I watch, but don’t act. I adore her as she brushes past me without a second thought, but I don’t dare speak. Adriana clings to her boyfriend Toby’s arm while he laughs with his friends. Her glazed eyes focus on the front doors. Cars come, then drift off into distant snowy roads as the hope in her eyes dims. Blue lights pulse with the beat of the music, drowning us in this year’s underwater theme. In her red dress, Adriana almost resembles bright coral.

I worm my way around the condensing crowd to the food table. As someone who isn’t big on school dances, the food is one of the few pros I get from forcing myself into a suit. My good friend Saige managed to convince me to come with her, to give it a try. I can see her emerging from the bathroom in her green dress. Her heels clack loudly towards me. I do not rip my gaze from Adriana

“It seems like you’re enjoying yourself there, TJ.” She quips, smirking at my lovestruck eyes.

“Yeah, I am,” I say. I can’t pull my smile down, and I don’t make an effort to. It’s easy to ignore the suffocating feeling of the tie around my neck and my rumbling stomach when Adriana’s around. Even if she doesn’t know my name.

“You should try talking to her. You can’t be a wallflower for the rest of your life.”

“I know, but Toby would sock me in the face before I get the chance. You know how he is with his partners.”

With annoyance, she crosses her arms over her chest. “He’s been ignoring her all night for his football friends. This might be your one and only chance to speak to the love of your life.”

“Saige, would you stop—“

“If you’re going to choose to be a coward, you should at least do something other than stand there and ogle at her. Come to the dance floor with me.” She says.

I finally turn to her. “No, Saige.” I told her firmly. “I’m not doing that. You go ahead and have fun.”

Saige lets out a sigh and rolls her eyes. “Okay, fine.” She canters off toward her group of friends from the swim team and twirls around to the next song. When I return my gaze to Adriana, I see her bending down towards the floor. Her corsage broke off from her wrist, and as she tried to fasten it back onto its strand, four white petals fell. Her boyfriend kept conversing with friends and ignoring his date. He had pulled away from Adriana’s gentle grasp while she continued to struggle with the flower. She eventually decides to attatch it to her the strap of her dress. It’s rests above where her heart beats.

I take a cake pop from the food table, and in that brief moment, Adriana vanishes. In the short time it takes for me to grab a quick snack, a flicker of red slips into the cold night. Snowflakes begin to fall in flurries, and worry clings to my heart.

“Are you okay TJ?” Saige approaches me once more with concern.

“Adriana left.”

“Do you know what happened?”

“No, but I don’t have time to explain.”

I rush off before Saige could yell for me, but just as I cross the threshold between the dance and the outside world, I can hear the signature sound of her heels as she follows in pursuit.

“Adriana!” The wet snow soaks through my shoes and absorbs into the fabric of my socks. Goosebumps prickle my skin like needles coated in frost. “Adriana, where are you?”

Thirty feet ahead of me is a dense forest. To my left is the parking lot. I do not see the bright red of her dress or the golden locks of hair. I do not hear her melodic voice. The wind picks up, carrying the snowflakes with it and deafening and blinding me further. The only think I can make out is an odd hill of white ahead of me. It looks too smooth to be snow.

I step closer and reach to touch it. I flinch back, expecting biting cold, but instead a smooth sensation graces my fingertips.

Petals.

A path of them leads deep into the forest.

“Adriana!”

The only response is the echo.

“Adriana!”

I run as fast as my freezing muscles would carry me. The path ends and I approach a frozen lake. Deep cracks form from its edge towards its center where Adriana stands like arms of death reaching out for her. Tears stream down her cheeks.

My ability to speak eludes me, for even in her moments of utter despair, she still looks so beautiful. I stare at her despaired eyes, blue like sapphires. As the ice falls from beneath her, that sadness turns to fear.

“TJ!” Saige huffs from behind me. “TJ, what the hell?!”

“Adriana fell through the ice!”

“What?!”

I gesture to the gaping hole in the frozen lake. Saige’s eyes widen. “Don’t just stand there! Do something!”

My joints are solid stone. My tongue and throat are dry, and with each swallow, the irritation worsens. The lake slowly brings down Ellie’s body to the deep like a mother putting a baby to bed in its crib. Before I could answer her, Saige runs towards it, ties up her brown hair, and dives in. I remain tense, but with trust in Saige. The seconds are slow, and when they don’t emerge from the water, I yell for the nearest adult and have them call the police.

Many ambulances arrive. Both Saige and Adriana are motionless on the gurneys.

I watch, but don’t act. I cry for them as the paremdics brush past me without a second thought, but I don’t dare speak.