The Ballerina

There have been worse situations, Luke thought, as he rang the doorbell. The holocaust. Pearl Harbor. Watching the Saw marathon with Tuck. That time in the sixth grade when the gym teacher sat them all down (boys in the gym, girls in the music room) and gave them “the talk” and Luke had seen the diagram of a penis. And how uncomfortable it was to see that with ten other eleven year olds listening to a lecture about premature ejaculation.

Ew.

But going on a blind date shouldn’t have been that complicated or painful. But Luke felt like the world was out to get him. It had been a week since he told Acelynn that he loved her. Now it was winter break and he couldn’t put off going out with Cheyenne any longer.

Acelynn had suggested doing it on a school night, so the date had to be short and simple. But Luke had pushed it until the last minute and waited until the first Saturday of winter break. But that was the classy thing to do, right? That’s what all of those 80’s teen flicks always did.

Luke didn’t have much dating experience – alright, none what so ever – so he had to go off of what he knew from movies and eavesdropping at school. Kids were constantly talking about going out on Friday nights or Saturday nights. Never a Tuesday or Wednesday. And Cheyenne was a decent girl. Luke wanted her to feel special. Not some last minute hook up or pity date.

“Oh, hey Luke.” Cheyenne chirped when she opened her front door. Her blonde hair was done – but not overly done – and her face had an extra layer of make up on it. Her face had that permanent smile on it and Luke smiled back.

“Hey, Cheyenne.” He responded politely and coolly. “Are you ready to go?”

“Yeah, let me just grab my purse.” She said, and her smile got even wider. Cheyenne darted back into her house for a split second and snatched a purple hand bag from the hall table.

The concept of a purse was so foreign to Luke. He knew Acelynn never carried one. She was always so low maintenance. But he constantly saw the girls in school pulling loads of things out of their purses for various reasons. No one person should ever need so much stuff.

“Alright, let’s get out of here.” Luke smiled and led Cheyenne to his truck, which was sitting out in front of the street.

He had to open the door for her, because he wasn’t sure if Cheyenne was strong enough to yank it open. He really should fix it. Cheyenne said he was so chivalrous to do so, and her cheeks were tainted pink.

“So where are we going, my knight in shining armor?” Cheyenne asked in a sweet voice.

“Well, Ace told me you were into the whole mystery CSI thing, so I thought we could see that Sherlock Holmes movie.” Luke suggested.

Luke wasn’t really into the going-to-the-movies thing. He didn’t even remember the last time he went to a theater. But it was a simple traditional thing to do on a date with minimal talking involved, so he was all for it.

“Sure. I’ve been dying to see that movie!” Cheyenne exclaimed as she strapped herself into the car.

“Good, I’m glad you’ll enjoy it.” Luke replied. “I haven’t been to the movies in awhile so this should be fun.”

It made Cheyenne grin wildly and blush even deeper. The ride to the theater was calm and full of idle chatter. Luke learned small, common things about her (she hated butter popcorn, just like him and only liked salt. She loved mystery novels and boat rides. She pained a small painting every Sunday with her oil paints, etc.)

Luke himself hadn’t revealed much about himself, though. There wasn’t much he could say about his life that wouldn’t make Cheyenne lunge herself out the window to get away from him. So he stuck with small things (favorite color, the book The Outsiders, and his love of dogs.) He couldn’t very well say he was some psychotic freak who cut himself and was obsessed with gaining his father’s attention.

Brian Spencer. He had left three days before. Without any warning or goodbye, he just left. Luke didn’t know where his father was now – Chicago, San Francisco, Hong Kong – all he knew was that his dad wasn’t home anymore. (“Oh well,” Tuck had shrugged, “we’re better off without him anyway. Now I can at least put on some fucking decent shoes to wear.”)

But despite the fact that Luke was haunted by his father, even on his date with Cheyenne, he managed to stay together and have a nice time with the kind girl.

Luke had once again opened the truck door for the blonde when they got to the theater. She smiled wide again. They held hands when they walked through the parking lot and through the doors where Luke paid for their tickets. He used cash so not to intimidate her with a fancy credit card. He bought her soda and a bucket of popcorn – no butter, only salt – with M&M’s to mix in.

The movie was two hours long and calming to Luke’s nerves. They laughed together and gave each other looks when they found the same thing amusing. It was… Nice. It wasn’t the train wreck Luke expected it to be. It wasn’t awkward at all. It was incredibly casual and if he had to do it again, he supposed he would.

“That was good.” Cheyenne decided as they walked back to the truck. “Actually, it was really, really great.”

“I agree. It was nice spending time with you.” Luke replied. “Well, it’s only eight thirty; do you want to get a bite to eat?”

“Sure.” Cheyenne smiled. “Where do you want to go?”

The boy shrugged. “I don’t know. There’s this place I know… It’s not too far from here. It’s called The Red Booth. I’ve gone there since I was a kid. It’s a small diner; pretty quiet, but homey.” It was the same diner Luke took Acelynn on the day he went to her recital. The day he fooled her parents into thinking he was some preppy boy… The day he confessed to her about himself.

“I’d love to go there. It sounds fantastic.”

“Good.” Luke smiled and jerked the truck door open.



The diner was practically empty – once again. There was one old man sitting at the counter reading a newspaper and talking to Lily, the waitress.

“This is it. This is The Red Booth.” Infamous, of course, for its sticky, red, plastic booths.

“Now this is a legit, old fashioned diner.” Cheyenne noted, soaking up the environment.

“You got that right.” Luke grinned and nodded to Lily, then led Cheyenne to his usual spot.

Cheyenne looked through the menu, deciding what to get. Luke only flipped through it to keep himself busy in the silence. It was a casual, normal, calm silence – but Luke always liked to do something when everything was quiet.

They blonde ordered a burger and fries when Lily came by, along with a Coke. Luke ordered a chicken sandwich with fries and a Root beer. His usual. Lily didn’t even bother to write it down on the white-and-green notepad she always carried.

The dinner went per usual, just like the movie. It was casual and painless. Luke could open up a little to Cheyenne, and Cheyenne was perfectly happy gabbing on and on about anything at all. She was chipper and so upbeat – like a ball of sunshine. It was impossible to be down or unhappy around the perky blonde. Just impossible.

After they had eaten and Luke had paid the bill, they went back into the truck. The drive to Cheyenne’s house was longer than the ride from the theater to the diner, or even from Cheyenne’s house to the theater.

They continued to talk about fruitless things and empty banter. Until Luke stopped on Cheyenne’s street once again, like he had done hours before.

“You know… I’ve liked you ever since I came to this school last year.” The blonde confessed, finally.

“Oh, um… Well…” Luke stuttered, his cheeks getting really pink. “I, well… I didn’t really know you until Acelynn did… To be perfectly honest.”

Cheyenne just shrugged. “That’s okay. I don’t really stick out that much.”

Luke was thoroughly embarrassed. “Well, it’s not like I’m Mr. Popular either.”

“No, I suppose you’re not… But there’s something about you that caught my eye. Actually, I’m pretty sure you’ve caught everyone’s eye. You may not know it, but everyone knows you.” The blonde announced to him.

“I think you’re embellishing a little.” He rolled his eyes.

“I’m not. Not at all. Luke, you need no embellishments.” Cheyenne said softly. She wrung her hands in her lap as she sat next to him in the truck.

“Well I’ll take that as a compliment.” Luke smiled.

“You should.” She replied and bit her lip.

Luke checked the time on his phone and saw it was almost ten at night. He wondered what Tuck and Acelynn were doing at that moment. If they were thinking of him at all.

When he looked back up, Cheyenne was leaning closer to him. Her eyes were slightly closed and her lips stretched from her face more than usual. She was trying to kiss him, Luke realized.

What should he do? Just kiss her? Luke didn’t want to kiss Cheyenne, for two reasons. But he didn’t really want to think about them at the moment. He was just trying to figure out what he should do. Should he stop her? Turn her down?

Luke reacted when Cheyenne got too close. Her face was only inches from his face. In a thoughtless act – he only reacted – he turned his face away. That stopped her.

When he looked back at her sheepishly, Cheyenne was still close to him, but she was no longer looking at him. It made him feel absolutely awful. She slowly sat normally on her side of the truck and leaned away from Luke.

The two sat in the most awkward silence Luke had ever been in. His heart beat so fast he was afraid it was going to pound a hole through his chest. He didn’t know what the blonde was thinking and he didn’t really want to. He was afraid he had hurt her badly.

“It would have been nice.” Cheyenne finally said. Her voice startled Luke; he didn’t know what she was talking about and her voice interrupted the continuous silence. “I think it really would have.”

Luke didn’t know what to say to her. What could he say? ‘I’m sorry?’ No, he couldn’t do that. Cheyenne deserved so much more than what he could offer. Luke was still stuck on a girl who loved his brother.

Cheyenne turned and looked at Luke in the eyes. Her eyes were rimmed with tears and she looked so sad. “It would have been great, in fact. I really think so. But I guess we’re not right for each other.”

“Cheyenne… I’m sorry… I just—“ Luke couldn’t even finish his own sentence. There was no excuse for this. He made a stupid move and hurt a perfectly nice girl.

“I think, Luke… I think you should just tell her.” Tears began to fall down her cheeks. “Just tell Acelynn you love her.”

The air got still in the car. “That would be some perfect advice. But I already did, and she… she loves my brother.”

Cheyenne looked surprised by that, but then some sort of realization set in and she nodded. “Love sucks doesn’t it?”

Luke sighed and closed his eyes. “Yes. It completely sucks.”

Another streak of silence. It was a processing silence that let everything sink in. Luke wasn’t into Cheyenne like Cheyenne was into Luke. He had rejected her just like Acelynn had rejected him, so he knew exactly how she felt. When Acelynn had rejected him, he didn’t want her to say anything. There was nothing for her to say. There was nothing for him to say.

But even so… He had to ask. “Cheyenne… I know it’s not my place, and I shouldn’t ask, but—“

“Luke, ask whatever you want.”

“How… How did you know that I… That I was in love with Acelynn?” Luke finally got out.

“Luke, it’s so incredibly obvious. And Acelynn is a fool for wanting anyone but you.” Cheyenne responded soberly. “Good night, Luke. See you around.”

Then she shoved the truck door open and walked slowly up her drive way. Luke had to stretch over to close the door again. He waited until Cheyenne was in her house before driving away.

“If only Ace agreed with you.” Luke muttered to himself.

When he got home, after the awful drive home – after he broke someone’s heart – he heard something in the basement. Luke went down the stairs to investigate. He brought a baseball bat from the coat closet just in case someone was down there trying to rob them.

His heart raced a little but he tried to remain calm as possible.

But when he got to the basement was not a burglar, but Acelynn. And not only was it his best friend, but she was crying, which was worse than any robber.