paper rings (l.h.)

34

I wasn't aware of how big of a deal this was until I was faced with the realization of who our seats were placed beside. The amount of faces I had never thought I'd be bumping elbows with - all in the same room. My heart skipped a beat when I saw Kelly Clarkson's face just a few seats away from where Crystal said we were sitting.

After moving closer to the stage, Michael stood at the edge and strummed his instrument as he towered directly above us. It wasn't long before Luke squatted down in front of me. "What do you think?" He asks between takes, as the stage director and the other stagehands talk amongst each other.

I stand up and approach the stage, standing directly at his feet. "I think I should have you sing to me more often."

"I'd sing to you anytime you asked," he moves his mic away from his mouth so that his friends couldn't hear him above Ashton's loud drumming. I felt him move to his knees to kiss my forehead.

"Luke," Crystal yells behind me, and I watch as his eyes move from me to her. "Would you mind if I took Mary for a bit?"

"This rehearsal is going to be an hour or so longer, the same song over and over," he hops down off the stage, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. "If that's okay with you, Mary."

"I'm fine with it," I nod, placing my hand on his chest as the stage director calls out directions towards the band.

"Well, I'll see you in an hour or so," he pecks my lips before whispering "I love you," while climbing back onstage. I watched as Crystal grabbed my purse, dialing a phone number into her phone as a security guide escorted us out the same way we came in.

Although I love Luke, it was nice being in the company of another friend for once. She and I might be different in many ways, however, we realized that our love for Michael and Luke meant that we were going to be around each other a lot for the next few years. We shared that connection. I didn't mind her in the slightest, and she was funny and nice to me despite how awkward I might appear. We rode back to her home in an SUV driven by a man in sunglasses and too much cologne.

"I think I have some ideas," Crystal chimes in as I sit on the other side of the back seat with her. "I have some gorgeous dresses I haven't worn yet, too. I feel like I am in The Princess Diaries!"

"I am glad," I let out a deep sigh of relief. "I didn't go to Prom or Homecoming. I have no clue what to wear to something fancy like this."

"You'll find your preferences," she reaches over to touch my forearm. Her eyes widen as she grabs my hand off of my thigh. "Your nails."

They're short and unpainted, and I guess I had this coming. "I didn't have time to do them."

She shrugs it off and admits that she's been doing her own for years and that she was running out of room for her nail polish collection. She seemed more excited about this than I was, but I was grateful for her. I felt like a deer in headlights when Luke told me to be prepared for a night like this a few months ago.

She had her house built in a county bordering LA, with cacti lining her front porch and emo/punk themes hidden around the house. She led me to her walk-in closet, complete with a vanity and a shelf dedicated to her shoe collection. She gave me one good look before starting her journey, and I wondered what was going through her mind as examined my body. I haven't felt this awkward so long.

"So, the boys mentioned purple," she nods, walking through her numerous shelves full of nothing but clothes. "I think I'm going to wear a simple white jumpsuit as to not distract from Michael's new hair," she laughs, and I wonder if he cared more about the public eye than Luke did. "But for you, I'm thinking of a black dress."