Ghost Flowers

35. Unity Homecoming

The following weekend was Unity's homecoming dance. Their homecoming was definitely better organized and decorated. The students here seemed a lot more enthusiastic about the dance. Since the girls were only Juniors, they weren't very involved with the preparation. They couldn't wait until they were Seniors.

Everything was red, black, and silver. There was a DJ, who luckily was a different guy. A photo booth was brought in, which was constantly used throughout the night.

Lights were strung from the center of the gym ceiling and flayed out to the walls. Multiple tables were set up with drinks and snacks. Savana thought their dance was a lot better than Sumner's.

Cully wore the same mid-length strapless pink dress as at the other dance. Faye wore a short red and black striped, strapless dress. Savana wore her mom's old dress. It was a short, simple black dress with silver glittered straps.

Even though Savana was the only one without a date, she had a blast. She watched Cully dance with Chase to a slow song. Then she looked over at Faye and Reese sitting beside each other, talking.

Savana was happy that Faye and Reese came together, even though she considered asking him herself. She felt she and Reese had gotten closer over the last few weeks. But Reese asked Faye first.

Throughout the dance, Chase and Reese took turns dancing with Savana. They didn't want her to feel left out. Savana felt awkward with Chase since they hardly talked. With Reese, she was more comfortable. He always made her laugh.

Suddenly, Ivy and Tiffany bumped into Cully on the dancefloor.

"Slut". Tiffany coughed.

Cully turned to say something, but Chase wrapped his arms around her tighter.

"Just forget them Cully. They're not worth it." He whispered in her ear.

It sent goosebumps up Cully's arms. She smiled. The smell of his cologne relaxed her.

Ivy and Tiffany walked up to their dates, Quintin and Jacob, before returning to the dance floor near Cully and Chase.

As Quintin spun Ivy around, he got closer to Chase. "You know who your date is right?"

Chase ignored him.

Jacob danced closer to Chase as well. "What are you doing with this freak anyway?"

Cully was embarrassed and held back tears. She wasn't sure what to do. She didn't think they would cause a scene at the dance. They've left her alone since school started.

Chase stopped and turned to them. "What did she ever do to you guys? Like seriously? She's the sweetest, smartest girl I've ever met. Stop talking shit about her!"

Cully froze. Faye watched Reese stand up and walk to Chase. Savana looked ready to pounce.

"She's the one who started talking shit." Quintin said.

Cully finally spoke up. "I never said anything bad about any of you. I don't know what Ivy told you but it's not true."

"Shut up, no one cares." Ivy smirked before grabbing Quintin's hand.

Cully looked down at Ivy holding his hand and remembered more of what had happened that day. She turned to Tiffany and smiled.

"Oh, I think I finally get it." Cully chuckled and looked up at Chase. Ivy and Tiffany looked at each other confused. "The night before the festival, I got drunk and told Tiffany I used to have a big crush on Quintin. She must have told Ivy."

Cully looked at her old friends. "I didn't think of it at the time, because I had no intention of chasing Quintin. He was dating my best friend. I would never have betrayed her like that! Instead, I just stuffed all my feelings down and moved on."

Tears fell as she realized she was doing the same thing with Faye and Ezra. Why did she like the same guys as her friends?

Chase hugged her. "It's okay. Do you want to leave?"

Cully shook her head. "No, I want to enjoy the rest of the dance. Fuck them. I said what I had to say."

She smiled at Chase, and they walked to the table where Faye, Savana, and Reese were.

Savana clapped her hands. "Get it Cully! Tell them all to fuck themselves!"

Faye hugged her. "I'm sorry you had to go through that again."

Reese looked over at Ivy and her friends standing there, dumbfounded. "They look baffled." He chuckled.

Quintin watched Cully walk with Chase. "What was she talking about Ivy?"

"How should I know? She's crazy." Ivy gave Tiffany a nervous look. "Let's dance."

Quintin wasn't totally convinced but danced anyway. Tiffany was worried more people would find out the truth and hate them for what they did.

A few feet away, Kim watched everything. She was friends with Ivy and Tiffany but still felt left out often. Her date didn't even pay attention to her.

Faye left the table to use the bathroom. The boys approached the DJ to request a song before getting more drinks. By the time Faye was done and about to leave the restroom, she heard Chase and Reese talking around the corner.

"Thanks for asking Faye out. Cully wouldn't stop nagging me about it." Chase said.

"Yeah, I was hoping to go out with someone else tonight. But it turned out fine I guess." Reese said.

Faye was confused and upset. She thought she and Reese were really hitting it off. She stayed hidden until they left.