Not before prom

chapter 11

He was angry, and confused.  Why? he kept thinking and thinking, did he do something wrong? Had he said something?  No girl had ever broken up with him, but Riah wasn't just any girl.  Dammit, she had broken up with him before prom or graduation.  It wasn't that he would have been okay with her braken up with him after that, but for some reason it hurt even more.  He had wanted to share two of the most important events in his life with her, he had wanted to share the experience, the joy, the tears of those moments with her...

         "I heard" Damon said leaning at her locker
         "Hear what?" Riah grumbled without looking up
         "You and Raoul?"
         "What about me and Raoul?"
         "Come on Riah, everybody knows, even the teachers" he snorted
         "You know what you and everyone need to do? Mind ya'll business and leave me the hell alone" She slammed her locker and walked off.

Ella's house
         "You sure you don't want to go to the prom?" Ella asked for the fifth time
         "Yes!"
         "You just have to go Riah, we've been planning our prom since 4th grade..."
         "I just can't Ella, am sorry"

Raoul's house
         "Raoul, why arent't you eating" Lekha asked
         "Am not hungry" he stared at the food without really seeing it, lately he felt so depressed, he'd lost his appetite, he'd never felt so down in his whole life
         "Raoul, what's going on with you, you just haven't been yourself lately" Lekha said looking at her son's trouble eyes
         "Am fine" he grumbled
         "Maybe you should talk to your dad, is it a guy thing? You can't talk about it to a women..."
         "Mom, am fine, if you'll excuse me, am just not hungry" he said getting up from the dinner table, his sisters hadn't said anything, but the minute he walked away, her heard them say Riah had broken up with him.

School
         "Hey Ra ra" Maddy said wrapping her arm around his neck
         "Not now" he said unhooking her arm from his neck
         "Are you okay Raoul?" she frowned
         "Fine, just not in the mood..."          
         "You not mad about Riah are you?"
         "Why would I be mad about her?" he looked up at her
         "Well, I mean she broke up with you, and now she's with Damon..." Raoul looked at her and walked off

It was later that he saw them, she had her hand on his chest looking up at him, the way she used to look up at him, she was laughing, her hair falling into her face.  She jumped up trying to get her glasses from Damon who was holding it up, his back to the locker.  They looked like a couple, they looked good together, he walked to them, he hated the fact that his locker was close to them, he hadn't spoken to her since she had broken up with him.
Riah didn't see him until he said excuse me.  Her eyes had widened, she swallowed.  She took her glasses from Damon and mumbled something.
         "Whatever, I'll see you around" Damon said walking off, Riah could tell he was mad, but right at that moment she didn't care
         "H-hey Raoul" she said, he didn't look at her, she lightly touched his arm, "I-I" she didn't know what to say or what she wanted to say.  Perhaps she had wanted to apologies for him seeing her with Damon; perhaps she just wanted him...  He walked off instead and left her there.

He had decided that he wasn’t going to sulk anymore, no girl was going to make his prom bad or even make him miss it.  He couldn’t believe how he had let her wrap her around her little finger, but no more…
         “Hey Alissa” he liked Alissa, she was the perfect rebound girl.  The sex was a sure thing, and the fact that she was pretty, bonus. Her red hair, fair skin, big boobs was what he needed to get his mind off certain people.
         “Raoul, hi!” she grinned
         “I was thinking, maybe you and me could go to the prom together?” he grinned down at her, he saw her face light up and couldn’t help but call himself a jackass.
         “Oh sure, I would love to” ‘now I have to dump Steve’ Alissa thought, but grinned, ‘no problem there’
         “Great, I’ll pick you up at 9” he winked at her, ‘but the prom is at 7’ she thought, but nodded anyway,

         “I heard he’s going with Alissa” Jenna said
         “So? I don’t care” Riah shrugged
         “You, you’re the only good thing he ever had, all the other girls his been with, they’re all skanks” Ella said shacking her head
         “Guys, it’s okay, I don’t feel bad, am happy he’s finally moving on, like me..”
         “Do you call it moving on when you can’t even let Damon kiss you?” Jenna asked
         “Am trying okay? Give me a break here, I did agree to go to the prom with him didn’t I?”