Our Dance

Why?

.....lied

"We met at the pier!"

I lied right there.

"I was just sitting there minding my own business..."

I think I started to sweat right then and there. 

"...and next thing I knew he was standing behind me. I thought he was cool at first. Then he started talking." I said trying to sound funny. 

Sophie and Todd stared at me for a moment. I knew that they had caught on to the lie. I sighed and went to speak when suddenly he butted in. 

"Yeah I remember that. You were sitting in my favorite spot and I was gonna ask you to move."

It's one thing to tell a lie about something. It's something else when someone actually backs you up.  It's something new when it's someone you hate.  "All you did was scoot over, so I decided to let you stay. You were super annoying though, I kinda wish I pushed you off." he chuckled, 

I was shocked. He just kept adding more and more to the story I made up, and I think it was working. "Really?"Sophie asked. "You don't seem like the kind of guy to go to the pier." Derrick shrugged, "I find it relaxing."

It was working, or at least I thought. I saw Derick glance over to Todd, who looked like he was glaring at him. I went to ask what was wrong but I was cut off. "That's nice. You too must have bonded a great deal there." Todd said with a small smile. I was starting to get worried. He seemed upset. However, I did just meet these people and intruding in their personal lives would be rude.   Derrick looked at him and nodded. "We sure did. Just like you and I did, Todd."

I wouldn't have given that statement much thought if it wasn't for the way he said it. Derrick said it so bluntly. As if he was jabbing back at him for something he did. Todd held his smile and even nodded in agreement. "Definitely. We had no chemistry what so ever." he said nicely. I looked over to Sophie, who was noticing what I was noticing but looked like she was used to it. 

 I looked at the clock at the front of the room and saw that class was almost over.                                                                                     

 Besides that weird exchange between Todd and Derrick, we had a pretty nice time. Once the bell rang, Todd was the first one to get up and grab his bag. "It was nice meeting you Ruby. Good luck with the giant D you're sitting next to." he said before leaving out the door. I waved goodbye before being nudged by Sophie. "Don't think about what happened too much. It happens all the time." she said before taking one last look at Derrick. She grabbed her bag and left out the room. 

"And then there were two..." I heard Mr. Madison say. But I could barely hear him him over the awkward tension between me and Derrick. Why would he go along with it? "Um, hey Derrick. Can we talk for a second?" I questioned, moving so that I was in front of his desk. He looked up at me and rolled his eyes as he gathered his eyes.  "There's nothing to talk about. I just went along with it, no big deal." he mumbled before getting up, swinging his bag over his shoulder and moving from behind the desk. 

"But...I mean I didn't think you would is all." I said nervously. He rolled his eyes once again and walked passed me. I looked back at him and sighed. I watched as he walked out the room, stuck in my thoughts. One would think that I was questioning a lot of things after that. But only one question plagued my mind. 

Why is he such a dick?  

 I was just confused. What did I do? What did the world do to him? Now I know why my mother said to watch out for him. He's just a rude person. I was pulled out of my thoughts by Mr. Madison's snapping fingers. "Hey Ruby! You still in there?" he asked, slightly concerned. I looked at him and let a large breath, which was weird to me. Why would I hold my breath in the first place? Nevertheless, I grabbed the rest of my things and hurried over to the door. 

"Ruby!" Mr. Madison called out. I stopped dead in my tracks and looked back at him. "Yes sir?" He let out a small breath as his head fell down. "Don't read too much into it, okay? I don't think that they'll be ready to bring all that mess up again. The only one who doesn't have a problem with it is Todd and you've seen how he handles it. I just don't want you dragged into their bull." he said sternly. I was shocked. Was the drama between all of them that serious? "Thanks Mr. Madison. I'll try not to get too involved, I guess." I said softly and quickly before hurrying out the room.