"Here, let me help you," Alexander said.
"Don't prick your finger - " I said. "Or more importantly, mine."
Stormy and Billy watched as Alexander did his best not to draw blood out of either one of us.
Jameson opened the Mansion door for us and we piled into the car. As Alexander drove us to the dance, I hoped Billy didn't catch sight of his date missing in the rearview mirror.
When we arrived at Dullsville Middle, Billy hopped out of the car and opened the door for Stormy. Alexander and I eagerly followed the pair into the building.
Stormy wore my dress proudly; it fit her like a doll. She was beautiful and held her head high as she walked into the school next to Billy.
The middle school appeared the same as when I went there and when I'd visited it to meet Henry for the first time. Posters, signs, and handmade art peppered the hallways. Immediately we got stares from shocked attendees. We weren't following typical Dullsville student dress code - me in my corset dress, Stormy in hers, and Alexander in his tailored, million-dollar dark silk suit. Billy looked in place, but the students and faculty eyed his strange entourage.
Stormy seemed to glow in the school hallway. She responded like Alexander had when I'd brought him to Dullsville High for the first time. Since both Sterlings were homeschooled, they missed even the most mundane and minute things about school - a drinking fountain, a pep rally sign, a cafeteria. I'd have given all those things away for a coffin bed and a life without the sun. But I watched as Stormy took in the sights and smells of her new surroundings.
Billy did his best to overcome his shyness. He showed Stormy every inch of the school as if he were the school administrator. I was secretly proud of my brother. He treated Stormy as a gentleman would, opening doors for her and, once they were inside the gymnasium, offering her a drink.
The gymnasium was slightly transformed from a basketball court into the middle school's fall dance. Leaves decorated the walls alongside GO, EAGLES banners.
A long table held refreshments - bottled water, sodas, and juices - while another one had baskets filled with snacks. A dozen more cafeteria tables with plenty of seats lined the dance floor, and a DJ spun a slow love song.
What I hadn't anticipated were girls who seemed threatened by Stormy's presence. Especially the girl I'd once seen at a Math Club party. She stared at Alexander's sister with a jealous glare.
No one was out on the dance floor. Instead, all the students were sitting at the tables or hanging out by the snack area. Most of the girls were talking to other girls, and the guys were clustered together with their friends.
"I haven't been to many school dances. Is this what it's really like?" I asked Alexander.
"I don't know," he said. "I don't even go to school."
We both laughed.
"Why isn't anyone dancing?" Stormy asked Billy.
He shrugged his shoulders.
"Are we going to dance?" Stormy asked.
"Uh ... sure." He pulled awkwardly at his tie. "But maybe we should wait for a bit until some others start." Stormy tapped her witchy boot impatiently on the wooden floor. Then, all at once, she boldly grabbed Billy's hand and pulled him out to the middle of the gymnasium.
My brother was horrified. He stood alone with his odd date in the center of a hundred peers' watching eyes. I actually felt bad for him. I was afraid he'd freak out - run off the dance floor or even faint.
Whispers echoed throughout the gym. And then students started to laugh.
Billy watched as his classmates sneered at him and his date. His face flushed red. I guessed at any moment he'd hightail it out of there and we'd have to take a tearful Stormy home.
But Billy didn't leave. Instead, he took Stormy's hand and placed his other hand around her waist. She smiled with delight, and he returned a flashy grin. Before I knew it, he was slow dancing with Alexander's little sister.
A tear welled in my eye as I saw my brother dance bravely with a girl in front of the entire school. It was so weird watching my little pesky brother holding a beautiful girl in his arms. The two moved back and forth, not always in time with the music, but nevertheless together. Stormy leaned her head on his shoulder and the tear ran down my cheek. Then several more Dullsville Middle School students raced onto the dance floor as if they'd been waiting for some courageous soul to start the night off. Within a few minutes a dozen couples had joined Billy and Stormy. The music changed to an upbeat dance tune and even more students joined in. Alexander turned to me. "Getting misty on me?" he said. "I guess you can't hide your fondness for the little guy." Embarrassed, I wiped the tear from my face and patted my mascara and eyeliner in hopes that they weren't going to run.
"Want to dance?" Alexander asked. "I can't let my sister have all the fun."
"Of course!" I exclaimed.
Alexander took my hand and led me onto the dance floor. The younger students smiled at us as they, too, bobbed to the high-spirited music. Alexander spun me around, and I was so dizzy from spinning and being in his company that I forgot where we were. My handsome boyfriend gazed down at me with all the love I'd ever seen from one person. He drew me close and kissed me with such passion that I thought I'd gone to heaven.
When we stopped kissing, we looked up to see all the students' and faculty's eyes on us. Several teachers and other chaperones cleared their throats and shot us dirty looks. Then the students cheered and applauded us. I beamed proudly while Alexander grinned awkwardly.
Several of Billy's nerdmates came up to him and Stormy and talked and danced the night away. I sat back, watching my baby brother score the popularity I never had with my peers.