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It's his first formal.
Byron doesn’t quite understand why his brothers are so keen for him to go to the dance—or even attend themselves. None of them have really gone for group merriment like this before. Normally, the idea of putting on monkey suits and having to go two hours without burping the alphabet or some other Pike family tradition is far outside the realm of their dreams, but this year, Adam and Jordan are insistent: the triplets will attend the Snow Ball. And they won’t even joke once about the name.
They do make a dashing trio in their matching outfits. Mom lines the three of them up, with him in the middle. She says it’s because he’s the tallest (by about one eighth of an inch), but Byron knows the truth: he’s the dateless wonder, and if he's on the end, he looks left out and lonely. Adam’s date is some tall, blonde senior whom he probably had to bribe to go with him, while Jordan’s girlfriend of three months is short and dark-haired and giggly. Byron greets them both warmly, trying not to show his discomfort. He’s never been good at talking to girls.
Byron’s not quite sure how his brothers talked him into any of this, especially not renting the limo. It’s overkill—this isn’t prom, after all—but Jordan’s so into the idea that he forks over even more hard-earned cash for his share. He thinks about arguing that he should only have to pay a fifth, since Molly and Bethany are riding as well, but decides it’s not worth it. Adam’s developed this pitying look every time Byron points out how single he is, and the last thing he wants is to see that wash across his brother’s face again.
When they arrive, his brothers disappear into the crowd before he can even clutch a shirtsleeve and beg one of them not to leave him. Byron spots Adam and Molly over with the jock crowd by the punch bowl, and he has the feeling they’re trying to talk someone into spiking it with the contents of the flask Adam has hidden in his jacket. Jordan and Bethany go straight to the line for photos, because they’re probably going to spend the rest of the night slow dancing and subtly (they think) making out.
Neither one of these sounds like an activity Byron wants to join, so he does what fifth wheels throughout the history of time have done best: he stands in front of one wall, far from the action and close to the doors. He might need to make a fast escape.
The music starts, and Byron makes himself comfortable. At various points, his brothers attempt to come lure him into the mosh pit, but he makes excuses. Too loud. Too crowded. Too hot. In reality, Byron likes to dance, but he doesn’t want to go out there alone, or as part of some compassionate gesture.
Even Bethany makes an attempt, bringing him a cup of (unspiked) punch and a cookie and offering to be his partner for a dance. It’s sweet and while he likes her, it’s too weird. She’s Jordan’s girlfriend, after all. Besides, there’s only one person Byron wants to slow dance with, and they’re not here.
He thinks about leaving several times. He could feign illness and Mom would gladly pick him up. He could walk over to the Rosebud and have a milkshake and fries—if he takes off his tie and jacket, no one has to know he ran away from the formal. Or he can just walk home and admit to himself that he’s just lonely and jealous and a little bit lovesick for someone he hasn’t seen in months. Someone who probably doesn’t feel the same way about him as he feels about them.
He heads for the exit after about half an hour, but Adam stops him. “Where do you think you’re going?”
“I gotta take a piss,” Byron says, but Adam knows better. He gestures to Jordan, and the two of them accompany him to the john. That’s when Byron realizes that his brothers are taking turns supervising him.
They must be up to something.
“What are you two pulling?” he asks, but his brothers both just sputter in reply. Their mouths hang open and they shrug at each other, and it just feeds Byron’s theory. They’re terrible actors.
And such, he decides to stick around and see what develops. Byron gets a plate of finger foods and resumes his post by the door, his tux jacket thrown over one arm. Adam and Molly are now on different sides of the room, and she’s slow dancing with one of his friends. He doesn’t seem to mind, because he’s surrounded by a group of guy friends, all laughing at his jokes. Jordan has stopped watching him, because his face is firmly attached to Bethany’s.
Obviously, whatever prank or stunt Jordan and Adam plan to pull was forgotten in the glitz and glamour and fake snow and glitter. Byron decides he can now make his escape. He finds a garbage can and dusts off his hands, then fumbles with his jacket. But just as he gets it straightened out, he loses his focus. The hair on the back of his neck is prickled; someone is watching him.
It’s not a sensation he’s used to. Byron has spent his high school days trying to blend in, and he’s gotten pretty good at it. Only one person has ever seen the real him, and gotten him to spill the secrets he hides deep inside. But that person is firmly tucked away in Southern California, and he told Byron he wasn’t coming to Connecticut again until next summer.
But Byron follows the gaze and finds Jeff standing in the doorway. He’s wearing a form-fitting tuxedo and looking even more uncomfortable in it than Byron feels in his; he’s used to cargo shorts and loose shirts. When Byron catches his eye, Jeff smiles, his whole face lighting up, and all Byron can see is earnest blue eyes and the laugh lines around them.
Adam and Jordan are together now, nudging each other and smirking at the two of them. Byron never told them he’s gay, or that he’s had a crush on Jeff for the past three summers. He would have never told anyone that, if it weren’t for the moonlight one August night and a bottle of rum Jeff smuggled out of the Spier house. Somehow, they’ve figured it out, and whether Jeff told them or it’s just some kind of triplet intuition, Byron doesn’t care at this moment.
There’s Jeff, and while the cups of punch and fake snow aren’t the same as that night over the summer, maybe that’s for the best. It’s time to create some new memories, and Byron finds himself smiling for the first time all night.