WAY TOO SOON, it was the middle of May.
As if I wasn't already preoccupied enough with everything going on in my life – not to mention finals coming up – I had the school council to deal with, too.
'Well, the Summer Dance is going to be at the beginning of June,' Tyrone announced to us.
'What? But that gives us hardly any time!' someone protested loudly.
Tyrone threw his hands up in surrender, and everyone hushed up. 'I don't choose the date, sorry. This is the only time we could get the ballroom at the Royale.'
'You got us the Royale?' Kaitlin shrieked, voicing what most of us girls were thinking. The Royale was a totally extravagant hotel, all white and gold and marble.
Tyrone nodded. 'Yup. The budget managed to swing it, but we'll be tight pressed on the decorations and the band, unless we bump tickets up a little.'
'Well, we can do that,' I said. 'It's the Royale. Nobody will care if they have to pay a little more to go there.'
'True,' he said, and everyone nodded to show they agreed with me. 'Well, anyway, we really need to figure out food, a band, the tickets and—'
'We need a theme,' one of the girls said, planting her hands down on the table.
Faith jumped in her seat excitedly. 'We should totally do, like, medieval! I saw this show where they had a medieval theme and it was awesome!'
'No,' all the boys said, almost simultaneously. I giggled at the horrified look on Lee's face.
'How about black and white?'
'That's hardly summery.'
'Vintage? Like, the sixties or something? Or, no – we should do, like, the Roaring Twenties! The guys would all turn up like gangsters in flashy suits, and you know they had those – oh, what do you call them? – the flapper dresses. It'd be so cool,' Bridget suggested excitedly.
'Um, no,' someone said flatly.
'Do I get to take a gun,' Tony joked, 'if I'm Al Capone?'
'That would totally work,' one of the boys said sarcastically. It was Max, from my English class. 'Prohibition era? At a school dance? Because nobody's going to try and smuggle in alcohol and get school dances banned.'
'Well, we could have a masquerade—'
'Yeah! Oh my God, yes! That's awesome!'
I groaned and banged my head down on the table before sitting back up. 'Oh, come on! Don't you think that's just so overdone? Everybody has a masquerade these days. It's even all over TV. There's got to be something else . . .'
'We already had that stupid Hollywood theme or whatever the hell you called it for the Winter Dance,' Eric grumbled. 'At least the masquerade thing is kind of cool.'
'But it's been done so many times!'
'I agree,' Lee said.
'Of course you do,' I heard Tyrone mutter as he shook his head at us.
'Hey, we could always have a mini carnival,' said Lily with a gleam in her eyes. 'You know, with a fortune teller, cotton candy . . . another kissing booth.'
'So long as Elle's running it I'm all for that,' laughed Tony, one of the seniors, winking at me. I just rolled my eyes and hoped I wasn't blushing. All this time, and they were still bringing up how I'd made out with Flynn at the kissing booth.
'No, we're not doing that,' Lee said, sounding so much like Noah I did a double take.
'Well, anyway,' Tyrone said, clearly getting impatient now. 'Everyone in favor of a masquerade?'
Everyone bar Lee and I raised their hands.
'Then it's settled. Lee, Elle, can I count on you guys to do the posters and the tickets?'
'Sure,' we sighed at the same time. While Tyrone basically dictated what we were to make, without giving us a particular design, everyone else split up the rest of the duties between them.
Don't get me wrong – I was really looking forward to the Summer Dance. It would be amazing – especially since the venue was the Royale. But I hated the prospect of having to get a date.
The dances at our school were for juniors and seniors. The Winter and Summer Dances were huge events here. For the Winter Dance I'd just gone with Lee as friends, since he didn't have a girlfriend at the time.
But now he'd ask Rachel.
And that meant he wouldn't be going with me – so I had to get a date. There was no way I was going alone.
So . . .
Who would I go with?
I knew who I wanted to go with – but then I thought of the rumors and gossip that would spread like a virus if I turned up with Noah Flynn . . . even the thought of that made me feel nauseous.
And I could hardly turn up without explaining it all to Lee first: he'd hate me if I sprang it on him; but when would I get a chance to tell him? And summon the courage to tell him . . .
I couldn't exactly see guys queuing up to ask me, thanks to Noah.
On the bright side – if I turned up alone and it was a masquerade, maybe nobody would know it was me?
I held out a wild hope that Noah would ask me, though. I wondered if I should drop a few hints, and the opportunity rolled around a couple of days later.
We were doing some mock-ups of posters and tickets on Lee's computer when his phone rang.
'Hey, Dixon . . . What? Are you serious? Oh, man! I'll be right there!'
Lee leaped up, grabbing his sneakers and looking like a five-year-old on Christmas morning.
'What's going on?'
'He's at the food court in the mall with some of the guys, and guess who's there? Buying donuts?'
'Uh . . .'
'Matt Cain. From the San Francisco Giants. You know – the baseball player? He's a pitcher?'
'Oh, right, cool. So you're off then.'
'Hell yeah!' he laughed. 'Hey, do you know where my baseball cap is?'
'In the closet,' I said, pointing. I rifled through his messy desk before finding a Sharpie, which I handed over my shoulder as he ran out of the room.
'Later!' he yelled, the front door slamming behind him.
I laughed. I'd heard of Matt Cain, but I wasn't much of a baseball fanatic. Sure, it was great to play and fun to watch. I'd been to a couple of games with my dad and Brad, and with Lee. Personally, I preferred watching football.
Especially if it's Noah playing . . .
They had another game coming up Friday, I remembered. It was, like, the quarterfinals or semifinals. I'd probably end up going with some of the guys.
I saved what we'd done so far on the computer and got up to head on home. Lee wouldn't be back for ages and I didn't really want to stay here alone.
I made my way outside and heard noises coming from the garage. I wandered around, pulling the front door closed behind me, and saw the door half open. I heard the clank of metal and the slight crackle of a radio interfering with the music playing.
I ducked under the door. 'Noah?' I asked, looking around the empty garage, even though I knew it was him.
There was a rattle, and he suddenly appeared from under his car lying on a skateboard, oil stains on his face and arms and shirt, and some kind of tool in his hand.
'Oh, hey,' he said. 'I think I just heard Lee leave.'
'Yeah, there's some baseball player at the mall so he ran off. We were working on posters for the dance.'
Noah groaned. 'I hate all these crappy school spirit events.'
'It's optional, you know.'
'Yeah, not so much for the football team,' he muttered. 'It's like with the Carnival. It's "strongly encouraged", but we all know that we'll end up having to sit on the sidelines for a game if we don't make an appearance.'
I laughed. 'I can't believe they'd actually do that.'
'They're all about image, this damn school,' he muttered.
'Which is why you're still there?'
He smirked. 'Hello, have you met me? Perfect grades, great footballer . . . They overlook a couple of fights for that. Especially when I never actually start the fights.'
I just rolled my eyes at him.
'So are you and Lee going to the dance again?' he asked as he slid back under the car. I didn't bother to ask what he was doing; I wouldn't understand anyway.
'No. He'll go with Rachel.'
Noah slid back out again to give me a concerned look. 'Then who are you going with?'
'I don't know,' I admitted.
The look on his face told me he'd probably threaten to beat up the first guy to ask me, but I pretended not to notice.
'It's a masquerade, by the way,' I said.
'It is?'
'Yup.'
He nodded and went back under the car. That was one thing that annoyed me about Noah – most of the time I couldn't even guess at what he was thinking. Whereas with Lee, we could finish each other's sentences and tell exactly what the other was thinking – well, except for this whole Noah situation. That was just a lucky fluke . . . or he was choosing to ignore any signs of something going on.
But Noah . . . Noah was like a Rubik's Cube. An impossible puzzle, but one I didn't want to give up on just yet because it was too compelling, too enticing.
'Well, if someone asks you, say no.'
'I'm sorry?'
'I don't want you going with any idiot who's gonna try something, got that?' His voice was a little muffled, what with the music and the metallic clanking, but I could hear the command in his voice. 'If someone like that Dixon guy asks you – as a friend – then fine, if you want to, say yes, but—'
'You can't tell me who I can and can't go with,' I protested. I knew he'd do this, but it was the way he just expected me to accept what he said that made me mad.
'Elle—'
'I'll go to the dance with whomsoever I choose – got that? Whether or not they ask me to go as a friend.'
Noah slid back out, setting down his spanner. 'Listen, Elle. I'm trying to look out for you here and you're not making it easy. It's a dance – guys are bound to try something. I mean, look what happened at that party. And if it's a masquerade, and there's a chance they won't get caught stealing a kiss, then they'll try it.'
Alright, maybe he had a good point about the masquerade bit. So what?
'Not everybody's a jerk like that, Noah.'
'A hell of a lot of guys are.'
'Maybe I don't care,' I snapped. I did care, really, but I wasn't going to agree with Noah without putting up a fight first. Even if he was right about it. 'Maybe I want some guy to kiss me during the slow dance.'
'I sure as hell care,' he told me firmly, but he wasn't shouting or anything. He stood towering over me. I hated being so much smaller than him when I was trying to stare him down.
'Why? Why do you even care?' I snapped, narrowing my eyes. I had a feeling I knew the answer, but I didn't care. I was mad at him.
'Because I want that slow dance with you all to myself,' he retorted.
He probably thought that cheesy line would soften me up – with me being such a romantic at heart – and it kind of did. Because when he kissed me then, I kissed him back, my heart racing, sparks dancing through me.
'I hate you,' I mumbled against his lips, smiling.
'I know,' he said, and I felt him smile back.
The sneaking around with Noah, the thrill that we might get caught together, made the whole thing so exhilarating. I knew we couldn't keep it up forever, but I'd sure as hell enjoy it while it lasted.
'Did you really mean that?' I asked, slightly breathless, after a few minutes. 'About having that slow dance?'
He nodded. 'Yeah, I did. In fact, I want the whole night.'
'Oh, do you, now?'
'Yep.' He kissed my lips again quickly.
'Is that you asking me to the dance?'
'Not quite,' he chuckled, kissing me again. 'But almost.'
'I'll take what I can get.'
He gave me another kiss before moving away to carry on fixing his car. In the shiny hood of the car I could see that there were oil smudges on my face and neck now. I'd have to try and clean those off before I got home.
'This is it,' I said quietly, a smile spreading across my face. 'This is the one.'
'You said that about the last five dresses,' Lee complained. He sounded a lot like Brad when he was given vegetables with his dinner.
'Yeah, but I'm sure about this one.'
'How sure? You were sure with the others. I liked the pink one.'
'That's just because it practically had my boobs falling out.' I rolled my eyes in the mirror and Lee laughed. 'Can you imagine what your brother would say if I wore that?'
'He wouldn't be able to keep his hands off you.' For a second he sounded so serious, my stomach dropped and my eyes bulged with panic. But then he laughed. 'Or, you know, he'd stand there batting guys away from you with a stick. You're sure about this one though?'
I nodded, grinning. 'Positive.'
'How much is it?'
'It's on sale. Sixty bucks.'
Lee nodded. 'Cool.'
I smoothed out the skirt again, admiring myself in the mirror. The dress was a dark apple green, just about hitting my knees. The skirt flared out and swung when I moved, and the dress was completely backless, right down to my hips. It had straps that tied behind my neck, and a v-neck that didn't go too low. Tiny silver beads adorned the neckline, sparkling brightly when the light caught them. I loved it.
'Are you sure it's the one?' Lee checked again.
'Yeah,' I said. 'It looks okay, right? Before I buy it?'
'Yes, Shelly, you look beautiful.'
'You said that about the blue one. And the black one.'
'Well, you looked lovely in all of them,' he said with such honesty that I had to laugh. Lee was great for occasions like this. He would give me an honest opinion – he didn't just say 'You look great,' and 'No, you don't look fat.' He'd tell me straight out if my butt looked big, or if my legs looked stumpy.
I went back into my little cubicle to put my shorts and shirt back on.
I really did love the dress. Lee had a tux already, from the Winter Dance. Boys were lucky like that – it's not like I could wear the long-sleeved blue dress I got on sale for the previous Winter Dance without it being recognized. But besides, it'd be way too warm. Girls had it so much harder!
I'd get shoes while we were still at the mall, but that would be easy, I thought as we left the shop. I already had my eye on some silver heels nearby. We just needed to find some masks—
Oh, man.
'What?' Lee asked when I groaned as we left the dress shop. 'What now?'
'We need masks.'
'No shit, Sherlock!' he gasped dramatically.
I hit him with my free hand. 'Thank you, Sergeant Sarcasm. But we need masks that match our outfits. Which means you need a purple one like your tie, and I need to find a freaking apple-green one that'll match this dress . . . Or, no, ooh, maybe I could get silver . . .'
'Should've gone for the pink dress,' Lee said in a sing-song voice.
'Oh, shut up.'
We managed to find a fancy dress shop that had a small selection of masks at the back. Lee instantly picked up a big bird mask with a giant beak and green feathers, thrusting it at my face.
'How's that?'
'Oh, grow up.' But I was laughing too. There was a mirror straight ahead of me and the mask looked hilarious.
We weren't really taking this very seriously. Lee wanted to buy a purple horror mask, some kind of zombie thing. I found a mangled cyborg one that was silver so would kind of match my dress.
Eventually, though, after the manager gave us a few stern warnings, we managed to settle on our masks.
Lee found a purple mask that only covered his eyes and was all superhero style. It was pretty cool actually. My mask was a little more elaborate, covering my face all the way down to the bottom of my nose. It was almost the exact shade of my dress, only slightly darker, and had silver beads and sequins around the edges. It was perfect – if a little too expensive. But I rationalized that since the dress hadn't been full price, I could afford to pay a little extra for the mask.
'Now you just need a date and you're all set,' Lee said.
I stopped in my tracks with another groan. 'Damn.'
How was I going to explain when I turned up with Noah? Someone was bound to recognize me, or Flynn, surely . . . Especially Lee. Definitely Lee.
I was screwed.
I'd have to come up with a really good excuse.
Or you could just, you know, tell him the truth . . .
I sighed and shook my head. 'Never mind.'
'You've still got a week,' he said brightly. 'That's plenty of time for guys to ask you—'
'Guys have asked me,' I said. 'Three of them. I counted. So did you. But Noah said no before I had a chance to respond. He's just there, hanging over my shoulder, at the most inappropriate moments, I swear.'
Lee laughed. Then he said, 'Hey! Maybe you could go with Noah!'
I gave him a look, hoping he wasn't aware of my racing pulse. But there was so much innocence in his smiley, open face I knew instantly that he didn't suspect anything. 'Why?'
'Because he won't have a date, and he won't let you have one. Just make the best of you both being loners.'
I rolled my eyes. But actually . . . maybe I'd use that. If that's what Lee thought we were doing when we turned up together . . . then why not?
Or you could tell him the truth.
If Lee told people that's what we were doing, they'd all believe him.
Or you could just tell. Him. The. Truth!
I'd think about that. It seemed like a pretty good idea.
Lee trailed around after me while I bought some shoes, and then we went to the food court for giant ice-cream sundaes and sodas.
'I can't believe there's only one week till the dance,' he said.
'Hey, and only, like, two and a bit weeks till our birthday!' I exclaimed.
'I know!' He grinned. 'Do you know what you're getting?'
'I think I'm getting a car, but I don't know yet. My dad won't tell me.'
'So it's a surprise but not really a surprise?'
'Pretty much,' I laughed. 'I've seen all the car brochures he's failed to hide. How about you?'
'Nothing special.' He shrugged, mouth full of ice cream. 'I think I might get a new computer – pitch in some of my savings for it or something. My model's kind of old now. Plus, it's slow – and I mean, slower than those computers in the library.'
'I know. You've complained about it enough times. I still think you have a virus from playing those online racing games against Dutch people.'
'Hey, now, that game is awesome.'
'You don't even understand what's going on. It's in Dutch.'
'So?'
I laughed, but it felt and even sounded half-hearted. 'Okay.'
'All right, Shelly,' he said, putting his spoon down. Everyone knew that if Lee stopped eating, things were getting serious, so he had my attention straight away. 'What's going on?'
'Huh?'
'Don't be all "Huh?" with me. Something's on your mind. Now, are you going to tell me what it is?'
'Honestly, don't worry, it's nothing.'
'It's Noah, isn't it?'
I did a double take, worried that he'd finally caught me. It had been almost two months now; I'd been starting to doubt our good luck with the whole sneaking-around thing.
But he hadn't seemed suspicious or anything earlier . . . So what was he saying?
All I could think was, Huh?
'I knew it.'
'Lee, just – don't . . .' I stammered helplessly, feeling flustered. My palms had turned clammy, my stomach had dropped away. Suddenly my toffee ice cream with the strawberries didn't look so appetizing.
'Don't let him get to you, Elle,' Lee said gently, putting his hand on mine and smiling at me warmly, comfortingly. 'He's looking out for you, and I know it's a bit too extreme, but . . . just bear with it, all right? Just another couple of weeks, then he'll have left school, yeah? Things won't be so bad next year. And he's just trying to keep you from getting hurt.'
I was lost for words.
He didn't know I'd been sneaking around with Noah. He didn't know that there was something between me and his brother. He thought I was worrying about how overprotective Noah was, and how he wouldn't let me have a date for the Summer Dance.
I didn't know whether to be grateful and relieved or sick with guilt. It was a weird mixture of both.
I forced a smile at Lee. He was just so sweet sometimes. 'Thanks,' I mumbled. 'And yeah, you're right. I forgot Noah was leaving for college in September. Do you know where he's going yet?'
Lee shook his head. 'I know he wanted to go to San Diego, but I don't think he's decided yet. He applied to a couple of Ivy League places too.'
'Really?' Lee nodded, shovelling more ice cream into his mouth. 'Oh, right. That'll be weird if he's not there all the time.'
'I know what you mean. At least things will be a little quieter. And then I will officially be the hottest guy in school,' Lee added with a cocky smirk that was weirdly similar to his brother's. The resemblance to Noah was marked: they both had dark hair and bright blue eyes and strong jaws. Their noses used to be the same before Noah got his broken. Noah was a bit taller though, and way more muscled. Not that Lee was too bad – a few summers spent in the gym had seen to that, and all the swimming.
I laughed. 'In your dreams, Lee.'
'Just because you have a crush on my brother . . .' he teased.
'Shut up! I do not!'
He laughed again, taking another giant mouthful of his ice cream. I rolled my eyes before going back to mine.
But part of me was still thinking about Noah going away to college.
I kind of wanted him to stay close to home so he'd still be around. I didn't want to think of him leaving. It'd be so weird. And I'd definitely miss his kisses . . .
And, I realized, I'd miss those times when we just hung out.
But there was another voice that said it would be a good thing if he went to college further away. Then I could have a fresh start at school without him threatening every guy who might ask me on a date. I still hadn't had an actual date since that disastrous one with Cody, unless you counted the secret ones with Noah.
I sighed. My life was getting so messed up.