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"Has anyone told you how lovely you look tonight?"
Sharon turned around and inwardly caught her breath, fully approving of the sight before her. Her face eased into a smile. "Thanks, Damon. You don't look too shabby yourself, you know. And before I forget, good game yesterday," she added, hugging him warmly.
"Thanks," he smiled before looking down at himself. "And if I do say so myself, I do look pretty good tonight."
She laughed. "Ever the modest one."
"I try," he smiled back easily. "Anyway, did you just get here?"
She nodded her head. "Just a few minutes ago. You?"
"I'm on board, remember? I've been here since an hour before the dance started."
"So dedicated of you."
"Just doing my duty. Besides, it gets me out of clean up duty afterwards," he smiled. "So, would you like to dance?"
"With you?"
He rolled his eyes. "Of course with me. I'm the one asking."
"But don't you have a date?"
"I do, but she's not here yet. Besides, I don't see Vin around anywhere."
She shrugged. "I lost him as soon as we got in. I think one of the guys wanted to talk to him about something."
Damon accepted her answer with a nod and a smile. "So are we going to dance or just keep talking then?"
"Well, since you asked so nicely, I guess we can keep on talking..." she teased.
He rolled his eyes and grabbed her hand anyway, pulling her towards the dance floor. "Come here, you."
Sharon laughed as he led them to the slowly growing crowd on the dance floor, leading them right into the middle of the pack. The two found themselves moving easily to the fast beat with each other. As one song flowed into another, and then the next, the rest of the world melted away, leaving her with just him and music. She smiled. 'I could get used to this,' she let herself think for a moment. 'What am I thinking? I'm here with Vin! Where is he anyway?' she wondered.
As if in answer to her thoughts, Sharon felt a hand rest lightly on her shoulder. "Vin!" she smiled when she saw him behind her. Immediately, the rest of the world came back to her.
"Hey, Sharon," he smiled, nodding to Damon before taking Sharon's hands in his and leading her away just a little bit.
She turned around to say bye to Damon in time to see a hand catch Damon's arm. She heard a sickly sweet voice say his name, and then suddenly, too many people separated Damon and Sharon, Vin having drawn her too far away to let her identify the girl. She shrugged it off for the moment, turning back to Vin. "Sorry about that," he was saying as the two started to dance together. "One of the guys wanted my opinion on something."
"Oh, don't worry. I totally understand."
He smiled again, and the two continued to dance for a while yet, Sharon laughing and smiling easily with Vin.
A few more minutes passed and Vin's arms gently encircled Sharon's waist as they danced to the first slow song of the night.
"So have you thought about where you want to go to college?" Sharon was asking Vin as they danced.
"Yeah. I know I'm definitely going to be moving to the west coast."
"Oh?"
"Yeah. I feel the need for a change in scenery really. I've got some family over in California too, so it wouldn't be like I'm all alone either. I have an uncle down around LA and my older brother's in San Francisco. I have the applications for the UC system there and I should have those done and sent out in a few more days."
"That's great," Sharon smiled. "Where's your top choice?"
"Honestly, it's-"
She listened intently as Vin talked about where he wanted to go, smiling at the enthusiasm he presented at the idea of college. As the two danced slowly, Sharon's eyes fell on Riley, who was dancing on the other side of the floor with Ana. Confusion set in for Sharon when she noticed how close the two were – neither was talking, their eyes were both closed, and really, it seemed they were just standing in time, not dancing at all. 'Is she okay? I thought she was with-'
Sharon's eyes found Damon off the dance floor and at one of the tables. He'd taken a break from dancing and was laughing with a few of his other friends. 'I'm so confused... I thought Ana and Damon are a couple...' She shrugged her thoughts off for the moment though as the slow song ended and a faster beat started to play.
"Hey," Vin said. "I think the gang's all here now. We should probably take pictures now before the line gets too long."
Sharon nodded. "Sounds like a plan."
Vin started to lead the way to Riley, but got stopped along the way by a couple of his friends just to say hi. By the time they got to Riley, they found him talking to a fellow teammate, and Ana was nowhere in sight.
"Hey, aren't we supposed to be doing pictures soon?" Vin asked.
Riley nodded. "But I guess student government are getting done first, so that's where Ana and Damon are now."
"Well, we may as well round the rest of the gang up and wait in line so that they don't have to wait too long when they're done."
Riley nodded and they all left the dance floor to get the rest of the group.
The task proved to be easier said than done though. While it was certain that everyone had arrived, everyone was just so spread out, it took a full twenty minutes to gather everyone together. People had still been out on the dance floor, while a couple of the other couples had already gotten in line to get their pictures done... Eventually though, twenty people had been gathered and were left deciding on how to pose.
"Guys on one side and girls on the other with our beloved Homecoming King and Queen in the middle?" Riley suggested.
"No way! Couples have to stay together!" Sharon heard one of the girls say.
"Well then, how are we going to do this?"
"How about yeah, letting the Homecoming couple stay in the middle, but with their own dates?"
The idea was accepted and Sharon watched as Ana and Damon stood back to back in the center, Ana's arms around Riley and Damon's hands around another girl...
Sharon grimaced. It was the girl that had threatened her from her calculus class. Before she could think anything else of it, she let herself be led over to the center of the picture as well, where Vin knelt down on one leg in front of Ana and motioned for Sharon to sit on his other leg. She obliged and one of the other couples mirrored them in front of Damon and his date
"Hey Sharon! Hi Vin," Ana said, bending down to give them a hug while everyone else figured out the rest of the pose. "It's good to see you here!"
"Same to you," Sharon replied. "I can't believe I'm only saying hi to you now."
"Oh, I know! I'm so sorry, but you know, duties beckon and I must obey. Hopefully now though, everything's done and I can actually enjoy the rest of the dance with you guys."
"You better," Vin smiled. "Otherwise, I know Riley's going to be mighty upset with you."
For once, the football player just stayed silent, shrugging and wrapping his arms back around Ana in a close embrace as they all got ready for the picture. The photographer handed Ana and Damon their crowns and then quickly returned to his position behind the camera.
A couple shots later, it was all done. As Sharon and Vin got up, she felt another hand on her shoulder. It was Damon. "Kari," he was saying. "You know Vin. Have I introduced you yet to Sharon?"
Sharon turned her attention to the blonde next to him and did her best to not let the smile on her face drop as she extended a hand. "It's nice to meet you, Kari," she said.
The blonde took her hand and barely glanced her way. "Vin, you did wonderful in the game yesterday. You know, the team next year is going to be really hurt what with you, Riley, and Damon all leaving."
Sharon forced herself to not roll her eyes at the snub she'd been given by one of the school's top cheerleaders as Kari continued to praise the guys. 'I wonder if the guys are really that stupid to not see how fake she is. I hope not,' she thought as Riley and Ana led the way back out onto the dance floor.
Her hair was down for the night, but instead of the normal straight and sleek look, she had added some large curls to just give her hair some extra volume. Again, she left her face simple, only adding a touch of eye shadow and some lip gloss to her otherwise plain face. Simple, diamond tear drop earrings hung from her ears, and a matching necklace encircled her neck. Her sleeveless dress was a deep navy blue, almost black, and it ended a couple of inches above her knee. A slight silver pattern of flowers shone off the dress, depending on how the light hit it. Black heels, a wide smile, and the sparkle in her eyes finished off the ensemble.
Damon found himself looking at Sharon, watching as she danced in Vin's arms. It was another slow song and he found himself with his own arms wrapped lightly around Kari. His mind, however, was not on the blonde in his arms. He was thinking about earlier that night, from the time he had led Sharon onto the dance floor by the hand and to the time Vin and Kari had interrupted their dancing...
There was no denying it. They had moved well together. Now, what that meant to him, he had no clue. 'She's definitely a sweet girl,' he thought to himself. 'So genuine, unlike other girls.' He looked down at Kari and knew she was a prime example of the kind of girl he didn't want to end up with in the future. Where Kari was all talk and gossip and looks and shallow ambition, Sharon was (as far as he knew so far) all heart and depth - he knew more about Sharon than he did Kari, and he and Kari had grown up in the same area all their lives. 'Like that means anything,' he thought to himself. 'We were just never close. Sharon though... She's something else...'
At that moment, Sharon looked up and found herself looking straight into Damon's eyes. She blinked in surprise and then smiled, matching the one Damon sent her way before she turned her attention back to whatever Vin and she were talking about.
'Yup, she's definitely something else,' he thought as the dance ended and the night continued on.