Make the Fireflies Dance, page 23
“All right, princess,” he says. “Let’s get you to the prom.”
chapter Forty-One
AIRLIE GARDENS IS A MAGICAL PLACE. NANA WOULDN’T let me join her and the crew she enlisted to set things up this morning. She said she wanted it to be a surprise for me as well, and as I walk the path to the party tent ahead of me, I’m glad she did.
Long strings of café lights hang in lazy curves under the tent and around the open dance floor. All around me, trees are wrapped in thousands of tiny white twinkle lights. Music already pours from the speakers, and a DJ stands behind a long table under a second, smaller tent. On the dance floor, girls’ dresses catch the light as they twist and spin with their dates. From back here, they look like they’re floating.
The whole thing is like something out of a movie, and I laugh when I realize it basically is.
I find Hadley and Tanner first. She looks amazing in her long, figure-hugging black dress. She’s wearing black gloves up past her elbows and a sparkly cap-sleeve bolero to cover her shoulders. Her hair is twisted into a sleek updo with a small tiara nestled into it.
When Hadley sees me, she breaks away from Tanner and skip-runs across the floor, pulling me into a crushing hug. “You’re here!”
“You look incredible,” I say. “Like Holly Golightly.”
“You don’t think it’s too much?” Hadley pulls back and pats her tiara self-consciously.
“Definitely not,” I say.
We walk together to Tanner. Thankfully, a fast song starts up, and the three of us dance together for a few songs. When the DJ shifts gears and the music slows, Hadley claims she needs to pee and pushes me toward Tanner.
We both know she’s trying to keep me from feeling left out, so we dance together. As we sway silently, I look at the couples around us.
It doesn’t take long for me to spot Shyla and Donovan. Shyla radiates in her lehenga, and Donovan looks at her in a way that almost makes me feel like I’m intruding by watching them.
Naoise and Marcus are a few couples past them, talking and laughing as they dance. I’m glad they found each other. It’ll be good for her to have a friend when she goes to Nashville next year. She looks happy, and the tightness in my chest loosens a bit. It might not be the prom she wanted, but at least it appears she’s having fun.
The song is winding down when Tanner spins me around, and suddenly I’m staring right at Kenyon. Our eyes connect, and a jolt shoots through my core. He’s holding Alicia close, one hand on the small of her back as they dance. Her temple rests gently on his cheek. I stare at him, a hard lump rising in my throat. I try to swallow it down.
Then Tanner spins again, and the connection is broken. He twirls me out to the end of his reach, then pulls me back in, fast. The song ends just as I crash into his chest, and we both explode in laughter.
“Thanks for the dance,” I say, still laughing. He gives me a high five and pulls Hadley—who rejoined us—against his chest.
I try to peek around them without being obvious, but I can’t find Kenyon. Maybe it’s for the best.
It’s another upbeat song and we dance for a bit longer before I spot Naoise standing by the refreshments, pouring punch into a plastic cup. Her dress is beautiful, everything I’d expect from her and more. The skirt is floor-length and flowy, a dusty plum at the hips fading into subtle peach at the bottom. I don’t know what kind of fabric she used, but it looks like soft wisps of clouds flowing around her legs. The bodice is a complicated puzzle of straps and gathered fabric woven and twisted around itself. It hugs close to her frame and shows teasing peeks of her skin. Her hair falls softly over her shoulders, and I can see from here that her makeup is minimal and dewy.
She looks like a goddess.
Nodding toward her, I tell Hadley I’m going to grab a drink. Her eyes widen, and she pulls me into a quick hug. “Good luck,” she says into my hair before letting me go and sending me across the dance floor.
“Hey,” I say softly as I step up to the punch table.
Naoise looks at me. Marcus is a few feet away, eating a cupcake and laughing with another guy I recognize from the New Hanover High basketball team.
“Hi,” she says stiffly.
“How’s it going?” I ask. “Are you having fun?”
She nods, peering past me toward the dance floor. “I am. It’s a nice night.”
I hate the formality between us. We’re standing right next to each other, but the distance I feel is like a canyon. I think I’d rather see her yell at me again than treat me like an acquaintance.
“I’m so sorry,” I say, taking a half-step closer to her. “You were right. I was being awful and selfish, and I should have listened—”
Naoise still won’t look at me, but suddenly her face lights up and she waves over my shoulder. “I gotta go,” she tells me.
“But…”
“Have fun tonight,” she says and breezes past me toward whoever caught her attention. I turn to watch as she goes, my gaze falling to her shoes. She’s wearing the same glittery Keds I have on. We bought them together months ago, hers white and mine pink. She’s mad at me now, but seeing those shoes gives me hope that we’ll be able to work things out eventually. Finding a new prom venue didn’t fix things between us, but maybe time will.
Suddenly, Donovan and Shyla are at my side. They act casual, like they simply want to say hi, but one look at Shyla’s face tells me she saw what happened between me and her sister. I beg her with my eyes to not bring it up.
“I’m parched,” she says dramatically as she pours herself a cup of punch. “Can you take Lord of the Dance off my hands for a minute?” She nods toward Donovan, who laughs and reaches out to pinch her side playfully.
“Punch, punch, punch!” she yells. She’s holding the cup away from her lehenga, and I watch as the red liquid sloshes dangerously close to the cup’s edge. I take a step back, hoping my dress is out of range if it spills.
Shyla finds a seat at a table, and Donovan leads me out to the dance floor. He really is a great dancer, and I feel a bit like a toddler flailing my limbs in comparison. We dance hard, until we’re both sweating and laughing, and then we go back to Shyla.
“Pictures!” she says when we get there. She hops up from her seat and grabs Donovan’s hand, pulling him toward the fountain where the photographer is setting up.
“Y’all have fun,” I say.
Shyla grabs my wrist with her free hand. “You’re coming with us.”
I try to protest, but she pulls me behind her anyway. She insists on pictures with all three of us, then one with me and her and one with her and Donovan. Finally, I pose for a picture by myself. I feel my cheeks heat up as the other students in line watch me standing there by myself, but I don’t care.
This is my prom, and I want the memories.
chapter Forty-Two
THE NIGHT PASSES QUICKER THAN SEEMS POSSIBLE. Despite being alone, I’m never in want of a dance partner for long. Everyone dances in groups for fast songs, and I drift from group to group, dancing with more people than I can count.
When slow songs start, there’s always someone willing to pass off their date for one dance while they run to the restroom or to grab refreshments. I dance with guys from all my classes, as well as with a few from other schools who I’ve never met before. About halfway through the night, I see Ezra on the other side of the dance floor, spinning Kira wildly around, both laughing, and I’m overwhelmingly happy to see them together.
I wonder briefly if any of the guys I dance with is the one from Nana’s party—if we missed someone who was there that night. Had I kissed one of these guys, a kiss that changed everything? Now I know that, even if I had, I don’t care anymore. That kiss is no more than a memory, a story I’ll tell in the future. Nothing else.
I don’t see Tyler all night, and I feel a twinge of guilt that he decided not to come. I didn’t want him to miss his senior prom, but it’s not my job to make sure he’s happy. Turning him down was the right thing to do. I spent too much time hoping for him to ask me out. He’s the one who couldn’t see what was right in front of him until it was too late. I wish he were here tonight, but not for me.
I’m dancing all wild-like with a group of people from my English class, jumping up and down and flailing my arms, when the DJ announces there are only three songs left. The opening chords to a familiar slow song ring out into the air. A hand falls on my shoulder, soft, and I turn around.
“Oh,” I say, my breath catching in my throat. “Hi.”
Kenyon raises a hand to me. “Want to dance?”
I glance around him, scanning the crowd until I find Alicia. She’s chatting with a group of friends, head thrown back in laughter. One of the other girls grabs her hand and twirls her onto the floor, where the two of them dance in an overexaggerated fashion. Kenyon clears his throat, and my attention snaps back to him. To us.
I step toward him, and I swear I’m floating. I can’t feel my feet as they move across the floor. He wraps my hand in his and pulls it to his chest, where his heart beats hard beneath his white shirt. His top button is open, and a rich navy bow tie hangs loosely around his neck, the ends of it brushing against my knuckles. He’s so handsome tonight that it almost hurts to look at him. His other hand wraps around my waist, resting on my lower back, and I reach mine to his upper arm, holding his shoulder.
Everyone else disappears, and it’s just me and Kenyon, spinning in slow circles around the dance floor as a song plays for only us. My heart races, pounding against my rib cage so hard that I know he can feel it, as I still feel his. The hand on my back flexes, pulling me closer to him, and my eyes drift shut.
This feels so good. So perfect. So right. I let my hand slide over his shoulder and to the back of his neck. My fingers slip into his hair, and I twist a lock around them. His breath hitches.
When I open my eyes, he’s staring at me with an intensity that makes me stumble, tripping over my own feet. Kenyon’s arm tightens around me, keeping me balanced. He lets go of my hand, and I press it flat to his chest.
He cups my cheek, and I lean my face against his palm. Kenyon moves to brush my hair behind my ear then rests his hand against the side of my neck. He takes a deep breath, trembling, the warm air moving the baby hairs on my forehead as he exhales.
“Kenyon, I—”
The song is over, and he drops his hands from me and steps back. My skin is suddenly cold in the absence of his touch. He smiles sadly at me, then turns and walks away.
I leave the dance floor in a daze, not stopping until I’m back in the parking lot. I text my brother for a ride and start walking toward home.
chapter Forty-Three
“REMEMBER, WHILE THIS MAY BE THE END OF ONE CHAPter, it’s the beginning of the rest of your life, and the people you choose to take with you will make all the difference.”
Ezra’s eyes meet mine for a moment as he’s speaking before drifting behind me to where our parents sit, along with Nana, Clark, and Eric.
I was thrilled when Clark showed up at the house this morning with Eric at his side to attend my graduation ceremony. My brother looked lighter than he had in years, and I finally understood how heavily his secret had been weighing on him all this time.
Our fight that night in my bedroom seems to have been a turning point for us. Maybe we should have screamed at each other two years ago. It would have saved us a lot of time. Or maybe—and I suspect this is the case—we needed the time to pass before either of us was willing to deal with our separate issues.
Ezra returns to his seat, his salutatorian speech over, and the principal gestures for all of us to stand and line up to receive our diplomas.
I can’t believe graduation is already here. Back in September, this day seemed more like a distant possibility than something that would happen. Even a couple months ago, it seemed too far away to think about. But now, here we are, high school behind us and our whole lives still to come.
Names are called alphabetically, so I’m toward the back of the line. I watch as my friends cross the stage to receive their diplomas, first Naoise and Shyla, then, a few minutes later, Hadley.
My nerves break free when Kenyon’s name is called, coiling tight in my stomach as he crosses the stage and shakes hands with Mr. Russell.
Suddenly, I’m not sure if I’m ready for this afternoon.
Before graduation, Donovan met me with my hard drive in his hand.
“Is it done?” I asked him as he handed it over.
He nodded.
“And everything worked okay?”
“It’s perfect. Better than before.”
The Sunday after prom, we’d all met at Hadley’s house, and I told them my plan. If I had any chance of making this work, we needed to shoot some new scenes as soon as possible. We didn’t have the Blackmagic anymore, so I had to catch everything on my Canon, but the new material would be able to transition into the finished film. I gave Ezra and Kira their revised scripts, and we agreed to film the next day.
It became quickly apparent that I don’t have Kenyon’s eye for shots, but I did my best and was happy with the results. Ezra and Kira were more comfortable with each other now, their chemistry palpable. We were able to catch the new scenes in only a couple hours, and then I passed everything off to Donovan to work his magic.
The hard drive is stashed in my bag now, and my anxiety skyrockets when I think about the fact that I won’t have time to view it before the screening this afternoon. I only hope that this works the way I want.
Before I know it, Mr. Russell calls my name, and I climb the short ramp to the stage. As I cross, I look out over the audience to see my family, standing and cheering. Dad lets out a loud “Whoop!” and Nana smacks his arm, laughing. Eric has an arm tight around Clark, and Lylah beams so much pride at me that my chest constricts. My mom might be gone, but I still have the next best thing. This mismatched group of people is the best family a girl like me could ask for.
chapter Forty-Four
“THANKS SO MUCH FOR COMING OUT, Y’ALL,” I SAY TO The group of people gathered in Hadley’s home theater. “We couldn’t have done this without all your help, and I can’t possibly thank you enough for everything you’ve done to help us make Maybe, Probably.”
The room is packed with more people than I thought would be here. I’d expected it to be mostly cast and crew, but as I look around, I see my entire family, along with Hadley’s sister and her fiancé. Mr. Welles hovers in the back of the room, and a couple kids from school who heard about the screening are settling onto one of the couches. Samantha is even here, but without Oscar the parrot.
“All right. The party’s starting in two hours, so without further ado, let’s start this show!”
The gathered crowd claps, and we move to find our seats. Hadley’s dad volunteered the barn and yard for our all-night graduation party, with deacons from his church chaperoning. Outside, they’re rushing to get everything set up before the rest of the senior class arrives, but inside, the room falls silent in anticipation of what’s coming. I make my way to the back of the room and nod to Marcus, who dims the lights and pushes play.
The projector comes to life, and someone at the front hoots when Ezra’s face fills the screen. My heart is racing, beating painfully hard. Dad squeezes my hand, and I lean over to wrap an arm around his shoulder, holding him tight.
With each laugh the movie pulls from the crowd, I relax a bit more. It’s good, I realize. Really, really good. This might have an actual shot at winning me that internship. I’d always hoped that would be the case, but it’s not until now that I feel I have a real chance.
We’re getting closer to the new scenes, and the blissful calm I’ve been feeling disappears in an instant. Kenyon’s in the second row, sitting with Donovan and Shyla. I watch the light from the screen flicker off his profile, and suddenly I know I can’t be in here when he sees what I’ve done. I thought I could handle it, but there’s no way I can watch his reaction.
“I’ll be back,” I whisper to Dad. He’s so absorbed in the movie that he barely grunts a response. My chest swells with pride. My documentary-loving father is captivated by my little romantic comedy.
Outside, it’s a flurry of activity. Workers are setting up a giant inflatable slide next to the barn, and one of the deacons is directing a bunch of college-aged guys as they put together giant yard games: larger-than-life Jenga, bowling, and Yahtzee. Apparently, the way to celebrate graduating high school is to go back to acting like third graders. My classmates are going to love it.
I make my way across the huge backyard to the giant tree where Hadley and I used to climb as kids. There are less than twenty minutes left in the movie. I can hide out here until it’s done. With my back to the tree, I sit on the ground and watch as the all-night party is built around me.
I hear footsteps close behind me a few minutes later. I turn as the steps slow.
Kenyon stands there, hands deep in his pockets. I scramble to my feet and wipe grass and dirt off the back of my dress. What is he doing here? I was supposed to find him at the party later. I’m not ready for this.
“You’re missing the end of your movie,” he says.
“So are you.” I want so badly to step closer, but I can’t tell how he feels about me right now. “Anyway, it’s our movie. All of ours.”
He runs a hand through his hair, and a stray lock falls in front of one eye. “I thought you didn’t like grand gestures,” he says.
So, he did see the new scenes—Adalyn’s grand romantic gesture, letting go of her stubbornness and pride to run back to Sebastian and tell him she loves him. I was starting to worry that he left before that scene.
I shrug, trying to play it casual, but my heart is in my throat, racing. This is it. He’s here in front of me, and he’s seen what I did. My grand gesture.
