The music was deafening, reverberating around the dome. The Ball Room, as it was aptly named, was famous for hosting great parties for lots of occasions. A graduation, a wedding, a birthday (for those who really went all out), you name it. This time the customers were my school's acquaintance party. I was pretty sure St. Clair's had a contract with them though, because it was my third year here and the school parties were still being held in the Ball Room. You'd think a change of scenery would be in order, but the student government manages to pull off unique themes and atmospheres for each party every year.

The party was in full swing, complete with the horde of drunk seniors and eager juniors dancing questionably near the stage. The DJ, playing a mix of upbeat dance songs and rock, seemed to get hyped up more and more as the party went on. The dancers were rowdy and energetic, and the music matched that. It had been two hours since the boring part ended, the one with the speeches and the announcements, and everyone was just getting started.

I poured myself some punch from the sides and maneuvered through the dancers to the chairs where I kept my bag. I and few of the other guys in my year had formed a little fort with the chairs where we danced and sang along with the music, which was fun, but I needed a quick break from the chaos. Plus, it was almost 8 PM, so I had to tell my mom I was going to be late.

My phone beeped to tell me that my text hadn't gone through. The service probably wasn't too good inside. After draining my glass, I left it on a table somewhere and went outside.

The cold breeze hit me like a brick and I stood for a moment to adjust myself. I was wearing a jacket over my shirt but I still shuddered. I pulled my phone out to check the signal, but the one out of four bars didn't bode well.

"ma i might be late hehe"

Sent. I was stood with my arms stretched out to the sky just to get to the grand maximum of two bars. I probably looked a little silly stretching up like this, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Not telling my mom about being late would be even worse than looking funny.

Sliding my phone into my pocket, I let out a little yawn before slowly walking back towards the party. If I was lucky, I'd get back in time for the next slow dance song that played after every four or five of the upbeat ones and get to dance with someone. In the heat of the moment, a lot of people usually just paired up with whoever was beside them.

I sighed and smiled. Never really did much hanging around other people who weren't my friends, and they weren't really into all that. I usually just hung back, enjoying the view. Something that exciting only happens to characters in movies or sappy romance novels.

I heard the door open behind me and felt something barrel into me, sending me flying forward and knocking me down on my face. I pushed myself back up and brushing any dirt off, I turned to see my attacker.

"Oh my gosh, Carl, are you okay? Sorry, I didn't see you there!" She said, coming up to me.

"Maddie?" I said, looking up at her. She was in my class, and we'd hung out a few times. Her black hair that she usually had straight down was now falling down in waves and she had on this beautiful red gown with white flowery designs around the end of the skirt. I always thought she looked cute before, but right then, she looked majestic hurrying towards me with her phone in hand.

"Are you okay?" She repeated.

"Yeah, I'm fine." I said, laughing it off. "But that was a glass door though. Should've been hard not to see me."

"Hey, I said sorry." She giggled.

"Getting some fresh air?"

"No, I'm looking for some signal. I need to text my mom."

"Ah," I got my phone back out, lifting it up. "This spot is pretty good. Give me your phone." Maddie was a bit smaller than me, so I didn't think she could reach the point where the signal reached. She didn't seem to mind, though, and handed me the phone eagerly, narrating the message she wanted to send. I typed it out then lifted it up like I did mine and pressed send, trying not to shift the phone too much to preserve the signal.

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Beep! The message sent with the tiny sound, allowing a short breath of relief from Maddison. The sound, however, was followed right after by the sudden ringing of a call. On instinct, I answered.

"Maddison? Where are you? Young lady, we have been calling you for hours!" Came the voice on the other end of the call.

"Mom, I'm at the party-" She tried to say, but her mom seemed to ignore her completely, continuing relentlessly.

"Enough! Do you know what time it is? When did you plan on coming home, when the sun's up? Your dad and I are coming to pick you up right this instant!"

"Wait, please don't-"

Beep! The call ended as abruptly as it had started, leaving us in an awkward moment of silence. I stopped raising my hands and handed her back the phone.

"Your mother's pretty scary, Mads." I said jokingly, getting a laugh out of her.

"Yeah, she can get like that sometimes." She said, her shoulders falling a little. I saw her eyes drift off to the Ball Room building. It didn't take much to know she didn't want to go yet. "I know that she's just worried for me, but..."

We were quiet for a while, both of us looking at the party, before I decided to interrupt the silence.

"Anything you need before you go?" I asked.

"Eh?" She said, turning back to look at me.

"I mean, we better hurry and do it now before your parents arrive, right?"

Her eyes lit up for a minute, before looking back to the party. "Well... I mean, I've always wanted to dance with someone at these parties. Since you said 'we', does that mean you're volunteering?" She asked, a smile on her lips growing.

"Sure, if you'll have me." I bowed. She giggled.

"I think you'll do." Maddie grinned. Taking my hand, she ran back into the party. I let myself get dragged, getting drawn in by her eagerness to make the most of the time. I only ever really hung out during the acquaintance parties, but right now, I couldn't help but be excited with her.

With my hand still in hers, Maddison stopped in what was barely a clearing in the sea of dancers and turned to me. She was beaming. "The slow song's coming soon, right?" She asked loud enough for me to hear.

"It should be, yeah." I replied. "But Mads, it's our third year. How come you never got to dance before?"

"I always went home too soon." She smiled with a sigh. "So, thanks for volunteering."

The beat started to slow as the transition was coming. Students all around us started to scatter and shuffle, stumbling into each other and breaking off into pairs. The song started slow, with a piano coming in as people got into position. Maddie looked around us nervously, I'm guessing trying to look at how the others were doing it. Despite all the enthusiasm, she was obviously anxious about it.

"It's your first time, right?" I said, taking her hands and putting it on my shoulders and placing mine on her hips. "I'm a pro, so just follow along. We'll just stay like this and shuffle around, pretty much."

"Isn't it a bit more complicated than that?" She laughed, but she seemed to trust me all the same. The song started to move, and so did we. Her eyes shifted around; to her feet, to the people around us, to mine. I felt myself smiling wider watching her.

As we moved, swaying here and there as we stepped, side to side, back and forth, I couldn't look anywhere but at Maddison. She was blushing red, and I could feel myself heating up too. Her hands felt warmer than before, or was that just me? She looked into my eyes, already looking into hers, and giggled nervously, but she didn't look away.

"Maddie?" I said, breaking our silence. I couldn't hear the song anymore. Something about counting lucky stars?

"Yeah?"

I leaned closer to her. Maddie held her breath. What was she expecting? Her gaze got even more intense, and I wondered what would come next. After this moment, after this party. Would she be sad? Angry? Would she laugh it off? Was there something in this moment, or was that all this was? A moment?

"I was thinking-" I started to say, but she was looking over at the Ball Room doors and her shoulders slumped. I looked and saw a woman enter, looking around the party, and I guessed it was her mom.

She paused, and now I was holding my breath. Emotions flew across her face in a flurry; confusion, disappointment, anger. I wished that she didn't have to go. Not just for her, but for me too. I was having fun too, I was enjoying this. This was great. I didn't want things to be over just yet. I wanted her to stay.

"Anything you need before you go?" I managed to ask.

Maddie looked back at me, and she had that look again in her eyes. Then, slowly, a smile spread back onto her face as she made her decision. With both of her hands still around my neck, she pulled me closer and closed her eyes. I closed mine. The Ball Room faded away, and I forgot what I was worrying about. Everything felt so warm, and we pulled each other closer.

When we finally pulled away from each other, Maddison was grinning from ear to ear. I still had the surprise on my face. She giggled and took a step back.

"I'm good now, thanks Carl! Call me when you get home!" She said cheerfully, before running off into the sea of dancers towards the exit.