Fluorescence: The Complete Tetralogy Read Online Free PDF Page B

glittery dresses at the mall. Mine had cap sleeves and a full-length princess style skirt in cascading gradients of pink and teal. Not Christmas-y, but I wanted something that—if growth spurts allowed—I’d want to wear again.
    Elegant. Magical. Didn’t fit in with all of the green and red streamers hanging from the ceiling, but that didn’t matter.
    Sam had paired her knee-length—even in winter—red-velvet, rhinestone accented party dress with black tights and matching flats. She’d told me she didn’t want anything to get in the way of her dancing. I wasn’t at all concerned with the dancing part. Sam had basically paid for my evening’s worth of snacks and punch in return for tagging along and playing dress up. All I had to do was stand on the sidelines and keep an eye on her.
    “Hey, Alice.”
    The voice startled me and I jerked my head toward the sound.
    Oh my God. I should have worn nicer shoes.
    Should have done my hair up.
    Should have…
    “Hi, Brian. I… I didn’t even know you’d be here.” My cheeks grew warm.
    He looked nice, donning a black suit and navy-blue dress shirt. No tie, but it worked in his favor. His brown hair had been swept back out of his face and tucked behind his ears. He had been cute before, but now…
    My pulse raced and a lump formed in my throat. My hands got cold. I clasped them together.
    “Nice dress.” He skimmed over it. “Sparkly. It’s very New Years… esq.”
    “That’s what I was going for,” I stammered, lying.
    He had two plastic cups of pink punch in his hands and offered me one. I went to reach for it but hesitated.
    “Something wrong?” he asked, looking down at the cup. “Did you not want anything?” He glanced at my empty hands.
    “No, it’s just that…” The voice of reason—Mom’s—reminded me not to take a drink from someone when I hadn’t seen where it had come from. He seemed trustworthy.
    “Oh, wait. I get it. I’ll get you another one if you want to come with me. I just… well, it’s getting kind of stuffy in here and I wanted to ask if you cared to step out for a few?”
    “Don’t worry about the drink.” I snatched the cup from him and smiled with my eyes. Something inside kept pushing me to trust him. “I need some air myself. Of course…” I glanced at the exit. “There is Mrs. Prather.”
    She stood in front of one of the exits, arms crossed, carefully guarding the door like a Doberman. Her beady eyes locking on to anyone who passed.
    “I’ll take care of it,” he said, and headed over to her. I couldn’t hear what they said, but she looked really concerned, narrowing her eyes and nodding. A few seconds later, she darted through the crowd, whooshing right past me at record speed.
    Brian jogged back over. “Come on.” We scurried toward the gym exit. He propped the door open just enough for me to get through. The door clicked shut behind us and the music muffled.
    “Oh my God, we didn’t just dodge Mrs. Prather? Did we?” The brief adrenaline rush had me shaking. I laughed. “She’s gonna be soooo mad!”
    “Maybe, but it was worth the risk to spend time with you alone.”
    “Alone?” I brushed a stray curl behind my ear and smiled shyly.
    “Uh, I meant… to talk to you,” he stuttered. “Really. I…”
    “I’d love to see snow someday,” I said, changing the subject. “Do you think we’ll ever have snow for Christmas?” I shuddered. The temperature had gone down since we had arrived. The crisp smell of winter drifted through the air. I rubbed my forearms.
    “Don’t know,” he replied. “But up in Montana, winter is freaking fierce.” He set down his cup on the concrete and slid his arms out of his coat. “Here.” He draped it over my shoulders and tried to stifle a nervous chuckle. “I know it’s stereotypical, but… you don’t need to freeze because of me.”
    “Thanks, Brian. I brought a shrug, but left it on the coat rack inside. A lot of good it did me, huh?”
    “That