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Sharon lay on her stomach on her bed, her feet up in the air swinging back and forth as she worked on her sketchbook. The radio played softly in the background. A slight knock on her door made her glance up and pause in her work. "Come in."
"Good morning, darling."
"Morning, Mom," she answered, raising herself up slightly to give her mother a kiss on the cheek as she sat down next to her on the bed.
"How was the dance last night?"
Sharon grinned. "I'm surprised you didn't ask me this yesterday when I came home on my own."
"We figured that since you hadn't called by the time the dance ended that you had just gone out afterwards with your new friends for a little bit."
"So does that mean I'm not in trouble for not calling you?"
"I think that given the circumstances, we can relax things a little bit," she laughed. "Just don't make it a habit."
"I won't. As for your question, the dance was fun. I had a really good time," the younger female grinned.
"I'm glad. Did you meet any boys?"
It was Sharon's turn to laugh. "I've been waiting for that since I came home from school the first day!"
"We're just giving you time to adjust, that's all dear."
"I know, I know, but you've got to admit that this is all amusing for me. I keep telling you both I'm okay but you still act, oh I don't know, differently."
"Honey, we're getting over what happened just like you. This will all take time."
"I know, but I really do insist that I'm getting better."
"We know," mother said to her daughter. "It's only been a few days but we can tell you're happier now than you have been for months. I'm just wondering if that's because there's already a new guy in your life or not."
"Mom!" she laughed. "I don't know who's worse, you or Kelly when it comes to me and all the boys I'm supposedly after. The world doesn't revolve around them!"
"It's Kelly's job as your best friend and my job as your mother to torment you about it, don't worry."
"Gee, thanks, I'm feeling the love here," she smiled. "Can't I just be happy to be out of a situation and to know that everyone's okay now?"
"Of course, but there's a sparkle in your eyes that tell me something else is up."
"Nothing is up," she replied.
"There is too!"
"No there isn't!" Her mother gave her a pointed look though, and Sharon found herself ducking her head down a little and blushing. "Fine, I'm caught. There is this guy…"
"Ah ha! I knew it!"
"But I don't know if he likes me back or not!" she added in a rush.
"Well, did you talk to him about it?"
The younger of the two shook her head. "It's only been two days! I hardly say that's enough time to really get to know someone enough to be able to ask him if he's taken or not."
"Well what have you heard from other girls? Surely by now you've heard some gossip," she winked.
Sharon shifted her eyes. "Not really. I've been trying to not get myself caught up in all of that."
Her mother looked at her, a little surprise on her face. "Really? How come? There's nothing wrong with asking little questions like that."
Sharon shrugged. "I guess I'm just a little scared about talking to people now. Talking leads to opening up a little and I don't want to tell certain things to the wrong people and have it spread out. I don't want to hear stuff being talked about behind my back, you know? I'm trying to be careful."
"But you have control over what you say. Other people… Well, you can't please everybody. They will interpret everything whichever way they feel like."
"I know, but I'm still a little wary."
"No use worrying, dear, and in any case, I'm sure it will all turn out well in the end. Just take things one step at a time."
"I know. It's just that last night, I had a lot of fun. I don't want anything to jeopardize that," she replied, thinking back to the night before and giving a little sigh as she remembered it.
Sharon was sitting at a table with a few of Damon's friends, laughing at something Riley had said. They had taken a break from the dancing and had decided to sit out a couple of songs for a breather. When the up-tempo music changed to a slow song however, most of them left the table to go back onto the dance floor. Sharon sat there a moment longer, playing with the shell necklace that hung around her neck while she watched the couples sway in time with the music until she noticed that someone was standing next to her.
"Please don't tell me you want to just sit there when there's a perfectly good song playing," Vin said, smiling down at her.
"I don't know Vin. I think this is a couple's only song."
"Dance with me then and we can be one of those couples," he said, offering his hand out to her.
She bit her lip, smiling as she placed her hand in his. She allowed him to lead her onto the dance floor and then linked her arms around his neck when they found a suitable spot. She felt his arms settle themselves comfortably around her waist and she relaxed, allowing herself to enjoy the moment.
"There now. Isn't this better than sitting all alone at a table?"
She smiled. "Much better. Thank you for asking me to dance."
"The pleasure's all mine. Do you know how lucky I feel to be the first guy here who gets to dance with you like this?"
"You make me sound like I'm just something to be won here."
He frowned a little. "I didn't mean it like that Sharon. I'm really bad with words here and-"
She smiled though, understanding what he was getting at and indulging herself in the little bit of attention. "I know exactly what you meant Vin. I'm glad you asked me to dance with you."
A little bit of relief swept over him and he smiled back. "You're welcome then."
The two didn't say anything else as the song concluded and another slow ballad started. The two continued to dance together and she took the liberty to see who else was around them. She spotted Riley a few feet away with another girl in his arms. The couple was talking to another pair whom she recognized as part of Damon's group as well.
Sharon shifted her gaze and found it settling on Damon, where he and Ana were dancing off to one side of the floor a little isolated from everyone else. She remembered the electricity she had felt earlier that day when he had touched her. 'Such an innocent touch…' A small pit formed in her stomach when she saw him leaning down close to whisper something into Ana's ear. She couldn't quite control the sigh that escaped her and Vin noticed. "Something wrong Sharon?"
"Huh?" she asked, quickly looking back up into her partner's face. "Oh, no. Nothing's wrong."
He tilted his head to the side a little, not quite believing her. "Are you sure? Do you want to sit out the rest of the song?"
"No, I'm fine. Really," she said, trying to emphasize the fact that she was okay.
He still wasn't fully convinced but let the subject drop as the ballad finally ended and gave way to something with a more up-tempo beat.
It was true that Sharon had fun the night before, aside from that little moment when she had allowed herself to dwell on what had happened during lunch. This morning, however, she had allowed herself to think about it all some more. She admitted to herself that she was attracted to him. Sure, she thought he was cute and funny, and she acknowledged the fact that so far, he had been genuinely nice to her. She could handle all of that just fine, but his touch… 'Chill, Sharon. No need to go all crazy here because it probably means nothing.' Still, she knew that if there was one thing that could jeopardize her happiness here, it was probably going to be something that involved Damon. Was getting to know him worth the risk?
Sharon's mother patted her daughter on the head a little. "One step at a time, honey," she repeated as she got up to go downstairs. "Just one step at a time."
Light filtered in through the blinds and fell on the sleeping figure of Damon. He lay sprawled in bed, the covers tangled all about him as he lay on his stomach, his head and arm resting lightly on the pillow. He slept soundly, unaware of anything going on outside the realm of his sleep, until his door was wrenched open and a little boy and girl came running in. "Wake up, wake up!" a pair of voices screamed.
Damon raised himself up off his bed slightly, very much disoriented. "Huh? What's going on?"
As his brother opened the blinds (causing Damon to shut his eyes in a vain attempt to ignore the bright light), Rosaline took the newly freed pillow from beneath Damon and started hitting her oldest brother with it. "Wake up, wake up, Damon! You promised to take me to the library and read to me!"
Caleb joined in by taking an arm and trying to pull his brother from the bed when he had collapsed back onto it. "You were going to help me practice at the park, too!"
"Ugh, I didn't say I'd do all that today!" he groaned, hiding his grin by keeping his face turned away from them.
"Yes, you did!" the younger two whined. "Please?"
"Ros? Caleb? Is your brother up yet?"
"He's awake but we can't get him up out of bed!" Caleb called back to their mom.
"Damon! Get down here and eat some breakfast! I want you to run some errands for me!"
"Okay, mom!" he called back, groaning as he allowed himself to be successfully pulled out of bed. Not bothering to fix his untidy, black hair or change out of his rumpled T-shirt and shorts, he stumbled down the stairs after his siblings and joined them in the dining room for breakfast. "Morning," he greeted his mother, kissing her on the cheek and taking the last of the plates from her hands to bring them to the table. "Where's Dad?"
"He's at work," she sighed. "He got volunteered for another project the company's got going on. He should be back for dinner, though."
He nodded as he settled himself into his chair and began helping himself to some food.
"What time did you get home last night, Damon? I didn't hear you come in."
"A little after eleven. The dance ended at ten-thirty but I had to stay behind to help clean up a little."
"But didn't you help set up?"
"Yeah, but it's all right. I just did a couple of things to help."
"All right. Was that new girl there?"
He smiled before he could stop himself. "Yes, Sharon showed up after all."
"That's good. Did she have a good time?"
"I think so. She was laughing when she left."
"Oh, good. Did her parents pick her up?"
"No. Vin drove her home."
"Oh, well that was nice of him. Anyway, you know what I was thinking? I was thinking that we should take her family out to dinner sometime, make them feel welcome."
"I'll bring it up to her when I see her next week."
Meanwhile, Ros was watching her brother answer their mom's questions. She hadn't missed the smile that had come onto his face at the mention of Sharon and she wrinkled her nose. "Damon, do you like the girl? She might have cooties."
He tried to keep the color from rushing to his face as he answered her, "There are only two women in my life that I like and love, and I know that neither of them has cooties."
"Who are they?"
"You and mom, of course. Now finish your breakfast or we're not going to the library."
Obediently, she turned back to her plate and started eating her breakfast. Damon turned to his left and glared at Caleb, who was giggling. He looked across the table and found his mom sporting a smile. "I don't like her," he stated without being asked and he looked down into his plate to ignore the teasing faces of his family. "Besides, I doubt Dad would approve."
"Well, you never know with your father," his mom pointed out. "And besides, there's nothing wrong with you seeing girls."
"It's only been two days, Mom. I don't know that much about her yet."
"Yet," she repeated after him as she caught the glance of her son, and she smiled. He turned back down to his plate and wished his face would stop burning.