"This looks way better than last year, it's amazing," I say as we walk through the doors of the cafeteria. There are red and pink streamers hanging from the ceiling and red, pink, and white balloons everywhere. On the walls are cupids and hearts of all sizes cut out of paper. The dinner tables are all set up on the left side of the gym. There are eight seats to a table and they all have red tablecloths. On the right side of the gym, a small stage has been set up with a whole bunch of DJ equipment on it. Behind all the tables is a long table with snack foods and a few bowls filled with different drinks. "Look they have a disco ball and laser lighting." I smile over at the tables where I see Brian, James, and Jasmine waving to get our attention. We walk over and join them at the table. I pull off my now damp trench coat and put it on the back of my chair. I'm glad I wore it because it started raining even harder when we were driving here.

            "I love your dress! It looks really good on you." Jasmine says smiling at me. All the guys are in tuxedos and Jasmine is wearing a spaghetti strap red dress that looks like it's made of silk.

             "Thanks, I love yours too. You look great." She gives me a thank you smile then returns to her conversation with James. Those two are always talking nowadays. There is definitely something blossoming between those two. They are good for each other so I hope something good happens between those two. "What do you think of the party so far?" I turn my body toward Angel bobbing my head to the familiar song being played.

            "I like that it's not super fancy or overdone. It looks really nice and now that more people are showing up I bet it's going to get real fun soon." The tables fill up in less than five minutes and dinner orders are taken. The menu isn't that great but it's better than nothing. Option one is a burger with fries, two a grilled chicken salad, and three is orange chicken with rice. Throughout the school, these had the most votes. Our food arrives and we all eat while making conversation with each other.

            "Attention students, will you please quiet down so we can get started." Principle Berone announces over a microphone. When the room finally quiets done he starts talking again. "As you older classmates know every year at the Valentine's Ball we have a tradition. This tradition has been around since the school first opened. Men line up on the left side of the cafeteria and women on the right. Now men find your woman and find her fast because you never know who else wants her." With that, he smiles and joins the group of teachers. Now I'm nervous again. I look over at Marcus and as I predicted he's surrounded by a group of girls and so is Angel. Brian has asked out a junior he's been talking to a lot with lately. She seems nice but I've only talked to her about twice. I look over at James and then Jasmine who I now notice is walking over toward me.

            "Do you think he'll ask me?"

            "Who? James?"

            "Yeah, I mean, he likes me right? It seems like he does. Oh god, he's coming over here." 

           "Don't worry just calm down. He's going to ask you I know he is. Just try to breathe okay." I put my hand on her back, slowly rub it for a few seconds, and then leave so he can ask her without an audience.

             "Oh sorry," I say to the person I just bumped into. Then I freeze when I notice who it is. It's Jayden, my ex-boyfriend, who cheated on me. We haven't talked since we broke up. Even though we have classes together we don't acknowledge each other except for a small smile every once in a while.

           "It's okay that was my fault. I wasn't paying attention to where I was going, sorry." He looks as nervous as I feel. "How have you been?"

             "Good, things could be better and you?"

            "I've been doing fine." I can tell he wants to say something else so I wait. "I never really got to apologize for what happened between us and I want you to know how sorry I am about all of it. This apology doesn't change anything well I hope it might but I never wanted to hurt you. I should have said that a long time ago but I just didn't have the courage until now. Friends?" He asks extending his hand. 

           "Thanks for the apology. It means a lot. Have a good night." I shake his hand and start walking back to my table. I look around at each of my friends. Marcus is with some other senior, Brian with a junior, and Jasmine and James are together. I'm glad they are all having a good time. Then I spot Angel chatting with a group of guys. Out of all of the girls surrounding him, he couldn't choose one? He must be really picky because there were some really pretty girls.

            "Why are you sitting here all alone? Didn't that guy you were talking to ask you to the dance?" Angel's now sitting next to me. That boy can move fast.

            "No one asked me." I look down and fiddle with my nails. "The guy I was talking to is my ex-boyfriend. He was apologizing for cheating on me when we dated over a year ago. Why are you sitting here? You were surrounded by a whole hoard of girls."

            "I don't know any of them and I'm actually a shy guy. Just so you know all of those guys over there wish they were taking you to the ball." He nods to the group of guys he was talking to. A shy guy would not talk to a random group of people and when we first met he wasn't shy at all. Why would he say he was shy?

            ''You're just saying that to make me feel better." I look up at him with a small smile.

             "No, I'm being honest. They all think you would just turn them down or that you were with that guy. Plus I told them we were going to dance tonight at some point so they may think you're with me." He grins and I can't help but laugh. I don't know how but he always manages to make me laugh. "Since neither of us has a date. Would you like to dance?" He stands up extending his hand out. "And you can't use the excuse of being a bad dancer because I already know how amazing you are." I slowly put my hand in his and he leads me to the dance floor pulling me close against his body. What harm could two friends dancing do? We move back and forth to the songs bobbing our heads to the music and singing the lyrics. With his hands on my hips, I can't help but wonder how they would feel on my bare skin. The dance floor is now crowded with students. With every passing minute, it seems to get hotter and hotter. Students are jumping up and down with their hands in the air but most of them are dancing with each other. I'm glad Angel asked me to the dance or else this night would be terrible. But then it happens, the first slow dance of the night. 

           He gently spins me around so we are chest to chest. My heart races as I put my hands around his neck and he places his back on my hips. The last time I slow danced it was a bad experience because the guy had two left feet. Dancing with Angel feels like I'm dancing on a cloud. Comfortable, safe, relaxing, and he smells like rain. I can feel his breath on the side of my face. I want to lay my head on his shoulder but all of a sudden their's no music and no lights.

             "What happened to the power?" I'm clinging on to Angel like my life depends on it completely freaked out. 

           "Calm down, I think the power went out because of the storm." He says trying to hold back a laugh.

             "Sorry I just have a slight fear of the dark. Don't tell anyone though because the only other person who knows is Marcus and it's embarrassing for me."

            "Don't worry I won't let anything get you." I can tell he's smiling and let out a small nervous laugh.

            "Please no one panic, just calm down," Principle Berone yells, "I'm sorry to say that the storm has killed the power and we will not be able to bring it back on tonight which means that sadly the ball is canceled. Everyone, please exit slowly through the front entrance."

             "Let's go, I bet its brighter outside."

           "I'm sure it is but I need to get my coat. Will you go with me?"

             "Yeah, hold on to my hand I'll lead the way." He doesn't need to tell me twice. I hold on to his hand hoping I'm not crushing it to death. We get my coat then head out the front entrance to the parking lot. I look up at the moon thankful for the brightness she gives. Even with all the dark clouds, rain, and lightning she still manages to shine through.

            "Thanks for not laughing at me when I told you I was afraid of the dark. If you tell anyone I will have to kill you." I smile.

            "Everyone has their fears. Yours is the dark and mine is clowns. I can't stand them, they creep me out big time. If you tell anyone my fear I'll have to kill you."

            "What did you think of the ball? I feel bad that you didn't get to experience the whole thing."

           "It was great. I had a really good time thanks to you." He friendly nudges my shoulder.

            "Where did Jasmine and James go?" I ask Brian and Marcus who are standing next to my car. They both grin at me and I immediately know the answer. "They went to his place didn't they?" They nod yes. All I can think is I hope they know what they're doing. "What are you guys going to do?"

             "Marcus is going to stay at my house so tomorrow morning we can hurry up and finish our essay for English."

             "Sounds fun, and what are you going to do?"

            "I should go home. Before I left this morning my mom was starting to have a freakout. I want to check and see how she's doing." Angel and I say goodbye to Marcus and Brian and get into our separate cars.

           "Where's your house at?"

             "Brighten Avenue. I didn't realize it was only about four blocks away from your house. When we get on my street I'll just point out my house." The ride isn't that long because we live in such a small town. Usually, I hate sitting in silence but with Angel, it's not awkward or uncomfortable. "This is it." I pull in front of his house. It's the same size as mine and basically the same color too. Boring white with light and dark browns. The porch light comes on and a tall slender lady comes out. "Thanks for the ride and rehearsing with me today I really appreciate it."

             "No problem, I'll see you Monday. Have a good night and I hope your mom is okay." We exchange smiles and then he's on his front porch giving his mom a hug. I pull into my garage and head straight to my bedroom. I kick my shoes off then drop my dress to the floor. Now that I think about it I had a hard working day. As soon as I crawl into bed and my head hits the pillow I'm in a deep sleep. I'm dreaming of slow dancing with Angel when all of a sudden my dream turns into a nightmare. I've gotten used to the screaming and crying in my head but this one I can't get over. It scares me but it also hurts me. It's the one reoccurring nightmare I can't get rid of and it's the worst of them all.