I Like The Way It Sounds

Eventually the four of us made it to the dance. I was relieved to know that I wouldn’t have to be third-wheelin’ it all night. But I was also really touched; I was so lucky to have a friend like Gare. As we were walking in, I asked him to dance with me with a sideways glance and a joking curtsey. He obliged and we spent the beginning portion of the event dancing and goofing off to whatever music the DJ was playing. Pat and Charlotte had joined us for a bit, but had soon retreated to a table to talk. From my spot on the dance floor I could see them and their chemistry was undeniable. I was really happy for them.
Garrett caught me looking over and grabbed my hand to drag me over to the table. “HELLOOOOOOOOO LOVE BIRDS!” he dramatized. Pat’s face reddened and Charlotte gave me a look urging us to give them space, but I merely shrugged in response and winked her way as Garrett pulled out a chair for me to sit down. They were fine, though, and after Garrett joined me in sitting. We split off into separate conversations until a few of Charlotte and my friends made their way over to our table with their own dates. Apparently dinner was being served. As we sat around eating Char and I made quick introductions of everyone and Pat and Garrett, who were normally kind of shy, seemed completely at ease with the people that had so suddenly joined our group. It was really nice to see parts of my “Arizona” and “New York” lives mixing so harmoniously. I realized this as I finished my meal and leaned into Garrett’s side with a contented sigh. He was in the middle of a conversation with my friend Brady about the singer Ryan Adams (apparently they were both fans, which meant that Garrett probably wanted to be Brady’s new best friend…). It was cute. But despite his attention being elsewhere, he still wrapped an arm around my shoulders to pull me closer.
I could tell that Char noticed this from across the table because she raised her eyebrows at me questioningly. I just shrugged a bit, and quickly looked away. I knew what she was thinking. But it wasn’t like that. Garrett was my best friend. He had a girlfriend that he loved. I just got out of a relationship. He really only brought me to prom because I would’ve been all by myself and he knew that I would’ve been miserable. He was being a good friend. A best friend. I did realize what it looked like, though and I felt guilty? There was a weird feeling in the pit of my stomach and it had “Garrett” written all over it and I didn’t know why or how I felt about it. So I sat up. This time HE shot me a quizzical look and I just flashed a cute smile in return. He seemed satisfied and turned back to Brady. I was oddly relieved and grabbed a few of the girls to come and dance with me. I let the meaningless pop songs blaring through the giant speakers clear my head as I contorted myself to the beat.
The dance soon started drawing to a close and I’d come close to forgetting all of the stress and drama that Tom and his new girlfriend has caused, and all of the confusion I was dealing with over Gare. That is, until I literally walked into them on my way back from the bathroom (Tom and Melanie, that is, Garrett and Pat were still off by our table). Engrossed in conversation with Charlotte about how sweet Pat was being towards her, I didn’t notice the couple awkwardly swaying together at the edge of the dance floor. With that, I walked straight into them (to the point where Tom had to grab my arm for support to keep me from face-planting). How considerate. Rooting myself on my feet, I felt my face get hot and I could hear Melanie laughing at me. Normally, I wouldn’t have cared. I could easily ignore her and apologize for ruining their bizarre dance routine. But this girl was a bitch and didn’t deserve and apology and Tom… well, he was a nice enough guy (up until he started cheating on me…) but he was also a complete moron. With confused and embarrassed tears behind my eyes, I decided to hold my ground. I thanked Tom for steadying me as I shot Mel a dirty look to shut her up. She sent me a smile that feigned innocence as Tom awkwardly stared at his feet, visibly worried that we’d get into some kind of cat fight over him. He was obviously blind to the anger and mild hatred radiating off of me. But seeing him be so dumbly concerned of that struck me as funny, hilarious, in fact. So funny, that I stood in the middle of my senior prom directly in front of my ex-boyfriend and the nasty skank he’d cheated on me with laughing until I cried. I laughed until my stomach ached and I could barely breathe. The bewildered looks that the odd couple in front of my shot had on their faces made the whole ordeal even funnier and it made it impossible to stop laughing like a maniac, even after I realized that people from all around the relatively small room were staring at me.
“Oh well. I’m leaving soon.”
I continued to laugh but was eventually able to stop with a shaky breath. When I regained (most of) my composure, I noticed that Gary and Pat had started to walk towards me and Char had met them in the middle of the room, they looked like they were plotting ways to save me. I winked at them as I took in the scene around me. To be honest, Tom looked more confused then I’d ever seen him, which is truly saying something, and Melanie had a look of utter disgust on her face; I was obviously a crazy person. I reached out to touch her arm in sarcastic reassurance and she flinched, jerking away from me. She probably thought I had cooties or something, the poor girl was just as stupid as Tom. I gnawed on my lip awkwardly for a minute as I pondered what to say to get myself out of the situation. “So…,” I started slowly. “Yea. SORRYABOUTTHAT!” I blurted over my shoulder as I scooted away, towards my date. Towards my friends.
I buried my tomato-hued face in Garrett’s chest. I was shaking and he started to rub my back, murmuring to me that I shouldn’t cry, “that asshole” wasn’t worth it. Char quickly corrected his mistake, “She’s not crying, Gare.” He stopped and I could feel him turn to face her. “W-what do you mean?” I pulled back with a grin, “Garrett, I’m laughing! I actually just did that. In front of my entire class. Ugh, God I’M SO AWKWARD. But that was amazing! You should’ve seen their faces…” I trailed off as I saw his bewildered expression. It changed quickly to a relieved smile as he playfully swatted my arm, “you weirdo! I thought you were actually upset!” He smiled though, and I knew we were alright.