Well here we go, rebooting Prome Chaos. A big thanks to Lebensender for doing some proofreading and contributing ideas.
We like it better than the original, what do you think? Leave a review and I'll be motived to update faster and get to the new content ;)
Same as last time, if you have ideas of what you'd like to see, share them. Maybe they'll pop up later on in the story!
[Tori's POV]
It's Prome night, 6pm. I'm waiting in my families living room, which for once is completely silent. Trina has already left and our parents are out on a romantic date somewhere. Yet here I am, still waiting for Derek. He's the Captain of the football team at Hollywood Arts. When he asked me to Prome I was ecstatic, even if they haven't won a game in three years. I mean, every girl dreams of attending Prome with the Captain of the football team, right?
A sigh forces it's way out of my throat and I look up at the clock. Where could he be? It's In vane, but every few minutes, my gaze drifts to my Pear Phone. A call, a text, anything at this point would be re-assuring. I'm sure it's just car trouble, not that he's standing me up and taking somebody else.
Another hour passes, and I'm slowly coming to terms with the fact that I now have no date and no way to actually get to Prome. Closing my eyes and laying back on the couch, I hope that when I open them this will just be a bad dream. Then, pulling me out of my daze, the doorbell rings. I'm not sure how long it's been, but I cross my fingers it's Derek as I walk to the door.
Pulling the door open, the figure barely filling the frame of the door isn't Derek. It's not the Captain of any Football team. I don't think he's even played Football before truthfully. My eyes wandering, I see that for once, he's actually tried to tame his mop of curly hair. It's no longer threatening to swallow his entire head, at least. For some reason, he's also holding a small rose corsage in his hand. I have to wonder what he's doing here and why he's still got a corsage. Shouldn't his date have that?
"What are you doing here?" I ask, cutting to the chase. I know he has a date, the look on his face as he told us is engrained in my memory. It looked like he'd won the lottery. Looking at him now, I realize it was the exact opposite of the grim expression currently on his face.
"It's time to dance." Robbie answers vaguely. Out of reflex, my head quirks. I wonder what exactly he means, he sure as sugar didn't answer my question. Looking down, I notice that Robbie is squeezing the corsage just a tad too Tightly, so I gently snake my fingers between his and take it from him. No reason for his Prome to be ruined with an angry date because of something minor like this.
"Your date wouldn't want this getting ruined, right?" I ask, trying not to show how bitter I feel that my date stood me up. My heart lurches slowly and painfully, making me wish I hadn't gotten out of bed today. Or even better, I wish I hadn't even come up with the idea of Prome. Then Jade wouldn't hate me so much either. Looking at Robbie, I see my attempt at being cheerful has been met with a grimace.
"What date?" He answers painfully. I wonder why he's always on the losing side of life. It genuinely feels like nothing ever goes his way. For just a second, I let my gaze wander. Robbie has actually managed to clean up rather well. He's one of the few people that genuinely looks good in a suit. At least fate gave him that mercy.
"Uh..." I search for words, trying to think of something re-assuring. In this moment, I wish my brain would work as fast as Cat's. She'd have skittered through three topics before I managed to say a thing. I expect him to look annoyed, but instead his lips re-arrange themselves into what almost passes for a smile.
"Tori Vega, would you be my "We both got stood up and don't want to go stag" Prome date?" He asks out of the blue. Robbie looks so hopeful, it's kind of adorable and makes me want to pinch his cheeks. Even if I had a date coming, I think I would have had a hard time turning him down.
"Sure Robbie." I answer, blushing slightly. Hopefully the cloak of night is covering it and Robbie won't feel awkward. He smiles slightly, then turns around quickly. Yeah, I'm pretty sure he's blushing as well. At least we'll match when Jade starts laughing at us for being date-less wonders.
We finally arrive at the hall Prome is being held in. There's no fanfare, no waiting photographer. I guess we missed out on that due to our dates that never were. It's fine though, at least I'm here. The wind blows through us, chilling me to the bone. A Prome dress isn't exactly the most weather resistant of clothing. Without thinking, I take Robbie by the hand and begin to drag him through the entrance way.
"Um Tori..." Robbie begins, stopping in his tracks. I spin around, facing him. He looks really unsure of himself, and self consciously, I wonder if he's having second thoughts about arriving late with me. For what seems like an eternity, he stares at the ground and seems to be waiting for me to speak.
"Yeah?" I ask, hoping he doesn't want to split up once we're seated. I actually really enjoyed the ride over here. He's almost a different person when Rex isn't around. Also, it was nice to be in a car with a boy that wasn't constantly trying to grope me.
"You look beautiful." His comment is so fast that it's almost a miracle that I heard it. He blushes and quickly finds something on the ground to stare at before he can see the smile on my face. At least he misses the blush that's accompanying the smile too, though.
"Thanks Robbie." I reply, ignoring the blush creeping over my face. People always seem to tell each other they think I'm beautiful, but I don't think a boy has actually said it to my face. It's like they expect me to constantly tell myself I am, just because Trina does. With a twinkle in my eye, I reach over to Robbie and take his hand. It feels clammy and the fact that he's still staring nervously at the ground makes it feel a little awkward.
"Wow, Little Miss Peaches and Puppet Boy. What a combo." Comes the catcall from Jade once she notices us. Naturally she sounds like an actress from a bygone era as she says it. While she smirks at her own Joke, the rest of the group offer their greetings to us.
"I don't talk like that." I snap back, not so much out of anger. It's out of reflex these days, a dance between old friends. Jade actually admitted to me she knows I don't speak that way. Apparently it's just fun to make me angry. Coming from Jade, that's a full blown friendship I'm pretty sure.
As we take our seat, I notice Jade glance at Robbie quickly. There didn't seem to be any malice in it either, I notice feeling a little more jealous than I would like. Jade's actually been giving Robbie the time of day since Beck left town. They might even pass for friends on a good day. It's only fair though. Robbie was the one to drag her back to our lunch table. Before then, she was just floating around Hollywood Arts like a ghost. I think she expected us to reject her, so she did it first.
"I'm bored." Jade announces. Nobody had even said a word. I wonder exactly how Jade manages to get dates whenever she can be bothered going out. I assume she must lure them in with some sort of bait, maybe she just uses a fishing line. That's before the real answer hits me in the face, Jade's hot. Like ridiculously hot, she's got the kind of body that sometimes makes me wonder about batting for the other team. It doesn't happen often, just when she wears dresses like the one that's barely covering her body tonight. My gaze dipping momentarily, I can't help but gulp at seeing the black Saturn dress Jade is wearing. It's sleeveless, backless and the neckline is so low that it's almost frontless as well.
"Ya could have gotten a date like me." Andre announces, breaking the spell Jade's chest had cast on me momentarily. Looking up, I notice Jade is smirking at me. For a split second, I see something light up in her eyes and I'm almost tempted to ask if she wants to dance.
"But noooo. You wanted to come alone." Andre's been deeply involved in making out with his date since we arrived, so it's a minor miracle he answered Jade at all. He's really choosing the wrong words though, as Jade looks like she's ready to rip his face off.
For the first time, I notice Cat. She's been uncharacteristically quiet and it's almost like she's been hiding behind Jade. I can't help but laugh as she begins covering her ears, probably waiting for the verbal beating Andre is about to receive.
"Shapiro. Dancefloor. Now." Jade demands. Opting to simply glare at Andre. I wonder if he's going to burst into flames or something, such is the intensity of Jade's gaze. I feel to relieved, the fact that Jade is about to steal my date almost escapes me.
"But-" Robbie doesn't get to finish his sentence before Jade rips him from his seat and drags him towards the dance floor. Watching the two disappear into the crowd, I sigh. Hopefully Jade brings him back soon and in once piece.
"Tori, I want to dance." Comes a shrill voice from across the table. Cat has pulled her fingers from her ears and is now looking at me hopefully. I wonder why Cat doesn't just dance with her date for a second, before realizing she's also alone. That would mean out of my four closest friends, the only one with a date is Andre. Here I was thinking we weren't total losers.
"Cat, where's your date?" I ask, wondering if maybe Cat's date is actually here. Cat doesn't look depressed. Usually her emotions rule her face and you can tell exactly what she's feeling. I strongly doubt Cat's learnt to control that since Friday.
"Oh, my brother asked him if he'd ever seen Punch & Judy...then he couldn't come." Cat smiles, looking completely unconcerned. I'd ask her about it, but I've come to find that the less you know about Cat's brother, the better.
"Cat...Uh...Do you want to dance?" I relent. Cat's been staring at me insistently for the past few moments, finally her big brown eyes win me over. I'm never sure what to make of Cat, sometimes it's like she has the mind of a child. Then at other times I look at her and see a body made for sin.
As Cat leaps out of her seat and begins dragging me to the dance floor, I can't help but lament at how stinkin' attractive all of my friends are. Staring a hole in her exposed back, I wonder if Jade and Cat went dress shopping together, their dresses are so close to matching. The only differences being Cat's matches her hair and is a little longer. Groaning at the realization I've just been checking out my third friend of the night, I resolve that it's just got to be the teenage hormones. It's nothing at all, just two friends dancing at Prome. Just like Robbie and Jade, right? Watching how close they are, I'm not so sure.