I Can't Take My Eyes Off You
Val confidently enters the gym where the homecoming is held after ranting on Ethan. He couldn't lay one hand on her to change the way she dresses. She is not letting anybody tell her how to do or to be. It's not in her blood. The blood of a rebellious princess is running through her veins.
Deep down, she's relieved that she doesn't have to dance and pretend to like Ethan romantically because she doesn't. There's someone else in her mind that she instead wants to ask.
She walks through the crowd, and she can see Kai talking with the British girl near the punch. It's annoying her for a bit, but she's got more important things to do.
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"Girlfriend-Avril Lavigne, Give it up for Fight Of The Blue!"
The crowd goes wild as they shout and clap for them.
The band members go up on the stage confidently, ready to rock this year's homecoming. They all wear black and red outfits with a bit of shimmer and glitter here and there.
Val is standing straight while holding her red guitar with the standing microphone in front of her.
Peter is on her right, holding his black electric guitar, looking at her with a determined face.
Mike is sitting in front of the keyboard, ready to deliver some melody.
Ryan is on Val's left, holding bass while communicating with the crowd with hand gestures.
Anika is sitting at the back, ready to hit the drums and start the show.
Under the dazzling colorful lights, she hits the drum, and they start the song.
Val is rocking the stage as the motherfu**ing princess tonight.
She flawlessly sings while playing the guitar. She sways her hips, shakes her head, and jumps around to heat the crowd.
Peter sexily plays his guitar while biting his pick and give smirks to the girls at the party.
They all perform the song like they just dropped a bomb on the stage. They're burning the night down, and the crowd is going wild.
Without Val realizes it, she's been singing her heart out. Deep down inside, maybe she's singing the song for someone in the crowd.
That someone is standing there in the ocean of excited students, under the flashing lights. His eyes focus on the girl who's singing in the middle. He can see the passionate and fiery girl in front of him through his brown hair covering some parts of his eyes.
While the others are jumping and going crazy while watching the band, he can't keep a straight face there. There's nothing that he can do except smiling widely at that girl.
The others are enjoying the moment and going insane, but he can't take his eyes off her.
His heart pounds so hard. It feels like he's up there in the cloud, hearing that girl singing her heart out. Is it possible that she's singing for him? Is he going insane, or is he just falling in love?
His date, the red-hair girl wearing a pink dress, who notices just stares at him with no smile on her face.
However, he's too busy falling in love with the girl singing powerfully in the middle. In his vision, everything is pit-black except for her.
Everything is blocked, but the blond girl is there under the sparkling lights making his feet weak.
At that moment, he realizes one thing.
"I'm so falling in love with this girl..." he whispers to himself while smiling broadly.
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Val is sitting alone in the corner with a punch in her hand. The pink corsage that Ethan gave is not lingering on her wrist as she threw it away already.
Suddenly, someone is standing in front of her.
Confused, she lifts her head, only to find Ethan there.
She rolls her eyes and crosses her arms.
"It's not too late to get changed and dance with me, you know?" Ethan says boldly.
She chuckles sarcastically and replies, "Wow, I really can't believe that people think you're better than Kai! He's so much better than you."
His eyes widen, ready to fight her. However, his pride is holding him down not to make a scene and drag his reputation down.
"Don't you dare compare me with him..." he threatens her while taking a step closer to her.
Disgusted, she says boldly to him, "You're so lucky that I'm not throwing this punch to your face."
She's about to leave him there, but she hesitates.
She quickly throws the punch at him.
"Shi-" Ethan screams with a high-pitched tone, thinking that the cup is filled with the punch.
However, the cup is empty.
He just screamed like a little boy over an empty cup of a punch, which satisfies Val.
"HAHAHA! Totally worth it, dude!" she shouts merrily while leaving him alone there.
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Val is sitting again, alone in another corner of the gym.
She's scrolling down her iPhone until a familiar voice appears.
It's not Ethan, it's not the band members, not a teacher, and certainly not the janitor, but Kai.
"You okay?" he asks her sweetly.
His voice immediately brightens up her mood, and she just giggles.
"Nope, not really..." she answers with a bitter smile.
Kai's face suddenly becomes worried as he kneels to her.
"Hey, hey, hey... What is it?" he softly asks her.
His eyes are filled with concerns, and they're making her shaking.
She tried so hard to block those feelings away, hoping that this crush will go away.
Is it just a crush, or is she starting to fall in love with the sweet guy kneeling in front of her?
Without she realizes, her soft hand grounds on his cheeks, and she looks into his beautiful brown eyes.
Is this worth the risk?
Is this real?
Should we take the chance? All questions are messing with her head.
They're looking into each other's eyes, and they're having trouble catching a breath.
Suddenly, Isn't She Lovely by Stevie Wonders is playing.
Their eyes lighten up, and they excitedly stand up.
"Kai, it's our song!"
"We have to dance, Val!"
They shout joyfully at the same time.
They run through the crowd so that they can listen to the song better.
After finding the perfect spot, they stop running and start dancing.
Val's hands start to linger around Kai's neck.
His hands naturally land on her waist.
They dance around and while hugging each other.
Once in every second, they take a peek to see each other's eyes.
Every time their eyes meet, they just chuckle.
As crazy as the others, they are singing the song. Although, they sing it pretty quietly to avoid future embarrassment.
"Oh my god, Kai!" Val shouts in a surprise.
Kai startles and asks her in a rush, "What? What is it?"
"What about that British red-hair? Your date!" Val shouts with worries.
-Before Kai left Tory-
"So, Kai... Talk about yourself..." Tory says while staring at him.
He just smiles and casually answers, "Well... I don't know where to start," while giggling.
Tory just smiles, but then she looks away.
"So, do you know the blond vocalist? The one who just sang on the stage?" she cautiously asks him.
His eyes immediately brighten as she mentions Val.
"Oh, Val? Yeah, she's my best friend! I've known her since we were kids..." he answers excitedly.
She suddenly smiles, as if she has a shot, and asks again, "So... you guys aren't... dating, right?"
"....Dating? Pft- No... we're not dating...." he tries to answer while looking elsewhere.
It's not that he's lying at the moment, but because even he doesn't like the sound of it.
Suddenly, through the crowd, he can see that the girl he's been thinking the whole night is sitting alone, looking bummed, in the corner.
His eyes suddenly can't look the other way. He suddenly forgets about Tory and takes a step.
"Kai, where are you going?!" Tory shouts for him since the sound of the music gets louder.
He realizes that he has a date, but he can't take his eyes off the girl sitting in the corner.
"I'm sorry! I gotta go, my best friend needs me. You should totally dance with your friends! Have a good night!" he shouts while getting further away from Tory.
He quickly walks toward Val, but someone beat him first.
It's Ethan.
Kai's about to turn away until he can see that they're having an argument.
He waits there, just in case Val needs a rescue.
Then suddenly he sees her laughing and leaving him alone there.
"What in the world is happening...? They were fighting and now laughing... There are literally zero normal people around me..." Kai mumbles to himself.
Val is now heading to another corner of the room, and Kai follows her. Knowing that she probably needs someone, he walks to her.
-Back to the dancing-
Kai smiles and says, "I already told her I'm sorry..." while lifting his shoulder.
Val gasps playfully and says, "Pfft, What a jerk!"
They just giggle at each other while still dancing to the song.
"Hey, Kai... Thanks for being here for me..." she says while looking deeply into his shimmering eyes.
"I told you, just call me..." he says casually while smiling sincerely.
He suddenly remembers something. He pulls out a red corsage from his pocket and says while smiling genuinely, "Well... I think red suits your personality well, passionate, brave, and fiery..."
Val gasps and giggles while pulling out a white boutonniere from her purse and says, "You just read my mind!"
They both just laugh after realizing that they did the same thing.
Kai gently puts the corsage around Val's wrist, and she softly puts the boutonniere to his pocket.
"I think white suits you better than blue..." she whispers while giggling.
In the sea of people dressing up for one particular night, he can only see her.
Some people might be dancing with someone just for the dress, the fame, the reputation, the money, the kiss, or the sex, but not Kai and Val.
At least tonight, they are one step closer to being honest about their feelings.
As they say, baby steps are still steps.
For them, tonight is already more than enough.
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However, it's just a little fragment of what happens that night. In only one night, memories are made, and more are coming in the future.
As magical as it sounds, the six of them spend the moment as best as they can because that's what youth is about. At least that's what the kids think right now.
They haven't fully figured it out, but it's okay because nobody has figured it all out.
This has been Val's and Kai's part of the story. What happens to the rest of them? Will they find magical moments through the dance?