Ageless Beauty

'Winter' had quickly worn out it's welcome in our little town. By Late February, it had been warm enough to walk outside in a thin sweater without dying in the cold. By March, I could easily walk around in merely a tank top, and by April, the water was warm enough to swim. The end of my second semester as a sophomore was quickly approaching, and before I could truly comprehend it, I was finishing up my final projects in all of my classes. Christian would come over often after school so we could study for our finals together. Though we were in different grades and classes, it had proven to be a great deal more successful than studying alone.

Mine and Christian's friendship had quickly blossoming into something amazing. We spent much more time both inside and outside of school together, and he even sat with Sarah and I at lunch most days. He had taken me as his date to exactly five parties, and would take me out almost every Saturday night. He had even become one of Sarah's friends, which was nice. I liked the fact that he and my sister got along.

I had been happy that the school year was finally ending, but at the same time I was sad. I mean, I got to spend my days at home, lounging around and doing but I pleased, but when I went back to school that September, Christian wouldn't be there. He was to graduate that year, and possibly attend college or university after the summer. He had always talked to me about all the sports scholarships that he had earned, and that had scared me at the time. I really wanted him and I to be something, but i didn't see that possible if he was leaving.

But at the same time, I was happy for him. Even at the age of fifteen, I was able to see past my selfishness and notice that he was happy. And that made me very happy, so I always congratulated him when he told me about all the secondary schools that wanted him.

By June, all the seniors, and even some of the juniors and sophomores, were all talking about prom. The girls had their dresses hung in their closets, and a long list of hair stylist's phone numbers in their purses. The boys were all going on about who they were going to 'bang' in one of the hotel rooms after the party. Both boys and girls were doing all they could to win prom king or queen, but in the midst of all this chaos, Christian showed really no interest at the time. Not until nearly a week before the day of prom.

I must admit. Nearly the entire month of June, I had been kind of down. You see, deep inside my mind, i had always hoped that Christian would ask me, but while the time dwindled down to nothing, I had lost complete hope. Either he wasn't going, or he already had a date. A much prettier, older, more stylish date that had bigger boobs then me.

But then, on the Friday before the night of prom, he stopped me on my way out of the school building. He wasn't like other guys. He didn't make it a big production, and I suppose it was because I wasn't like other girls. I didn't need him to impress me. I just wanted him to ask me, and he did. It took me nearly a minute to actually answer, because the initial shock of the fact that i was going to prom with Christian had really set in. For a while, I'm pretty sure I wasn't able to breathe. But eventually, I squeaked out a quiet yes, and then he hugged me.

He had smelled so good.

And then, with a kiss pressed to my cheek, he offered me a drive home. And I accepted, wanting to spend as much time as I possibly could by his side. On the ride home, he held my hand from across the center console, like he always did when we drove together, and we just talked. He asked me if i knew what colour I'd be wearing, and I told him I had no idea. He merely laughed at what I had said, and pulled into the drive way. He told me he wouldn't be at school for the next couple of days, because he had some business to attend to, and that he'd pick me up for prom at six pm. And we said our goodbyes, and I left the car. He always waited for me to be safely inside before he'd pull out. I suppose, if I ended up being locked out, he'd want to be there to keep me company until I find my way in. I t was so sweet.

----

I love my cute little dresses. I really did, but tonight, I didn't want to be cute. I didn't want to be that little sophomore girl anymore. Well, not for tonight, at least. When I had gone shopping for my dress, I had leaned more towards a more sophisticated silhouette. One that actually fit to my body, rather than completely flowing away, like my usual attire. It wasn't those soft, baby pinks and lavenders, like I usually wore. It was a dark blue. A woman colour. '

With that, I traded in my little flats for a pair of strappy, silver shoes with four inch heels. By the time my Mother had applied my make-up and put my hair up, I didn't look like a little girl anymore. My Mother seemed to notice too, because she had started crying the second I turned to her. She had told me that I wasn't a little girl anymore and that it scared her. Which probably lead her to the conversation she had started next.

"Now, honey." She had started apprehensively, playing with the rings on her fingers. "Prom night is... A big night for many people your age. A lot of people feel the need to uhm, well... It's a prom tradition that most girls lose their virginity on that night. I just wanted to tell you that I think you're a little too young for this type of thing. Especially with Christian, considering he's a little older than you. I think you should wait, but if you do end up, uhm, doing it, please be safe."

I had stared at her for a long time. Feeling both appalled and extremely awkward about the words that had left her mouth. This was not the type of thing I ever wanted to speak to my Mom about, and there she was. Asking me to use protection when me and Christian do it.

"Mom!" I had yelled, completely horrified. "We're not even dating! I would never do that!"

"You're not dating?" She asked, and I shook my head. "Oh, well. You could have fooled me."

And then the conversation ended. For the final hour I had been waiting for Christian to arrive, Sarah had been whining in my ear about how badly she wanted a hot, senior boyfriend to take her to prom. I pretended to listen to her babbling as I stared out the window, watching for the his mustang to pull up to the curb. When it finally did, I had launched myself up from my spot, and ran to the door. I had it opened before he could even step up on the porch, just staring at him from the other side of the screen door.

Christian wore a simple suit. Black blazer, pants and tie with a white shirt and his usual sneakers. His hair looked no different than any other day, and he had a cigarette pinched in between his index and middle finger. My Mother had learned to accept his bad habits after a month or two of him and I being friends, so she didn't think much of it when she noticed it in his hand.

With a few pictures, and hugs from both Sarah and my Mother, Christian and I had rushed out of there as quickly as we possibly could. I was eager to get there, and experience prom, but Christian was more eager to get the night over with. Though he felt attending the dance was a major part of his teenage years, he wasn't going to enjoy it. He was just going to say that he went. If I hadn't gone out and spent money on this dress to wear for this day, we would only be staying for a few minutes. But since I put in the extra effort, he decided it was only fair that we stayed for the night.

The dance was held in the dining room of the only hotel in our town. It was the place where tourists stayed if they weren't renting out a cottage, so it was one of the nicer establishments here. It was decorated in gold, with elaborate arrangements of a variety of white flowers as the center piece to each table. People drank their punch out of champagne glasses, and waiters were circling the venue, serving the first course to the tables. Luckily, Christian and I had showed up just in time to be served, seating ourselves at an empty table in the corner. I had asked him why we didn't sit with his friends, like i would have expected us to. He told e that he didn't want to spend tonight with anyone else but me. That he would see them later.

That meant a lot to me at the time. I mean, not only did he ask me to be his date, but apparently, I wasn't a last resort. In fact, I was a first. He had told me that he wouldn't have come if I didn't say yes. That there was no other girl that he would ask. He just wanted me.

Dinner was served to us in courses. Salad, soup, roasted chicken or vegetarian lasagna for those who don't eat meat, and ice cream sundaes for dessert. it was all really good, but I suppose it would have to be. We wouldn''t attract tourists if the only hotel here served crappy food, now would we?

Christian made me dance with him next. Not that I minded, though. I had learned to really love dancing with him. When he took me to parties with him, he'd always make me dance for at least two songs. We had never had the chance to slow dance at those parties, though. So, when the DJ played Breathe by Taylor Swift, people stopped grinding against their partners. Christian looked confused about how he could possibly dance to this song, and watched as the girls wrapped their arms around the guy's necks. His hands hesitantly found their way to my hips, as if he had never held me there before, guiding me closer until my chest was touching his. I did what all the other girls were doing, placing my hands on his shoulders. Dancing like this was different than the other times. It wasn't fun, like when we danced at all those parties. It was serious. It was sort of... Intimate. The way he was looking at me was so different than any of the other looks he ever gave me. I had never been looked at like that before. I wasn't sure if I should feel good about the way he was looking at me, or if I shouldn't. But then he smiled, and tucked my hair behind my ears, and everything was alright.

The two of us left before the prom king and queen were announced, making our way outside to his Mustang. We drove around town in silence, holding hands over the center console. Eventually, we had found ourselves at the beach, walking down the board walk hand-in-hand. We stopped at the end of a dock, sitting at the edge and staring down into the water below our feet.

"Uhm, there's something I've wanted to tell you." He said quietly, giving my hand a gentle squeeze. I had looked up at him curiously after he said this. "For a while, actually."

This made me sort of nervous. "Oh, okay."

He hesitated at first, and turned his body so he was facing me. "So, uhm, I just wanted to clear this up. Like, you changed a lot over last summer. Like, a lot. You changed your hair and your clothes and started wearing make-up and stuff. And I know you probably think that's why I started talking to you."

I furrowed my brow. "Yeah."

He chuckled, playing with my fingers. "I just wanted to tell you that it's not why I started talking to you. I just never knew how to approach you until that day. I still think I sounded kind of stupid, but what I'm trying to say is that you didn't have to change. Like, if you felt that you weren't pretty enough before, that's not true. You were always pretty, and I just wanted to tell you that so that you don't think I am some kind of superficial asshole."

"You thought I was pretty?" I whispered, feeling my cheeks heat up.

He nodded his head, grinning at me. "Yeah. I still do."

And the night only got better from there. Christian and I talked about our hopes for the future, and what we were going to do that summer. Then Christian got a call from a few of his friends, and he asked if it was okay if they joined us at the beach. Of course, I agreed, and all his friends from his sports teams made their way here. We moved to the fire pit a little way down the beach fro the dock where we were sitting. Jamie, the goalie for Christian's team, set up a fire. We all sat around it, watching as the flames grow. Someone had even brought a guitar, and forced everyone to join into a sing-a-long. Eventually, drinks were brought out, and Christian convinced me to drink with him. Needless to say, I had absolutely no tolerance to alcohol, so I was feeling the affects after only consuming a small amount. He didn't make me drink anymore, which I was thankful for. I was only a little more relaxed than I was before. I sort of felt... Light. I liked it. Everybody was really nice to me, which I hadn't expected. I thought they would ignore me, considering the fact that i was just some weird sophomore that Christian dragged around. But they didn't do that. They talked to me, and invited me to the next party that was being held at a guy named Chris's house.

And at the end of the night, Christian had brought me home. At the time, it was the best night of my life.