Dance of a Lifetime

by Frank Downey

  "Did Warren have any walls you had to get through?"

  "Some. He was a social misfit. He was also terrified of girls." Mr. Doherty laughed at that. "I was completely the aggressor in the beginning. I asked him out. I told him I loved him first. I kissed him first. Heck, I even got physical first." Mr. Doherty laughed louder. "Listen, socially inept boy genius preppy is a wall, too. Not as bad as mine, for sure, but it was definitely there."

  "And you got through it."

  "Yeah."

  "Sophia, I'm going to ask you if you feel like breaking down some more walls, walls you know a lot about." He had been sitting on his desk, and now he hopped down and walked over to where he was standing. "I am the faculty advisor for a group here at the school. It is the Peer Counseling group. It's students, like you, advising other students about problems. We take all comers to volunteer-anyone with some empathy and willingness to listen and try to help-but volunteers who have been through something-and have gotten through it-are especially welcome. We would love to have someone like you helping, because I can't tell you how many girls we see that are suffering from abuse at the hands of a boyfriend or friend."

  "Really?"

  "Yeah. Now, you have to be willing to talk about what happened to you. You have to be open to sharing that. That's the tough part, for a survivor of abuse. And if you don't think you can handle that, I completely understand. I'm asking you to volunteer to do something that you may find difficult. Now, I know you work after school-that's fine, we have plenty of volunteers that only come in one or two days. But you will be known to the faculty as a peer counselor, and you might be called out of class in a crisis. You don't get paid for this. All you get is the undying appreciation of your honored Faculty Advisor"-Sophia laughed at that-"and the satisfaction that you did your best to help some of your peers out of a horrible situation."

  "Does peer counseling work?"

  "I'd be lying if I told you it worked all the time. It might not even work most of the time. But, yes, we have had enough success stories for me to be proud of the group."

  "Y'know what? If I can get one girl out of the kind of hell I was in, that's enough. I'll do it."

  Chapter 26 - Backslide

  "I can not believe I am here at the library on a Friday afternoon," said Jessie.

  "I know. Pretty depressing, isn't it?" said Karen Laskovich.

  "I feel like that preppie boyfriend of mine," grumbled Jessie.

  "So, how is Crash?"

  "Crash is great. It's just too bad I won't get to see him this weekend. He's got some sort of family thing tomorrow, won't make it to Nickie's party."

  "So," Karen smiled, "after all the shit you've given Sophia, how's it feel to have bagged a preppie of your own?"

  "Don't remind me," Jessie grimaced. "Luckily, my preppie and Sophia's preppie are two very different people."

  "How so? They're best friends."

  "Yes, they are. And there are a lot of similarities on a basic values and attitudes level, but their personalities are very, very different."

  "How are they such good friends, then?"

  "I dunno, but they are a howl when they get together, I can tell you that. Crash and I double with Warren and Soph, and Crash and Warren keep us in stitches. But, good friends don't have to have identical personalities. Look and me and Sophia. Despite all the shit she's been through, she is far more open and vulnerable than I am. She's sweeter. She's more emotional. The differences between me and Soph are a lot like the differences between Warren and Crash."

  "Ah. I always wanted to ask you, how did you react when Warren and Sophia hooked up?"

  "I put on a happy face, not trying to make Soph defensive or anything, but I worried. Boy did I worry. Now, remember what had just happened-I was thrilled Sophie had found a guy that wasn't going to hurt her-and I knew instinctively that Warren wasn't going to hurt her. But I worried. I worried about how the gang was going to react, I worried that it would blow up in Sophia's face. I just worried, because I couldn't see them ever working. I mean, my first impression of Warren was that he was a complete dork."

  "You never said anything to Sophia?"

  "No. Look, I knew this wasn't Scott Revisited. I warned her about Scott, because I just got vibes from him that he was bad news right from the beginning. My worries about Warren were different. She was very vulnerable. Going out with someone like Warren was a complete 180-degree turn for her. I didn't worry that she was going to get killed, like with Scott, but I worried that he was going to get hurt, emotionally, moreso than she ever had. She really opened herself up emotionally when she started going out with Warren. It was almost a bit scary."

  "Is that why you gave them shit all the time?"

  Jessie smirked, "No, I gave them shit because I give everybody shit." Karen giggled. "If I hadn't given them shit, Sophie would've suspected something. Heck, I still give them shit. And I do not worry about them anymore."

  "You don't?"

  "Naaah," Jessie smiled. "The more time I spend with them, the more I realize I've got nothing to worry about. That relationship works, in every possible way. I never woulda thunk it, but it really, really works. And I realized something else-Warren is one of the most admirable people I have ever had the pleasure to know. And if you repeat that, I'll kill you-it'll ruin my rep."

  Karen laughed. "Maybe you at least ought to tell Sophie."

  "Oh, Sophie knows. So does Warren. I don't have to tell them how I feel about him, and them together. They know."

  "What about you and Crash?"

  Jessie sighed. "Now I've got a whole new one to worry about."

  "How so? Things not going well?"

  "Just the opposite. Except for the fact that he lives too damn far away and I don't get to see him enough, things are going remarkably well. Too well."

  "Too well?"

  "I keep waiting for the inevitable explosion. We hardly ever even argue-once in a while, but nothing serious. He laughs at all my jokes, I laugh at all his. When we get together, it's like we never left one another's side. It's so comfortable, it amazes me. This has got to blow up in my face, sooner or later, doesn't it?"

  "Maybe it doesn't, Jess. Maybe Crash is the guy."

  "I've thought of that. Now that is really scary. I don't know if I'm in love yet, but it's getting there in an awful hurry."

  "Wow."

  "I keep waiting for a fight. I keep waiting for a big blow out, to see how we react to it."

  "You don't necessarily need that. Sophia and Warren never fight."

  "Yeah, I know. And that's the one thing left that does worry me about them. What's gonna happen if they have a big fight?"

  "What do you mean, you can't go to Nick's party??" Sophia yelled.

  They were in her house, up in her bedroom. "Well, I have this horrible Chemistry exam on Monday. I'm going to be studying most of the weekend. It was either give up the party, or not come here tonight, and I figured you'd rather have me here for our Friday night tryst," Warren grinned.

  Sophia was not happy, "Yeah, right. You just wanted to have sex. That was more important than going to a party that's important to me. As long as you get your roll in the hay, right?"

  That one hurt. "I'm sorry you feel that way, Sophia. I'll go now, if you'd like."

  "Fine. GO! Who needs you?"

  Warren left, leaving Sophia in tears.

  The next night, Sophia walked into Nick's party, grabbed a beer, and plopped down next to Jessie.

  "Yo, Soph? Where's loverboy?"

  "He had to study. He told me last night. He had enough time to come over my house to have sex last night, but not to come to the party. We had a huge fight. I kicked him out."

  "What?"

  "Yeah. Fuck 'em. If he didn't know how important Nick's parties are to me, than fuck him."

  "Soph, did you tell him how important Nick's parties are to you?"

  "He should know."

  "Soph, this is not like you, and blowing off something that's important to
you, if he knows about it, is not like Warren."

  "Ah, fuck it." She downed the beer, and reached for another.

  "You're pounding that beer pretty hard," Jess commented.

  "What are you, my mother? Or Warren?"

  "Forget I said anything." Jess snorted, and got up off the seat.

  Three hours later, Jessie was watching with increasing dismay. She was talking to Karen about it.

  "It's like it's the old Sophia, only worse."

  "Have you tried to get her to stop?"

  "I've tried, Nick's tried, Missy's tried. She's completely trashed, and, the way she's acting around the guys at this party, she's going to end up getting laid and not even remember it."

  "I know."

  "There's only one person who can get her to stop." Jessie stood up and went over to the phone. "And I don't know his number, but I know where to get it." She dialed a number, and it rang. "Oh, I hope his family thing is over. Please, Crash, be home, pleasepleasplease..."

  "Hello."

  "CRASH! Thank God you're home."

  Crash just laughed. "Well, she-devil, it's nice to hear your voice, too."

  Jessie smiled. "Normally, yes, I'd just be happy to hear that sexy voice of yours. But not today. Jason, I've got a huge emergency on my hands. I need Warren's phone number."

  "Sure. 274-9806."

  "Thanks, Jason. I'll call you tomorrow and tell you what went on. And you can recite more love poetry."

  "You got yourself a date, she-devil. Ciao."

  She hung up and dialed. "Hello."

  "Warren?"

  "Yeah, who's this?"

  "Jessie. I need your help. You know where Nick lives, where the party is, right? I need you go get down here."

  Warren sighed. "Jess, Sophie and I had a huge fight last night. I'm not quite sure I want to come down there. She was not particularly nice to me last night, I didn't deserve it, and I was going to let the weekend go by before I tried to talk to her."

  "Warren, she's backsliding."

  "What?"

  "She's drunk off her ass, won't stop drinking, and won't stop flirting with every guy at the party-including a few that will not take no for an answer if she pushes it too far. She's completely out of her mind. I can't get her to stop, Nickie can't get her to stop, Karen can't..."

  "I'm on my way."

  Jessie hung up the phone. "He's coming."

  He burst in a few minutes later. Jessie and Karen were waiting for him. They pointed him to a seat, where Sophia was all over Greg, one of the less-savory members of the gang.

  Warren picked her up, and spun her around on the couch. "Sophie. Time to go home."

  "Warren? What are you doing here? I thought you had to study! I donwanna go home I'm having funnnnn."

  "Hey, what the fuck?" Greg interjected. "Who the fuck are you?"

  "Her boyfriend."

  "Yeah, she didn't seem to care about no boyfriend a minute ago."

  "That's cause she's drunk. C'mon, Soph, up and at 'em."

  "But I don't wanna!"

  "You heard the lady," Greg said with a smirk. "She'd rather stay here with me."

  Jessie and Karen were watching this. "Uh-oh.Greg's an asshole. This could be a problem."

  "C'mon, baby," Greg was saying, "You can stay here and have fun with me."

  Warren pulled Sophie away from Greg, and said, "She is drunk. She is out of her mind. She doesn't know what she's doing. She's in no position to consent to anything, which means, if you try anything, it will be called rape... And if you put your hands on her one more time, I will break every bone in your fucking body, do you understand me?"

  Greg snarled, and started to get up to approach Warren, but Nick emerged from the crowd just in time.

  "Greg. That's enough."

  "Fuck that! This little pussy threatened me."

  "Good. Now I'm threatening you. Sophia is drunk off her ass. She wouldn't approach you if she knew what she was doing, because she hates your guts."

  Warren had Sophia standing up, barely. "Oh, Shit. Jessie, Karen? I need help with her. Get her out to the kitchen, away from this crowd." They did, with great difficulty, because Sophia could barely walk.

  When they had her sitting, Warren looked at her and said, "There is no way I'm going to be able to walk her home, and I'm not sure I want to be putting a drunk 15 year old in a cab. Anyone here with a car who isn't drunk?"

  Jessie thought for a minute. "John. John Vassar. He's got a car, and he just got here, so I doubt he's drunk. He's not a huge drinker, anyway."

  "Know where he is?"

  "Over there, putting the moves on someone," Karen smirked.

  "I hate to interrupt him," Warren smiled, "but I'm going to have to."

  He approached John, who was deep in conversation with some girl. "John."

  John looked up. "Hey, Wimp-Man!" He still called him that, but it was just a joke, now. "I'd love to chat with you a bit, but I'm a little busy right now, pal."

  "John, I've got an emergency. Sophia is trashed off her ass, is about to get herself in trouble, and there is no way I'm going to be able to walk her home, and I have got to get her out of here."

  "Damn. How did this happen?"

  "I wasn't here, I was home studying, and she decided to go nuts, or something."

  "Shit. You need a ride?"

  "Yeah. I hate to break you away from this lovely lady here..."

  John's friend just laughed, as did John. "Go, John. Go help your friends. I think it's positively admirable. I'll still be here."

  "Thanks, babe." John stood up. "Lead the way, Wimp-man."

  "Thanks, John. I appreciate this."

  They got to Sophia's house, and John helped Warren get her up to her bedroom. She was passed out by this point.

  "You all set, Wimp-man?"

  "Yeah, John. I'll take care of her. Thanks for the assist."

  "What are friends for?" John smirked, and left.

  Warren looked down at his passed out girlfriend, and sighed. He went into her dresser, and found a pair of pajamas he knew she liked, took her clothes off, and put the pajamas on her. It was like trying to dress a rock, he thought to himself. He checked her breathing and pulse, to make sure this was just drunkenness. Everything seemed OK. He went in her closet, found a blanket, and put it on the big chair. He went to her bookcase, pulled out a book-"Torvill and Dean's autobiography, I've never read that"-and planted himself in the chair, curled up in the blanket. He made a quick call to his mother, explaining the situation, and curled up in the chair, one eye on the book, one eye on Sophia.

  Mrs. Kovach arrived home from work shortly after 2am. She was surprised to see Sophie's door open. She peeked in and saw Sophia, sleeping-and then saw Warren in the chair, reading.

  "Warren?"

  "Hi, Mrs. K."

  "What's going on?"

  Warren explained the night's events to Ellen. "Oh, Jesus," Ellen said. "She really got out of hand?"

  "And how."

  "I thought this was over?"

  "Aaah, it's alright if she cuts loose every once in a while. I just wish she had done it with me around."

  "I hope she doesn't go on a bender like this every time she gets mad at you."

  "Aaah, we'll work it out. I'm going to stay here, keep an eye on her. I told my mother not to expect me, she knows what's up."

  "Warren, get in the bed. It's a double. Plenty of room for you."

  Warren laughed. "I was trying to preserve a bit of decorum."

  "Why bother?" They both laughed. "No, the kids aren't here. Go get comfortable. I'll see you in the morning."

  Mrs. Kovach closed the door, and Warren stripped down to his underwear and climbed into bed with Sophia.

  "Hrmvwrhsrsf," Sophia said, as she woke up. "I feel like a truck ran over me." She suddenly realized that there was someone in the bed with her. She didn't remember much from last night. She was afraid to look over to see who was in her bed. She flipped over, and looked up to see her boyfriend, a boo
k in his hand, sitting up, smiling at her.

  "WARREN? What are you doing here?"

  "Good morning sleepyhead. How do you feel?"

  "Like landfill."

  Warren chuckled. "Well, I already went downstairs and brewed the pot of tea. That's good for a hangover."

  "What happened?"

  "How much do you remember from last night?"

  "Not much," Sophia admitted.

  "I got an emergency call from Jessie about 10:30. You were drunk beyond all belief, completely incoherent, and throwing yourself all over Greg Cunningham."

  "GREG CUNNINGHAM? Oh, God. I hate him. What the hell was I doing throwing myself at him?"

  "Oh, I don't think you knew who he was, at that point."

  "Oh, Jesus. And you showed up and preserved my honor?" she smirked at him.

  "Yes, ma'am," he saluted. "I told him if he didn't get his hands off you, I was going to break every bone in his body." She stared at him, wide-eyed. "Luckily, before he got a chance to call me on it, Nickie grabbed him and spelled out the facts of life to him. I grabbed John Vassar, and he graciously gave us a ride back here, since you were in no condition to walk. I put you to bed, settled into the chair until your Mom got home. She gave me permission to make myself comfortable in the bed, here."

  Sophia laughed. "You changed my clothes?"

  "Yeah, it's not like I haven't seen everything you've got. Besides, that shirt you were wearing was covered in beer."

  Sophia laughed, then got very serious. "Oh my God. If you hadn't shown up..."

  "I did, so don't worry about it, and give thanks to Jessie for quick thinking."

  "Oh, Warren, I'm so ashamed. Yeah, I was mad at you, but that's no excuse for how I behaved."

  "I'm sorry, Soph. If I had realized how important that party was to you, I would have made a way to be there."

  "Yeah, it was important, but not that important. Not important enough to react the way I did."

  "Next time you want to go on a bender, make sure I'm there, OK?"

  "Oh, I think this is going to be the last bender I go on for a long time. Damn, all this interrupted you're studying, didn't it?"

  "Aah, don't worry about it. I got a lot in before Jess called. And it turned out to be worth it, interrupting myself."