I'm The Alpha's Challenge

40

A few weeks ago, if someone had told me that I'd be going to the Mid-Winter's Formal with an amazing guy like Josh, I would've laughed in their face. If they would've told me that someone else knew of my home life, I'd think they had gone mental. But here we were, hand in hand as we gazed up at the lighted school.

"Well..." Iya said, grasping Anthony's arm. The dark haired boy's eyes widened as Iya began to drag him up the steps. "What're y'all waitin' for? Let's go!"

"Yikes!" he yelped and soon they disappeared behind the gym doors.

Coffeeblue took off after them, leaving Cormac by himself, grumbling under his breath. As he trudged up the steps, I began to follow him, but Josh pulled me back. I gasped as I turned, throwing my hands on his chest to stop me from running into him. His lips lifted up in a crooked smile. "Why don't we just... wait out here for a bit?" he suggested, pulling me closer.

"Josh..." I warned, giving him a look and trying to pull away, but he held me firmly by the waist. "We could get in trouble."

He shrugged nonchalantly. "We might..." he said, lowering his head. "But what's the fun in that?"

"Josh," I said slowly, but his lips were already claiming mine. I stepped back, ignoring the click of heels approaching.

I gave him a look. "Oh, get a room, you slut." A snide, shrill voice interrupted as I felt a hand between my shoulder blades, pushing me towards Josh.

I gasped as he stumbled back and he threw a glare over my shoulder. "Sorry," I mumbled, feeling my cheeks heat up in embarrassment. He closed his brilliant eyes, shaking his head. "I don't understand." He muttered just enough for me to hear.

I ignored him, sighing as I intertwined our hands and momentarily lay my head on his chest. "You should," I breathed shyly. "I've explained it the best I could.

Absentmindedly, his fingers twirled around a lock of my forced curls as he stared hard over my shoulder, his eyes dark. His mouth was pressed into a firm line, his eyes growing darker with his thoughts. Slowly, he returned his gaze back to me. I searched his face for any opening to his mind, but there was none. How I wished I could just read his thoughts. "Family," he said, picking his words carefully, "is somethin' I've never doubted. If there was anythin' I needed, my family'd be the first I'd go to. I couldn't imagine not havin' a family I could rely on. I love 'em, even if they are the most annoyin' people sometimes, but I knew that they love me too." He sighed lowly, his eyes darting back and forth as they studied mine.

I sucked in a breath to hold back the tears I felt coming. "Josh," I whispered, "you don't have to..."

He shook his head, cutting off my attempt to speak. "If there's one thing I know, Danny, it's that a family is and always will be forever. You should be able ta count on yer family in the worst and best times. Not countin' on them for that worst part of yer day."

"I know it's not right," I said defiantly. "But there's nothin' I can do about it."

I only realized how I had said what I said when a small smile played on his lips. I sighed irritably, blushing. "But there is," he said, chuckling slightly. "I might be okay with sharin' my family with ya, if ya'd like."

My scoff of disbelief seemed to discourage him. "I really don't wanna talk about this right now, Joshua. This is supposed to be a good day, and I don't really wanna to ruin it by thinkin' of... him."

"Alright," he said, chuckling again as he leaned down to brush his lips to my ear. "But I'm still rubbin' off on ya, darlin'."

Swiftly, I turned my head, my lips grazing his. I smiled as he gasped, blinking wildly. "I'm startin' ta enjoy it," I whispered, using my best imitation of his Southern accent.

He laughed, closing the short distance between us. "I..." he began, but thought better of his words and stepped away from me, glancing up towards the school. "Think we better be goin' in soon."

I sighed, glancing towards the school. Lights were pinned on the edge of the roof, covering just the front half of the school. Blue, sparkling garland draped the double doors and balloons floated from the corners. Someone had shoveled the slush away, but snowflakes still drifted slowly onto the ground, making the winter evening cool and peaceful. Still, a knot had formed in my stomach at the thought of entering the gym. "I don't really want to..." I confessed, biting my lip.

"You're the whole reason I'm here!" he said, glaring at me.

I flashed him an innocent smile. "How 'bout we ditch the dance?" I suggested. "Go somewhere else? Like dinner, or a movie?"

He pinched the bridge of his nose. From his pause, I could tell he was tempted. "No," he finally said. "Iya and Coffeeblue will go nuts."

"So?" I whined. "How bad could that be?"

He gave me a look like I'd just offered to throw a kitten down a cliff. "No, you're right, let's go." I said quickly, turning towards the building. I hesitated, staring at the doors. I heard a chuckle sound behind me and then felt a hand on my waist, lifting my feet off the ground. I yelped as Josh set me down at the top of the steps, smirking at me before heading towards the doors. "I changed my mind!" I squeaked. "I don't wanna go! I wanna go home, curl up in a blanket and watch a movie!"

He ignored me, never letting go of my waist and continued to drag me to my death. "How 'bout let's not?!" I screeched feverishly, squirming in his grip. It only tightened. "Please, Josh?!" I whined.

He stopped suddenly, chewing on his lips as he stared off away from me. He closed his eyes tightly and shook his head curtly. "It's just a dance, Danny." He said with his voice strained. "Trust me, no one's gonna hurt you."

My stomach twisted as my throat closed. He just had to bring that up, didn't he? "Fine," I breathed. I did... trust him, didn't I?

Without another thought, he pushed through the doors. "Hello!" An oddly cheerful voice greeted us. Two ladies, teachers, sat at a table with a metal box in-between them and a roll of tickets.

Josh shot her a smile. "Hello," he replied, pulling us up to the table. He pulled out a couple of bills and gave it to the lady.

"Thank you," she said, taking it and counting. "Have a nice night!"

We turned to stroll down the hallway. "You too!" he responded.

My breath caught in my throat as we walked down the hallway, and I began to hear music. I stiffened and crossed my arms on my waist, clutching my sides. I could do this. I could do this. As long as I had Josh, I could do this. I could do this.

I couldn't do this.

An odd, pathetic sound slipped from my throat as I dug my heels into the floor. "Josh," I whimpered. "I can't do this. I can't do this. I can't."

He turned, catching my shoulders gently to make me look him in the eye. "What are you so scared of?"

"Everyone," I squeaked. "Everything. I—I could trip over my feet, or, or—"

"You shouldn't be afraid of what everyone thinks." He said softly, rubbing my upper arms in attempt to comfort me. "You shouldn't be afraid of what I think, or what Destiny thinks, or even what you think. As long as you believe in yourself, others will too. I promise."

"But I don't," My throat tightened again. "When you have people putting you down your entire life, at one point, you start believing them. And you think that maybe they're right, that you aren't good enough for anyone. Eventually you realize you're not pretty, and that you're not worth anything." I looked down, afraid that if I gazed into those brilliant blue eyes, I'd break down.

"How 'bout this..." he breathed, holding up his hand with his pinky hooked out. "I promise that if you don't have fun, we can go home."

I stared at his hand. "Wha—wha—what is this?"

"A pinky promise," he said, raising an eyebrow. Sighing, he took my hand, closing it into a fist except my pinky and then hooking mine around his. "But you gotta promise you'll try."

"Alright," I whispered.