Chapter twelve: Moon dance

LINDA

It's been a whole two months since Keith joined our big family here at Beacon Hills Academy. How time flies! He and Sofia keep getting closer each passing day, sometimes I can't help but feel left out.

And Barbara told me just yesterday about her huge crush on him ("he's all I see when I close my eyes, Lin!").

Oops. At this rate we're gonna have a love triangle on our hands. Worst of all, Barbie and Sofia are my very good friends. I won't know whose side to take. Now,if it had been Barbie and Malia,or Sofia and Malia, that would have been easy,cos I'd definitely take Malia's side.

I can't blame them, though. Everyone knows Keith is adorable, cheerful, fun to be with, and so on and so forth. But gee, he's not cool.

If only he were cool,he would have been my type.

More importantly, the moon dance is in two weeks. Keith and Sofia are partners, and so are Langdon and Barbie. How that came about is a pretty hilarious affair. We were sitting together at the cafeteria on the day Principal Silver had announced it, and Keith had immediately turned and asked Sofia,who promptly accepted. Few minutes later, Langdon had asked Malia, but she raised her eyebrows and stared at him blankly for so long that he just turned and asked Barbie instead. And Barbie replied "why not?".

And me?

I'm currently on my way to the locker room. There's only one person I know who spends lunch time in there. He'd better still be there.

I opened the door a crack and peeped in. Good, he's there. He's seated in a corner, solving arithmetic problems, so engrossed in this task that he did not notice my presence.

I could not help but smile.

He's perfect. Handsome (much more than Keith), athletic, cool,a natural leader and a straight A student. Talk about brainy. He's a really nice person too.

"Hey, James"I cooed.

He looked up, clearly startled. Then his cheeks turned pink in that cute way I've come to love so much.

James has a crush on me. I've always known. He's been crushing on me since fifth grade, when he joined Beacon Hills Academy as a new kid. I've noticed him staring at me during sports. Sometimes I catch him blushing whenever he hands me my script after a test.

"Uh...h-hey Linda. Why are you here?".

"Isn't it obvious?"I grinned "I came to see you".

The color on his cheeks deepened.

"Mind if I sit?"I asked as I walked to him.

"Not at all. Go ahead".

I settled on the floor beside him and exhaled softly.

"Do you have a date for the moon dance, James?".

He looked taken aback.

"N-no, I don't ".

"In that case, would you like to go with me?".

He was visibly startled. Can't blame him. My words sure came out of nowhere.

"S-sure...if you want ".

"Good,"I said,then planted an impulsive kiss on his cheek before I rose and made for the door.

*

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JAMES

I've been feeling blessed all week. Linda actually asked me to the moon dance!

My friends are all laughing at me because the dance is a guys-ask-girls affair, but that doesn't matter. Linda is the braver one, after all.

It's finally the day... night, actually.

Linda looks resplendent. I already knew she would look gorgeous, but the glittering red number, stunning hairdo and smokey eye makeup left me breathless.

"Amazed?"she grinned as she walked up to me.

"More than that. You look absolutely stunning".

"Yeah, I know. And you... I always knew you were cute, but who knew you could get even cuter in just days".

In spite of my decision to act more masculine, I found myself blushing.

"Drink or dance?"she asked, taking my extended hand.

"You decide".

"Dance it is,then. Look, Keith and Sofia are already on the floor.

KEITH

Sofia looks so adorable. She's easily the cutest girl in the hall. She had her hair styled, and popped on a body con Paris original. A peach colored silk-and-net number accompanied by pearls and a pair of killers.

She maintained a lovely smile as we swayed from side to side in tune with the music.

"Are you having fun, Sofia?"I asked softly.

She smiled. She dazzled.

"I love dances,"she replied"and I'm here with you. So yeah, of course I am".

My insides warmed at her response. I'm so filled with happiness right now. Sofia and I are together. It's like a dream. A dream come true.

Then a thought struck me. What if Sofia likes me? She's always been nice and friendly, and I've noticed that she lights up whenever she's in my presence. And when we reunited in the cafeteria that day, she cried. I've never seen her cry like that. Before, and after that day.

Sure,we regard each other as just friends. But if we both have feelings for each other, someone has to take the first step.

"Hey, earth to Keith"Sofia's voice jolted me out of my thoughts.

I blinked. I breathed in and out.

"Sofia?".

"That's me,"she smiled in that teasing way of hers"how may I help you?".

"Sofia, there's something I want to tell you".

"Oh? Say it then"she actually looked eager.

"I like you. Like, like like you. I always have. Ever since... Trent street".

Sofia was staring at me. She had stopped moving.

"I don't get it. You're saying... you're in love with me?".

"Yeah, I..."I could feel my face getting hot"I guess that's what I'm saying".

Sofia's arms dropped from my neck. She dropped her gaze.

"Keith, I... I wish you had said this before now. You're a couple of weeks late. There's someone else..."her voice trailed away.

I stared at her,a sinking feeling bearing down upon me.

"I... I don't understand"I stuttered.

But I did. I understood every word. Long story short, she's turning me down, because she's already in love with someone else.

Several emotions swirled inside me. My head swam. Suddenly the hall felt suffocating and crowded, the music was suddenly too loud, pricking my eardrums, making my head ache.

My eyes were getting wet.

Entirely confused, I let go of Sofia's waist and ran out of the hall as fast as I could.

SOFIA

What the...

Keith and I were just dancing when he suddenly spaced out. Oh, he didn't stop, just got lost in thought. I found that weird, so I called out to him. Now I wish I didn't, though.

He suddenly confessed his love for me out of the blue. I felt really bad because I don't feel the same way about him. So I tried to explain as nicely as possible, about Apollo and all, but he just dashed off and left me standing alone.

Now everyone is staring at me. How dare he make a fool of me in such a manner? I mean, I get that he's brokenhearted and stuff, but he doesn't have to be so childish for goodness' sake. It's way too presumptuous of him to expect me to love no one else but him. I don't care if he's gonna cry, I'm not going after him.

Ignoring all the stares, I walked to the counter at the back,got myself a glass of chilled lemonade and found myself a seat.

I'm boiling. I need to cool off.

BARBARA

What was that about?

I was seated near the window, waiting for Langdon to return with our drinks, and watching Keith dance with Sofia. They fit so perfectly, I might cry. Just look at them, dancing and chatting, so at ease in each other's arms.

Then the next second, Sofia took her arms off him and looked down. Is she confessing her love for him? My heart tightened into a painful knot in my chest at that thought. Then suddenly, Keith ran out of the hall.

Everyone stopped to stare at Sofia,who stood alone, looking shocked.

Now what has she done?

Without a second's hesitation, I sprang to my feet and ran after Keith. Stepping outside, I looked around for him. He was nowhere in sight, so I hurried to the side lawn. There I saw him. He was seated on the grass, looking up at the sky.

"Keith?"I called out in a small voice as I approached him.

He looked at me, and I saw the tear streaks on his face.

"You're crying,"I said, struggling to keep my alarm from my voice.

He wiped his cheeks silently, and did not protest when I sat beside him.

"Are you okay?"I asked"why are you crying? What happened?".

"Maybe you should ask your friend".

"That's exactly what I'm doing. You're not my enemy, are you?".

Keith stared at me for a while, then he sniffed and looked away.

"Sofia doesn't love me"he said at last.

"What?"I asked, even though I heard him clearly.

"She's in love with someone else,yet she never told me. She led me on".

I was immensely shocked at the relief that filled my heart on hearing those words. Then I felt immensely guilty.

"I'm... I'm so sorry"I lied.

The news had made my day. And yet I felt a little bad for Keith. I wish he wasn't crying.

"You need to cheer up"I said, putting an arm around his shoulders"stuff like this happen all the time. You just have to deal with it. Every disappointment is a blessing in disguise, you know?".

Keith turned to look at me. His eyes were still glassy, and his cheeks still tear streaked.

Awwn. He looks so tender. And fragile. And vulnerable. He's so cute!

Suddenly, I knew what I wanted to do. I had no idea what the result would be, but I was determined to worry about that later.

So I kissed him.