Look Away
I took a long look at my 'maybe' dance partner standing in front of me. Hmm.. I guess he is a little cute. He has nice, long hair.. the same style as Matthew, although blonde. Ever since I was a teen, after Matthew started growing his hair out, it's turned into one of my dream boy features..
But this guy doesn't do anything to my heart.
Yet that's no reason to turn him down. I could use a distraction, like Sunny said..
"So, Red. Dance with me?", he urged.
"Sure, Yellow, what the hell."
"Yellow?", he said, taken aback.
"Hey, I'll call you Daffodil instead, if you prefer."
"Wow, okay.", we both laughed. "Yellow is fine then."
At that moment, the speaker playing ambient background music was turned down, and a microphone tapping was heard.
"Alright folks! Pipe down, I have an announcement to make! Welcome to our first 'Couples Dancing' event, everyone! I'm happy to see a couple new faces."
The girl standing next to him took the mic and continued,
"I'm Leila, and I'm the president of this club, and I organize all of these events. I teach dance professionally and I'm also a member of the Stanford Dance Team. I can't wait to work with you all! Now, let's dance!"
It was announced that the first style we would be tackling would be Waltz, and after a few basic demonstrations, we were passed on to our partners to start practicing.
"Since you so excitedly agreed before, may I have this dance, my fair lady?"
I chuckled, "Only if you quit it with that Old English."
"Okay, Red."
This dude..
"Call me that again and you won't know what hit you."
"Ooh, scary", he teased me. "Come on, let's waltz."
He took my hands into his and lead me into the basic starting position. He was smiling sweetly at me, and it felt nice to have his arms around me, guiding my step. His touch was foreign but gentle. I guess I sort of liked it, but it was still hard to judge against the intense feelings I had for Matthew.
I looked up at him, trying to place his emotions, and I only ended up smiling when he grinned more charmingly at me. He really was quite handsome..
He was sort of the carefree opposite of Matthew, who was intense, 'cool' and mysterious. Suddenly, I realized something..
"Hey.. I never got the chance to thank you for that day in the airport.."
"Oh, don't worry about that.. I did what anyone would do."
"Well, thanks anyway. You probably saved my life."
"I'm sure you could have gotten out of it alone somehow."
I stared at him in confusion, which pushed him to awkwardly explain.
"You're clearly no scaredy-cat if how you flipped out at the security guard is anything to go by."
I honestly didn't know what to say to that. That was not my proudest moment, after all.
"When the clip of that outburst first came out on Youtube, my roommate kept playing it on repeat. And when the rap version came out today, well he-"
I gasped in shock.
"Wait, what?! Clip? Rap?!"
"Oh.. um.. you don't know? It's gotten sort of viral. It's buzzing as 'Flaming Redhead Flips Out', you have a meme and the twitter handle is '#Don'tPissOffGingers'."
I tensed up, tried to stop dancing, but Yellow had a firm grip on me and forced me to keep dancing even as I was having a mini breakdown.
"WAIT, WHAT?! Fuuuuck.. This has to be a sick joke. I don't believe you for one second."
"I have no reason to lie to you, Red. Honestly, why would I want to trick you?"
"To turn me into a joke."
I responded honestly and quickly. That was, after all, Matthew's usual mode of operation.
Yellow's eyebrows twisted in confusion.
"Do you have an older brother?"
"Um.. no. I have a younger one though. Why?"
"Well.. brothers tend to do that right? Turn their little sisters into jokes?"
"I suppose. What about you? Do you have siblings?"
"No. I'm a proud only child."
Making small talk was becoming difficult with the shock swimming in my head.. All I could focus on and wanted to know was if the video of me going crazy at the airport actually existed.
"Sorry to change the subject, but I really would like to see if the video is real."
"Promise me another dance after that?"
"Deal."
He pulled out his phone and typed out something quickly.
"There it is.."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Where the HELL were you when this guy was threatening to kill me and waving his gun at my face? If Yellow over here hadn't shown up, I'd be DEAD!"
"Ma'am that will be quite enough! Your aggressiveness does not help your plea as the alleged 'victim' in this scenario."
"Oh, get out of this world!!! This is unbelievable! Right after I escape with an inch of my life, you incompetent jerks have the gall to basically accuse ME of being the crook?! Why, I ought to sue you guys for emotional trauma!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Oh my god.."
I started walking forwards and backwards through the little space given to us in the room, attempting to calm myself down with no real progress.
"Would you stop pacing?"
"Th-that video is unbelievable!"
"Actually, the rap version is 10 times bet-"
I wasn't even listening to him.
"I still can't believe it.. oh my god. No wonder all of those people were laughing at me!"
"I'm sure it'll all be old news soon. C'mon, you know how the internet is."
"I hope it does. I don't want to be known like that."
"Now.. you promised me a dance?"
I sighed, "It'll help get my mind off things, I suppose."
He enthusiastically took my hand back in his and as I danced.. I got lost in the moment and started having fun somewhere along the way. Yellow was a glorious dancer.. I hoped I was able to keep him as my dance partner. When I almost tripped, he reached out effortlessly and held me, dipping me gracefully until my hair brushed the ground.
I would be lying if I said my heart didn't skip a small beat as I rose up from that dip. My face flushed red as I saw his adorably dimpled smile grow wide.
But this peace was not to last.
Because all of a sudden, in the middle of our slow dance, I had the distinct feeling that I was being watched. When we changed positions, and I faced away from the wall, I was shocked at who else was in the room with me.
Matthew was here, too.
Upon hearing my gasp, I saw him open his eyes and teasingly raise his eyebrows at me, smirking. I gasped again, hurriedly hiding my gaze and wishing I had some water to ease the sudden dryness in my throat. Butterflies roared in me and I suddenly felt so self-conscious.
"Is everything okay?", Yellow suddenly noticed.
"N- I mean, yes! I'm good! Just had a small cough."
"Do you want me to get you some water? I think there's a vending machine nearby."
"No- um, I'm fine now."
I tried focusing on my dancing, on the lovely dimpled man in front of me, but I couldn't help my traitorous gaze from travelling to the couple on our right. My curiosity got the better of me and I studied Matthew as well as the girl he was dancing with.
Matthew was like Aladdin, dashing, dark and handsome. And dancing with him was..
A veritable Jasmine.
My stomach dropped. Her hair was black, shiny and straight, her skin kissed by the sun, her dark beautiful features nothing like the buggy ones I possessed. She was nothing like pale, red-headed, awkward looking me.
I tried to squash the ugly envy and sour bitterness that rose in me, and I surprised myself by the amount of instant dislike I already had for this girl. I hadn't even had a proper conversation with her, let alone a greeting, and yet I was already filled with bad feelings for her. I was ashamed.
Suddenly, Matthew looked at me again, his smirk deepening. He looked so maddeningly smug. Feeling my chest rise with annoyance, I huffed out a bit angrily.
"You're cute when you're angry."
I paused in the middle of my thoughts, not expecting that comment at all.
"To take your mind off of your temporary celebrity status you seem to have acquired, how about I treat you to ice cream this weekend? On second thought, with how you're feeling, I think you need something richer- like frozen custard."
I stared up at my dance partner, my eyes wide with confusion. You see, I was an emotional mess- but my anger, shame and jealousy came to a sharp halt when Yellow interrupted my thoughts. And the funniest thing was that he thought I was still upset about the video, when the reality was so different. His compliment did catch me off guard though, and it made my mood slightly better.
"Ice cream?"
"Yes, you know.. the mix of sugar, cream and eggs. Type 2 Diabetes in a cup. Heart attack in a bowl. Heaven on my tongue, that stuff."
I broke my dance quite unexpectedly and laughed. Loud. Embarrassingly, I couldn't stop. I guess you could say I was going nuts. But in my defense, it was just the circumstances. The comic relief was such a contrast to my dark train of thoughts a minute before, and quite simply, I lost it. Eventually, Yellow joined in with my laughter too.
"You made me feel like I just said the best joke in the world."
I tried hard to compose myself, but I couldn't stop my laughter. I could feel people staring at first, but soon I could hear everyone else laughing as well. Everyone that is, except Matthew.
Was he.. glaring? I could tell that he wasn't glaring at me.. but at who, then?
The leader called out, "Alright guys, I think this meeting is over! See you all in two weeks!"
All the guests slowly exited the room, and soon enough it was just a few left including me and Yellow.
"Hey, I need to make a quick trip to the restroom. But I'll be right back. Don't run off without me, kay?"
I nodded and being alone for a little while, I decided to check if Matthew was still around.
I had a good view of him while being somewhat hidden, which was good because I didn't want to be seen.. spying, I guess. I was curious about this Jasmine-like girl, and so I watched her and Matthew quietly..
"Baby, I was hoping you'd watch a new movie with me.. it just came out and I hear it's hot.."
She was practically hanging off of Matthew, draping herself on him snugly like a clingy, wet cloth.
"Skank.", I muttered under my breath.
I was being unjustifiably harsh. But that's what Matthew does to me. He makes me extremely unreasonable.
"I have a family engagement to attend. Business party, actually.", Matthew said cooly.
"Ooh.. are you gonna ask me to be your date there?"
"Sorry.. the guest list is tightly regulated."
"Ugh, whatever, sounds lame anyway. But what about tomorrow?"
"I can't do that, Vera."
"Why not?", she pouted.
"It's private."
Suddenly she flipped out.
"What is the matter with you?! If I didn't know better, I'd think you're stringing me along just to go to this dance thing. And the worst part is that my friend told me that you're only coming here because of that punishment from your coach-"
Wait, what?! I gasped in surprise, hoping Matthew didn't hear me.
"Please don't be mad, Vera."
"Why shouldn't I be?! All we've ever done is kissed, and I don't even know why I'm still-"
Matthew cut her off with a passionate kiss.
Would I be lying if I said I didn't feel a stab in my heart with every second their lips touched? I felt my eyes sting with tears.. and I hated myself for being so ridiculous..
Vera giggled, "I love it when you do that, baby.."
"I know you do. Now, please don't be mad at me. Why don't you go home now? If I have time, I'll call you this weekend. I have to make an important phone call and it might take long so I won't be able to walk you home."
"Okay!", she batted her lashes up at him and he kissed her formulaically on the cheek before taking out his phone. She blew a kiss in his direction before walking out.
So that's how he keeps this charade up.
He only gives them so much to keep them happy and coming back, while being casual enough so that they easily get tired of him and move on.. and the genius part is that he makes them all think he's not spending the night with them because he's cheating on them with other girls. That then reinforces his fake player personality.
Those were the markings of a celibate in player's clothing.
My phone buzzed in my bag and I fished it out to reveal 1 unread message.
'Enjoyed the show, Princess?'
Oh my god. Talk about embarrassing. I hastily turned away from where I was watching and as I tried taming my rapid heartbeat and convincing the blush to leave my face, I saw Yellow headed my way.
"I was afraid you'd leave while I was gone. I hope you weren't bored."
"No, I was fine!"
If he only knew about all the dramatic events that had happened in such a short period of time.
"So.."
There was silence. Uh oh, awkward moment.. I needed to think of something to say, and fast!
"Thanks so much for tonight. I had a great time."
"Me too, Red."
"I'll let that go, just this once, because I have an angry reputation to get rid of. But will I ever see you again? Or will you be taken away by an officer like last time?"
He laughed, "I hope not!"
We exchanged numbers then, to schedule the frozen custard date for later.
Wait. Date?
"D-date?"
"Of course. I think you're a lovely lady, and I'd love to get to know you better." His face turned worried, "Unless you're already attached.. but if you were, then I would give him second thoughts. No worthy man should leave you to come here alone."
"Well, lucky for you, I'm not linked to anyone, Yellow."
Ah, that reminded me.
"I don't think we actually exchanged names!"
"You're right! Silly me, I'm-"
Right then, someone with fast, deliberate footsteps came up behind us.
"Marcus, how are you?"
It was Matthew. Of course it was. And wait.. Matthew knows him?
"Why, if it isn't the quarterback. How's it hanging, Aladdin?"
His tone soured.
"And you know I don't go by Marcus."
Matthew's eyes glinted with mischief, "Is it because you don't want to bring up some unfortunate memories in the 'lovely lady' in front of you?"
Wait.. what was going on?
"You heard me right. C'mon Princess. I thought you were sharp."
Matthew getting so absurdly in my way was infuriating, right when I was trying to start something for myself.
"Shut the hell up, Matthew!"
He shook his head and sighed, "There's that unfortunate temper. I forgot that I shouldn't piss off Gingers. I even see that your temper made you go viral this week. But back on topic.. do you two really not remember each other?"
Just as I was about to shoot another insult at him, he continued,
"On second thought, I have a question for you, pal. Are you pretending to be ignorant so that you don't blow your chances with this feisty one?"
Marcus' tone was in defeat, "What do you mean, dude? I only met her recently.. I'll admit that it was under unfortunate circumstances, but it was only 30 minutes at the beginning of this summer."
"Think again, Marcus. You've known Shelley since we were all kids."
His jaw dropped. "SHELLEY?!"
"As in.. Smelly Hell-ey?!"
..it hit me like a ton of bricks. Why hadn't I noticed the resemblance before? Was it because I suppressed those painful memories?
My childhood bully..
The one who helped make my early teen years a living hell..
As I stood there in total shock, I started to feel dizzy..
"M-Ma-Marcus Holmes?"
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone