The Queen of Bright and Shiny Things (35 page)

“I bet once he offered proof he’ll be home at the end of the day, it helped a lot.”

“From what my social worker says, yes. We’ll have regular home visits, just to make sure things are still okay, but I don’t expect any problems. And I’ll be eighteen in July. So if my dad can’t take living with me, then he can bail, and I’ll be fine. Thanks to you.”

“I’m so happy you’re home,” I whisper, hugging him tighter.

“I hear you started a Free Shane campaign and got me out of juvie, and then, obviously, you worked on my dad until he was willing to spring me from foster care. Damn, Sage. Is there anything you
can’t
do?”

“Say good-bye to you.”

“My mom believed in me like that … but nobody else, since. Not until you.”

“It doesn’t matter where we’ve been,” I tell him. “Only where we’re going.”

“I have no doubt,” he says, stroking my hair. “But I want to make you a deal.”

“Hm?” The way I’m basking in him, I’d probably agree to anything.

“You’ve fought for me, figuratively, from the beginning, and I needed somebody to care. You have no idea how much. Then I lost my mind over the idea of anyone hurting you and fought for
you
, literally. But … we’re both okay, right? Let’s stand down now. And just be together. Okay?”

“Deal,” I say.

He smiles with both his eyes and his mouth. “So … I have these tickets. And I was kind of hoping you’d go with me. Interested?”

“Try and stop me,” I answer.

Then he kisses me, and all the pain and sadness slips away with the heat of his mouth on mine. I’ve had so many people leave, but this is the first time anyone’s come back. I hold him tighter, press closer, but we’re cut off by the bell.

“I’d suggest getting out of here, but I don’t want to get in trouble.”

So we step out of the classroom together, holding hands, and nearly bump into Dylan. Despite his participation in Green World, he’s been walking around alone a lot lately, and he looks tired. He can’t meet Shane’s eyes. Then someone shoves him into a locker. I hear he’s banned from playing baseball this spring, and the coach isn’t sure he’s letting him back on the football team next fall. Coach says his players need to be honorable; they need to be leaders, and Dylan let the team down. This means he has almost no shot at an athletic scholarship, so he might not be going to college. Straightening, Dylan threads his way through the crowd and continues to class.

I break away for a sec, dig into my backpack, and pull out my Post-its and my pen. I write
It will get better … it did for me,
and stick it on his locker. Since he offered an olive branch at Green World’s garden day, I can, too. Maybe if the rest of the school sees that I can forgive him, they’ll move on. This is who I want to be, the girl Shane fell in love with. She’s real. She’s me.

“That was nicer than I’d be,” Shane says softly, watching me.

All around us, people are yelling, “Shane!” like they’re happy to see him. Someone calls out, “Hope you’ll be back at the Coffee Shop. Love your music.”

“I’ll see what I can do,” he says to the girl. Then he adds to me, “I need to talk to the manager at the P&K, too. See if I can get my job back.”

The rest of the day passes in a happy blur. I’m on a Shane high, giddy with relief and excitement. For the first time in weeks, the color’s back in my world. No more monochrome; there are vivid swirls of red, green, and blue, all vibrant, all beautiful.

That weekend, I go shopping with Lila at the thrift store downtown. This area has mostly shut down, though a few funky boutiques, including the shop my aunt manages, are still squeaking by. I love this store; it’s always got such interesting clothes.

After trying on a couple of failures, I spot a blue dress with sequins on the bodice and a layered tulle skirt. I’ve got nice shoulders, and this will disguise my hips, if I can wiggle into it. I peer at the size.
Looks like a ten. Maybe.
Nervously, I take it to the fitting room and it slips on like it’s made for me. I don’t even mind that it hits right at my knees. I step out, calling Lila over.

“What do you think?”

“It’s perfect. With the right shoes and accessories, you’ll look fab.”

My arms are bare. I don’t know if I can go to prom showing my history to the world. I fight the urge to fold them. But she seems to sense my discomfort and delivers a pair of white satin gloves. “Here. Old-world glamour.”

I slip them on and feel better instantly. “Does it work?”

“Yeah. You look gorgeous. Now you need shoes and sparkle.”

We find the latter in the form of a rhinestone necklace and earring set. I won’t buy used shoes, so I’ve put everything in my basket that I can pick out here. Lila buys a slinky red dress and jet jewelry. The best part about this shop is that we each end up spending less than fifty bucks.

“Let’s drop these off at the dry cleaners,” she suggests.

“Good call.”

Prom is in two weeks.

And they go fast. I work, I study, I hang out with my friends. I spend time with Shane. This was my life before he left, but I had to lose him to understand what a miracle this is. Now I can appreciate just how special small things can be. Every moment feels like a second chance.

Shane does get his job back at the P&K, not because they saved it for him, but because his replacement was a stoner and he kept eating things that he was supposed to put on the shelves. He’s working three nights a week just like he did before, but he gets to keep more of that money because his dad is there, chipping in, buying groceries.

“Is it weird?” I ask him, one day at lunch. “Living with your father again?”

“A little. But he’s trying not to get in my way. I mean, he’s
there
, but he’s not very … fatherly. I guess he feels like he lost the right.”

“It’s enough that he’s there. It’s a start, right?”

“Yeah,” Shane says. “It is.”

Time is. It passes. It’s the best thing in the world.

Then prom’s in one week. Pretty soon I’ll be counting the days, which is so girly of me, but I can’t help it. I’m so excited.

Since I already weakened once on the car issue, I offer to let Ryan drive us. But my friends surprise me.

Lila objects. “We don’t want you to change.”

“We’ve gotten used to your weirdness,” Ryan agrees.

I glance at Shane, who’s nodding. “You shouldn’t compromise who you are, even for me. We’ll work around it, I promise.”

Then maybe someday, I’ll buy an electric car. Because there are no negative associations, plus it’s green. But there are no fancy restaurants close to the school. So I don’t know how they’re handling my quirks, and they won’t tell me. Shane just says he’s got a plan.

The waiting might drive me crazy.

But I’m so pleased with my life that I savor each day. I like finding Shane at our locker when I get to school. Or sometimes he’s out by the bike rack, waiting for me. He often rides his bike instead of taking the bus, so it’s easier for him to hang out with me after school. I love him so much. And I can’t believe I never told him. He told me with my song, but I’m saving the words for prom, which is so stupid, I know. But I want it to be memorable. That should do it. I hope.

And finally, the day’s here. Prom.

Aunt Gabby actually calls in a temp worker to cover the shop so she can spend all day helping me get ready. I get a deep conditioning treatment on my hair, a full manicure, then a pedicure. I’m talking the real deal, too, not a half-assed home version. In the end, my hair is silky, and I’ve got blue sparkle on fingers and toes. I borrow a pair of silver heels from my aunt because it would be wasteful to buy shoes that I’ll never wear after this night.

Then it’s time to slip into my dress and let my aunt do my hair and makeup. I could probably manage, but this seems to make her happy, and I want to be pretty for Shane. She does my hair up in an elegant twist, but leaves a few strands to curl around my face. Then she makes me up kind of old-school, heavy lips and eyes, and it so totally goes with my dress. I love the way I look. I never thought I’d say that. When I pull the white satin gloves on, I feel like a million bucks.

“Wow,” my aunt breathes. “You’re so beautiful.”

Heat washes my cheeks. “Thanks.”

She goes to get the camera. I don’t even mind. Soon thereafter, there’s a knock at the door, and I find Shane, Lila, and Ryan outside. She looks so incredible. Most girls couldn’t pull off a red dress with red hair, but she’s like a living flame, and the jet jewelry, which seemed a little dated in the shop, looks perfect on her. Ryan hasn’t managed to tame his hair, no surprise there, and he’s actually wearing a red plaid bow tie and cummerbund. At least he matches Lila’s dress. Kind of. Actually, I think they look cute together. And Shane … wow. He went with classic black, so I swear we look like an old Hollywood couple. I can imagine us dancing in a musical or something. He’s just staring at me, mouth half open, until Ryan nudges him.

“Say something, bro.”

“You look spectacular.”

Naturally, we can’t get out of there until my aunt takes a hundred pictures. Then she gives us her blessing to head out. Prom doesn’t start for a couple of hours, so I’m curious where we’re going. Outside, the pimped-out golf cart waits. I have to be the only girl who’s delighted to ride this way to prom. And I
am
, because it means they get me, even the crazy parts.

And they love me anyway.

As it turns out, we’re having dinner at the Coffee Shop. But it’s not the usual place. The owners, being geniuses, have brought in bistro tables, and then they sold a limited number of dinner tickets. I didn’t know about this enterprise, but Shane did, because he had come in to ask about reclaiming his spot in the showcase. He bought tickets while he was in there, and so we’re sitting at tables laid with white linen, candles burning.

It’s surprisingly romantic, the way they’ve decorated the place, and the low lighting helps. There’s a sign posted on the door that reads,
CLOSED FOR PRIVATE EVENT.
Shane and I choose the veggie option while Ryan and Lila are eating chicken. I’m nervous about dropping something on my dress. I don’t say much over dinner, listening to my friends talk.

I never would’ve dreamed I could be so lucky.

We finish dinner and get back in the golf cart. Even though it’s early May, it’s a little chilly in the open vehicle, so Shane wraps his arm around my shoulder. I settle close to him. Some classes rent a hall or go to a country club, but our school has limited options and a smaller budget. The prom committee decided to have finger foods at the prom and decorate the gym. It’s fine with me. Most people will have eaten before they arrive anyway.

At the door, there’s a sad-looking sophomore from the student council collecting tickets. Shane hands ours over, then we step into the gym. They’ve done a good job converting it from its usual purpose with the flooring covered entirely in a sparkling mat, and glittery stars dangle from the ceiling. Across the room, there’s a silver archway made entirely of falling stars, and a disco ball throws glimmering patterns across the dancers already moving on the floor. This is the perfect place for the queen of bright and shiny things to dance with the boy she loves for the first time. The DJ is playing a slow song at the moment, so Shane holds out his hand to me. I take it, and he leads me onto the floor.

I’ve never slow-danced with anyone, but it’s not hard to learn with my arms around his neck. There’s barely space for us to snuggle and twirl in tight circles. That’s fine with me. I glimpse Gwen over Shane’s shoulder, and she’s dancing with Conrad of all people. I guess she spent so much time on Green World that she didn’t have many options when prom rolled around. Or maybe she
likes
him; she’s so driven and he’s so mellow. Love is a strange and wondrous thing.

This slow song flows into the next, requiring no reaction from us. Around us, I see couples who are already tired of each other, going to look for snacks or sneaking off to drink. But I could stay where I am all night. Shane’s arms tighten on me, and he’s gazing down into my face like he could look at me forever. A tiny thrill ripples through me.

“Sage,” he starts, just as I say, “Shane, I—”

We both stop, bemused, then I whisper, “Me first.”

“Okay.”

“I want you to know how much I love you.”

He smiles, and for me, it’s like a sunrise. I love seeing the light start in his eyes and then spread to the curve of his mouth. His teeth are white but not perfect. I love that about him, too. Every flaw makes him more perfectly Shane, more right for me. I feel like we’ve been tested, and that we can survive anything. We’re strong. We’re special. We
are
. And together, we’re invincible. All around us, people spin in slow circles, arms tight around each other. The DJ selects Lifehouse next, and the first strains of “You and Me” sound from the speakers. It’s an older song, but it suits this moment.

“I love you too,” he answers. “In fact, that’s what I was going to say.” He hesitates then. “I’ve never said that to anyone before.”

“Me either.”

Family doesn’t count. Everyone knows that. So we’re embarking on the next step together. Like before, I don’t know the rules. I only know that I love him. And it’s enough.