October 1998
Homecoming was something a girl like her wasn't supposed to care about. But, of course, she did. The dress she was wearing was pink and had these huge hideous flowers on it. Her mother had bought it for her at the flea market and the polyester itched. Tugging down on the dress and tried to get her fingernails into the top of her pantyhose, so she could pull them up. Missy's weight shifted from foot to foot as she watched the countless couples dancing beneath the strands of white christmas lights.
The dance was held just outside the town's lake. It had a musky smell and the misquotes were swarming around the bare arms and legs of the high school girls and necks of the suited men. The moon shone off the water and it mingled with the lights that had been hung to decorate the portable dance floor. A band, traditional country setup, was playing on a small stage that was sinking into the moist ground.
It was her first high school dance, and part of her hoped that it would help with the uncertainty she felt about the entire thing. But her blonde hair fell limp over her shoulders, the curl in it flat from too much hairspray, and her lipstick was a little too pink. The four piece band ended its bad rendition of some popular boyband song, NSYNC, probably, and another equally bad rendition began. Platform shoes shuffled to a stop on the fake wood floor laid out over the damp marsh grass. Missy sighed, and watched. This was a bad idea, no one was going to ask *her* to dance.
"Never though' i'd find ya here, Missy."
?
JC had snuck up from his girl's blind side. ?The rolling of eyes from chaperoning teachers along with the awe of some of his peers wasn't unusual. ?He was the rebel teenager of their school. ?Tonight wouldn't be any different with his worn tuxedo teeshirt, dirty denim jeans and spiked mohawk. ?The stench of cigarettes surrounded him but he didn't care if he got in trouble. ?He was untouchable.
?
"JC." ?Missy smiled as she turned to face him. ?She was even more embarrassed to be seen in front of him in the hideously girly dress, her face turning a bit pink. ?"My Ma made me come." ?She lied easily, still tugging on the itchy polyester. ?
?
"Yer daddy be takin' up arms if he heard me callin' you pretty. ?I s'pose ya be wantin' a dance or somethin'." ? This girl made even him a little weak in the knees. ?He originally thought they had known each other so long they were like siblings, but he was already realzing there was much more involved.
"Are ya askin', JC, or are ya just checkin'?" Missy did what she always did, used the joke to diffuse her nervousness. When she lay in bed at night sometimes, she thought that JC was her soul-mate. From the time she had come to this god forsaken town, he was the only one to ever give a damn about her. And she loved him for it. Though, it was only recently that she realized what that love meant.. that it wasn't just a family thing, that she wanted him to touch her, pay attention to her, see more than a girl in dirty shorts and a ripped up teeshirt digging crawfish out of the river.
"Just checkin', babe. ?Ya know I don' do shit like this, came here fer ya. ?Feel like a walk in tha woods?" ?Jack showed her a smile and gave a tilt of his head in the intended direction. ?He always tried to draw her out of the public spotlight when he wanted to be with her. ?When they were alone together, he could relax. ?He cared for her-- she didn't judge him on his looks or the cigarettes.
"Yer such a tease, JC. Course I'll go witchya, what else I got ta do." Missy's laugh was light hearted, but inside she was hurting. She was his pal, would always be his pal, and again he was calling her off, alone. Why did it always feel like their friendship was a secret? That he was scared she would ruin his reputation...
With a shake of her head, and a roll of her eyes she brushed past him. "Gettchyer move on, then."
Homecoming was something a girl like her wasn't supposed to care about. But, of course, she did. The dress she was wearing was pink and had these huge hideous flowers on it. Her mother had bought it for her at the flea market and the polyester itched. Tugging down on the dress and tried to get her fingernails into the top of her pantyhose, so she could pull them up. Missy's weight shifted from foot to foot as she watched the countless couples dancing beneath the strands of white christmas lights.
The dance was held just outside the town's lake. It had a musky smell and the misquotes were swarming around the bare arms and legs of the high school girls and necks of the suited men. The moon shone off the water and it mingled with the lights that had been hung to decorate the portable dance floor. A band, traditional country setup, was playing on a small stage that was sinking into the moist ground.
It was her first high school dance, and part of her hoped that it would help with the uncertainty she felt about the entire thing. But her blonde hair fell limp over her shoulders, the curl in it flat from too much hairspray, and her lipstick was a little too pink. The four piece band ended its bad rendition of some popular boyband song, NSYNC, probably, and another equally bad rendition began. Platform shoes shuffled to a stop on the fake wood floor laid out over the damp marsh grass. Missy sighed, and watched. This was a bad idea, no one was going to ask *her* to dance.
"Never though' i'd find ya here, Missy."
?
JC had snuck up from his girl's blind side. ?The rolling of eyes from chaperoning teachers along with the awe of some of his peers wasn't unusual. ?He was the rebel teenager of their school. ?Tonight wouldn't be any different with his worn tuxedo teeshirt, dirty denim jeans and spiked mohawk. ?The stench of cigarettes surrounded him but he didn't care if he got in trouble. ?He was untouchable.
?
"JC." ?Missy smiled as she turned to face him. ?She was even more embarrassed to be seen in front of him in the hideously girly dress, her face turning a bit pink. ?"My Ma made me come." ?She lied easily, still tugging on the itchy polyester. ?
?
"Yer daddy be takin' up arms if he heard me callin' you pretty. ?I s'pose ya be wantin' a dance or somethin'." ? This girl made even him a little weak in the knees. ?He originally thought they had known each other so long they were like siblings, but he was already realzing there was much more involved.
"Are ya askin', JC, or are ya just checkin'?" Missy did what she always did, used the joke to diffuse her nervousness. When she lay in bed at night sometimes, she thought that JC was her soul-mate. From the time she had come to this god forsaken town, he was the only one to ever give a damn about her. And she loved him for it. Though, it was only recently that she realized what that love meant.. that it wasn't just a family thing, that she wanted him to touch her, pay attention to her, see more than a girl in dirty shorts and a ripped up teeshirt digging crawfish out of the river.
"Just checkin', babe. ?Ya know I don' do shit like this, came here fer ya. ?Feel like a walk in tha woods?" ?Jack showed her a smile and gave a tilt of his head in the intended direction. ?He always tried to draw her out of the public spotlight when he wanted to be with her. ?When they were alone together, he could relax. ?He cared for her-- she didn't judge him on his looks or the cigarettes.
"Yer such a tease, JC. Course I'll go witchya, what else I got ta do." Missy's laugh was light hearted, but inside she was hurting. She was his pal, would always be his pal, and again he was calling her off, alone. Why did it always feel like their friendship was a secret? That he was scared she would ruin his reputation...
With a shake of her head, and a roll of her eyes she brushed past him. "Gettchyer move on, then."