Beautifully Broken

12

Mina

The day of the ball has arrived and I fidget in the dress mom bought for me. I'm not saying it's bad, but I'm not comfortable.

Mom smiles at me through the mirror, putting the last pin in my hair.

"You look beautiful." She says softly.

I smile. "Thanks."

She takes a deep breath. "You have fun today. And enjoy your high school life. You've been through so much already."

I nod. "I'll try."

Cole waits downstairs, in his polo and tie. It's not a super formal event like prom, so it's just semi-formal.

I walk downstairs and he stares at me like I'm some princess.

"Shut that mouth, Ramsey. You've seen me in a dress a hundred times." I say, rolling my eyes.

He shuts his mouth and nods like  lost puppy. "Y-yeah, it's just-"

Our moms share a laugh and I try to erase the thoughts they're thinking.

We take pictures and he drives me to the school gym.

It's a fundraiser event and it starts at three pm. There's a pumpkin patch and a mini petting zoo, with games all set up outside while the formal party goes on inside.

"Are you ready?" He asks carefully, looking at me.

"To see Jennifer squirm and cringe at the sight of my arm on yours? Probably." I reply with a smile.

We walk through the pumpkin patch, taking pictures, and we play some games. I end up winning a gold fish but since there's still the ball, I'll have to claim it later.

We visit the animals and take more pictures with the goats, rabbits, and sheep.

"I can't wait to go back to the ranch." I say, holding a rabbit in my arms.

"I haven't been there in a while either. We should go back soon. Or rather, take me with you, hon." He says, watching my with an amused smile.

"Yeah. This weekend?" I reply, hugging the poor rabbit before it happily jumps out of my arms.

"Sure." He says, holding out his arm for me.

I take it and we walk to the gym as the outdoor events start to clean up.

The committee has really outdone themselves this year. I guess having all of us contribute for something helped.

We follow the two dancers on stage and enjoy the night as they lead us into different dances.

I ace the ballroom dances while Cole breaks it down with hiphop. He joined the short contest in the middle of the gym and won another prize.

"You're going to have your hands full." I say with a laugh as he carries a new big teddy bear.

He shrugs, placing it beside the other stuff he won. "They're not too full to whisk you away for a dance."

My laugh calms into a smile as he pulls me in for a slow dance.

We step in closer and I dare myself to look up.

He's staring at me, struggling to say something. "Mina, I-"

"Her?"

We turn to look at the owner of the voice. I'm secretly burning her with my eyes for ruining an almost intimate moment.

"You ditched me for her?" Jennifer's voice squeals and people around us turn to look.

They're quiet, unsure of how to react. We all know the rumors. They also know that Cole can turn into a beast when you make fun of me and the track girls can take you down too. They've been helping me this whole time.