The Dance
Sammy '99 - '00
(evilpoptart16@hotmail.com)
* * * * * * * *

Chris smiled as he led Justin in through the living room.
"She's not ready yet and she has no idea what we're up to, so this might take a few minutes.," Chris began.
"Think she'll like this?," Justin asked, adjusting his shirt quickly.
"I know she will. Thanks so much for doing this man." Chris replied as he hugged Justin.
"No problem. I'm happy to do it. She's a sweetheart. Think your mother will be pissed when she finds out?" Justin asked.
"Oh yeah.," Chris replied. "She'll be spitting nails for sure, but I think she'll get over it. There won't be much she can do anyway."
"You are so bad.," Justin replied with a laugh, making Chris grin.
"Will your sister be able to handle it? I mean...with her being as weak as she is?," Justin asked slowly. Chris' smile faded.
"It will be very tiring for her, yeah. That's why I'm only letting you take her for an hour... Anything more and it would probably be too much.," Chris replied.
Justin nodded. "I'll be careful with her..."
"Good. I'm trusting you with my little sister now, man. If anything happens, you face my wrath. And then God only knows what would happen to you once my mother got ahold of you...sheesh...,"Chris replied with a grin.
Justin laughed. "Are you trying to talk me out of this dude? Because you are doing one helluva good job..."
Emily sat in front of her computer, crying softly as she attempted to put her mind elsewhere. Tonight was the night of her senior prom and she had to sit at home. The cancer had taken it's toll on her body, and her doctors and parents had decided she wasn't strong enough to attend the dance. She looked over at the dress hanging by her closet, it's soft folds swaying ever so softly from the breeze of the fan. It was gorgeous, a light blue with silver butterflies embroidered all along the skirt.
Suddenly she heard a soft rap on the door. Wiping her face off with her hands, she got up to answer it.
"Chris?," she looked her brother over, noticing the mischeivious smile he had on his face. She groaned. "Oh, what are you up to now?"
"Get into your dress. You have 20 minutes to get your hair and all that done.," he replied quickly.
"What do you mean 'get your dress on'?" she asked in a confused tone of voice. "Why?"
"What? You think I'm going to sit back and let my sister miss her senior prom?." he replied with a huge grin.
"Ahhh!!," Emily screamed happily as she gave him a hug. "You are the greatest! But what are you going to tell mom?"
Chris shrugged. "I'll figure that out later. Now, get ready! Justin's waiting for you.," he ordered with a smile.
"You set me up with Justin?!," Emily replied with a laugh. "All the ladies will be fainting tonight. He'll have girls killing each other for a dance."
"Oh well...too bad for them." Chris replied. "He has strict orders to treat you like a princess for the entire night."
Emily smiled excitedly and then pushed him softly out the door. "Go...I need to get ready." As he turned to walk away she stopped him. "Oh yeah...and Chris?"
"Yeah?," he questioned.
"Thank you so much." she replied. "You have no idea how much this means to me..."
Chris smiled. "Yeah...I do." he answered before turning to go down the stairs.

**
"Christopher!!," his mother exclaimed. "What gave you the right to give her permission to leave?!"
"Oh c'mon mom! It's only for an hour! I don't think it could do much damage..." Chris began, only to be cut off once again by his mother's angry voice.
"No, you obviously weren't thinking!," she yelled. "Did you stop to think that something could happen to her?! What if she has another episode and we can't get to her in time?! Huh? Answer me!"
"Mom, Justin is with her. He's keeping an eye on her and he knows the signs. She'll be ok with him.," Chris replied, using a soft voice to try and calm his mother down.
"God damnit Chris!!," his mother yelled. "Why did you do this?! WHY?!"
"Why not?!," Chris yelled back, shocking his mother into silence with his tone. "Why not? This is her SENIOR prom and she was going to spend it sitting in her room, on the computer, crying. I couldn't sit back and let her go through that. No way."
Chris' mother sighed and sat down. "But Chris..."
Chris sat down next to his mother and turned to face her. "Mom," he began softly. "Let her have this night... Let her have these memories. These are the times we're all going to remember when she's..." He stopped then, unable to finish the thought and knowing he wouldn't have to.
His mother was quiet for a few minutes before she spoke, not to him, but off into space.
"How did she look?," she asked softly.
"Gorgeous." Chris replied. "All grown up. I almost wasn't going to let her leave the house."
His mother turned to look at him. "Did she look happy?," she asked softly.
"Happier then words can describe, Mom." he replied.
She smiled and leaned over to give him a hug. "That's all I needed to know."

**
Chris looked up from the TV when he heard his sister enter the house.
"Hey, how was it?," he asked her softly as she walked into the living room and sat down next to him.
"Wonderful.," she replied with a tired smile.
Chris smiled and gave her a hug. "That's great. You tired?," he asked.
She nodded. "Yeah...I'll probably sleep all day tomorrow."
Chris nodded. "Think you're too tired for one last dance?," he asked, standing up and holding his hand out for her to take.
She looked at him and smiled again. "No." she replied softly, taking his hand and letting him pull her up. "Not tired enough to miss a dance with my brother."
He walked to the CD player and put on a song that he knew was her favorite. He walked her out onto the deck, pulling her into his arms, holding her at a respectable distance and they swayed slowly to the music.
"Thank you Chris.," she said softly. "This has been the best night of my life. I love you so much...."

**
Chris swallowed around the lump in his throat as he remembered those words. He stared up at the alter and the beautiful white coffin that held his sister's body. The pain he felt was immense, but not enough to take away the joy he felt at remembering that night just 5 months ago.
As the priest asked for the family to come up to the coffin a song filtered through the sound system. It was the song that Chris and Emily had danced to that night, and it was the song he had asked his family to play as they were saying their last goodbyes to her:
"Looking back on the memory of The dance we shared 'neath the stars above For a moment all the world was right How could I have known that you'd ever say good-bye..."
Chris followed behind his mother, staring silently at the coffin. He stepped up to it and stared down at his sister not saying anything. He just closed his eyes and let the song say it for him...
"Holding you I held everything For a moment wasn't I a king If I'd known how the king would fall Well then who's to say I might have changed it all...
And now I'm glad I didn't know The way it all would end The way it all would go Our lives are better left to chance I could have missed the pain But I'd of had to miss the dance..."
He leaned down and gave his sister one last kiss on the cheek, one of his tears falling onto her cheek.
"I love you so much sis." he whispered softly, before bending his head down and sobbing softly.
Moments later, as they lowered her coffin into the ground, the final lines of the song quietly serenaded his aching heart:
"Yes my life is better left in chance I could have missed the pain But I'd of had to miss the dance..."

The End

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