Proof of Forever by Lexa Hillyer

Author:Lexa Hillyer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2015-04-06T16:00:00+00:00

16

“But it’s clear, oh so clear,

You’ll never be here

Because every day, a little more

You disappear, you disappear, you disappear.”

Silence wraps Joy in its thick blanket, too warm, stifling. The footlights are so glaring, she can hardly differentiate the faces of her fellow campers in the audience. During the song, she was grateful for those lights—they let her feel like it was just her and Ryder, singing alone on the boulder as the sun set, like yesterday. She completely forgot to worry about what her voice must seem like outside of her head, whether it was too whiny or too high-pitched; she was not worrying about whether she’d get the lyrics right or what the other kids were thinking.

Everything fell away, and she felt right.

But now the song is over, and the terror comes flooding back in: Did they screw up? Did they sound okay? Is everyone trying not to laugh at her? Did she look like an idiot?

And then there’s a loud rush of noise—applause. People are clapping. Some of them are even standing—not just the ones who squeezed in behind the back row after the chairs ran out. Suzanne Simonson, head of Bunk Chipmunk, is wiping tears from her eyes. Even Jeremy Farber puts two fingers into his mouth and whistles—and for once his whistle doesn’t make Joy’s skin crawl. In the crowd, she spots Tali, Zoe, and Luce—who snuck in late—clapping.

Ryder stands up and swivels his guitar strap so that the instrument is out of his way. Then he leans over and helps Joy out of her chair, and she realizes she’s beaming like him. They turn toward the audience again and take a bow, then Ryder pulls her off the platform and through the door to the “green room,” which is really just the rec hall supply room, lined with makeshift vanities and mirrors propped against the wall, lit with clamp lights. She catches a brief glimpse of their reflection in one of the mirrors—he’s about six inches taller than her, and she fits nicely under his shoulder. We make a cute couple, she thinks, and then is startled by the thought. They look normal. Like any other couple.

After all the pain and anger of the last couple of years, after all the loneliness, she stopped believing that she’d ever have that. Have this.

As soon as the door closes behind them, Ryder is enfolding her in a giant bear hug. She lets him press their bodies together, her face against his hard chest, and she breathes in his smell. He’s wearing some old band shirt and it’s surprisingly soft against her cheek.

“We rocked it,” he says.

“I know,” she says, pulling back so she can look at him, feeling the giant, geeky smile stretching across her face. “We did.”

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