Sorry I didn't post this last night. I was super tired and couldn't keeo my eyes open long enough to finish. You know, based on the reviews I've been getting I'm really glad none of you people know where I live or else I'm afraid you might break my door down and force me to update even more than I already do. After this there is only one chapter left. It'll be up either later today or tomorrow, depending on how quickly I work and how distracted I get. Curse you Facebook for being so entertaining!

Chapter 6

Cautiously Nina walked down the stairs. She gripped Amber's arm tightly, afraid that she might trip. She was never very good at walking in heels and stairs made wearing them even worse. As they reached the bottom of the stairs Amber let go of Nina's arm and ran straight to Mick. He picked her up and swung her in a half circle. He whispered something into her ear and she giggled.

Nina walked straight over to Fabian and smiled. His eyes were wide, mouth ever so slightly agape. Nina noticed that he hadn't blinked since they appeared at the top of the staircase. Fabian looked like he was about to say something but no words came out. Jerome snuck up behind and smacked him in the back. "You might want to try saying something to her mate," he joked. He then walked away to go talk to Alfie.

Fabian stammered momentarily, words almost coming out. Finally he managed to saw softly, "You look gorgeous."

"Thank you. You look pretty sharp yourself," Nina said. She looked at Fabian who had, along with all the other boys, put on a jet black tux. Nina looked over at the others and giggled softly when she saw Alfie was the only one who wasn't in a tux. Instead he had on a pair of black pants and a white button up shirt, but he made it more unique by wearing a zebra print vest and a bright red tie. On top of his head he had a red fedora. "Where does he get this stuff?" Nina whispered to Fabian.

"I have no idea. I don't think I want to though," he whispered back. The both of them started laughing softly to themselves. The eight teens were about to walk out the door when Trudy came running from down the hall carrying a camera.

"I can't have you all leave without taking some pictures. Come on, everyone together," Trudy began gently pushing everyone into a group. They made two lines, girls in front and guys in back. Nina felt Fabian place his hands ever so lightly on her hips. She blushed slightly and smiled at the camera. Trudy made them take more pictures after that. Nina, Amber, Patricia and Mara all took a picture. And then she took another of Fabian, Mick, Jerome and Alfie. Trudy would have taken more but the battery on her camera died.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and together they walked out the door, waving good-bye to Trudy. Together they set off for the school's gymnasium where the dance was being held. The weather was cool so Nina didn't mind that she didn't have a jacket, as long as it didn't get any colder out.

In the distance blaring music and flashing lights became more obvious. Colored lights blinked on and off with rapid speed. There was a short line at the door and when they got to the front a teacher took their tickets and let them inside. Just past the entrance there was a booth where students could put their personal belongings. Nina, Patricia and Mara all left their shoes and bags there.

Nina then turned to look at decorations of the gym. It had been transformed into the perfect party place. Along the back wall there was a table full of snacks and drinks; across from it was a huge DJ booth. Balloons littered the floor and red streamers hung from the ceiling along with the flashing lights and what looked like a disco ball. In the middle of the dance floor there was a mash pit of people dancing and scattered around the fringes were smaller groups of five or six people. Against the last two walls were lines of chairs where a few remaining students sat.

Mick and Amber soon disappeared into the mass of students and Mara walked over to one of the lines of chairs and started talking to a boy. Nina recognized him; he was from their history class. He must be her date. "Nina?" Fabian yelled over the music. "Do you want to dance?" Nina nodded and they made their way over to the dance floor.

"Hopefully this time we won't be interrupted," Nina yelled referring to Amber and Mick's party at the start of the term. As they danced Nina noticed Patricia standing on t he edge of the dance floor next to Alfie. She beckoned Fabian to follow her and she made her way to Patricia. "Patricia come dance with us," Nina asked. The red haired girl shrugged and Nina took her hand and they made their way back onto the dance floor. Another fast paced song came on and Fabian, Nina and Patricia began dancing. Nina tried carefully to not step on Fabian or Patricia's feet as she danced.

Soon Mara and her date, Andrew, came over and they joined in on their little dancing group. "Mara, do you want some punch?" Andrew asked. Mara nodded and they made their way over to the snack table. Out of the corner of her eye Nina noticed Jerome talking to another girl, it looked like he was asking her to dance but she just shook her head and walked away. Jerome hung his head in defeat and made his way over to the snack table.

"Looks like Jerome struck out again," Fabian observed.

"Looks like Alfie's having some luck though." Nina pointed over to where he was dancing with another girl. Nina had no idea who she was but it looked like they were having a good time. At some point during the song Patricia vanished but Nina thought she saw her talking to a group of girls from their art class.

The song came to an end and the DJ put on a rap song that Nina had never heard before. "You want to go get something to eat?" Nina nodded in excitement. Until now she hadn't realized how hungry she was. She hadn't had anything to eat since breakfast. A lot of people had left the dance floor to avoid dancing to the lousy song and the walk to the food table was pretty difficult. Instinctively Nina reached out her hand and grabbed Fabian's. Somehow they managed to push through the crowd and get to the table.

Most of the food there was snack food—chips, pretzels and some candy. There were also large trays of vegetables and also a tray of cookies. At the other end of the table there were different drinks—water, sodas and juices. Nina got a plate and placed some vegetables and chips on it. Then she got a cup of soda and went back to meet Fabian. "Let's go sit down," Fabian suggested. They weaved through the clusters of kids until they got to some chairs to sit down in.

As Nina ate she looked around the dance floor for her friends. She saw Mara and Andrew dancing off to the side of the dance floor. Alfie was still with that girl from before and Mick and Amber were over by the snack table. Nina began looking for Jerome and Patricia when she spotted them at the far end of the dance floor. "Holy cow. Fabian look," Nina said. She pointed to where Patricia and Jerome were.

"Is that Patricia? And Jerome? Dancing together?" Fabian asked in total shock. "And he made fun of us for going together." After they finished eating Nina and Fabian made their way back onto the dance floor. They bumped into Mick and Amber and the four of them broke apart from the main crowd. Amber and Nina started dancing together while Mick and Fabian stood there and watched. Nina was so glad she didn't have her heels on anymore, it made dancing much easier. Though she was still nervous she would step on someone foot.

The song ended and Nina and Amber stopped at tried to catch their breath. The DJ turned on his microphone and said, "We're going to slow things down for a bit." A gentle song then came on and Amber went straight over to Mick. They waved good-bye and went over to where a large group of other students were dancing.

"Do you want to?" Fabian asked, gesturing over to where a lot of other students were dancing. Nina nodded and they made their way over to the large group of other students. For a brief second they stared at each other, almost unsure of what to do. Then Fabian placed his hands on Nina's hips and she wrapped her arms around his neck. They slowly began to turn in circles, moving in time to the music. From over Fabian's shoulder Nina spotted Amber who was grinning madly at her. Nina stuck her tongue out at her and then looked back at Fabian.

"Fabian, I wanted to thank you," Nina finally said.

"For what?"

"Asking me to the dance." Fabian blushed slightly and grinned at Nina. The song ended but neither of them made ant motion to move from where they were. A fast song then came on and they finally broke apart. Suddenly Mara came running up to Nina and took her by the wrist.

"You, me, bathroom," she ordered. Nina looked back at Fabian who nodded. Nina and Mara ran off towards the bathroom. Mara pushed the door shut and looked at Nina. "You two were totally in a moment back there!" Mara exclaimed.

"You dragged me in here to talk to me about this?" Nina asked bewildered. Mara nodded and Nina shook her head. "I'll tell you about it after the dance. OK?" Mara frowned and nodded slightly. With a shake of her head Nina took Mara's head and they headed back out into the dance. Mara spotted her date and with a wave went over to him. Halfway across the floor Nina felt someone grab her wrist. Half expecting it to be Jerome or Alfie playing a prank Nina turned, about to push them off. Instead Nina found herself looking at someone she didn't know.

The boy was in a black tux, like most of the other guys. His blond hair was slicked back and sharp green eyes stared straight at Nina. "Say, how would you like to dance with me?" the boy asked. Nina was starting to get the feeling that this boy wasn't supposed to be at the dance, she had never seen him before in her life. She defiantly would have remembered someone like him.

"Sorry. I can't. My date is waiting for me," Nina said. She tried to pull free of his grip but he didn't loosen a bit.

"Well I think he can go a few minutes without you," he said. This guy was starting to creep Nina out. She wanted to get away from him. No matter how hard she tried she couldn't pull free from his iron grip.

"Nina," Fabian said coming up beside her. He took one look at Nina's face and he glared at the other boy. He lashed out and grabbed the other boy's wrist tightly. He pulled his hand off of Nina's wrist and Nina pulled her arm back to her side as quickly as she could. Fabian then let go of the other boy and put a protective arm around Nina's waist, pulling her close. "Sorry mate, but my date and I have somewhere to be," Fabian practically hissed. He led Nina back to the other side of the dance floor.

Nina smiled at Fabian and began rubbing her wrist. Whoever that boy was, he had a strong grip. "Thanks," Nina said gratefully.

"Don't mention it," Fabian muttered back. Nina looked at him curiously. His face was still set with frustration, jaw locked and eyes glaring, and the hand that wasn't wrapped around Nina's waist was clenched in a tight fist. Carefully Nina reached over at took Fabian's clenched hand it hers. At her touch his grip loosened and he intertwined his fingers in hers. A new song started and Nina tugged on Fabian's arm with her free hand, pulling him out to the dance floor.

As Nina and Fabian began swaying to the music Nina wrapped her arms around Fabian's neck and lay her head down on his shoulder. Neither could stop a blush from growing in their faces but they didn't care. Towards the end of the song Nina lifted her head from Fabian's shoulder. They two looked each other in the eyes, their faces inches apart. "I know I already said this," Fabian whispered into Nina's ear, "but you look absolutely beautiful tonight." Nina smiled, her blush growing even more. They looked at each other again and before either really knew what was really happening, Fabian leaned forward and kissed Nina.