Trust Me [ Prose ]

The beat pounded through my body as the
heat of the room made my cheeks flush red.
I smiled as I picked up the sides of my long
dress, weaving through the dance floor.
Swirls of fabric swayed around as girls
either danced with their dates or sat at the
tables that lined the walls, waiting for that
special person to come ask them to dance. I
quickly made my way through the crowded
room.
The cutting stares of the other couples
bore into me as I swiftly made past them.
My hand instinctively moved to the mask
that hid my face from the couples. I
stumbled in my heels for a second before
steading my self, standing straight.
My nerves began to get the better of me as
I walked. It's like dribbling the ball down a
court, Cat, I thought as I stood even taller,
doing my best to mimic confidence.
The couples' hushed whispers echoed in my
ears as I moved across the dance floor
looking for a face. His face.
The thought of him sent shivers down my
spine and sent a sweet smile across my face.
Yes, that is the reason why I am here. Who
cares what they think.
Enduring a ridiculous amount of pampering
and prodding from my best friend, Meg, was
very worth it if I get to be with him. You
should have seen her priceless expression
when I told her I was going to the dance.
She went as far as fixing up everything for
me, including my make up and this monster
of a dress. Don't get me wrong... The dress
was gorgeous, but I haven't been able to
breathe properly since I put it on.
The longer I looked for him, the more my
heart sank. 'You're so stupid, Cat. He's not
even here.'
Just as I was about to leave a warm hand
settled on my shoulder. I spun around and
smiled up before I saw the eyes that went
along with that gentle hand.
They weren't the warm chocolate brown
that I was had been hoping for. They were a
cool forest green. Sure, a mask covered his
face, but that doesn't mean I didn't know to
whom those piercing eyes belonged to. Anger
sparked and flared, making me hands turn to
fist at my sides.


"Your brother stood me up," I stated, trying
to keep my voice calm as I crossed while
cross my arms over my chest.
"When you see him, tell your brother he can
go to the deepest pits of hell, and I won't
shed a tear!" I forced through my teeth
before moving to get around the boy. Before
I could take another step, he blocked my
escape.
"Ouch! That even hurt me..." the boy said,
placing a hand on his chest in pain for
theatrics. I moved to the right, but he
quickly maneuvered in front of me. I faked
to the left before spinning to the right,
evading his block. In complete and simple
disinterest of what the boy wanted to say, I
smoothed out my dress as I slipped past him.
"I'm not one of those sissy girls you date,
Adam. I have game," I called over my
shoulder as I picked up the bottom of my
dress up and moved toward the door. I
didn't make it far before Adam grabbed my
elbow and spun me around.
He leaned in close to my ear. "Don't look," he
whispered.
Great, now I have to look, I thought as I
rolled my eyes, looking over my shoulder.
Adam grabbed my chin to spare me, but it
was too late. In the corner of the room
stood the person that I had been search for.
Shane Banner was curled up with a short
haired blonde in the corner of the room,
making out with her as if the two of them
were the only ones in the room. I turned
back to Adam a numb feeling taking over my
body, I looked up at the ceiling feeling as if
the wind had been knocked right out of me.
"Why do these things always happen to me?"
I moaned softly in a failed attempt to keep
my voice from creaking in emotion. "I should
have known that the whole point of this was
just to see how much of a fool I would make
of myself," I whispered moving away. He
grabbed my hand and dragged me to the
dance floor while turning me around to face
him.
"Don't say things like that. You look
amazing... My little brother is an idiot." I
rolled my eyes gently, swaying to the music
as I let him sway me around the dance floor.
We both were so off beat that people
backed away from us to keep from getting
hit.
"You two are twins, Adam," I answered dryly
as he brought me back to him and made me
bump into his chest. He looked down at me. I
couldn't really make out his face because of
the mask, but I could see his dimples as he
smiled. I cleared my throat in attempt to
break the suddenly awkward moment.
"You know, most guys ask a girl to dance...
Not drag them to the floor."
"Come on, Cat. You know I hate doing
anything the traditional way," he said before
frowning. "You wouldn't have danced with me
even if I had asked. You're too caught up on
Shane."
My face flushed red as I darted my eyes
away.
"I am not caught up on Shane. I just thought
it would be nice to come to one of these
dances instead of ditching it for pool and
skating at the Rec Center," I said, quickly
shooting down his accusations of me liking his
brother. He looked down on me with a
critical eye.
"He asked you here by a letter!" Adam said
laughing. "How lame --"
"It wasn't lame! It was very romantic and
thoughtful." I said, my voice defensive of
the sweet gesture that I had found in my
locker after Statistics. I stood up
straighter before letting out a soft giggle
and tilted my head back to laugh. "You're
right... it is a bit first grade isn't it? He
didn't even sign his full name. Just his last
--" I trailed off before looking at Adam as
realization hit me.
I never said anything about Shane asking me
to the dance by letter. Adam darted his
gaze away and suddenly found something
very interesting near the far wall. I
frowned and stopped in the middle of the
dance floor and cocked my hip with my arms
across my chest.
"It was you. The one who wrote the letter?"
I said, trying to catch his eyes. Adam
avoided my gaze, but I grabbed him by his
shoulder bring him eye level with me as he
rubbed the back of his neck.
"It was the only way I knew that I could get
you to come." My face turned from accusing
to confused.
"By pretending to be your brother?" I asked
startlingly. A reaction appeared on his face,
but it quickly disappeared, and his face
became suddenly emotionless.
"The letter never said that it was from
Shane. You automatically assumed that," He
said in a soft voice that caused my heart to
clench.
"Well, yeah, Adam!" I exclaimed as I threw
my hands in the air, startling the couples
next to us. "You never give me the time of
day outside of basketball club. Shane at
least talks to me in the hallway after class.
All you do is spin that stupid basketball on
you finger while you flirt with Amy Gibson!"
Adam's face turned from emotionless to
amused as he tilled his head to the side.
"Does that bother you?"
"No," I insisted too quickly. I groaned when
Adam's smile grew from a smirk to a full out
smile.
"You're cute when you're jealous, Cat," he
said, moving a piece of my hair away from my
face that had escaped from my braids. I
slowly waved his hand away.
"I'm not jealous of Amy Gibson," I muttered
as we settled into silence.
"I don't flirt with Amy Gibson," Adam
muttered suddenly. I quickly shot a "yeah,
right" look at him before pulling away from
him.
"There sure is a lot of hair flipping and
flirty smiles going on," I muttered. Adam
leaned in very close to me, making me I
shuffled my feet uncomfortably.
"I can't flirt with Amy Gibson... She's my
cousin," he whispered in my ear before
pulling me closer to his warm body. I blushed
as he ran his hands down my arms before
letting them settle on my waist.
"Okay fine, but what about --" but Adam cut
me off.
"Cat, I asked you to the dance. Not anyone
else," he said as he began to lead me back
and forth. I didn't resist, but I gave him a
suspicious look. I had been the butt of too
many of his pranks, but he couldn't be so
cruel, right?
"What are you playing at, Adam Banner?" I asked, getting straight to the point as I
stared at him. Even with the mask his green
eyes looked warmly down at me. Just with
that look I could feel the feeling that I have
pushed away from him come flooding back so
fast that it made me shiver.
"I'm not playing at anything. I wrote the
letter because I knew you liked that sort of
thing, and I want to be around you."
"You want to be around me?" I echoed slowly
as the music ended before blasting into a
high-energy song, but Adam just kept on slow
dancing.
"Yes."
"How do I know this isn't just some kind of
joke?" I asked with narrowed eyes, but I
was already relaxed in his arms as Adam
pulled me closer My heart sped up at how
close he was to mine as I let out a shaky
breath.
"I guess you will just have to trust me," he
murmured before tipping my head up and
placed his lips gently on mine.

- Salina Lopez. (Figment)