Chapter Twenty-Three – Homecoming
They had decided to meet at Ryan's house before the dance, to eat and take pictures. Amy had become obsessed with the decorating the first time she had ever been inside the house, and had declared that the Homecoming, Prom, and Graduation would be taken there, along with any other events she found important enough.
The five teens had the house to themselves. Amy, Colin, and Bright had already taken pictures with their families before coming over and Ryan had gone over to the Brown's for a little bit. Now they were all gathered in Ryan's big house getting ready to eat and take the final pictures.
The five sat at the table, Bright at the end, with Amy and Colin and Ephram and Ryan on either side.
"This is delicious," Amy commented. "Who made this?"
"All of us, of course," Colin said.
"No, not really," Bright interrupted, "Mostly Ephram."
"I am proud of my mashed potatoes though," Colin replied.
"Ephram's a great cook," Ryan said, "It was nice having him stuck with me for three days during the snow. I actually ate decently."
Ephram blushed. And the conversation went on retelling the past two homecomings, with Ryan sharing stories of her homecomings back east. About fifteen minutes before the start of the dance, they finished up dinner and quickly cleaned up, before heading outside to Andy Brown's SUV, which he had let the teens borrow for the night.
They arrived at the dance a little late, and quickly found a place to put their things. Amy and Colin went to socialize with people, and Bright soon made his way around the dance floor, talking with the girls. Ephram quickly found a chair and sat down and Ryan stood in front of him.
"Please come dance?"
Ephram shook his head. "I agreed to come, I never agreed to dance."
"It was the fine print."
"There wasn't a witness."
"Please?" She stuck her lower lip and pouted.
Ephram sighed. "Later?"
"Okay, I can deal with later." Ryan smiled and sat down on Ephram's lap.
The evening went on. Ryan was eventually drug out onto the dance floor by Bright. She didn't want to leave Ephram all alone on the side, but she didn't want to spend the whole night without dancing a little bit. Her and Bright were having a good time, she really didn't think he was that bad of guy, despite Ephram telling her about the bad blood the two of them used to have.
Before any of them knew it, it was the last song of the night. Ryan left Bright to go find Ephram, but when she looked for him, he was gone. She looked around the room but didn't see him anywhere. Slightly confused, she walked over to where Amy and Colin were dancing.
"Hey, have you guys seen Ephram?"
The two looked at each other and they both shook their heads.
"No, why?" Amy asked.
"I went to go get him so I finally drag his ass out for a dance, and he wasn't there. I can't find him anywhere."
Amy shrugged. Ryan sighed and walked away. She maneuvered her way through the many dancing couples. Giving up her search, she went and grabbed her things and decided to wait outside for everyone else. She walked outside and there she saw Ephram, sitting on the curb.
She walked over him, unsure of what to say. "I thought I told you, prostitution is not a way to live your life."
"To be a prostitute, you have to be on a corner, in skimpy clothes, standing up." He sounded angry and Ryan flinched.
"Okay, so you're a depressed hooker, and you brought the wrong set of clothes."
"Why aren't you inside?"
"It was the last song of the night, and I wanted to dance with you. But you weren't there and when I couldn't find you, I figured I'd wait outside for everyone. And eventually, you had to come out, because it is your dad's car."
"Why not dance with Bright, like you have all night?"
"Is that what this is about?"
"Yes," Ephram replied, quietly.
Ryan sat down next to him. "I only danced with Bright because you didn't want to dance. I didn't want to piss you off by bugging you about it."
"But-" Ephram began to protest, before Ryan kissed him. He smiled against her lips and kissed her back. She pulled away and put her head on his shoulder.
"I've only got eyes for you Brown."
"You wanna go get that dance?"
Ryan laughed. "I hate to break it to you, but it's probably over. But I'll take a raincheck."
"Ok, deal."
Ryan got up and brushed herself off. "Come on, let's go round the troops. I'm tired and I want to get out of this dress."
Ephram followed her and put his arms around her. "I could help you with that."
Ryan laughed. "I'm sure you could."
Just as they began to head back, they saw Amy, Colin, and Bright heading in their direction. The dance was over, but the night was still young … and waiting for more.
