A spotlight appeared on stage, and the crowd went silent. I could just make out Chace and Christina standing at the front as close to the stairs as possible with proud smiles on their faces. You’d be forgiven for thinking they had already been crowned king and queen, that’s how big their smiles were.
Principal Stevens made his way to the centre of the stage, and everyone clapped and cheered. I never understood the excitement of the crowning. It just seemed trivial to me. All I really wanted to do was leave with Ryder.
After a brief speech thanking the prom committee for the decorations, it was finally time for the announcement. “Blah…blah…blah…” Ryder whispered in my ear as Stevens spoke. It wasn’t even a real prom.
“This year’s prom king is…” Stevens paused dramatically and waited for the drum roll. Chace and Christina were bouncing on the balls of their feet in anticipation. “Mister Ryder Jones.” He clapped, and suddenly there was a bright white spotlight shining directly on us. Ryder’s arms tightened their grip on my waist.
“What the fu—”
“You won.” I turned to smile at him. He looked down at me with a clenched jaw and narrowed eyes. The students around us were whistling and clapping.
“I didn’t want to win.”
Indie was cheering and clapping beside us. Stevens was calling Ryder’s name out and trying to encourage him to get up on the stage.
Pressing my hands to his cheeks, I leant up on my toes and whispered against his lips. “You beat Chace.”
“I beat Chace.” His frown disappeared, and a sly smile formed on his face. “Hell yeah.” He pressed his lips to mine briefly before releasing me and practically running up to the stage, where he took a bow and waved to Chace before blowing a kiss in my direction. I had to laugh. He was so happy once it dawned on him that he’d stolen the crown from Chace.
Indie’s arm wrapped around my waist, and she rested her head on my shoulder as she laughed at Ryder. Chace’s face was priceless. He was bright red, and I swore I could hear his teeth grinding from the back where I stood. Christina was trying to comfort him, but even she was pissed. If looks could kill, Ryder would have been a dead man.
“Okay. And now the moment we’ve all been waiting for. This year’s prom queen is…” Another dramatic pause and drum roll. Christina straightened up and pushed Chace aside, making her way to the stairs in preparation for her name being called.
“As if she’s going to be crowned Her Whoreness.” Indie scoffed beside me. “Get ready, Bailey.” She winked.
No way. There was no way I would win. I wasn’t even in the running.
“Bailey Mitchell,” Stevens all but shouted into the microphone.
I stood completely still, dumbstruck as the crowd stared at me, clapping and cheering. I watched Christina as she screamed and stomped her foot. She actually stomped her foot like a petulant child.
“You won,” Indie squealed, jumping up and down beside me.
“How? Why?” I couldn’t deny that I was happy about beating Christina, but it just didn’t seem right.
“Come on, B.” Ryder’s voice sounded over the speakers. I looked up at the stage to see him smiling and waving me over.
I took a step forward, and the crowd of students parted to let me by. The sound of their clapping and cheering was drowned out by the sound of blood rushing to my ears. I won. Somehow, I’d beaten Christina. I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry or flip her my middle finger. So I stood tall and made my way up onto the stage with Ryder, where he stood smiling with Principal Stevens.
Stevens shook my hand and placed a cheap plastic gold crown on top of my head before ushering me over to stand beside Ryder, who winked and linked his fingers with mine.
“I present you this year’s prom king and queen,” Stevens announced, waving his hand around in our direction. Streamers and balloons fell from the ceiling above us, and the crowd went crazy. They were clapping and cheering and whistling. It was surreal. Ryder pulled in close and pressed his lips to the side of my face, which just made the noise even worse.
I glanced down at Chace and Christina and laughed as I watched them bickering. They were both red in the face. Chace was waving his arms around, and Christina was still stomping her foot. It was hilarious.
“And now for the dance,” Stevens said over the microphone. That song from Dirty Dancing began to play—“I’ve Had The Time Of My Life.” Could they get any more cliché?
“We have to dance?” Ryder’s eyes were wide when he turned to me, his lip pulled between his teeth.
“Uhm…I guess.” I hated dancing, but I wrapped my arms around his neck and waited for his hands to finally rest on my hips, his fingers digging into the skin slightly. He looked nervous. Ryder Jones, nervous. Who would have thought? “It’s just you and me, Jones. Forget about them,” I whispered.
Indie yelled some crude remark that I didn’t quite catch, but Ryder laughed. “You, me, and Indie, you mean,” he said and began to sway on his feet.
“Yeah.”
We danced slow, just swaying to the beat until the song ended. The cheers from the crowd had long since gone silent, except for the whistle coming from Indie. Chace and Christina had disappeared. Probably left to sulk.
“Can we get out of here now?” Ryder asked.
“Please.”
He grabbed my hand and all but dragged me off the stage and across the dance floor. I barely had a chance to shout a goodbye to Indie before we were out the door and running to Ryder’s car. Not that she would have noticed by then anyway, as she was too busy swooning over Lincoln.
Ryder didn’t speak as we left the school grounds. His shoulders were stiff and hunched, and his knuckles were white from gripping the steering wheel so tight.
“Ryder?” I reached across and touched his arm while trying to work out what had him so tense and worked up. He was all right at the dance five minutes ago.
“Just give me a minute, Bailey, please.” I sat in silence while he drove us around town aimlessly. I didn’t think he knew where he was going or what he was doing. He looked lost. It wasn’t long before I realised we weren’t even in town anymore. Where was he taking me? He groaned and punched the steering wheel.
“I should take you home.” His jaw was tightly clenched, and I watched his Adam’s apple move up and down as he swallowed.
“What? No, Ryder. I don’t want to go home. You just got back from wherever, doing whatever. I want to celebrate winning these cheap and tacky crowns and spend time with you. I missed you,” I said, cringing immediately and hoping he hadn’t picked up on what I’d just said. I couldn’t believe I’d told him I missed him. Expressing feelings he didn’t share. Way to go, Bailey.
“You did?” He looked over at me quickly before looking back at the road. I could swear there was a faint smile on his perfect lips.