“What’s this about?” he asked quietly.
“Homecoming nominations.”
Uncertainty swirled in his eyes. Cassie stared questioningly at him, but he didn’t say anything more. For a moment, she could have sworn that he hadn’t known what she was talking about. But that couldn’t be possible, no matter how small a school he had come from, they would still have homecoming, wouldn’t they?
He leaned slightly back, his emerald eyes darting to Marcy as a mask of indifference slipped over his face. Cassie’s hand tightened briefly around his as doubt continued to swirl through her. He glanced back at her, his eyes darker and more intense than normal. Their eyes locked forcefully, Cassie’s heartbeat picked up. All of her doubts vanished as she was lost to him once more. His thumb stroked over her skin, causing her body to heat everywhere. She could not wait to be alone with him later.
“Now, when I call your name please come up here. Thanks. Nominees for homecoming king are Mark Young, Hector Rodriguez, Jack Wells, Chris Tempen….”
Cassie beamed happily, clapping loudly as Marcy called off Chris’s name. Chris’s fair skin blazed red as he stood to a raucous chorus of cheers and whistles. He bowed and waved to everyone as if he were royalty. Marcy frowned angrily, her voice breaking off as the cheers continued. Chris and Jack were pounded on the back by the rest of the football team as they made their way to the center of the room, and Marcy.
“Ok, settle down!” Marcy called into the microphone. She waited impatiently, her foot tapping, and her arms folded across her chest as the cheers slowly died down. Marcy rolled her eyes but as she glanced down at the piece of paper in her hand, a sly smile played across her lips. A feeling of foreboding stole through her. “The final nominee is Devon Knight.”
Cassie’s mouth parted slightly, shock coursed rapidly through her as cries of delight, and loud clapping sounded through the room. It was mostly the girls that applauded and shouted, making it apparent which side of the nomination he had received. Cassie turned slowly back to him. He was sitting stiffly in his chair, a blank expression on his face, but a hard gleam in his eyes. This was not his thing, not at all, and it was more than obvious that he didn’t want it. She wasn’t entirely sure he even knew what it meant.
Then he moved swiftly, sliding elegantly from his chair as he rose gracefully. He glanced down at Cassie, warmth momentarily melting the ice in his eyes. Gently releasing her, he moved swiftly and elegantly to stand beside Chris. The cheers grew louder, the higher pitch of the girl’s voices reverberated in the large cafeteria. Though some of the boys clapped, including Chris, most did not.
This time, Marcy did not urge everyone to quiet down as she smiled brilliantly. Instead, she waited patiently for the commotion to stop. Anger filled Cassie as she glanced around the cafeteria, taking note of all the girls staring ravenously at Devon. Marcy was the worst offender, as her crush on Chris had obviously switched to Devon. Though Cassie knew that Devon did not want any of them, she still didn’t like the fact that they all wanted him. And not a one of them gave a damn that he was already with her.
“It’s ok,” Melissa said softly, leaning forward to be heard over the commotion.
“I know.”
“Then why are you glaring at every girl in this room like you want to hit them?” she inquired.
“Maybe not every girl.”
“Just Marcy?” Cassie couldn’t stop the laugh that escaped her as she shook her head at Melissa’s teasing.
Cassie tried to catch Devon’s eye, but he did not look at her again as he studied the other boys. Jack and Hector were playfully pushing each other; Mark was wearing a goofy grin and flexing his muscles. Chris was standing quietly, his arms folded over his chest, but he was beaming from ear to ear as he winked at the girls closest to him. They all looked so young and immature, Devon seemed vastly older and out of place amongst them.
Cassie’s heartbeat picked up, her hands curled on the table. Who was he? She wondered again. Why did he seem so far beyond her age, and everyone else’s?
“Now the nominees for homecoming queen,” Marcy continued when the noise finally quieted down. “The nominees are Amanda Jenkins, Sharon Crosby, Kelly Standish, Cassandra Fairmont…” Loud cheers and whistles erupted around the room as she rose, but unlike Devon, her appreciative audience was mostly male.
Cassie flushed hotly as she slipped from the table. She tried to keep her shoulders straight as she hurried to stand beside Kelly. The dark, angry looks from most of the girls in the room followed her, along with the leering stares of the boys. Her skin crawled with the mixed emotions blazing against her. Trying to keep as collected as she could, she kept her face expressionless, but inwardly she was a seething mass of turmoil.
Marcy sighed loudly, tapping impatiently at the microphone to get everyone’s attention. Slowly the caterwauling died down with only a few whistles and shouts still piercing the air. Devon’s face had become even harder, his jaw clenched tight as he met Cassie’s gaze briefly. It was apparent that he disliked the attention of the men toward her, almost as much as she did. She wished that she could reach out and touch him; she desperately needed the comfort that he always brought her.
“And finally,” Marcy continued with a bright grin on her face. “Myself.”
There was more applause, but it was not as enthusiastic, and Marcy was unable to hide her annoyance. “Here are your nominees for king and queen, voting will begin in two weeks. Everyone, consider your candidates carefully and vote on the people you think deserve it most. Thank you all.”
Marcy dismounted from her chair, eagerly accepting the congratulations she received as she made her way through the crowd. Cassie wished she could be as thrilled as Marcy, but she had never wanted popularity, never wanted the attention that came with it. Unfortunately she had been launched into the role during her freshman year, when puberty set in.
It had taken her awhile to learn how to deal with the sudden influx of interest. Over the years she had gotten a lot better with it, but she still did not like being thrust into the spotlight. And she most certainly did not want to be swamped by a bunch of people trying to congratulate her. She was not surprised that most of them were boys.
Devon was also surrounded by a group of well wishers, most of them girls, but a few of the guys had appeared to shake his hand. He looked highly uncomfortable as Ariel Drake grasped hold of his hand, clutching it tightly, nearly falling over him as she leaned close. Cassie fought back a smile of amusement as he gave Ariel a wan smile while discreetly trying to free his hand from her death grip. He finally succeeded but Janet and Jenna Howe immediately pounced upon him. Cassie heaved a sigh, realizing that she would have to rescue him if he was ever going to get free of the swarm of girls. And from the look on his face, he was in desperate need of rescuing.