MORE THAN THAT
Chapter Twenty-Nine
At the Prom
Over at the Marriott, the juniors
of St. Edmund’s High School fulfilled themselves with excitement, dancing
wildly to the music. Even though Jack and Christina were enjoying themselves, they
still wished they were there with Rose and Tommy. Jack wondered what Rose was
doing and Christina wondered the same about Tommy.
Usher’s song Yeah was
playing as Christina danced around Jack, and she could tell he wasn’t as
enthusiastic as he usually was.
"You can at least pretend
you’re outrageously happy right now!" Christina said.
"I am happy! I’m at prom
with one of my best friends!" Jack said, trying to talk over the music.
"Jack, I love you, but you
are such a bullshitter! It is not wrong to wish you were here with your
girlfriend, you know," Christina said. "It’s so obvious that you do.
I mean, you should see the way you are dancing. You’re dancing like an
eighty-year-old trying to dance to rap music!"
"So, it wouldn’t be wrong to
say you wish you were here with Tommy by the fact that you’re dancing like a
wanna-be stripper!" Jack laughed at his own joke.
"I do not dance like a
stripper!" Christina laughed and punched his arm. "And I do not wish
I were here with Tommy. I’m over him!"
Jack rolled his eyes at her and
started to laugh hysterically. "Now, that’s the funniest thing I’ve heard
all day!" He continued his laughter.
"What? I wasn’t
joking!" Christina yelled.
"I can hear your voice from
here, Chris!" Fabrizio yelled to her from the table.
"Shut up, Fabri!"
Christina yelled back.
"Whatever!" Fabrizio
said, going back to making out with Hannah.
"I’m tired of dancing. I’m
going to go sit," Christina said.
"Is your stripper dance
wearing you out?" Jack asked, chuckling.
"Is your old man dance going
to give you a heart attack?" Christina retorted as she sat in her seat,
Jack sitting down next to her and rolling his eyes.
"Can you guys stop smooching
over there? It’s hurting my eyes!" Jack yelled to Hannah and Fabrizio.
"Aw…Jack is jealous because
he isn’t here with Rose," Fabrizio teased his friend.
"I think it’s sweet that he
misses her," Hannah said, her arms wrapped around her boyfriend’s neck.
"Great dances you guys did,
by the way." Fabrizio laughed.
"You guys want to laugh even
more?" Jack asked.
"Yeah!" Fabrizio and
Hannah said at the same time.
"Get this. Chris said she is
over Tommy!" Jack said to his friends, who immediately started laughing.
"I wasn’t joking! It isn’t
funny! I really am, assholes!" Christina yelled, and crossed her arms, muttering
curse words in Spanish.
"Really, though, Chris, you
have got to stop lying to yourself. Jack knows it, Fabrizio knows it, Rose
knows it, and I know it too that you still love Tommy and still want to be with
him. God, you two are so fucking stubborn it’s pathetic!" Hannah said to
her best friend, giving Christina the reality check she needed. "You know
I love you, because if I didn’t you’d probably come through the centerpiece at
me right now. However, I know you and Tommy so well that you know I am right!
Now, Fabri, let’s go dance," Hannah said, taking his hand in hers and
going to the dance floor, leaving Christina speechless.
"She is so right. All of you
are right. I can’t go on pretending anymore," Christina said.
"It’s going to be okay,
Christina. I believe you two will be together again. Just like I knew I’d be
with Rose one day, though it was sooner than I thought." Jack rubbed her
back, trying to comfort his friend, who could only smile at him. Soon, however,
her eyes turned away from Jack and towards the door. Her mouth opened and then
formed a smile with a sparkle in her eyes, leaving Jack to wonder what she was
looking at.
"What is it?" Jack
asked her.
"Turn around," she said,
and Jack did just that. Jack reacted the same way as Christina had as he looked
at her. Rose was the most beautiful girl he had ever laid his eyes on.