CHAPTER PLAYLIST: Ache by James Carrington
POV's: Tris, Four, Uriah
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
TRIS
Turns out, the dance was moved outside to the hotel's 'backyard'.
Last minute change of plans, the hotel attendee told us as we pass through more hallways.
After another left turn, I finally see green and lights at the end of the hallway. Caleb notices this, too, because he starts walking slightly faster and I have to be extra-cautious in order to reach the dance unscathed by heels, or worse.
A nose bleed.
"Um, Caleb?"
"Yeah?"
"I know you're excited for the dance and all but I'd rather arrive there by 9 o'clock in the morning rather than making a grand entrance with a nose bleed I may get from tripping."
I almost trip again because Caleb comes to an abrupt stop. I straighten myself up and glare at Caleb. He just chuckles, of course.
"Sorry, sis. Forgot you're a tad bit too short to catch up with me," he said and immediately bursts into laughter. I hit his arm with my free hand. He finally gets over his fit, and straightens up.
"Okay, okay. It's just that Kate will kill me if I'm not there yet, and I'm dead enough as it is. I was supposed to pick her up but she called me and said that her father insisted on driving her so, yeah. So can we please walk just a bit faster before I get boiled alive?" He says seriously but I know from his laughing eyes that he's half-joking.
Except for the boiling part.
I think.
FOUR
"Wow," Lauren gasps beside me. I just nod.
Wow is the word. A last minute change happened so instead of holding the school dance in the hotel's multipurpose room, the committee decided to take it outside to make it more 'romantic'. They did quite a good job, if I say so myself.
Lanterns are strewn around the whole expanse of the backyard. They were tied to cords and were wrapped around the trees for support. A stage was set up at the very front edge of the allotted land for the dance. Also, there were tables overflowing with food and drinks that line up the other edges of the lot. It was pretty romantic, actually. Some tiki torches were also set at regular intervals all around.
As Lauren clutches my arm, we make our way to the stage where our friends said they would be. Gone were the baggy clothing and chic everyday clothing, everyone was in formal clothing; suits, dresses and even gowns. Zeke, Uriah and, Will were with their dates and were talking when we finally got our asses there.
"Whatchatalkinbout?" Lauren asks.
"Just admiring the night. And of course the prom committee's work," Christina answers, her eyes roaming ever-critically around the grounds.
"Yeah, the torch lights are…okaybut good thing they added the lanterns so it glows—," Uriah stops talking and his eyes also stopped wandering around the land, fixing on one point. His jaw opens.
"Uri?" Marlene looks concerned. He remains staring unapologetically so all of us turn to look.
The music was blasting from the speakers but no one was talking at all. They were either too busy putting their eyes back into their sockets or identifying which jaw was theirs on the grass, along with everyone else's.
Talk about a grand entrance.
Caleb is wearing a suit, I know that for sure, but I didn't pay much attention because I was too fixated on the creature clinging to his arm.
She was wearing a dress the colour of the sky, and her skin looked like flawless cream. If the gods would pin her up the sky right now, the bright celestial bodies would rejoice.
But I knew for a fact that compared to her eyes, nothing shines quite as bright.
Torch lights are okay. Lanterns are better. Stars are points of light. The sun shines. Blah blah blah. But Tris? Tris is a billion torches, a million and twelve lanterns, fifty-two galaxies of stars and, the sun combined. No, she is more. The bombing of Hiroshima never happened. There was no Cold War. Dinosaurs did not go extinct. The Big Bang never happened. The moment I laid my eyes on her, my whole universe was erased and rebuilt and blew up and reformed. I could not peel my eyes away from her and I was not the only one doing so.
They move through the crowd, but unlike Lauren and I, they don't have to mutter "excuse me's" because the crowd parts for them. They stop in front of the refreshment's table where a blonde haired girl, I recognize as Kate, awaits. Caleb introduces the girl to Tris and the girls shake hands. Caleb and Kate then walk off somewhere and I see Tris start approaching us.
"Uh, hey guys," Tris greets us shyly, seeming unsure if she should be talking to us.
I can feel my lips curve up into a smile and see everyone do so except for the girl beside me; Lauren. She was looking prim and ready for murder.
"Hey Tris! May I be the first one to say that you look quite…ravishing tonight," Uriah says and steps forward to hug Tris.
I look at Marlene and I can see her mirroring the emotions that I must be portraying on my face.
Jealousy.
And hurt.
The way Uriah said it, was so…flirty. I never thought I'd say that but it's true. And that is the only way that I can describe it. Being a guy, I really can't know if someone or something is flirting with me. I'll probably only know if someone else informs me. Usually a girl, since they always know that stuff. Or Lauren. And whenever I find out that someone's 'flirting' with me, I just shrug it off because I know I have a girlfriend and stuff like that.
Right now, though, it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see that Uriah is clearly flirting with Tris.
Tris' cheeks turn red and I forget my jealousy. She's absolutely glowing tonight. All of us make small talk for a while before Tris, Uriah, Christina and, Marlene head to the stage for the first song. I was tempted to tell the guy behind the lighting to just shut it because Tris is luminescent enough, and as if someone heard my thought, the lighting turned down just a little bit.
She taps the microphone three times before turning to the audience and smiling. Once again, I find a deep ache inside of me for Tris.
"Good Evening, everyone. So welcome to this year's school dance. My band members and I wish for everyone to have fun and…just enjoy the night."
With that she turns to look at the rest of the band and they start playing. Before I could do anything more, Lauren hauls me to the middle of the field. She starts dancing around with the music. I mentally sigh, but since it's the school dance and Lauren is my girlfriend, I start dancing with her as well and soon enough, we engulf in a mass of moving bodies.
TRIS
Ravishing.
Uriah told me that I looked that tonight.
Ravishing.
Ha. Not. At. All.
Ravishing.
I repeat the word over and over again in my head as I look at the sea of people in front of us. From the size of the crowd, I can tell that most, if not all, of the school is here. I see Caleb and Kate dancing to the far left but I don't pay attention to them that much because I can't keep my eyes off of a certain pair.
Four and Lauren.
The blonde haired girl is wearing a red gown with a slit on the side, showing off her flawless leg. She looks beautiful but not as beautiful as the boy she's dancing with.
Every guy in the room wears a tuxedo but he just looks different from everyone else, somehow. The cloth fits his figure perfectly, accenting his well-sculpted body. He looks…beautiful. Grand.
Ravishing.
After two songs, I turned to my band mates. I see the longing and the jealousy in their eyes and I smiled knowing that my thoughts were right after all.
"Guys, how 'bout all of you take a break first," I tell them. They look at me confused but I can see that they want so badly to just dance.
"Dance with your dates?" I clarify and the girl's eyes lit up. Uriah's does, too, but he looks concerned.
"But what about you?" he asks after telling the girls to go first.
"Fret not, that microphone and I shall have a lovely time," I say with a smile.
Uriah seems unconvinced but leaves. I turn around and see everyone lounging around the food tables, chatting away. Walking to the front of the stage, I tap the mic once again. All eyes are on me.
URIAH
"I would like to dedicate this song to two of the most amazing persons on this planet. To the two of you, I wish you the best and that you look amazing together. Uriah and Marlene, this is for you," Tris says from the stage.
Ouch.
She really thinks that I like Marlene, huh?
Different sorts of pain go through me at once and it becomes more unbearable when I see Tris throwing a sincere smile at Marlene and I's direction. I put on a smile and overhead, a bright spotlight lands on both of us. I look at Marlene and see that also she is smiling.
The only difference is that hers is not false.
I hold out my hand for her and she eagerly takes it. The light follows us as we make our way to the centre of the field. I turn to look at Tris. She has a guitar slung across her front and I briefly meet her eyes. I wish she would smile at me sadly, but instead she just grins at me, hoping to encourage me. Sighing, I turn back to Marlene and plaster a smile on my pained face. The girl I wish I was dancing with starts singing.
Isn't it strange the way things can change
Life that you lead turned on its head
Suddenly someone means more than you felt for
House in its yard turns into home
Sorry but I meant to say many things along the way
This one's for you
Marlene and I start dancing. She looks so genuinely happy at the moment that I wanted to beat myself up for not even trying to notice her. I like her, I do. But not just in that way. It's different.
Have I told you I ache
Have I told you I ache
Have I told you I ache, for you
Have I told you I ache
Have I told you I ache
Have I told you I ache, for you
Another dagger of agony and pain slice through my being as Tris continues singing and as Mar and I continue dancing. The words Tris is playing hits home. It's as if she read my mind and knows exactly how I feel about her.
I sing the words in my head. Have I told you I ache. Have I told you I ache. Have I told you I ache, for you? The song describes perfectly how I feel about Tris. Every time she's close, she's never close enough. I always want to reach out and pull her close; I ache to press my lips to hers and erase everyone else because it will only be us, she and I alone in that moment. I ache to cup her always-blushing cheeks in my hands and trace secret messages only she can feel and understand. I ache and ache and ache.
I ache for her.
The time that it took
Writing words for my book
Seems to have broken off
The gate that I shot
Last time I got hurt
Seems to have opened itself
Oh what its spinnin' now
It's tryna catch me up
Tell me to appreciate, here and now
I'm sorry but I meant to say
Many things along the way
This one's for you
Have I told you I ache
Have I told you I ache
Have I told you I ache, for you
Tris finishes the song; Marlene and I stop dancing. Everyone around us claps and even hollers. Across me, Marlene is smiling so wide, her eyes full of happiness. She throws her arms around my neck and I am momentarily surprised but quickly composing myself, I wrap my arms around her waist.
MY body was with her but my eyes are locked on a pair of electric-blue eyes on stage.
Those blues look happy for me and the girl nearly choking me. Marlene lets go of me but once again comes up with a surprise.
She kisses me.
One moment she breaks the hug—but keeps her hands around my neck, my hands still on her waist—and the next, I can feel her lips on mine. My first instinct is to push her away or to not kiss back, but I think better. I do kiss her back and I can hear the crowd's cheering getting louder, as if they support our little pairing.
Oh, if only they knew.
I kiss her and I hold onto her.
I kiss her and I barricade the tears that are threatening to spill.
I kiss her but I imagine someone else. I imagine its Tris.
I kiss her and hope to God she know how sorry I am.
I kiss her and I ache.