Alex hitched up the corner of his mouth, flashing a dimple. “Anyone can dance, Scout. You just need someone to teach you.”
My brief fantasy of swaying to the music in Alexʼs arms was cut short by Charlie gripping my wrist so tightly he may have left fingerprints on the bone.
“Yeah, dancing is easy,” Joi said. “We can show you how itʼs done. Right, Alex?”
“Of course.” He pulled out Joiʼs chair for her, like the gentleman he was. To anyone else he probably looked as though he didnʼt have a care in the world. However, to someone that had obsessively studied every aspect of his physical form for months the pain was obvious.
The desire to go comfort him was almost unbearable. I longed to embrace him and tell him that I loved him, a proclamation I hadnʼt got around to making yet. Charlieʼs hand felt like a shackle on my arm.
Talley and James soon joined Joi and Alex, leaving me alone at the table with Charlie. As my friends danced, he kept a running commentary on the people surrounding us. I barely listened as he made cracks about Ashleyʼs skank-alicious attire and Jordanʼs attempts at doing the robot. I was entirely focused on unravelling the knot in my stomach.
Charlie made several attempts to coax me onto the dance floor, but I kept shrugging him off. I was not in the mood to exhibit my less than stunning dance skills to the entire school.
Instead, I watched Alex as he bounced around with Joi and Talley. I thought he might return to the table after leading Joi to get refreshments, but instead he stood around with a group of Seniors that showed even less interest in dancing than I did. After a couple of songs, he walked out the double doors.
“Where are you going?” Charlie asked before I even realized I was on my feet.
“Bathroom,” I mouthed, weaving my way through the sea of bodies between me and the doors. I pushed through them just in time to see Alex slip out into the parking lot. I ran down the hall and caught up with him just as he was getting into his car.
“What are you doing?”
He jumped at the sound of my voice. “Leaving. Joi and John have reconciled, so there is no reason for me to hang around.”
“You donʼt have to leave”
“Yes, I do.”
“Why?” I reached for him, but he stepped away.
“For the same reason I canʼt let you touch me.” He moved some loose gravel around with the toe of his shiny dress shoes.
“Is it Charlie? Listen, I didnʼt know he was going to do this. He just showed up in a tux with these stupid flowers and--”
“Scout, itʼs not your fault. Itʼs mine. The full moon is too close. The wolf in me is dying to establish his dominance. If I stay, Iʼll attack him, and you wonʼt be able to forgive me for that.”
“I donʼt understand. You do okay being around Jase at school.” Alex looked up, his steely gaze catching mine before dropping ever so slightly to rest on the necklace that lay against my throat. “Charlie is different.”
“Iʼll go home, too. I donʼt want to be here if youʼre not.”
“No, you should stay. Have fun. Explore your options.”
“My options?”
“Heʼs in love you. Heʼll be good to you, take care of you. You deserve something better than I can give you.”
I was silent for a long time, unsure of what to say. Alex was wrong. He had to be. I didnʼt know if I could deal with it if he wasnʼt. “I donʼt want options,” I finally said. “I want you. Youʼre my destiny, remember?”
Alex shoved his hands in his pocket and tried to smile. “I said that you were my destiny, not that Iʼm yours. Iʼve never fooled myself into believing I could keep you.” I blinked furiously to keep the tears that stung my eyes from falling. He reached up and gently traced my jawline. “I shouldnʼt have done that,” he said dropping his hand back to his side. “Itʼs just so hard to not touch you.” He closed his eyes, taking a long, deep breath.
“Please, go back inside, Scout. Donʼt let me ruin your Senior Prom. Promise me youʼll try to have a good time.”
I reluctantly nodded my head. “If thatʼs what you want.”
“I do.” He gave me one last bitter sweet smile before opening his car door. “Goodnight, Scout.”
I lingered until I saw his tail lights grow dim in the distance. I went back inside, determined to have fun despite the battered state of my heart in order to keep my word to Alex. One look at my table, however, made me realize that was going to be easier said than done. Charlie was slumped down in his chair, staring a hole in the wall while Jase glowered at the dance floor.
“Where have you been?” Charlie asked without looking up when I sat down beside him.
“I told you, I had to go to the bathroom. Not an easy task in this dress.” Charlie started to say something, but Jase cut him off. “What the hell is she doing?” The “she” he was referring to appeared to be Talley, whose hips were keeping perfect time with the Rick James song pouring from the speakers. “I think they call that dancing.” Jaseʼs glassy eyes swung towards me. “I mean, what is she doing with that loser?” He gestured wildly towards James. “If I had known she was that hard up for a date I would have made one of the underclassmen on the team ask her out.” He leaned towards me as he spoke.
The smell on his breath almost knocked me out of my chair.
“Youʼre drunk.”
Jase poked his nose three times with his index finger. “Nope. I can still feel my nose. Iʼm good.”
Well, at least I understood Charlieʼs mood. Charles, Sr. was an alcoholic, and not a very nice one. As a result Charlie had developed some rather strong feelings about liquor and drunks.
“What is this all about?” I asked Charlie. Jase had resumed his nose tapping intoxication test, adding in the occasional “beep-beep”.
“Apparently the clown was too much for him to handle.”
“What are we supposed to do with him?”
Charlie regarded Jase, who had moved on to air drumming along to a drum-free hip-hop song. “I think our first step should be to deny knowing him. Just say that heʼs a random stranger that started talking to us.”
“Not what I meant.”
Charlie sighed. “Heʼs fine. Tinsley is driving him to Tylerʼs and promises not to let him drink anything else.”
I know this sounds like an Adam Ant confession, but I donʼt have much experience with drunk people. Charlie has always sheltered me from his father, and I never had the desire to go to any of the wild parties down at the cove. When Talley and I got together our drug of choice was chocolate. Jase tried to get me to drink a beer in the tenth grade, but I refused on the grounds that it smelled like horse pee. Without my willing participation, he had also given up on the endeavor. Seeing Jase so obviously not himself was upsetting. “Have you been drinking water?” I asked him.