The young dark haired man looked at himself in the window's reflection and took a deep breath. Tonight was the night, the single most important event of a teens life.
Prom.
He let out an audible sigh as he continued to look at himself. He was wearing the traditional tux, with a black bowtie, but he hadn't yet slipped on his jacket. His messy waves of hair were combed and laid gently against his pale creamy skin. His hazel eyes full of fear and worry and his somewhat bushy eyebrows were furrowed into a constant look of confusion.
The boy was confused, he didn't know what to expect from Prom. Although he had been there throughout the planning since he was one of the main participants on the prom committee. But he didn't know what it would feel like, or sound like. He'd seen the typical high school movies growing up, sure. But nothing would be able to match actually attending himself.
He slid on his coat and walked towards his waiting mother. She was tall, blonde and had a brilliant grin highlighting her rosy cheeks along with the shiny beaded necklace draped around her neck. The ends of her straight hair flipped out just above her brown shirt and overcoat which flapped with every step she took.
"Look at you! So dashing!" She exclaimed as she approached and looked her son up and down once. There was an under-tone to her voice though, just a hint of doubt. Almost like she was trying to make the shy ugly son she loved dearly but never believed in, happy for his special night.
He scoffed and rolled his eyes as she tucked a white rose into his jacket pocket.
"Come on...now-a-days lots of people go by themselves." She assured.
His little sister who was seated just ahead of them at the dining table coloring with tight blonde pigtails sneered, "No they don't." while shaking her head.
He wanted to say something pawky back to her but held it in. He'd been taught from the day she was born not to talk back, no matter how irritating she was because 'She's just a little girl and doesn't know better.' His parents were always favoring her over him, in fact tonight was the first night that they babysat while he went and had fun. He resented it, and her. Everyday he thought She's 10. How old does she have to be before she understands that what she says hurts me?
He satisfied himself with a mean look in her direction before muttering a "yeah" and heading towards the door. He had just gripped the handle when his dad marched around the corner.
"Hey son." He called to get his attention. He had something in his right hand but he couldn't quite see what it was. The middle-aged man's eyes were glowing with pride as he tossed the keys to their new Audi 2013 they had just bought into his son's hand.
He caught it with his right hand in mid-air and took a second to look at it in disbelief. It had to be a joke, some kind of sick joke. His dad. An ex-military commander, letting his 17 year old son, who he couldn't stand simply because he wanted to be an actor instead of risking his life in the line of fire like his dad, drive their brand new car? No.
But a quick look at his face said otherwise.
"Have fun tonight." He said softly, as his smile twisted into something this boy had never seen before. It looked almost sad, and kind of proud.
A small flutter of something rose in the boy's chest and he thought, Maybe tonight won't be total shit after all.
He shut the car door behind him and sat for just a second admiring the craftsmanship of the fine car before revving the engine to life. It's deep growl roared and the headlights flashed on sending a chill shooting up his spine. This was nothing like driving his 2007 ford. Something told him he should thank his Dad when he got back and he made a mental note to do so.
He shifted and ran his hands down the steering wheel with an ever growing grin spreading across his face then pulled out of the drive way and made his way toward the school.
He pulled up to a stop light, right next to a limo with thumping music oozing out of the window being rolled down. A girl with a white corsage and a tight bun stuck her head out and yelled "Prooomm!" with a huge, probably drunk, smile.
He looked at himself in the rear view mirror for a second, questioning why he was going to do this. He had to be insane, no one respectable walks into their Senior Prom alone! But as he looked he saw something.
A confidence was boiling beneath those hazel eyes, a lady killer smile just waiting to be flashed beneath those full blush lips. One look and he knew what he would be doing tonight. This car was just the thing he needed to give him an extra boost of bravery.
The radio pumped out an encouraging song as the car lurched forward and roared down the nearly empty streets. His resolve grew as he got closer to the parking lot. When he pulled in, there were plenty of spaces available (as he went to a huge school) but with one sharp turn of the wheel he had pulled into the principle's space.
A deep sense of self-worth and purpose surged through him as he raised the key fob to lock the car while he strutted forward. His heart began thumping in his chest as he approached the doors.
He slammed them open and quickly made his way down the halls until the gym doors were directly in front of him. It was a mere 10 second walk before he was faced with a room full of thumping music, loud judgmental teens, and the biggest choice of his life so far.
He pulled at the ends of his coat before beginning his stride down the corridor and into the gym. The music seemed to sync with his steps perfectly, causing another surge of power to course through him.
The wonderfully decorated gym, which he'd seen a hundred times in different stages, was now buzzing with life much to his satisfaction. But his mind was focused on one thing, and one thing only.
Once he was inside he immediately made for the center of the floor where he knew she would be. Naturally she was there, in a stunning red thin-strapped dress with most of the back revealed. A shiny crown was perched beautifully atop her gorgeous auburn hair which was pulled into an intricate bun.
She shook her hips to the beat and called a "Hey!" to one of the girls she was dancing with. His heart was beating faster than ever but his mind was made. He had to do this. Even if the rest of his life was total shit then he could look back on tonight proudly.
He walked over to her and spun her around and just for a second faltered as a bright light from the stage stunned them both. His mind was reeling with doubt and worry as he grabbed the back of her head and pulled her into a kiss.
For a second she resisted and put her hand on his chest to push him away. Everyone gasped and the music abruptly stopped.
This was it. No turning back. He held her head there until she began to kiss him back. Cat calls and howls came from the watching crowd as a flood of pride and hormones spiked through his entire body. He ran his tongue along her lips as she sighed and met his with her own. Her lips tasted like cherries and her breath was a mixture of the cherries and the sweetest of smells. It was indescribable and he was on cloud 9 until he heard an angry roar above the rest of the voices.
"HEY!" the prom king shouted as she stormed over, shoving people out of the way as he passed.
He opened his eyes just in time to see him hurtling towards him, with a deep rage burning in his eyes. The girl, however was still wrapped in the kiss and now had him by the collar and was pulling him closer to her while his hand was still on her neck.
He pulled away just as a hard fist collided with his eye. A mixture of boo's and cheers erupted from the crowd as he fell to the ground clutching at his throbbing face.
The angry king didn't hit him again, but instead just stood over him looking victorious. He glanced up and saw, standing out, the heartbroken look on his best friend's face. Her deep brown eyes showed only betrayal and years of pain as her thick red lips began to tremble. She ripped her silver necklace off and threw it at him then she spun away from him and disappeared into the crowd, causing her black girls to spin and bounce with her.
An immediate boulder of guilt dropped on him, and it felt like it was going to crush him, until he saw the girl of his dreams gazing down longingly at him. That boulder suddenly felt weightless as the strength of 10 men suddenly forced him upwards and propelled him down the hall back to his car.
He peeled out just in time to escape the warnings yelled at him coming from the two jocks. One the prom king, and the other the runner up and right hand man.
As he sped over the road and down the highway he grinned and let out a howl.
"Ooowwwwwwooooooooo!"
His eye was far from okay, and he probably would get hell for it at school next week but none of that mattered. He had done it, he'd kissed his dream girl, something he's dreamt of doing since the 5th grade.
When he got home he explained to his parents with such confidence that neither of them were mad. Though his mom was frantic with worry she let him go upstairs to get some ice and rest.
He shut the bathroom door behind him and pressed the cold bag against his purple and swelling eye. He sifted through his pockets until he found the necklace that his best friend had thrown at him.
It was the same necklace he'd given to her when her date ran out on her. He remembered how beautiful she looked that night, despite the mascara running down her cheeks. She always was beautiful, inside and out.
It had taken him too long to realize it, but suddenly this whole night...everything that happened meant nothing because he lost the one girl he needed more than anything. Naturally she didn't answer when he called, so he left a voice mail.
"Hey, Trinity it's me...look I know you're mad at me. I know now what I did was wrong, but-" He stopped for a second. "I-I love you. I'm sorry, and please don't delete this. Keep it. Because one day I know you're going to forgive me, I mean come on we've been buds since pre-school, and when you do...listen to this. You are all I've ever wanted, and you'll be all i'll ever need. So I took a shot tonight and hurt you... yeah, she's hot but being with her got me a nasty black eye." He paused and chuckled as he looked at his swelling eye socket. "I want you. Trinity. I love you."
She picked up just then and sighed heavily into the phone. He could tell she'd been crying.
"You're a real ass. You know that?" She growled.
"I know...I know. I'm sorry." He mused, even though this wasn't a time for joking his high hadn't worn off yet.
"I suppose you want me to forgive you huh? Say it'll all be okay?" She said, an edge coming into her tone. A sudden screech came from down stairs sending him flying out of the door just in time to see his mother's throat being slit.
"OH MY GOD. TRIINITY. MY MOM SH-" He screamed into the phone, dropping the ice bag onto the floor sending ice shards everywhere.
"Got her throat slit? Hahaha. What a coincidence. I just got off the phone with a guy who said he'd be willing to kill your family for only one thing. Can you guess what that is?" She hissed.
He held the phone away from his face and stared at it with complete terror. The man who had just killed his mom, and possibly the rest of his family was now pounding up the stairs coming straight towards him.
"Come 'ere little boy." The killer laughed manically.
He pressed the phone to his ear to hear her whisper, "The Audi." He screamed as the killer was now on top of him, pinning him against the wall, with a bloody knife pointing at his throat. He reached up and ripped the mask off to see that it was the Prom King. His blonde hair was in a matted mess and an evil sadistic grin was spread across his face as he plunged the knife into the screaming boy's throat effectively slitting the jugular and spilling the majority of his blood onto the wood floor below them.
The King let go and watched savagely as the boy fell to his knees and clutched at his gushing neck. The boy landed face first in a pile of ice, gasping, and inhaling his own blood. He watched as the king removed the key fob from his pocket and tossed it in the air before catching it.
"Bravery." The sick king mocked just before everything went black.