Beautiful Demons

36. A Night To Remember

After the announcement, Agnes and I walked to the parking lot together. Drake was waiting for us in his black Camaro. It was a sleek sports car his parents bought him as a present for his sixteenth birthday. It made me a little uncomfortable to think of riding around in such expensive cars in my torn jeans and old hand-me-downs.

Agnes climbed into the back.

"You sure you don't mind?" I said. "'Cause I could get in the back if you want."

"Don't be silly," she said. "I'm sure you want to ride up front with Drake."

I did, but I was desperately trying to be nice to her. I knew how much she wanted to be a Demons cheerleader. It was one of the first things she'd told me about herself when we met, and I had taken it from her.

Mrs. King only made me feel worse when she told Agnes that she was her second choice.

"At least that puts me in a good position for next year's auditions," Agnes had said. "Or if another spot opens up."

I didn't want to tell her that the chances of that happening were next to impossible.

As Drake spun out of the parking lot, he slipped in a CD. Rock music blasted out and he let down the windows. I was thankful for the music, because it meant we didn't have to worry about an awkward conversation that might make Agnes feel bad. I think Drake knew it, too. He looked over at me and winked.

At Shadowford, he got out of the car and walked me to the door. Agnes was about to go inside when he stopped her.

"You know, we're all having a party tonight at Foster's family's lake house," he said.

Agnes turned and lifted one eyebrow. "Are you talking to me?"

"Yeah," he said. "I know you're good friends with Harper, so if you want to come." He shrugged.

Her face lit up. "Seriously? That would be awesome, thanks. Can I ride with you guys?"

Drake glanced at me. "Sure," he said. "Bring a friend if you want. Or a boyfriend."

Agnes rolled her eyes. "I don't have a boyfriend, but I'm sure one of my friends'll come. I'm gonna go ask around. See ya tonight!"

She took off into the house. I smiled up at Drake.

"That was super sweet of you."

"Any friend of yours is a friend of mine," he said. "Besides, this is your night. We're going to have the best time ever."

He leaned down and brushed my lips lightly with his. As far as first kisses go, it wasn't bad. There was no movie music playing in the background. No crazy weak knees or fireworks shooting off inside my brain. But there was a stirring of butterflies. And butterflies are good.

"See you tonight," he said.

I smiled. "See you tonight."

When I saw him again, he was running onto the field with his teammates. As usual, Agnes and I were lined up with the rest of the fans as the team made their entrance. This time, though, Drake broke off from the team and came over to kiss my cheek.

The whole town came out to cheer on the Demons football team. To my great surprise, even Mrs. Shadowford came along to hear the announcement that one of her girls was chosen as the new cheerleader.

"I'm very proud of you, Harper," she said when I made it back up to the stands. "It's been a few years since one of my girls made the team."

"Who was the last one?"

She hesitated, as if trying to remember. "You know, I can't quite remember. I'd have to look it up."

I smiled at her, but in my gut, I felt that she was lying to me.

I thought about the picture of my mother and the other cheerleaders. Had my mother lived at Shadowford, too? Or any of the other women in the picture, like the mayor or the sheriff? I wondered. After what I'd seen on the third floor, I knew there had to be some connection between Shadowford and the magical power in this town. Hopefully now that I was an official member of the cheerleading squad, I would have access to some of those answers. I reminded myself to be patient. Answers would come in time. If I pushed too hard, the doors might close to me, and they would be a lot harder to get open a second time.

Just before halftime, the announcer called me down to join the other cheerleaders on the field. He introduced me to the crowd as the newest Demons cheerleader, and again I felt the heady rush of excitement and acceptance. The town welcomed me even though most of them had never even met me.

It should have been the happiest night of my life. And in some ways, it was. But there was always this feeling in the pit of my stomach that I was getting into something dangerous. As of today, I was a cheerleader. Girlfriend of the star quarterback. One of the popular kids. It was exciting, but also terrifying. I had grown used to life as an outsider. I didn't know how to survive life on the inside of the circle. What if I couldn't handle it? What if I said the wrong thing or took a wrong turn?

Then again, I couldn't spend my entire life worrying about what might go wrong. So instead, I waved to the crowd and embraced my new existence.

Later, after the game was won, Agnes, Courtney and I all piled into Drake's car and headed out to the party.

"You were great out there tonight," I said to Drake.

He reached over and took my hand. "Thanks. I can't wait until you're on the field cheering for me." He glanced back to the girls in the backseat. "You guys ready to party?"

Agnes giggled. "This is so awesome," she said. "This will be my first official PHS party." She sounded excited.

"I am so ready to just let loose," Drake said. "Tonight, we can really celebrate Harper making the team."

"Yes," Agnes said. "Tonight is going to be a night to remember."