The Dance
Winter Formal
December 17, 2015
The dance was in full swing, everyone having a good time. Laughter filled the air and no one cared if you were covered in sweat, because they were to some point as well. Then the atmosphere changed, ever so slightly. A song came on, with a warning from the DJ that the two last songs would be slow dance songs before the dance ended. I had asked you to save me a dance at the beginning and looked around the room, trying to catch a glimpse of you. I started to worry that you had forgotten, and felt my hopes falter. After all, you did come with a date. Then there you were, right in front of me with that same smile on your face that you always seem to have. I felt my own smile grow as I put my hands on your shoulders, while yours settled on my hips. Our talk seemed to last forever and we never got bored. When the song ended I asked if you wanted to go back to your date, and you only smiled and said "Only if you want me to." I think that was when my feelings changed, during that I said screw it, and moved closer, putting my head on your shoulder. When you called me beautiful and I laughed and called you a liar. When you looked me in the eyes and said that it wasn't a lie. When the butterflies took flight in my stomach. When the song ended and you still held my waist while I clapped to hide my embarrassment. When I gave you that kiss on the cheek to thank you. When I ran away before you could say goodnight. That night, for the first time, I felt that I was beautiful. At least, through your eyes, I felt I was.
Prom
May 10, 2016
He is dancing to the same song. But not with me. He is dancing with the same woman that he had gone to the dance with just a few months before. I'm sitting at my table, my hair twisted like a flower and makeup done by Aphrodite herself it seemed, but no one saw it. My friends glance at me with pity before leaving to dance with their dates. But I don't feel the hurt; I'm just numb, frozen to my chair. I look away from the soft gaze in his blue eyes, the smile like a sunset on the seaside. I wish it were me being shown that gift, shying away with a sly grin. But I wasn't. It weren't my place; and now I realize that it was never mine to have. I stabbed at my melting ice cream in frustration. He had called me beautiful, but it was only a word to him. He had held me close without a breath of space between us, but it was only a dance to him. He had taken my kiss, but it was only a thank you to him. But it was so much more to me. It was the start to being in love; it was my heart taking flight for the first time. Before my heart to take flight, though, it was shot down. It hurt, as most things do. Now, though, I know what I am looking for; and what to avoid when the time come again.