You Belong With Me

There he sat, the only guy I’ve had eyes for since I was a child, Ryan. His name was like sweet nectar on my lips each time I said it. Although it quickly turned to poison as his girlfriend Gabriella cuddled up to him.

True, they looked like they were made for each other. Gabriella was the platinum blonde, size zero wearing head cheerleader of our school. She rarely associated with a person that wasn’t in her crowd which consisted of the jocks, preps, and other cheerleaders. Together they all populated about sixty percent of our schools’ cafeteria.

Ryan, he was your typical sexy football captain. He body was something everybody would kill for; muscles in all the right places and he was very tall. Ryan’s hair was a nice brown that had red highlights when he went out in the sun. His eyes…oh Ryan’s eyes were beautiful; they were a deep chocolaty brown that made me want to melt.

Really, I swear I’m not a stalker. I’m just extremely attentive. When I was younger Ryan, Gabriella and I were all best friends. When we got in 6th grade everything changed. That was the year when we all started changing into who we were today. Ryan and Gabriella traveled the same path and soon found each other while I was the one that got left behind.

I will say that yes, I’m weird and I love it. Normalcy is horrid; if you’re normal then everybody is just the same. I don’t want to be a gray blob walking around! My outfits consisted of band t-shirts and my ragged, distressed jeans or my bright, animal print pants. All together I topped it off with my signature combat boots. That didn’t seem too weird, considering the people I hung out with. Maybe it was my hair that drove them away…Currently it’s long, black, and choppy with bright red streaks all throughout it. Ah well, if that drove them away then I’d hate to see how they would fair at concerts!

Glancing up at Gabriella and Ryan I nearly choked. There he was presenting her with two tickets to our Senior Prom. This year our theme was a masquerade, masks were required to gain entry into the prom, but once you got in you were allowed to take it off. Looking at the expressions on their faces I noted how into each other they looked. Maybe it was time to get over someone I could never have…I could do that.

Suddenly, a girl that I recognized from drama tapped me on the shoulder. “Excuse me, are you Isabella?”

“Yeah, that’s me.”

Giving me a red rose the girl continued, “Your presence is requested at the Senior Prom.”

“By who?”

Smirking at me the girl said, “He says to call him ‘Lord Roxas.’”

I started laughing at that. “So a mysterious Lord Roxas wants to take me to prom?” The girl nodded and I said, “Tell him I accept and to meet me this Saturday at 8 p.m.”

“Yes Isabella, will do.” She ran off and I was tempted to follow, but resisted. ‘Lord Roxas’ would most likely be watching.

Well…huh. That only left me a day to find a dress and get ready for prom! The bell rand to dismiss school and I rushed out to my car. Pulling out of the school with a loud tire screech I headed off to the nearest dress boutique.

I stayed there for a few hours shopping until I found it, the perfect dress. It was a black dress that was knee length and had short ruffled pleats from the hips down. Wrapped around the middle there was a red bow that tied in the back. Stunning, and I knew exactly what to do to my hair, make-up, nails, and already had the perfect shoes.

Returning home with a contented smile I collapsed on my bed. My eyes drifted shut and I couldn’t help but to wonder who in the world was this Lord Roxas? Was it a set up?

The next day went by fast. As soon as I woke up I began getting ready for the prom. Starting with my nails I painted them a ruby red that sparkled when the lights hit them. I let my hair hang down and curled it, letting the tendrils fall in my face. I barely put on make-up, just my usual black eyeliner and mascara. Then, I put my dress on and slipped into my trusty boots; comfort was key. Finally, I put on my half-mask and headed to the school.

When I arrived I only saw one person standing there by the entrance. I walked up to the man, nervous about what to say.

Before I could say anything, the guy beat me to it. “Ah, Isabella, you look wonderful.”

Blushing a little I replied, “Thank you, Lord Roxas.”

He laughed and held out a rose corsage. Putting it on my wrist he smiled and linked our arms together. “You ready for this?”

Walking into our huge gym I said, “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

The rest of the night went by in a flash and I had a wonderful time with this masked stranger. He was funny, handsome (from what I saw), and had great taste in music. To be honest, in this short amount of time I liked him more than I had ever liked Ryan. We had both agreed on a time to unmask each other and it was exactly as midnight. Glancing at the clock my mystery man began leading me outside. We only had a couple of minutes to get this done with.

He led me out to a gazebo and we began slow dancing. He took of my mask and spoke in his soft, gentle voice, “Promise me that you won’t push me away when you find out who I am.”

Reaching around and fumbling with his mask ribbon I said, “I promise.” Then I took his mask off and gasped. Standing here before me was my best guy friend, Ashton.

Ashton’s head dropped as he took in my reaction. “I knew it; you’re disappointed that I’m not that pretty boy Ryan.”

“I’m not disappointed, jus shocked. Ashton you actually like me?”

He nodded and went to walk away. “Yeah, I have for some time. It’s a hopeless cause as of now…You still like Ryan, but he’ll never know your story like I do…”

Grabbing a hold of Ashton’s hand I held him back. “That’s where you’re wrong. What I feel for you right now, have for this night…it’s so much stronger.”

Ashton pulled away and began walking away once more. This couldn’t happen…Then I did what I never thought I would do and sang a verse from a recently popular country pop song. “Can’t you see, you belong with me?”

With that one line Ashton turned around smiling. “I guess if you started singing that song you must be serious.”

I laughed and strode over to where he was. Wrapping my arms around his neck I pulled him down and gave him a sweet kiss which he gladly responded to. I then pulled away. “You know it.”

Ashton wrapped his arms around me and we just stood like that, in each other’s embrace. Replying back he said, “I guess you do belong with me.”

I was never happier than I was at that moment.