Sweet Harmony

by A. M. Evanston

Both she and the boy stopped dancing. She looked up and saw Jaiden. Unlike the other boys, he didn't wear a bag over his head. His green eyes glowed with anger. Even in his fury, he was hauntingly beautiful like an enraged god.

  "You were supposed to go to the dance with me," Jaiden said.

  She glanced at the person who still held her in his muscular arms, confused.

  "You would rather have gone to the dance with me and you know it," said the masked boy, his voice so soft she could barely hear him speak.

  Every eye was on her now. She was humiliated and angry. Before she could start yelling, a clock's chime cut through the air. It was loud and eerie, but she couldn't say why such a simple sound could make the hair on the back of her neck stand at attention. The boys in the ballroom all reached for the bags on their heads at once and removed them, including the person she'd been dancing with. It was Daniel.

  The boy stood in front of her, his intense blue eyes drilling straight into hers. Despite the fact he'd worn a bag over his head, his wavy blond hair was perfect. He looked like a debonair prince. The sight of him made her stomach flop, though she was not a girl who enjoyed fairytales. Jaiden reached for her hand and pulled her away.

  "You promised you'd go with me," Jaiden said.

  To her surprise, Daniel let her go. She found herself seeking him out even after Jaiden swept her up in his arms and spun her around the dance floor. Unfortunately, after the third turn, Daniel disappeared.

  Annamarie awoke with a start, sweat pooling on her forehead. The alarm clock was buzzing at her side. She was grateful for the annoying, shrieking clock for once in her life because it had awoken her from the nightmare. She couldn't figure out why Daniel managed to make her feel such intense emotions, even in her dreams. Worse yet was the message in the nightmare. I don't actually want Daniel to ask me to the dance, do I? she thought, swallowing hard. She hung her head in shame at even the idea of that. Of course Daniel wouldn't ask her to the dance and of course she didn't want to go with him. The two of them were enemies, not friends and certainly not more than friends.

  Pissed off, she tore the blankets off and climbed out of bed. She was so absentminded she almost pulled on a pair of jeans instead of her uniform. By the time she'd managed to get dressed, there was fifteen minutes until class was about to start. No time for breakfast again today. She left the dorm and was surprised Owen was waiting for her outside the door so late.

  "Hey, Annamarie," Owen said.

  "Hey," she said. "I'm surprised you aren't in the dining hall."

  "Do you think a few missed meals would hurt me?" Owen grabbed his rounded stomach and jiggled his belly.

  She laughed. "You're going to be hungry later."

  "I'm the kind of guy who is always hungry." The two of them walked side by side. "So I heard from Kevin Baily that Jaiden asked you to the dance and you said yes."

  "Well, I wanted to see what a dance experience was like." She shrugged it off. "You know I've been homeschooled all my life. Back home, my only choice of partners was my little brother or my sixty-year-old tutor."

  Owen didn't laugh like he normally might have. His face was solemn.

  "Can I ask you something?" Owen asked.

  "Sure." What was with his seriousness?

  "If I had asked you first, would you have said yes?" he whispered.

  She slowed down, stunned by his question. Owen's face was beet red.

  "Were you going to ask me to the dance too?" That information startled her.

  "Well, yeah." Owen rubbed the back of his flaming neck.

  She'd never seen somebody more florescent in her entire life. Now she was going red too. Even though she only saw Owen as a friend, she would have liked to have hung out with him at the dance.

  "Of course I'd go with you," she said. "Next dance I will."

  Though there might not be a next time because she wasn't planning on staying at the school much longer.

  "Really?" Owen beamed at her and some of the redness left his face. "Even with guys like Jaiden hanging around you?"

  "What does Jaiden have that you don't?" She gripped his shoulder bracingly.

  "Good looks, a lot more money, and a Ferrari," Owen said.

  Okay, she couldn't argue with him there.

  ****

  That afternoon, Annamarie left the school and headed outside. She was halfway to the oak tree when Bridget stepped in front of her with a pissed off look on her face. Annamarie cracked her knuckles. This girl was annoying her. Would it be bad if she punched her in the face? It would be nice if she could wreck that all-too-obvious nose job. Calm down, Annamarie told herself. Girls cry when you hit them. You hate it when you make people cry, even in a fight. She sighed and tried to sidestep Bridget, but the girl just jumped in her way again.

  "What do you think you're doing?" Bridget asked.

  "I'm walking," Annamarie said. "You know, when you put one foot in front of the other."

  "Don't be smart with me," Bridget said.

  "I'm not." She crossed her arms. "Now move."

  "No. I have a bone to pick with you." Bridget reached out and seized a handful of hair. "Are you messing with Daniel and Jaiden?"

  Her scalp burned, making her eyes water. Screw it. She wanted to make this idiot cry. Her fists tightened at her sides.

  "I'm not messing with anybody, but if you don't let go of my hair in the next five seconds, I'm going to wreck your nose job," she said. "Your poor daddy will have to fork out thousands to make your face pretty again."

  "What?" Bridget yanked harder. "I've never had plastic surgery."

  And Miley Cyrus never licked a hammer.

  "Five, four, three, two—"

  "What do you think you're doing?" Daniel said from behind her.

  Bridget released her. Even though she was relieved her hair wasn't going to be ripped out, she was a little disappointed she didn't get to kick Bridget's butt.

  "I was...she just…" Bridget took a step back.

  Daniel rolled his eyes.

  "Get out of my sight, Bridget," he said.

  Bridget looked about ready to cry.

  "Go," Daniel ordered.

  Bridget headed through the doors of the school and disappeared. To Annamarie's surprise, she saw Daniel's fists were balled at his side.

  "I could have handled that, you know," she said.

  "It didn't look like you were handling it," Daniel said. "It looked like she was about to scalp you."

  "I was just taking my time," she said. "I don't like fighting girls because they don't know how to throw punches."

  Daniel gritted his teeth but didn't say anything.

  "What's the matter with you, anyway?" she asked. "Normally you'd be happy to see me get picked on."

  "Is it true?" Daniel asked, completely ignoring her question.

  "Is what true?" Were they not on the same wavelength today? She yelled at him and he returned with a quip. That was how the game was played.

  "That you're going to the dance with Jay," he said.

  To her surprise, he looked more furious than when she'd dumped soda on his head or even when she'd stolen his violin.

  "Well, yeah." She shrugged. "I thought I wouldn't get to go otherwise. Didn't Jaiden tell you? You're best friends."

  "He hasn't said a word." Daniel's voice was a dangerous hiss. "But you. How could you say yes?"

  Of all things to fight about, he was going to choose this?

  "I don't think it's any of your business who I choose to go to the dance with." She stared at him defiantly. "Why does it bug you so much? It's just a dance. It's not like he asked to be my boyfriend."

  The word boyfriend made Daniel's golden face become the color of a ripened plum.

  "Don't even suggest he's your boyfriend," Daniel said.

  "I didn't. I said he wasn't my boyfriend." What the heck? He was going nuts, wasn't he?

  "Good!" Daniel yelled. "Nothing would piss me off more than the two of you being together!"

  "Why?
"

  "Why?" Daniel sputtered, seeming to be at a loss for words. "You'd be an awful match, that's why. He needs somebody who isn't going to punch him in the face."

  "Just because you think you're too good for me doesn't me that Jaiden feels the same way." She was so mad she was shaking.

  "I never said that," Daniel said.

  "That's what you implied."

  The intensity of their fight made her forehead slick with sweat. Students gathered around them, but she didn't care. She wasn't going to let Daniel win this yelling match.

  "I didn't mean it like that, okay?" Daniel said.

  "Then why are you this angry?" she asked. "You shouldn't care this much that me and Jaiden are a bad match."

  A strange, heavy silence filled the air. Daniel's brows furrowed and he looked like she'd just whacked him over the head with a shovel.

  "Why am I so angry?" he whispered, talking to himself more than her now.

  "Yeah, that's what I just asked you." She glared at him.

  His eyes widened like he'd had some epic epiphany, then his eyes narrowed again.

  "No, I hate you." Daniel pointed at her. "That's why I don't want you going to the dance with him."

  To her surprise, the words stung. She remembered what the disguised Daniel had said in her dream. "You would rather have gone to the dance with me and you know it." No, that wasn't true. It couldn't be. But then, why did his words hurt so much just now? They'd fought a zillion times.

  She'd never been great with dealing with hurt or confusion. If she was sad, she wanted to punch somebody. If she was confused, she wanted to punch somebody too. Right now, Daniel was the one making her feel confused, so he was the enemy.

  "You're such a jerk." She sprinted at him and drove her fist straight into his stomach.

  Daniel toppled to his knees. She parted the crowd and rushed down the sidewalk, seeking a place to hide.

  ****

  Annamarie stood in the hall, her fists clenched at her sides. Her head was aching and she pretended the reason why her eyes ached was because she was having an allergic reaction to the dust. Why am I so upset right now? I shouldn't be. Daniel didn't deserve to be on her mind. She'd rather think of ugly bugs and leeches than him. As she sighed and started punching the wall, her phone rang. She answered it.

  "Yeah?" She knew she sounded pissed, but there was nothing she could do about that.

  "Annamarie, are you okay?" Jaiden asked. "I heard that you and Dan had an argument."

  That meant Jaiden knew she'd punched Daniel in the stomach.

  "We had a minor disagreement." She didn't want Jaiden to know how upset she was. "I'm fine."

  "If you were fine, then you wouldn't be hiding right now. Where are you?" Jaiden asked. "I've been looking for you everywhere."

  If he didn't sound so worried, she would have told him she wanted to be alone. Unfortunately, she couldn't do that to him.

  "I'm in the hall by the auditorium," she said.

  "I'll be there in two minutes," Jaiden said. "Don't move."

  When she hung up, she blew out a sigh. She realized Jaiden was blowing off class to find her. She was a bad influence on him. A groan escaped her lips. A few minutes went by.

  Footsteps pounded down the hall. Jaiden rounded the corner, his face red and sweaty. He skidded to a stop when he saw her. Since Jaiden was a pretty fit guy, he must have run hard to get himself in such a state.

  "Are you okay?" she asked.

  "Yep." Jaiden straightened and wiped sweat from his face.

  "You didn't have to run," she said.

  "You were upset, so definitely I did," he said.

  The words were touching. Nobody had ever run to her before. Her parents never came to her rescue, not even when she was a little kid.

  "Thank you," she said quietly.

  "Are you okay?" Jaiden straightened, his glowing green eyes on her. "Your eyes look red."

  It was too embarrassing to say that Daniel's words had gotten to her. She wasn't even able to admit that to herself yet.

  "Daniel just pisses me off." She could be angry with Daniel, just not depressed because of him. "I knew I couldn't go to class without smashing something, so I came here."

  "I heard from my friend the two of you argued about the dance," Jaiden said. "Dan wasn't happy with the fact I'm going with you."

  For some reason, Jaiden was watching her carefully with narrowed eyes. She had the feeling he was gaging her reaction. The nightmare popped into her mind again and she remembered Jaiden's words. "You promised you'd go with me." She didn't want to remember that nightmare anymore. Her jaw clenched.

  "I'm surprised you didn't tell him you asked me," she said. "Why didn't you?"

  Jaiden sighed. "Because I knew he wouldn't like it."

  "He didn't."

  "Do you want to know something?" Jaiden asked.

  "What?" She raised an eyebrow.

  "I always followed Daniel everywhere. I never was much interested in music, but Daniel loved his violin so I came here with him. Money bought me a place here." Jaiden glanced at her wearily. "Every move I made, Daniel was a part of it. I guess it's because after my parents died, we were much more like a family than good friends. I relied on him. This is the first time ever I'm going against him on something."

  "Okay." She swallowed. "Is that why he doesn't like us going to the dance together? Did he not like that you were doing something on your own?"

  "I don't think that's why," Jaiden said.

  "Then what's the reason he's so upset?" She wanted to know so bad the question was burning inside of her.

  "That's something he's going to have to tell you himself."

  Jaiden reached for her hand and took it. Silence filled the hall. Something he's going to have to tell me himself? She looked down at the floor, wondering if his hatred was the real reason.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Annamarie sat on her bed and stared up at the ceiling. The designs in the paint looked like warriors doing battle with swords. That's what I wish I could do with my feelings right now. I wish I could take out a sword and stab them all. That would be a heck of a lot easier than trying to get her emotions in order. All of the confusion and wishy-washy thinking wasn't in her nature. She was a girl who knew what she wanted and how to get it. What was she doing sitting around moping?

  If you know yourself so well, then why can't you figure out why you're depressed because of Daniel? an evil voice said in her mind.

  "Shut up, shut up, shut up." Annamarie pelted her forehead with her fists.

  Her door opened and she looked up. Daniel was standing in the threshold, glowering at her with bright blue eyes. It was like her thoughts had summoned him. Her stomach hopped in excitement. Shoot! she thought. Her own body was betraying her.

  "Get out of here." She leapt to her feet, scowling.

  "Come with me." Daniel rushed into the room and seized her hand.

  "What are you doing?" Not this again.

  "I need you," he said.

  He needs me? Her heart beat hard because of his words.

  "Why should I help you?" she asked. "Earlier you said you hated me."

  "So?" Daniel glared at her but didn't release her hand. "You also called me a jerk and punched me in the stomach. I think that's a heck of a lot worse. Do you know how big of a bruise I have right now because of you?"

  "I only did that because you said you hated me." She glared at him.

  "Don't be so sensitive." He shook his head in exasperation.

  Sensitive? Me? She wasn't sensitive at all. As she fumed, Daniel pulled her down the stairs and out of the dorm. The sun beat down upon her, warming her skin. Daniel led her to the parking lot.

  "Where are you taking me?" she asked.

  "I need to buy some more ramen and you know where to get it," Daniel said.

  "You're putting me through all of this for some noodles?" She was repulsed. "Just go to a department store."

  "My maid usually does the shopping,"
Daniel said. "I wouldn't know where to find ramen even if I went to the store."

  Stupid spoiled rich boy.

  Daniel led her over to a red Lamborghini. Back home she had a black Fiat which wasn't a car that just any sixteen-year-old girl could afford, but this was ridiculous. The Lamborghini was fancy enough it was worth the cost of a house. She was scared to even sit in it.

  "Like it, huh?" Daniel grinned at her.

  It was impossible not to. The car was so freaking shiny she could see her own reflection in the hood.

  "Get in." Daniel unlocked the car and held the door open for her.

  She stared at him, eyes narrowed. Daniel being polite toward her was strange.

  "What's wrong?" Daniel asked.

  "I'm just trying to decide if you're going to smash my hand in the door or something." She definitely didn't trust him.

  Rolling his eyes, Daniel shoved her into the car and then slammed the door shut behind her. That was more like him.

  In the close confines of the car, she was overwhelmed by the smell of leather and the look of shimmering black chrome. Daniel headed over to the driver's side door and climbed in. After he started the car, all of the lights inside flashed red. The radio, an obvious modification to the interior, was so bright she couldn't look directly at it without hurting her eyes. Daniel turned on the radio and the sound of rock music overpowered the tiny space.

  "Led Zeppelin?" Annamarie was shocked he was a fan of classic rock.

  "Sure." Daniel flashed a grin. "I can't spend all my time listening to Mozart and Bach."

  "That's true." She was pleased with his song choice.

  As she listened to the grinding beats of rock, Daniel pulled out of the parking lot going twenty over the speed limit. The guy weaved in and out of traffic like a racer. Annamarie was so horrified she braced her leg against the dashboard in case of a crash.

  "What the heck do you think you're doing?" She scowled at him. "You're going to kill us."

  "I drive like this all the time." Daniel shrugged and took a hard right.

  Annamarie yelped and was surprised she was still upright once the turn was over. By the time Daniel made it to the store, she was shaking. When she climbed out of the car, her knees were clacking together like bells. As Daniel headed over to her, she looked up at him and scowled.