Within the Writing

Chapter Thirty

I left the bathroom, bright and happy as I walked back into the dining room. Eve was the first one to notice my mood change and she broke the silence that filled the room.

"Why are you in a good mood?" She asked me. Everyone's eyes focused on me when she asked, including Aiden's. My smile didn't crumble and my happiness gave me confidence to talk to them even if being under the gaze of five people made me squirm a little.

"My fever broke." I was practically dancing where I stood, happy. Aiden grinned and I smiled directly at him, brushing a loose hair out of my face and back where it was supposed to be. Eve glanced at the time on her phone and stood up quickly from her seat, breaking my attention from Aiden, back to her.

"Oh sh...er, crap!" She grumbled, catching herself before she cursed in front of our parents. That would have been bad. "We have to get ready!" She was practically hysterical as she flew out of the room, leaving her dirty dishes behind. I rolled my eyes and went to grab them but mom caught my arm, smiling.

"Go get ready. I've got it." I smiled at her and went off to get ready with Eve. I easily got into my tuxedo, groaning a little as I looked at how much of a tool I looked like. I really was not a formal person. This was not my style.

"Jamison, help me zip up my dress." My sister called from her room. I grabbed the white rose and hustled to her room, setting the flower to the side and zipping up the back of her princess styled prom dress. I smiled at her and she got to work on her hair, curling a couple of strands but pulling most of it up into a beautiful braided bun on the back of her head. She was breath-taking. I took the rose and cut the stem a little more before finding  a safety pin to clip it to my tux at the front.

Eve took most of a half hour to get ready and I was stuck, sitting on her bed, watching her do her makeup and such, finishing it off with perfume. I gagged on the smell and escaped from her room, she was following behind me and we both strode down the stairs, dressed formally and elegantly. Mom about burst into tears when she saw us. She held up her camera.

"Alright, smile for me. You guys look wonderful." She told us, snapping a couple pictures of us together and a couple of separate ones. "When did my babies grow up?" Her voice was trying hard not to crack and she was fighting back tears of happiness. I smiled a little and hugged her tightly.

"We're still your babies." I promised easily. Then I saw him. Aiden. He was even more handsome than I had previously thought, especially in his own tuxedo. He had a red rose pinned to his and I smiled at him. Nyck followed behind and his jaw dropped when he saw my sister but I wasn't paying attention as I walked over to Aiden.

"You look fantastic." Aiden told me, eyeballing me up and down. My cheeks went a pink color but I smiled proudly. Happy that he thought I looked good.

"I was going to say the same of you." I admitted. He broke into a smile again and I looked down. I heard him about to speak but then my mom interuptted in a shrill excied voice.

"Group picture lovelies." She said. She had Aiden put his arm around my waist and Nyck put his around Eve's and had me and my sister in the middle.  Then she took picture of Eve and Nyck then Aiden and me. She was going crazy with the pictures until Nyck interupted.

"It's time to go." He said, looking at his watch which was conviently hidden underneath his sleeve. I hugged mom one last time and all of us left to go to prom.

.................

Prom was huge and there were lots of people there. It started out slow because people showed up gradually and no one wanted to be the first person to dance but before we knew it everyone was dancing and only a few people were sitting out. Katherine was dancing with a junior boy that I didn't know. Eve was dancing with Nyck. I was sitting out while Aiden was going to find punch for us to drink. I didn't dance. I sucked at it.

"What's the freshman loser doing here?" Adam's voice broken through the wall of music and I turned to look at him shrugging simply, unafraid to tell him the answer.

"Aiden asked me to come." I told him. Him and his gang made a face of disgust before I added. "As friends." I hated the sound of that coming out of my mouth. I wished we were more than just friends.

"Still no reason for you to be here." Adam scoffed and I shrugged again. He hoisted me out of my seat, holding me by the jacket of the tuxedo. I gulped, now afraid. "Leave." he hissed venomously. "I don't need you ruining my Junior Prom for me." He said through gritted teeth. I nodded and was about to leave before Aiden caught me by the wrist and stopped me, he was glaring at Adam.

"Leave him alone, he has just as much right to be here as any of us." Aiden told them. He had set our punch down on table. Adam had noticed too and he grabbed both of them, flinging the contents onto both me and Aiden. I looked down and Aiden let go of me getting angry and he was just about to punch Adam when a teacher came over, having noticed Adam's behavior.

"Mr. Riley. I'm going to have to ask that you leave if you're going to act like a delinquent." I looked up when I heard the familiar adult male voice. It was Mr. Rowe, the gudiance counselor, not a teacher. I smiled a little at him and I could tell that he finally pieced together everything. Adam was the source. Adam grumbled a little and looked at the male.

"I'm sorry Mr. Rowe, won't happen again." He muttered. "Let's go guys." Adam led his posse into the crowd of dancing people and I started dabbing at the tux with loads of napkins, trying to dry the majority of it. I handed a few to Aiden.

"Jamison, if you ever need anything-" I cut him off with a smile.

"-don't be afraid to ask you." I finished his sentence and he nodded, smiling, before walking back away to keep a watchful eye on the crowd of students.

"I'm sorry Adam is a jerk." Aiden spoke suddenly and I left the wads of punch-filled napkins on the table, shrugging.

"It's fine. I'm over it." I admitted. He smiled and then suddenly, the music stopped and announcing through the speakers was the Student Council President with the ballads for Prom King and Queen. I stopped and watched my sister, who's fingers were crossed and who was clinging to Nyck like her life depended on it.

"The winning vote by two votes for Prom King is Nyck Masons!" The President applauded and Nyck let go of Eve and walked up there, leaving my sister quivering anxiously. I chuckled a little bit and watched her, feeling sorry that she was so nervous. Of course I was nervous too because I knew how much this meant to her. The crown was placed on top of Nyck's head and then the President spoke up again.

"The winning vote for Prom Queen is-" she paused and grinned, leaving us in suspense. "-drum roll please." Several people clapped on their legs and in my own nervousness, I grabbed Aiden's hand squeezing it. My eyes locked on the speaker. "Miss Eve Smith!"

I broke our hands away, appluading loudly. Aiden whistled and my sister was crying happy tears as she worked her way up onto the stage. The crown was placed on her head and the combination of her dress and the new accessory really did make her look like a princess. I was smiling brightly, happy for my sister.

"Now for the King and Queen's dance!" The President announced. It was actually just the last dance of the night but giving it a title made it seem more important. It was a slow dance so I was about to sit down and wait the night out until I felt Aiden grab my hand.

"Would you care to dance with me?" He asked, his eyes sparkling and a sweet smile on his lips. I hesitated and my cheeks became pink before I nodded.

"I would love to." I told him and he led me into the middle of the dance floor, beside my sister and Nyck. Eve smiled at me and soon I was slow dancing with Aiden while she was slow dancing with her boyfriend. I got lost in happiness and found myself completely comfortable in his arms, my arms wrapped easily around his neck.

"Jamison-" he started and I looked up at him, happily.

"Uh-huh?" I cracked a smile. He hesitated and I gently encouraged him to speak.

"I love you." He told me. I was astonished and surprised but I didn't have anytime to react as he lead down, closing the gap between our lips and kissed me there, in front of everyone at prom. I smiled against his lips, my personal dream coming true and I broke away only for a second to tell him something I had been meaning to for a while.

"I love you too."