That One Marching Band Romance: Movement One

Homecoming Served My Suspicions On A Silver Platter

Mikey:

"Zoe, I promise I'll be there at six and not a minute later," I said into my phone while buttoning up my silver dress shirt. I could hear Zoe humming on the other end.

"I'll see you in twenty minutes. Bye Mikey," she hung up quickly and I straightened my tie. I tied on my black dress shoes and headed out to my car. I can't stop thinking about what Danny said to me, but she can't be right. Zoe is not like that and I know deep down that she loves me. I pulled up to her house and checked my hair in my rearview mirror before walking up her driveway. I knocked twice and the door opened quickly.

"Wow you look amazing," I said as she flattened out the front of her dress.

"Thanks," she said, shutting the door behind her, "I'm so excited for tonight," she took my hand in hers and pulled towards my car. I pulled into the parking lot of her favorite sushi place, Taste the Ocean, and she gave me a smile. She squeezed my hand with approval, and we waited in the restaurant for our table. When we sat down, Zoe immediately pulled out her phone mouthing to me: I have to check this. It's for pit. I tried to get her attention about ten minutes later, but with little success. Soon after, the food arrived, and she finally set her phone down.

"So, did you figure everything out with your section?" I asked, trying not to pry, but just out of concern and genuine curiosity.

"What? Oh, yeah, it's all good, just some confused freshmen that have way too many questions," her answer left me a bit dazed since her tone felt a bit off. The rest of the meal was quiet and awkward. After I paid for the bill, we headed over to the school campus. The music pounded under my feet and I took Zoe's hand in mine.

"Thanks for being my date to my last Homecoming babe," I kissed the top of her hand and she smiled and then let go of my hand quickly.

"Of course. I wouldn't want to be with anyone else," she kissed my cheek and then lead me into the crowd of hormones, sweat, and bad dancing. After about an hour of dancing, Zoe left quickly to grab us some drinks. I sat down on a bench and waited for her to return. I watched the crowd and smiled when I saw Danny and Jackson laughing and dancing. I'm glad she has him. He's a good kid. Thirty minutes passed, so I decided to go look for Zoe. I circled the campus twice and there was no sign of her. She must've run into her friends. I saw Chase waiting in line for drinks and walked over to him quickly.

"Hey man. Have you seen Zoe?" he shook his head and handed me a drink.

"I saw her walking towards the visitor's side of the stadium ten minutes ago," he answered and I swallowed the knot building in my throat. I said a quick thanks and walked quickly towards the stadium. I opened the metal gate and stepped onto the track. I squinted to try and get a better view of the stadium, but since the lights weren't on, this proved to be a challenge. I walked closer to the visitor's side of the stadium and turned the corner. I looked up at the bleachers, and my eyes were greeted with nothing but metal seats. It was getting kinda creepy, walking out here, alone, in the dark, until I heard something. As I turned towards the sound I heard, I saw none other than Zoe, making out with Kendall. My heart sank like the Titanic.

"She was right!" I shouted and Zoe stood up and Kendall quickly followed.

"I told that little brat not to say anything to you," Zoe spat and my mouth hit the floor.

"I almost ruined my relationship with my sister for you," my eyes began to well up with tears and Kendall stepped in front of Zoe.

"Mike. Zoe only came to me because you weren't enough. You are still nothing but a loser and you don't deserve a girl like Zoe or a sister like Danny. I will make sure Danny realizes how much of a waste of time you are, just like I did with Zoe," Kendall sneered as he wrapped his arm around Zoe and walked away, leaving me once again, alone and in the dark. I dropped to my knees and my body began to shake uncontrollably. I can't let him get to Danny. She has to see that there's more to him than meets the eye. I sat behind the bleachers, sobbing in shock and heartbreak for a good while before I summoned the courage to get up and walk to my car. When I turned the car on, my music began to play, but after everything that just happened, I wasn't in the mood. I drove home in silence, just hoping that Danny was having a better time than me. At least one of us deserves to have fun. When I got home, I didn't even have the energy to get changed or brush my teeth. I just went straight to bed, waiting for sleep to take over as I pondered different ways to apologize to Danny.