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First Dance

My hands were involuntarily sweaty and shaking slightly with nerves. They were fiddling with the little box in my hands, and the object inside was rattling against the edges. God, I hope she likes it. Please, please, like it…I silently prayed. I had never been so nervous for anything. I was playing with everything; my hair, my cufflinks, my tie, my waistcoat buttons…anything I could. I had no idea why I was so nervous, I just was.

And then I heard it; the clicking sound of stiletto heels on a wooden staircase. I instinctively looked up from my shoes to see her walking down the stairs, holding her dress to prevent her from falling over it.

A smile dispersed over my face before I could stop it. She looked so beautiful and elegant. Her dress was blood red, and hugged her figure to her hips, then hung loosely around her legs. It just touched the ground, hiding the red heels she was wearing. On the strapless corset was a shower of sparkles descending down her torso, becoming less and less discretely with every inch of material. Her hair fell in ebony ringlets around her face, past her shoulders and down her back, whereas on any normal occasion, it would have been straightened. A red rose was clipped in it on the left side, just above her ear.

But her smile was her best feature; always. Her lips were painted the same red as her dress; like blood. Her perfect, white teeth shone through as she grinned at me, looking the happiest she'd ever been.

Her mum, who was stood to the right of me, had tears glazing over her eyes. Her dad was smiling proudly at his beautiful, grown up daughter. But she wasn't looking at either of them. She was stood on the bottom step, looking down at me.

"You look…so beautiful," I stumbled over my words, the small box still trembling in my hands. She looked down at the floor, blushing at my compliment. "Oh, I got you this," I held out the black box for her to take and open herself. Her eyes slowly widened and her smile shone brighter than before. "Here, let me," I took the red rose corsage out of the box and slid it on her wrist like the gentleman I was brought up to be. Instead of letting her wrist fall back to her side, I took her hand in mine and linked our fingers.

"Time for a picture!" her mom announced. She stepped down from the stairs and stood in front of me, allowing me to wrap my arms around her and place my chin on her shoulder, hugging her from behind. I pulled off the biggest smile I could muster, trying to convey the happiness that was bubbling up inside of me, but one smile couldn't do it justice.

After the photos, her parents left us to it and we stood alone in the hallway.

"You look so handsome, Alex," she lifted her hand up to stroke my cheek and push my bangs out of my eyes. She stared into them for a moment, before slowly leaning up to peck my lips. Of all the times we had kissed in the past, of all the times we've made out, even gone all the way once, this was the best feeling of them all. This was it. The kiss that proved to me that she was, indeed, the love of my life. I'd thought I'd know it for a while, but now I'm one hundred per cent certain; I wanted to spend the rest of my life with this girl.

"We'd better go, or we'll be late to our own senior prom," I laughed and she locked her arm around my elbow, and I guided her out to the car we'd be taking.

"Alex, it's gorgeous…" she gasped as the black jaguar came into view. I knew she'd love it. It was my uncle's, and whenever he'd be at my house, the car would be parked in the driveway, and she'd tell me every time how much she wanted a car like it. I held the door open for her, and she climbed in, clutching her dress.

In what felt like no time at all, we were walking through the double doors of the school gymnasium to find it had been completely transformed. White and blue balloons floated in an arch over the stage where the band was scheduled to play. Ribbons of the same colour scheme were draped and hung from the ceiling in what can only be described as a web. Strobe lights lit up the dance floor and all the students already dancing to the beat of the music.

We walked in together, out arms locked. I saw Jack, my goofy best friend stood by the punch bowl. He nodded at me and gave me the thumbs up and yes, he was planning on spiking the punch with vodka. If he gets away with it, it'll be a miracle. The teachers are keeping a close eye on the bowl. His date was stood with him in a knee length coral blue dress that really suited her, and they looked great together.

As we ventured towards the dance floor, I caught site of Zack and Rian dancing with their dates. They looked just as happy as I felt. I mean, I was with the girl of my dreams; the girl I've been in love with since freshman year. I remember how it all started. Some of the popular girls from the grade above us had been picking on her, calling her nasty and imaginative names that only adolescent minds can create. I had been sat trading Yu-Gi-Oh cards with Jack, whilst Zack and Rian were wrestling on the grass.

"Jack, hold it there a second. I'll be right back," I said as I set my cards down and made my way over to where they had cornered the poor girl. "Hey, leave her alone!" I had shouted, and they scuttled away like the little parasites they were. "Are you okay?" I asked. She simply nodded, tears trickling down her face. I took a step towards her and wiped them away, then hugged her. "Don't listen to them. I think you're beautiful," I told her, and then she had hugged me and uttered a quiet "thank you".

And we hit it off from there. We became best friends. She was the best friend I fell in love with; the typical high school love dilemma. After about a year, I plucked up the courage to ask her on a date. The rest, as they say, is history. We spent summers together, cuddling on the beach. We spent rainy days together watching chick flicks on the couch in her basement. We spent starry nights together on top of my garage roof. We became inseparable.

Every minute spent away from each other, she was all I could think about. I'd feel butterflies every time I saw her, every time she'd touch me, every time she'd kiss me…I loved her more than anything, and I couldn't wait for tonight. Prom night is meant to be the perfect night for a couple, but even I had to admit that the slow dancing thing scared me…

"Alex, can we go and dance?" she asked sweetly as the music slowed. I suddenly started to tremble with nerves again. This was it; out first dance. We'd never danced before…

We made our way further into the crowd and found a space. I noticed she looked just as nervous as I did when she wrapped her arms around my neck, and I placed mine on her hips. We swayed in time to the music, blending in with those around us. After a minute or two, she lay her head on my chest and shut her eyes.

So this was it. My first dance with the girl I loved, and it was magical. When the song ended everyone around us pulled apart to applaud the band. But not us. Instead, she looked up at me and into my eyes, before leaning up to kiss me. I kissed her back without hesitation, and I didn't give a shit about anyone else in the room.

"Alex, hurry the fuck up!" Flyzik shouted from the front of the bus.

"I'm coming, just give me a minute!" I shouted back, slightly irritated. I looked back at the photo in my hand; me, and the only girl I've ever loved, dressed up for our senior prom and stood in her hallway. This picture never left my side. It was always in my wallet.

Because, shortly after prom I had received a phone call, telling me that the love of my life had been knocked down by a drunk-driver, and was pronounced dead at the scene. She was gone, and never coming back.

After her I never loved another. Sure, I had girlfriends but it always felt like a string of one night stands with the same girl. I had plenty of those too; one night stands. My reputation seemed to be somewhat of a player, but they don't understand. I'm just trying to find a girl like her, but none of them ever come close. I've never loved anyone else. I just wasn't ready to let her go.

I wiped away a few stray tears and hid the photo back in my wallet, and placed the wallet under my pillow.

"Al-"

"YES OKAY, MATT!" I snapped. He quickly shut up, knowing instantly something was up and I wasn't in the mood. I climbed out of my bunk and made my way out to the venue to play yet another show, this time to the people of Utah. This was my life now, and it didn't include her. But that photo was my favourite reminder of her, and of my first dance with the girl I always loved, and always will.