Chapter 80

Inside the waterfall room, the dance was in full swing. As all of the students, including most of those from Rethink Avenue, danced to some more common popular line dance tunes, Eddy remained in his position, observing his friends have the time of their lives from afar.

The stout Ed boy appeared quite depressed; in his mind, the entire ordeal regarding his feud with Lee was his fault. As he stared into the distance, he couldn't help but wonder if his words of wisdom and experience he had channeled toward Lindsay managed to sink in. Even more so, he wondered how long it would take Lee to give him another chance at love, if that chance ever came.

As Eddy emitted a sigh, he noticed movement across the hall in his peripheral vision. The entrance door to the hall proper was located on the opposite side of Eddy's position, and although far away, the boy was able to make out a familiar female figure.

Lee had finally arrived at the dance. Her causal manner of dress caused her to stick out like a sore thumb amidst the myriad of three-piece suits and ball gowns. The red headed girl took a few steps forward, remaining still as her eyes scanned the room from behind her black rimmed glasses, attempting to locate her diminutive boyfriend and her friends.

A few seconds passed, at which point Lee's eyes finally located Eddy's stout frame. The two lovers locked eyes from across the room, their gaze uninterrupted by the myriad of individuals constantly passing between them on their way to the punch bowl. Lee adopted a sly grin placing her right hand on her hip, while simultaneously relaxing her pelvis to the right. At the same time, Eddy's face transformed from a frown to a smile as he stared across the room into his tall, beautiful girlfriends eyes; all the while wondering if her image was real or merely a illusion brought about by his overwhelming emotions.

Eventually, Lee emitted a slight giggle as she raised her right hand in the air, and proceeded to flick her index finger toward her as if to say "come here". Slowly but surely Eddy obliged, and began his journey towards the door, weaving his way through the crowds as he walked.

By this time, Double Dee and Marie had joined their peers on the dance floor; the students had organized into several lines, and were currently following the instructions dictated by the popular dance tune blaring from the DJ's speakers. These moves included several jumps, slides, and an invitation to "Salsa Now Yo", carried out in sequence as they were announced.

While Double Dee was quite focused on following the music, he had been keeping a keen eye on his loudmouthed best friend, due to being concerned for his well being. Naturally, he was quite intrigued to see Eddy vacate the position he had remained in for the entirety of the previous hour, and curious regarding his sudden the desire to move. As he observed his friend weave through the crowds, he turned his attention towards the area of the entry door, anticipating Eddy's final destination.

It was at that point that Double Dee discovered Lee's presence. The top-hatted boy immediately ceased dancing, focusing completely on the events taking place across the room. Marie, taking notice of Double Dee's sudden change, stopped dancing as well. She turned her attention towards her boyfriend, requesting an explanation for his sudden loss of will to dance; this action prompted the boy to simply point in the direction of Lee with a heartfelt smile.

Thirty seconds was all it took for Eddy to finally come within speaking distance of Lee. The small boy took a standing position around three feet away from his beautiful lady, staring up into her eyes with a genuine smile, as Lee returned the gesture with a smile of her own.

"Hey Babe," said Eddy, breaking the silence with a joke, "I'm glad to see you finally showed up."

"Hey, what is it they say?" asked Lee, "Better late than never, right?"

There was a slight pause, at which point Eddy decided to interject.

"Lee," said Eddy, "I'm sorry for everything that happened yesterday, and I'm sorry for going behind your back and trying to handle Lindsay my own way. It's just, you're honestly the best thing that ever happened to me, and I couldn't stand to see you so upset all of the time. In all honesty, I thought I was trying to do what was best for you, but I should have minded my own business and supported you instead of trying to cheat the system like I always seem to do."

Eddy approached Lee, and took her hands in his as he looked up towards her

"You mean more to me than anything Annalee Kanker," said Eddy, "I don't want us to end, even though I said so yesterday. Could you ever forgive me?"

There was a pause, at which point Lee decided to reply.

"Well Eddy, as much as it turns me on to have you beg me for forgiveness," said Lee in a playful manner, "I'm really the one who should be apologizing. I got so caught up in trying to outdo Lindsay, because we...well, that doesn't matter anymore, I'll tell ya all about it later. The point is I forgot about what is important to me in life. I ain't no debutante, prissy, ball gown wearing beauty queen, and I was a fool for trying to be something I wasn't just to prove a point."

Lee leaned down to eye level with Eddy, smiling as her voice adopted a gentle motherly tone.

"What really matters to me is you," said Lee, "I got so caught up in my past, that I neglected any feelings you may have had. I'm sorry for forcing you to dance ballet in front of the school like that, I should have never drug you into it."

"About that," said Eddy, "I said a lot of things out of anger yesterday, including the fact that dancing with you made me miserable. When I said I'd like to keep practicing with you after the talent show, I was really serious. I really enjoyed the time we spent together, and I have to say while I was scared at first it actually turned out fun."

Eddy paused, adopting a sly smile.

"Besides, all the guys are jealous of these guns thanks to your ballet training, " said Eddy as he struck a bodybuilders pose, "I gotta keep up with it if I want to keep them, and you gotta be crazy if you think I'm gonna pass up the opportunity to see you in that skin tight outfit again."

Lee giggled.

"That's great to hear," said Lee, "Just thinking of your cute little ass in those tights, and those hot muscles in a sleeveless shirt is making me blush."

Lee stood up straight as she playfully fanned herself, playing into their mutual joke. The couple shared a giggle, at which point Eddy decided to continue.

"So," said Eddy, "Do you forgive me?"

"Well duh," said Lee, in a playful manner, "Why do you think I'm here you moron."

The two shared a smile, at which point Lee leaned back down to eye level with her boyfriend..

"Enough of this crap," said Lee, "Let's kiss and make up."

At that point, Lee wrapped her hands around Eddy's shoulders as she pressed her lips to his, initiating a passionate kiss. At the same time, Eddy placed his hands on Lee's waist, pulling her closer to him in an effort to return her emotional display. After the chaos that had plagued the cul-de-sac for the last twenty four hours, as well as the ugly feud between Lee and Lindsay, the wistful kiss was quite satisfying for the couple, and the two enjoyed every minute of it.

Unbeknownst to couple, currently lost in their own little world of affection, the two remaining Kanker sisters and their boyfriends had taken notice of their reconciliation, and had decided to approach their position. As the two continued to lock lips with their eyes closed, Marie decided to be first to comment.

"Well oh well, what do we have here?" said Marie, "Looks like ya decided to show up after all?"

Lee promptly pulled away from Eddy, continuing to hold his right hand in hers as she stood erect. She turned her attention toward her sisters, both standing next to their boyfriends; Marie portraying a cocky grin, while May smiled in an endearing manner as she clasped her hands together. Double Dee, happy to see Lee and Eddy's relationship repaired, displayed a heartfelt expression, as his oafish friend displayed a dopey smile.

Lee spent a few moments playfully checking out her sisters ball gowns. It truly was a rarity to see the tomboyish Kankers "all dolled up", let alone wearing fancy evening gowns; Lee decided to take advantage of the situation, providing her own commentary with a sisterly joke.

"Oh jeez look at this," said Lee, "I gotta admit, youse two clean up quite nice when ya set you mind to it."

"Whelp, that confirms it, Lee's back to normal," said Marie, as she turned towards May with a smile, "I'm glad to see you finally drug your ass out of the house, but don't be jealous of how hot we look just because you showed up without a dress."

Marie and May shared a laugh.

"Huh, I could care less at this point," said Lee, "I realized how stupid I was for getting so hung up over this ball queen thing. I called the seamstress shop this morning and told them to give my dress away, let a girl who really cares about this shit have it."

Lee turned towards Eddy.

"All's I need to be happy are my family, my friends, and this little sexy stud right here," said Lee as she leaned down and delivered Eddy a long drawn out kiss on the cheek.

As the tall girl ran her fingers through her silky red curls, Double Dee decided to interject.

"Well, I certainly thank fate gratuitously that we can put all of the ugliness plaguing our beloved cul-de-sac behind us," said Double Dee, "And I am glad to see that you have decided to attend the dance on your own accord, and more importantly, on your own terms Lee."

Lee giggled.

"Huh, you kiddin?," asked Lee, "There ain't no way I'm sticking around for the rest of this mush fest. These fancy balls just ain't my scene, I just came by to make peace with my sweet little man. Besides, I promised my Mom I'd be back in a hour to help her get ready for the party tommorow night, and it's not like I have a dress anyway."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," said Double Dee with a smile.

"Yeah," said May, "Eddy's got a little surprise for you hanging on the coat rack outside."

Lee turned towards Eddy.

"Alright," said Lee, "What are ya hiding from me this time?"

Eddy glanced towards the floor, blushing slightly as he rubbed the back of his head.

"It's nothing really," said Eddy, "It's just, um...I saw how much you really wanted to win the ball crown, and after you told me that you couldn't wait to get dressed up together tonight just before we danced at the talent show, I decided that I would try to make that happen. So I decided to get a job after school to earn the money to buy you a custom ball gown. I worked all night, every night for the past week and finally got enough money to get it. That's why I couldn't make it to the parade, and blew off some of our dates. I'm sorry I didn't tell you Babe, I just wanted it to be a surprise."

Eddy glanced up towards his girlfriend, his face as red as a beet as he smiled awaiting her response.

"Are you serious?," said Lee as she displayed a very rare genuine smile, "You did that for me?"

"Yeah," said Eddy, "Why wouldn't I? You deserve it, Lee. You're always helping people, and even though you've got that little fire inside your belly, you're definitely the sweetest girl I know. You're my bad girl with a big heart, and I'd do anything to make you happy..."

Lee remained still, staring downward at her diminutive boyfriend with a radiant expression. While she generally did everything she could to mask any form of positive emotional expression, she could not stop her eyes from adopting a glassy appearance, overwhelmed by emotion due to Eddy's kind gesture.

After a few moments, Eddy approached Lee, reaching his hand up towards her shoulder.

"Please Babe," said Eddy, "I know you have plans with your mom, but give this short, loud mouthed, back street guy the chance to see the sexiest girl in Peach Creek in her beautiful ball gown, and the honor to share at least one dance with her."

Double Dee, Marie, Ed, and May stood by with smiles, observing their usual boisterous and brash friend display his rarely seen noble qualities, all the while anticipating Lee's response. Eventually, the tall girl leaned down into Eddy's face, and adopted an amorous grin.

"How in the world did I get so lucky to have a guy as sweet as you?" asked Lee, "Alright, you got yourself a deal, one dance in the dress you bought for me, shared with the most handsome guy it the dance."

At the conclusion of Lee's statement, Marie and May both turned towards each other. The two younger sisters joined both of their hands together, bouncing up and down out of excitement for their older sister. After a few moments, the girls made their way over to Lee, each grabbing one of her hands as they began pulling her towards the door leading out to the antechamber.

"I'm doing your hair!" yelled May.

"I'm doing your makeup!," yelled Marie.

"Whoah there, pump the brakes nutzos," said Lee, "How's about you let me concentrate on actually changing into the dress before we start worrying about hair, makeup and all that secondary bullshit."

Lee turned, beginning her walk towards the exit doors as she completed her statement.

"I'm gonna get the dress," said Lee, "Meet me in the head in about ten minutes, and then you can concentrate on painting my face."

"Whatever you say Lee," said Marie as she observed her sister open the door, and disappear from view as she entered the entrance hall.

Upon exiting the ball room, Lee gently closed the door behind her, causing the volume of the music within to be significantly reduced and muffled. After ensuring that she was alone, the tall redhead removed her cellphone from her pocket, opened up her "contacts" folder, and proceeded to speed dial a number.

Outside, the streets of the business district were quite devoid of life, in complete contrast to the Waterfall room's dance hall. The only sign of life appeared to be that of Lindsay Statorowski. The tall blonde remained just as Lee left her, leaning against her lavender scooter as she continued to scroll through various articles on the stock market and investment opportunities.

However, her concentration was quickly broken, for the investment article occupying the screen of her smart phone was suddenly replaced by a black screen stating the words "Incoming Call - LeeLee." Accordingly, Lindsay used her thumb to swipe the on screen prompt to the answer position, and lifted the phone to her ear.

"Hey girl," said Lindsay, "Did you patch everything up with Eddy?"

"Yep," said Lee, "Just calling to give you a heads up, I'm probably gonna be a little longer than expected. Do you mind waiting?"

"It depends," said Lindsay in a playful manner, "If it's a makeup make out session, the taxi service doesn't account for any lost time spent in the below freezing wind chills."

Lindsay giggled slightly.

"Whatever," said Lee, "Do me a favor, run across the street to the coffee house and treat yourself to a latte. Pick me one up too, and I'll reimburse ya the cost on yours, sound fair!"

Lee paused for a few seconds, as she cupped her hand to the phone speaker.

"It's really sweet," said Lee, "He surprised me with a dress, I'll tell ya all about it later."

"You bet," said Lindsay, "Have fun, I'll meet you at the Buddy in about twenty."

"Roger that," said Lee, "See ya then."

Lee ended the phone call, placing the cell phone into her coat pocket as she made her way towards the coat rack. She proceeded to removed the long black dress bag from the rack, and began her trek down the hallway to the ladies room.

Once inside, Lee locked the bathroom door, and placed the hook protruding from the dress bag over the top of the panel acting as the wall to the last toilet stall. She then placed her hand on the zipper, and proceeded to unzip the bag, slowly revealing the contents contained within.

As the emerald green fabric of the dress came into view, Lee's eyes widened with complete surprise. Mounted on the interior hanger was the dress she had spent hours meticulously sewing in preparation for tonight's ball. The notion that it was a copy was quickly dismissed; upon inspection of the tag, Lee discovered her signature ( a tradition among Green Clover seamstresses upon completion of the their dresses) just where she had left it.

Lee spent a few moments gazing upon her creation with a smile, at which point she slowly turned toward the mirror. She then uttered a few words to herself with a smile.

"Edith you're a pip," said Lee as she began the process of unbuttoning her coat in preparation for changing into her ball gown.