“I didn’t peg you for the dancing kind,” Finn commented when he reached me.
“I was thinking the same thing about you,” I said, and he shrugged.
Finn sat down on the bleachers next to me, and I sat up a bit straighter. He glanced over at me but didn’t say anything. Already he looked annoyed, and he’d just gotten here. An awkward silence settled over us, and I hurried to fill it.
“You arrived awfully late. Couldn’t decide what to wear?” I teased.
“I had stuff with work,” Finn explained vaguely.
“Oh? Do you work somewhere near my house?”
“Something like that.” Finn sighed, clearly eager to change the subject. “Have you been dancing?”
“Nope,” I said. “Dancing is for suckers.”
“Is that why you came to a dance?” Finn looked down at my bare feet. “You didn’t wear the right shoes for dancing. You didn’t even wear the right shoes for walking.”
“I don’t like shoes,” I told him defensively. My hem landed above my knees, but I tried to pull it down, as if I could get it to cover my bare-feet embarrassment.
Finn gave me a look I couldn’t read at all, then went back to staring at the people dancing in front of us. By now the floor was almost entirely covered. Kids still dotted the bleachers, but they were mostly the headgear kids and the ones with dandruff.
“So this is what you’re doing? Watching other people dance?” Finn asked.
“I guess.” I shrugged.
Finn leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and I moved so I was sitting up straighter. My dress was strapless, and I rubbed at my bare arms, feeling naked and uncomfortable.
“You cold?” Finn glanced over at me, and I shook my head. “I think it’s cold in here.”
“It’s a little chilly,” I admitted. “But nothing I can’t handle.”
Finn would barely look at me, which was a complete 180 from his constant creepy staring. Somehow, I found this worse. I don’t know why he had even come to the dance if he hated it so much, and I was about to ask him that when he turned to look at me.
“You wanna dance?” he asked flatly.
“Are you asking me to dance with you?”
“Yeah.” Finn shrugged.
“Yeah?” I shrugged sarcastically. “You really know how to sweet-talk a girl.”
His mouth crept up in a hint of a smile, and that officially won me over. I hated myself for it.
“Fair enough.” Finn stood up and extended his hand to me. “Would you, Wendy Everly, care to dance with me?”
“Sure.” I placed my hand in his, trying to ignore how warm his skin felt and the rapid beating of my own heart, and got to my feet.
Naturally, the band had just started playing “If You Leave” by OMD, making me feel like I had walked into a perfect movie moment. Finn led me to the dance floor and placed his hand on the small of my back. I put one hand on his shoulder while he took my other hand in his.
I was so close to him I could feel the delicious heat radiating from his body. His eyes were the darkest eyes I had ever seen, and they were looking at only me. For one unspoiled minute, everything in life felt perfect in a way that it never had before. Like there should be a spotlight on us, the only two people in the world.
Then something changed in Finn’s expression, something I couldn’t read, but it definitely got darker.
“You’re not a very good dancer,” Finn commented in that emotionless way of his.
“Thanks?” I said unsurely. We were mostly just swaying in a small circle, and I wasn’t sure how I could screw that up, plus we seemed to be dancing the exact same way as everyone else. Maybe he was joking, so I tried to sound playful when I said, “You’re not that great yourself.”
“I’m a wonderful dancer,” Finn replied matter-of-factly. “I just need a better partner.”
“Okay.” I stopped looking up at him and stared straight ahead over his shoulder. “I don’t know what to say to that.”
“Why do you need to say anything to that? It’s not necessary for you to speak incessantly. Although I’m not sure you’ve realized that yet.” Finn’s tone had gotten icy, but I still danced with him because I couldn’t come up with enough sense to walk away.
“I’ve barely said anything. I’ve just been dancing with you.” I swallowed hard and didn’t appreciate how crushed I felt. “And you asked me to dance! It’s not like you’re doing me a favor.”
“Oh, come on,” Finn said with an exaggerated eye roll. “The desperation was coming off you in waves. You were all but begging to dance with me. I am doing you a favor.”
“Wow.” I stepped back from him, feeling confused tears threatening and this awful pain growing inside of me. “I don’t know what I did to you!” His expression softened, but it was too late.
“Wendy—”
“No!” I cut him off. Everyone nearby had stopped dancing to stare at us, but I didn’t care. “You are a total dick!”
“Wendy!” Finn repeated, but I turned and hurried through the crowd.
There was nothing in the world I wanted more than to get out of here. Patrick, a kid from biology class, stood by the punch bowl, and I rushed over to him. We weren’t friends, but he’d been one of the few kids here who had been nice to me. When he saw me, he looked confused and concerned, but at least I had his attention.
“I want to leave. Now,” I hissed at Patrick.
“What—” Before Patrick could ask what had happened, Finn appeared at my side.
“Look, Wendy, I’m sorry,” Finn apologized sincerely, which only pissed me off more.
“I don’t wanna hear anything from you!” I snapped and refused to look at him. Patrick looked back and forth between the two of us, trying to decipher what was going on.
“Wendy,” Finn floundered. “I didn’t mean—”
“I said I don’t want to hear it!” I glared at him, but only for a second.
“Maybe you should let the guy apologize,” Patrick suggested gently.
“No, I shouldn’t.” Then, like a small child, I stomped my foot. “I want to go!”
Finn stood just to the side of us, watching me intently. I clenched my fists and looked at Patrick directly in his eyes. I didn’t like doing this when people watched, but I had to get out of here. I kept chanting what I wanted over and over in my head. I want to go home, just take me home, please, please, just take me home. I can’t be here anymore.
Patrick’s face started to change, his expression growing relaxed and faraway. Blinking, he stared blankly at me for a minute.
“I think I should just take you home,” Patrick said groggily.
“What did you just do?” Finn asked, narrowing his eyes.
My heart stopped beating, and for one terrifying second I was certain he knew what I’d done. But then I realized that’d be impossible, so I shook it off.
“I didn’t do anything!” I snapped and looked back at Patrick. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Wendy!” Finn said, giving me a hard look. “Do you even know what you just did?”