Chapter 61

We followed Braedon and Chloe to her house, where pictures were taken for about thirty minutes. Chloe finally told her mom we had to leave, wrapping her arms around her neck and kissing her cheek. Her mom kept trying to say just a couple more; Chloe nodded at me as she grabbed Braedon's hand, heading for the back gate.  Chloe's mom was nice enough to take some of Ashton and me by ourselves since my mother couldn't stay home to see me before my first real dance. Chloe and Ashton were trying their hardest to cheer me up, and I felt bad for not enjoying myself more.

Ashton and Braedon got us reservations at a nice restaurant near the building where the dance was being held. I was way too nervous to even think about food. I also knew anything I tried to eat would be on my dress. I was surprised we were able to walk past the line of people waiting to get seated and get a table. I leaned to the left toward Chloe and asked how the guys had gotten us a table here. Chloe told me that Braedon's Dad was the restaurant manager and made sure we had a good table. The place was magnificent with its padded, high-back chairs, white linen tablecloths, and crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling.

Our server walked up, took our drink orders, and then told us to order whatever we liked for dinner because the bill had already been taken care of. He said he'd give us a few minutes to look over the menus while he got our drinks. I glanced down at the menu but found my eyes wandering around the fancy restaurant, at the other girls in their fancy dresses with their dates. I wondered if I looked as pretty as they did in their dresses. I leaned back in my chair, looked down at my dress, and then back at them.

"You look beautiful, Gemma," Ashton whispered close to my ear.

I lifted my menu more, glancing at him from the corner of my eye, smiling. He knew exactly what to say to make me feel better. He returned to looking at the menu, then asked Braedon what he would order.

"Everything is so good here. I'm going to have a filet," Braedon said, placing his menu on the table.

"That does sound good. I think I'll get that, too." Ashton agreed.

That left Chloe and me trying to decide what to get that wouldn't be messy. Chloe settled on a salad with chicken, and I figured that was the safest thing to eat. The server came back with our drinks and took our orders. Chloe and I talked while the guys talked about sports and whatnot. For a split second, I looked away from Chloe and out toward the dining room, and that's when I saw Rhys sitting with Olivia about four tables over from us. The look on my face must have given it away because Chloe asked what was wrong and then cussed under her breath. "Who cares if he's here? And he's with the perfect girl for him. He's a dick, and she's a bitch."

"Who's a dick?" Ashton asked.

My eyes flashed to Ashton, who had figured out who we were talking about by his clenched jaw and narrow eyes. "What the fuck is he doing here?"

"Dude, he's not worth it." Braedon grabbed Ashton's arm. "Besides, you're with Gemma. He's with bitchy Olivia. Don't give him a second thought."

"Man, you're right." Ashton agreed, and then he turned and stared at me, smiling.

We finally arrived at the dance an hour later, and much to our surprise, many other kids were arriving, too. I flipped down the visor, checked my hair, and applied more lip gloss for the picture. Ashton reached over and flipped the visor back up. "Gemma, you're beautiful. Trust me." He leaned over and kissed my bare shoulder, his hot breath sending shivers down my spine. "Let's go have fun." He smiled, kissed my shoulder again, opened the driver's side door, and was out before I could say anything. I sat there, looking in the side mirror at the long line of cars pulling up behind us. I glanced away as my breathing quickened and my heart started to race.

Ashton opened my door; I grabbed my dress and swung my feet out so my heels wouldn't get caught in the tulle train. Ashton offered me his hand once I had my feet on the pavement. He helped me with my dress and then closed the car door. I glanced back at the guys helping their dates out of the vehicles. The girls looked like celebrities getting ready to walk the red carpet in fancy dresses, perfect hair, and makeup. I glanced down at my dress as it sparkled, like some of theirs, yet I still felt out of place. Some girls looked my way with their judgy eyes, eyeing me from top to bottom, which didn't make me feel better.

"Don't mind them. They're just jealous bitches." Ashton took my hand, tossing the keys to the valet guy. Easy for him to say. He never had to worry about people judging him. I've been working on a plan to get here for months, and now all I wanted to do was hike up my dress and run away. Ashton and Braedon opened the doors for us as Chloe, and I walked inside, gazing at the big gold and black balloon arch at the top of the stairs that led down to the dance. On each side of the arch were clear balloons with a smaller gold balloon inside and smaller black ones underneath arranged like leaves. I caught a couple headed up the stairs next to the balloon arch.

"Where are they going?" I asked, pointing to the stairs.

"There's more tables up there. We should probably head up there because I'm sure all the ones around the dance floor are taken." She halfway rolled her eyes, twisting her mouth in annoyance.

"You ready?" Ashton bent his arm, sticking it out a little so I could wrap my arm around it. I reached around and grabbed the bottom of my dress and tulle train. "You look so beautiful. Don't let anyone make you feel like you don't belong." He took my hand, leaned over, and kissed my cheek. His soft lips brushed my cheek like a feather, teasing me. He leaned back, his piercing blue eyes gazed at me like we were the only ones in the room, even with music echoing around us and couples brushing past us to get to the upstairs tables. "We should probably get a table before they're all taken," Ashton said, turning toward the top of the stairs.

We reached the top of the stairs, and I held my gown as we walked through the tables toward the back, where Ashton had spotted Braedon and Chloe at a table. Ashton pulled the chair out as I fanned out my dress to sit. My back was to the rest of the table, but I could still tell eyes were on me from every direction because Chloe's eyes narrowed even more every few minutes. I did the wrong thing. I turned to find girls leaning toward one another, whispering. I was surprised they could hear anything as the music vibrated off the walls. "Gem, just ignore them." Ashton leaned forward close to my ear. I turned to find Chloe, whose lip and nose were curled up in disgust, glaring at the girls. I glanced back at the girls, who rolled their eyes and stopped looking our way.

"Is Sarah and Ty here yet?" I asked, leaning over the table so I wouldn't have to yell over the music. Chloe lifted her head, glancing around at the other tables, then pulled her phone out and swiped it on. The tips of her nails tapped unwanted keys. She sighed in frustration as she corrected the typos. She hit send a couple of minutes later, stretched her arm, and held her phone out for me to read the text. I sighed, lifted my dress off the floor, and stood up. I fanned out my dress while they got up from their seats. As beautiful as my dress was, I was starting to realize maybe it wasn't such a good choice.

"Wow...I guess the rumors are true." An annoying voice announced a couple of steps behind me. "You think wearing that dress and getting your hair fixed changes things? It doesn't. Tomorrow, you'll still be your same nerdy self."

"How..." Ashton started to yell, glaring at the person behind me. Before I could say anything to stop him, my hand was on his arm. Something had swept over me, and I didn't feel like poor little Gemma Parker anymore. I felt good for a change. I squeezed his arm, and his eyes flashed down to my hand, then to me with confusion mixed with a bit of understanding. He nodded and stepped back as I let go of his arm.

I turned to see Olivia in her designer pale blue sequin dress with a v-neckline. The color was beautiful on her, but it was too bad that it didn't help her ugly attitude. I took a deep breath. "You know something? You're right. I am a nerd, and that's okay. I like who I am. I have great friends and a guy who likes my nerdiness. Does the dress change who I am? No. Just like your dress doesn't change who you are, either. Tomorrow, you'll still be a mean girl who thrives on being mean to other girls just to make yourself feel better."

Her eyes shifted to the side and then back to me as she pressed her lips together, flipping her hair over her shoulder. "Whatever. Everyone here knows Ashton will get tired of you. It's just a matter of time."

I shrugged. "That may be right, who knows. But he's with me right now, and that's all that matters. Yeah, we may or may not work out. I'm tired of letting the kids in this school make me feel I'm not worthy of someone like Ashton just because I don't fit into your twisted idea of what high school should be like. So from now on, I don't care what you, Hannah, or Claudia think. That goes for all your friends, too." I motioned my hands on either side of me. "My boyfriend is waiting for me." I glanced at Ashton, who looked hot in his grey tux and lavender tie. His eyes met mine; a crooked smirk appeared as he held out his hand.

"Hell, yes!!" Chloe bellowed, laughing as we walked past Olivia, who stood by our table, sulking with crossed arms. "Who are you?" She laughed, tapping me on the shoulder at the bottom of the stairs.

"My girlfriend." Ashton smiled, interlocked our fingers, and led me to the dance floor.