'Cause the stars are dull when they're compared to you and I
And if people don't like it, then they can close their eyes
'Cause we're not the same and we don't have to try
'Cause we're brighter than fireflies
We're gonna light the sky

The sight of Julie’s face plastered to the window when Frank dropped Tony and I off caused me to swallow hard. If she was watching the window then it meant mom and dad were either in the dining room staring at the clock or sitting in the living room, intently watching the door, ready to pounce on us as we were forty-five minutes late to get home.

“Was he kidding about the death thing?”
“Let’s hope so,” I replied as I hesitated to take another step up. We never decided how to explain why we were late. A fantastical lie would sound more truthful than reality. Fights on dance floors occurred in movies and musicals, not at my school.
“We were in a fight,” I mused as I tapped my crutch up to the next step, “but we look okay.”
“I should had let John get a few hits in.”

The door opened wide with Julie leaning against the frame. “Fille morte qui marche!” she announced.
“Joanna Annette Peterson!” Dad’s voiced echoed through the house, out to the porch, and punched at my ears.

Julie stepped aside to allow us to walk in. I turned to the living room, where my parents sat on the ‘Sofa of Justice’ with a coffee cup servicing as a gavel.
“You’re a little late.”
“Yeah, something happened at the dance,” I replied as my eyes looked everywhere else except at the faces of my parents. I should have just stared straight at them because it would have been the truth but my hesitation and the way I spoke, we might as well have been caught in the back of a car by the police.
Tony took a deep breath. “There was this guy, John, from Medical Lake. He slashed my tires and then tried to get us—”
“--And Frank, his girlfriend stole his truck, and she was the one sent those two morons after me.”
“Frank kept April busy, and John tried to attack Joanna so I held him in a lock—”
“—Then we had to explain it to a couple of police officers."
“—They took John to the hospital.”
“—And they arrested April,” I concluded.

Mom and Dad sat looking at us. Mom then took a sip of her coffee and Dad closed his eyes, perhaps to try to accept our rapid fire as the truth or a load of poppycock.
“And Frank drove you back here?”
“Yes,” I replied with my voice nearly cracking.
Dad stood up and walked over to me.
“Joanna?” He kind of barked.
“Yes sir?”
“If this ever happens again, you better call us.” Dad reached in and gave me a longer-than-usual hug. It was different than the standard ‘dad’ hug but, I didn’t let him stop until he was ready to step away. And to think I thought he was going to perform a piledriver, a la Andre the Giant.
“I won’t let it ever happen again, Mr. Peterson,” Tony said as he grabbed my hand.
“I’m sure it won’t, Anthony,” dad replied
“c’est quand le mariage,” Julie whispered as she sat down next to mom.
“Anthony, call your folks. I’ll take you home.”
“I can do it, Dad,” I said as I took my keys out of my purse.
“I know you can,” Dad replied.
“We’ll go. I’ll drop him off and I’ll come right back.”
Dad looked back at Mom.
“I think that was worst that could happen for tonight. Go and be right back, Jo.”
“I will,” I replied as I took a step to the kitchen, dragging Tony along.

“They took it better than I thought they would,” Tony mused as we walked to the garage to retrieve my car.
“They did,” I replied with a slight grin.
“My mom wasn’t too happy about the fighting…again.”
“You should go out for the wrestling team.”
“I’m thinking about it,” Tony replied as he looked out the window, “it was a pretty good hold.”
I nodded and looked over at Tony for a second and then typed in the code to open the door
“What?”
“Just thinking about the evening.”
“I was too,” Tony replied as we stepped into the garage.
“How it ended.”
“It doesn’t have to end. I was serious about what I said.”
I stopped walking and looked away for a moment. “You did?”
“I did. I don’t like you as a friend, Joanna. I love you and if that makes us social outcasts then we’ll be there together.” Tony walked up and placed his arms around me.

I was late getting home, but it was worth it.