Iron Moon

by Jenny Phillips

Beside me, Arianna's eyes grew two sizes, and a slow, excited grin spread wide across her face.

  Lacey looked at Arianna, then me and back again. She studied me intently for a long moment as if to measure my sincerity and when I said nothing she smiled. And to my relief, it was her genuine I'm-happy-for-you smile.

  “Spill!” Arianna encouraged, giving my hand a little squeeze.

  There was no roundabout way to put it, so I said bluntly, “Harlow kissed me!”

  Arianna squealed with delight.

  I looked to Lacey, hoping to gauge her reaction, but all I got in return was an inquisitive stare.

  “When did this happen?” Arianna pressed for details, drawing my attention back to her. “How? Where?”

  I smiled sheepishly at her excitement. “Yesterday. And it just sort of happened,” I answered vaguely because I couldn't just tell them Harlow had invited me over so he and Ivy could, more or less, drop a witch bomb in my lap. My gaze shifted to Lacey again. I wanted nothing more than for her to be okay with this. All things considered, her feelings on the matter meant more to me than anyone else's.

  “Are you guys a couple now?” Lacey asked.

  I made a face. “I don’t know, to be honest. It all happened so fast. We haven’t talked about it, much less labeled it.” I paused. “He did ask me to the winter formal, though…”

  At first, Lacey said nothing. Then, “I’m happy for you, Ray. Took you two long enough!”

  I hesitated my reaction, unsure of her sincerity. “You’re not mad?”

  “I told you, I forfeit my claim. Harlow chose you. I’ve always known in the back of my head that he would eventually choose you. It was no competition, who are we kidding?”

  “Please. If it were a competition, you'd win hands down. I’m just glad you’re not mad,” I smiled at her appreciatively. After the words came out, I second guessed myself. “You aren't mad, right? Because if—”

  Lacey shook her head at me. “There will be other Harlows,” she reassured.

  “Plenty of fish in the sea.” Arianna agreed.

  “So pepperoni pizza it is!” Lacey announced.

  Her sudden positivity had lifted a huge weight off my shoulders. “Now we have approximately two-ish weeks before winter formal. So first we need to find each of you a date and then we can all go dress shopping!”

  “You’re asking Rider,” Lacey said, pointing a stern finger at Arianna.

  * * *

  “If you guys could hurry up that would be great,” Dalyn said in her usual annoyed tone, poking her head into the bathroom where Lacey, Arianna, and I were busy primping.

  My eyes narrowed at her in distaste. “Dalyn we have two other bathrooms. Pick one!”

  “Yeah, but yours has bigger mirrors,” she argued.

  “Three of us, one of you. Go!” I shooed her authoritatively.

  She scowled at me before stomping off to another bathroom.

  “Who's her date anyway?” Lacey asked through the bobby pin she had clamped between her teeth.

  I shrugged, helping hold my up-do in place with one hand. “I think his name is Greg.”

  Lacey scoffed and turned her attention to Arianna, who busied herself applying one last swipe of mascara. “You look amazing, Aria!” Lacey beamed as she inserted the last bobby pin into my hair.

  Arianna's blond hair was pulled back into a fancy, twisted, low braid. She wore a light blue, slinky, strapless gown with a beaded bodice that made her eyes pop. She looked reminiscent of a Disney princess.

  “Rider's jaw is going to hit the floor when he sees you!” Lacey added. And in true Arianna style, she blushed at the compliment.

  Lacey opted for a gold halter style maxi dress featuring a jewel embellished waist and plunging neckline. The dress did more than just accentuate her cleavage; it showed off her curves too. One wrong move and I feared the double-sided tape we used might not hold everything in place, but she didn't seem concerned. For a moment, I admired her fearless ability to push the envelope. Lacey's hair was styled down in big, movie star curls which she adorned with a thin, gold glitter headband. Leaning in toward the mirror, Lacey pursed her lips as she applied a subtle coat of pink gloss.

  Taking one last look in the mirror, I tucked a stray hair behind my ear and proceeded to smooth out the fabric of my dress—a red, silk ball gown with a lace panel detail across the back, and capped sleeves. Lacey helped me style my hair into a fancy bun, and I accessorized my look with faux diamond earrings as a final touch.

  When the three of us emerged from the bathroom, Dalyn's date had already arrived, so we sat and watched—mostly in silence—as they had pictures taken in front of the fireplace until it was our turn. My sister transformed from her usual moody, teenage self to a woman I barely recognized. Her short, dark hair was pinned in a half up, half down style by a silver clip. She donned a navy, knee-length skater dress with a lace back and nude pumps. Greg, or whatever his name was, practically drooled over her, and I could see why. She looked beautiful and mature. I couldn’t help but feel a little proud of her.

  Our dates—Harlow, Rider, and Vince—showed up a short time later in a stretch limo courtesy of Rider's parents. My parents were eager to meet Harlow after hearing mixed opinions of him. In fact, when I told them he would be escorting me to winter formal they insisted. Little did they know he was more than just my date for the evening, but I wanted to keep that information to myself for the time being.

  Harlow entered the house greeting my parents in turn without hesitation. My dad commended Harlow's handshake while my mother commented that it was nice to finally meet him. She even gave me her sly nod of approval.

  After a few quick photo ops with our dates, I rushed us all out to the limo, eager to escape the watchful eye of my parents.

  A short time later, the limo dropped us in front of the gymnasi-um of Harbor Glenn High, and we all clambered out of the car.

  “You look amazing!” Harlow commented once we reached the sidewalk.

  I grinned back at him. “Thank you! You clean up pretty nicely yourself.” A soft smile accompanied by his adorable dimple touched the corner of his mouth at my compliment.

  I turned to join our friends as they passed by us heading for the gym, but Harlow reached for my arm, halting me. “Hang back for a second,” he requested, voice low and quiet. “I have something for you.” I gave him an inquisitive look as he reached into the pocket of his tuxedo and revealed the pendant he had shown me a few weeks prior. “I want you to have this,” he said as the necklace dangled from his grasp in the air between us.

  The gesture took me by surprise. I knew how important the necklace was to him, and it spoke volumes of his affection. Meeting his gaze, I replied, breathless, “I don’t know what to say...”

  “You could say you’ll wear it,” he suggested with a smile.

  “Of course!” I beamed up at him, pleased that he trusted me with it.

  Harlow moved closer to me and pressed his lips to mine as he placed the necklace over my head, careful not to mess up my hair. Taking a step back, he said, “It suits you.”

  “Thank you,” I replied quietly, admiring the pendant between my fingers.

  “Let’s go inside. It’s freezing out here!”

  Nodding my head in agreement, I went to follow him inside, but not before freeing the pendant from my grasp. The iron shocked me as soon as it touched my skin. “Ow!” I yelped, rubbing the pain away with my palm.

  A few steps ahead of me, Harlow called, “You okay, Rayna? Coming inside?”

  “Yeah, I’m coming,” I answered, shaking my head as if to shake away the pain before hurrying to catch up with him.

  The gymnasium sparkled beneath twinkling icicle lights. Snowflakes and gold stars hung from the beamed ceiling and blue flood lights lit up the dim space. We proceeded through an arch of blue, silver, and white balloons before being sprinkled in handfuls of snow powder by a few volunteers from the dance committee. Harlow and I laughed, shaking our heads to clear th
e snow from our hair as a photographer captured the moment.

  “Well, I have to admit,” I began, trying to speak over the thumping music, “I think the student council nailed this winter wonderland theme.”

  Harlow nodded in agreement.

  “There you two are!” Lacey said, joining us with Vince in tow and a few slips of paper in her free hand. “You disappeared on us!”

  “Well, you found us. What is all of that?” I asked, pointing to the slips of paper in her hand.

  “Ah-ah-ah, not so fast,” she scolded as her eyes landed on the iron moon pendant around my neck. “First, I want to know where you got the necklace? You weren't wearing one when we left the house.” Lacey's eyes flicked to Harlow's face as she made the connection for herself.

  “Necklace?” Arianna repeated, her voice piqued with interest as she and Rider joined our circle. She reached out and lifted the pendant to examine it closer, then turned to Harlow and offered him a smile and her nod of approval.

  “Enough about me,” I said diverting the conversation, “what's with the paper, Lace?”

  She fanned the air with them. “Ballots for the snow king and queen. Did you know you were nominated?”

  My stomach dropped. “What?” I asked in sheer alarm, snatching one of the ballots from her hand.

  “Ah! Rayna!” Lacey complained.

  Ignoring her, I scanned the ballot and found my name along with three other girls—two sophomores and a junior.

  “Rayna you’re the only senior nominated for snow queen!” Arianna pointed out with a sense of enthusiasm.

  “I voted for you!” Rider told me with a devious grin.

  I scowled at him. “You didn’t nominate me too, did you?”

  “Whoa-whoa-whoa, down kitty,” Rider teased with a back away gesture before adding, “Come on, Ray, you know I couldn’t care less about these stupid little popularity contests.”

  I shot Lacey a dirty look.

  She held her hands up in defense. “I swear I didn’t! I would have told you. Besides, I totally would have nominated myself first.” Now that I could believe.

  “No one else vote for me, got it?” I threatened, pointing a warning finger at each of them as I spoke

  “Too late,” they all replied in unison.

  Horror-struck, I reached for the ballot in Harlow's hand, but he was faster, jerking the paper out of my reach. “My vote has been cast,” he told me with a smirk as he tucked the paper into the inside pocket of his suit jacket for safe keeping. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go drop this,” he patted his chest where he'd hidden his vote, “in a ballot box.”

  I groaned in protest. We had been at winter formal for a total of ten minutes, and I already wanted to leave.

  “Come on,” Lacey said in a gentle tone as she looped her arm through mine. “We got a table.”

  She guided me to one of the many small, round tables at the far end of the gym, and I immediately slumped down into one of the metal chairs, quick to hide my face in my hand.

  “So you got nominated,” Rider commented in a casual way. “There are worse things.”

  I lifted my head from behind my hand to glare at him. “Yeah, like actually winning.”

  Rider laughed once. “Don’t get a big head about it,” he retorted sarcastically. “I mean I know you have the initiation night win under your belt, but—”

  “Leave her alone, Rider,” Arianna scolded him. She reached across the table and patted my hand. “But it would be so great if you won!”

  I smiled at her kindness, perking up. Deciding then that I wasn't going to allow the nomination to ruin the rest of my night.

  “Over here!” Lacey called out across the gym waving her arms in the air. I followed her gaze to the doors and saw Harlow standing there, looking for us. Her attention switched gears when a Taylor Swift song started to play. “Oh my god, I love this song! Come dance with me!” she enthused, taking my hand and yanking me from my seat.

  “You’re coming too!” I told Arianna and she accepted the invitation with a grin.

  Rider stood to join us, but Lacey held up her hand in protest. “This one’s girls only. You guys can have some male bonding time or whatever.” And with that we scurried onto the dance floor, giggling all the way.

  An hour into the evening, I'd pretty much forgotten all about my unexpected and dreadfully unwanted snow queen nomination. I had shared several slow dances with Harlow, many carefree dances with my two best friends and our entire group, and even a dance-off or two. And after some convincing, we even managed to break Arianna out of her shell. It was heartbreaking to think we weren’t going to have much more time like this together. Graduation was just around the corner, and then we’d be off to college shortly thereafter. Where we’d each end up was still in the air though I was confident it would take more than distance to tear us apart. But the reality of our impending futures made moments like these all the more special.

  We all headed back to our table for a much-needed dance break when our senior class president, Olivia Carver, took to the impromptu stage to make an announcement. “How are you all feeling?” she asked the crowd, smoothing the fabric of her dress. To my surprise, she got an overwhelmingly positive response. “We’re going to play one more slow song; this one is ladies choice! And then I’ll be back up here to announce the snow king and queen!”

  As Olivia left the stage, a Snow Patrol song began to play, and couples began to spread across the dance floor. Harlow offered me his hand. I shook my head at him. “I need to rest. But I would like some punch.”

  Next to me, Lacey slapped Vince’s arm. “Yeah, I’d like some punch!” Vince looked confused, and Lacey rolled her eyes. “Fine, I’ll get it myself,” she huffed, getting up from the table. “Come on, Ray, we can fend for ourselves.”

  I stood, and that's when I noticed Ivy heading in our direction from across the gymnasium.

  “I'll get your drink,” Harlow offered, standing.

  “That's okay, I think you have a visitor,” I told him, pointing to Ivy as she approached. I couldn't believe she was even here and wondered if she'd been at the dance this whole time. Ivy didn’t seem like the formal dance type, but regardless, she looked stunning. I'd never seen her so dressed up. Her long cherry red hair flowed down her back in waves, accessorized with a sparkly headband. She donned a black sweetheart gown that shimmered under the lights and minimal makeup.

  “May I have this dance?” she asked Harlow before they both looked to me for final approval.

  I shrugged. “He's all yours.”

  “Great!” Ivy replied, yanking Harlow toward the dance floor.

  Harlow gave me one last are you sure? look and I waved him off.

  In the meantime, Lacey and I weaved our way across the dance floor to the other side of the gym where the refreshments were being served. “Sweet no line,” Lacey commented as we stepped up to the table.

  A young man whose nametag read “Mr. Walsh” stood behind the refreshments table, smiling politely at us as we approached. Lacey caught my eye and lifted her eyebrows.

  “You two look like you’re enjoying yourselves this evening,” he commented conversationally. I was just about to step away and let one of the other chaperones take over, but what'll it be?”

  “We'll each have a glass of punch, please,” Lacey answered.

  “Ah, popular choice! In fact, we're out,” Walsh informed us. “But my fellow volunteer back there,” he continued, pointing over his shoulder, “is making more as we speak. It should just take a minute.”

  “Thanks,” Lacey replied.

  Walsh nodded in response, stepping away to join his fellow volunteer.

  Turning to me, Lacey’s mouth fell open. “Well he’s hot! How old do you think he is? Twenty-three maybe?”

  I rolled my eyes at her. “You came here with someone remember?”

  Lacey cast her gaze back to the dance floor. “Speaking of Vince, who do you think he’s dancing with?”

>   I scanned the gymnasium and spotted him. “He’s not dancing with anyone,” I informed her, pointing to where Vince stood. “He's over there talking to his friends.”

  “Oh,” Lacey said, sounding less than thrilled. “Speaking of dates, can I see the necklace you’re wearing?” Without a second thought, I pulled the necklace over my head and handed it to her. “It’s not as heavy as I thought it would be.”

  “You sound surprised.”

  “Because I am,” she said as she studied the three moons. “Where did he find this thing?”

  “It was his dad’s,” I explained.

  Lacey’s eyebrows lifted as her eyes met mine, “Whoa, that’s kind of intense.”

  I shrugged, “Maybe a little.”

  “Maybe a lot!” she disagreed. “Speaking of Harlow, what is it with those two?” she asked her tone all suspicion and intrigue as she lifted her chin toward Harlow and Ivy on the dance floor. “Their conversations always come across so secretive,” she commented as we watched them dance.

  Someone cleared their throat behind us, drawing our attention away from the dance floor. “Miss,” Walsh interrupted, offering Lacey a cup of punch. “And, one for you,” he smiled, picking up a second cup from the refreshments table and offering it to me.

  “Thanks,” I smiled, accepting the drink.

  “Don't you think they're up to something?” Lacey asked as we made our way back to our table.

  “Who?” I replied, dodging Lucy Franco as her date lowered her into a dip.

  “Ivy and your boyfriend.”

  “Well, Ivy is a family friend,” I explained, keeping my voice even.

  “But, I mean, look at them. The way they interact. Sometimes I wonder if they're plotting to take us all down or something. I'm starting to think maybe I dodged a bullet with that one.”

  “Hey!”

  “Sorry, but you can't honestly tell me that you don't see it too.”

  I knew the suspicious inkling myself. In fact, I knew they were up to something because of my experience at Harlow's house just a few short weeks ago. Whatever the reason, I didn't want to dwell on it tonight. Reclaiming my seat at our table, I continued to watch Harlow and Ivy dance. They appeared to be deep in conversation. No smiling or laughter. Whatever they were discussing seemed like the same sort of serious conversation I usually caught them having. “I don’t think they’re up to something though,” I lied.