The Red String | ONC 2024

14. Homecoming

The night of the infamous homecoming dance snuck up on Emma a lot faster than she'd thought it would. And even though Logan had shown absolutely no signs of backing out, she still found herself mildly surprised when the big day came and they were still apparently going together. But, here they were. Abby had come over to Emma's house, and the two got ready together. When they were done, they walked into the living room where Emma's parents were waiting.

"Oh, you girls look beautiful." her mom said when they stepped into the room.

"Thanks, mom." Emma mumbled. She knew her mom practically had to say that, but it was still nice to hear.

Abby and Emma took a few photos— at her mom's insistence, of course. They didn't have any with the guys, but if Logan's parents were anything like hers, Emma was sure they'd get those once they made it to his house. So, after what felt like way too much fussing and picture-taking, Emma's mom finally let them leave. Emma drove the two of them over to Logan's house.

As Emma pulled up to the front and killed the engine, Abby turned to her.

"Are you nervous?" Abby asked.

"Actually, I'm not." Emma said, mildly surprised by the fact. It was true that this was the first dance she'd ever been invited to, but it wasn't like this was her very first dance. Besides, it wasn't like this was really a date anyway. She was just going with a guy from her school that wasn't quite as repulsive as she'd first thought he was.

"Good." Abby grinned. She pulled on the door handle and stepped out of the car.

Emma followed suit. She made her way around the car and up to the sidewalk, watching her feet as she did. She almost never wore heels, and she was a little more nervous than she'd like to admit. And they way they were already starting to feel, she was pretty sure she'd be hiding them under a table somewhere before the night was out.

Still, her shoes looked great. She looked great. And in less than an hour, she'd be at the dance that she and the rest of the student council had worked so hard on. Emma grinned to herself. She looked over at Abby and thought about telling her that maybe she was a little nervous. But she knew full-well that wasn't what Abby had meant. And Abby would be right; she should focus on her night out instead of on all the preparations she'd made. At this point, it was too late to wonder if they'd missed anything. At least once she rang the bell, she'd managed to pull herself together. 

Logan answered the door in a short-sleeved button-down shirt that, according to him, he'd only barely been able to get his cast through. With a little help, he'd pulled his jacket on, sliding his good arm through the one sleeve and keeping the cast by his side under the other. The group did pictures, and then in what seemed like no time at all, she, Abby, Logan, and Jackson were heading off to homecoming.

Emma had been a little surprised when she found out that Abby was going with Jackson; she hadn't ever thought of them as being all that close. But it had turned out that neither of them had dates, and with Emma going with Logan, the two had just kind of paired up. At least it meant Emma knew everyone in their group.

The dance started out about the way Emma had thought it would. They walked into the dimly-lit gym. The lights had been turned off, and the multitudes of fairy lights that had been strung up in waves from one side to the other twinkled over their heads. Columns of balloons had been placed on either side of the entrance, arching up over their heads in a mix of navy, white, and gold. Golden star-shaped balloons led from each corner, meeting in the middle of the room. The lights reflecting off them added a warm glow to the place. It looked even better than Emma had thought it would.

"Oh, wow," Abby breathed, looking up. "It looks great."

"Thanks." Emma said. She could feel her cheeks start to burn just slightly. "We spent like four hours decorating."

It had taken forever. As soon as the bell had rung, she'd rushed to the gym, balloons and streamers in hand. And even with the entire student council and all of their extra volunteers, Emma had only barely had time to get home and take a shower before Abby was knocking on her door, loaded down with her dress and an impressive amount of makeup, eager to get ready for the dance.

"Oh, yeah," Jackson said. "I forgot that you'd be helping with that. They look good."

"I didn't forget." Logan assured her. "But... yeah. Good job."

"Thanks." Emma mumbled again as they made their way into the room. And while it was fairly crowded, it wasn't the sweaty, massive horde that Emma had been expecting. She surprised herself when she realized this might actually be fun.

"So?" Logan looked at her. "Do you want to dance?"

Emma hesitated. Did she want to? She'd never been much of a dancer, and she wasn't exactly eager to make a fool of herself out there. Besides, what would it say about her and Logan? Would he get the wrong impression? But then again, that was why they were here, wasn't it? And so what if she wasn't the most graceful person here? It wasn't like she had anyone to impress, and it probably wouldn't kill her to get out on the floor, at least for a song or two.

"You know what? Sure." Emma said, taking his hand and letting him lead her onto the dance floor.

They made it through almost an hour of dancing before it finally happened: the dreaded slow song.

As the music slowed down, Emma's heart sped up. Would Logan want to dance to it? What would that mean? For the first time since she'd been stuck in that gym with him a little over two weeks ago, Emma realized that he might actually like her. And what would she do about that?

Logan opened his mouth, but Emma cut him off before he had the chance to say anything. The night had been going surprisingly well so far, and she just knew that whatever he was going to say would ruin it. So, she decided she'd have to take action.

"Logan," she said. "We need to talk."