Cursed To Hold My Breath

An Unfortunate Kiss

"Being a party pooper, huh?" Nichole sneered as she and her little posse sauntered over to me and Alex.

I was aloof as Alex's expression hardened, glaring at Nichole. "Why don't you just go flounce over there and get your crown already, diva queen?" He said steadily.

"I appreciate the compliment, but it's only fair to earn my crown than to just take it." Nichole flashed a smile.

She did pretty much look like Cinderella in her pearly white sleeveless embroidered ball gown. I bet she was wearing glass slippers under there too. She sure enough wasn't pure of heart, that's for sure. Her blonde hair was pulled back with a series of clips and whatnot and probably set with like a gallon of hairspray.

Ashlee looked me up and down, giving me a disapproving look. She wore a ruby red skin tight mermaid dress with her ginger hair piled high atop her head in a complicated looking bun. "Nice job on your shabby date, Alex, me and Mary were actually considering taking you." She crossed her arms.

Ouch, that hurt. I looked down in my lap, trying to block out any more of their comments when Alex suddenly stood up, towering over Ashlee.

"Nobody talks that way about Emma, she is the most beautiful girl I know. She's smart, and funny, and the absolute best friend a person could ask for." He looked down at me and smiled briefly before turning back onto Ashlee. "And I won't tolerate anybody talking about her like that. Look in a mirror yourself, ginger."

"Now, Alex." Mary slid in front of a now fuming Ashlee, getting in between them. She wore a silk mint green high low dress with an excessive amount of lace. This girl obviously abused the saying, 'you can never have too much lace'. "You don't want to do something you'll regret, now do you? We were just about to kindly ask you to dance, weren't we, Ashlee?" She shot her a look. "So how about it, care for a dance?" She said seductively, running her hands along his chest.

Alex shoved her away, "Never in a million years." He growled.

"Now that's just too bad." Ashlee tsked once she finally composed herself. "There is of course that Levi character, but he's a drab."

"Plus his sister is practically wearing rags, what kind of dress is that?" Nichole added, glancing over at Lillie.

Alex was now seething at the girls. "You better shut that big mouth of yours before I – "

"Nichole!" A handsome looking Drew came over with a scolding look on his face. "C'mon, leave them alone." He grabbed her arm to pull her away but she resisted.

"You're no fun." She whined. "What else am I supposed to do here? It's so boring!"

"Alex is my friend, and we talked about messing with my friends, Nichole." He said sternly.

"We weren't messing with Alex, we were messing with his girlfriend." Ashlee corrected him.

"You can't possibly be friends with this little peasant girl." Mary moved away from me with a disgusted look while I kept my head down.

"That's enough." Drew jerked his arm, wrenching Nichole away from us followed by Ashlee and Mary.

"You seriously gotta rethink your choice, man." Alex said to him as he left. He sighed and sat back down next me, bringing his arm around me and squeezing my shoulder. "Don't let them bother you, they're just...drama queens."

I squeezed my eyes shut, tears stinging the back of my eyes, before I swallowed hard and took a depth breath. "Yea, thanks for standing up for me, by the way." I looked up at him, smiling genuinely at him. "I appreciate it."

"I meant every word, Emma." He said seriously. "And you're too strong to let people like that get to you, just remember that, alright?"

I nodded. "I will, thank you, Alex."