None Other Than You

by Samolu Pearl

  He grins and pulls me through the door, "Right."

  The first thing I notice is the warmth inside, and the second is the lack of people. "Where is everyone?"

  He just smiles more and pulls me towards the stairs. I can hear music playing and the second I see the expanse of the large room my jaw drops open.

  The far side of the basement has been turned into a stage with a runway sticking out through half of the rest of the room. There are white rope lights decorating the edge of the stage and the black backdrop with white silhouettes of people lining the wall. There is a podium and even a microphone on one side of the stage.

  Next to the bottom of the stairs is a table with signs that have numbers on them as well as a jar that is labeled donations.

  I turn to Darren, more confused then ever. "What is going on?"

  He shakes his head and over the noise says, "Give it like, three more minutes, Ace."

  I feel like growling with frustration. I look around the room at all of the people and spot many familiar faces from all around town. Pete had to have closed the café because I find John and Bethany and I know he doesn't trust Mason to be nice to the customers all by himself.

  Jake waves enthusiastically at me with Carrie at his side that flashes me a big smile. I even find Anthony Thompson among the partygoers. If all of these people are here for my family then I truly am amazed.

  Darren leads me near the front of my room where Pete has brought the rest of our family. I can feel the eyes of many of the crowd on us.

  "Don't worry, alright? It's going to be fun," Darren says, winking at me and kissing my cheek before he and Pete walk up onto the stage and up to the podium. I walk up to Mom and loop my arm through hers. Out of all of us, she is the one who needs someone to lean on in this big crowd.

  "Ladies and Gentlemen, if I could have your attention, please," Pete says into the microphone. The music in the room cuts and everyone seems to crowd towards the runway, a lot of the younger girls pushing their way to the front.

  What exactly was going to happen?

  "Thank you. We all know why we are gathered here tonight. That is, everyone but those who we have pooled our resources and efforts together for. The Knights," Pete says. He has the attention of everyone in the room. I can feel Mom's attention completely on him.

  "We planned tonight as a way to raise some money for all of you to get by until we can fix this turn of events. I know many of us here have been trying our best to help you out, and tonight is part of our efforts. Everything you see here is for you. Because we all care about you." Pete looks directly at Mom as he says it, and I feel her heart speed up.

  Pete moves back and lets Darren take the microphone. "I have to admit that, this particular method of money raising was my idea," the crowd laughs and my attention piques. He better tell me what's going on and soon or I'm going to go crazy with anticipation. I don't do surprises well.

  "We have tonight a selection of fine specimens to auction off, "more giggles from the audience, especially the girls, "and they are all willing volunteers who have offered themselves to a better cause."

  What was that supposed to mean?"

  Darren looks to the other side of the stage. "Can I have my participants on the stage, please?"

  I stare in disbelief as I watch them walk on the stage. Tyler, Jake, Patrick, John, Tyler, Seth, Toby, and Anthony all walk on stage in a line, some grinning like devils (John, Anthony, Jake, and Tyler) and some blushing profusely (Patrick, Seth, and Toby).

  The crowd in the basement goes almost crazy as the boys strike several poses and just stood there, looking absolutely adorable.

  Is what I think is going to happen really going to happen?

  "These boys have agreed to auction themselves off for the night of New Years as well as for a New Years kiss at midnight to the highest bidder. And all of the proceeds are heading to help one of the best families that this town has ever had the pleasure to know." There was applause as Darren looked at our family, standing close to each other and trying to avoid the eyes that were all upon us.

  "Oh my goodness," I hear Mom whisper. I look at her and see tears down her face, her eyes still on Pete. He is smiling at her from the stage and I can tell he wants to come down here and be with her.

  "He's your someone, Mom," I whisper to her. She sobs a little but smiles.

  "I think I agree with you, Delaney. He most certainly is," Her eyes shine with the happiness of being here tonight, and I say a prayer in my mind for everyone who helped with this night, especially Darren and Pete. They are saving us, all of us, from everything.

  "We'll go through all eight young men and then, as a special surprise, we have one extra fine young male who I'm sure will knock you all off your feet," Darren grins.

  "Are you for sale!?" a girl yells from the crowd. I look at her and think that she might be one of the two Darren and I had encountered in the café a while back.

  Darren laughs and leans forward to the microphone. I notice that many of the girls in the crowd are listening intently. "I'm not, ladies. I'm afraid I'm taken," His grin turns into a very sly smirk as he locks eyes with me and there are several sighs from the crowd. I'm not sure how many of them notice, but I dread what will happen now that everyone knows.

  I had somehow forgotten that Darren Teigan is a very hot commodity . . . and he likes me for just being me. How on earth did that happen?

  Darren sends a wink my way. "Let the auction begin."

  Chapter Nineteen: The Auctioning

  "Let the auction begin."

  The screams began as the boys filed off the stage, some dancing and working the crowd. Darren laughs as he grabs a stack of note cards off the stand.

  "This is incredible!" Sean yells over the crowd. Mom is laughing as Pete jumps off the stage and she pulls her arm out of mine to meet him, throwing her arms around him. He holds her as she sobs and his smile is radiant.

  I hope the best for them both.

  I catch a glimpse of Ryan as he runs to Emma in the crowd. She hugs him and they start into a conversation, obviously about the auction, and Ryan laughs, picks her up and spins her.

  I laugh aloud and turn to Sean, Dan, Sarah and Brent laughing hysterically beside me to release their nerves and their gratitude for everyone pulling all of this together and I join them. I can't find Eleni anywhere, but I decide I will deal with that later. Darren has done this for me and mine and I'm not going to let Eleni ruin that.

  Dan slings an arm around me and Sean comes up on the other side, mimicking him. "We won't make any comments about Teigan anymore, Duke. He's a pretty amazing guy if he's doing all of this for you."

  "What do you mean?" I ask, turning to Dan, "He did this for all of us."

  Dan and Sean exchange a glance over my head, grins spreading on both their faces. "He's doing this for you, Delaney," Sean says. "Look at him." He nudges me and I look up to the stage.

  Sure enough, Darren is looking down at me, his face expectant. I smile, thanking him with my eyes and I hope he can tell. I think he understands, because his face lights up and he clears his throat before getting everyone's attention.

  "See," Dan says.

  "Told you so," Sean smirks next to me.

  I elbow both of them slightly and they move away from me and into the crowd, laughing.

  "Now remember, the lowest increment to up the bid is one dollar, and our boys all start out at different prices. We are prepared to take cash and checks, but no credit cards. But . . ." he paused, "we will also give you a twenty minute intermission after our four boys in case you need to run to an ATM." He winks at the crowd.

  "Are you ready?" Darren yells into the microphone. He takes a step back from the podium, acting as though the volume of the screams had knocked him backwards. It earns him a laugh and I stare at him in amazement.

  He was really doing this for me . . .

  "Our first contestant is Anthony Thompson," a fresh round of applause and screams arose and Darren grinned. "He'
s a senior at Oak Ridge and has a very deep love of everything the ladies have to offer." Darren raises his eyebrows as he reads the card, but the girls in front scream as Anthony walks down the stage, swaying with the music now playing with a beat that shook the room slightly. "His words, not mine," Darren says as Anthony strikes several poses. I laugh at how awkward the situation seems and how naturally Anthony seems to feel.

  "The bidding starts at twenty dollars," Darren says.

  Shouts begin throughout the room, mostly female, though I catch a few males putting their numbers up. Oh, how I would love for Anthony to be sold to a man for a New Years' Kiss!

  The numbers keep going up, but the people thin out.

  Jenny Kaphrey is still going strong, moving the numbers up to sixty, sixty-five, seventy, and Lily Parett is her only opposition.

  At seventy-five, Lily sighs and rolls her eyes, putting her hand down.

  "Eighty!" Jenny yells.

  Darren pauses for a moment, waiting, then calls out, "going once, going twice . . . SOLD!" He pulls a gavel out of the podium and slams it on the stand, startling us all. Everyone laughs it off as Anthony jumps off the stage to go stand by Jenny. She looks delighted, and he smiles down at her.

  He seems sweet to her and it makes me smile. Maybe he just had to find the right person to be true to.

  I follow them as they walk to the back of the room near Mr. and Mrs. Milovich, Jenny with her money out and Anthony with his arm around her.

  "Toby Weaver is next. A Junior at Oak Ridge who enjoys spending time with his, if I may say so, adorable girlfriend, Anna, who I believe is here tonight." He smiles as several people begin to back away from the stage. "But don't worry, both Toby and Ana have put themselves in for this auction—"

  "Whoever wants to bid is welcome," a cute, brown-haired girl called from near the stage where Toby was standing, "but I'm prepared for this!"

  Cheers fill the crowd and Darren slams the gavel again. "The bidding for Toby starts at thirty dollars!"

  Again the number goes up and up. I watch in amazement as the girls joke around, including several parents—one of whom I'm fairly sure is Toby's mother—as they bid on the shy boy walking, hands in his pockets, up and down the stage in an attempt to let everyone get a good look.

  Toby's mother and Anna end up pooling their money together to beat out the girls, and he sells for one hundred and seventeen dollars.

  I can barely believe what I'm seeing as Seth Goodwin goes next and sells to a pretty blond in her twenties—he's a sophomore—and they walk to the back together. I attempt to do the math in my mind and come up with around three hundred dollars after just three boys.

  Sarah and Brent are holding each other in front of me and I smile at them, enjoying themselves. Besides Mom, I was most worried about them and the triplets, and I'm just glad that they seem to be doing all right.

  John is next up, and I can see that both girls and boys getting their money ready and recounting to make sure how high they could go.

  It seemed to me that the more people started participating, the more fun they were having.

  I look around the room to see groups laughing and pooling money together, and I realize how much people are enjoying themselves helping my family. When some of them catch my eye, I smile slightly, and they wave kindly.

  I don't think I can ever repay this kind of kindness . . .

  The bidding for John started at fifty dollars, which I think is starting to get a little too much, but everyone is still calling out numbers and waving money in the air.

  I laugh as two groups begin fighting each other—a group of girls and one of boys, including John's boyfriend, Aaron Kravitz. The two groups yell out numbers alternately, going up in increments of five dollars and then one.

  Darren finally calls John sold to the group of boys at one hundred and eighty-nine dollars as the crowd cheers for the winning side. The two groups laugh about it though and joke about sharing John with everyone.

  John catches my eye as he jumps off the stage and blows me a kiss. I catch it and hold it to my chest. I mouth a thank you before he turns away, and my attention is brought back to Darren as he speaks into the microphone again.

  "Thank you very much for everyone who has participated in the first half of our New Years Eve Auction and congratulations to our winning bidders!" More cheers. "We're now going to take an intermission and anyone who needs to possibly go and get some cash, there is an ATM at the Walgreens around the corner. Thank you very much!"

  With that, Darren hops off the stage. I knew he would be heading for me, so I stand with my hand on my hip in the crowd, waiting for him and grinning.

  When he finds me he slows his walk and puts his own hand on his hip, mirroring me as he stops. "So do you hate me?" he asks.

  I'm silent as I stare at him and he's fine with that—for a moment. He starts tapping his foot, sighs, and shifts his weight before I cave and launch myself forward to hug him. I wrap my arms around him and bury my face in his neck to keep him from seeing a few tears that escape.

  "You have no idea how much I don't hate you right now," I mutter into his skin as his arms wind tight around my waist. He squeezes me too him as I squeeze him to me.

  I can feel the light laugh rumble through his body as we hold each other in the crowd. "I'm glad," he says, nuzzling my hair.

  I giggle, as it tickles, and pull back to see his face. "Thank you," I say seriously. "You have no idea how much this means to me that you would do all of this."

  He shrugs, his blue eyes soft. "I ran into Pete as he was leaving the café and he was fuming mad. He told me what had happened without even realizing it, hardly realizing who he was talking to, but when he realized it was me he asked for help. He knew of one way he wanted to help, but he wanted to do something else. I wanted to help too, so we brainstormed and . . ." he shrugs again, " here we are."

  "It's hard for me to see Pete agreeing to this."

  "He mostly agreed that it would definitely bring in some money, especially with who we know in the school and the fact that if people's parents came, there would be even more donations." He smiles at me as he brushes a strand of hair away from my face. "So many people in this town love your family—your mom for her work at the hospital, your sister for how incredible she was in school, your brothers for their mostly harmless mischief, and you for how willing you are to help anyone who needs it. This is their way of repaying you for all the times you've helped them or influenced their lives."

  "Sounds like you've been talking a lot to the people in town."

  Darren smiles. "Yeah. I heard some really nice things that have just made me more attracted to you."

  I raise an eyebrow. "Oh really?"

  He leans in so his lips are close to mine and I can feel his breath when he speaks. "Yes, really." He places a light kiss on my lips and my eyes flutter. He pulls away, though he seems to do so reluctantly. "I have to go set up a few more things for the second part and make sure our mystery man hasn't given himself up yet."

  "Do I get to know who he is?"

  Darren rolls his eyes. "Of course not! Part of the surprise is that he'll surprise you." He winks before dissolving back into the crowded basement.

  I sigh, frustrated but happy.

  I wander to the bar that had been set up with alcohol on Christmas Eve, but was now set up with sodas and juices—people of all ages were here tonight. It takes a little longer than I thought it would because people I had met, even only once before, come up to hug me or talk to me and ask how I'm holding up. If my mom is okay and what we're going to do if we can't track down Adam Mason.

  I worm my way out of most of the questions and manage to get an orange soda before turning my back to the bar and staring at the sea of faces.

  "I asked for diet, not regular. Get it right," Allison's haughty voice drifts towards me and I turn to see her several feet away down the bar with Jessa. I'm surprised to see her here and she certainly doesn't look happy being here, but I guess
that Patrick finally got to show his support for Ryan and myself within their relationship.

  "Ugh," Allison says. "I can't believe Patrick is doing this. And if someone else wins him, then I won't get my New Years Kiss! Ugh!" She literally stamps her foot and I stifle a laugh.

  "He's doing something good at least. And you'll be able to outbid everyone here. You have enough for it."

  "No, Jessa, I don't. I used up a lot of my money buying gifts for myself in Hawaii. I mean, what was I supposed to do, not buy the things I liked? Besides, how was I supposed to know that Patrick would be selling himself to raise money for her family?" I had a feeling the "her" was me.

  "I really don't understand what the big deal is. So they're broke. Mrs. Knight is a doctor, she can make money easily."

  Jessa just listens to Allison rant a little longer. I'm about to leave to escape her complaining when I hear her say something that piques my interest. "I need you to pay for Patrick. Be the highest bidder. I'm not going to let him kiss someone else tonight."

  "But I—"

  "No "b-b-b-ut"s about it, Jessa. I tell you to do something and you do it."

  I had taken a drink of my soda and I almost gag on it. I cough but Allison doesn't notice me, so I keep listening.

  "I told you what you wanted about Duke, Allison, and you said you'd quit this crap about ordering me around and using my money."

  My eyebrows rise high on my forehead. I had never heard Jessa speak to Allison like that.

  Apparently, neither had Allison. "Don't you dare talk to me that way!" She turns and stabs Jessa in the chest with her finger with each word, "Just do it," she says, before walking away from the bar.

  I stare after her, then look back to Jessa who catches my eye. She looks horrified that I might have heard something, and quickly turns in the opposite direction and stalks off.

  Well that was interesting.

  "Duke! Duke!" I turn to see Ryan and Emma coming towards me, arm in arm. "Can you believe all this, Duke?" Ryan asks. "Emma said she, Carrie, and Avery set it all up today with Tyler and Jake . . . I just can't believe it."