Bad Boy: The Beginning

Chapter 1 | Lauren 2004

"Hey-yah!" we cheer in unison, surrounded by a circle of my closest friends, breaking it down in gowns that are preparing us for future bridesmaids duty. I can't believe how much fun I'm having. Becky's shaking her little moneymaker in wild abandon. She's in her glory right now. After months of us trying to derail her visions for our prom night theme, it finally came together. And, I've got to admit, it looks spectacular.

When she first started pushing for a fairy tale theme at the council meetings, I rolled my eyes harder than anyone else. In all fairness, though, her first pitch wasn't the best. Thankfully, we did manage to evolve her Disney princess idea from one that gave me a horrible flashback of my childhood fear of Mickey Mouse into the stunning setting we are dancing in now. The white, silver, and teal blue balloons are tied in clusters and hung from the ceiling to look like magical clouds. At least they do under this low light. And the miles of silky fabric hung around the room transformed the Colorado Golf Club into a dreamlike stage for the class of 2004 to dance the night away in.

Everything came together so perfectly tonight, it might as well be a fairy tale. Just a week ago, I was crying in my doctor's office over an ear infection that had me so dizzy I was convinced I'd never make it to the prom tonight, let alone dance at it. I sobbed like a four-year-old lost in a department store when Dr. Klebes confirmed I'd need a day off from school and a round of antibiotics to get it under control.

"But, but, my prom! My dress! I can't be sick. I can't miss it!" I'm not proud to say I cried real tears. He told me I'd be fine by tonight, if I just got plenty of rest, water, and took the pills. Turns out, he knew what he was talking about and my mini-meltdown was for nothing.

I guess all those degrees on his wall meant something after all.

As OutKast fades out, my girls and I all stand around and stare blankly at each other as we wait for the next song to tell us what to do. Will it be another fast one? Should we stay in our little scrum of ruffles and sequins? Or is the tempo change gonna send us searching for the guys we showed up with?

We quickly stampede off the floor in different directions as Adam Levine begins to serenade us. It doesn't take long to spot Mack. He's exactly where I left him three songs ago. Luckily for me, he looks just as sexy as he did three songs ago too. I navigate through the obstacle course of tables and chairs until I reach the back wall he's leaning against. If I didn't know better, I'd think he was hiding.

Unfortunately for him, he's not hard to spot. Hovering around six feet tall, with chiseled shoulders that even his tux jacket can't hide, he can't exactly covertly disappear behind a plant in the corner or something. Mack has a face that makes every girl in the room melt and a body they all wish they could lie beside. It used to make me jealous, all the attention he gets, but he's never cared about anyone but me. It's been that way since we were kids and it'll be that way until we're old. Besides, everyone knows Mack's taken. They can take their chances with Cameron Armstrong instead.

As the quarterback of our high school football team, Cameron's never had a problem getting attention from the girls. With his sandy brown hair and deep blue eyes, the fact he's the second best-looking guy in the school doesn't hurt either. I'd give him a second look, if I wasn't already with the best-looking guy. And if he wasn't a non-committal manwhore.

Mack's eyes light up when he sees me, like I just woke him from a dream. I love when he looks at me like that. If there were other girls in the room, you wouldn't know it by the way he smiles at me. It's like I'm the only woman in the world, let alone in the dance hall.

"C'mon. It's your turn to dance with me." I tug on both of his hands and try to pull him off the wall. "Just dance one slow song with me and then I won't bug you anymore," I plead. It's funny, I've probably held Mack's hand a million times over the years, but I never get tired of the contrast between us. The way his large, pale hands envelop my deep brown skin, it always makes me smile. Even when I'm trying not to.