Deborah noticed that she had about twenty minutes left before Nicholas was supposed to come and get her. And she still had to do her makeup and get her accessories and shoes on!
I’m going to have to speed up a bit, and here I thought I gave myself enough time!
The bracelet that Nicholas bought for her birthday was lying flat on the bathroom countertop, which Deborah carefully picked up and put on. Then she put on her new necklace and shoes.
Next Deborah put on her makeup. She was careful to choose colors that not only went with her ensemble, but that didn’t stick out too much. She had some blue glitter eye shadow, a small amount of blush and a rose-colored lipstick to accentuate the already pink, plush lips she was fortunate to inherit from her mom. When all was said and done, she was thrilled with how everything looked.
Just before leaving the bathroom Deborah sprayed on her favorite perfume called Lovely. It was a light scent of flowers and a hint of vanilla. She grabbed her purse and headed out of the bathroom feeling like she was in a fairy tale. Alex was waiting for her in the living room all ready to go in his rented tux. He never asked a girl to go to the prom with him and so he was going to hang out with Nicholas, Deborah and three other guys, two of which would have their girlfriends with them.
“Wow, you clean up nice,” Alex commented teasingly.
“I think I’ll take that as a compliment. You look sharp yourself,” Deborah replied with a smile.
Just then the kids’ mom came into the living room with her camera ready. She gasped at how grown up and gorgeous her two oldest kids looked when they got all dressed up. She asked them to pose for a picture when Deborah interrupted.
“Mom, can’t we wait until Nick gets here? He’ll be here any minute now.”
“Let me just get a few of the two of you first. It won’t kill you.”
Alex and Deborah just sighed and obliged their mom’s wishes.
By the time Nicholas had arrived, Ms. Harrington had taken plenty of pictures of Alex and Deborah separately and together. She even got some with Robyn in there, who had come down to see all that was going on.
The next thing they knew they heard Nicholas knocking on the front door. Alex let him in and before bringing him to the living room where his mom was still snapping away, he gave him a warning of what lay ahead.
Can't be that bad, Nicholas thought.
Deborah was the first thing Nicholas noticed when he entered the room and he was amazed at how nice she looked. It took him a moment to gather his senses and snap out of the love-struck-teen stare he had going on. It was then that he noticed that his blue matched perfectly with the colors on her dress.
“Hey, Debbie, you look beautiful,” Nicholas said as soon as he could form the words.
“Thanks. Hey, your tux matches my dress!”
“That's what I was hoping for.”
Nicholas noticed she was wearing the bracelet he got her, which made him glad that she had remembered. Before anyone could do anything else, Ms. Harrington had them all posing for picture after picture after picture.
Okay. Maybe it is as bad as Alex mentioned, Nicholas silently noted as he kept a smile on his face.
When Deborah had had enough, she suggested that they get going, which Alex and Nicholas quickly agreed to doing.
“All right. All right,” Ms. Harrington said as she put her camera down. She gave Alex and Deborah a hug goodbye, told them all to have fun and to be safe.
When they arrived at their location, Deborah was fascinated because of the utter beauty that lay inside. The theme for the prom was A Night to Remember, and Deborah knew right away upon walking in the building that this would definitely be a night she would remember.
For starters, there was a huge, almost floor to ceiling, aquarium that was placed in the center of where all the tables were set up. Round tables were placed strategically around the aquarium with the buffet table and drink table lined against the wall. The other side of the room was the dance floor that had a disco ball above it and dimmed lights. There were stars and sparkles and glitter on the tables, from the ceiling, along the walls and everywhere you turned it seemed. Then in one corner, Deborah eyed a photo booth where everyone was allowed one photo.
“It’s gorgeous in here,” Deborah gasped in awe.
Alex and Nicholas didn’t really say much in response. They didn’t mind the way it all looked, but they had their eyes on the buffet table. They knew for sure they wouldn’t walk away hungry as the table boasted three meats: steak, chicken and salmon; breads; a fruit salad; a veggie platter; cheese and crackers; two potatoes: baked and mashed with gravy; a Mexican bean salad; and an array of desserts. Then next to it were all the drinks, which was pretty much everything under the sun except alcohol.
“Looks like good eating tonight,” Alex said to Nicholas as he rubbed his stomach.
“Sure does!” Nicholas agreed, smiling.
The three of them made their way in and found a table to sit at as they waited for Alex’s and Nicholas’ friends to show up. Deborah kept looking around in amazement of how gorgeous everything looked. She even noticed how gorgeous the other girls’ dresses were as they arrived.The boys’ friends finally showed up, and before Deborah knew it, the night was underway. They all ate together and danced together on occasion, and overall the night seemed to flow very well. Deborah felt comfortable being there with the boys’ friends even though she never really saw them that much. She even got along well with the girlfriends that some of the boys’ friends had.
At one point in the night Nicholas and her took a picture in the photo booth together since they came as each other’s dates, and each walked away with getting their own copy.
I’m having such a good time that I’d hate to see tonight end, Deborah thought.
After she had been sitting at the table for a while sipping on punch and watching others dance, Nicholas came over and asked for her to dance with him because her favorite slow-dance song had just begun to play.
“Sure. I’ll dance with you,” Deborah smiled.
Nicholas led her to the floor and they began to dance. Deborah had both her arms wrapped around Nicholas’ neck and he held her close with both his arms wrapped around her lower back.
“You are way more respectful than Gavin was when it comes to dancing,” Deborah mentioned to Nicholas.
“Yeah? How so?” Nicholas did not want to be thinking of Gavin on a night like this, but was curious on what Deborah was getting at.
“He had only one thing in mind and when we’d dance he wouldn’t be able to keep his hands in a proper spot.”
At first Nicholas didn’t like that some other guy was taking advantage of one of his closest friends, but then he noticed that she was speaking in past tense.
“You make it sound like you’re not dating him anymore.”
“Oh, I’m not. You didn’t know that?”
“No. That’s good though.”
Deborah continued to explain. “Yeah, shortly after my birthday party I called it off. My eyes were really opened that night. I mean, that jerk was late, didn’t comment on how I looked, suggested stupid things and gave me a gift I really can’t use. So like a week later I told him it was over.”
“What do you mean you can’t use his gift? What did he get you?”
“A gift card to some place I have never heard of. I’ve since gone out to see what that store was like, but it’s got mostly men’s stuff and things I’m not into. I gave the gift card to my dad.”
Nicholas gave a small laugh.
“What’s so funny?”
“I just can’t believe he did that! I would never do that to you or any girl for that matter.”
Switching subjects a little, Deborah asked, “You know what I can’t believe?”
“What’s that?”
“That you invited me to prom.”
“Why can’t you believe that?” Nicholas wondered.
“Well, it’s just that there are tons of other girls you co
uld have asked or you could have done what my brother did and just hung out with the guys.”
“Eh, that’s no fun. Prom should be spent with a date, not your friends.”
“Then why not some other girl?”
“Well, if you must know, I don’t have a girlfriend at the moment, and honestly, I’d rather go with you than these other girls because not only do I have more in common with you, but you’re fun to hang out with. Does that make you feel better?”
Deborah moved away from Nicholas a little so that she could take one of her arms and give him a little punch on the chest.
“Ouch, what was that for?”
“For what you just said.”
“I just said a bunch of nice things.”
“Yeah, but you asked if it made me feel better.”
“So?”
“So, you were teasing me.”
“You’re easy to tease,” Nicholas laughed.
Deborah gave Nicholas another punch.
“Ouch!" Nicholas blurted as he jokingly rubbed his chest.
"Oh, stop it. That didn't hurt that much."
"I know. I just like teasing you."
“I know you do.”
Just then the song had ended and it was almost time for the king and queen to be announced. Everyone either went back to their tables or moved alongside the walls to make room.
Everyone at the table that Deborah sat with started discussing who they had voted for. Deborah, being a sophomore, was not allowed to vote and even if she could, she didn’t even know who she’d vote for. She listened in on everyone’s conversation to see what they predicted or hoped for.
The school principal took the microphone and began to introduce the whole court, leaving prom king and queen last. Deborah didn’t recognize anyone on the court, but being two years younger than the rest of these people, that didn’t surprise her. Then the principal announced the king and queen. Everyone started to clap and shout as the two of them made their way to the center of the dance floor to get crowned. Again, Deborah had no clue as to who they were.
“So who are these guys?” she asked the whole table.
“Like, the most popular students in our class,” one of the other girls said.
“Everyone knew they’d probably get it,” the other girl at the table said.
Deborah watched as the two were crowned and had their slow dance as king and queen. After asking more questions, she found out that the king and queen had been dating the last few months and no one knew why they didn’t date earlier. Apparently they were completely in love with one another; something Deborah didn’t think was possible at their age. She had also found out that the queen had dated Nicholas at one time too, which surprised her a little. However, she couldn’t ask him about it at the moment because he and Alex were getting some drinks. She did notice that he was staring at the queen though, but she couldn't quite make out what he might be thinking.
“So how long ago did they date?” she asked the other girls at the table.
“Earlier this school year. He really liked her, but she broke it off with him,” one of the girls said.
“Do you know why?”
“Not really,” the same girl answered.
“He could not stop talking about her though for the longest time,” the other girl said.
“Wow.” That was the only thing that Deborah could even think to say.
She was a little surprised and slightly hurt that she had never heard of this girl before, especially if this girl was supposedly very important to Nicholas at one time. Deborah thought Nicholas shared everything with her and Alex, but this bit of information almost made it feel like he lived a double life. On one hand, she and Nicholas were close friends, sharing everything with one another. On the other hand, there was a part of him she apparently knew nothing about.
Deborah took another sip of her punch as she continued to think about what she just learned. She began to feel a little crazy for even caring because it was Nicholas' life and he could do what he wanted.
Still, what made him think he couldn't tell me? she thought.
---------------
“Hey, are you ready to go?” Nicholas asked Deborah.
It was later in the evening and all the main events were over. All that anyone was doing anymore was dancing.
“Yeah, whenever you are,” she replied.
Nicholas, Alex and Deborah headed to the car after they said goodbye to some friends. When they were on the road, Deborah thought it’d be a good time to ask Nicholas about the prom queen. She was also curious as to if Alex knew anything about it.
“So, Nick, guess what I just found out tonight?”
“I don’t know. What?” Nicholas asked as he looked through the rearview mirror directly at Deborah.
“That you dated Leslie Jackson and apparently had a tough time getting over her.” She tried to make it sound like she was giving Nicholas a hard time, but felt it may not have come off that way.
Both Alex and Nicholas started laughing.
Aha, so Alex does know something about it!
“What’s so funny?” Deborah asked aloud.
“Who told you about that?” Nicholas questioned.
“Becky did. Again, I ask, why is it so funny?”
“You really don’t need to know anything about it, Deborah,” Alex said.
“I’m just curious.”
“No, you sound like you’re jealous.”
“I’m not jealous,” Deborah said.
She was starting to get upset at Alex for his accusation, although deep down she knew he was probably more accurate than she dared to admit.
“It’s okay, Debbie. I don’t mind telling you about it. I only laughed because it’s really something that happened a while ago and not really the way you made it seem,” Nicholas began.
"What do you mean?"
“Here’s what really happened. Yes, we went out earlier in the school year, but not for very long. We didn’t really have anything in common so she eventually called it off when she found out that David, the prom king, liked her. They’ve been going out ever since.”
“Why did Becky tell me you couldn’t stop talking about her if you really didn’t have anything in common and didn’t date for that long?”
“I don’t remember talking about her that much. If I did, it was probably because someone asked about what she was like or something. I think she's pretty and she is nice, but I never had a huge thing for her.”
“I saw you staring at her, though, when she was announced queen and got crowned. It looked like you still might have a thing for her,” Deborah pointed out.
“Nah, I was just looking at the whole court is all. You do sound like you’re jealous. Are you jealous, Debbie?” Nicholas teased, again looking at her through the rearview mirror.
“No, I’m not! I was just surprised to find something out about you that I thought you, being a good friend of mine, would have told me yourself.”
“Hey, I can’t tell you everything,” Nicholas said with a smile. “But if you want, I can tell you about everyone I date from now on if that’ll make you feel better.”
“Ha ha, very funny,” Deborah said as she started to smile. She knew that Nicholas was joking around and he made her see the stupid way she was acting.
Then Alex just had to open his mouth and say, “Hey, you never told Nick you were dating Gavin.”
“Shut up, Alex,” Deborah defended herself.
“Okay, guys. Let’s drop it,” Nicholas demanded. “Wasn’t tonight fun?”
The three of them starting chatting about the night, what their favorite part of the night was, what food they liked best and so on. Before they knew it, Alex and Deborah were getting dropped off.
“Thanks for a good evening, Nick,” Deborah said before she stepped out of his car.
“Hey, Debbie. Wait a minute," Nicholas said.
"What?"
Nicholas turned around and looked in Deborah’s eyes to say, "Don
’t listen to whatever Becky told you about me and Leslie. I definitely don’t have feelings for her. And I promise I’ll do a better job of being a better friend and sharing my secrets.” When he finished that phrase he gave her his customary wink and smile.
“Thanks, Nick.”
“Thanks, man, for the ride. Are you still able to bring me back to the mall to drop off my tux tomorrow?” Alex quickly asked.
“Planned on it.”
“Cool.”
Deborah and Alex stepped out of the car and headed inside. Once they were in the house, Nicholas went back to his. He was anxious to get out of his tux and into some more comfortable clothes. Thankful that his mom had plans tonight and wasn’t home, he went straight upstairs to his room to change and relax. As he lay on his bed, he tucked his hands behind his head and just started thinking about the night. He thought about the fact that Deborah looked absolutely stunning in her dress. He thought about how much fun they all had dancing together. He thought about the great food and spending time with friends. Then he also thought about how Deborah felt about Leslie. He didn’t really know why he felt so bad about the situation because he had no right to, but he just did.
The last thing I’d want to do is hurt Debbie’s feelings.
Then before he knew it, Nicholas had drifted off to sleep from being so exhausted.
---------------
After Alex and Deborah went into the house, they both went to their respective rooms. Their mom was already asleep, which the teens were both thankful for. It meant they didn’t have to talk about the evening or take more pictures. The only person awake in the Harrington household was Robyn only because she wanted to hear everything about Deborah’s night.
In Robyn’s opinion, Deborah was so gorgeous in her prom dress and she was so lucky to be able to wear it to something so fancy. She always looked up to Deborah and even got envious sometimes because of some of the things Deborah got to do or the things she got to wear before she could. As soon as she heard her brother and sister coming into the house, she sat up straighter in bed and put down the book she was reading. She was excited to hear about everything Deborah was willing to talk about as soon as she walked through their bedroom door.
Growing Up Neighbors Page 13
