Luke Jackson: My Story

Prom Story

Luke's POV.

"You guys look very nice tonight, thanks for getting him out." Mom lowered her voice to Marcus and Troy, I pretended I hadn't heard anything.

My sisters took lots of pictures, I put on the fake smile but I wanted to be alone. I wanted to go to her house and apologize, maybe she'd join us but I needed to at least clear the air between us.

"Thanks Annabeth, we'll keep him out as long as we can." Troy gave my mother a look I couldn't read but it seemed to make her smile. We waved goodbye to my family as we piled into Troy's big black car, they had refused to let me drive.

"Where are the girls? Aren't we picking them up?" I asked them from the back seat.

"No, we're meeting them at the dance, they had some last minute preparations. Probably girl stuff." Troy answered bluntly.

Marcus shifted in his seat, I listened to them talk under the radio. I stared out the window and memories of all my friends and I, clouded my vision. I saw us at the rock wall at camp. On various quests that mashed into a collage of memories, I saw us laughing at lunch. Then one by one, the memories of us faded into just Lauren and I.

It started when we were seven playing basketball at recess, then we were ten when she had told me about her aunt. I saw the night she was claimed, I watched us play in the pool at my house with my siblings. I saw the New Years Eve party at Chandler's last year, us sitting in the bathroom then staring at the Atlantic Ocean by the lighthouse. I saw that night at camp last summer when I'd asked her to the fireworks dance and she'd said no. I'd thought I was hurt then, but that like getting pinched compared to how I was feeling now.

I saw us in the sword arena, I listened the voice in my head replay everything I'd said to her just before she'd kissed me. I saw our sixth month anniversary date, I listened to her laugh and gazed lovingly at her smile. I thought about her hands in mine, I thought about her eyes and her sweet smelling hair. Then as the car screeched to a halt and my memories stopped, reminding me that I'll probably never see that part of Lauren again.

"Let's go guys." Marcus ordered. I followed them without a word, wishing I was at Lauren's apologizing for everything I'd done to her.

The cool May air nipped my face but was quickly drowned out by the heat and pulsating music from the gym. The theme this year was summer love and I was pretty sure the universe was mocking me.

I stayed close to Troy and Marcus until Ruth appeared with Mara. Ruth was wearing a deep purple dress with black heels, she looked stunning. Troy seemed to think so, he kissed her for a while then offered her a dance.

Mara was wearing a lavender dress that covered her feet and she'd curled her bright blonde hair. As soon as she reached Marcus, he kissed her like there was no one else in the room. And just as I'd predicted, I was alone in a sea of people talking, dancing and kissing. Now I really wanted to go home. I wanted to walk alone and drown in my thoughts and be anywhere but here.

"Alright high schoolers! Here's your first slow song, here's Prefect by Ed Sheeran." The DJ played the song, really? Why did he pick this song? Every time I heard this song I thought about Lauren, it's like Ed Sheeran had followed her around and wrote this song about her.

Over the song I heard the gym doors open, I turned to see who it was and I was lost for words. Her eyes scanned the crowd nervously, her brown hair was done up in a messy crown braid with a few loose locks of hair framing her face. The dress this girl was wearing was a deep sea green, it shimmered like the ocean when the light hit the dress. I couldn't stop staring, I pushed through the crowd entranced by her. Her eyes veered in my direction until they met mine. I kept moving towards her, never breaking eye contact. I'd finally reached her, her cheeks had flushed a light red that was just as cute as it always had been.