Light Me On Fire

Between school, mending my friendship with Becca, and worrying over my withering friendship with John, I seemed to lose track of the days. Sometimes I'd look at my surroundings, and wonder how I'd gotten there.

And even on this particular day, this so-called special day, I found myself confused as I felt a hand tugging at my hair.

"Dammit, that hurts," I grumbled.

Kelsi laughed and rolled her eyes. "I barely pulled a few strands, you big baby."

I sighed and leaned back into the computer chair I was sitting on. "Do you think Nick would hate me if I chose to skip out on prom?"

"Probably not, but I would. We've been planning this for weeks, Soph, and-"

"You've been planning this for weeks, Kels," I corrected her.

"Either way, I'm not letting you ditch me on prom. We're both going, and that's final," she stated.

I sighed and closed my eyes. "Fuck me."

She laughed as she sprayed hair spray onto my curls. "Quit frowning! Your hair's done, and I must say, I did a pretty damn good job."

I stood up and walked over to her mirror, looking at my reflection. "Damn. You did do a good job," I laughed.

She smiled. "It's a shame I'm not going to beauty school."

I rolled my eyes playfully and sat down on her bed while she touched up her makeup. "So ... What do you think the chances are of John actually acknowledging me tonight?"

She made a face, acting as if she were actually thinking. "I'd say one in a thousand. But, tonight is prom ... miracles can happen." We both laughed, although in reality, my heart was breaking in two.

I've spent the greater half of my life being close with John. He's always been my safety net. He's the only boy, besides my father, who I completely and one-hundred percent trust. Going all of these weeks without him, has been the saddest days of my life. I hadn't realized just how much John brought to my life, until he was suddenly gone.

And, it wasn't like I didn't try to talk to him - to make things right - because I did; and on more than one occasion.

But every time I would build up the courage to speak to him, he'd find a way to completely ignore me, or blow me off. And at first, I didn't think much of it. I took it as a sign to give him his space, and that was fine. But as days turned into weeks, his actions began to hurt me.

Truth be told, I wasn't exactly sure of who I was without John. It had been me and him against the world for so long...

"Kennedy just texted me. Him and the guys and Becca will be here in a few minutes," Kelsi said, breaking me away from my thoughts.

"I'll get dressed downstairs," I told her.

She nodded her head. "Don't forget that you have to jiggle the doorknob a little when you're coming out."

"I won't, thanks!" I said before making my way down to the first floor of her house.

I snuck past both of our parents, not wanting them to start on my hair or make-up. I had made the mistake of letting them see my dress before Kelsi began working on my hair, and they spent nearly an hour talking about the color alone.

Sliding on the silk material, my nerves began to kick in. I exhaled a big breath of air as I slid on the strap of the dress. Glancing at myself in the mirror, I smiled. I looked beautiful.

Kelsi had done a version of a side ponytail with my hair, having big, loose curls on the bottom half. My makeup was somewhat heavy, with a golden bronzer, pink blush, and heavy eyeliner, but it suited tonight’s occasion. My dress was a burnt orange with one strap, and hugged my curves tightly. I was almost positive that if I ate so much as one chip, the material would bust, but I was willing to go through the pain of sucking my gut in for the rest of the night with the way it looked on me.

I slid on my silver heels, which weren’t more than two to three inches in height, being that I was already naturally tall and didn’t want to tower over Nick. I placed my silver bracelet on my wrist and smiled, finally done. I heard the front door open before a mess of voices came. Butterflies bloomed in my stomach as I heard Nick’s voice.

I took in a deep breath before placing my hand on the door knob, attempting to turn it. Much to my dismay, it didn’t turn and I began to jiggle it, like Kelsi had instructed me to do, but it was still pointless. The knob wasn’t budging.

“Shit,” I cursed, yanking on it now. “Open, you little fucker!” Suddenly, the door jolted open and I flew back, falling into the bathtub. “Fuck!” I moaned as a pain shot through my back, which had landed on the soap holder.

“Sophie?” I glanced up and saw John staring at me, a perplexed look on his face. When I didn’t say anything, he held his hands out in front of me.

I placed mines in them and he pulled me out. “Thanks,” I mumbled, feeling my cheeks heat up.

“Yeah, no problem,” he said.

For a moment, we both stared at each other. He was wearing tight, black slacks with a white button up shirt and a light green vest. A black jacket was thrown over the two, and a skinny black tie hung in the middle of his shirt. His hair was tossed into a beautiful mess, as it always was. I had never wanted him so much in my entire life.

“Uh,” he mumbled before clearing his throat. He opened his mouth once more before closing it and walking out of the room. I felt my heart drop to the soles of my feet. He couldn’t even say more than two words to me.

I sighed and shook my head, not wanting our squabble to ruin my night. I plastered a smile onto my face and walked out, joining everyone in Kelsi’s living room. When Nick saw me, his eyes widened and his jaw nearly hit the floor. I smirked at his reaction.

“You – you look so beautiful,” he said, sounding as if he were out of breath.

I giggled. “Thanks, babe. You do, too.” And he did in his black slacks and orange vest with a black jacket. He had slicked his hair back, something I had never seen him do before. “I like the hair.”

He laughed. “Yeah, I wanted to do something different.”

“It looks good,” I stated before placing a peck on his lips.

“Okay, can I just say that I am so, so, so damn happy that I never have to go through prom again,” Becca said whilst fussing with the end of her dress. “Not only can I not breathe, but my boobs are basically in my face and I keep stepping on this damn dress.”

Garrett laughed and grabbed her hand. “If it helps any, you look absolutely gorgeous, baby.” Her pale cheeks turned a faint red at his words, and we all laughed.

Becca’s dress was a stunning dark purple with a sweetheart neckline and silver crystals decorating the torso. From the waist down, the dress fluffed out and covered her feet. Her hair was done in a simple, but elegant bun and her bangs swooped the right side of her face.

“Hey, party people,” Jared smiled as he came through the door, his hand connected with Alaska’s. My eyes nearly bulged out of my head at her dress.

It was a gorgeous dark red with a crystal line around the bust. The mermaid style of the dress accentuated her curves, and flared out at the bottom, revealing a white lace. Her hair was also done in a beautiful bun, but a bit more loosely than Becca’s, with her bangs swooping to the right.

“Hey, y’all,” she waved, smiling widely.

“Alaska, I love your dress!” Becca commented, gawking at the gown.

She laughed. “Thanks! It cost me a fortune, but it looked so good I had to buy it!”

“I have arrived,” Kelsi shouted, coming down her stairs.

Her dress was a dark, royal blue with a sweetheart neckline that was embellished with silver rhinestones. It flaunted her curves and like Alaska’s and Becca’s dress, it flared out at the bottom. Half of her hair was done in loose curls, with the other half up in a poof. She looked beautiful, and I could tell Kennedy thought the same thing because as soon as she came into the room, his lips were attached to hers.

“Ahem.” We all turned towards the noise, seeing Kelsi’s father standing near the doorway of the kitchen. “It’s picture time, kiddos. Line up.”

Kennedy and Kelsi both blushed as they joined the rest of us near the fireplace. As all our parents snapped picture after picture, my vision began to go, being replaced with a silver orb as I blinked.

“I’m so blind right now,” Nick laughed.

“That makes two of us,” I agreed.

“Guys, I feel bad that Pat’s not with us,” Garrett said, a sad look on his face.

“You wouldn’t have been with us either if wasn’t for your cougar girlfriend,” Kelsi joked.

Becca laughed. “Shut up. I’m only one year older.”

“And besides, I like older women,” Garrett smirked, wrapping his arm around her waist.

“Alright, let’s bust a move people. It’s getting late,” Jared stated, glancing at the clock on the wall.

My mom sighed. “You children have fun, but please be safe!”

“And no drinking and driving,” my dad said.

We all nodded our heads.

“Got it,” I said before placing a kiss on each of their cheeks. Nick gave them each a hug and grabbed my hand, and we began making our way out the door.

We had all pitched in on a Hummer limo, and as we slid inside, I realized it was well worth the money.

“This ride is fucking sweet,” John said, speaking for the first time since our bathroom incident.

“Seriously. Can I buy one of these?” Alaska laughed, looking around.

Our first stop was at a steak house, where we all stuffed ourselves with food and made so much noise, we were nearly kicked out. However, it made for good conversation while we drove to the hall where our prom was being held.

As we pulled up to the building, there was a short line of students who were waiting to get inside. We all shuffled to the line, getting out our tickets.

“So who do you think is going to win king and queen?” Kennedy asked.

“Probably Samantha and Kyle. Fuckers,” Kelsi said, rolling her eyes.

I laughed. “You’re probably right. They’re practically already royalty to our school.”

Once we were all inside, we found a table to place our belongings. The hall was decorated beautifully with tables decorated in a rich, white cloth, as well as the chairs. Vases of flowers sat directly in the middle of each table, as well. The dance floor was wooden, and the ceilings beamed a rainbow of lights onto it, giving the room a ‘club’ vibe. The DJ was set up near the front of the room, right in front of the five large windows that allowed a lovely garden to be seen.

“It’s time to dance,” Kelsi said before dragging an opposing Kennedy out onto the floor.

I laughed as one by one, each of my friends joined them, except for John. He took a seat in one of the chairs and ran a hand through his hair. If he hadn’t been such a jackass to me the last few weeks, I might’ve tried to talk to him, but I was tired of trying to mend our friendship. It was my prom night, and I was determined to make the best of it. So, instead, I grabbed Nick’s hand and we joined the rest of my classmates out on the floor.

_____________________________________________

A little more than halfway into the night, Nick and I decided to take a break from dancing. We were both on the verge of serious sweating, and he offered to grab us each a cup of punch. I sat down at the table, joining Alaska, Jared, Garrett and Kennedy; Becca and Kelsi were still shaking it out on the dance floor.

“I feel like I just did a work out,” I laughed.

Alaska nodded her head, sipping her punch. “I feel the same way, dude. This dress weighs like a million pounds.”

I nodded my head in sympathy. “That’s why I chose this dress.” She laughed just as Nick returned with two cups. “Did you slip anything in here?”

He smirked. “Like I would need to do that.”

Everyone laughed and I stuck my tongue out at him. “Jerk.”

“I’m only playing, babe,” he chuckled before giving me a kiss on the cheek.

“Attention guys and gals, it’s time to announce your prom king and queen,” our principal announced, gaining everyone’s attention.

“Woohoo,” Garrett said, faking excitement.

“Right,” Kennedy laughed.

Becca and Kelsi joined our group as the principal opened the golden envelope that was placed in his hands.

“Has anyone seen John?” Jared asked, glancing around.

Everyone but Kelsi shook their heads. “He’s been practically dry humping Kylie Wilson the whole night.”

I felt a tinge of jealousy build up in me, but decided not to address it. I was here with Nick, anyway.

“Ladies and gentlemen, your queen is Samantha Thompson and your king is John O’Callaghan!”

My eyes widened. “John was in the running!?” I asked, shocked. Everyone looked at me, a ‘duh’ expression on their face.

“You were there the day they passed out the ballots,” Becca told me.

I arched my brows. “I was?” She nodded her head and I shook my head, not remembering seeing his name on the ballot at all.

Samantha and John took their places on stage, getting their crowns and sash. Once that was done, the dance floor was cleared for them as a slow song played through the speakers.

I felt my heart swell with hurt as I watched how he smiled and laughed with Samantha, holding her close to his body. Every action of his looked so effortless, and I envied her for that. I couldn’t even get him to look in my direction anymore.

When the song ended, we all resumed our places on the floor and from the corner of my eye, I spotted John, who was now dancing with Kylie; a pretty blue eyed-blond who had always had a crush on him.

Kelsi had been right, they were practically dry humping each other, and either of them seemed to care that were other people in the room with them.

John looked up, and for a second, we caught eyes with each other. I arched my brows and he shrugged, looking away. I bit down hard on my bottom lip, and began grinding against Nick, who seemed to enjoy my sudden change of dancing.

When John looked my way again, I could see the anger in his eyes as he watched Nick’s hands on my body and the way our hips moved so closely together. It took only a moment for a sly smirk to adorn his lips and for him turn Kylie around, making it so they were facing each other.

His hands gripped near her ass and he pulled her closer to him, their lips nearly touching. I narrowed my eyes and began moving closer and faster against Nick, and he did the same with Kylie.

We kept this act up for awhile, until the song came to an end. I was breathing heavy and staring dead straight at him. And as if he knew exactly how to break my heart, he pressed his lips against hers, winning our contest.

I felt tears prick my eyes and I tugged on Nick’s hands. “Can we go?”

“Uh, yeah. Where do you want to go?” he asked, slightly confused.

I pulled him to the table where the rest of our friends were and looked at Kelsi. “Do you know where a party’s going on?”

She nodded her head. “Of course.”

“Are y’all ready to leave?” I asked, looking at everyone else, who nodded their heads. “Good. Let’s go.”