A Single Candle

"What do you see in me? In you, I see all these wonderful things, but I have nothing to give you in return. I'm not pretty or popular, and heaven
knows I don't have the money or the smarts."

--Yolie, A Single Candle

Chapter Four: Revelations for Ken

"Hey Yolie!" Miranda shouted. Miranda and her mom were sitting on the front porch of their house waiting for Yolie. Miranda's mom, Stephanie waved, showing off the keys of her brand new car. Yolie smiled. "You got your money?" Yolie nodded. "Good. Let's go, then!" She said. Yolie and Miranda sat in the back and Miranda's mom sat in the driver's seat.

Miranda automatically reached up for the radio, putting on one of her favorite songs: Real Emotion. Yolie rolled her eyes. Her friend was obsessed. But she couldn't complain. Of all the songs to obsess over, Real Emotion was a good one. She listened to the song. She hoped they played it at the dance. Miranda gave her a look that said she was thinking the same thing.

"Far beyond the hazy borders of my heart- I can see a place that's something like this. Every now and then I don't know what to do. Still I know that I can never go back. All the things I've seen in those hazy dreams- can't compare to what I'm seeing now. Everything's so different that it brings me to my knees!" The two girls sang along with the radio.

Suddenly, the car stopped. They were at the mall already. They had been so wrapped up that they hadn't been paying attention. "Let's go!" Miranda's mom said, taking the keys out and putting them in her purse. "I needed to get a new pair of shoes, anyway." She laughed sweetly. Yolie nodded. She got out first and Miranda crawled over to get out on Yolie's side.

"Ok. I'll let you girls go to the clothing department by yourselves, but you have to stay there. Do not leave the area. I will be in the shoe department in case you need me. But don't leave unless it's an emergency. Got it?" The two girls nodded and smiled. "Good. Well... have fun! You have your money, Mir?" Mir was her mother's nickname for Miranda.

"Yeah. Thanks mom! See ya later!" She said, leading Yolie inside. They went straight to the clothing department and weeded their way towards the dresses for special occasions. "Wow. There are so many to pick from!" Miranda laughed. "I can't decide!" She said. She was caught between a dark red one with spaghetti straps and a black and white one with thicker straps and a frilly hem.

"Yeah. Me too." She said. There was at three she liked very much. There was a purple one with spaghetti straps and a purple flower in the center of the chest. Another one was pink, white and red with swirls and hearts. And yet another was black with dark red flowers on it. She sighed. "Decisions, decisions. What about you? I think you should get the red one."

"Maybe you girls would like to think about it over some food? I just got my shoes and I just realized how hungry I am." Miranda's mother said. "My treat!" The girls smiled and nodded. They went over to the food court. Yolie, being her clumsy self, tripped over one of the table legs and fell forward. At the last minute, one of the boys standing nearby grabbed her by the arms and hoisted her up into his arms.

"Hehe... how clumsy of me." She said. She looked up and blushed. "I..." His eyes were so beautiful. She couldn't stop staring. Their faces were only centimeters apart and though it seemed like they had been in that position for forever, in reality it had only been a few seconds. She laughed nervously.

"Yolie? You're acting.... strange. Snap out of it." She knew that voice. She blushed even brighter, if possible. She looked again. That pretty face belonged to no other than Ken! She stepped back, steadying herself. She smiled. "Are you ok?" He asked. There was a hint of laughter in his voice. She slapped herself mentally. She must have looked like a fool.

"Oh! Hi Ken! Good to see you." She said, trying to act normal, but failing miserably. Miranda's mother smiled at Yolie, winking. Yolie blushed furiously. "Would you... like to join us? We were about to get something to eat." She asked. Ken nodded.

"Thanks." He said. Miranda's mom ordered two large pizzas while the kids went and got a table. The picked a large table in the corner. The place was packed but most of the people were crowded in the center. "So... who's your friend?" Ken asked, smiling at Miranda. Miranda smiled sweetly.

"Oh. Sorry. This is my best friend, Miranda! We both screwed up that science project. But... she passed it too!" Yolie said. Ken laughed. "Miranda, this is Ken." Miranda nodded, shaking his hand.

"It's nice to meet you. Yolie has told me so much about you! You know, I never thought I could get Yolie to watch sports before. But I was wrong." She said, smiling. Yolie punched her playfully in the side. "Hey! It's true." Ken grinned.

"Good to know." He said. Suddenly, Miranda's mom came back with the pizzas. She set them down at the table and smiled.

"I'm going to talk with an old friend! When you guys are finished, you can go back to the clothing area. I'll meet you here at six. That should be plenty of time for you. Enjoy!" She said, before going to see a friend who was over at another table with Chinese food.

They ate their food in an awkward silence. When they finished, they cleaned up. Yolie had been thinking. She had been embarrassed, but she decided to ask. "Ken? Can I ask you to do me an itsy, bitsy little favor?"

The next thing Ken knew, he was being dragged to the clothing section by two giggling girls. He didn't know why, but he had agreed to help them pick out their dresses. Miranda went first. She tried them both on and showed him. "The red one. Simple looks good on you." He said, smiling. She nodded.

"Thanks, Ken!" She said, hugging him. He smiled.

"Any time." He said. "Yolie? What about you?" He said. Yolie smiled and went in to try the first one on. After trying on all three, she came back out in her original outfit with the three dresses in her hand.

"So? Which one do you think? I have to really impress Devon! And the dress is a big part of it!" She said. Ken shrugged. She looked good in all of them. But Ken thought she looked amazing in the pink, white, and red one with the swirls and hearts. It brought out the curves in her body, Ken noted. He shook his head, trying to remove the thoughts from his head and blushing.

"That one." He said, pointing to it. She smiled and nodded. She put the others back. Miranda nodded in agreement. It looked very nice on her. "It's getting pretty late." He said, looking at his watch. "I should get going. My mom will start worrying." He smiled. "It's been fun. Thanks." He waved. Miranda smiled and waved back.

"Bye Ken!" Miranda shouted. But Yolie, who had been putting the other dresses back, wasn't finished. He had left the clothing area but Yolie ran after him.

"Wait, Ken!" She shouted. He stopped faster than her and she went crashing into him. "S-sorry." She stuttered, backing up. "But I wanted to thank you. You did a lot for me lately. You are a great friend!" She said, hugging him. He looked at her, shocked.

He hesitated, but slowly allowed himself to hug her back. His body was betraying him again. He smiled. "It's... nothing." He said, shrugging. He was trying to act casual, but it wasn't working well. 'What's wrong with me? Its Yolie... isn't it? I...' "I... Gotta go." He said, pulling away quickly and dashing out the door. She stared after him.

"How... strange. But boy can he run." She said, smiling. "I better get back to Miranda before she starts worrying." Miranda was waiting for her. "Are your ready to go? Let's go pay for this and we'll go get your mom. Maybe you can stay the night since tomorrow's the dance!" Miranda nodded.

"That would be great! But we have to stop at my house to get my stuff." They went to the cash register and paid for the dresses. Then, they went back to the Food court where Miranda's mom was waiting for them.

"Oh, you're back early. Are you ready to go?" The girls nodded. "Ok. Let's go." She said. They went back out to the car and started on their way back. Real Emotion came back on. "And though I know the world of real emotion has surrounded me, I won't give in to it. Now I know that forward is the only way my heart can go. I hear your voice calling out to me. "You'll never be alone." What can I do for you?"

"Hey, can I stay at Yolie's? Tomorrow is the dance, after all." Miranda asked her mother. Her mother nodded.

"All right. But don't be up too late. I'll drop you off at our house, Yolie. You two can walk." They both nodded, as the car pulled into the driveway. The two girls scrambled out with their bags and ran inside to get Miranda's stuff.

Miranda packed all her stuff including her dress into her bag and slung it over her shoulder. "Let's go! This will be so great! Especially the dance!" She smiled dreamily, thinking of her date: Marc. Yolie nodded in agreement. It was going to be the best dance of her life! It just had to be!

They walked over to Yolie's house. Yolie's mom didn't mind it when Miranda stayed over. It was common. The girls were always spending time together. "Let's finish our homework! Then, we can show off our new dresses to my mom!" Yolie said. They both laughed and nodded, hurrying up to Yolie's room.

TBC

Ok, that was a little bit longer. The next chapter is the day of the dance. The sixth chapter is the dance! I hope you like it! This is going to be a lot of fun. This story is turning out better than I thought. Thanks to all my reviewers. You guys rock my socks!

Christine Lennoire