Jerin: The Wee English Fella

|2| The Prom

Erin took the first step up the stairs, feeling defeated, ugly, and lonely. And then the doorbell rang, and a glimmer of hope sprang up in her. She hoped it wasn't John Paul, she didn't want to see him. Maybe it was her dream guy, the one she'd end up marrying. Her heart pounded in her chest as she opened the door and found James on the other side.

"Your mum rang me."

"But what about your creep convention?" she whispered, not able to contain the huge smile on her face.

"Okay, it's not a creep convention," he laughed, "and it's not important. Shall we go?"

He looked at her as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, and she found herself wishing they'd have planned this all along. She already knew this would be so much more fun than going with John Paul.

"Can you give me one minute?"

She noticed the way he looked at her as she made her way down the stairs, and it gave her a strange feeling, one she didn't recognize. She'd never been happier to see him, and somehow this felt different from the times they'd met up before. He cared.

:)

One of those cheesy love songs started playing, one of those you know all the lyrics to but can never remember the actual name of. Before Erin got the chance to ask James to dance, he'd taken her hand and guided her over to the dance floor right by the stage.

"Are you sure this is a good idea? I'm clumsy, James!"

He laughed. "I'm rather clumsy myself. We can be clumsy together."

She looked down, hoping he wouldn't notice her shy smile and intense blush. It got even worse when he put his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. Though she was really nervous, because she hadn't danced like this with any guy ever, she found herself relaxing into him. This was James after all, her best mate.

Then, a few moments after the dancing had ended, the girls noticed a bucket hanging from the stage ceiling, prom went totally Carrie, and, well, you know what happened next.

"I want to go home, see if I can fix this dress. Orla will be crushed otherwise," Erin growled, wiping some of the tomato sauce from her skirt.

James took off his scarf, giving it to her, and offered her his hand. "Alright, I'll walk you home."

They laughed for the entire twenty minutes it took them to get to Erin's house, and neither of them could remember a time when their stomachs had been this sore in the best possible way. But that wasn't the most significant thing of all, the really great thing was that they didn't let go of each other's hands for a single second.

They stopped on the porch, smiling at each other awkwardly.

"I should probably get going," James said.

Erin grabbed him by the elbow. "Wait! I just wanted to say... thank you, James. I had really fun."

"Me too," he chuckled.

Out of nowhere, she threw her arms around his neck and gave him a quick hug, but it meant a lot because it was the most affectionate she'd ever been towards him.

"Won't you at least come inside for a shower? I don't want you to walk all the way home covered in tomato sauce."

James cocked his head to the side. "Don't you need to shower as well?"

She shrugged. "You can go after me."

And he did. Erin finished up quite quickly and ran off to find some of her father's older, smaller clothes. She found a pair of striped pajama pants and a white t-shirt that she thought would fit James perfectly.

She told him through the bathroom door that she'd leave the clothes on her bed and received a muffled answer. She then ran downstairs to make two sandwiches and brought them back up to her room, although she nearly dropped them when she entered. James had just pulled on the t-shirt, revealing the base of his stomach, and it hugged him in all the right places. He was standing there, in the middle of her room, in his boxers and a very flattering t-shirt, and she cared. A month ago she wouldn't even have reacted.

"Sorry!" she squeaked, turning around.

James laughed nervously. "That's alright. It's not like you haven't seen me in my boxers before. In fact, that happens a lot more than it should," his voice became a little more high pitched than normal, and she felt relieved she wasn't the only one feeling uncomfortable.

She waited a few more seconds to be sure he was fully dressed and then turned back around. They stood awkwardly a few feet away from each other until James sighed and walked over to her.

"Thanks for the shower, and tonight. I really did have fun, Erin."

She noticed how he was rocking back and forth on his heels, and how he accidentally leaned a little too close now and then. "Me too... I'm glad you showed up."

"Yeah," he smiled for a millisecond before checking the clock on her wall. "I'm sorry, I need to go."

"Take this, so you don't, like, die of starvation on the way home," she said giving him his sandwich.

He took it, their fingers brushing against each other. "Thanks, I'll try not to die."

Her entire face reddened. "Great. Good. Brilliant. See you tomorrow!" she pushed him out through her bedroom door and collapsed onto her bed.

She brushed her hand over her cheek and then her neck, feeling for her pulse while laying down.

"Sweet mother Mary, my heart. I must be having a heart attack! Mammy, call the ambulance, I'm dying! If not..." she sat straight up, looking out into her room. "Feck off, I like James!"

"Aye, your diary says as much," Orla said, who was suddenly sitting at Erin's desk. "Can't believe you fancy the wee gay fella. It's crackers."

"He's not gay!" she shouted, quickly covering her mouth. "Oh, for Christ's sake, help me... the English? How could I?"