“I think she said yes,” Arriane whispered loudly to Roland, who celebrated with a joyful riff on his guitar.
Cam gently pulled Lilith to her feet. Their shoes sank in the mulchy leaves, and Lilith was a little dizzy from the champagne. She looked up through the carob branches, amazed by how bright the stars were over Rattlesnake Creek. In her backyard you could maybe see one star through the smoky sky, but here there must have been a trillion shining down on them.
“Beautiful,” she murmured.
Cam looked up. “Trust me, those stars have nothing on you.”
“Pardon me!” Arriane said, coming between them. “If I could make one sartorial suggestion.” A moment later she pressed something soft into Lilith’s hands. Lilith held it up to the light. It was the gown she’d bought at the thrift store.
“How did you…”
“You should really start locking your bedroom window,” Arriane said, and chuckled. “There are some real ding-dongs out there who might have stolen your dress before I did.”
Lilith blinked. “You were in my room?”
“No big deal,” Arriane said. “While you were busy breaking up or making up or whatever it is you’re doing with Cam, I made a few updates to represent your evolving style.”
Lilith looked more closely at the dress and noticed the hemline had been significantly shortened in front—to miniskirt length—while it stayed long in the back. A black lace panel had been sewn into either side of the bodice, making the waistline look even smaller than it was. The neckline had been lowered to a sweetheart cut, trimmed with black lace.
“Wow,” Lilith said.
“Turn it over,” Arriane said. “There’s more.”
She did, and saw new cutouts in the center of the gown’s back, in the shape of wings. It was the same dress, yet it was totally different. Lilith didn’t understand how this girl had made such swift and savvy alterations, but she knew she would wear this dress proudly at the Battle of the Bands.
In fact, she wanted to wear it right now.
“Thank you,” she said to Arriane. “May I…?”
Arriane read Lilith’s mind. “No peeking,” she told the boys, then nodded at Lilith.
Lilith turned her back to the creek, then slipped her T-shirt over her head and tossed it on the ground. She pulled on the dress and shimmied out of her jeans. Arriane’s hands found Lilith’s side and did up what must have been fifty tiny buttons.
“In a word,” Arriane said, “stunning.”
Lilith stared down at herself, at the dress illuminated by the stars in the sky and all of the twinkling lights Cam and his friends had strung. She felt beautiful…and strange, the way she had in the thrift-store dressing room. She couldn’t explain it. She realized Cam was looking at her, and she could tell he felt it, too.
“I’m ready,” Lilith said.
She stepped into his arms and they began to move in time, their eyes locked on one another. Cam knew how to lead. He was careful not to go too fast and never came close to stepping on her toes. Every dip and turn felt instinctive, and his body felt so right against hers, as if they were two puzzle pieces snapping into place.
“I still don’t understand how we got here,” Lilith whispered, arching back so her red hair reached the ground.
“We took the bike,” Cam joked. “Remember? The wind in your hair?”
“You know what I mean,” Lilith said. “You. Me. Us.”
“Us.” Cam repeated the word slowly. “You know, that has a nice ring to it. We make a really good ‘us.’?”
Lilith thought for a moment. He was right. They did. And suddenly Lilith didn’t want prom to end at Rattlesnake Creek. For the first time, she wanted to do more than just play her song at the battle and duck out. She wanted to experience the whole thing, with her friends and, especially, with Cam.
“Cam,” she said, her heart picking up pace as they swayed to the music, “will you be my date to the Battle of the Bands?”
Lilith thought she had seen Cam happy, but now his face lit up with something new. He twirled her around in a grand circle. “Yes!”
“I think he said ‘yes’!” Arriane hissed at Roland.
“We knew he was going to say yes!” Roland replied.
“Oh yeah. Sorry. Don’t mind us,” Arriane said.
Lilith giggled as the girl returned to washing their dishes in the creek.
“There’s one condition,” she said, turning back to Cam. “You have to rejoin the band and play our song. Think you can handle that?”
“Lilith,” Cam said, “I would play music with you forever. Or at least until you kick me out again.”
“Then it’s settled,” she said. “Tomorrow night, me and you. And all of Trumbull.”
“Technically,” Cam said, checking his watch, “prom is tonight.”
Roland’s guitar playing modulated to something foreign and familiar. It sounded Middle Eastern, but Lilith could have sworn she’d heard it a million times before.