I don't own anything! I don't own Drop in the Ocean by Ron Pope either.
Kinsley walked through the sliding door of the grocery store already dressed to go to the dance. There were other kids her age dressed up for the dance forming a line away from the counter. She looked down at herself sighing. A bunch of Cheerios had gone shopping for dresses the night before and she had been dragged along by Kitty who made her swear she was actually still going to the dance still. They had all thrown dresses at her, but she didn't like any of them. By the end of the night, she had bought a pair of black heels and some new eyeliner. No dress.
So when she got home, she started digging through the tub of Reyna's old school dance dresses in the basement. She found a short black one that was skin tight and the sleeves were off the shoulder.
"This will have to do," Kinsley whispered to herself standing up.
That's how she had gotten there. In the days following her little outburst in Glee club, she was going through hell and she was sure she was a mess. Despite her better judgment, she let Sam drag her to the choir room everyday, but she sat in the back corner separated from the group. Everyone noticed, but no one dared to say anything about it.
Someone stepped in line behind her, but she didn't turn to look at who it was. Just another student from her school, she thought. That was until she caught a whiff of that cologne. She would be able to place that scent anywhere.
"Kinsley," he asked. His voice confirmed her suspicions.
"Yeah," she asked turning to look at him.
He gasped as his eyes roamed over her body. Her dress hugged her in all the right places, her legs looked amazing in those black heels, blonde curls fell around her face and her makeup highlighted her flawless skin. "You look amazing," Jake said smiling at her.
"Thanks," Kinsley blushed looking down at her feet. It was weird standing there with him. There was a new tension there, not the kind they usually felt right before they had sex. Kinsley was very aware of the fact that it could always be that way. The thought made her sick.
Neither of them said anything, just stood there. When it was Kinsley's turn to pick up her order she rattled off her name and took the plastic container when the man behind the counter handed it to her. She smiled at him dropping a quiet 'thank you' and turned back to Jake.
"I better go," she said. "Steven is gonna be at my house to pick me up and if Reyna sees that I took her car, she'll have a heart attack."
She didn't wait for him to say anything, just turned around and walked away. He watched her walk away sighing loudly to himself.
"She's got you whipped," the man behind the counter commented.
"You have no idea," Jake muttered.
Steven picked her up at six-thirty, but no one was there to take pictures of them. Instead, Kinsley stood on the front porch, her hair blowing lightly in the wind. When he pulled into the driveway, she opened the door of the beat-up truck and climbed in.
Like every other student going to the dance, they went to Breadstix. Not that they had much of a choice, it was the only restaurant in town with relatively edible food. The waiter took them to a table for two. Kinsley didn't mind it was in the back until they walked past the table overflowing with the Glee club. Their conversations stopped when she walked by and they all stared at her. For some reason she couldn't identify, she stopped in front of them. A forced smile came on her lips and she said 'hi' quickly.
"Damn, girl," Unique commented. "Girls, lock up your boys 'cause Kinsley August is looking fierce."
Everyone chuckled except Jake, he just looked at her. Somehow, she looked prettier than she did when he saw her an hour ago. Then she was flawless, now she was breath taking. Even if the smile on her lips was fake.
"I better go," Kinsley said. "See you guys at the dance, I guess."
She turned around and followed Steven to the table.
Steven went on and on about basketball, but Kinsley wasn't really listening. She was pushing her food around on her plate trying to keep her gaze from wandering back over to her friends who seemed to be having a better time than she was. She saw Jake lean over and whisper something in Marley's ear then press a kiss to her cheek. Kinsley swallowed the lump forming in her throat. Why did it have to hurt so bad?
The gym was decorated all pretty with colored streamers and balloons. There were tables lined up in the back and there was a long table with Coach Sylvester's 'special' punch that she was heavily guarding. The stoners were huddled in the back of the gym already giggling about nothing. Music blared through the speakers unbelievably loud and the lights were off. Sam, Blaine and Artie were on stage performing when she first got there. But no matter how nice the gym looked, you couldn't get past the sickly sent of sweat with a hint of flower perfume. The perfume didn't help though, it made it worse.
Kinsley stepped onto the stage with Ryder standing at the microphone next to her. It was her turn to perform. Even though Figgins wasn't the principle, it seemed that the school was still to cheap to pay for real entertainment. So, like every other dance, the responsibility fell to the Glee club. The band started playing and she looked at Ryder as he started sing. She didn't know him all that well, so when he asked her to perform this song with him, she was a little hesitant. But she did agree realizing that she didn't want to perform a song alone in front of the school. Besides he seemed like a nice guy.
"A drop in the ocean, a change in the weather. I was praying that you and me might end up together. It's like wishing for rain as I stand in the desert, but I'm holding you closer than most 'cause you are my heaven," Ryder sang smiling over at Kinsley.
"I don't wanna waste the weekend. If you don't love me pretend. A few more hours then it's time to go. As my train rolls down the east coast, I wonder how you keep warm. It's too late to cry, too broken to move on," Kinsley sang returning his smile. Her gaze turned out to look out into the crowd slow dancing. Her eyes came across Jake and Marley slow dancing toward the back of the room. Ryder noticed her smile fading away from her lips and he followed her gaze. When he saw what she was staring at so sadly, he understand.
"And still I can't let you be. Most nights I hardly sleep. Don't take what you don't need from me," Ryder took over shooting her a questioning glance. She nodded her head clearing all expression from her face.
"It's just a drop in the ocean, a change in the weather. I was praying that you and me might end up together. It's like wishing for rain as I stand in the desert, but I'm holding you closer than most 'cause you are my heaven," their voices mixed together almost perfectly. Jake noticed that and that pang of jealousy filled his chest. But he didn't let on, instead, he continued swaying with Marley who couldn't have been more oblivious to what was brewing in her date.
"Misplaced trust in old friends, never counting regrets. By the grace of God I do not rest at all," he sang. "And New England as the leaves change. The last excuse that I'll claim I was a boy who loved a woman like a little girl."
"And still I can't let you nights I hardly sleep. Don't take what you don't need from me," Kinsley sang, her voice emitting from the speakers beautifully. There was emotion in her voice, though she didn't show it on her face. Anyone who really knew her knew what this song meant.
"It's just a drop in the ocean, a change in the weather. I was praying that you and me might end up together. It's like wishing for rain as I stand in the desert, but I'm holding you closer than most 'cause you are my," they sang together and to anyone watching, it might've seemed like they were singing this song to each other. But, they weren't. The words coming across Kinsley's lips were meant for Jake and she had an inkling of a suspicion that Ryder was mentally dedicating this song to Marley. She had heard that there was something between them earlier in the year, but she hadn't seen it yet. He must've been pretty good at hiding it.
"Heaven doesn't seem far away anymore," Ryder and Kinsley sang, their voices blending together. They removed their microphones from the stands and turned to face each other. Kinsley took a step toward him. "No. No heaven doesn't seem far away. Heaven doesn't seem far away anymore. No. No. Heaven doesn't seem far away. Oh. Oh."
"A drop in the ocean, a change in the weather. I was praying that you and me might end up together," Kinsley belted out pressing her hand to Ryder's.
"It's like wishing for rain as I stand in the desert, but I'm holding you closer than most. 'Cause you are my heaven, you are my heaven," Ryder sang grinning at Kinsley as he finished the song. The music slowly died away and the two stood there just smirking at each other. When the applause erupted through the gym, Kinsley wrapped her arms around Ryder's chest. His strong arms snaked around her waist and he rocked them side to side.
"You did really good," she whispered in his ear.
"Not as good as you," Ryder replied.
Kinsley sat at a table alone, twirling around the contents of her cup around. She had found Steven shoving his tongue down Julie Smith's throat after she stepped off stage. After a painfully loud smack to his cheek and a splash of punch in his face, Kinsley stormed off. They resumed after she stomped away and that's why she was there now.
She looked over at the crowd of people dancing peppered with the few couples who were grinding.
"What's a pretty girl like you doing all by herself?" Ryder asked standing behind her.
"My date shoved ditched me for Julie Smith," Kinsley shouted over the music.
"That sucks," he yelled back.
"Yeah, tell me about it."
"Come on," he said sticking his hand out to her. "A girl wearing a dress like that deserves to have at least one dance."
Kinsley hesitated for a moment, but took his hand allowing him to pull her out to the middle of the floor. They both took turns showing off their best moves. Kinsley's were actually presentable. Ryder's, well, his made Kinsley throw her head back laughing.
"What?" He asked showing mock-hurt. "Not everyone can be a dance protégé."
Ryder grabbed both of Kinsley's hands and spun her around. She turned into his chest giggling and jumped into the air. His hands found her waist supporting her. The music stopped and a slow song echoed through the gym.
Silently, Kinsley clasped her hands around his neck and his went around her waist. They rocked to the music and they just talked.
"Jake's an idiot for not asking you out," Ryder stated.
"No," she said blankly. "He got to know me and he didn't like what he saw. I don't blame him for running."
"Why do you say that?" He asked. "I mean, you're unbelievably beautiful, you can dance like nobody's business, you're funny and you're deadly sexy. You are the complete package."
Kinsley didn't say anything, just rested her head on his chest.
"You don't have to believe me," he whispered in her ear.
Kinsley smiled softly to herself not really sure why. It was silent between them for a few minutes.
"Can you keep a secret?" She asked looking at him with big blue eyes. He could see tears were threatening to spill down her cheeks.
"Sure, anything," he said.
"I think I'm pregnant," Kinsley whispered. Never in his life had he seen a girl look so vulnerable. At first, he wasn't sure if he heard her right, but his fears were confirmed when a tear rolled down her cheek. "And Jake is the father."
Unsure of what else to do, Ryder hugged her tight to his chest, running his hand up and down her back.
"It'll be okay," he whispered in her ear. What else could he say? But no matter what he said, he had this boiling desire to punch Jake in the face and yell at him for ruining this girl's life. He felt her body shaking in his arms as sobs raked through her body. "It'll be okay," he repeated. Though he couldn't have told you why, he felt like he might cry, too.
Well, I kind of went against what all of you told me and made her possibly pregnant. Please review an no hate. I kind of like where this story is going.
Love,
Kaylie
