Witchy Days 29: Drama at the Dance

The evening of the school dance is here. Despite it taking place at a former barn, the students have found that they quite like the little bar.

Some are already trying their hand at musical pastimes. Jamel always had a knack for music, but it generally extended to singing. Turns out he’s not bad at DJing either.

The Van Gould siblings are both here. Emelie is realizing that she really overdressed for the location. But oh well. It’s better to overdress than to under dress.

And Tristan…  that boy is realizing that he has a really good chance of getting kicked in the balls tonight.

Why, you might ask?

Well…

“Tristan, want to repeat what we did yesterday in the car?” Patty winked at him playfully.

“Sounds fun, yeah,” he blew her a kiss.

“Oh hey, Tristan!” Bailey realized he was here already and turned towards him. “I wasn’t able to get all of the notes in class the other day and I asked Daydream if I could copy hers, but she said you currently have them. She said once you’re done with them, I could borrow them. No hurry or anything, just letting you know not to give them away to someone else once you’re done.”

“Oh, yeah, of course,” he smiled in a way she thought was a little strange. Was he checking her out? No, she was probably seeing things weird, he’s been dating Daydream for at least the past month…

“I’ll be waiting for you on the dancefloor, babe,” Patty gave him a flirty pat on the back and pranced off with a wink. This was definitely more than friendly behavior.

Before Bailey could process the situation before her eyes, she was met with a new development the moment Patty was out of earshot.

“So, you and that Jamel kid serious or what?” Tristan asked, giving her his most charming smile. “We should grab a coffee together sometime.”

“Thanks, but yes. We are very, very serious,” Bailey answered as well as she could without dropping her jaw completely on the floor. And to think that she once considered this tool cute! What the actual fuck was wrong with him?! Dating one girl, seeing another on the side, and making a move on the third one? The gall of some people! “Actually, never mind about those notes.”

She only just got here, but this sort of behavior was already making her head hurt.

Emelie came here tonight with the intention of having a good time with the boy she’s gone on a few dates with.

As it looked, however, Waylon was having more fun chatting with their classmate over the terrible choice of venue for this event. Or more like, trying to convince their classmate the place sucked.

Oh well, at least Daydream was here and she was always a positive person to spend time with. When she wasn’t busy spending time with her brother, that was.

“Hey, what’s with you?” the girl asked her, noticing Emelie’s sour face.

“Just feeling a bit weird being here, that’s all,” Emelie shrugged.

“You’re feeling weird because you’re dressed for a high society gala instead of a school dance. And because you’re here with someone who should be paying more attention to his date. No offense, but what do you see in him?”

“He’s polite. Usually.”

“Hardly a reason to date someone, if you ask me,” Daydream shrugged, her face turning to disgust as she saw something that made her blood run cold. “Oh no he didn’t!”

“You lying, cheating piece of trash!” Daydream accosted her beau, who looked between the two girls with the look of a deer caught in the headlights. “How long have you been cheating on me?!”

“Daydream, dear, this is a misunderstanding,” he tried to clear himself.

“Misunderstanding?” Patty gave him a look. “Was hooking up in the car yesterday a misunderstanding too?”

“You what?!” Daydream screamed. “I can’t believe I wasted two months of my life on you!”

“Two months?” Patty asked awkwardly. “I’ve been seeing him for a month and half now.”

“She’s lying!” Tristan tried to backtrack.

“Am I?!”

“Is she?!”

Both girls zeroed in on him. He knew he was caught red-handed. Instead of staying and apologizing, Tristan made a run for it. Neither of his now ex-girlfriends bothered to follow.

“Man, I wish I was filming this!” thought Xander observing the mess. “This is prime viral video content.”

After witnessing the Tristan drama, Bailey seriously appreciated not getting stuck with that guy.

“Hey,” she hugged Jamel once he stopped spinning tracks. “I’m glad to see you.”

“Thanks. You look great, by the way,” he told her.

“So do you. So much for keeping it all casual, huh?“ she chuckled.

“I didn’t want to go too casual,” he laughed.

“Same. Want to dance?”

“I admit, I’m not very good at it. Besides, the dancefloor seems a little weird now,” he whispered.

“Want to go upstairs, then? There’s a place to relax.”

“Lead the way.”

Observing them, Emelie felt a pang of sadness. This was what she wanted. Someone who actually enjoyed her company and was there for her.

And this was not the state of her current relationship. She knew something had to change.

Laurel was outside while the mess on the dancefloor took place, but once Xander texted her there was drama happening, she came right back.

“Figures. The one time I step out, things get crazy,” she thought. “Don’t want to miss anything else. Oh!”

Almost as if on cue, an argument broke out between Emelie and Waylon. She just wanted the simple things. For them to spend time together at the dance as a couple. But he was avoiding her for the majority of the night. And when she did approach him, he behaved like there was something wrong.

Well, something was wrong, alright. This relationship.

“I don’t want to do this anymore,” she told him. “I know we’ve gone out before, but this is obviously not working out.”

“What’s your definition of ‘working out’ then? Slutting around like that brother of yours?” he asked.

“I don’t know, asshole, but it certainly isn’t this. We’re done,” Emelie told him firmly. “Look for someone else to constantly complain about everything to.”

“What would you like to do?” he asked once they came upstairs.

“Enjoy the privacy for a bit,” she shrugged.

“I’ve noticed you being upset earlier,” he ventured carefully.

“Was it that obvious?” she asked. “It’s because of Tristan, ok? Remember how I told you he reminded me of my ex from before I moved here? Well, he really does, in more ways than one. The personalities match up.”

“Oof. That sucks.”

“Yeah, but not as much as it could, I guess. I think I’ve picked someone much better now,” she pulled him close.

They could both think of much better ways to spend their time than discussing exes.

Laurel and Xander tried to have a good time at the dance for a little while, but after two (three?) breakups happening within half an hour, the event’s atmosphere was officially negative.

The girls who ended things with Tristan seemed to be enjoying company of other classmates and Emelie was trying to cheer herself up with the company of a feline, but there wasn’t much of a festive mood anymore.

“You want to get out of here?” Laurel asked Xander.

“What do you have in mind?” he asked.

“The beach isn’t far. We can go chill, maybe have a bit of a bonfire.”

“Not a bad idea,” he agreed.

“And let’s take the others and Emelie with us,” she told him. “I think we can all use a change.”

“If they want to come along, let’s do it, yeah,” he agreed.

After having much more fun upstairs alone than they did downstairs among the others, Jamel and Bailey were relaxing in the hay and chatting about life.

“You know, I hated the idea of moving here when Dad brought it up, but I’m glad we did,” Bailey told him. “I like it way more here than in Twinbrook. And we got to meet.”

“I like it here too,” he told her. “I feel like I fit in more here than I did in Appaloosa Plains.”

“What was it like? I keep hearing it’s a very rural town,” she asked.

“It is. Lots of horses. Lots of farms. Lots of conservative people.”

“Oof.”

“My parents were like that, sort of. At least, that’s the image they presented to the outside world. I wonder how people would’ve reacted if they had known about their swinging lifestyle.”

“I don’t see what’s wrong with it,” Bailey shrugged. “As long as all partners are of age and consenting, why should people judge others for how they live?”

“True…”

“You must miss them a lot,” she asked. “I’m sorry I started talking about this.”

“It’s ok. I do miss them. Although, we weren’t very close. To be honest, I think both Carter and I were accidents, and they just took us in stride. I do wonder…”

“What is it?”

“Well, you know how Carter and I have different dads, right? His dad and Sylvia’s are the same. He wasn’t a good guy. He was apparently buddies with this guy who’s always on the wanted segment. But not very good buddies, since it seems that Coryn guy killed him.”

“What a mess…”

“It is. I just wonder, you know. The fairy investigating my parents’ deaths said he was the one responsible. And I always think back to the night I ran from there with Carter. (X X X) All I could think of was getting my brother out safely, but I can’t shake the feeling we weren’t alone in the house at that moment. Like, for real, every time I think back on that moment, I get this big unpleasant feeling, like we were lucky to make it out alive.”

“Maybe you were,” she looked at him with worry. “Thank your lucky stars you and your brother are fine.”

“Em, Xander and I are going to the beach. Want to come along?” Laurel offered.

“The beach? In this dress?” Emelie laughed. “It’ll get ruined.”

“Yeah, but you’re already wearing it here in a barn,” Xander pointed out. “Besides, this party totally does not pass the vibe check.”

“So we’re planning to have more fun away from here,” Laurel explained.

“I don’t know,” Emelie stammered. But then she saw Waylon, still looking pissed at the world for existing. “You know what, I’m in.”

“Cool! Jamel! Bailey! We’re going to the beach!” Laurel shouted for their friends.

The other couple were a little busy at the moment, but they heard her loud and clear.

“Do you want to go?” he asked her, pausing their makeout session.

“I mean, it could be nice, with just our crew and not the rest of our classmates,” Bailey agreed, a little out of breath. “We can go.”

“Alright,” he started to get up. “Oh shoot, I’ve got hay sticking to me everywhere!”

“There’s a bathroom with a mirror downstairs. You can get cleaned off.”

“Good idea. It won’t take long, I promise,” he told her.

“It’s cool, we’re in no hurry.”