Murphy's Law states "Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong."
From the moment I had received the mums with the wrong name, to the massive pimple from this morning, I felt deep inside this was going to be one of those days.
It may not be over yet, but I'm trying to be optimistic.
The drive after the restaurant had me in a bit of a flustered mood. I would tell you how great the dinner date went—but I'd just be lying to you.
We'll just skip that awkward mess, shall we?
All I got to say was that my Dad and little brother sat with us the whole time, Lilly was bombarded by all kinds of awkward questions my little brother, and to top it off, I had some spaghetti sauce splatter on my white shirt.
I felt beyond embarrassed. It was moments like these that I wished I could drive and I had my own vehicle.
On a good note, Lilly did enjoy the meal.
This year's homecoming dance was being held at the new gymnasium they just finished building before the start of the school year. Everything was very fresh and updated—unlike the rest of the school.
When we arrived, there was a line of students still waiting to get in. Many beautiful dresses being worn by the girls, and the boys were looking very sharp in their suits.
This was definitely a formal social event.
The entryway of the gymnasium had been covered with all kinds of decorations and vibrant fluorescent colors. The greeters in the lobby were passing out glow sticks and bracelets for everyone.
Lilly and I were both puzzled by these. She tore open her packets and cracked the lights to turn them on. I shrugged and did the same.
Inside the gymnasium, it had been arranged so the majority of the basketball court was the dance floor.
Tables were set up along the side lines— each with their very own table runner and centerpieces.
The DJ booth was at the very back with these massive speakers booming some type of Electronic music.
Definitely not something I was familiar with.
The only lights visible in the arena were those being projected by the DJ booth, the glow of all the accessories given to the attendees, the flash of disposable cameras and where photo studio was set up.
"Hey! Photos!" I pointed over to that area. "We should get some taken while we still look clean and well kept." I suggested.
"Yeah. That's probably a good idea." Lilly nodded. "I'm sure our relatives are going to want some of these."
"Dear Lord!" It had just occurred to me that I had a massive family. That's a lot of pictures I will need to purchase.
The improvised photo studio was very well decorated.—A beautiful archway with brown and gold baloons (school colors) and a black glittering backdrop.
Plastic Greek pillars were set up with fake ivy wrapped around them.
A banner stretched across that said AHS Homecoming and underneath it were glittering gold letters arranged that said Party like it's 1999.
After all, it is 1999— and we're here to party.
Our turn had come up and the photographer had us arranged very close in a couples pose. This was actually the first time we had any kind of close contact like that. She had placed Lilly's hand on my chest and my hands at Lilly's waist.
It felt awkward.
"Hurry up hurry up!" I kept thinking to myself. My face was starting to blush and sweat beads were forming on my forehead. Lilly was trying her best to keep a straight face while the photographer snapped the portrait.
What was the worst thing about getting photos taken is that we had to wait over a few weeks to get these prints in.
"God. I hope I didn't blink." I said as we made our way around to where the tables were.
Lilly and I began to scout the area to find a table to place our belongings. On our way there, we ran into a few familiar faces from Lilly's friend group and my friend group. Cherise, one of the girls from the Island, waved us over to join her.
"You two look amazing." Cherise said very gleefully as she scurried to give us hugs. She was a sweetheart with a very flirtatious nature.
She found us to be very entertaining with our little shenanigans and different personalities.
Lilly was enthusiastic, ready to have fun, and leading the way to the dance floor. I found myself struggling and overwhelmed. The music Boss and Victor had me learn to dance to did not have this level of intensity.
I had no idea what this was or how it was danced, but everyone was into it.
They went from some just casually swaying side to side with their arms in the air, to some really dipping low in a promiscuous way. There were even some couples that were bumping and grinding against each other.
"Holy fuck!" I exclaimed and pointed them out to Lilly. "Are they dancing or making babies?"
"Oooh. Yeah." She started nodding. "They're definitely getting freaky on the dance floor." She laughed.
Lilly closed her eyes and threw her hands into the air, waving the glow sticks around while her hips swayed to the beat. She wasn't just dancing to it, she was feeling it. I took and deep breath and joined her.
Whatever it was that we were doing, we weren't making fools of ourselves. We were dancing like nobody's watching.
The DJ started to increase the tempo and everyone was really getting into it. The bass coming from the speakers were producing such a vibrations it shook you inside.
Glowsticks started to twirl around wildly as the crowd was cheering and jumping, lots of laughing, enjoying themselves and having a good time.
During one of the tracks being played, I noticed Lilly doing a little dance while mouthing some of the lyrics in the loop—
Hey girls
Hey boys
Superstar DJs
Here we go!
She clearly knows this song.
"Who is this by?" I shouted.
Lilly raised her eyebrows and leaned in. "What?!"
I leaned in closer. "I was asking who this is by?"
"Oh." She shouted back. "Chemical Brothers."
I was bobbing my head in approval.
The music almost drowned out our voices even when shouting at each other at close distance. Lilly tapped my shoulder and pointed over to someone that was swinging the glowsticks wildly like he was fighting a bunch of invisible Ninjas.
The moment I spotted him, I laughed. I knew exactly who that was.
"Hey! I know him. We call that guy Tito. He's a character."I shouted over to her.
He's one of the freshmen that started hanging out at the Island of misfits. He was a bit eccentric, possibly on the spectrum, and very quirky.
Then again, don't we all have our own quirks?
"Why Tito?" She looked confused.
"Look at him. He looks like Michael Jacksons brother, Tito." I was laughing even harder.
Lilly looked over and studied him for a moment.
Tito was wearing a red jacket, a pair of jeans and a button up shirt with a black tie. He had light brown skin and had his very curly hair slicked back which resembled Jheri Curls. Once she had seen the resemblance from his face and hair, she started to laugh.
"Oh my God. He really does." She became amused.
"Let's go join him." I lead the way enthusiastically. "C'mon."
Tito became a bit of a little brother in the island. Because of his little quirkiness, he would be teased a lot by the other students. Many of us stood up for him and actually welcomed his uniqueness.
He didn't realize we showed up until Lilly and I started cheering continuously—
"GO TITO! GO TITO! IT'S YOUR BIRTHDAY! GET BUSY!"
Next thing we knew, others started joining in the chanting—forming a crowd and him.
I jumped in and joined his little dance by doing some martial arts moves like he was. Others started to jump in and taking turns doing their own little dance while joining Tito. The look on his face showed that he was having one of the best times of his life.
This homecoming dance was a lot more fun than I have anticipated or imagined.
The DJ cycled through a few different genres from House, Latin, hip-hop, pop and eventually brought out the slow and soft music of R&B.
I looked around and realized how many couples were slow dancing. Arms around each other. Cheeks pressed close.
It was the kind of moment I wanted—
Just… not yet. Not like this. Not when I was still sweating like a busted faucet.
Remembering how awkward it felt during the photos, I was getting very nervous. "Um." I scratched at my arm. "We can sit these out. I don't really know how to slow dance."
Lilly had a sigh of relief. "That's good. Me neither." Her cheeks looked very flushed after all the dancing.
Relief had struck me as well. "It's getting too hot in here. Want to go by the doors for a bit? I'll grab us some drinks."
"That sounds perfect. I feel like I'm melting away." She fanned herself with her hands.
She started to make her way towards the doors and I to the refreshments. I grabbed a few cups of fruit punch for Lilly and me.
While serving up some cups, I spotted CC dancing with Kenny. Their eyes were closed, dancing cheek to cheek and they were just holding on to each other as the music swayed them around.
My heart began to sink.
I wanted a connection like they had.
Lilly was standing at the doorway getting some of that soft breeze that was blowing through and was chatting with Cherise who had joined her while I was getting the punch.
I handed Lilly her cup and raised mine up in a small toast. "Cheers."
"Cheers." Lilly giggled as we clanged the plastic cups together. "Goofball"
Cherise raised her hand like she had an invisible cup.
"Hnng—holy fuck!" I pressed a few fingers against my temple after taking a big swig. I hadn't realized the punch was so cold.
"Brainfreeze?" Cherise asked in amusement.
I just nodded quickly.
Lilly laughed and struggled to take a sip from her drink. She was trying so hard to keep her drink from splashing with the shaking caused by the laughter.
"I swear to God!" I began to yell for all to hear. "All day long I've been getting these random mishaps."
Cherise shook her head. "Couldn't be as bad as Tito."
Lilly and I paused our laughing for a moment of curiosity.
Cherise stayed quiet with a smirk on her face.
"Oh?" Lilly finally took a sip of her punch. "Do tell."
"Well..." Cherise tried her best to keep a straight face. "I tried slow dancing with Tito a bit ago and he just—froze"
"Froze!?" Lilly and I exclaimed simultaneously.
"Yes. Froze!" Cherise giggled and blushed through her chocolate complexion. She placed her hand up to her face to hide her embarrassment. "Then he just ran to the restroom."
"WHAT! Oh my god. Is he ok?" I was getting concerned for Tito. "Do I need to go and check on him?"
Lilly started to giggle and blush uncontrollably.
She had witnessed Tito run to the restroom in such a strange manner just before Cherise found ran into her. She didn't realize the cause until that moment.
"Oh yeah. I'm pretty sure he's more than ok." Cherise nodded and couldn't keep a straight face anymore. "He just got a bit—excited."
Lilly and Cherise were laughing hard.
"Oh fuck!" My eyes widened finally figuring out what Cherise was hinting at.
I was really feeling bad for Tito, but the situation had become too funny and I couldn't contain the laughter that was ready to erupt.
The 3 of us rushed outside dying with laughter. My sides were starting to hurt and I struggled to catch my breath.
Lilly had found herself sitting on the stairs and hanging onto the handrail for dear life. Her eye makeup was starting to get ruined from her eyes watering.
Cherise was coughing hard just trying to catch her breath. She was even fanning her face to really cool off and hoping it would help. "Wooooo! Oh my God. Oh my God." She sniffled.
"Oh my God. Poor Tito." I said almost breathless.
As embarrassing as it was for him, embarrassing moments like that really are top tier for all the boys.
That part of our body sometimes has a mind of its own and we can't control it.
I ended up going to the restroom to check up on him after our little laughing fit. He looked like he wanted to cry, but I let him know that everything was ok and perfectly normal to have those little surprises pop up.
Even as the music faded and the glowsticks dimmed, the feeling stayed with me. Maybe this wasn't just a good night — maybe it was the beginning of something bigger.