His grin faltered for half a second, but instead of stepping down, he lifted the bowl higher. But before anyone could react, something happened on the dance floor that pulled the attention of every single person in the room, forcing Marina and the boys into a situation none of them expected. Before Dylan could finish whatever he had planned, the music suddenly skipped, then cut off completely. The DJ smacked the equipment, looking confused. And the room fell into this awkward buzzing silence.
You know the kind. Everyone standing still, not sure if something's wrong or if it's just a glitch. But that tiny pause, it pulled every pair of eyes toward the center of the room, including Dylan's crew, Marina, Trevor, everybody. "What happened?" someone near the speakers asked. "No idea," the DJ replied.
"Hold on, give me a sec." A crowd of students drifted toward the dance floor, trying to see if a power cord came loose or if someone tripped over something. But the real problem wasn't the music. It was the kid standing near the microphone, red-faced and shaky, arguing with a chaperonee. Marina squinted.
She recognized him, Elias Monroe, a sophomore who tried too hard to impress upper classmen and almost always failed. He'd apparently grabbed the mic to do some kind of shout out or joke, and the chaperone wasn't having it. I wasn't going to say anything bad, Elias protested. Give me the microphone, the chaperone insisted. I was just going to uh fine.
He jerked his hand away and the mic screeched loudly before falling to the floor. Every student flinched at the ear-piercing sound. Trevor leaned toward Marina. Why is he even up there? He's not part of prom committee.
I don't know, she said, watching the scene. But here's what changed everything. Elias's sudden outburst gave Dylan the perfect opportunity to escalate his own plan without anyone noticing right away. While the crowd's attention stayed locked on the DJ booth, Dylan whispered sharply, "Now, let's go before the music comes back." Brandon and Jace snapped out of their confusion and nodded.
Brandon tightened his grip on the punch bowl. Jace grabbed Dylan's shoulder. "Dude, hurry," Jace whispered. "People are looking away. Perfect timing."
Marina's heart hammered slow and controlled the way it always did right before a fight. Her uncle used to say, "The body knows before the mind does. And right now, her body was sending a clear message." Trevor sensed it, too. "Marina, breathe.
Don't do anything crazy." She whispered back, "I'm not, but I won't let them dump that on me." Dylan approached with a slow swagger, acting like he was doing her a favor by letting her see it coming. Brandon followed, grin stretching across his face like this was the funniest thing he'd done in years. "Yo, everyone!"
Jace shouted suddenly. "Look over here." A few students turned, confused. Others, who hadn't been distracted by Elias, now noticed the boys gathering near Marina. Jace spread his arms dramatically.
"We're about to christen the new girl with a little prom welcome." Groans rippled through the crowd. A couple of kids tried to say something, but they didn't push hard enough to stop the trio. Trevor stepped in front of Marina. "Seriously, grow up."