Dance with the Devil

The moon illuminated the pavilion as dancers laughed and spun around the floor, noise and the smell of alcohol filling the air and making the girl in the corner feel suffocated. She was fifteen, golden brown curls sat upon her shoulders, perfect, like a dolls hair. Her chocolate brown eyes scanned the room uncomfortably. She had never been fond of crowds or events, and would have rather stayed home this weekend. She had grown up with strict rules, rarely able to go out or have guests, and so she had found solace in her reading.

Lately, however, her life had changed quite a bit. Her mother had married a man who was very social, and interested in moving up the ladder of societal importance. He was an elite, and he had started taking her mother out on weekends to a campground for other members of the Brotherhood. There were houses, trailers, and meeting rooms (None of which interested the girl much), but also a large amount of land. There was a river, woods to explore, and an endless sky of stars at night. It would be a beautiful place, she thought, if only it wasn't filled with people. Still, she loved to explore the woods and could spend hours off the beaten path. Which is what she wanted to be doing now, But her mother had insisted she socialized a bit and come to the dance.

"Emily, dear?", a tall, skinny woman came and sat beside her, placing an arm around her shoulder. She had similar curls in a dark auburn color, and looked young enough to be the girls sister, even though she was actually her mother. " Sweetie, you can't just hide away over here like this. These people are all part of the Brotherhood, we have nothing to worry about here. You're safe, why not enjoy yourself?

Emily sighed, "Mom...you know I don't dance or hang out with people. Can't I just go to the river and read, please? This is torture. I dont know anyone here anyway." She rolled her eyes and took in the crowd again before looking down in defeat. There were beautiful girls everywhere, walking around in bikinis or dancing with guys, she was average in comparison and hated even being reminded of her awkward personality by coming to these things just to sit by herself. It was humiliating, couldn't her mom see that?

"You most certainly cannot" she stood and smiled down at Emily, " besides dear, I've heard from a little bird that someone is going to ask you for a dance soon." Her mother winked and left back to her friends.

"What!? Wait, mom! I can't dance!!" Her mother, of course, was already too far to hear, and didn't care anyway. She knew her daughter couldn't dance, but she was trying to push her out of her comfort zone. She saw her stepfather approaching. He was a big man, intimidating but kind and caring once you got to know him.

"Come on, Em, you're dancing with me, that way you won't embarrass yourself too much once the mystery guy shows up." He nudged her arm playfully and took her hand, "Try not to clutz too much eh?" He led her to dance floor, her anxiety rising as she stared, dazed, at the mass of people. She wasn't as bad as she had expected. After a few times of stepping on her stepdads feet, she seemed to get the hang of it. She smiled and began to enjoy the free feeling of spinning on the dancefloor, but then she began to feel someone watching her. She looked around and spotted a group of guys, older than herself, chatting and laughing amongst themselves. But one of them watched her, a smirk playing on his lips as he sipped his beer, eyes following her movements intently. Her smile quickly faded and she waited for the dance to end.

As the song came to an end, her stepdad patted her back and hugged her, "You did great, I'm sure you will be a regular on the floor now" They walked back to the table and Emily went to sit down, thankful to be done, but as soon as she sat beside her mother, someone else approached. It was the guy from the group, the one that had watched her like a cat observing his next meal. Her chest tightened in panic and she hoped he would walk past them. Instead, he came and stood right in front of her, leaned down and offered his hand.

"May I have this dance?" His voice was gentle as his striking blue eyes bore a hole through her. As her heart began to race she saw his lips curl up into a smirk, he seemed to enjoy her discomfort and it made her cheeks burn red.

"I...well, I can't really dance so.." her voice was shaking and her gaze returned to the floor.

"You seemed to be doing just fine before, hm?" His posture had not changed, his hand held out still, awaiting her acceptance. Lorraine, Emily's mother, gave Emily a hard look before smiling up at the man.

"Emily dont be so rude, and to such a gentleman! Hurry off now and go dance with him, come on" She gently pushed Emily towards him and his hand caught hers swiftly and he pulled her to the dance floor. Emily's heart was frantic now and her feelings a tangle of confusion. She had never been close to a guy at all, and she could tell this was no ordinary guy. He walked with confidence and she felt out of place next to him, but he didn't seem to notice,or perhaps didn't care.

As they reached the center of the floor he turned to face her, bringing her hand onto his shoulder and holding her waist, he pulled her close and began swaying with her. She avoided eye contact and, instead, chose to focus on her feet and avoid tripping. He softly sang along with the music for a short while before stopping abruptly and pinning her with his stare. He continued to move her with the music, but his body had gone tense and she felt nails begin to press into the hand he held.

"You know, its really not polite to ignore someone." His voice seemed deeper than before and he leaned over to whisper in her ear, "You haven't even asked my name, dear. What's the matter, cat got your tongue?" She felt his breathe hot against her skin and shivered in response.

"I'm sorry....I'm not very good with people..." her words were barely audible amidst the crowd, but he must have heard as she heard him chuckle as he pulled her closer against him, his fingers tracing her back gently. He looked into her eyes and grinned at the fear and embarrassment she was feeling, for a moment she felt as though his eyes had changed colors....they were a bright blue before but they seemed silver now, she thought, and that wicked grin had returned to his face. Before she could mention it, the song came to an end, he released her and bowed, never breaking eye contact with her, and said in a low, growling voice, "In that case, dear....I think we will get along just fine", and disappeared into the crowd, leaving her flustered and confused.