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Cherry was acting differently.
Marcia just assumed it’s her fault. Most things are, anyway. She knew for a fact that Sherri Elaine Valance liked to party. Or at least she seemed that way in front of her friends. Marcia knew it was perfectly fine that she didn’t, but this was Junior Prom. Both her and Cherry had been fantasizing about prom their entire lives.
Yet, there they were, on opposite sides of the crowded gymnasium, both without a date.
At least Cherry had a real reason to not have a date. Bob was dead, and had been for a couple of months. Maybe that was why she was acting like that, Marcia figured. Or maybe it was everything that ensued.
After all, Bob’s death had shaken up the town a bit, and Johnny Cade also died in that whole mess.
After Bob died, Cherry distanced herself from their group. She said it was their fault - the Socs’ fault - anyway. She knew Bob asked for it, as much as she cared about him. Paul didn’t like that, and everyone else agreed. Marcia, at the time, didn’t know what to believe, but she trusted Cherry.
She didn’t get the chance to tell Cherry that though, because she was yanked away. She thought it was Bev, though her mind had been a blur that day. Cherry hadn’t spoken to her since. Not other than a tight ‘hi’ in the hallway, and definitely not how they used to be.
But Marcia was convinced she knew Cherry better than anyone else. She knew how she didn’t care much for beer blasts, she knew about the time she was crying at the drive-in, and she even knew about how her parents were. Even though they were serious, Marcia still missed conversations with Cherry.
She just missed Cherry.
She was tired of it. Marcia couldn’t take the silence between them any longer. She began to make her way across the dance floor. She could practically see Cherry’s somber expression right in front of her, but her ex-boyfriend, Trip, stopped her in her tracks.
“Marcia, what are you doing?”
“Just checkin’ on Cherry,” she said quietly.
“I’m sure she wants to be left alone.”
Marcia couldn’t help but notice Bev, Brill and Chet trailing behind him. Marcia didn’t hate Trip, not as much as she disliked the others. He was the only one still in the group who cared about what she had to say.
“Yeah, she does,” Beverly said, venom dripping from her voice. She took a long drag on her cigarette. “So you should stop.”
Marcia was sure Bev didn’t know crap about Cherry, so pushed past her anyway. She heard Bev scoff behind her.
“Losing her mind,” was what she caught of them muttering behind her back. Marcia couldn’t care less, and focused on walking to Cherry.
Cherry, on the other hand, was leaning against the wall. Her pale pink dress was slightly cinched at the waist, but the skirt was slightly poofed out like a cake. Her red hair fell in soft waves, pulled back by a matching headband. She looked beautiful, catching the attention of all the boys passing by - and most of all, Marcia.
Despite Cherry’s meticulous ensemble, however, she looked miserable.
Marcia slowly approached her. “Hey, Cherry.”
The other girl had been staring at the floor before meeting her gaze briefly. Her face lit up slightly at the sight of Marcia, but immediately fell. “Hi, Marcia.”
Then she continued avoiding eye contact, but after Marcia stood there for more than three minutes, then she realized something was up. She looked at her sadly, which was very unlike the Cherry Marcia knew well. She couldn’t imagine how bad the year had been for her.
“What do you want?” When Marcia was too frozen to answer, Cherry continued. “Is this some joke? What, are you doing this to make Bev laugh?”
“No!” Marcia shouted, but realized how loud it was. She took a deep breath. “No. You know, I’ve been wondering, Sherri… are you okay?”
“I’m fine, Marcia. This is the first time you really talked to me since-”
“Bob,” she interrupted, already knowing what she was going to say. “I know, Cherry, and I’m sorry. I should’ve been there, and I tried to tell you I believed you!”
Cherry’s eyes widened, listening.
“But then I couldn’t. And I should’ve talked to you sooner… And I-I’m just really sorry, and you honestly shouldn’t forgive me, because it’s my fault that you’re all like this, and I’ve just been sad-”
“It’s okay.” And just like that, Cherry’s hands were on Marcia’s, calming her down. Just like the good old days. She let go, suddenly. “You don’t need to be sorry, Marsh. It’s just been crazy lately.”
“And you’ve been avoidin’ me,” she said plainly.
“I, um…” Cherry looked away, biting her lip, before looking back at the green-dressed girl. “I pushed you away because it felt like you did too, you dig? I’m-” Her voice cracked, and tears began to form. Marcia instinctively threw her hands around her.
She let Sherri cry into her shoulder, ignoring people passing by. Though, Marcia couldn’t ignore them for very long.
“Do you wanna move to the hallway?”
Cherry nodded, beginning to smile again, highlighting her light dimples. It was the first genuine smile Marcia had seen from her in months. It made her giggle. The things she would do to see more of her smile.
The two girls walked outside of the gymnasium, where they were alone, but could still hear the music coming from the inside. Cherry wiped her face where her makeup got messed up from her tears. They stood in silence, both leaning against the wall, the music still floating through.
“They haven’t played any Beatles,” Marcia muttered, mostly to herself. “Instead they’re playin’ songs from four years ago.”
“I’m not complaining,” said Cherry quietly. “I like the Ronettes.”
Marcia was suddenly thrust into a memory from the previous year.
It was one of those rare times she was over at Cherry’s house, instead of vice versa. It was almost time for Marcia to go home. Suddenly, they heard someone entering the house downstairs. From the yelling, Cherry knew it was her dad coming home drunk. Marcia remembered Cherry trying to shrug it off, and put on her Ronettes record.
The music somewhat drowned out the other sounds from downstairs.
“Marcia?” she heard Cherry’s voice. She snapped back to the present. “You’re spacin’ again.”
She laughed nervously. “Sorry. And yeah, I guess I kinda dig their music too.”
Cherry nodded her head along to the song playing, humming.
Be my, be my baby…
Marcia stood up straight, being struck by an idea. She grabbed Cherry’s hand, as an invitation. Cherry raised an eyebrow, but stood with Marcia. She twirled the redhead, grinning all the while.
Sherri laughed, clasping Marcia’s other hand, as they swayed to the beat. “Glory, Marcia, did you have any of that spiked punch?”
“I don’t really have a taste for that stuff.” She knew how much Cherry despised booze, or all alcohol in general. Marcia knew she had good reason to, with both her father and Bob…
When they danced, it was more playful, and Marcia could never be sure how Cherry felt about her. The song ended, and what was left were two girls high off of joy, holding each others’ hands.
“Well, thanks for the dance, and thanks for… checkin’ on me,” a slight red colored her cheeks. “But I don’t think I wanna stay here any longer.”
“Sherri, wait!” Marcia reached for Cherry’s shoulder. She turned back around.
“Yeah?”
In the blink of an eye, Marcia gave her a tiny kiss on the cheek. She’d been thinking about it for a while, and that was the only fruit of her courage. She tried to smile, but the edges of Cherry’s mouth flicked up in a half-smile.
“Bye, then,” Marcia waved. Cherry inched closer, closing the space between them.
“Marcia,” Cherry tentatively rested her hands on Marcia’s shoulders, “Is this okay?”
Marcia nodded, slightly confused. “You’re fine, why?”
“Marcia,” Sherri repeated, staring into her eyes. “You’ve been such a good friend to me our entire lives. Even though our lives were… turned upside down by all of that. And I’m not sure I wanna be friends anymore.”
A million thoughts raced through Marcia’s head. After the entire moment they had together, this was what Cherry had to say?
“Wha-” she was about to protest.
Cherry had gently pulled Marcia closer to her, their faces only an inch away. Marcia’s heart pounded louder and louder with the proximity. Suddenly she understood what Cherry meant. Cherry leaned in, and Marcia met her lips with her own.
Suddenly, she felt the need to leave her hands onto Cherry’s shoulder, as she was sure she’d been waiting for this for a while. Cherry’s hands slid down to Marcia’s waist, sending a chill down her spine.
She let herself melt, anchoring herself to Cherry - Sherri Valance, her friend of fifteen years, no longer just a friend. The girl she wished she could spend all of her time with.
Cherry suddenly broke away, just in time for them to take a breath. She completely let go of Marcia.
“Okay, I’ll call you tonight!” Sherri’s grin was miles wide. “We can meet up over the weekend!”
“Right,” Marcia just stood awkwardly, still flustered from what felt like a fever dream. She watched Cherry run down the echoing hallway, all the way to the exit.