It's Not You. It's Me. And No! He is Not My Boyfriend!

“I can’t believe you’re going to a homecoming,” Carmen turned from applying her eye make up.

“Well I do come home every day heh heh,” I nudged her gently in the ribs with my elbows.

“Hilarious. You must keep Carter in stitches.”

“Things do tend to get violent, but I don’t see what that has to do with my joke.”

“Violent ay?” time Carmen nudged me in the ribs. “Kinky!”

“Ew? I guess, but not really.”

“Wait! Have you and Carter...you know?” she raised her eyebrows suggestively.
“Not yet.”

“Good! Girls these days are giving it up too easily!” she wagged a finger at me.

“Thanks grand ma ma.”

She rolled her eyes with a smile, “But really. What possessed you to come to this?”

“Well I’ve never been, and I figured I had to experience a homecoming dance at least one in my high school career.”

“You wanted to buy a fancy dress.”

“Precisely.”
“Girls!” my mother called from downstairs. “The boys are here! Oh they look so handsome!”

“We’ll be down in a second!” I called down to her. “Moms always think boys look nice when their dressed up.”

“Truth.”

***

The gym was decked out in balloons and streamers. They really went out for this supposed foot ball team. Other than the fact the red, white, and blue streamers hung from the doorway of the gym, it looked like a regular school dance that we were all seriously over dressed for.

“I spent forty dollars for this,” I exclaimed upon entering our lack luster gym.

“What did you expect?” Carmen rolled her eyes in a cross between amusement and exasperation.

I really didn’t know what I expected. I knew it was going to be the gym, but I figured if we had to wear a cock tail dress there would at least be cock tails.

“We should start getting high before these things?” Carter uttered, a longing sigh following after.

“Drugs are bad Carter,” I huffed, pushing past him to head towards the small crowd that hung by the DJ.

“Perhaps!” he called after me. “But then we’d really be enjoying this!”

I considered his statement for a moment, stopping to weigh the pros and cons before continuing along. It was too late for that solution, but I was positive some stupid drama would provide enough entertainment to get us through the night.

“Now please try to enjoy yourself,” Carmen pleaded as her and Brian got into dancing position. I think it was called doggie style, but I wasn’t quite sure. All I know was that there was a lot of thrusting, kissing, and sometimes(disturbingly) moaning. As much as I loved the couple, they were definitely that couple that made you want to throw up a week’s meals just watching them.

“You know,” Carter mused, watching the two do their pre-carnal dance. “Change the music and you got yourself a soft core porn going here. We could make bank on this!” Carter grabbed his cell phone from his pocket and began to take a video.

I whacked his arm, causing him to turn his camera away from Brian and Carmen.

“Stop that!” I chided. “It’s not cool to make ‘bank’ or whatever on your friends.”

“Brian would be all for it. What guy doesn’t want to be a porn star?”

“Let’s just dance.”

“Okay!” Carter thrust a fist out towards the dance floor. “...but not next to Brian and Carmen, we’ll look like really bad dancers next to them.”

“News flash,” I led him to the center of the floor. “We are really bad dancers.”

“Woo!” Carter wiped non-existent sweat off his brow as the music transitioned into another song that sounded shockingly similar to the one that played before it. “I’m parched. Want a drink?”

“Do they have cock tails?”

“Yeah,” Carter’s body slumped with sarcasm. “The school decided to start promote underage drinking.”

“Well I just figured there would be because we’re wearing cock tail dresses.”

“I don’t think it works that way. What do you want?”

“A water would be good.”

“Good!” Carter thrust a fist forward again, lunging into with the vigor of a super hero. Only this time it was directed at the doors that led to foyer of the gym. “I’ll be right back!” with that he took off in a run, first still thrusting the way.

I rolled my eyes. He was such a doofus. I wondered if he did it for laughs or just simply forgot that others could see him.

“Ellis!” shivers ran up and down my body as Matthew Perkins called from behind me. And they weren’t the good kind that girls describe getting when a hot human of the male persuasion said something to them. They were the kind that one would get when walking into a haunted house. Unfortunately for me Matthew was an evil spirit that could touch. “You look great!” he eyed my hungrily once I turned around to greet him.

“Thanks. You look like you normally do,” I replied.

“Normally I would be offended, but I know this is just your way of saying you want me!” he pulled me in closer to his body by placing a forceful hand on the small of my back.

“No...,” I gingerly removed Matthew’s hand and backed away slowly. When animals were attacking, any rash movements could be deadly. “It’s my way of saying you look like you’re wearing a classier version of your uniform.”

Matthew moved a step closer with each step I took back.

“In other words, I look amazing.”
“Self-confidence is great. Is that rum on your breath?”

“Come closer and find out for yourself?” he began to lean in for a kiss.

“Well I think I just got my answer,” I moved my upper half to the side in order to doge Matthew’s drunken advances. He was being more forward than usual, which mean he was practically on the verge of becoming a rapist.

“Why is it that every time I leave my girlfriend you seem to be trying to seduce her?” Carter had reappeared before things started to get ugly.

“Because you don’t deserve her, and it’s my job to show her that!” Matthew pointed a drunken figure in the general direction of Carter.

“You can quit that job. Seriously,” I declared.

“NEVA!” this time he shook his fist at Carter. “Not until you see the light!”

I couldn’t help but being slightly amused at the whole situation. You know it’s a great time when there’s drunken fist shaking.

“Are you drunk?” Carter cocked an eyebrow in confusion.

“A LITTLE!”

“Well I’m going to walk away from this situation, with MY GIRLFRIEND,” he placed a protective arm around my waist. “You might do something rash in your state.”

“You could write a book on that, right Jenkins?” Matthew called as Carter began to usher me away.

“Wow, he’s still pretty sharp for the amount of alcohol it seems he’s consumed.”

“THAT’S IT!” Carter whipped around, obviously not seeing the humor in Matthew’s insult. “I’m really sick of your smart mouth,” he marched back towards a smug Matthew.

“You’re sober!” I called after him. “People tend to do rash things when they’re in that state!”

“This isn’t rash,” Carter raised a first, arching it back to gain some momentum.

“OKAY! OKAY!” I quickly positioned myself the two men. Carter mid punch, and Matthew still smiling smugly. “Carter do NOT do this!”

Carter held his fisted hand in the air for a few seconds, contemplating his next move. His whole body slumping, he let his hand drop to his side. I breathed a sigh of relief. As much as I wanted a death match for my love, blood stains were very hard to get out of dress shirts. Suddenly, Carter raised his fist again only instead of slamming into Matthew’s nose he slammed into bleachers that were located within obvious punching distance. With that accomplished, Carter turned on his heel and stormed out of the gym.

“Wow,” I thought out loud. “Talk about some powerful knuckles.”

“He seemed angry,” Matthew chuckled slightly.

I just rolled my eyes in response before heading off in the direction Carter had previously stomped off in. I wanted drama, but not like this. NOT LIKE THIS! It wasn’t fun if I had to deal with it. I wasn’t angry about the cheating anymore. I was more upset that I still had to deal with it.