Broken Ice

Chapter 10: Party Planning

Soon enough, it was Friday and Michael's party was tomorrow. Once school let out, I parted ways with Quinn and Amanda. Luckily they only questioned me a bit since they were too excited at the prospect of a date with Reggie and his friends that I was supposed to join.

I saw him at the gates of the school, talking to some girls. I gritted my teeth. They were pretty. When one of the girls placed a hand on his arm, I felt a chill run through my entire body.

Why do I feel this way? It's Michael, my friend.

Trying to push down the rumbling in my stomach, I walk up to them. "Sorry, I have to talk to Michael about something." With a look of slight disappointment, the girls leave.

"Hey, ready to go?" He smiled, completely unaffected. How could he not care whether they were there or not? Somehow, it made me mad. Did he care if I was there?

But instead, I ignore the anger and nod silently, walking with him in complete silence. Once we made it to the subway station, and we were waiting on the platform, he confronted me. 'What's going on?"

I hum in mock confusion, looking up at him. "Nothing." I shrug.

But he doesn't take his heated gaze off of me. "Of course there's something."

"Well, there is nothing." I keep my eyes on the dirty ground, watching a fat rat waddle down the tracks.

"Fine." He said, exasperated, and looked away.

A beat of awkward silence forms between us before I throw up my arms. "I just think that it's wrong of you to talk to those girls while waiting for me."

He furrows his brows. "How would that be wrong?"

"Because...." I hadn't thought about the because part yet. All I knew was that it felt wron, and I felt angry even though, technically, he did nothing wrong.

"Do you like me?" His gaze was earnest and the innocence within it made me feel as if he saw right through me.

My heart pounded like a drum in my ears. I laughed out of pure shock, exaggerated and strong. "What? Trust me, I don't like you, We're friends."

"Okay."

"There is no one I consider less of an option."

"I get it."

"Like, even Mr Clean is more of an option than you would ever be–"

He placed his hand on my mouth. "You can stop talking, Kent."

"Sorry," I say, muffled behind his hand, and this finally draws a laugh out of him. The light that sprung to his eyes filled me with a warmth I had starkly lacked earlier.

_______

Finally, we were at Meave's home. It was like the houses of all the other kids at my school—-large, expensive penthouses in between other equally expensive skyscrapers.

Michael rang the doorbell, waiting for a second, before relentlessly pressing the button and banging on the door. "Maeve!"

"Stop!" I whisper yell, trying to pull his arm off the door when it swings open to reveal who must have been Maeve, with a grumpy look on her face.

Her hair was a pale, brown that was piled on top of her head in a bun. She was dressed in baggy, stain-ridden sweats and, overall, looked nothing like I expected. "I was busy playing my video games, so this better be good." Then, she looked over at me as if finally noticing there was company and flushed beet red. She slammed the door and there was an almost cartoonish crashing sound until she finally reemerged. This time with her hair in a tight ponytail, wearing a pair of blue jeans, and a crème Ralph Lauren sweater.

"Hello, it's nice to meet you. She gives me her hand and I shake it, still shocked by the transformation.

"Hi."

"We're here to borrow a dress." Michael interjected.

"Alright, come." She holds the door open and leads us to her room. It was certainly expensive, with a large, fluffy bed that had rich black sheets and satin white pillows on it. The room was adorned with luxury handbags and technology. "Now, take your pick." She pulled open the closet door to reveal a large walk-in closet with more clothes than I'd probably own in my life. I think her shoe collection costs more than my life.

"Wow." She smiles at my wonder.

"Pick whatever you want," Michael said and I looked around.

"Honestly," I enter the closet and turn around, taking everything in. "I don't know if I even could wear anything here, let alone know how to pick which to wear."

Meave looks at Micheal, and he looks back at her. "Then it's time for a makeover." She pulled me into the closet.

Meave flitted around the closet, grabbing dresses and throwing them on Michael like he' was a chair. Shoes, bags, and accessories went flying until the room was in complete disarray. "First, try this on." She grabbed one dress off Michael and handed it to me, pushing me into the closet and closing the door.

Gently, I pull the dress up my legs and pull my arms through the sleeves. It was a beautiful dress, a soft pink with a silhouette that flared out from my waist and ended at mid-thigh and had short, puff sleeves.

I came out of the closet, "I like it ,but I'm not sure it's me."

She vehemently shook her head. "I agree. The pink just isn't your vibe."

She handed me another dress, and I went back to the changing room. This time it was a muted blue floor-length dress with lace detailing. Once again, Maeve shook her head and handed me another.

At this point, we had tried almost all the dresses. "Maybe this kind of event isn't for me."

"Come on, you promised, Kent." Michael interjects, giving me the last dress.

I sighed, "Fine," I pulled on the dress, looked in the mirror, and gasped. I had never felt so beautiful. It was a deep but muted autumnal red with no sleeves. Attached to the back of the straps that secured my arms were cute little bows, and the skirt ended just before my knees.

"Are you done?" Maeve called.

"Yeah." I gently pushed open the door and came out.

Maeve squealed, "You look so cute. Red's definitely your colour. I like how it brings out your eyes." Then, she turned to Michael, "What do you think, Mike?"

I finally raised my head to look at Michael, nervous. His cheeks were flushed a bright pink, "I like it. You look...cute."

I blushed, feeling all the heat in my body rush straight to my cheeks. "Thanks." It felt like the room was empty and no one else existed. Like we were in an untouchable plane of our own.

"Guys..."

"Guys..."

"Guys!" My attention snapped back to Maeve who was currently looking at us like we had grown three heads. She held up a pair of heels by her head. "Shoes. Get with the program."

We then went back to the topic of shoes.

______

Hey!  What do you guys think of Gianna and Michael so far?  Any feedback or comments?  Please let me know, I'd love to hear your guys' thoughts.