The Gossip Web (8 page)

             
“Wait,” Trace spoke up, and the sound of his voice caused me to hesitate in the middle of the hallway.

             
I turned my head in his direction slowly, a grave expression on my face. “What do you want, Trace?” I asked him sharply.

             
He shrugged casually and replied, “Nothing.”

             
“Nothing? You got me out of class for no reason?” I sighed and shook my head. “I could be missing an important lesson right now and why? Because you can’t leave me alone!” I didn’t conceal my anger and I didn’t care. I was tired of his games; this whole situation was really beginning to piss me off.

             
“That’s not really why I did it…” Trace replied softly.

             
“Then why did you, Trace?” I pressed him.

             
“Because, I…I…” he stammered lightly, and glanced away from me. He was acting like he was nervous or something---but he couldn’t be nervous around me, could he?

             
“Trace, come on,” I grumbled. “Just tell me and get it over with!”

             
He narrowed his blue eyes at me. “Jade, I’m trying to do something here…okay? Be a little patient.”

             
I ignored his demand and asked, “And what are you trying to do exactly?”

             
“I’m trying to---” His voice broke off, but after taking a deep breath Trace finished what he had to say. “I want to ask you something.”

             
My heart skipped at the suspense of his question. What could he possibly have to ask me? A million hopeful thoughts flooded my mind, but I pushed them all out. I had to be realistic. It was obvious Trace thought only of me as a friend and nothing more. Although, there could be a slim chance that he wanted more…No, I had to let it go. Trace wasn’t interested in me the way I was him. He wasn’t…I was sure of it.

“Oh really? Fire away.” I forged my voice to sound cool and unconcerned, as if I didn’t care about what he was going to ask me. In all honesty though, I was dying to know.

Trace watched me anxiously as he dragged a shaky hand through his messy hair. He chewed his lip thoughtfully, then suddenly blurted out, “Will you go to the dance with me?”

I was absolutely shocked by what he had just asked; his question catching me off guard. No way! He didn’t just asked me that, did he? It had to be too good to be true…or my mind must’ve been playing tricks on me. Just to be sure though, I asked him, “Excuse me?”

He frowned at my reply. “Don’t you want to, Jade?”

“Want to what?” I breathed weakly. I had to hear him ask me again or else I would believe that he hadn’t asked at all.

“Be my date for the dance,” Trace replied.

I tried to organize all of the jumbled emotions I felt at that moment: joy, doubt, anger, worry. Gazing up shyly into his blue eyes, I suppressed the desire to wrap my arms around his waist. I kept my smile tucked away as I replied, “You want to go with me? To the winter formal?”

My response sounded skeptical, but I couldn’t help it. This was all so confusing. I mean, we just had a huge fight…had he already forgotten it? I honestly thought he wouldn’t want to speak to me after our scene the other day. But now he was asking me to the formal! Why on Earth would he want to take me to a dance where all of his friends will see us together? He was the popular one, not me. It would be social suicide to show up at that dance with me on his arm. Didn’t he know that?

“Is something wrong?” He asked me warily, looking rather pale.

When I glanced back at him, I realized that he seemed sort of scared. Was he afraid that I was going to turn him down? Just knowing that I had that kind of power brought a rush of satisfaction over me, but I knew that I wouldn’t do it. I had to be crazy---psychotic even---to refuse him. Trace was the guy of my dreams, the only one I wanted. If I didn’t say yes now, I would regret it for the rest of my life. I just couldn’t pass something like this up. I don’t use clichés lightly…but this was a chance of a lifetime.

“Yes, I’ll go with you,” I murmured quickly, grinning up at him.

Trace’s frightened expression melted away into a smile. After turning slightly red, he replied, “Really?”

             
I nodded. “Of course! I would love to go with you to the dance, Trace.”

             
For a split second I thought he was going to do back flips because of the silly look on his face, but he promptly regained his composure. Flashing me a relaxed grin, he muttered, “Awesome.”
             

             
I tried my best to hide my happiness as we both stared awkwardly at each other, neither of us saying a word. A few seconds passed by and we still said nothing, just locked eyes as if they were saying everything our mouths couldn’t. I was the first to look away, glancing in the direction of my classroom door, hoping to be distracted by something. I didn’t want to seem like a foolish girl with a crush. This was Trace, not just any guy. I had to be careful, cool, and confident…but when I gazed back at his charming face, I realized it was hopeless. I would never be able to act chill around him.

             
“I should get back to class, Trace,” I told him softly, glancing at the time on my watch. We’d been talking for almost half an hour!

             
“Right, me too,” he replied, sending me another grin. “Well, I’ll call you later…okay?”

             
I sent him a smile back. Before thinking over what he said I walked towards my classroom door, but I froze when I realized I hadn’t given him my number. He had already started moving down the hall when I called out, “Trace, wait! You don’t have my number.”

             
Trace stopped walking and twisted his head. “What do you mean? I never forgot it,” he informed me with a smile.

             
It was my turn to blush. Smiling wide as I watched him walk away from me in reverse, I rolled my eyes when he was halfway down the hall still facing me. He waved at me and I waved back before hurrying towards Mr. Langer’s classroom door.

             
When I returned to class everyone was reading, and a few of my nosy classmates glanced up curiously from their books when the door squeaked open and I walked in. Taking my seat quickly, I pulled out the assigned book and buried my head behind it, ignoring the heavy stare from my teacher. Maybe Mr. Langer hadn’t bought my lie about visiting a counselor to talk about colleges after all.

             
As I pretended to read, the dance took control of my thoughts and I started getting excited. I couldn’t wait! It was like a dream come true…and I still couldn’t believe that Trace had asked me! I knew it was going to be the best night of my life. Things were finally starting to look up for me…

10

             
BY THE TIME SCHOOL WAS OVER
I was bursting with plans. I knew exactly what dress I wanted to wear and what color, how I was going to get my hair done, and what shoes and accessories I needed to buy. I don’t think I’d ever been so happy in a long time…I even ran all the way home, eager to tell my dad that I had a date for the dance. When I got there, I saw Erika’s car parked in the driveway, but I was in such a good mood that it didn’t even bother me. I wanted her to know too, just to prove I wasn’t the loser I seemed to be.

             
Racing up the porch, I pushed open the front door with a huge smile on my face. I didn’t have to search the house to find my father; I knew where to find him. The aroma drifting out of the kitchen gave his location away. I sniffed the air and smiled; it would be shrimp linguini for dinner tonight.

             
“Dad!” I called out happily as I wandered into the lit kitchen, where I found him twirling a ladle around in a large metal pot. He looked over his shoulder at me when I walked in, a surprised expression etched on his face.

             
“Why do you sound so happy?” He asked me with raised brows.

             
His question irritated me. It’s not like I wasn’t upbeat often---but nothing decent usually happened to me. I lived a crappy life.

             
“Forget it.” I stuck my tongue out at him and folded my arms. “I’m not going to tell you now.”

             
“Oh come on,” he pleaded, setting the ladle down onto the counter. “Out with it already!”

             
“Well, if you insist.” I grinned happily as I said, “Guess who has a date for the winter formal?”

             
“No! Not my daughter!” My father replied enthusiastically, wiping his hands on a white dishcloth. “Who’s the lucky boy?”

             
“Trace Gibson. Do you remember him?” I secretly hoped that he didn’t.

             
He looked furious for a second, but the expression passed. “Jade, I don’t think this is such a good idea---” My father began, but I wouldn’t let him finish.

             
“Dad, wait. I know what you’re going to say, but just hear me out first,” I interrupted hastily. “I know Trace and I have had some trouble in the past, but he’s changed. He wants to make it up to me.”

             
My father didn’t seem too convinced. “Are you sure about that?”

             
“Yes, Dad.” I told him what he needed to hear, but honestly, I was still a little suspicious of Trace myself.

             
He sighed at my response, and I knew he wasn’t okay with the idea of Trace and I being friends again. Maybe I shouldn’t have told him about Trace ignoring me in ninth grade…

             
“It’ll be okay, Dad,” I told him eagerly. “I won’t let anybody hurt me again.” Thankfully, he took the bait.

             
“Alright, if you think he’ll treat you right this time...” he replied faintly.

             
Smiling as the tension ceased, I rushed across the kitchen to give him a hug. “Thanks for understanding, Daddy. This dance is really important to me.”

             
“Okay, but I need to trust that you’ll behave yourself. You haven‘t been around boys much, Jade. Maybe it‘s time you and I have that special chat…”

             
Wrinkling my nose at the thought of discussing “that” with him, I slugged his arm lightly. “Yuck, Dad. Don’t gross me out now. I’m in a phenomenal mood.”

             
“I couldn’t help but overhear you two,” Erika interrupted as she sauntered into the room. Today she was wearing a very expensive-looking nautical ensemble, complete with all the accessories. I frowned at how luxurious she looked and wondered where she got the money to pay for such clothes. I’d never heard her speak of working---or even having a job for that matter. I glanced over at my dad and prayed that he wasn’t paying for the all her shopping escapades.

             
“You’re going to a dance, Jade? That’s great! I’m so happy for you.” She had a cheery smile on her face but I didn’t let it get to me. Erika could go on pretending like she cared what I did or what happened to me. I didn’t mind it at the moment because I had Trace.

             
“Thanks,” I said, forcing a smile.

             
“Did you decide what dress you want to buy?” Erika asked me.

             
“Yeah, I think so. But the winter formal is a few weeks away…so I still have some time to buy a dress,” I assured her.

             
“That doesn’t matter! You should start looking for one right away,” she replied with a sparkling grin. “That’s the most important thing to buy for a dance, I think. I used to love dress shopping for my formal dances.”

             
“I have a great idea!” My father exclaimed, and I instantly freaked. His opinion of a “great idea” meant a terrible experience for me.

             
“Why doesn’t Erika take you shopping for a dress this weekend? I’m sure she would love to help you, Jade,” he said merrily, looking between me and his prissy girlfriend. Erika smiled back at him, but I knew she couldn’t be happy with the arrangement. I was put off by her fake expression of interest.

             
“Dad, I don’t---” I began to say, hoping to derail this disaster. Besides, I wanted to go dress shopping with Heidi. She was my best friend, the perfect person to share the moment with.

             
Erika, however, interrupted me before I had a chance to turn down the idea. “That sounds wonderful, Lucas!” She told my father happily. “Would that be alright with you, Jade?”

             
It was amazing how she could turn everything around and make it about her. I could feel my temper turn icy, but I ignored it. Glancing at my father’s ecstatic expression, I realized I couldn’t turn her down now. Damn her.

             
I gritted my teeth but I kept my cool. “Sure, Erika. That sounds fun…”