This was it. Senior prom. The last high school dance of Ivy’s life. She stared at her reflection, touching up the last bit of her makeup as her phone buzzed beside her. Jeez, she would be there soon. Anne had to calm down. Looking over at her clock, she felt her pulse jump as the numbers 7:02 glare back at her. No wonder Anne wouldn’t quit calling. This was it. Senior prom. The last high school dance of Ivy’s life. She stared at her reflection, touching up the last bit of her makeup as her phone buzzed beside her. Jeez, she would be there soon. Anne had to calm down. Looking over at her clock, she felt her pulse jump as the numbers 7:02 glare back at her. No wonder Anne wouldn’t quit calling. Tugging on her emerald green blazer one last time, Ivy stood, grabbed her bag, and slipped out the door. Her sister, Emma, was over at a friend’s house. Ivy wasn’t sure if she’d be spending the night or not. Her mother was nowhere to be found. >>><<< “Stop fidgeting with it, Claire.” Emily gently chided, her golden blonde hair falling in perfect waves around her face. Her hands were light and deft as she strapped up the back up the dress, Claire trying and failing to stop twisting the cool satin between her fingers. It was midnight blue, and gorgeous. She had been afraid to get it at first, but Emily had convinced her to. It was too beautiful to pass up. Emily said it matched her eyes. Tugging one last time, Emily stepped back, smiling as she admired their reflections. “There. Perfect.” Emily looked it, at least. Claire was sure Chris might drop dead whenever he saw his date standing there, looking more beautiful than a thousand jewels in her sage green tulle dress, skin freckled and golden accessories lighting up the appearance. Claire, on the other hand.. She bit her lip, studying her features. Was she too frail? Too pale? Did her collarbones jut out too much beneath the V-shaped neckline? Should she have gotten a spray tan like Ivy undoubtedly had? She was so much more used to sweatshirts and comfy clothing-were the silver (fake, of course) diamond earrings too much? Was her half-up half-down hairstyle too.. Indecisive? Swallowing, she tugged at the spaghetti straps only to have Emily swat her hand away. “Claire.” She turned the small girl to face her. “You look *beautiful*.” Claire couldn’t help but smile softly at the earnest look in her deep brown eyes. She had always had such beautiful eyes. “Now, come on. The boys are waiting.” >>><<< “We want to arrive fashionably late.” Ivy instructed, hands on the steering wheel as she slowed at the stop sign. “It’s no use getting there before the real fun begins, anyways.” Grinning, Chase leaned forward to rest his forearms against the front seats, two bottles of his fancy up-town b--r in hand. He shook them meaningfully, a grin on his face. “The real fun starts whenever we get there.” Smirking, Anne shoved him back-but not before grabbing a bottle. She popped it open, carefully avoiding fracturing her long golden nails as she took a sip. “Chase, I’m gonna get pulled over with you drinking back there.” Ivy snapped, glaring at him in the rear view mirror. “I’m only having a little. I gotta have a buzz before the party starts.” He complained. Ivy only rolled her eyes as Anne piped up. “Ok but Ivy, the idiot’s right. Just pull into the parking lot already, we’ve been circling for forever.” “We’ve been circling for five minutes.” Ivy grumbled. But, she did as Anne said, turning the wheel and her mom’s old, beat up Volkswagen into the lot. The piece of junk wheezed to a stop and Ivy hopped out, turning to look at Chase. “You’re not actually gonna try to sneak that in, are you?” She almost groaned when she saw a whole six-pack in the backseat-but missing some of its bottles. Chase flashed open his blazer to reveal two tucked into some inner pockets. “Only two.” “Well don’t come crying to me if you get caught.” Ivy grumbled as Anne stepped out. She was, well, gorgeous. Her entire outfit was gold. Golden heels, golden accessories, golden eyeshadow, and a beautiful short, golden minidress, with a transparent golden cape flowing off her shoulders like a waterfall of sunlight and falling into a slight train behind her. Grinning, Chase held out an arm to his date, and Anne took it. He leaned in for a kiss, and Anne acted like she might return the gesture before turning away, a smirk playing on her lips as Chase frowned, getting pulled along. He was always complaining about what a tease Anne was, but everyone knew he loved it. Ivy smirked, shoved her hands into her pockets, and followed them inside. >>><<<
The music was blasting over the loudspeakers whenever Claire entered, flinching at the bombardment of sight and sound. She glanced up at Tyler at her side, his gray hair tousled into messy perfection and green eyes already on her. He smiled and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before leading her into the gym. The Prom decoration committee hadn’t done all that much this year-especially compared to last year’s. Of course, Claire hadn’t attended, but from what she had heard of it, the few balloons here and there and paper ‘PROM NIGHT’ hanging across the Southern wall didn’t leave her very impressed. She clung tight to Tyler’s side, butting into the conversation he and Chris and Emily were having every once in a while as they made their way to the plastic fold-out tables that had already almost been cleared of food. From the looks of it the baking club had been enlisted to help. Claire’s stomach churned at the thought of food, even as her friend’s laughed as they nibbled on cookies and veggie sticks and chips and salsa. They didn’t stay long before making their way over to the benches that lined the edges of the gym, facing the temporary stage that had been set up to announce Prom King and Queen later that night. Claire sat down and let out a breath of relief, finally out of the way of the crowd. Feeling a nudge at her side she turned to find Tyler grinning at her, a chocolate cupcake in each hand. “Cupcake?” Claire giggled, taking one from him and peeling back the wrapper. She had been too nervous to eat before, but she was getting used to the sounds, the lights, the crowds now. Her stomach had settled-and gosh was she hungry. She guiltily realized that she probably hadn’t eaten quite enough that day because of her nerves. The small girl gratefully took a large bite, humming as the rich taste melted on her tongue. Tyler laughed as she snarfed down her cupcake, licking her lips and fingers. “Should I send your regards to the baking club?” Claire smiled sheepishly up at her friend, a light blush on her cheeks. Frowning, Tyler reached out, making her flinch away for a second before he placed a gentle hand on the side of her face. “Sorry, you had frosting on your face.” Now it was his turn to smile sheepishly as he pulled his hand back, his own face tinted red. “Uh,” Glancing over his shoulder, he saw that Chris and Emily had somehow disappeared without them noticing, and saw them only a few moments later jumping up and down on the dance floor. Grinning, Tyler shyly held out a hand. “Wanna..?” He jerked his head towards where the whole rest of the student body seemed to be laughing and dancing and moving to the music. He could see the hesitation in Claire’s eyes though as she eyed the mosh-pit. It was awfully crowded.. “We-We can stay on the edge if you want. There won’t be too many people there, right?” As Claire pulled her eyes back to her childhood friend, she felt her anxiety begin to melt away by the warmth in his eyes. She let her hand fall into his. That’s when Ivy appeared in the doorway and Claire felt her heart sink. She was just… stunning. Her skin was golden and practically glowing, her sharp black eyes painted with smoky perfection, her dirty blonde hair tied up in a messy but flawless bun, littered with specks of gold.. And oh, her suit. She wore a green blazer and pants, with black heels and undershirt. It fit her perfectly, and confidence oozed from her figure as her eyes raked over the crowd. After a moment, she smirked at someone and disappeared into the bopping crowd. Swallowing, Claire turned her eyes up to Tyler, feeling a piece of her heart break. Because, his beautiful sea eyes that usually lay on her, were now searching the crowd for a flash of green. Lmao, the b--r talk coming from the girl who literally doesn't have a single friend who even v-pes and hasn't had her first kiss xDD basically i have no idea what I'm talking about, but they definitely would.
