The Gossip Web (11 page)

             
“You’re somebody, and I’m not,” I told him softly. “I mean, you dated Gloria last year.”

             
“Don’t remind me,” he muttered hastily.

             
“I’m sorry, Trace, but I can’t help that I’m a little freaked out by all of this. Every girl in West Havenbrook wants to date you.” I frowned and added, “Nobody will understand us. You‘re too popular to want to be with me.”

             
He remained silent for at least a minute before he replied, “So we’re back to that issue again are we? Jade, how many times do we have to go over this? I don’t care that you’re not popular. It doesn’t matter to me.”

             
“How can you say that? It matters to you that you’re popular, Trace.”

             
Trace sighed and I heard rustling against the phone. A mental picture of him running a hand through his hair flashed across my mind. I grinned and hugged the phone, wishing my cell-phone truly was him. Then, after feeling embarrassed and pathetic by what I’d just done, I returned the phone to my ear.

             
“You know, when you say things like that to me, it makes me realize that I must be some huge jerk with the biggest head or something. Do you really think that me hanging with the crowd is more important than what I feel for you?”

             
How could I answer that question? If I said no and pretended like I thought I meant more to him, then I would be a hypocrite---because I honestly did not believe that. Even if he claimed to care about me, I knew his friends were important to him. But if I said yes, this conversation would end on a bad note, and whatever potential there was between us would be over. I wisely decided not to choose.

             
“Honestly, I don’t know, Trace,” I told him softly.

             
“I see.” And that’s all he said.

             
After that, we both kept quiet and listened to the other’s breathing. It only took a few minutes of speech isolation before I couldn‘t take the silence any longer. I was wrong to think of Trace the same way I thought of his friends. He wasn’t awful like Gloria or the rest of the populars. He was different from them…he always had been. Even ninth grade year, when he ignored me---Trace never treated me horribly or made fun of me

             
“I’m sorry, Trace,” I blurted out hastily. “I shouldn’t put you in the same category as your friends. You’re nothing like them.”

             
He laughed and replied, “It’s okay…I get it. And, I’m sorry too.”

             
“I don’t want to fight with you anymore, Trace. But it’s hard to believe that you could like me as much as I like you.”

             
“I know what you mean, Jewel.”

             
I wrinkled my nose at my nickname. “So we’re okay?” I asked him eagerly, my heart beating rapidly.

             
“Of course we are,” Trace told me softly. And it was the way he said “we”, that made me smile ear to ear.

             
“So what now?” I asked breathlessly.

             
“Well, now I have to go finish that lame chemistry assignment for Mr. Parker,” he told me with a yawn. “I’ll probably be up all night too. I hate Chemistry.”

             
“Yeah me too.” I frowned, not wanting him to go. “Well, I guess I’ll let you go then…”

             
He must’ve detected my sad tone because he laughed and replied, “Don’t be so upset, Jade. You’ll see enough of me tomorrow.”

             
“Will I?” I cursed myself for sounding too eager.

             
“Of course, beautiful. I’ll make sure to harass you all day.”

             
I grinned at his comment. He thought I was beautiful! I could’ve died right there. Biting my lip shyly, I replied, “Okay, Trace. Goodnight.”

             
“See you tomorrow, Jade.”

             
With the click of a button he was gone. I sat there motionlessly, weakly staring at the dim screen of my cell phone. Not being able to contain my glee any longer, I screamed, waving my hands wildly as I hopped up and down on my bed. I wasn’t aware that my father was home from the restaurant yet, but he made his presence known with a sharp bang on my door, telling me to knock off the screaming.

             
I ignored him, still reeling over my conversation with Trace. My face heated up when I realized that it wasn’t just a fantasy anymore. It was actually happening. My dream was coming true. Trace had practically told me he wanted us to be more than just friends, never mind that it had been over the phone. He had said the words, “I care about you”, and “you mean a lot to me.” It didn’t get any clearer than that.

             
Sighing when the familiar sensation of fear settled at the bottom of my stomach, I wondered if I would ever get over my insecurities and just think positive for once. Gloria’s face flashed in my mind, and I realized that it wouldn’t be easy. I knew that out of all the people at West Haven High, she would be the one to give Trace and I the most trouble. She wouldn’t just accept that fact that Trace wanted to be with me. If I knew Gloria Malone, and I did know her pretty well, I wouldn’t be surprised if she did everything in her power to keep him and I apart.

             
Actually, I was almost positive that she would, and it scared me to death.

13

             
“DID YOU FIND A DRESS YET?”
Erika asked me eagerly from outside the fitting room. I heard her shuffle through a few dresses on a rack and I prayed that she hadn’t found another gown to force me to try on.

             
“No,” I replied shortly, wrinkling my nose at my reflection in the mirror. I was wearing a strapless dark blue prom dress that sparkled and puffed out at the waist. It was an awful dress, and I realized that if I bent myself just a tad foreword I would look like a gigantic blueberry. This had been an absolute disaster! I was so sick of trying on dresses and taking them off that I was soon to throwing in the towel and picking one of the ugly ones I was against. Staring thoughtfully at the mirror, I wondered if Trace would mind if I showed up to the dance looking like a humungous piece of fruit. I had a feeling he would.

             
“Come out and show me the one you have on now,” Erika called to me. I frowned at her request and began to hastily peel the dress down. There was no way I was stepping out in this hideous dress---it was bad enough that I had to look at myself in it.

             
“Sorry, I just took it off,” I told her.

             
Erika sounded disappointed as she replied, “That’s alright. The next one then.”

             
I stared around at the many dresses that lined the four walls of the tight room. So many different varieties and colors…and each one of them looked absolutely dreadful on me. How could this be? I couldn’t find one miserable dress to wear, least of all one that looked amazing. Maybe I would be forced to wear a tux and Trace could wear the gown. After all, he’d probably looked better in it than me. He’d look good in anything.

             
“Oh, Jade!” Erika cooed from outside my dressing room door. The excitement in her voice sent chills of hatred down my back. Why oh why couldn’t Heidi be here with me instead? She would’ve known how to fix my fashion crisis. Erika honestly didn’t have a clue. Dress after dress after dress---she picked all the hideous ones. I wondered if she was doing it on purpose just to torment me. This day was not going the way I had envisioned!

             
“I found the perfect dress, Jade! This one is the one!” Her voice sounded too ecstatic, and I wondered how she could enjoy humiliating me this way when she knew how important the dance was to me. After all those ugly dresses Erika picked out, I did not trust her judgment…but I decided to humor her anyway. Why? I figured there was no perfect dress for me so what the hell? I’d just try on every hideous gown in this department store till I dropped dead. At least if I were dead I wouldn’t have to face the embarrassment of showing up to the formal in a paper sack.

             
There was a soft knock at my fitting room door, and I made sure I was completely decent before I cracked the door open. I found Erika beaming at me, a long strapless dress hanging off of her hand, and the dress was so beautiful that I almost gasped. A light olive green color, it was elegant and reminded me of a dress I’d once seen in an old black and white film. I couldn’t contain my smile as I reached for it.

             
“Isn’t gorgeous? I found it hiding behind a huge, fluffy white dress. Maybe that’s why we didn’t see it at first,” Erika told me after handing me the gown.

             
“Thanks,” I told her with a grin. “It’s perfect.”

             
“It’s your size too! Try it on!” She urged me happily before shutting the door.

             
I was surprised to find that I slid into it easily, but the dress was form fitting and didn’t hang off of my body. The only problem I had with the fit was that it didn’t have any straps for support. When I glanced in the mirror though, my concerns with the dress melted away. I was shocked by my reflection in the mirror---I didn’t look like the same Jade Cannon I’d usually seen all my life. I looked like someone entirely different! Somebody glamorous…somebody I wished I could’ve been.

             
“How does it look, Jade?” Erika asked from behind the door.

             
Twirling in front of the mirror, I replied merrily, “Wonderful. I love it!”

             
“Let me see!” I heard her plead, and I realized that I owed her a peek. She was the one who found me the dress after all. I walked out of the room slowly, with my head sort of bowed as I awaited her reaction. Expecting a loud outburst or a big show, I was surprised when I saw her face turn all gloomy and emotional.

             
“You don’t like it?” I asked her, uncomfortable by her silence. Erika hated the dress? But it looked so good on me! Great. Just when I found the perfect dress for me, she found a way to ruin it. How typical.

             
Embarrassed by her expression, I wanted to make her appreciate the dress even if she didn’t like it. “I know it’s a little snug…but I think it looks great---”

             
“I think so too, Jade,” she interrupted, her frown vanishing. “You look beautiful.”

             
“I do?” I don’t know if I was more confused that she agreed with me, or that she had just said I looked beautiful. Both were odd to hear when they were coming out of her mouth.

             
Erika nodded with a slight grin. “I was just shocked, that’s all. That dress brings out all the good in you! It matches your coloring and everything.” Taking a step back, she observed me in awe. “Wow. Your date is going to have a heart attack when he sees you in that dress,” Erika told me, and it was the gentle way she said it that made me believe her.

             
“Thank you, Erika,“ I told her with a smile.

             
“You’re welcome.” She backed away suddenly and pointed down the hall. “You get changed and I’ll be over at the register waiting, okay?”

             
I nodded at her, and closed the door gently. Turning to look at my reflection one last time, I smiled happily at my mirror image. I still couldn’t believe how amazing I looked! It was because of this gown that I was finally confident about the dance. Just one look at me while I was wearing this and I knew Trace would be helpless. Everything was falling into place perfectly… and for the first time my life seemed somewhat exciting. I couldn’t wait for the formal, and I knew that after that night, Trace and I would never be apart again.