Meant to Be

Chapter 31

Chapter 31

My heart stopped.

And it didn’t start back up again until later that evening… at the football game.

It still confused me how Natalie ended up as a candidate… and with Brandon? That made no sense… because as far as I knew, they weren’t even a couple! And since when are Christina and Cole a thing, too? Either they’ve been keeping it from me but not the rest of the town… or the people at our school just randomly vote for them as couples!

Those two things were on my mind throughout the first half of the game. And it still was as I sat with the other Homecoming royalty, munching on some MnM’s and sipping from a bottle of artificial lemonade. It was really cold out here, and me being the idiot I am, I didn’t bother to switch my short-shorts with jeans before I came out here. I was an idiot to not bring a jacket, too. However, being the sweetest boyfriend on the planet, Nate gave me his jacket… the one I am struggling not to make obvious that I was sniffing.

It was only after I finished my unhealthy snacking that I realized that fake lemonade and chocolate candy were not a very good combination. The aftertaste in my mouth was horribly gross, making me grimace as I wrinkled my nose in disgust. It was hard to describe, but I may as well call it garbage flavor.

I really wanted to ask someone for a mint, but I was reminded of earlier in the game when Harmony had asked everyone for the same thing… and failed.

So there I sat sandwiched between Harmony and Nate, trying not to notice Natalie’s obvious glaring on the other side of the bleachers, trying to ignore that horrible aftertaste in my mouth, and breathing through my nose so as to not make it obvious that I was sniffing my breathtakingly hot boyfriend’s jacket.

This was fun… not.

Ew, this is really gross! I mentally gagged, my tongue running over my once-minty-fresh teeth.

Ha! Sucker… Silver taunted me.

Hey! Since you’re me, you should taste this too, right? I shuddered as I tried not to think about the awful taste, causing Nate put his arm around me. He probably thought I was cold. No! Don’t come closer! I mentally shouted at him, you’ll smell it!

Then don’t breathe out of your mouth, smart one! Silver snickered, obviously enjoying my discomfort.

I gritted my teeth, telling her to shut her mouth and leave the premises. And that was exactly when half-time rolled around, cueing the dance team onto the field for their performance. They had performed a number at the assembly, and I must say they are good.

I knew that right after the dance team, the Homecoming King and Queen will be crowned… which led me to wonder if the other team we are playing against will even pay attention.

I watched the dance team’s performance, and I watched with rapt interest. It ended all too soon… and then came the time to get onto the field…

Nate and I walked hand-in-hand like all the other couples, including the Homecoming princes and princesses, and I tried not to tremble with nerves. In a few minutes, I could be Queen. As silly as it seems, I wanted that to happen… and to have Nate as my King… Goodness, then he really would be my Prince Charming! Well, King Charming…

All too soon, I was standing in the field as our principal began. He started off with the boring parts such as the ‘welcome’, and I tried not to fidget as he went through the names of the princes and princesses once more. I wanted him to get on with it, but it was obvious that the principal liked to create the suspense…