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Chapter Twenty Nine
April 1968
The onset of exams had given Rose the perfect excuse to avoid any more dates with Peter. It wasn't that the first one had been a disaster, though only a moderate success at best, it was her inability to stop thinking about what Tim had said. She was sure it made her a terrible person. Peter had been so kind and understanding, and here she was stewing over the words of her ex-love interest. For what else could she call him, despite his admittance that those were in fact dates, they still never entered into a definable relationship. It had been nothing more then smoke and mirrors between them.
And yet, she felt that the small flicker of hope had reignited inside of her. Even if she knew it was false, a part of her still wanted to believe in Tim. Maybe he was right and she was just being naive. He certainly didn't deserve her forgiveness, her kindness, or anything from her but indifference. She had to be strong in her resolve. She couldn't let herself so easily fall back into old patterns. Tim would never change, he'd only hurt her again.
She wanted to be resolute in her decision to abandon any fanciful daydreams about a relationship with Tim and commit to the possibility of one with Peter, but that was easier said than done. Especially when she felt guilty every time she saw him. That was why she tried to reduce the times she saw him. It was difficult at school but manageable. At least he hadn't noticed the way she almost bolted at the sight of him that morning, or if he had he hadn't made it apparent.
"I think Peter wants to talk to you." Beth said. "He asked me in Homeroom if you were here today."
"I wonder what he wants." Rose mused, though she had a strong inclination it was about her sudden rudeness towards him.
"Probably to know why you're avoiding him." Beth suggested.
"I don't know how you even went on one date with him." Angela said. "He's so boring."
"He is not!" Rose replied.
"Please, he's so well-behaved, bet he's never broken a rule in his life." Angela said. "That's boring."
Because relationships with interesting men had worked out so well for Angela, Rose thought, but kept it to herself.
"Anyway, I'm skipping the rest of the day." Angela continued. "Gonna spend it with Danny instead."
"How'd you expect to pass your exams when you skip?" Rose admonished.
"We're gonna study." Angela claimed.
"Sure you are." Beth scoffed.
Angela rolled her eyes. "See you two tomorrow."
Neither her not Beth were surprised by Angela's lack of interest in school. They'd been friends with her for months, and it had taken that long to get used to her attitude. Rose doggedly believed that Angela was a good person deep down, but there were times when the girl made it awfully difficult to put up with her. Still, she wasn't a bad person to have on your corner when times were tough.
"She's got a point you know." Beth said.
"Oh not you too." Rose said. "He's not boring. He's nice."
"He is nice." Beth agreed. "But you aren't seriously going to tell me you have feelings for him."
"For Christ's sake, we only went on one date." Rose said. "It's not like we were going to fall madly in love."
"Yeah but you should feel something at least." Beth said. "An attraction maybe."
"Peter is attractive."
"Yeah, but,"
"But what?" Rose demanded.
"But he's not Tim." Beth said. "And I think that's a problem for you."
As much as Rose wanted to claim otherwise she knew it would be a lie. It was the same old story at this point. First Billy, now Peter, hell even her brief beau in New York. All of them paled in comparison to Tim. It wasn't that she found any of them unattractive, but rather she'd never felt even an inkling of an emotional connection with them, not like the one she'd had with Tim. But had was the optimal word there, because everything about her and Tim was in the past, and if it wasn't there yet it soon would be.
"I'm over Tim." Rose claimed, the words sounding no more true to herself, but maybe if she said it enough times it'd become true.
"If you were over him you wouldn't need to say it." Beth pointed out. "Oh, Peter's coming over."
Before she could adequately prepare herself, or find an escape route, Peter had appeared beside her. He had a habit of doing that and she hated it.
"Ah, I was wondering if I could talk to you alone, for a moment?" Peter asked, his eyes pleading with her.
"Sure." Rose said, nodding in farewell to Beth. "What about?"
It was a stupid question really. What else could it be about other than her avoiding him? There was no way he couldn't have noticed by now, it wasn't as if she'd exactly been subtle about it.
"I, um, wanted to know about prom?" Peter asked, smiling at her with uncertainty. "I mean, I wanted to know, if you wanted to go, with me?"
That had to be the topic of conversation furthest from what she'd expected, and it had taken her completely by surprise. She couldn't figure why Peter would want to take her to their Junior Prom when she'd been so indifferent towards him, especially considered he wasnt so stupid that he wouldn't have noticed, woefully naive maybe. Perhaps this was his mother's doing. That would make more sense.
"Rose," he said, and she blinked back to reality. "What do you think? Will you come with me?"
And before she could really process the proposal she was agreeing.
Peter was delighted but all she could manage was a smile that didn't reach her eyes. She'd though he might've noticed, but he didn't.
"What was that about?" Beth asked.
"He asked me to prom." Rose answered.
"And I'm guessing by his response you said yes." Beth said. "Can I ask why?"
Rose shrugged. "Seemed easier. Besides, look how happy it made him,"
"It won't make him happy when you break things off." Beth grumbled. "Don't drag this out like you did with Billy."
"I didn't drag anything out with Billy." Rose objected, but that only earned a pair of raised eyebrows from her best friend.
"Whatever you say."
