Invisible

The dance floor was crowded with undulating bodies of my fellow peers. I sat in the stands, a common wallflower in a dress that was cobalt blue, in a dress that had a little too much glitter on it, and I'd wished I was invisible. I'd already had a couple of jeers in the restroom when I'd acquiesced to my bladder's request and fled there. As I sat there, I wished I'd have just worn the simple red dress, one that made my curves visible. The disco ball dress I wore then, only made me look straight, like a ruler. I wished to go home, and was about to start the action when a stranger caught my eye. He had auburn hair that glinted even in the dim lights that shone low to "create the mood" someone had whispered earlier on. He wore a fiery red suit that attracted attention all the more. But that wasn't the only thing that made me stop and stare. The fact was, he wasn't dancing, he was standing still, unusually still, uncomfortably still, and he seemed to be staring at me. It took me a few moments to realize that I'd stopped breathing, my lungs cried a sonatra that started up my involuntary response.

He wasn't much of a looker, but he wasn't ugly, either. He had plump lips that looked perfectly kissable and a quaint nose that seemed to be playing peekaboo under the mammoth sunglasses (rims the same fiery red, and dotted with glitter)he'd been wearing over his eyes the whole time. But, it was when I'd finally realized he was staring that he tilted them down to reveal a sight that made my stomach lunge and my lungs contract. Bile collected at the back of my throat, but I gulped to clear it.

He had no eyes. Well, I mean, he had sockets, but no eyes. They were hollow pits behind a pair of flashy sunglasses that scintillated even in the dim lighting, and they were focused on me (I'd made sure of this by looking behind me to see if anyone was there, but no one was). He reached up and waggled a finger at me, a greeting or a calling, I didn't know, couldn't tell which, but I didn't want either. All I'd wanted was to go home, forget the whole horrendous dance occured and burn the stupid dress that had caused all my grief.

Almost surrepitiously, he worked through the crowd, bobbing and swaying to make it through and to not seem to conspicuous to the dancers, but they wouldn't have bothered. Most of them were too busy necking, a feat I might have accomplished had I not determined in my destiny to forever be a wallflower. I didn't know whether to move or to stay where I was. He moved quick, quicker than any human I'd seen (and I'd liked to think I'd seen a lot) and with a strange grace that made my skin crawl, and my legs turn to jelly. I sat down with whump! onto the bleachers as the mysterious stranger made his way to the base.

"Hello." he said pleasantly, he reached up and completely removed the sunglasses. I noticed, a bit disturbed, that a tiny maggot had situated itself on the bottom corner of one of his orbitals. It didn't move, but I knew it was alive.

"Cat got your tongue?" he queried, for I hadn't answered with a greeting of my own.

"That's okay, I'm a good talker." he answered a reply I hadn't given and began to climb up the bleachers toward me. I sat at the very top, so I could see everything, now I wished I would have chosen a different seat, perhaps I wouldn't have seen this stranger, but it was too late already.

"I'm new here, so we haven't met, my name is Harold, what's yours?" He had a strange accent that I couldn't quite place, but I knew I'd heard it before. My brain was becoming sluggish, I couldn't figure why.

"J-J-J-" I started out, but my tongue seemed to be weighted down, as if numbed with novacain or whatever that stuff is called.

"Julia? Nice to meet you, Julia." For some reason I wasn't surprised that he'd known my name. He seemed to have some sort of supernatural quality about him, one that would rightfully give him the ability to know names and whatever other information that comes to mind.

"The dance is almost over and you've done nothing but sit here." it seemed like he was chiding me. I couldn't answer, I could only stare at the maggot (now moving) in the corner of his socket.

"I've come to ask you to dance." This caught my attention. Dance? Me? In this dress? With some guy in which I'm no longer sure exists?

"Oh, I exist alright." he said smugly. So then I knew it was possible he could read my mind. So I conjectured that since my tongue was too heavy a burden to form the words I'd wanted to say, perhaps my mind could do it for me, and with eloquence.

"Why me?"

"Why you?" he chuckled a little, the maggot squirmed to protest the movement, and fell somewhere within the abysmal dark that was his eye socket, "You're not the first who's asked me that. I chose you because you're the only one who can see me."

"Why can't anyone else see you?"

"It's not that they can't, they can, they just don't believe what they're seeing and so they are blind to me."

"Why can I see you?"

"Perhaps because you've a more creative mind, perhaps you're more willing to accept, or perhaps you're just special. How should I know? Dance with me, now, time is running short." He extended his hand to me, and that's when I saw how very skeletal they were. Yet, what choice did I have? I grasped that hand (and found it unusually cold, it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end) and let him lead me to the center of the dance floor. People bumped into us, but no one acknowledged that we were there.

"How very rude these people are." he chittered as we'd begun to dance. Thank goodness it was a fast song. I don't think I could bear being that close to him for about three or four minutes.

"You dance swell." he commented. In actuality, I'm a terrible dancer, I was cursed at birth with two left feet and a sucky equilibrium. I was tripping all over the place. I flew into a couple that were in the midst of some serious necking, but they were too engrossed with the waltz of their tongues than the girl making a complete fool of herself.

"Have you noticed that no one notices you?" he queried, the maggot had returned, and this time, it had brought a friend. A deathly black spider was climbing ever so slowly from somewhere deep within.

"Yeah." my mind answered, even though I'd just thought they were doing it because they were annoyed with me.

"It's because you're with me, and until this dance is over, you will be invisible."

"Interesting." I'd begun to grin a little because tiny little microbursts of ideas had begun to arise in my head.

"Your thoughts are very interesting," Harold grinned smugly,"ever so interesting." I nodded and departed from him, stomping across the dance floor toward an overly buxommed blonde named Victoria, dancing with the head jock on our football team. Her breasts were trying to climb their way out of her dress which was at least three sizes too small. Every curve was visible, those, and the slight formation of love handles on her sides. I stepped up to her side, and to make sure she couldn't see me, I waved a hand in her face. She only blinked. So, and I did this with a smile, I shoved her out of the way and watched in satisfaction as she went flying across the dance floor, bumping into various others and those entrapped breasts came flying out, I could almost hear them exalting their freedom. Perhaps, I was overimagining. But otherwise, I had to act quick. The song would end in about thirty seconds. I reached up and caressed his face, a feat I could have never done when visible and then I planted a big one on those big beautiful lips of his. He didn't protest much, I don't even think he felt my kiss. But to me, it felt great!

When I'd returned to Harold's side, he was beaming.

"What's so funny?" my mind queried.

"You are." he answered.

"Oh."

"The song is ending, I thank you much for your kindness."

"It was my pl-" I never got to finish my sentence for he enveloped me in an embrace and kissed me until I could no longer breathe, until my heart thought it would stop, until I thought I was going to vomit (in which I almost did).

"Thank you," he said and I noticed that the pitless holes in his face had been replaced with eyes, the same color as mine, "for being such a fool." he pushed me away and I bumped into someone behind me. I waited for the jeer but heard nothing. I turned back to see where Harold was, but saw he'd disappeared. I made my way through the crowd clumsily and headed toward the bathroom. It was empty except for one stall on the end. I noticed two sets of feet crowded in the stall and smirked a little. High school kids and their hormones. I'd almost laughed at that until I noticed myself in the mirror. I almost screamed in horror. My cobalt blue disco dress still shone obnoxiously and my hair was a little mussed up from the dancing, but otherwise it was the same. It was my face that made my heart fill with horror. My eyes were completely gone, replaced by two holes, two abysmal pits that held no life whatsoever. A giggle arose from the back stall as I backed haltingly away from the mirror, my eyes widened in disbelief. How did he do it? I stumbled out of the bathroom, choking back sobs. I could see myself perfectly, but no one else could. In a way, it was kind of ironic in a sense, but I couldn't make myself laugh at it. In the beginning, I'd wished I was invisible so that I might escape the mockery of my fellow peers, so that I might do what I chose, but now that I'd achieved it (that, and two holes instead of eyes) I longed for someone to laugh at my cobalt blue dress and make fun of the way I danced. But no one else would. I sniffled a little and made my way to the middle of the dance floor, to the same spot I'd seen Harold before, and waited. There had to be someone there, someone who had enough of an imagination to be able to see me and when I found them, I thought this, a slow smile beginning to form, I would ask them to dance.