Grim Crush (Grimly Ever After) (18 page)

Chapter 27

I had one last reaping assignment with Ziri. Afterwards, I still had an hour before the prom started. So my trainee taught me everything she could about proms. She also took me to the mall to help me imitate the fashion that girls wore to the prom.

“This is the one!” Ziri gushed after I’d changed my wardrobe over ten times. “It’s a good thing you suggested Shilah wear a black shirt. A prom couple should be matching.”

I inspected my black and silver halter dress, which stopped at my knees. “Are you sure I shouldn’t try a longer gown?”

“Girl, you already have a hard time walking in those heels. You don’t need to be tripping over your dress too.”

I looked down at the silver shoes Ziri had called slingbacks. “I don’t see why I have to wear heels anyway.”

“Real girls wear heels. They make you look sexy.”

“I’m trying to save my boyfriend’s life. I don’t
need
to look sexy.”

“But you need to blend in. Trust me, teen girls gossip. They’ll clown you if you show up looking ridiculous.”

I rolled my eyes. “I
feel
like a clown. Do human girls really wear all this gunk on their face?” Ziri had made me apply coloring to my eyelids, cheeks, and lips.

“It’s called make-up, and it makes you more beautiful. Don’t forget your corsage either. And you should pin up your braids with a barrette that matches your jewelry.”

“
Okay
.” I made the final touches Ziri told me to make. “How do I look?”

“Human. So you’re perfect.”

I took a deep breath. “Okay, I should go. Shilah should be arriving at the hotel right about now.”

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Ziri held out her hand.

“Right.” I willed my scythe to appear, and handed it to her. “Thank you for doing this. If everything goes well and I still be reaping after this, I’ll let you have a break for a whole week.”

“Sure. Well, go have
fun
.” Ziri sighed. “Maybe one day I’ll get to break the rules and attend a human prom too.”

I chuckled. “Maybe, but be prepared to deal with the consequences. Now, bring Jayza to me. She should have permission to teleport me. And you have an assignment to get to.”

“Right. You go save Shilah.” Ziri paused, then hugged me. “I got this from you.”

I smiled, hugging her back. “Careful, Ziri, you’re going to become human if you keep this up.” We laughed.

Ziri disappeared, and a minute later, Jayza was in front of me.

She looked me up and down. “You look amazing, Xia.”

“Thanks. I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m ready to go to the prom.”

Jayza grinned and held out her hand. I took it, and we teleported onto the rooftop of the Grand Plaza Hotel.

“Good luck,” Jayza told me, squeezing my hand before letting go.

“Thanks.” I hurried to the door that led into the hotel, stumbling once in my stupid high heels. Jayza giggled as I went inside the building, grumbling under my breath.

I rode an infuriatingly slow elevator down to the hotel’s lobby. I made myself visible to humans before the doors slid open. When I stepped out, I noticed a stream of chattering teenagers in gowns and tuxedos heading toward three sets of double doors. I searched the throng for Shilah as I followed them into the ballroom, where loud music thrummed from within.

When I entered the enormous room, my jaw dropped. There were giant gold stars hanging from the ceiling and shimmering silver curtains along the walls. The most magnificent and eye-catching decorations of all were the metallic, lit-up statues shaped like mini Eiffel Towers. I remembered Ziri mentioning prom themes, and this one must’ve been Paris. How ironic that it was based on the same city where Shilah and I first kissed.

The ballroom was already half full of teens. Most of them were in the center, dancing on a glossy wooden floor. Outside the dance area, round tables with chairs had been set up. There was also a long rectangular table with refreshments on the right side of the room, and a small stage had been set up at the back. The music boomed from large speakers along the walls. Everything was dimly lit, which made it difficult to see everyone’s face clearly.

I lingered near the doors, gazing around as people filed past me. It was going to take a while to find Shilah in this place. Usually I could sense him, but his aura of death was preventing that. And I couldn’t sense
that
aura unless I was standing within a few feet of him.

I wandered around the room, trying to avoid attention. However, some heads turned my way, and I noticed girls whispering to their friends after scrutinizing me. Ziri had been right about the whole gossip thing. It made me feel very self-conscious, but I needed to focus on my mission.

I’d almost made a full circuit around the room when someone grabbed my arm, stopping me in my tracks. I sensed the familiar aura of death again.

“Not that you don’t look amazing,” Shilah said in a low voice, glancing me over, “but why are you dressed like a girl at the prom?”

I beamed at him. “Hey! I’ve been looking all over for you. And I’m dressed like this because–”

“Shilah!” I heard a girl’s voice call. I turned to see Lucy and Shilah’s other friends walking toward us.

Lucy, wearing a long maroon gown, stopped and looked me over with a raised eyebrow. “This is who you left us for? Who is this?”

Shilah’s mouth fell open, and he stared at me in disbelief. I smiled, giving him a small shrug, then extended my hand. “Hi, my name’s Xia. I’m a friend of Shilah’s.”

Lucy didn’t shake my hand, although I knew this was the polite human greeting. “
Xia
? That’s a strange name.”

Shilah got over his shock that others could see me. “Uh…Xia is a foreign exchange student. She’s from…Italy.” He grinned jokingly at me. I returned the smile.

“No way, really?” said his cousin, who wore a strapless gray gown. “Hi, Xia, I’m Clarissa.” She took my outstretched hand and shook it.

“Dude, this is the girl who’s been taking up all of your time?” asked Shilah’s friend, Travis. “I
knew
it was a girl! You’re such a liar.”

“Um…okay, I admit it. This is the girl I’ve been hanging out with.” Shilah put an arm around my shoulders. A euphoric feeling spread through me now that he could finally claim me in front of people. I could tell he was happy about it too by the smile stretching across his face.

Travis also shook my hand. “Nice to finally meet you.”

However, Lucy fumed, staring me down. “How come you never told us about her, Shilah?! I thought we were your best friends!”

“It’s my fault,” I explained as my boyfriend shifted uneasily. “I’m…not used to the American culture, and I told him I wanted to stay away from the public for a while.” It was the same bunch of lies all over again.

“Well, that doesn’t seem to bother you now, since you’re
here
. And Shilah didn’t even tell us he invited someone else to the prom.” Lucy said the last sentence through clenched teeth, glaring at him.

“I…didn’t know she would come,” Shilah replied, giving me an emphatic look.

“You could’ve at least mentioned her.” Lucy turned her intense glower on me. If I were alive, I might’ve ducked in case daggers flew from her eyes.

“I didn’t want him to tell anyone about me,” I said, keeping my voice cheerful to annoy her. “I was too shy at first to meet his friends. But I’m glad to finally meet you.”

“We’re glad to meet you too,” said Shilah’s other male friend, the one Ziri had a crush on. “I’m Jim, this is Travis, and the grouchy girl is Lucy.”

Lucy elbowed him in the ribs, and Jim cringed, laughing.

“Nice to meet all of you,” I said. Too bad they didn’t know I already knew them. Anyway, I didn’t come here to be social. I had to focus on why I was here.

“So, Xia, are you and Shilah an item?” asked Travis.

I had begun looking around, making sure no potential death threats were nearby. “I guess so.”

“Yeah, we are,” Shilah added. I didn’t think it was possible, but Lucy’s frown grew deeper.

“Well, I wish I had known,” Clarissa said. “Then I wouldn’t have stolen your date, Xia. Shilah and I are just cousins, if you didn’t know.”

“No, it’s all right. I wasn’t sure I was going to come till the last minute.” Hm, that light fixture on the ceiling looked loose. I’d better keep Shilah out from under that.

“What are you looking at?” Lucy asked, staring up at the ceiling too.

I blushed, facing straight again. “Oh, nothing. I was admiring all the decorations.”

“Do they even
have
proms in Italy?” This girl continued to talk to me with an edge in her voice.

“No, that’s why all this is so cool.” I pasted on a teasing smile, remembering what I’d heard when I first saw Lucy at
Fuddruckers
. “So, where’s
your
date? Shouldn’t you be with him?”

Lucy crossed her arms. “I just came with my friends. Shilah escorted me and Clarissa into the building.”

“Oh. That was nice of him. But with Clarissa and me, Shilah doesn’t have room for a third girl on his arm.” I wrapped my arm around Shilah’s waist, my smile turning into a taunting smirk.

Lucy narrowed her eyes.

“Uh, do you guys mind if I speak to Xia alone?” Shilah said quickly, interrupting the brewing tension.

“Okay,” replied Clarissa. “Jim, you promised me a dance.” She looped her arm through his and they made their way to the dance floor.

Travis said, “I should go find my date. You have to tell us all about Italy later, Xia. I’ve always wanted to meet someone from Europe.”

Lucy rolled her eyes, and Travis placed his hands on her shoulders, pushing her away with him.

Shilah pulled me behind an Eiffel Tower statue. “Xia, you didn’t tell me you were going to make yourself visible to everyone else when you came!”

“I know, I decided this will make things easier when it’s time to save you,” I explained.

“What about Rule Three of Reaping?”

I gave him a funny look. “I think I’m way past following the Rules at this point.”

“Right. So…did Jayza tell you how it’s going to happen? And when?”

“Not exactly. The Angel of Death is preventing Jayza from receiving any more info.” I pulled him away from the electrical cords lighting the statue. “So I’m still trying to figure out the how. And the when…it won’t happen till close to midnight.” If I wanted to keep Shilah from worrying, I’d have to let him believe it wouldn’t happen till the end of the night. Though for all I knew, it could happen in the next few minutes.

My lie worked; Shilah relaxed somewhat. “So I have a couple of hours before I…die.”

“Before I
save
you from dying. Still, I’m going to stay close to you in case Death decides to strike earlier, though he usually doesn’t. You might see Jayza at least fifteen minutes before it’s supposed to happen…but I don’t know…usually no one can see their grim reaper before they die. Things must be different for you since you have Grim Sight.”

He took in a shaky breath. “Okay. So…I guess I should make these last moments count.” He held out his hand. “Want to dance?”

“Uh…” This is the main thing Ziri had taught me about in relation to the prom, but I didn’t feel confident enough to do it in public. “I don’t know…”

Shilah lowered his hand. “Oh, I forgot. Is my death aura bothering you?”

“No, no it’s not that. It’s…I can’t dance.”

“Really? I thought you were an
expert
at it,” he said sarcastically. “Xia, I
know
you’ve never danced before. Just try it. And don’t worry, this is an easy human activity.”

Shilah’s grin won me over. I reluctantly placed my hand in his. “Fine, but be warned, I might humiliate you.”

“I won’t mind.” He led me to the area where the other teens were dancing. Then he drew me in close, curling one arm around my waist and using his other hand to hold my left one.

I’d never been close to him when everyone around us could see. It made me feel uncomfortable at first, and I couldn’t get into the rhythm of the music. I felt like I stuck out in the crowd of humans the way a fly stuck out on a spiderweb.

“Just relax,” Shilah whispered in my ear. “And sway slowly to the music.”

I tried to do as he told me, sneaking a peek at everyone around us. To my relief, no one looked at anyone else much. They were all into their own dance.

I relaxed completely and rested my head on Shilah’s chest, inhaling the fragrant scent of his cologne. After a minute, I took another thorough glance around for any danger to his life.

“So how do you like the prom?” Shilah asked, misreading my surveying of the room.

“It’s wonderful,” I answered, still looking around. “Ziri would love this.” No student would’ve been allowed to sneak in any type of weapon, would they? I kept a wary eye on some of the nearby dancers.