipping on her drink.

“I promise you’ll at least get one,” I said. Jeremy chuckled, grinning at me.

“I feel so honored; one dance? Oh, fair maiden, seeing you dance makes me more than lucky!”

I pushed at the teen’s shoulder with my hand. “You’re such an idiot.”

While we talked, we all watched as Bert and Paige came back to us, looking tired but happy, and I couldn’t help but notice a red tint on Bert’s lips that looked strangely like Paige’s lipstick. Hmm, interesting.

“Hey Bert, you wearing lipstick now? Red isn’t really your color.”

Paige blushed and sucked her head, but the smile didn’t leave her face. Bert just gave me the finger and said, “Screw you.”

I just grinned at him, but left them alone. It was nice to see someone interested in Bert and his antics. We never thought that was going to happen. Unfortunately, my first taunt led to a continuation to his teasing from others.

“Now Bert,” Jepha started off, an evil grin on his face, “I think it’s about time we had the talk about the birds and the bees.”

“When a boy and a girl like each other very much—.“ Dan continued on before he was interrupted.

“You guys are such assholes!” Bert moaned, turning his back to us while everyone continued to tease him.

“Aw, leave the poor boy alone,” I said, leaning back and to pat him on the back. Paige gave me another smile that reached her eyes; one that wasn’t embarrassed in the least.

“Thanks V,” Bert mumbled, sitting up a little straighter.

“Can I have my dance now?” Jeremy asked, taking the attention off our other friend. I put my finger on my chin, pretending that I actually had to think about it, before I nodded my head.

“I think I can give that right now,” I told him, smiling. He smiled back at me and led me to the dance floor. I didn’t check behind me to see if anyone followed us, just paid attention to my boyfriend.

Once we hit the edge of the dance floor, he put my arms around his neck, but kept pulling me further into the middle. His mix-matched eyes never left mine, and under his intense gaze, I felt like I should blush.

When we had reached the middle, his hands slipped to my waist to pull me in close and press our chests together. I laid my head in his shoulder and was nothing but content in this moment; I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. I felt Jeremy kiss the top of my head and I laughed.

“I know you’re up to something. You’re never like this.”

“I told you I wanted to make this day one you would never forget, I meant that.”

“I couldn’t ever forget tonight Jeremy,” I responded, looking up with a frown. He laughed and shook his head.

“Maybe not, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to make it special.”

I didn’t question his motives again, just enjoyed the two danced I shared with him in a row. Yes, I actually gave him the privilege of dancing with me twice; I was such a kind woman. He commented on that fact, pretending that he was a commoner dancing with the Quinn. We were making a lot of Royalty jokes tonight.

“Okay, I need a break or I’m going to dehydrate.”

“To the table!” Jeremy shouted, taking my hand and pulling me through the crowd. This time I didn’t stop to say hello or chat. It was funny how hot it could get with so many people pressed together. As if knowing my thoughts, Jeremy took his jacket off to throw it over his chair once we reached the group table.

As quickly as he could, he fetched us something to drink, almost spilling the water on himself.

“Don’t ruin the tux or you won’t get the deposit back.”

“Okay Mom,” he said with an eye roll.

I took a sip from my drink, relaxing against my chair and looked for friends in the groups of dancers. Every now and then they would pop into my line of sight, but were gone the next second.

Jeremy and I then started to gossip about the people, the music, about everything that we could. We made up our own silly rumors about people we barely knew and giggled like small children. We only stopped when we saw Frankie come into our sight. My date couldn’t help but crack up at the fact that he was coming out without Tamara. Frank did seem a little confused, and I could only guess what had happened to him.

“Was your date stolen away too?” Jeremy asked.

“Yeah, Quinn just up and took her because Roxy went to dance with a class mater. So, here I am.”

“Aw, Frankie, you look so lost,” I cooed, giving him a sympathetic look. He put and even sadder face on for his act.

“I don’t know what I am going to do with myself.”

Jeremy let out a sigh then pushed me toward the smaller boy. “Go dance with him before he runs into a corner and cries.”

I rolled my eyes and laughed, getting up to go to my sad looking friend.

“Come on, I’ll give you a dance, will that make you happy?”

He nodded his head, showing me his Frankie grin that still made my heart stop. I smiled back at him ad walked down to the dance floor while I saw Roxy coming back to the table. When she saw me with Frank, she gave me a look, but continued walking to the table.

Frank led us to the very edge of the dance floor in the back, where less people were dancing and where the lights didn’t quite reach. We were in the same position that my boyfriend and I had been in when we were dancing, though it seemed more intimate since Frank was so much shorter.

“You never did teach me how to dance the way you and Quinn did at homecoming.”

I blinked for a moment, surprised that he actually remembered that. I voiced this thought. He just laughed at me.

“It was a memorable night; something that’s not easily forgotten.”

“Well, that kind of dancing doesn’t go with the music we’re listening to now.”

“As long as you teach me one day, I won’t mind,” he said gently.

In the middle of our conversation, the song faded into a slow song, and our bodies subconsciously came together. Frankie rested his hands on the small of my back, and even though the material was thick there, I could still feel the weight and warmth of his hands on me. It burned in a comforting way, but it reminded me too deeply of the morning after our New Year’s party. I went to pull away, but Frankie pulled me in tighter out of some reflex, so the smell of him hit my nose; that weird mix of smoke, vanilla, and lavender. It was a familiar scent that I could only remember in the most intimate of situations.

“Envy,” I heard him whisper. I looked up at him, trying to figure out the emotion in his eyes. We both leaned forward at the same time, and I was ready for the kiss, but we both pulled back out of surprise when the song changed yet again. The fast paced beat killed the mood we had made and put out the fire that had been in my body.

“Sorry about that,” Frankie said, looking sheepish for once in his life. I have him a shaky smile, nodding while I stepped away from him.

“Let’s get you back to your boyfriend,” he continued, giving emphasis on boyfriend.

We both walked as quickly as we could back to the table, not stopping to chatter or to get drinks. I think the two of us were scared to be left alone together. Once we were back, where everyone was sitting down and talking, we split up and took our respective seats. I held onto Jeremy’s hand, using it as if it were a life preserver, and just touching him did make it better. Better still was when he smiled at me, making my heart beat faster. I gave him a grin back and forgot about that awkward situation for the rest of the night.

~~~~~~

“Jeremy, I’ve been dancing all night and I’m tired, where the hell are you taking me?”

“You already asked that and I told you it was a surprise. You have the answer, do you really need to ask again?”

I huffed in my seat and knew he wasn’t going to tell me, no matter how much I bothered him about it. He had the infuriating ability to ignore me when I was trying to be annoying to get my way. It made interrogation almost impossible.

The rest of the drive to where the hell ever was silent except for the light music coming from the radio, but it almost put me to sleep more than once. I was really wondering where we were going, but the question was answered when Jeremy pulled into a parking lot right next to a small airport.

I turned my head and gave Jeremy the look he deserved, but it didn’t wipe that smile off his face.

“Why are we by an airport?”

“You’ll see soon enough. Would you please step out of the car with me?”

I gave the boy a suspicious look, though my hand was on the door handle. “You’re not going to leave me here, are you?”

Jeremy laughed loudly at that and shook his head, sending that blonde hair flying. “No, I promise I’m not.”

“Then I guess I’ll get out of the car.”

I opened the door and stepped out as carefully as I could. The dress was long, even with my heels on, so I had to be careful not to let it drag. I stood at the front of the car, where Jeremy was, and took his outstretched hand.

“Close your eyes,” he whispered into my ear. His hot breath so close to me made me shier, but I did what he asked because I trusted him. He let my hand go and walked away back to the bar. I strained my ears to hear him opening up the trunk. My brows furrowed at this, and I wondered what this surprise was if it could have been hiding in the trunk this whole time.

The teen busied himself behind me, trying to be as quiet as possible while I stood there and waited for him.

“Okay, open your eyes and turn around.”

Taking a deep breath, I did as I was told and turned around. My eyes instantly went to the two toys that were sitting together on the hood of Jeremy’s car. One was Buzz Lightyear, his helmet in place and shining with the lights of the airport behind me. The other toy was a Jessie doll, the female version of Woody the Cowboy. The two dolls were holding hands with a card in their laps. In Jeremy’s handwriting it said “To Infinity and Beyond”.

“Jeremy,” I said, looking over at him to see that he looked pleased.

“We were watching Toy Story 2 when I told you what you meant to me. After the credits tolled and I told you my feelings, I got to kiss you for the first time. I thought I would keep the theme going since I need to tell you something else.”

“What do you have to tell me?” I asked him, keeping my eyes locked on his mix-matched ones. He smiled huge at me before he flipped the card over.

I Love You

“I love you Envy. I thought this would be a good time to tell you.”

When Drake had told me he loved me, I had lied to him and said the words back, hoping that I really could. When he left, I wanted more than anything for Frankie to say those words to me. Now, here was someone else saying they loved me. But this time it was different. Jeremy was closer to me than either of those boys, and he did more for me than both of them combined.

“I love you too Jeremy.”

His face lit up like the fourth of July when he heard me return his words. He came to me and pulled me close to him. He kissed me with feeling, showing me how much he loved me with his lips. I kissed him back with just as much emotion.

I pulled away with a smile and whispered against his lips, “I love you.” And I meant it.