Tears of July | √

2. All About Us

Chapter 2

A few minutes later we were huddled in the line to get in the only nightclub in town.

"I swear, Lyle, if everything gets messed up I am never, ever, ever, going to talk to you again. You hear me?" I hissed as the man took our IDs and glanced at me suspiciously.

"You're such a killjoy." he said as we entered the club, Lyle's arm around my shoulder as he tipped his head lower to my ear. "That's why you need me."

"Whatever." I gritted as we made our way to his friends. I sat beside Nathan, or I think that was his name, and Lyle. There were six of us on the table, and I recognized Amber Shea, who was from the cheerleading team, seated between Max and Jacob Ives, who were twins that had been in Lyle's squad since forever.

I stared at Amber's straight, blonde hair as she flicked it behind her shoulder and eyed Lyle.

"Hi, Lyle." she said in a chirpy voice that annoyed me. She batted her eyelashes at him and gave him a flirtatious smile.

"Hey, Amber. What are you doing here?" he replied before taking a swig of his drink.

"Oh, you know, I just happened to pass by, and the twins here were kind enough for me to tag along with them." she said, flashing him a sweet grin. Lyle gave her a nod and looked at me, trying not to laugh. He knew how much being with his friends made me feel kind of awkward and insecure.

"So you've finally come out of your shell, eh?" Nathan murmured beside me as I beamed at him.

"Wha- um," I stammered, trying to find the words to say.

"Not really, Nate. Last Valentine's day, she dragged me here because she was heartbroken." Lyle said, placing his hand on his heart as he emphasized on the word heartbroken. I shot him a look that he didn't seem to mind, and so he kept talking, a stupid grin plastered on his face.

"Then she threw up after two shots." he finished quickly as I smacked him on the thigh, sending him wincing.

"Well," Nathan said, flashing me a kind smile. "This won't make you throw up. Promise." he said, handing me a glass of creamy, brown liquid. I stared at it for a moment, and was about to refuse the drink when Lyle took it from the table and studied the drink for a while. I stared back at him, addled.

"Dude, it's mudslide. She can take it." Nathan said as Lyle put down the drink in front of me again.

"Just checking." he said as he gave me a wary look. I bit my lip and raised the glass to my lips, the liquid sloshing down my throat, its cold, sweet flavor instantly calming my senses for no particular reason.

"So you guys dated?" Amber blurted as we all stared at her.

I almost choked on the drink. It was a funny thing to say since everyone we knew was fully aware that Lyle and I were just friends, more like siblings.  Another thing was that Lyle would never probably fall for me. Sure, we were close, but I would never be good enough for him, physically speaking. It was a miracle he had even made friends with me in the first place.

"That's a very funny joke." I blurted out suddenly as I realized the table was suddenly quiet. Nathan stifled a laugh, looking at his hands. Meanwhile, Lyle glanced at the glass of mudslide I drank which was now empty.

"It looks like someone's intoxicated." he said, nudging me with his elbow. I was about to say a pun when All About Us played around the place, making my face light up.

It was literally the best song, like, ever. Lyle gave me a grin then stood up, offering a hand.

"I know it's your favorite, Cass. Let's dance." he countered, flashing me a crooked grin. Nathan and the others laughed at me, except for Amber.

"It's been played almost five-hundred times in your iPod, Cass. Come on, just like the old times." he chided, looking at me thoughtfully. I suddenly remembered the times when we would just randomly waltz every time the song would play in my speakers, causing us to get distracted doing our homework.

"As I said, killjoy." Lyle mumbled as he grabbed my arm and dragged me to the dance floor, the others giving us amused grins.

I stared at the couples in front of us, all smitten and sweet with each other as they swayed to the beat of the music.

"Cass, it's Valentine's day. Just relax and let yourself go." Lyle whispered on my ear as I looked around nervously. The colorful lights blazed slowly, and I felt my heart race. I had never been in a bigger crowd before. Couples kissed, moving to block my view from our table. I let out a huff of breath and locked my eyes with Lyle's, his green eyes boring on mine. I instantly relaxed as he stepped closer to me, giving me a smile.

"Okay." I said as the chorus played, its tune soft and mellow on my ears.

Take my hand

I'll teach you to dance

I'll spin you around

Won't let you fall down

Would you let me lead

You can step on my feet

Give it a try, it'll be all right

Lyle slipped his hands on my waist and I closed my eyes, the both of us swaying to the beat of the music. A few seconds later, he took his hands from my waist and held my hands which were slumped on my side, causing me to snap my eyes open. He led my hands to his shoulders, and he placed it there, my hands carefully clutching his broad shoulders. His hands were once more on my waist, the thin fabric of the shirt I wore doing little to keep me from having shivers in my body. As the last part of the song played, I felt butterflies on my stomach that caused me to instantly stop waltzing, my eyes flashing widely.

"Have you forgotten?" Lyle murmured on my ear, his hands on my back now, giving me a grin. I shook my head and tried to ignore my feeling of light-headedness, and the annoying butterflies in my stomach that refused to go away. It was weird since I didn't feel that way when we danced back in the past, and it was even weirder since we were with a bunch of people.

We continued to sway slowly, feeling Lyle's warm body occasionally bumping on mine.

Lovers dance when they're feeling in love,

Spotlights shining, It's all about us

And every heart in the room will melt

This is the feeling I've never felt but

It's all, it's all about us.

As the song ended, couples around us kissed, and I honestly felt lost, yet with Lyle's hands on my body, I was found again. My eyes found his, and we stared at each other for a moment as another mellow song played. His eyes somehow flashed the memories we had together, causing for me to look wonderingly into his eyes deeper. And all I could think of was, when did his eyes get greener? And, how is it that he had become so handsome?

He closed the space between us, his hands still on my waist, and leaned his forehead on mine. I caught lines of the song that currently played despite the fact all I could hear was blood rushing to my head.

"Happy Valentine's day, Cass." he whispered, closing his eyes as he leaned his face closer to mine.

Oh shit.

He was about to kiss me.