In the weeks leading up to Canterwood's Halloween party, I became a master at the art of distraction. I had to, otherwise I'd drive myself crazy thinking about Amanda Fields, and how Luke liked her and not me. I channeled all of my energy into school and riding. Same as I always seemed to be doing these days when faced with an unpleasent situation. Huh, new coping method, perhaps? Either way, both my grades and my horse were benefiting. I was maintaining straight A's in all my classes and I swear Glamour had never been in better shape.
The evening before the party arrived before I knew it, and I was still feeling conflicted. I tend to be pretty antisocial when it comes to parties, what with being shy, quiet, and awkward and all, but the party sounded like it would be fun and I wanted to go. On the other hand, I had no desire to see Luke and Amanda there together.
"Uhh, I don't know what to do!" I growled. I spun around and around in my desk chair while Carly got ready to go. She looked awesome in her pirate costume, with a semi-long ragged looking skirt, loose white shirt and black vest. She sorted through different accesories, picking out the perfect piratey pieces.
"You should come! It won't be as fun without you. Plus, you already have a costume." I looked longingly at the black wool tights, dark grey tunic shirt, and red cloak hanging off the doorknob of my closet door. I was supposed to be Little Red Riding Hood, and I really wanted to wear the costume.
"Fine. I think I'll come. But if I see Luke and Amanda doing anything more than holding hands, I'm out."
"Understandable," Carly said. "Now, I'm going to do my make-up in the bathroom, and when I get out you'd better be dressed." Carly pointed her finger at me threateningly.
"Okay, okay." I got up and grabbed my costume, feeling nervous as I put it on. I really didn't think I could handle seeing Luke and Amanda together tonight. I looked at myself in the mirror and admired the costume. It was simple, but it worked. Carly came out of the bathroom and smiled at me.
"You look great," she said.
"Thanks. So do you!" Carly looked every bit a rough and tough pirate girl. "I'll just do my hair and make-up, then I'm good to go." I walked into our bathroom and turned on the curling iron. While that heated up, I started on my make-up. A little foundation smoothed out my complexion and peachy blush made me look less pale. I used a smokey grey eyeshadow with a slight shimmer on my eyes and lined them with a black liquid eyeliner. Black mascara made my lashes look long and thick. To finish off the look, I smoothed on a deep red lipstain and a shimmery semi-clear gloss that tasted like apples. After giving my golden brown hair big loose waves with the curling iron, I stepped out of the bathroom.
"I'm ready," I said, grabbing a pair of flat over-the-knee grey suede boots. Sitting on my bed, I pulled on the boots.
"Great, let's go!" Carly said excitedly. I jumped up and linked my arm to her's, leaving the room. We walked briskly towards the party, held in Canterwood's gorgeous ballroom. I caught myself picking at my black nail polish and clenched my hands into fists. Maybe I was more worried about the whole Luke situation than I'd thought. We climbed the stairs leading up to the ballroom and paused before opening the door.
"Wow," Carly and I breathed at the same time as we stepped inside. The ballroom looked so amazing! Black, orange, and dark purple was everywhere, from the black tableclothes underneath Halloween-themed food, to the purple balloons that bobbed against the high ceiling, to the orange streamers draped across almost every surface. Students milled around, all dressed in different costumes. I smoothed my hands over my crimson hooded cloak and scanned the crowd. I spotted Sasha and Jacob talking to some people I didn't know, and Nichole was sitting with a group of other riders. I stood on my tiptoes and caught a glimpse of the person I was really looking for: Luke. I broke away from Carly, telling her I'd come find her in a bit, and began to wriggle my way through the crowd.
"Hey Luke..." I trailed off. Luke turned and saw me, smiling broadly. But what got me was who he was with. Perfect, beautiful Amanda stood beside him. She looked (regretably) adorable dressed as Alice from Alice in Wonderland. "Hi, Amanda," I added grudgingly.
"You're Tammy, right?" Amanda asked with a brilliant smile.
"Um, it's Taylor, actually." Awkward... "Well... it was nice seeing you. I'd better go-" I said as I spun around and all but ran away. Tammy? Really? That wasn't even close to Taylor. "I knew this was a bad idea," I grumbled to myself. I found myself a quiet corner to sit in and prepared to be there for a while.
...
I looked up when a shadow fell over me. Luke looked down at me and offered me a sweet smile.
"Mind if I sit with you?" he asked. I wanted to say no; I wasn't very happy with him right now. But it was impossible to say no.
"Sure." Luke took a seat on the plush bench beside me. Music blasted from speakers somewhere in the room; I couldn't see much through all the people, but I assumed Canterwood had hired a famous DJ or something. "Not going to hang out with Amanda?" I asked, attempting—and failing—to keep the bitterness out of my voice.
"She's dancing with her friends. She asked me to join her, but I can't dance. At all. It's actually embarrassing how bad I am," Luke said with a short laugh. He gave me a sideways look. "Why are you hiding over here?"
"Hmm? Who said anything about hiding?" I brushed non-existant lint off of my black tights.
"Come on, Taylor, I know you. Somethings been bothering you for a while now. What's going on with you?" Luke asked. He tipped his head so that he could look me in the eyes. I felt the concern in his clear blue gaze.
"Nothing. Everything is fine," I lied smoothly. Trying to lighten the mood, I stated, "I'm just avoiding the dance floor. Not only would I be horribly embarrassing, I'm also a safety hazard." Luke laughed. "Oh, you laugh now, but it's not so funny when you're the one I fall over on." But I couldn't help but laugh with Luke. He just had that effect on me. Because I had to, I asked, "How has it been, hanging out with Amanda?" I braced myself for Luke's answer.
"It's been great! She's so awesome. I was thinking that... I'd ask her to be my girlfriend after tonight." What?! No! Going to a party together was one thing. But asking her to be his girlfriend?! I felt my heart breaking into pieces. Luke blinked at me, confused when I didn't answer.
"Oh, yeah, that's... great." I sighed. "I'm really happy for you." But inside, I was dying. I got up and straightened my shirt. "I'm going to go find... someone. See you later." Or not. My boots scuffed across the ballroom floor and I could feel the pounding of the music pulse through my body. I suddenly wanted to be somewhere, anywhere else but here. I walked blindly through the mass of people; bumping into someone here, tripping over someone else there, until I was able to focus enough to see someone I knew.
"Carly, thank goodness I found you," I breathed. I smoothed my grey tunic shirt self-consiously.
"Taylor! What's up?" Carly peered at me. "You look really pale, are you okay?" I shook my head morosely. "Uh-oh, what did Luke do?"
"He-he's really into Amanda." It was stupid to be this upset over something so little, but I couldn't help it.
"Hey, forget about Luke. He obviously has no taste in girls," Carly reasoned. "This is a party! You should be enjoying yourself!" I smiled because Carly's enthusiasm was infectious. I ran my fingers through my hair and looked around me. Almost everybody was dancing. Oh, gosh. I had been verrry serious about being a horrid dancer. There was no way I was joining in. Carly poked my arm. "Come ooon, you know you want to dance."
"No way. No no no no no." I crossed my arms across my chest. Carly bumped her hip against mine.
"Dance, dork. Before I make you." I stuck my tongue out. "Fine, you leave me no choice." Carly grabbed my arms and made me move awkwardly. It took me a little while, but eventually I loosened up. We jumped around as Desperate Measures by Marianas Trench blasted through the speakers. I felt ridiculously stupid, but it was nice to just let go like this. I could only pray that Luke wouldn't see me.
...
In the end, my Red Riding Hood costume was a big hit. I also danced with Carly and a couple of our other friends for over half-an-hour. Woah, never saw that one coming. I was just getting ready to leave when lo-and-behold, Luke showed up with Amanda in tow.
"Hey, I never ended up seeing you after you ran off. I hope you didn't injure anybody with your dancing," Luke winked at me. I felt a blush creep up onto my face. He saw me?! Fan-freaking-tastic.
"Don't worry," I said with a fake smile plastered on my face. "Nobody was harmed tonight." Except maybe me and my feelings. I glanced down and felt the blood drain from my face. Luke's and Amanda's hands were twined together. "I hope you two had a good time," I said cheerfully.
"Oh, we totally did, right Luke?" Amanda said, grinning up at Luke.
"For sure." Luke didn't take his eyes off Amanda. Vomit. Lucky for me, Carly showed up right at that moment.
"Ready to go, Carly?" She said, obviously sensing my discomfort. I really did have the greatest friend ever.
"Yeah, I'm ready. Bye, Luke. Amanda. Happy Halloween!" I pulled my dark red cloak around my body and walked away, willing myself not to look back.