Not Your Average Fairy Tale (Not Your Average Fairy Tale #1) (16 page)

Kendall

My room was cold. Rubbing my arms, I walked to the open window and shut it, not bothering to look outside to see if Cameron was in the driveway yet.

It was my birthday. And my very first prom. I should have been excited, since I was one of the only juniors in my class who had been asked. But I wasn't. I was miserable.

Sensing someone was in the room, and knowing it was Ash, I turned around. I tried to hide a smile of happiness at seeing him, but failed. I hadn't seen him since our kiss, and that seemed ages ago.

He stood near the door, a small smile on his face. I didn't miss how his eyes traveled down the length of my dress and back up until he was looking into my eyes. He gulped and ran his hand through his short hair, turning away.

"Is it that bad?" I asked.

He laughed, and his eyes found mine again. His cheeks were a little pink, and I had to smile at that.

"You look amazing," he said.

I took in his jeans and light blue shirt. He always looked amazing.

"Thanks," I said. "So do you." I blushed, knowing the compliment was beyond stupid.

"I knew you'd look good in that color."

My mouth dropped open. "
You
put this dress on the rack?"

He didn't answer, just chuckled again, and looked toward the window. "You ready to go? It's your big night, after all."

I glanced away as I thought about spending the next few hours with Cameron. No. I wasn't ready. I gave a quick nod, and walked to the closet, pulling out my silver high-heeled shoes. Tiny sparkles shimmered in the light as I slipped them on. Once I finished, I checked my appearance in the full-length mirror on the closet door.

My dress reminded me of the night sky, with millions of tiny silver stars sparkling in the light. The dark blue dress was form fitting at the waist and spread out at my hips. The sleek fabric nearly touched the floor, even with my shoes on. It was a perfect dress for a perfect prom.

Too bad it wasn't with the perfect date.

Ash came up behind me, making me jump. His shaky hands slipped a silver necklace around my neck. He fiddled with the clasp, and goose bumps covered my skin.

"Happy Birthday," he whispered in my ear.

I couldn't believe he’d remembered my birthday. Come to think of it, I don't think I’d ever told him when it was. "Where did you get this?" I asked, putting my hand up to admire the little blue teardrop on the chain.

He shrugged and blushed. "Don't worry about it," he said.

"No, really. I've never seen anything like it."

He hesitated, but only for a moment. "It was my mother's. At least I think it was. When Logan found me, I was wearing it. I figured since I'll never wear it, and she can't use it anymore..." He trailed off and gave me a small smile. "I don't know where she is, or if I'll ever see her again. I'd really like you to have it so you can always have a piece of me with you. Touching it will remind you of the fairy godmother who tormented you every day. So you don't forget me."

I blinked back tears. "It's perfect," I whispered. The blue stone was warm against my skin. It was beautiful. "Thank you."

Turning around to face him, I realized we were very close. His silver eyes looked tired, but I couldn't look away. He brought his hand to my face, letting his fingers trail down my cheek, until he came to my jaw. He traced my bottom lip with his thumb. A small smile touched his lips as he noticed the smudge of lipstick on his finger, but he said nothing. And he didn't wipe it off.

I wanted to say something, but my mind was cloudy. I couldn't think straight. Actually, all I could think of was our first kiss after our big fight. How his lips felt on mine. The moment I realized I was in love with him.

Everything about it was right.
We
were right. I wanted him to kiss me again. I wanted him to take me to prom. I wanted him to love me. To stay with me.

"Kendall ..." he started, leaning in. I closed my eyes, waiting for his lips to touch mine.

The doorbell rang.

"Kendall! Cameron's here!" My mom yelled from the bottom of the stairs. Ash dropped his hand, and I opened my eyes. A wave of sadness passed over me as I realized he was gone.

***

The drive to the dance was more than awkward. First of all, my dress was very hard to sit down in. Second, it took up almost the whole back seat of the limo. Third, Cameron had his arm around me, and I wasn't sure how to tell him to back off.

I also wondered why we weren’t with Scott and Tessa, and Cameron had gotten a limo for just the two of us.

After the limo pulled into the parking lot of the dance, Cameron jumped out and offered his hand. I took it, but when he tried lacing our fingers together, I let go. He looked hurt, but I wasn't going to lead him on anymore. He grumbled something under his breath, but offered his arm.

The walk up the three flights of marble stairs was terrifying. I was sure I would trip and fall in my high-heels. I didn’t realize I was almost squeezing Cameron’s arm off until he pried my fingers from his arm when we reached the top.

The place was packed. Mostly seniors. A few juniors. I spotted Tessa with Scott, and wanted to go see her, but Cameron steered me in the opposite direction.

Cameron led me around the room, talking to random people, laughing at everything, and hanging on me the entire time.

I pulled him off to the side. “Will you please stop it? I’m not enjoying being mauled by you.”

He frowned. “I just thought we could be an official couple tonight.”

“When did we agree to be a couple at all?”

His eyes narrowed. “Kendall. It’s prom. I had a whole night planned for the two of us, and you’re screwing it up already.”

“Cameron ... I’m sorry. I’m just not ready to–”

He put up a hand to stop me. “Don’t. I don’t want to hear it.” He stalked off, leaving me alone.

I sat down at an empty table and watched all the happy couples dancing, wishing I was among them, showing off Ash. I wondered what he was doing. I missed him already.

Cameron finally came back, and yanked me out of my chair. "Let's go dance." He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and leaned heavily on me. "You look hot in that dress. All the guys are so pissed that I came here with you. They told me so."

I pulled him off to the side, pushing his arm off my shoulder for the fifth time.

"Will you stop it?" I asked. "What the heck is wrong with you?"

He smiled and pulled me close so he was whispering in my ear. "You said you needed some time, I know. But after the kiss in the car ... I thought since we're here together, we could maybe act like a couple again."

"We were never a couple before."

He ignored me and smiled a lopsided grin. Before I could react, he grabbed my wrist a little too hard and pulled me onto the dance floor.

It was a slow song. A popular one that I actually liked, but after dancing with Cameron, I vowed never to listen to it again.

He pulled me close, his hands wrapping around my waist and meeting at the small of my back. I put my arms around his neck, and took a deep breath, getting more uncomfortable by the second. He leaned down, burying his face in my hair.

"You smell good," he whispered.

"Don't," I said, pulling away.

"Come on, Kendall. Dance with me." He pulled me closer, and I pushed against his chest.

He chuckled and to my surprise, I smelled something familiar on his breath. "Are you drunk?"

"Of course not. I know the rules when I'm with you." He released his hold a little, but still had a pretty good grip on my waist.

"The rules? Does that mean you get drunk every time you aren't with me?"

He ignored the question. "Look," he started. "I really like you, Kendall.
Really
like you."

"No you don't."

"What?"

"You don't really like me. It's just an illusion. A stupid show. You don't know anything about me."

"What are you talking about?"

"You think you like me, but you don't." I was so stupid. I couldn't believe I’d wasted the last two years on him.

Cameron scratched his head, blinking rapidly. He swayed a little and his eyes were unfocused. "What's the matter with you? You're acting as bad as Tessa."

"What? What about Tessa?"

"She totally led me on at Dane's party, and then wouldn't make out with me. Stupid girls. Always leading me on."

"You
are
drunk." I stepped away from him.

To my surprise, he laughed. "Come on Kendall. Let’s just forget this conversation happened. I didn't mean to say anything about Tessa. She's cool." He laughed, an ugly, drunken sound. "Come on. This is the last dance we'll ever go to together, and you aren't leaving me here without a date."

"No thanks. I'm going home," I said, pulling out my cell phone and walking toward the door. He grabbed my shoulder, pulling me back.

"Don't walk away from me," he hissed in my ear. His breath was hot against my skin. He spun me around, trying to make it look like we were dancing. His fingers bit into my arms.

"Leave me alone," I snapped, trying to pull away.

"Come on, Kendall. You'll never get a chance to be with me again. So many girls would kill to be in your place."

"Not me," I growled.

He laughed and tried to pull me close again.

"Stop it!" I yanked my hand away and slapped him hard across the face.

I ignored his stunned expression, and ran out the door.

Running down marble stairs in high heels is never a good idea. I lost my right shoe on the way down, and was so upset that I didn't even care. What did I ever see in that jerk?

About halfway down the stairs, I sat down. My eyes filled with tears, but I vowed I wouldn't cry. I would
not
cry at prom.

I'm not sure how long I sat there, just listening to the music blaring from the speakers inside. My hand stung from slapping Cameron, and I shook it out.

People passed me on the way up the stairs, but hardly any of them noticed me, and if they did, no one said a word.

"You lost something."

I relaxed, my tears drying up at his comforting voice as Ash sat down next to me. He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me into him. I lay my head against his shoulder and closed my eyes, breathing in his wonderful scent.

"What are you doing here?" I asked as a few tears escaped and rolled down my cheeks. He handed me a tissue. It had a floral smell, and for some reason it made me smile. You didn't see a guy carrying around floral-smelling tissues every day.

As if reading my mind, he said, "I know. They stink."

I laughed and wiped my eyes.

"May I?" he asked, gesturing toward my foot.

I nodded, smiling as he moved a few steps below and slipped my shoe on. Now where had I seen that before?

"Thank you," I said.

He stood, holding a hand out to help me up. "I have a question," he said.

"Can't you just find the answer in my file?"

He laughed. "No. I ... um ... blew it up."

"What? Why?"

"I figured I'd rather get to know you in person than read a bunch of random, sometimes embarrassing facts about you and piss you off." He grinned. "You're sort of scary when you get mad."

"Oh." I blushed.

"Anyway, back to the question. Will you dance with me?"

That was when I noticed what he was wearing. "A tux?" I asked, taking his hand. "I didn't know fairies cleaned up so well."

"I'm shocked you ever thought I wasn't clean," he said.

"Dirtiest person I know.”

"You think you're pretty funny," he said, touching my cheek. "Oh, I almost forgot." He snapped his fingers and a gorgeous corsage appeared out of thin air. It was made of light blue flowers I couldn’t identify, surrounded by daisies. It smelled amazing. "Let's take that one off your wrist." He slipped Cameron's off, and flipped it over the side of the staircase. I watched as it twirled in the air and finally hit the ground, sending flower petals scattering. "Mine's better."

"Yes, it is," I said.

He offered his arm and led me up the staircase. Music floated through the air, getting louder as we approached.

"Wait," I said, stopping.

"What's wrong?"

"I can't go in there and dance by myself. I mean, you're invisible."

He held up a hand. "Don't worry. We're going to dance out here. And I'm visible right now, so if someone does see us, they'd see me too."

"Really?"

"Yep."

"Why haven't you ever done it before? Everyone thought I was going crazy when they caught me talking to you."

"I'm not supposed to be seen."

"Oh. Will you get in trouble?" I asked.