Prom Date

Kenneth watched them on the dance floor. He only heard half of what his female companion was saying as the two of them swayed slowly together off to the side, nearly off the dance floor and onto the carpet of the dining area. He paused in his tracks, looking down at his feet and adjusting his position so that he and his partner wouldn’t stray too far off course. He had a slightly uneasy feeling that her date was sitting not far from them, watching him with suspicious eyes.

“…can’t believe she’d ditch you for him!” his dancing partner concluded. Kenneth gave a small shrug and danced her closer into the crowd in the middle of the floor, his eyes back on their previous focus. He was only being courteous by keeping his distance from the dancing pair he was watching intently. After all, she did say that she had feelings for the boy.

“Are you even listening to me?” came his companion’s voice, competing with the volume of the music coming from the bandstand beyond the dance floor. Kenneth nodded, not taking his eyes away.

“I heard you. Yeah, it wasn’t really great of her to leave me, but she has her reasons.” He said, sighing. It wasn’t as if he wanted her. It was just that he had been her date, and it was simply bad taste for a girl to leave her escort.

“Really, now.” His companion said, scoffing. She followed the path of his eyes and shook her head. “Just look at her. She’s all over him like he was her date.” Together, the pair held their eyes on the dancing couple.

“It’s not really her fault, Angeline.” Kenneth said at length, finally shifting his line of vision to his partner. Angeline clicked her tongue disapprovingly.

“I know you two are close friends, but that doesn’t mean you have to side with her on every issue.” She said, curling down one side of her lip. Kenneth looked up at her, raising an eyebrow. He was a full head shorter than her, and most girls for that matter, from which arose a few dancing complications, yet neither seemed to mind. Neither did other girls, apparently. Kenneth was never without an eager partner. Unfortunately, that lady companion was rarely the girl that he arrived with. As much as he understood the reasoning behind this, he couldn’t help feeling depreciated. But it was her prom. If not for her, he wouldn’t even have been there.

“I’m just trying to be an understanding friend to Candace.” He sighed, smiling weakly. Angeline shook her head.

“But she was so quick to leave you alone for that, oh, what’s his name? Stanley?”

“Stanton.” Kenneth answered automatically.

“Stanton. Stanton Matthews.” Angeline said quickly, correcting herself.

“You were quick to leave Tony.” Kenneth replied, giving her a friendly smirk. Angeline glanced over her shoulder, searching for her date. Tony was sitting at an empty table near the dance floor, tapping the handle of a silver fork on the nearest china plate absently. He had a look of boredom on his face mixed with a hint of frustration. Angeline turned back to Kenneth and gave him a sheepish smile.

“Well, this is just one dance. Tony won’t mind if it’s just one dance.” She said nervously.

“Looks like it.” Kenneth chuckled.

“Well, how many dances did Candace leave you for? Five?” Angeline said defensively.

“Four. Two were slow dances. But who’s counting?” Kenneth stated simply. Angeline looked down at him with a raised eyebrow. She began to open her mouth, but Kenneth let go of her with one hand and placed to fingers over her lips. “I know, I know. Can we just dance?” Angeline rolled her eyes and sighed, shrugging her shoulders.

“Alright, then.” She said, pulling his fingers off her lips. “I still don’t think it’s fair, but she’s your date, not mine. It’s your call.”

“Thanks, Angeline.” Kenneth sighed, returning his hand to her waist. He slowly turned his head and locked his gaze once again on the couple. He stared at Candace, his date, with soft eyes tinted with disappointment. Her eyes were closed in a contented, restful manner, her head resting against Stanton’s chest. She seemed oblivious to all around her except for him. Her arms were wrapped around his neck snugly, as if she didn’t want to let go. Kenneth couldn’t help but smile at her. As put off as he was from being set aside, he felt a warmth spread throughout his chest from seeing his good friend so happy. He knew how much trouble she went through just to have Stanton there with her. He could hear her voice from that one phone call. She sounded so nervous. “Kenneth… I know I invited you to prom… and I still want you to be there… but there’s this guy… I really like him, Kenneth…” It had taken her a lot of courage to tell him that there was someone else who she wanted to go with, and for that, Kenneth had to commend her.

“What’s so special about that Stanton guy anyway?” came Angeline’s voice. Kenneth rolled his eyes.

“I guess Candace sees something in him that not too many people are attentive enough to figure out.” He said, shrugging. He shifted his gaze to Stanton’s face. His expression was hard to read. He looked calm, and he had a small smile on his face, but Kenneth couldn’t see the same level of contentment on his face than on Candace’s. Stanton didn’t seem uncomfortable or bored of Candace, but he wasn’t showing as much feeling. Perhaps the affection that Candace was feeling wasn’t reciprocated? This thought gave Kenneth a shiver down his spine. If that were the case, then Candace wasn’t in a pleasant position. What did she see in him anyway? Angeline’s impromptu question roused Kenneth’s curiosity. He wasn’t much of a judge of male charisma, but he knew enough to discern that Stanton wasn’t much to look at. Under the frame of short black hair, Stanton had a generic facial composition, nothing special. The way he held himself on the dance floor was rather awkward as well, as if he wasn’t used to being that close to a girl. Kenneth hated to admit it, but he himself had a better chance of attracting girls than Stanton. But Kenneth also knew that Candace wasn’t one who saw the surface. She had recounted to him many times when doing so backfired. He remembered Anthony, her ex boyfriend; attractive, charismatic, well built, yet superficial and unfaithful. He knew from a recent conversation with Anthony that he was trying to rehabilitate himself by remaining single for a period of time, but Candace had unfortunately caught him at his early, flighty stage.

“Um, excuse me?” came a voice behind Kenneth. He spun his neck around, startled. Tony stood behind him, holding out a hand. “The dance is over.” Kenneth just noticed the change in song, and sheepishly let go of Angeline, stepping to the side and gesturing to the two of them.

“Don’t let me get between you.” He said apologetically, backing up with a genuine smile on his face. Angeline grinned and nodded, taking Tony’s hand.

“Thanks for the dance, Kenneth.” She said before turning to Tony and walking hand-in-hand towards the crowd. Kenneth turned around and found an empty chair. He had barely sat down when he felt a tap on his shoulder. She looked to his side and saw a red-haired girl standing beside him.

“Hey, Kenneth. Can I have this dance?” she asked, smiling and biting her lip. He chuckled and made as if to accept, then he glanced behind the girl and saw Candace and Stanton parting. He looked back to the girl and gave her an apologetic shake of the head.

“Sorry, Maria, I think I should spend a bit more time with my date. Maybe later tonight?” he said hopefully. Maria looked over her shoulder.

“Oh, she’s done with Stanton already?” She looked back at Kenneth. “Yeah, definitely. Next time she runs off, be sure to look for me, okay?” Kenneth nodded.

“That I’ll do.” He said, patting Maria on the shoulder. She gave him a warm smile, then walked off, in search of another dance partner. Kenneth sat down and propped his elbow up on the table, watching as Candace rushed to him. She skidded to a halt a few inches from his chair and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

“Thank you so much for letting me have some time with Stanton.” She said wholeheartedly. Kenneth placed a hand on her back, embracing her gently.

“Glad you had a good time.” They released each other, and Candace took a chair beside him.

“Look, I know it’s not fair of me to keep running off when I’m supposed to be with you. It’s just that you’re so popular among my classmates, and I knew that you would get snatched up within minutes, even if I was attached to your arm all night. And from what I’ve seen tonight, that was a pretty accurate prediction.” Candace said seriously, leaning forward in her chair. Kenneth shrugged.

“Just as long as you’re happy. It is your prom, anyway.” He said.

“But I asked you to be my date. Stanton didn’t come up until later on.” Candace sighed. “I still feel bad about bringing you here just to pass you around to my friends.”

“It’s okay, Candace, really. It’s not like I’m lonely.” Kenneth said, looking Candace in the eyes. Candace bit her lip and hung her head, silent for a few moments.

“I really like him, Kenneth.” She said, staring at her toes, which were poking out of her open-toed shoes. “I don’t know what it is… and I promised myself that I wouldn’t get too attached to anyone. I think, at the moment, I have feelings for about five guys at the same time.”

“But Stanton stands out.” Kenneth finished her thought. Candace nodded.

“I’m too young to become attached to one boy in particular. I know that relationships in high school don’t last. They rarely do. You can see my reasoning behind not seriously dating anyone at this age. Especially friends of mine. Once relationships between friends die, then so does the friendship. I’ve been good friends with Stanton as long as Anthony… and we both know what happened when I fell for Anthony.” She looked out onto the dance floor, where a sea of bodies were jumping up and down to the beat of a fast-paced song. Stanton was undoubtedly somewhere in the center of it all, dancing like a lunatic. “And to actually like a guy again as more than just a boy to have fun with. I have more respect for Stanton than any guy I’ve ever played Spin the Bottle with. Those boys were fun, and I liked them, but… not in the same way. I guess they were just friends with benefits.” Kenneth listened intently, watching Candace’s troubled face. She kept her eyes on the mass of people, the blurry rainbow of satin and tuxedos. He could she that she was feeling conflicted, but not about her feelings towards Stanton.

“You wanna go into that insanity and look for him?” he asked, jerking his head towards the dance floor.

“I told Stanton that I wanted to spend time with you, since you’re my date. It’s only proper, and it’s not like I don’t like spending time with you.” Candace replied, looking up at him. Kenneth stood up and held his hand out to her.

“I’m sure we can make a compromise. How about we find Stanton in that crowd? When it comes to dances like these, it’s totally possible to dance with two people at the same time.” He said, grinning. Candace brightened up and took his hand, standing up beside him. Kenneth liked having Candace as a date. So far, she was the only girl he knew who was the right height for him. Candace leaned forward and hugged him once again.

“Thanks, Kenneth.”

“Anything for you, Buddy.”