Focus

Dance Like Nobody's Watching...Unless Someone Is Watching

Seven o'clock comes and goes, and I wait at the window. A horrifying thought occurs to me and creeps up the bottom of my spine. What if this was just a practical joke? What if he asked me just so I would say yes and humiliate myself? I fiddle with the tulle on the bottom of my dress and try not to think about it. The dance starts at 8:00...there's still time. At 7:32, my phone buzzes. I whip it out of my bag so quickly I almost drop it. My heart sinks. It's Michael.

Hey, Calum's car broke down, so he can't pick you up for the dance. Don't worry, your date's still on ;) Do you have a way of getting there?

I feel a surge of relief, and type a response as quickly as possible.

Not a problem. Amanda can bring me. Good luck with the car!

Jumping up I fling the door open and dial Amanda's number. Thankfully she hasn't left yet, and she pulls up in my driveway about thirty seconds later. Her mouth falls open, and I flush with pride. "You look hot." I open the door to her Mini Cooper and laugh. "Yeah yeah, let's go already!" We turn on Blank Space and roll down the windows, singing loudly all the way there.

We walk through the doors to the ballroom that the River View formal committee rented out for the night. I breathe in sharply. The ceiling glitters with thousands of tiny snowflakes, and the room glows a soft white. There are chandeliers about every five feet and tables are lined with royal blue cloths, decked with a centerpiece of white and silver roses. Fairy lights line every table and door, and the walls are draped with sparkling lanterns and sheer white curtains. Of course, the dance floor takes up most of the room with refreshment tables off to the sides, and there's a huge stage lining the back wall - no doubt, where the band will play. "Hey, where's Calum?" Amanda asks in a worried voice. "Listen, you don't need to protect me from him, if that's what you're thinking," I say. "I trust him, and he'll show up. Don't freak out." She nods uncertainly and we sit down at a table closest to the stage. Some girls from varsity choir join us.

They're very animated, so I barely have to talk at all, and 8:00 approaches fast. By the time the DJ comes on to announce the start of the dance, Calum still isn't here. In fact, none of the boys are. I rub my temple. There's probably no use getting upset; I didn't spend three hours getting primped up just to be miserable. I make a silent resolution that no matter what happens tonight, if he shows or doesn't show, I'm going to have a good time.

The DJ holds up a hand, and the entire room goes silent. "And now," he begins, his voice tense. "Please welcome to the stage, 5 Seconds of Summer!" Everyone claps. I applaud lightly. This might be interesting. The room dims until it's almost completely dark; I can barely make out the shadows of a few people on the stage. They begin a synchronized warmup run on their guitars, and a voice echoes through the mic over the music. "This first song we're going to play is a cover," the voice says. It's a guy, I can tell, and he speaks softly. He sounds so familiar. Luke. My heart skips a beat and I shift in my chair. That can't be right. Can it? Another voice chimes in. "It's dedicated to a special little lady in the audience who encouraged us to share our music with others and have fun with it!" My heart plummets into my feet. Michael. "Oh my god," I whisper hoarsely.

I can tell within the first three chords that it's definitely them, and without thinking, I immediately stand up and cheer. "Go Calum!" I whoop, grinning ear to ear. I can't believe that these idiots are playing our school dance as a venue. Why didn't it occur to me that they were the live performance? Ashton seemed eager when he told me the school had booked a band, I should've known. With a loud crackle, fireworks go off on either side of the stage and a huge screen lights up behind them reading "5SOS". Luke, Calum, and Michael are facing away from the audience, hunched over their guitars. Ashton plays a crash on the cymbal. Everyone in the room screams and cheers. I get goosebumps. Those are my boys. I'm so proud to know them.