At seven o 'clock sharp, Ron stepped up to Liz's house and rang the doorbell. Liz, in her room jumped at the noise, then called out as loudly as she could "Coming!" from down the hallway. She finished plugging the second earring into its place, slipped on her high heels and headed towards the door.
There was Ron as promised, smiling subtly. "Hey, you look great!" he said, and Liz smiled. She wore a white dress, silky clean, but not overdone--something only someone like her could pull off. Her hair had been a bit of a hassle, but a little hairspray never killed it make the decorated bun stay in; and to the side of her face flowed two long strands of hair, wavy with fairly little effort.
"You too," Liz chuckled and closed the door behind her, although he was sporting just a regular tuxedo. Ron was a gentlemen at heart, and kindly escorted Liz to the car.
"So, where are you from?" Ron asked as a common conversational starter as he stuck the key into ignition and warmed up the engine. Liz didn't quite know how to answer that--was she really from here? Or from there? Not sure.
"Well um... I was born here originally, but after a while I left for a bit and stayed at--er, well, elsewhere. So I'm just visiting right now," Liz said. Ron backed up from the driveway and lightly tapped the pedal to get the car started for the street. "Why do you ask?" Liz asked whilst he changed gears and drove out into the street.
"Nah, just curious is all," he chuckled, but Liz watched him warily. He had to drop SOME kind of hint to let her know whether or not he was a piece amnesia had claimed along with so many other faces. At this point in the game however, she was starting to lose hope. Everything else either seemed unfamiliar or unwilling and those were two little traits that let her down the most. "Here we are... not much of a drive--it's like what, five minutes away?" Liz chuckled--more so for the sake of being polite.
Ron parked the car and led Liz to the gymnasium where the Dance Committee had decorated its interior to resemble something fairly similar to a circus tent crossed with a decorated pine tree--for the sake of the soon approaching holidays. The second they walked in, everyone turned their heads. Why? Because that was Ronny Calor, and the exchange student that boys could recognize by figure but not by face, and furthermore, they had gone together.
Liz felt extremely uncomfortable and her step faltered. Ron apparently could tell, so he tugged lightly on her arm and grinned, "Don't worry about it, you'll get used to them staring. It's just kind of awkward the first bit."
The night passed on, but unlike most dances it wasn't just a monotone pattern of loud music, constant drumming bass, and masses of bodies movies in synchronization to a beat that barely audible over the rustling of dresses. Ron and Liz kept themselves busy dancing, yes, but in the meantime they generally had a good time the entire time making jokes and conversing during breaks. Luckily, back at Garden, Irvine had taught Liz how to dance or else. When the DJ finally announced the last song of the night--a slow song, Ron held out a hand in humor and asked Liz, "Dance?"
Liz consented, took his hand, and set her hand on his shoulder. Ron burst out laughing like it was such a big joke, but it was only then that Liz realized that not how they danced back in this world. "Liz, that's a good one," Ron chuckled, then tucked his arms neatly around her waist.
"Right, heh," Liz blushed and curled two arms on his shoulders. Wow that was a lot different than the waltz.
"So did you know anyone here when you lived here a long time ago?" Ron asked. Liz thought hard--how would Ron take it if she told him about the amnesia? Would he think she was weird? Or did that really matter?
"Well um... there's Jen and Amber..." Liz said slowly, still thinking hard. "Um... I think I knew some other people too. Well... I guess it was a long time back so it's um... difficult to recall." Ron didn't say anything. "I um... I've forgotten a lot of things--and sometimes, it's not so easy to just remember... though I wish it was..." Still no response from Ron--as if this answer did not satisfy the motive of his question, but Liz knew better than to poke at it. "Ron what are you doing here?"
"What?" Ron said, looking kind of shocked--he pulled back from her slightly just so that he could let her see the surprise. "What do you mean 'what am I doing here?'"
"I mean... you're such a good person," Liz tried to explain desperately. "Well... I mean compared to everyone here you're so decent. Why are you even here?" Ron shrugged a little and sidled back into the slow dance position.
"I guess I don't really have much of a choice," he said. "Like you don't have a choice to remember things you've forgotten, I don't have a choice to be where I want to be. Not all the time, at least. There's always some hope, you've just got to find it." Liz didn't quite understand half of what he was talking about, but she could sense a cryptic message hidden somewhere there.
Soon, the song ended and the students dispersed. Some headed into the hallway to chat while the crowds lessened. Others immediately headed for the exit--hoping to get a head start out. Ron and Liz stood to the side of the mess and talked for a while longer before the halls finally cleared and they were free to leave for the parking lot. The night air seemed fresh and chilly, but completely necessary to make the event complete.
Finally, Ron drove Liz back to her home and ended up walking her back to the door.
"I had fun, Ron. Thanks for bringing me," Liz smiled. Indeed their conversations had been interesting and meaningful--they gave Liz something to think about over the night--that perhaps she had the choice to remember the forgotten, or that Ron had the choice to leave or stay. Either way she could tell their paths were crossed--or maybe they had already been before.
"Me too," Ron replied. It was quiet for just a moment as the two of them just stood up looking at the stars, only partially covered by a partly cloudy night sky. "Um..." Ron hummed to himself, then leaned in closer to Liz. She looked up at him, but was completely unaware of what was going on until she felt his lips somewhere too close to hers.
Immediately she backed away, "No, no, no! Ron, I'm so sorry. I mean--I didn't mean to mislead you! I don't want you to--"
"Hey, hey, hey," he kind of chuckled--it seemed more so at himself than with her. "It's okay. I got it." He gave a lasting hug for a second, then headed back for the car, keys in hand. "I'll see you Monday, okay?" Liz nodded and waved, in complete and utter shock as he started his car and drove off.
Well, she had something else to wonder about that night too.