I just look at Todd, shake my head and smile. He smiles back, which makes my heart instantly react. We both know exactly what the other one is thinking. Unfortunately, it has to do with Sid and not about how much he loves me. So I guess he doesn’t know exactly what I’m thinking.
In the seclusion of my room, Sid immediately starts to dump all of her make-up out on my bed. “Okay, Ash, I’ll do your make-up and you can do mine!”
I look at her like she has lost her mind. “Do you really think that is a good idea? Letting me do your make-up could be disastrous! Don't you remember what happened last year?”
Sid must have blocked out the memory of me doing her make-up for our eighth grade dance. We were an hour late because she had to wash it all off and start from scratch.
She thinks about it for a second in what is her first breath of silence since she got here and then she shivers, remembering. “Okay, you’re right. I’ll do our make-up, but we’ve got to hurry."
I don’t usually wear a ton of make up so I haven’t quite mastered it yet. Sid not only does my make-up, she also helps me with my hair. She works a hair miracle with a little help from over half a bottle of hair spray and a flat iron. The end result is a loose half up-half down do.
“O-M-G, I love this dress on you.” Sid helps me zip it up. I love this dress, too. It fits me perfectly, right above the knee and it has a few rows of small ruffles at the very top which really help enhance my nonexistent chest. I’m on the shorter side, so the fact that the length fits perfectly is huge and the amazing coral color looks great with my olive skin.
“Thanks, Sid! You look incredible, too. I really love that color on you.” Sid’s dress is a beautiful, deep metallic-blue that makes her pale skin sparkle.
“Thanks, Ash! I can’t believe we’re getting ready for our first high school Homecoming Dance, can you?”
I grin back at her, there aren’t even words; I feel amazing! I am on cloud nine. It is our first homecoming, Todd is in my house and spending the night, and I love the way I look! It’s fun to dress up for once. Sid is still getting ready but I really want to make the most of the little time I have with Todd before RTS gets here. As I walk out of my room there are a million butterflies in my stomach at the thought of seeing him at any second. I head down my stairs, the same stairs I’ve walked down a million times and never thought twice about, but this time I am really concentrating on each step so I don’t fall down and make a fool of myself. When I get to the bottom, I finally look up and there is Todd, sitting on our couch and looking perfect in his dark grey suit, crisp white shirt and a red and blue stripped tie.
“Wow, kiddo, you look really beautiful,” Todd smiles and I try to read his expression because I think for sure he’s kidding, but he is completely serious. My stomach drops as if I’m on a huge roller coaster. SPEAK, I internally scream at myself.
“Thanks, Todd. You, too.” Wait did I just tell him he looks beautiful? Thankfully, the doorbell interrupts us and my dad walks in.
“I’ll get it.” He does a double-take and stops in his tracks. “Wow, Ashley, you look incredible. My little baby is all grown up.”
“Thanks, Dad,” I say as I look down at the floor, a little embarrassed because Todd is witnessing this conversation.
“Hi, Brian. Girls,” I hear my dad say from the other room. Gretchen, RTS and Blythe all drove here with Brian. I'm sure he loved every second of that drive, too. My moment alone with Todd is over, but he did say I look beautiful; unfortunately, he also called me kiddo.
“Hey, Todd,” they all say as they enter my living room. RTS runs up and gives Todd a hug as if no one else is standing right here. How rude! What am I, invisible?
"Hi, date!" she says as she stands on her tip-toes to give Todd a kiss on the cheek. Geez, does she have to rub salt in the wound from the second she gets here?
“Oh, hey, Ashley, I didn’t even recognize you.” Brian finally acknowledges that there is someone else in the room.
“Thanks, Brian. You look great, too.” I make sure it is overly sarcastically.
“You look so handsome; I love your suit!” RTS says to Todd, still completely ignoring the fact that anyone else is in the room. I’m standing right here, not to mention this is MY house!
“You look really pretty, Rebecca,” Todd responds.
Man, I’ve gotta get out of here. “I’m going to go up to check on Sid and Ryan,” I shout over to them as I run up the stairs. I find Sid in the bathroom, still primping with Ryan, not so patiently, waiting in the hall outside.
"Sid, you look amazing; let's go. Ryan, Gretchen is downstairs." I’m not about to go back downstairs without at least one of them.
"I'm just waiting for Sid so I can go to the bathroom." He is clearly a little irritated.
"Come on, Sid," I say, sort of pleading with save me undertones, yet she’s completely oblivious. I start to pull her out by the arm.
"Okaaay." She’s annoyed, but it works. She finally puts down her makeup brush. "I mean, it's not like this is the only bathroom in the house." She says looking at Ryan as she walks out.
"But this is my bathroom, Sid," he says as he shuts the door, relieved he finally got in.
Sid and I make our way downstairs together and find that Shane is here, too. Of course, he is the best-dressed person in the room. Well, maybe he’s tied with Blythe. He’s wearing a corduroy jacket with patches on the elbows and a sweater vest over a button down shirt. He paired it with a solid, light orange tie that matches the stripes on his shirt perfectly. Blythe is wearing something that might not technically be semi-formal, but it looks so cool on her that it works. Let's just say it involves safety pins. People with an eye for fashion really irritate me!
"Ryan!" A symphony of voices greet my brother as soon as he appears at the top of the stairs.
"Hey, guys!" he says as he does a kind of hop down the stairs. He walks right up to Gretchen and kisses her. "You look gorgeous," he whispers in her ear. "I'll be right back," he says, kissing her on the cheek. Unfortunately, I’m close enough to hear and see everything.
"Shane, where's my greeting like that? I mean you are my date," Sid nudges him in the side.
"Um, I'm Ash's date, too, and I need to balance the affection. I mean, I don't want one of you to get jealous."
"Wow, Shane. Two girls? Who knew you were such a stud!" Brian smacks him on the back.
"Of course he is. Anyone with that much style must be fighting off the girls," Blythe interjects. It takes a style guru to know one, I guess.
Ryan chooses that moment to come strutting back in carrying a corsage from the kitchen. He gets down on one knee and gently places it on Gretchen's wrist. Ugh, I just threw up a little, again!
"Time for pictures!" my mom shouts as she comes running into the room holding our giant, old, embarrassing camera. "The other parents are here! Come on, kids; let's go outside."
The next thing we know, we are forced into ridiculous poses. My mom even makes Ryan and me pose together. I. Want. To. Die. Seriously, why doesn’t she just kill the tiny bit of a social life I have with one single picture? Not to mention, this certainly won't help Todd see me as anything other than Ryan's little sister!
It is interesting to see the different dates together, though. I’m carefully watching Todd and RTS. I mean, not too carefully; I don't want anyone to notice. The only person here who knows is Shane and I want to keep it that way. Their body language definitely says “friends” so far, although parents are here so PDA is on pause for the moment anyway.
During the parental photo session Ryan, Todd and Brian's limo pulls up in front of our house. Talk about humiliating, Ryan and all of his friends are going to the dance in a limo, but Sid, Shane and I are going to the dance in my dad's Volvo station wagon. Definitely not a limo.
***
"Dad can you drop us off a block away, please,” I plead as we drive to the dance. All three of us are in the back seat, but that's about as close as we are getting to being chauffeure
d in a limo.
"I drove your brother when he was a freshman, too. When you’re a junior, we can talk about a limo for you and your friends." Geez, even my dad doesn’t think I’ll have a date in the next two years. How depressing is that!
"Ash, these shoes are already killing me. I don't really want to walk a block to get there. I mean, I'm sure other kids are getting dropped off," Sidney tries to make a case. Whose side is she on? I can't believe these words are coming out of her mouth. It’s bad enough Todd and the others saw us piling into my dad's car while they piled into an awesome limo, but now Sid actually wants the entire school to see us getting dropped off in a station wagon? I give her the look of death and all she does is shrug like I’m the crazy one. Shane, however, has been friends with us long enough to know to stay out of this one.
Sure enough, when we pull up, limo after limo is dropping kids off. I knew it! There are limos everywhere and there is one, blue, Volvo station wagon and we are in it. Limos are in front of us and behind us without another parent’s car dropping kids off in sight!
I sink down in my seat. "Sidney," I say through my gritted teeth. "Do you see any other cars that aren't limos here?"
Shane starts laughing.
"Oh, who cares?" I gotta hand it to her, she really, truly doesn’t care what other people think. I wish I didn't!
"Well, as long as your feet are comfortable," I say, not really caring about her friggin’ feet!
My dad pulls up and I jump out of the car as quickly as possible.
"See you right here at ten-thirty," my dad shouts as I slam the car door behind me. Thanks for the reminder that I have to go through this again in a few hours, Dad! Oh well, I'll worry about that one later.
Sidney is already limping as we walk in and I can't even try to hide my anger at this point. "Really? Did you have to wear those shoes?"
"They look amazing and they are leopard print and they make me four inches taller!" She does the Sid head shake/eye roll as if I am the stupid one here. My anger and embarrassment continues to bubble up until we open the doors to the ballroom. It looks incredible! There are black and gold balloons covering the entire ceiling. One of the seniors is DJ'ing, there is a table with a ton of food and a huge punch bowl. Multicolored lights are flying through the room. It is exactly like every dance I’ve ever seen in a movie.
"WOW!" all three of us say at the same time. I can't help completely forgetting how angry I am at Sid as I continue to take it all in.
"This is better than I imagined it!" Sidney’s eyes light up.
"Nice shoes!" a sophomore says as she passes.
Sid turns to me. "SEE! I told you. You never listen to me."
In all the commotion I totally forgot to scan the room to see if Todd is here yet. Just as I start my search, I see the doors open as if they are in slow motion and there he is walking through them. Once again, the entire room freezes and only Todd and my heart are moving. Actually, my heart is pounding. As he turns his head, I can see his big, gorgeous smile and his hair falling perfectly into place. Every impeccable detail is magnified and ingrained in my memory.
"Earth to Ashley," I hear Sid say from far away. "Who are you staring at?" Her voice is getting closer, which instantly pulls me back from Todd Heaven. Oh no! What do I say? Take a deep breath. Play it cool.
"No one," I quickly answer back. "The decorations. The party planning committee did a really good job." I try to cover, but Sid looks at me like I’m speaking another language. Luckily, Shane comes back holding three glasses of punch and saves me from having to answer any more questions.
"Here you go, perfectly-spiked punch." Sid and I look at him with shock and excitement. Maybe if Sid gets drunk she’ll stop asking questions. "Kidding. Geez, really? Do you think I could do that? I mean, I would if I could, but there's no way. That table is heavily guarded."
"Thanks, Shane," Sid and I say together. Suddenly, Shane is being lifted from behind by Brian.
"Shane! Looks like you guys already got this party started," Todd says to all of us. RTS is holding his hand. Why does she always feel the need to do that?
"How was the limo ride over here? Oh wait, you didn't take a limo," Brian says, finding himself hysterical.
"Oh, come on, Brian; you remember our ride freshman year. It didn’t involve a limo, either.” I can tell Todd feels bad.
“Yeah, more like the good, old, blue Volvo station wagon. Don't worry, limos are sort of overrated anyway. At least your ride was free,” Ryan says.
"And humiliating!" I quickly add just to him. Ryan laughs, he totally understands.
Some older brothers would like to keep distance between their younger, less cool sisters, but that isn’t Ryan’s and Todd’s style. It’s just further proof of what great brothers they are.
"Alright, kids, I've had enough of this freshman party. Let's go check out the place.” Brian obviously doesn’t feel the same way. He starts to pull Blythe away by the hand. Of course, Ryan and Todd are still friends with him and since Brian is a bit of an ass, they all start to disperse. No one ever said they’re perfect.
"You look really pretty, Ashley," Blythe whispers to me, staying behind from the group.
"Thanks! I love your dress." I really do, she is by far the best-dressed girl in the room.
"Thanks! I made it."
"You what? Really?"
"Well, sort of. I started with a typical dress and then made some revisions so it was wearable." Ever since detention, Blythe and I kind of have this connection. Most of the juniors and seniors share Brian's thoughts on freshman, but Blythe is different. That is just one more reason why I like her.
***
Shane, Sid and I hit the dance floor. It seems like the entire school is dancing and the DJ is playing music that could have been straight from my ipod. We are out of breath and sweating like crazy, but our adrenaline is pumping and we can’t stop. After what feels like five hours, Shane and I need a break, but Sid wants to keep going, she is either amazing or insane, I’m not sure which one.
There are chairs lining the wall around the entire room so Shane and I go to sit down. Sidney is right about her shoes, they’ve proved to be big attention getters; especially from Simon Clark. Simon is a freshman and I guess you could call him cute. He has dark, wavy hair, and I have no idea what color his eyes are; I'll have to look next time I'm close enough.
"Sid seems to have made a new friend," Shane says as he wipes sweat from his forehead.
"Yeah, who knew Sid and Simon? I just can't tell if she's happy or in pain?"
"I blame the shoes for the pained look." Shane laughs.
"I keep looking for a signal she wants to be saved, but so far I haven't seen anything."
"Hey, Ash, twelve o’clock." He moves just his eyes towards the dance floor and there, smack in front of us, is Blythe dancing with my brother.
"How did that happen?" Shane asks.
"I don't know, but I kind of love it." They aren't just dancing, they look engrossed in conversation. It’s sort of a slow song that you can either dance close or separate to and they are dancing close. Very close. Shane and I have the same thought at the same exact time and we quickly search the room for Gretchen and Brian. We both find them and whip our heads back to look at one another.
"By the refreshments table." We say in unison and we both start laughing at how ridiculous we are being.
"Is it me or does Brian look a little angry?" Shane asks.
"I can't tell; I think that might just be his usual face."
"Yeah, he always seems to be giving people the stink eye," Shane agrees.
"Can you read Gretchen?" I ask.
"She seems clueless," Shane quickly responds. I can't help but laugh at his assessment.
"What else is new?" I ask, trying to compose myself.
As the song ends, the next one starts and it’s officially a slow song. Our eyes stay glued to them and they keep dancing; very closely! I try not to let my mind wander to how great it would be if
Ryan starting dating Blythe. I mean, not that I want Gretchen to get hurt, but...
Brian pulls Gretchen out on the dance floor and they dance their way over to where Ryan and Blythe are. Shane and I look at each other, "Let's go." I pull him up and we start dancing together as we work our way over to them through the crowd.
"Don't get any ideas; this is all for the sake of hearing this conversation," Shane says as we continue to slow dance our way over.
"Oh please!" I say, reminding him how insane he sounds and how lucky he'd be if I did feel that way. Now that I think about it, this is the closest I've ever been to Shane except when we used to play house as little kids and he always wanted to be the mom. I forgot all about that. Anyway, we are on a mission and we’re finally close enough to hear without seeming completely obvious. Thankfully there are a ton of people on the dance floor at the moment.
"Hey guys! We seem to have switched dates." Brian is sarcastic, but there are definitely some serious undertones. Blythe seems more disappointed by the interruption than Ryan, though.
"There's my gorgeous date," Ryan says to Gretchen, "and here's your gorgeous date back." He holds Blythe's hand and gently gives it back to Brian. He should seriously go into politics; he can smooth over any hostile situation. Gretchen giggles, she seems to completely trust Ryan. I do admire that; someday I hope to trust a boy that much.
Brian and Blythe continue to slow dance next to Ryan and Gretchen and, although Blythe is subtle—if I wasn't watching her, I'm not sure I would have noticed—she is definitely eyeing Ryan. I don’t think he even realizes, though.
"What do you think?" I whisper to Shane. My arms are wrapped around his neck as we continue slow dancing to blend in with everyone else.
"I think Blythe likes your brother more than Brian," he whispers back.
"I think you're right.” I bite my lower lip to try to hide my smile; I don't want to get too excited. I’ve been so caught up in what is happening with Blythe and Ryan that I completely lost track of Todd. "Hey, have you seen Todd and RTS?" Shane smiles at the reminder of my nickname for Rebecca and his eyes quickly scan the room.
Accidental Crush Page 7