Rusty's Secret

26. The Dance

Jack was standing in his room, getting himself ready for the dance. He was trying on some fancy outfits in the mirror. He tried some tuxedo pants on, they were extremely itchy, he wasn't really used to wearing pants. He put a tuxedo shirt on to match with it. He stared at the dogtag on his dresser. He sighed, then picked it up and placed it in his pocket. He exited his room and walked into the living room where his mum was watching TV.

"Oh, don't you look handsome! Are you excited about the dance,  Jack?" She asked. Jack doesn't answer. "Jack?" She asks again. "Oh...yeah...yeah...." Jack says quietly as he sat down on the couch next to her. He stares at the Rusty's dogtag in his hand. "Where'd you get that from?" She asked curiously. Jack's eyes start to tear up a little. "What's wrong...?" His mum asks in a concerned tone. She moves closer to him. "Can you tell me what's the matter?" She asks, staring down at him. "I don't know...it's....complicated" Jack replied. "You don't have to tell me. I just wany to know if you're ok..." She said in a comforting tone. "I'm alright..." Jack sighed with a smile. "Well, we should get going" She announces.

"Have fun!" Jack's Mum yells from the car as Jack walks over to the school. Jack waves goodbye as she drives off. He takes a deep breath and opens up the front doors to the school. He wanders around the halls until he reaches the gym. He looks down at Rusty's dogtag, still in his hands as he walks in.

There's hundreds of students in the gym. Music is blasting, and there are purple lights filling the room. He looks around for his friends, squeezing through the crowd. He eventually sees Mackenzie, Bluey, Indy, Pretzel, and Judo all talking. "H-Hi guys" Jack said awkwardly.
"Hi Jack!" They all shout. "H-Have you seen Rusty....I need to give back his dogtag..." Jack says with his head down. "No, we haven't seen him" Indy sighed. "Hey Jack!" Somone yells from behind. "Oh crap..." Jack thinks in his head.

He turns around and sees Coco behind him. "Oh...hi Coco..." Jack responds. "Wanna dance?" Coco asks, holding out her hand. Jack does a slow nod. "Ok! C'mon!" Coco yanks him away. "Help me!" Jack mouths. "I'm sorry" Mackenzie mouthed back.

Coco pulls Jack onto the multicolored dance floor. Coco starts dancing, but Jack doesn't. He just stands there looking around. "Aren't you gonna dance with me?" Coco asks. "Oh...Y-Yeah...I'm just...looking for someone.." Jack responds nervously. Coco holds out her hand so she can dance with Jack. Jack grabs onto it. Coco twirls him around.

"Uh..." She pulls Jack in. "Coco I..." Jack said quietly. "What is it, Jack? Are you not having fun?" Coco asked as she stopped dancing. "No, no, I'm having fun" Jack lied. "Good" Coco responded happily. "Jack, uh...Does this mean we're, y'know...dating now?" Coco asked hopefully. Jack turns red. "Uh....Coco....I don't...." Jack couldn't find words. He exhales before telling her the truth.

"I....I'm so sorry, Coco....I-I never wanted to be your date...I just didn't want to hurt your feelings....You put me on the spot, and I felt pressured....I'm sorry...." Jack admits slowly. "O-Oh....." Coco stares at the ground. "Thanks for being honest..." Coco gives Jack a hug. Coco tries to hide her teary eyes as she watches Jack walk away.

Jack meets up with the rest of his friends. "Jack! We saw Rusty! He ran towards the bathroom....crying...." Mackenzie explained to him. "What!" Jack runs towards the bathroom, trying not to push anyone over. He wasn't watching where he was going. He was too focused on Rusty. He was running too fast until he trips.

He can feel someone hover over him. "Oh....what's this...?" Someone picks up Rusty's dogtag that he dropped. It's Stephanie. "Stephanie, please! Give it back!" Jack cries. "Why should I? Why is it so special?" Stephanie asked, dangling the dogtag in the air. "It's Rusty's..." Jack says with his head down. "Why should I care about your little boyfriend's necklace?" Stephanie says smugly. Jack begins to blush. "It would be a shame if I...ripped it apart....right?" Stephanie chuckles. "No, please!" Jack begs. Stephanie holds both ends of the dogtag with her fingers and slowly begins to pull it apart. "Stop!" Jack screams.

"Haha! AH!" Stephanie screams. She falls onto the floor and places her hand on her face that has just been punched. "Give it back!" The puncher growls. "Ugh, fine, take your stupid necklace!" Stephanie yells as she stands up and runs off. "Are you ok?" Rusty asks, holding out his hand to lift Jack up. "Y-Yes....T-Thank you...." Jack said anxiously.

"Sooo.. you should probably go see Coco now..." Rusty said silently as he began to walk away.  "N-No Rusty...wait...." Rusty turns around.

"I-I never wanted to be Coco's date.....I wanted to be yours.....Rusty Kelpie...I like you...Really like you...I'm completely in love with you...I'm sorry I made you upset..." Jack confessed shyly. "I-I...." Rusty stuttered. Jack gives Rusty a tight hug. "I-I....I love you, Jack...." Rusty says softly. "I love you too, Rusty" Jack said nicley. They both look for the rest of their friends hand in hand.

Mackenzie was talking to Bluey. He heard a slow song come on. He started to blush. It felt like butterflies were flapping around in his stomach. He took a deep breath. "Uh...B-Bluey, c-can I tell you something?" Mackenzie asked awkwardly. "Sure, Kenz," She responded curiously. "Uh...I...I...I uhm..I l-"

"Rusty!" Bluey shouts happily as she turns away from Mackenzie. "You're back!" Everyone cheers. Mack sighs, but  he looks down and notices that Jack and Rusty are holding hands. He smiles a little.

"Well, it looks like it's time to go..." Bluey says sadly. "I'll cya on monday!" Indy shouts as she leaves. Jacks and Rusty walk outside together. They both face each other, their hands still attached to each other. "So...What does this mean?" Rusty said to him. "I don't know...Uh...I...R-Rusty...Will you be my boyfriend...?" Jack asked hopefully. Rusty's ears perk up. His face turns red. He's been waiting to hear those words for months. "O-Of course, Jack..." Rusty said softly. 

Rusty notices his mum's car stopping in front of the school. "I guess I'll see you on monday..." Rusty said as he let go of Jack's hands. "Yeah...See you on monday" Jack responded as he watched Rusty leave.