Wait For Me

Chapter 5

I stare at my clothes in my closet. I haven't really decided what to wear. I'm still considering wearing a pair of jeans and a normal shirt, but after the long talk that Casey gave me about dressing up nice, I have to wear something more fun-looking I guess. It's been a very long time since I've put on a dress or dressed up for something fancy, we don't get out much, especially me.

A knock sounds at my door and Alice comes in without my consent. "Hello." She makes her way beside me on my bed. "Why aren't you ready? Jake should be here soon."

"I'm not sure what to put on." I say. I don't know how Alice makes it to look so amazing everyday, she's always dressed up, I think I never have seen her in a t-shirt or sweatpants.

"I'll help you choose." She chuckles and gets up from my bed and walks to my closet. I stay put on my bed and wait for her. "What about this one?"

My skin shivers at the dress in her hands. I haven't put that dress on in years, I don't know why I still have it in my closet. "I don't think so."

"Why not?" She frowns. "It's perfect for this kind of night."

"It's just that, I don't think it fits me anymore."

"Nonsense! Come, try it on." She pulls me up from my position on my bed and gently shoves me into the closet and hands me the dress.

The last time I had this dress on was three years ago, I'm surprised it sill fits me. Ronnie gave me this dress as a gift along with other things, but I shared my last memory with him in this dress. It holds an  importance to me.

I come out of the dark closet and look myself in the mirror hung from the closet door. I gasp at my reflection, I look the same as I did that night, only that Ronnie is not here this time. My eyes stay on the black and white striped dress wrapping my body.

"See. You look beautiful." Alice breaks my attention from the mirror and to her. "What are you going to do with your hair?"

I look back at the mirror, my straight gold hair covering my back and shoulders. "I'll just leave like this. Besides, I don't have any time to curl it." There is enough time, but I don't want to. This is how I remember myself with Ronnie. This is how he knows me.

This is who I used to be.

***

I am nervous, but I am not at the same time. It is nerve making because I have not done this in a long time and I am not sure how this is going to turn out. It is also calming knowing that I have done this before and it is good to know this is what I be doing back then.

More people showed up that I expected. I honestly thought that these people would have something better to do than coming to a dance that the school helds every single year, but then again there is not much that they could do in this town. I am sure they have done every single thing that this town could offer.

"How much?" An old lady asks me as we approach the doors to the gymnasium. I look over at the poster to her side with money payments to choose from. I go along with paying only ten dollars. I will keep the other ten that my mom gave me in case of an emergency.

Jake opens the door for me and I give him a bashful thanks. I never appreciate people doing nice gesture for me, especially Jake since has some sort of attraction for me as Casey has said. The large room is dark with a colored lights flying all over the floor. Most of the people are at the sides talking with others. I immediately spot Casey on the other side of the gymnasium.

"Hey." I say as I finally reached her.

She gives me a simple hello indicating that she has been here a while and she is bored out of her mind. Which I do not blame her, the music is slow, the place is quiet, the food is all gone, and there is not really any type of entertainment anywhere.

After trying to find some way to entertain ourselves, Casey started saying that we should leave.

"We'll give you a ride home." Jake says.

"No." Casey says. "I want to go somewhere else."

"Where?" Jake says.

We walk outside to the parking lot as Casey talks about another dance that is going on a few minutes away from here.

"I don't think that is a good idea." I say as we reach Jake's car. Attending another dance that we were not invited to does not seem like it is going to end good.

"It is." Casey whines. "Let's just go try it out and if you still think it is a bad idea then we will go home. Please. It's kind of your style anyways."

I look over at Jake and he shrugs at me. I look back at Casey who is pleading silently with her lips out and her hand together.

"Fine." I say. It is not that late and I told my mom that I would not be home for another three hours, so I will just let Casey take charge for once.

"You're driving." Jake tosses his key to Casey and we all get in.

***

We have been driving for about an hour and we are still not where Casey wants us to be and I'm growing more and more doubtful with every minute that passes.

"Casey, where are we going?" I turn to her.

"I told you already. Don't worry, we are almost there." I am starting to not believe anything that she is saying. Maybe there is no other dance going around and she is trying to take us somewhere else and it is killing me not knowing where that place is. But I do know that I am not going to like it.

"We are here." Casey stops the car and a fear arises in me at the scene in front of me.

An old building, looks like it has been abandoned for some time, is standing among us like a giant shadow trying to devour us. There is a loud music coming from inside and I know exactly was is going on in there. Casey gets out of the car and I follow behind her, but to stop her and get her back in the car to go home.

"Wait!" I call. "What are we doing here?"

"What does it look like?" Casey spreads her arms around her as if showing the obvious. "To have fun."

"This doesn't seem like fun." I look over at the building, who knows what's going on in there. I don't want to imagine it.

"Nothing seems fun to you." Casey says. I can already feel an argument coming to life. "Why can't you just have some fun? If you wouldn't be too stuck-up, you would actually know what fun is and actually know people."

My tongue gets tied up by Casey's words. She has never called me stuck-up before and I'm not too proud of what she just called me. I don't think of myself as that, I don't think that I'm much better than others.

"Fine." I say. "Let's go have fun."

Jake turns to me in complete shock and I would be too if it weren't for what I was just called. I want to prove to Casey that I am not what she thinks I am and that I know what it is to have some fun.

Casey gives me a wide smile and turns to walk to the building. I stay behind with Jake for a minute, making sure if I really want to do this. "What are you doing?" Jake says as I start to make my way to the broken, wooden door.

"I am not a stuck-up." I say.

Never said you were." He says.

"But Casey did." I swallow. I remember being called that a lot by my peers back in middle school, I never liked the word and I still don't. It hurts a little hearing from a close friend. I take everyone's judgment against me seriously and sometimes it's hurtful to know what people think of you.

"Don't listen to her. She's just trying to get to you. You know how she is."

Jake is right, I shouldn't really listen to what Casey has to say about me, but she has gotten to me million of times and I can't do anything about it because that's who she is. Casey has her way of getting what she wants and that's by challenging people with hurtful words.

"I know she's trying to get to me and she has." I say. "I guess it's my turn for my words to get to her."