8 comments/ 14492 views/ 3 favorites Winter Dance By: Tony155 Chapter 1 Morning. The beginning of the day or the ending of a long night. I guess it depends on who you are and what your opinion may be on the subject. Mornings were never looked forward to by Everett Clausen Livingston V, Ev to all his family and friends. His full first name, a name handed down through the years in his family, was only used to irritate him or get his attention quickly. He never did like his name, but was thankful he wasn't named Leslie, Ashley, or any other effeminate name. Slow to wake and slower to get out of bed to start the day, Ev would jump at the first knock on his door which was timed to fifteen minutes by his overly punctual mother. This was after he would shut off the annoying ringing of the alarm clock on his nightstand. If his door wasn't opened five minutes later, a harder and much louder rap on the door followed. Winter Dance As she tried to concentrate on her textbook, Beth got an uneasy feeling that she was being watched. Slowly, she looked away from her book to see Ev staring at the book cover. Not at her, but the book cover. Ev looked at the book for a few more seconds until he saw her name in the upper right hand corner written in small block letters. A smile tugged at the corners of his mouth from his discovery, that was until he met the intense gaze of the book's owner. "Do you mind," Beth hissed, "I'm trying to study!" Her eyes flashed angrily. Ev blinked and recoiled slightly. "You got a quiz or something?" Heavy sigh. "Yes. Next period. I'm trying to study." "Sure, sure," he answered. He thought for a second before looking at Beth once more. "Algebra? Right?" Another heavy sigh. "Yes. Algebra. Do I need to spell it out? I need to study. You are making this very difficult to do. Please, leave me alone." Her eyes, once angry, were now pleading with him. Ev held his hands up in defense. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry. I'll leave you alone." Shaking his head, Ev opened his textbook. Beth tried to continue her studying; but she knew it was a hopeless cause. It was nothing but a jumbled mess of letters and numbers staring back at her. And it was all his fault! She was doing fine until he made all that noise and bothering. She felt like cussing him out. It would make her feel better, but she knew it wouldn't solve anything. Not a damned thing. She closed the book and put it under her seat. Ev noticed immediately. "Got it all figured out?" he asked innocently. Beth slowly turned her head in his direction and glared. "What did I do?" Seething, she replied, "You made enough noise to wake the dead and then you wouldn't leave me alone. I was hoping for a few extra minutes to study, but forget that now." "I said I was sorry." "That doesn't help me right now, does it?" she exclaimed, a little louder than she intended. Beth's eyes were blazing again. A rap from Mrs. Blackmore's ruler silenced them. Ev looked at Mrs. Blackmore and then back at Beth, but she was digging into her books and notes. He knew better than to say anything else although he really wanted to know what was bothering her. Mrs. Blackmore wouldn't tolerate another outburst and he certainly didn't want either of them getting into trouble. When they had talked in the past, he now remembered that Beth had always been nice especially when he helped her with an algebra problem. Even though she obviously wanted to study, it still puzzled him as to the severity of her anger towards him. He could only shrug his shoulders and chalk it up to having a bad female day. Later, Ev caught up to Cory and Doug in the parking lot after school. Luckily, they parked in almost the same spot or area every day. As they put their book bags in the trunk, Ev turned to Cory. "You could have given me a heads up this morning." "It wouldn't have made any difference," she replied coolly. "How's that?" "You would have just mumbled something, then rolled over and gone back to sleep like you always do. I wasn't going to waste my breath." "When did you tell me yesterday?" "On the way home right after we got out of the parking lot," she said as Doug closed the trunk. "You were probably still moping about seeing Amanda and Greg in the hallway. You seriously have to get over her, Ev." They got in the car and closed the doors. "Easy for you to say," Ev replied. "We dated for over two years, you know." "And who dumped whom?" Cory shook her head. "She dumped you and you're acting like a whipped puppy." Cory started the car and put it in gear. "I am not acting like a whipped puppy," Ev protested. "Sounds like it to me," Doug chirped from the back seat. "No one asked you," Ev said over his shoulder without looking. "Anyway," he turned back to Cory, "maybe I was preoccupied, but I didn't hear anything about leaving early today." "Ev, seriously, she said it plain as day," Doug said. "I really did," Cory added. She pulled into traffic. "As I was saying, you need to forget about her. Are you bringing anyone to the dance?" "No." "Why not?" "I wasn't expecting to go." "You're kidding." "I'm not kidding. I thought they'd let me stay home tonight." "You ought to know better than that," Cory said. "They never left you alone before. Why would that change now?" She made a right at the light. "Well, the year's almost up and I thought they'd give me a break." "Yeah, right," Doug snorted. "I know, pretty stupid of me," Ev said. "I just thought they might." "Don't know what to tell you," Cory said to him as she watched the road. "At least your friends will be there." "Yeah," he replied, looking out the window, "that'll be fun." Cory noted the hint of sarcasm in his voice. It wasn't long before they arrived home and found their parents getting ready for the evening. When he got to his room, Ev saw the freshly dry-cleaned suit hanging on the door with the wrapper still protecting it. He peeked under the white plastic and cringed when he saw his tan suit beneath. Ev groaned loudly and dropped his backpack on the floor with a thud. "Why the tan one?" he growled. She knew he hated the tan one. Any of the others would have been a hundred times better, especially the black or the navy. He mulled the situation over and over in his head. Should he try to get along and go with the program or should he just go ahead and piss her off? In his mind, he knew she cleaned that one only to show she was boss and that irritated him to no end. Ev opened his closet and checked his other suits, all of which were in decent shape but hadn't been cleaned in a while. Lord knows she could have had the others cleaned as well and let him choose what he wanted to wear. Unfortunately, that wasn't her style. His dress pants and shirts were all cleaned and pressed so he would have plenty to choose from in that regard. He made up his mind then and there that he wouldn't wear a suit at all. Who was he trying to impress anyway? Certainly not a date he didn't have. Amanda would be falling all over Greg if they decided to come and probably wouldn't even notice Ev's existence. He hoped they wouldn't show, but with how his day was going, it was inevitable. If he really wanted to spite his mom, he would have worn all black: shirt, tie, and pants. But he wasn't in a total black mood that day. Instead, he decided upon a black shirt, silver tie and gray slacks. Ev dressed slowly taking precautions not to wrinkle his clothes. He was that way when he dressed up for a special occasion, although he didn't consider this special. At least not now. Still, he didn't expect too much of an argument from his mom and even if she did put up a fuss, he wasn't going to change. What was she going to do, say he couldn't go? Ev laughed inwardly at that thought. He checked his watch and saw it was almost five o'clock. After tying his last lace, Ev took a deep breath and headed down to the living room. Chapter 4 Beth stood in front of her mirror, checking herself and sighed. Her teal, knee-length dress wasn't fitting the way it did in the store. Or maybe it was just her imagination. She fussed and pulled until she was almost satisfied with the way it looked. She had really wanted the sexy blue number, but her mom tsked her disapproval and Beth figured she had to be at least twenty-five to pull off something that sophisticated. She had spent half an hour curling her hair and was happy with that, although she began to wonder why she was going through so much bother when she wouldn't be doing anything except hanging out with her friends. No one had asked her to the dance, but Megan, her best friend since grade school, insisted she go anyway and keep her company. Beth hadn't thought about refusing and was actually looking forward to the evening. It certainly wasn't the first time she and Megan had gone to a dance dateless and it didn't bother them. They would always find friends to hang out with. Neither thought dating a boy was something they had to do to feel like their lives were complete. Like Beth, Megan dated infrequently and no boy had ever become special to her. She tended to go out on group dates whereby everyone knew each other and there was no pressure. One on one dates wasn't Megan's style most of the time, one of the few things that greatly contrasted herself with Beth. The girls met in fourth grade when Megan's family moved into the area. Alphabetically seated, she was placed behind Beth and soon after became best friends after Megan offered her a chocolate chip cookie at break time. They would stay up until all hours during their frequent sleepovers, sharing their dreams, wants and desires. They helped each other through boys, puberty and difficult homework assignments. Nothing was sacred (except their friendship) and no secrets were kept. Now, as they approached graduation in a few months, Beth wondered at times if they would remain close or slowly drift away. It was a subject rarely brought up, probably because it was too painful to think about. Megan had insisted they would be best friends forever even though they wouldn't be going to the same college. It was something they had talked about frequently before their senior year, both going to Ohio State or Indiana or whatever school they decided upon. But when it came time to seriously think about their futures, their choices were inevitably different. Megan wanted to go to Bowling Green State University to study music while Beth had decided that the University of Louisville best suited her for a career in journalism. Bittersweet reminders of their earlier pact tried to cloud their decisions, but each knew their choices were for the best. "You're going to write me every week," Megan had said when Beth got her acceptance letter to UL. "You're only saying that because I told you the same thing," Beth retorted. It was agreed upon that they would meet as often as possible during breaks and holidays and Beth hoped their friendship would indeed last forever. Beth exhaled another deep sigh as she came back to reality. She was about as ready as she would ever be. The only thing she had to wait for was Megan to come and pick her up. * * * "Why aren't you wearing the suit I had cleaned for you?" his mom demanded upon seeing Ev enter the living room. "I didn't feel like wearing a suit tonight. I'm not going with anyone," he replied placidly. "If I knew you weren't going to wear it, I wouldn't have had it cleaned." "I never asked you to have it cleaned." "That's not the point." "The point? What is the point, mom?" "Oh never mind," she replied, dismissing the subject with a wave of her hand. "We don't have time to send you back upstairs to change." She went to Everett and straightened his tie. "I swear, I have to dress everyone in this house," she muttered under her breath. Ev smiled to himself. He knew his mother pretty well and figured she wouldn't put up too much of an argument. And it was just like her to change the subject when she didn't have the answer. As Ev got older and had a clearer understanding of his parents, their virtues and faults were easier to see. He no longer accepted their word as gospel, although most of the time they had sound reasoning behind their actions. He realized his mother was not the fussy, over-protective person he thought her to be while growing up, but instead, a person who had to be in charge and had to have her hand in everything her family did. It wasn't just Ev who felt her presence in everything he did, Cory perhaps had it the worst since she was the only daughter. Ev believed his mom saw a younger version of herself in Cory and was determined to move her in the direction she saw fit, be it clothes, boys, or school subjects to take. In one of the few times Cory and Ev had a serious one on one discussion without arguing, Cory confided that she couldn't wait to go away to college. "I can be my own person and breathe," she said. "I can do what I want, wear what I want and not have her criticizing me all the time." "I didn't know she did that to you, too." "All the time. She doesn't say much around you guys, but it seems like nothing I do pleases her. Either my hair isn't combed right or my dress is too short or my makeup is too thick. I just get really tired of it. Do you know she got really pissed at me when I told her I didn't want to be a lawyer?" "I had no idea," he replied. "I thought you wanted to be a lawyer." "I thought I did at one time, mainly because she wanted me to. But over the last few years, deep down in my heart, I knew it wasn't for me." "What do you want to study?" "Criminal Justice." Ev looked at her in disbelief. He never would have guessed in a hundred years. "Criminal justice? You're kidding, right?" "Not at all," she said seriously. "What part of criminal justice?" "I was thinking of becoming a police officer." Ev's jaw almost hit the ground. His twin was the last person he would think of as a police officer. She was tall and thin and always shied away from physical activity, be it work or play. "A police officer? What would ever possess you to become a police officer?" Cory's jaw tightened slightly. "I think it would be a very exciting career. I wouldn't be stuck behind a desk every day and each call would be different. The adrenaline would always be flowing." She hesitated for an instant. "That's not all," she said softly. "What do you mean?" "I could always advance higher if I wanted to, especially if I continued to go to school and got my master's degree." "Higher, as in lieutenant or captain or something." "Exactly. The possibilities are endless. Don't you see?" She looked at him and her eyes told him she needed assurance, not lectures or disapproval. She was sure to get plenty of that from her parents. "If that's what you want to do, it's okay with me. It just a real surprise to me since you've never mentioned it before." Cory reached forward and hugged him, something that was uncommon between them. "Thanks. Please don't tell anyone about this." "Sure," Ev said. And so he didn't. It surprised everyone except Ev when Cory announced she was accepted to Arizona State on an academic scholarship and that she planned to attend there instead of the University of Cincinnati where she had told everyone she wanted to go. The argument was monumental with a lot of harsh words, tears, and ill-feelings, but Cory stood her ground and the furor died down after a few weeks. The same subject hadn't been broached with Ev because he hadn't let his choice be known to anyone. He had been accepted to a dozen or so colleges in and around the Ohio area, but he had yet to make up his mind. His biggest hang up involved his major. Ev didn't know what he wanted to study and he wasn't going to choose a school until he made that decision. Business and accounting had always interested him and he took a few classes pertaining to such, but he just could not make up his mind. During his junior year, he was given a test by his guidance counselor to zero in on his academic and career interests. He laughed when he saw the results. It was determined that he was best suited for cartography, something he had absolutely no interest in, although it did appeal to the analytical part of him. Next, an English teacher. Well, he did like to write. Thirdly, sports management. Now there was something that piqued his interest. He liked business and he liked sports, so that was a possibility. The test and the results had been pushed back into the deep recesses of his mind and had stayed there for the most part until Cory confided in him about her desires. He knew he would have to make a decision fairly soon in order to start the ball rolling before the schools began to fill their freshman classes. Doug, bounding down the stairs and hitting the landing with a loud thud broke Ev from his thoughts. "Can't you walk down the stairs like a normal human being?" Everett asked as Mary finished fussing with his tie. "Sounded like the whole house was falling down." "It's the only way I know," Doug grinned. "Try it my way sometime. You might like it." "I doubt it." "Do it anyway," he ordered. "Alright, alright," Mary said, "enough of the arguing. Let's get going." Cory had been picked up a half hour earlier by her date. With no further arguing, they left the house and headed to the school. * * * Megan arrived at Beth's house in her gray Chevy S-10 at 5:45 and honked the horn once. Without checking to see who it was, Beth yelled good-bye to her mom and closed the solid wood door behind her. As the chilly wind whipped around her, Beth was immediately thankful for the warmth of her thick wool coat, a Christmas gift just a year before. Walking briskly to the rumbling pickup, Beth looked up as Megan unlocked the passenger door to let her in. "It's freezing out here!" Beth exclaimed as she climbed into the cab. She shivered as she locked the door and began to fasten her seatbelt. "Yeah," Megan agreed. "It didn't seem so bad coming home from school. I was surprised when I came to get you." She backed out of the driveway easily and began the trip back to school. "Did Eric call you?" Beth asked. Eric was Megan's boyfriend although she would never admit it. In her mind, they were just friends who hung out together on occasion. "Yeah, he said he'd be there. Didn't know what time he'd get there though." Beth felt a small pang of jealousy seep into her at the news. She was hoping it would be an all-girls night with her friends, but this bit of news changed things. As much as Megan would say they were "just friends hanging out", Beth thought otherwise. More than likely, they would head off by themselves at some point in the evening and Beth would have to find someone else to hang out with. That's not to say that her other friends wouldn't be fun, but Beth was hoping to spend her time with her best friend. After all, graduation wasn't too far away. "That's cool," she heard herself say. It made her feel guilty to find her statement not entirely truthful. It also pained her to realize their time together before college was dwindling quickly. They would be graduating in less than four months and who knew how much time they would have to spend with each other in the summer before college started. "Eric's a good guy," Megan said, her eyes fixed on the road. "He's alright," Beth replied indifferently. "He's more than alright," Megan corrected. "I like hanging out with him." They came to a red light and stopped. Megan looked at her and said, "What's up? You seem down." "Nothing," Beth said quietly and shrugged. "I just had a bad day, you know, tests and stuff." "Well, it's time to snap out of it," Megan laughed. "We're supposed to have fun tonight. Only two more dances after this until graduation." "It's going too fast," Beth said. "What is?" "This school year, everything," she complained. "It's been a total complete blur. I just wish it would slow down a little bit so I can enjoy it better." Beth looked out the window and sighed. "Yeah," Megan agreed. "Nothing much we can do to slow it down, though." "That's for sure." The light turned green and they were on their way once again. Nothing more was said and Beth was thankful for the silence. She didn't want to talk about only two more dances until graduation and she didn't want to think about perhaps losing her best friend once college started. It was weighing heavily on her mind and she didn't like it one bit. Earlier in the school year, she was able to push it aside and not think much about it, but now it was right in front of her, mocking her, and she could do nothing but think about it. Winter Dance Maybe Megan was right and they would always be best friends and always have time for each other even if they lived a thousand miles apart. Beth wanted to believe that in the worst way and hoped that it would be. She wished she shared the same optimism, but she was too full of doubts. * * * Ev and his family arrived just a few minutes after five o'clock and the gym looked like it didn't need anything more done to it, at least in Ev's estimation it didn't. Parents and students were putting the last finishing touches on everything. Red and white balloons, ribbons, streamers and hearts were everywhere and each table had either a red or white tablecloth. Ev's parents left them and headed toward Lydia Johnson, along with her husband, Bob, who were in charge of the dance. When it was apparent that their help wasn't needed, Doug and Ev went their separate ways. Ev found a remote table in the darkest corner of the gym and sulked. Even the decorations and glitter angered him. He could have told them that everything would have been in order and that they didn't need to be there so early, but there was no telling his mom or dad anything. They just had to be there an hour early, had to give him an extra hour of boredom and pain as proof to him that he shouldn't have screwed up the year before. Ah, lovely memories! If only Ev had been able to make it to his room that night without throwing up on the plush beige carpet. Passing out on the sofa didn't help matters, either. Of course, the half empty bottle of Jack Daniels sitting out sealed his fate. The stupid thing was, he still didn't know why he did it. He didn't drink much, didn't like to drink anyway, and certainly didn't like the taste of the stuff that got him into trouble. It was a night when everyone had a place to go except for him. His parents had a business dinner to attend, Cory had a date, Doug was spending the night with his friends, and Amanda was out of town for the weekend, so Ev was left alone for the evening. He remembered taking a few sips of his father's whiskey out of sheer boredom, thinking it would relax him. The taste wasn't as bad as he remembered and he took a couple more swallows. The rest of the night was a blank except for his mother screaming at him when they got home. "The hell with it," Ev said to no one in particular. The only good thing about his punishment was he only had a few more weeks until the wonderful one year anniversary arrived and he would be allowed to, once again, be left home alone. Unfortunately, he was sure his mother would bitterly lecture him to his breaking point and remind him of what he did should he want to stay home in the future. He was sure of that. As six o'clock approached, people began trickling in. From his vantage point, Ev could see almost everything, but he didn't see Amanda or any of his friends. Just before six o'clock struck, Ev saw Will and Brian come through the doors by themselves. Ev left the table and ambled over to them. "It's about time you guys got here," Ev said as he greeted them. "I was just about to go crazy with boredom waiting on you. Where's Kim and Connie?" "They're in the bathroom with about a thousand other girls," Brian answered. "No date?" "Didn't think I was coming. Silly me." "Too bad," Will said. "We'll let you sit with us anyway. Let's get a table near the snacks and drinks." "Always thinking about your stomach," Brian said as he feigned to punch Will in the gut. Will overreacted and tried to block the imaginary punch. "Nope, just don't want to have to dodge and duck everyone trying to get back to the table." "Not a bad idea, " Ev agreed. They found a table to their liking and sat down. Talking about school and sports amongst themselves, they barely noticed when the lights dimmed and music began to play. "I'd better go to the lobby and find Kim and Connie," Will said. "They'll never find us otherwise." He left without waiting for a comment and wove his way to the lobby through the dancing couples. A few minutes later, he came back with the girls in tow. Kim, Brian's date, was a tall, pale blonde with striking blue eyes. Ev always liked her because she was always nice to him and always seemed to have a smile on her face. Connie, Will's date, was a pretty, short brunette with gray eyes who constantly worried about her weight. Ev thought that was totally unnecessary because of her comeliness, but that was Connie. He liked her a lot as well. She reminded him vaguely of Amanda, but had a sweeter disposition. Another couple, John Hollencamp and Missy Eldridge, came and sat with the group a few minutes later as the gym began to fill up with earnest. The dance floor was crowded whenever a slow song was played. Chaperones kept a constant eye out for couples who were showing a little too much affection, on the dance floor and off. In spite of being dateless, Ev found that he was having a good time. His friends were there with him and his parents showed good taste in leaving him alone and not embarrassing him. Occasionally, he saw Cory and Doug with their dates, but that was only once or twice. Try as he might to fight it, a pang of jealousy went through him when he was by himself at the table during a slow dance. Memories of previous dances with Amanda went through his head, memories of holding her close and feeling the warmth of her body against his was almost more than he could take. He could take heart in the fact that he hadn't seen her or Greg yet and that was a good thing. His good humor diminished suddenly and without warning as he scanned the dance floor during a particularly romantic song, one that he and Amanda had danced to many times before. He didn't see them at first, but then his eyes caught sight of her long red hair, the curve of her hips, and her long legs. Her face was turned upward and her mouth was open in laughter at something witty that Greg might have said. Ev couldn't tell. He stared at them as they swayed easily to the rhythm of the slow beat. Ev's chest tightened and his hands became damp with fear and anger. He hadn't known what to expect when he saw them together like that, so different than seeing them in the halls at school, and he wasn't sure what he would feel. Pain? Hurt? Regret? Now, it was happening right in front of him and he was finding it difficult to breathe. Anger was rising within him, but he couldn't decide with whom he was more angry, Amanda or Greg. It didn't seem to matter much at that point. In his mind, he knew it would be better if he would just turn away and not watch them, but he couldn't. Morbid curiosity took over and Ev found he couldn't take his eyes off them. It wasn't until the song ended and she kissed Greg that Ev felt the rage boil within himself. It was nothing more than a friendly kiss, but it sent Ev over the edge. He got up from his chair abruptly and took a few steps in their direction not knowing what he would say or do. What was he going to do once he got there? Throw a tantrum? After a few more steps he stopped and sighed. His rage had dwindled to anger and sadness with a little bit of helplessness mixed in for good measure. Ev turned and walked quickly towards the lobby wanting to get away for a while. Head down, he didn't see Brian and Kim walking in his direction; he wasn't seeing much of anything at that moment. "Hey Ev," Brian said. "What's up?" Ev, startled out of his thoughts, looked up and almost didn't recognize his friend. "Need some air," he replied numbly. "You okay?" Brian eyed him curiously as if trying to determine if Ev had sneaked a drink or two. "Not really, but I'll survive," Ev replied before moving past them. Kim looked at Brian and said, "What's up with him?" Thoughts of following Ev and confronting him went through Brian's mind, but he decided against it. He decided to check on him in a few minutes if he didn't come back. Ev blindly pushed through the lobby doors and almost crashed into a girl coming from the opposite direction. "Watch where you're going, you idiot!" she exclaimed as he pushed by without looking back. He walked on and went through another set of doors that led to the main part of the school. The girl shook her head in disgust before looking in his direction once again. "Ev?" she said. She thought she recognized him in that brief instant. Hurrying past the swinging doors that he had just gone through, Beth saw him turn the corner of the next corridor. "Hey Ev, wait up," she called as she followed him. Ev thought he heard his name, but his emotions were probably playing tricks on him. He stopped at a water fountain and took a quick drink, feeling the water go down his throat to an empty stomach. He wanted to cry, wanted to yell, wanted to hit something and make the pain go away. Hot stinging tears clouded his eyes as he stooped down for another drink. "Hey Ev," a soft voice said to him. Ev jerked up from surprise and immediately brought his hands to his face to wipe the tears away. He didn't recognize the owner of the voice at first, his eyes not ever seeing her in a dress or makeup before. "Beth?" "Yeah. You almost ran me down back there." "I did? I didn't know. Sorry," he stammered. "It's alright," she shrugged. Beth eyed him and saw the anger in his face, the grimness of his demeanor. "Are you okay," she asked. Ev wiped his eyes again with the back of his hand and snuffled. "Me? Yeah, I'm okay, I guess." His mannerisms displayed anything but. "You don't seem to be." Head down, Ev replied, "No, I guess not." "So, what's up?" "Nothing." "I think we've been through this already," Beth said. Intuitively, she felt he needed to talk. She could hear the faint sounds of music making their way to where they were standing. She looked in that direction, then back to Ev. "Want to talk about it?" Ev shrugged, not knowing what to do. He didn't know Beth very well and wondered why she was so concerned, especially after their conversation in class that day. He looked at her and sighed. She looked so different than that morning with the dress and makeup and everything. She was very pretty, in fact. "How did your test go?" he asked, deflecting her question. "It went fine, no thanks to you," she teased. "If you had left me alone, I might have done better." "Sorry," he mumbled, looking down at his shoes. Ev stuck his hands in his pockets and sighed again. Beth reached forward and touched his sleeve. "Hey, I was kidding. It went fine." "Okay." "Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?" she asked softly. Ev stiffened and looked away briefly. "I don't know," he managed to say. "Lots of things going on, I guess." "Bad things?" Ev shrugged. "I didn't even want to come tonight, but I had to." "Had to?" "Yeah," he nodded. "My folks made me." "I'm not following," Beth replied. "No, I guess you wouldn't." Ev smiled slightly. "Want to take a walk? This may take a while." "Sure," Beth said and they began walking down the dimly lit corridor. "You see," Ev began, "about a year ago, I really screwed up and got grounded for a year, sort of." "A year?" Beth asked incredulously. "Well, sort of," Ev replied. "I'm just not allowed to be by myself." He proceeded to tell her about his escapade and the consequences. Beth listened intently without interruption. Ev inhaled deeply as he neared the end of the explanation. "So, I thought maybe they would let me stay home since the year is almost up." "Why didn't you want to come? No date?" Anger crept across Ev's face and then diminished. Beth immediately regretted asking. "Well, my girlfriend and I broke up a few months ago and I didn't feel like seeing her with her new boyfriend. You might know her, Amanda Pierson." Beth shook her head. "And you saw them?" "Yeah." "I see." "I think I was pretty much okay until they kissed." "Ouch. Sorry to hear that." "Me too." They walked in silence until they came to a student lounge. Ev sat down first and Beth sat down next to him. "It must have really sucked to see that," Beth remarked. "Yeah, it did. I knew it would be bad if I saw them together, but it was much worse to…" He didn't finish as he looked away. "Yeah," Beth agreed, "I think I would be feeling the same." She waited for him to look back at her. "So, what are you going to do now? Are you going back to the dance?" Ev shrugged indifferently. "I don't know. What about you? Why were you away from it? Did you have a fight with your date?" Beth rolled her eyes and shook her head. "I didn't have a date. I came with my friend, Megan." Ev took this in and was surprised. "I thought you'd have a date. You look really nice tonight." "Thanks," Beth replied as she felt her cheeks get suddenly warmer. "You dress up nicely, too." Ev smiled. "Yeah, I guess so." He leaned forward with his hands between his knees. "I'm sorry about this morning in class. I should have left you alone…." "That's okay." "…and for running into you." "It's okay. No harm done." Ev sighed and leaned back again. "Maybe we should be getting back." "If you want," she replied, not all that anxious to return. "You don't want to?" he asked. "Most of my friends who said they were coming didn't show and Megan's too preoccupied with her boyfriend, so I'm not in any hurry. I don't think I've been missed." "Same here," Ev laughed. He looked away for an instant, composing the thoughts in his mind before finding Beth again. She really did look pretty to him, not that he found her unattractive before. He just would never guess she would look as nice as she did had he not been with her these few minutes. "Thanks for talking to me," he continued. "I really appreciate it." "You're welcome," Beth replied softly. "Let's just say it's payback for all the times you helped me with Algebra." "It wasn't that many times," he protested, "and besides, I probably undid all the good this afternoon!" Beth laughed lightly. "You did nothing of the sort. I told you I did fine on the test." "Still…" his voice drifted. "There you are," Brian's voice cut through them from across the lounge. They both jumped slightly from the interruption. "I was wondering where you went off to." "I just needed a break," Ev replied as he regained his composure. "And you said you wouldn't be missed," Beth teased. Ev smiled sheepishly. "Well, I can see you're busy, so I'll be heading back," Brian said. "We were just talking, Brian." Ev explained. "We were about to head back anyway..." "We were?" Beth whispered. Ev shot her a look. "…but thanks for checking." "No problem," Brian replied, grinning. He turned heel and left as quietly as he had arrived. Beth giggled as Ev watched his friend walk away. "It's a good thing we were just talking. He'd have some story to tell." "Brian's a good guy. He wouldn't say a thing except that he found me." Ev smiled to himself. Standing up, Beth said, "I guess we should be getting back. Megan might actually be wondering where I am." Ev stood as well and thought for a moment. "Would you want to sit with me and my friends, I mean since we don't have dates. There's room at our table." Different thoughts went through Beth's head as she contemplated the invitation. Was he asking her because he liked her or was he trying to get even with his ex-girlfriend? "I don't know," she answered, stalling for time. "Oh," he said, sounding disappointed. She heard the sadness in his voice and construed he wanted her to sit with him as a friend and not for revenge. "I mean, I need to talk to Megan since we came together, that's all," Beth said quickly. "Oh, okay," he brightened. "No problem." They made their way back to the dance without saying anything. Beth found Megan and Eric without difficulty and informed Megan of her plans. "I know him," Megan said. "He seems like a nice enough guy." "He's helped me with Algebra before," Beth explained. "Just let me know if I'm still taking you home." "Of course I'm going with you," Beth said. "I'm certainly not going home with him!" As she walked away, Beth wondered about her decision. Was she trying to get back at Megan because she was being so chummy with Eric? Wasn't she the one who wanted to spend time with her best friend before graduation? She shook the thoughts from her head as she found Ev and his friends. Beth knew them all from taking classes together or from other mutual acquaintances. Ev held a chair for her and she sat down next to him. While everyone else was chattering about this or that, Ev became quiet as the band took a short break. Beth noticed this right away and thought it a bit strange since he seemed to open up to her without too much difficulty. She noticed him glancing across the dance floor from time to time and knew who he was looking for. She guessed she shouldn't be angry with him for that, but she did feel slightly neglected. After all, it was he who invited her to join him. "I love your dress, Beth," Connie gushed from across the table, breaking Ev and Beth's thoughts. "Where did you get it?" "Pinedale's," Beth replied. It was a local women's department store. "I wanted this other one, but my mom wouldn't go for it. Too sophisticated for a high school dance, I guess." Too sophisticated unless I was ten years older, she mused to herself. "Oh, I shop there all the time," Connie continued. "I'll probably get my prom dress there." "Me too," agreed Kim. "Where are you going for your prom dress, Beth?" Missy asked. "Well," Beth said, a bit embarrassed about not having been asked, "I don't know yet. I haven't thought about it." "You'd better think about it soon because all the really pretty ones will be sold out," Kim chimed in. "I've already ordered mine." "I didn't know they even had the prom dresses out yet," Beth said. "Oh, they don't," Kim replied, "but they have them online and I saw one I just had to have." "I think I'll wait and shop when they come out," Connie said. "Me too," Missy agreed. Things went quiet again and even the guys seemed a little bit bored. Ev stared off into space for a moment or two before glancing in Amanda's direction again. Her back was to him and Greg was to the left of her talking in animated gestures. Ev wondered what they were talking about and almost wished he was there talking to her instead of Greg. Almost. Anger was again creeping into his system and that negated any romantic feelings he may have had deep within him. Part of him still wanted her as a girlfriend, but he knew that was a silly notion to have. Once again, thoughts drifted back to when she unceremoniously dumped him. I think we need to date other people. Hit him like a ton of bricks. And it still hurt. Ev shook his head slightly as if to clear all images of Amanda from his memory, then glanced at Beth who was eyeing him coolly. Crap, now she's mad. The band had started to play once again, a lively tune in which Ev took no interest. John and Missy left the table to dance and Brian and Kim followed soon thereafter. Ev leaned over to Beth and said, "Can I get you anything to drink? Punch? Soda?" Beth shook her head. "No, I'm fine. Thanks." Curt, short, to the point. Ev nodded sheepishly and inwardly chastised himself for being such a jerk. Why wouldn't she be upset? You're the one who asked her to sit with you. Say something, you idiot! "You look really nice tonight." "Thanks." A small smile followed. Okay, okay, she's not too mad. "Any college plans?" "University of Louisville." "Louisville? Why Louisville?" Beth rolled her eyes. "It's got a great journalism school." "Journalism? I thought you'd be more into Quantum Physics!" Ev grinned.