stars and snowflakes | ✓

10 | dates and jerks

Dedicated to an old friend of mine - for telling me I would meet the one when it's time

I stared at the squares of light reflected on the wall behind the banquet table by the gold sequins on the top half of my dress.

A hand touched my shoulder, a warm pinky finger touching my bare arm. Without turning around I said, "So which one of my ungrateful friends ditched their date?"

I heard a familiar, hearty laugh. "Sanjana, the friend who finally realised that I shouldn't have brought the guy who I was in love with but who was just playing me along and had a girlfriend, as my date."

"Well, as long as you learnt to take my advice," I said, as I craned my neck to look at her and smile.

She shifted her hand that was on my shoulder. The sequins were probably digging into her skin. "Lesson learnt. Never bring an ass as your prom date when you have a beautiful friend who's spending her night staring at walls and stuffing herself with food."

I shrugged off her hand and walked to the area where the drinks were. "For the record, I only ate two sandwiches. Though this," I said, holding up a glass of a red drink, "is the twelfth glass of rose syrup I had tonight."

Sanjana sat on an empty chair by the table and patted on the chair next to hers. I gave her the cup and adjusted the emerald green chiffon skirt of my dress before sitting.

When I took the cup back from her and took a sip of the sugary liquid, Sanjana said, "You could be out there dancing right now but you choose not to. You might not have a date but three guys already asked you for a dance and you denied. Why?"

I sighed and tossed the now empty cup into a trash bin nearby. "I don't feel like dancing," I murmured.

The truth is the only guy I wanted to dance with in prom is currently in another continent, sitting in his dorm room and working on a college assignment.

"Don't feel like dancing? That is a crappy excu-"

Sanjana was interrupted by Preeti who swept across the room in her floor-length blue dress and stood in front me with an unhappy look on her face. Simon sauntered next to her.

"You are not spending prom night, moping over some Prince Charming who is not coming," the 147 cm tall girl said. "You can even borrow my date if you want but I'm not letting you sit like a loser in the corner."

Simon looked at her in surprise before turning to me with a mischievous grin on his face.

"Uh-uh. No way. He would be making fun of me the whole time we are on the dance floor," I said.

Simon did particularly like making fun of me on a daily basis. It gives him a certain joy in making me flustered and embarrassed. I don't get mad at him though. That is simply his way of showing me he considers me as a friend.

Simon laughed and Preeti cracked a smile. She said, "True enough."

Tania ran through the crowd, pushing and yelling as she did. "Akansha! Akansha!"

When she finally got to us, she put her hand on her black dress clad knees and tried to catch her breath. "There's...a guy...outside...asking for...you."

"What?" I exclaimed, standing up. People in this town barely knew me. The ones who did are only a handful. The ones who are from the opposite gender, not even half of the handful.

Tania stood up straight and pushed her hair out of her face. "I meant a hot guy is waiting for you outside. He asked me to fetch you."

I shot her a curious look but picked up my skirt and managed my way outside. There was barely anyone out there. A couple was standing near the entrance where we were standing but that's about it.

Until I made out another figure leaning against a pillar not far way. I squinted but all I could make out was that it was a guy.

I turned around to ask Tania who had followed me out along with the rest of them whether that was the guy she was talking about. Before I could get the words out, my phone rang.

I dug through my small black purse and took my phone out. I froze when I saw the caller. I slowly slid my finger across the screen and held the phone to my ear.

"Hello?" I whispered.

"Do you know how beautiful you look in green?" a voice so familiar I would recognise it anywhere, whispered back.

I raised my eyes to look at the stranger standing in the dark. He turned around and I could see he was holding his phone to his ear.

I threw my phone into my bag and just tossed the bag on the ground. Without caring what my friends are going to think of me, I ran towards him.

I ran, my feet kissing the ground. A few seconds ago, I would have balked at the idea of running in a dress and heels, but now I don't even mind.

As soon as I was standing right in front of him, I only had a second to look at him before he pulled me into a hug.

The hug would have been a simple gesture of affection if it wasn't with an eighteen-year old British-raised Italian who I had only met once in my life.

I had been hugged before but not like this. There was something so warm, something that felt so right despite the fact that I could get into a lot of trouble because of this. I felt him touch the top of my head gently then his body shook with soft laughter. I pulled away, my mind swimming with heady excitement and shock.

His green eyes sparkled with mirth and his dimples showed, courtesy of his smile. "Nice to see you too, Snowflake."

I could hardly breathe. My heart was thumping like a mad rabbit on a sugar rush.

I couldn't believe it. He was here. Stefan was here.