Instead of Me

∆24∆

"Where's your camera, Mr. Photographer?" Katherine asked as she wrapped her arm around mine, entering the school's gymnasium. She looked absolutely beautiful. She wore a black lace dress with a plunging neckline and a flared skirt. With her red heels on, she was just slightly taller than me.

"Looking through the lens gives me a headache," I answered, raising my voice as the music was getting louder and louder. "Mr. Avery is having a freshman photograph this event. He told them it was because he needs a new me after this year so he's seeing what they can do."

Katherine leaned towards me, her lips closer to my ear. "There's probably some truth to that. Next year's school paper is going to be trash without you, me, and Heath." She grinned.

"It's already trash," I joked, a faint smile forming on my lips. "How's the special edition on Annie coming along?" I led Kat to a table that had a red tablecloth draped over it. It was the one farthest from the speakers, and as I glanced over at Annie, I thought she might have noticed since she held up her purse to get medicine for me. I shook my head and turned my attention back on Katherine.

She was grabbing some Hershey's kisses from a bowl in the center of the table. "Mr. Avery has been horrible to everyone, including Heath. The deadline is approaching a lot faster than we think it is, and Heath can't write an unbiased article about Anastasia to save his life." Kat unwrapped the kiss and plopped the chocolate into her mouth. "Kisses are my favorite," she said with a smile.

The gym was getting fuller with every passing minute. Some very handsy sophomore couples grabbed the seats at our table furthest from us. The lights on the dance floor were bright and couples started piling over by the DJ while some juniors tried to request some songs.

"Your eye is looking a lot better, even from this morning," Kat told me. "It's hardly even noticeable."

I smiled gratefully. I had been really self conscious about it, especially at school.

Mrs. Valentine was chaperoning the dance. When she caught sight of me, she hurried over to ask how I was feeling. "After this morning, I'm not quite sure if you should be here," she told me. "Are you sure you're feeling up to this?"

I nodded. "Yeah. If I get even the slightest headache, I'll step outside." Part of me was starting to regret coming to the dance. I should have known people were going to be fussing over me the whole night.

With a stern look, Mrs. Valentine left Katherine and me alone. She walked towards the table with drinks, where Mr. Miller was guarding the punch bowl. He was talking to a senior girl who had a crush on him. She was way too animated when speaking.

More and more people piled into the gymnasium, and the lights dimmed. The music faded and the DJ spoke into a microphone, thanking the school for having her. She started playing a song and students crowded onto the dance floor. It was extremely loud and I could feel the beat in my chest.

I leaned towards Kat's ear, having to shout over the music. "You can go dance if you want to! I don't mind! It's just a little too much for me right now!"

Katherine shook her head. "I'll stay here with you to keep you company!" she said with a smile on her face. "I don't like this song anyway."

Part of me knew she was lying. Her foot was tapping to the beat and her eyes had lit up when the song started playing. However, I was glad she didn't feel like abandoning me, at least not immediately.

I reached and unfolded her fingers around the Hershey Kisses, taking one for myself. "I like kisses, too!" I told her, unwrapping it.

She laughed, and I noticed she had a dimple on her right cheek. I almost reached out to graze my fingers over her cheek as if I'm a trance, but I stopped myself.