A night to remember

Laurel smiled brightly, looking in her mirror. She looked beautiful, her extremely curly caramel hair parted by a thin black ribbon. Her makeup was an edgy smoky eye, perfect for her royal blue silk dress. She spun once in the mirror then grabbed a small black purse and headed downstairs.

"Ready to go mom?" She asked, rolling her eyes as she passed her little brother Enoch playing with some toy dinosaurs on the rug.

"Yeah, let's go." Her mother replied, grabbing the car keys. "Let's go Enoch." She said. The small family, well, besides Laurel's father, who was staying home, headed out the door. 

Laurel couldn't help but smile as she entered the Agg Office of her county, it was a 4-H dance she was attending and the music played loudly. The door she came in from lead to a kitchen and then out to a large room where the actual dance was being held. She walked with her mother and brother over to a table in the kitchen where she sat down, waiting for some more people to arrive until she went out onto the dance floor. After about 5 minutes the door opened to reveal her best friend, Hannah, along with two of her other friends, Scarlet and Lucy. They all looked gorgeous, Scarlet and Lucy wearing both wearing pink dresses, though in different dresses, and Hannah wearing a stunning black dress. They looked gorgeous, almost as gorgeous as herself. She stood and skipped over to them, practically glowing with anticipation for the dance. 

"Hey guys!" She said animatedly. 

"Hey Laurel, doesn't someone look beautiful." Hannah greeted, glancing as Lucy wondered off with her parents. 

"Yeah, you look great Laurel." Scarlet said, her red hair back in an bun that looked like a flower. Laurel blushed and looked the two over. 

"Thanks guys, you two look awesome!"  They thanked her then Hannah grinned, looking over Laurel's shoulder. Her eyes seemed to glint mischievously. 

"Scarlet, wanna go find Lucy and get some punch?" Scarlet looked confused then glanced past Laurel and smirked. "

"Sure! Let's go." With that the two were gone and Laurel was standing alone, looking slightly confused. In the next moment, she understood why.

Laurel's heart beat faster when she heard the clearly male voice behind her. Swallowing hard she turned and smiled. 

"Hey Bryson." She said, hoping he didn't hear the shake in her voice. Bryson was Laurel's long time crush. Tall and kinda lanky, he had a mop of black hair and lots of freckles. Just Laurel's type. He had braces for the time being but when those came off, Laurel shuttered at the thought. Bryson smiled a crooked smile, his hands in his pockets. 

"Hey Laurel." His voice was smooth and not to deep but it still sent shivers down her spine. He didn't meet her gaze but she didn't mind, he was always very shy. 

"You look amazing." He blushed lightly at the compliment, not used to using them. Laurel blushed also. 

"Thank you." She said quietly. They stood there awkwardly for a moment then Hannah wandered back over. 

"Come dance Laurel!" She said, grabbing her arm and running onto the dance floor. Laurel laughed at her friends boldness, she was always like that, dragging Laurel into stuff. They danced for a long time, moving in among the bodies. Laurel found she knew most of them. The crowd thinned as the first slow song came on. Lucy went to dance with Anthony, Laurel wasn't quite sure what they were but she knew they liked each other. Daniel Crouse, another friend of hers came over. He flashed Laurel a smile but his eyes were really only on Hannah. He held out a hand, asking her to dance and naturally, Hannah accepted. Laurel smiled happily and slid towards the wall, she was happy for her friends but her eyes searched the crowd, looking for a certain pale skinned dark haired boy. Laurel jumped in shock as a voice sounded beside her. 

"Laurel, uh, you wanna dance?" It was Bryson, his hand went to the back fo his head, scratching his scalp gently, awkwardly. Laurel nodded eagerly. 

"Um, yes, yes I would." She took his offered hand and waded out into the dancing couples. When they got to where they wanted to be Laurel turned to him, gulping as she slid her arms around his neck and his arms encircled her waist. They began moving to the soft rhythm of the song that was playing, Laurel didn't know it personally but she had heard Hannah talking about it, it was called Vanilla Twilight or something to that affect. It was very nice and after a few moments of swaying Laurel's head lolled down, her cheek landing on Brysons chest. He didn't say anything and neither did she, letting a comfortable silence settle over them. Laurel caught sight of many of her friends, Hannah and Daniel, talking softly, their gazes almost never leaving each other. They should stop with the charade and get together already She thought idly, next seeing Scarlet and a tall guy she didn't know. She almost laughed out loud at the sight of Lucy and Anthony. Anthony was at least 2 heads taller than Lucy so her arms were practically straight above her head, but they made a good couple. Laurel winced at the memory of her younger years, when both her and Hannah had had a crush on him, she couldn't see why she had felt that way now. As the song came to an ending she drew her head back, looking up into Brysons face. She smiled broadly at what she saw there, if only for a moment she felt as if she could see his entire soul in his eyes, open to her. It made her feel special and wanted, like he could trust her. A new song started to play and she drew back. "Thank you." She said, still smiling. He blushed and nodded then turned and hurriedly headed for the punch table. She smiled after him then was swept back up into the party mood by Hannah. Though through the entire night she kept stealing glances towards Bryson, their eyes meeting from across the room on more than one occasion, it made her feel warm inside. As did all the slow dances, they danced together every single one, though they didn't speak much, just swaying quietly, but it was a comfortable silence, not an awkward one. By the end of her night she was sweaty and hot and her feet were aching terribly, but she couldn't wipe the smile off her face.

Laurel climbed into her bed, her hair still wet from the hot shower she had taken. Sudden tiredness washed over her like a wave and she drifted off quickly, her dreams occupied by a tall ebony haired boy and all of her friends. That night had truly been a night to remember.

                                                                                  The End