Puck (Kickstarting My Heart #3) (COMPLETED)

Midnight Memories

To say everyone was shocked to find Chase against the wall beside the bleachers Friday night would be an understatement.

I could hear the whispers before I even stepped foot in the auditorium. I was already extraordinarily uncomfortable, but seeing that he'd be watching everyone from afar all night only added to my discomfort.

My mom had been happy to hear I agreed to allow Jordan to drag me to the dance. She'd even pulled out one of Vanessa's old high school dresses.

That had been the cause of my first surge of tears.

I remembered the exact night she'd worn it. It'd been some dance freshman year, I'd only been in fifth grade but I had thought she looked like a princess. It wasn't as much of a dress as it was a gown. It was a flowy midnight blue, the only glimpse at my legs, or shoes for that matter, was a slight right down the right leg. It hugged me much tighter than it had her, and made me suddenly wish I hadn't spent so many nights wandering into the kitchen to grab a bag of chips.

My mom had been insistent that she do my makeup as well, much to my protest. I was a sole believer that I didn't need it. Not because I was gorgeous, but because the second she put it on I'd get flashes of my beautiful big sister doing the same, and I'd start crying.

That had been the cause of my second surge of tears.

Forcing my feet into heels should have caused tears, but instead caused anger and me to take them off until Jordan got to the house to pick me up.

The look that crossed my dad's face upon walking out of my room and into the living, that was where I finally broke and started crying. He immediately tried to reassure me I looked beautiful and all that, but I knew exactly why he had looked at me the way he had.

I reminded him of Vanessa.

Of course Jordan had taken that wonderful time to barge through the door, rendered speechless seeing me in a dress for the first time since I'd hit puberty. He'd tried to convince me to let my mom fix my makeup, but I just wiped what I could so I was no longer a sad clown, and walked out of my house. If I stayed in any longer, I'd break down even further and wouldn't go at all.

My best friend remained silent the entire ride to the school, which was so unlike him that I almost asked if he was feeling okay. He finally started to fall back into his normal self once we had stepped through the front door of the school.

"You want anything to drink?" When I opened my mouth to respond, Jordan waved his finger in front of my face childishly, "Other than alcohol."

I crossed my arms, hugging his jacket tighter around me. "Water, I guess."

He offered a playful smile before turning his back to me and heading for the buffet across the room. Once he was out of sight, I started toward the miserable boy huddled in the darkness behind the bleachers.

"Can I help you?" he glanced up quickly and looked away, then did a double take, "Veronica?"

I nodded. "I know, it's amazing. I'm actually a girl."

I swear I saw a hint of a smile on his face at the obnoxious comment.

"You look gorgeous." He complimented. "You definitely look like a girl. I don't remember seeing you at all the other dances, not even Junior prom. What happened? You lose a bet or something?"

I yawned, then leaned into the bleachers. "No, Jordan talked me into coming with him since it's one of our last before we graduate and yatta yatta. You wouldn't have even noticed if I was there or not anyway, I promise."