Shards fell and luckily I was wearing pants, but they fell at my feet. I kicked off the shards and brushed them off as I stood. Looking up I saw Intratcher lying on the ground and rubbing his head. It took me a few seconds to process that my pushing...
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I was unsure what more Intratcher had wanted from me. I'd thought after he invited me over to a sleepover that never happened, he would leave me alone. But in his unpredictable fashion, he invited Taylor and me to a New Year's party. "Found it." She said smiling, her dress popping out from her dresser. "Don't look, not yet." Taylor rolled up the dress and hugged it before slipping into the bathroom she had in her room.
In contrast to Intratcher, her room was in the attic. There were various posters and banners from albums or cartoons I hadn't ever heard of. All of her items were carefully organized, although more in a confined sense than a clean sense. I sat on the edge of her bed, adjusting the sleeves of my suit. Although the trepidation of being overdressed pained me, Taylor claimed I was dressed perfectly for the occasion. She had given me a golden pin so we could match whatever she was wearing. She also left her dresser open.
Approaching it, I held my hand on the knob and shut it before noticing a gray hoodie. Not any gray hoodie, it had our school's cross-country logo on the sleeve. Holding the patch, I knew whose it was. I didn't have to see his number to know it was the hoodie he bought for cross country in freshman year. Intratcher was so enthusiastic and it ended up being too big to wear that winter. "Drop it," I muttered to myself before letting go of the hoodie and slamming the dresser closed harsher than intended.
Before I could sit back down Taylor stepped out of the bathroom, fully dressed and ready. I could feel my ears redden, she had a sparkly black V-line dress with golden sequins to match her pin and jewelry. It dipped in the back, held up by her tight long sleeves that stopped at her knuckles.
Her face lit up looking at me. "I know." She sang, reading the compliments in my mind. I hoped she couldn't read the cheesy thoughts, like visualizing her in a white rose-lined viel. "Omari bought it for me." I adjusted my pin, feeling now underdressed.
My eyes dared me to keep eye contact as we stepped closer and I held my hands on her waist. Trying to muster up words, all I could utter was a whispered, "I think I'm in love with you." Taylor smiled and hugged me. Was it too early for that? I could smell the spritz of her perfume. We stood there a moment before going downstairs to help her pick a pair of shoes. In disparity to her elegant dress, she chose sneakers, more specifically yellow thunders. To her, calling them just shoes wasn't precise enough.
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