Wherever You Are [COMPLETED]

XVII: You're Gonna Hear Me Roar Again

~Dylan's POV~

“Babe, are you going to the dance?” Maggie asked while clinging helplessly to my arm. I shook her away and watched her frown slightly.

“Yeah, I guess,” I answered while poking at my tray of food.

“What color dress should I get? We should match!”

“Uh, why?”

“We’re going together aren’t we?” I shrugged and picked up my tray. I bid the others goodbye and walked out of the lunch room.

I pushed open the familiar wooden door and entered the haven of books. It empty as usual, except for one lone girl sitting in the corner. I walked over to her.

“Hey,” I greeted happily. She glared at me from above the rims of her glasses.”What’s up?”

“Nothing that you care about,” she said. I could help the rising smirk on my face. She had that kind of effect on me. She wasn’t begging me for attention; she hated any attention from me. And that just made me want to get her attention even more.

I sat down next to her.

“What do you want?” she seethed.

“Are you going to the dance?”

“No. Bye,” she said while gathering her books. I stood up at the same time she did and grabbed her elbow. She shivered at my touch before pulling away.

“Go with me,” I blurted. I felt heat rising to my cheeks after the realization of what I just asked. She had a similar color on her face but she quickly regained her composure and pulled away.

“No. Bye.”

“Dylan! Baby! You came back!” Maggie screeched as she ran toward me. “I thought you left me!”

“I went to the bathroom,” I lied.

“Oh boys. You always have to go to the bathroom.” It’s a natural phenomenon, I thought but I kept my mouth shut. “So about the dance-”

“Pink,” I blurted.

“What?”

“Get a pick dress. I’ll get a pink tie. We can match.”

She squealed. “I knew you wanted to match with me! We’ll look perfect.”

“Haha … yeah…” I said unenthusiastically. “See you then.”

Day of the dance.

Music pumped through the speakers as various students stepped up to the stage to sing a song of their choice. The student body decided a karaoke themed dance would be a good idea. It was kind of neat, except for the fact that some of these singers were tone-deaf. I flinched every now and then at an overly enthusiastic singer’s high note.

“Dylan!” I turned around to face Maggie who was wearing a puffy pink dress. It was way too pink for my taste but who cares. I was wearing a black suit with a pink tie as an accent. “Are you going to sing?” she asked me.

“No, I’m fine.”

“Aw! But I wanted to hear you sing!” Too bad, I thought. This girl whines too much. I kept my mouth shut, though. If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.

The speaker interrupted my thoughts. “Okay! Next up! Abigail Ryan!” There were a couple claps and one overly enthusiastic clap from one person next to the stage. I squinted to analyze him. I recognized him as Abby’s friend Gabriel. Abby stepped onto the stage. She wore simple makeup (I could tell because her face looked brighter than usual but not so drastically different as to make her look like a clown) and she wore a simple white dress. The dress suited her perfectly. It didn’t demand attention but naturally drew attention to her. It was a perfect dress.

“Uh… Hi guys,” Abby said from the top of the stage. Some people said ‘hi’ back. She had a slight blush on her face that I wasn’t sure whether it was because she was embarrassed or whether it was from the lighting.  “I, uh, I’ll be singing Roar by Katy Perry.” She glared at her friend at the bottom of the stage for a moment before the song came on and she started singing.

I used to bite my tongue and hold my breath
Scared to rock the boat and make a mess
So I sat quietly, agreed politely
I guess that I forgot I had a choice
I let you push me past the breaking point
I stood for nothing, so I fell for everything

 

Her voice was shaking slightly from her nervousness. People listened intently.

You held me down, but I got up, ha! 
Already brushing off the dust
You hear my voice, you hear that sound
Like thunder gonna shake the ground
You held me down, but I got up, ha! 
Get ready 'cause I’ve had enough
I see it all, I see it now

People were shaking with the rhythm of her voice and the music and some were smiling and clapping. Some people wolf whistled and some yelled, “You look hot!” to which Maggie returned, “It’s just the lighting!” to try to direct attention back to herself. By the time the chorus came around, people were singing along to help Abby.

I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter, dancing through the fire
'Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar
Louder, louder than a lion
'Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
You’re gonna hear me roar

People continued listening and singing along for the second verse and chorus. I couldn’t help but notice how much this song reflected Abby’s life. No matter how much she was put down by others, she got up and stayed strong. That’s what makes her Abby. She’s strong and perfect.

You’re gonna hear me roar
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
You'll hear me roar
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
You're gonna hear me roar...

Applause filled the room and people were chanting, “Encore! Encore!” Abby bowed and curtsied. I could see her giggling with a small blush on her face.  She bowed again and dismissed the crowd’s cheers by stepping off stage.

I made my way closer to congratulate her on doing a good job and pushed through people in the crowd. Her friend Gabriel hugged her tight and spun her around a couple times. Before letting her go, he held her waist and made her face him before planting his lips on hers. I stood a couple feet away, staring in shock. I thought they were friends? Were they more than that? Is that why she was hanging around him so much and ignoring me? Her eyes met mines and widened in shock. She stayed put where she was and the baboon eventually released his grip on her. Anger flared inside of me as I watched them gaze into each other’s eyes dreamily, like the way we used to. I turned around hastily and walked away, back to where Maggie was.

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