Perfectly Faulted

Chapter 7

"Are you going to the Halloween dance on Saturday?" asks Evan as we walk home from school.

"You know me, Evan, I don't really go to these kinds of things."

"Maybe we could just see how it's like. I haven't been to a school dance since seventh grade either. Please?"

"Ugh... You're so persuasive. Fine. I'll go. But I have to find a costume..."

"Perfect! Well, who knows, this could be more fun than we thought." I sigh as Evan runs up her front steps, waves at me and lets the screen door slam shut behind her.

I guess I have to find a costume now,  I think. I quickly stop at home to tell Dad that I am heading to  the Halloween store, then head back down to Main Street to attempt to find a suitable outfit for the dance. I end up purchasing a zombie-bride costume, complete with a little tube of fake blood that I can use as I please. Yes, I know it's not very original, but it was a last minute decision, since the store was about to close and I hadn't found anything else that was more unique. I wonder to myself what Evan will wear, then ask myself who else will be at the party. Maybe Ryan and Tim will be there. That would be nice, we would have more friends to hang out with.

It's Saturday and I try to apply my makeup as well as possible. I make a scar using eyeliner that runs from the right corner of my mouth to the middle of my cheek, then another one going across my forehead. I dab a small amount of fake blood on them, making them look as realistic as I can. Smoky eyeshadow covers the area around my eyes, causing them to appear hollow, and paint my lips with the darkest lipstick I can find. I then tease my hair so that I look like I just "rose from the dead," I guess, then examine my white dress. Hmm. It needs more blood stains, and it is not ripped enough. My pair of scissors whisks across the cheap fabric, creating the impression that the dress has been lying around for decades and has been deteriorating. When I bought it, it already looked like it had been underground for years, with yellow stains and ripped edges, so I have no need to dirty it even more. Examining myself in my mirror, I decide that I really like the way I look, for once, and I head to school where the dance is being held in the gym.

I am half an hour late, but it doesn't really matter. I can hear the loud music blaring from outside, and when I push open the doors, Evan is there waitinig for me, fully decked out in a Pocahontas costume. Or maybe it's just a native american costume. Either way, she looks really pretty in a brown fringed dress, with Indian designs on the edges.

"You look good!" I exclaim.

"Thanks, Skye! So do you! Really creepy too,"

"Thank you. So, who else is here?"

"Well, Ryan and Tim are around somewhere; I saw them a few minutes ago, and as you can see, most of the school came. Andrea and Boris are making out on the couch over there. I think they just really want attention, and they'll do anything to get it."

"Yeah. They look like fish, the way they're sucking on each other's faces," I say, slightly disgusted,

Evan laughs at my comment and ushers me over to the dance floor, where we start moving along to the music. I am shocked that I am actually having fun here, and I simply let go of all of my problems and simply dance. Wow, this is almost as good a cure for a bad mood as fro-yo! I close my eyes for a moment and simply breathe in everything around me, the sounds, the lights, the rhythm, and I love it all. Suddenly, the song ends and the next one begins, ridding the room of the fast, upbeat dance music and relplacing it with a slow and romantic song, "My Heart Will Go On," from the movie Titanic. I walk around the gym, where many couples are slow dancing together, and all the unfortunate people who have no one to dance with, like me, sit around on chairs or simply wander around like I am doing. Andrea and Boris are together, and Andrea, dressed in a very skin-exposing Minnie Mouse costume, keeps glancing at everyone and giving them proud smirks as if she is the best in the world for having this boyfriend. Oh well. I don't think about her tonight. I know I'm going to be alone anyway.

Then, I see Ryan making his way towards me, pushing other kids out of the way. He stops abrubtly in front of me and opens his mouth, as if he is having difficulties forming words. I notice that he is wearing a zombie costume also, and I almost laugh at our lack of originality, but his makeup is actually really well done. I didn't know boys could do stuff like that.

"D-do you want to..." he trails away nervously.

"Umm... Okay," I answer, just as nervously. I have never done this before, no one ever being kind enough to ask me to dance with them. I lightly take his outstretched hand, getting closer to him. Ryan's surprisingly strong arms wrap themselves around my waist, as my small ones entwine themselves around his shoulders. At first, I have no idea what to do, but as we start slowly moving in a small circle, I begin to feel relaxed. 

"Have you ever slow danced before?" I whisper.

"Never," he answers.

"Neither have I." I take a breath and close my eyes for a moment. I rest my head on his shoulder, my heartbeat quickening without me quite knowing why. Unexpectedly, Ryan hugs me closer, so I reply by letting my arms holding tighter, and he does not object to this. I now feel comfortable in his embrace, and we both sway naturally to the music. After what seems like only a few seconds, although I know it must have been at least five minutes, the song ends. We break apart, but then he takes my hand and says, "Listen, I know you're a zombie. But, uh, you look... really nice."

"Thanks! So do you." We separate, and a smile is now plastered on my face like a sticker. I find Evan, still grinning stupidly, and she picks up on my happiness.

"Hey, what happened, Skye? Wait. Oh my God, Skye, did you dance with someone? Oh I know! You danced with Ryan, right?" 

A blush creeps over my cheeks, but I don't answer.

"I knew it, I knew it, I knew it! Yes! I knew you liked him! Congratulations!" continues Evan.

"Hey, wait a minute! We're just friends! That was just a friendly dance," I say. He couldn't like someone like me, anyway. 

"No, I know you, Skye. But fine, I'll drop it if you want."

The rest of the dance is fun, and when another slow song comes on, Ryan finds me again. This time, I catch Evan and Tim together also, and she winks at me. I shake my head and roll my eyes at her, but I know that I am feeling extremely happy at the moment. I have never in my life gone this long in a boy's arms. 

After the party, Evan, Tim, Ryan and I walk home together, first going to Tim's house, where a woman who looks like his grandmother is waiting behind the screen door. We wave to him, and he goes inside. Evan is next, and Ryan and I are once again left alone.

"So, did you have fun?" I ask.

"Yeah, actually, I had a really good time." He turns his head away to face the houses on the right, but not before I catch a blush rendering his cheeks pink. Or maybe it was just the streetlights. I don't really know. When we get to his house, he hugs me again before running through his door.

"It was nice dancing with you, Skyla Mallory."