Prom Disaster
Notes: formally was going to be entered in a contest by my friend mayhemaleena on dA, but I never got the chance to submit it, so here is the "lost entry: Hell Found Me Challenge". The challenge was to write a short story starting with 'Hell Found me'.
Hell found me. She thought as she ran from the school, heels clicking on the pavement. Tears tracked down her lovely cheeks causing makeup to run, stupid cheap makeup. Was this really the work of 'hell' working his mean magic, making her life a living hell after she stupidly woke one morning, naked, in someone else's bed? She was completely embarrassed for being used so cheaply but that wasn't the peak of it. Her boyfriend ended up finding her there.
She was so humiliated considering now she knew her drink had been spiked that unforgettable night. Worse part of it was, she couldn't remember a thing. She tried to tell her boyfriend it wasn't her fault and someone must have spiked her drink. For a time, she thought he believed her since he was known to be the forgiving type. Boy was she ever wrong. Two days later was the senior prom at Tranquility High School, which she seemed to be happy again. That awful night was like a bad dream and now she was going to the prom with her boyfriend who gave her a corsage, which matched her shimmering baby blue strapless gown. Her hair was done up in a sophisticated way that reminded her of a bride.
Soon after arriving everything went down hill for her again. Her boyfriend excused himself for a moment just as Sam Witwicky arrived with his girlfriend, Mikaela Banes. Those two looked so happy together. Seeing them so happy, reminded her of her boyfriend being missing and hadn't returned yet. She began to get worried, and tried brushing it off. It didn't take her long to get bored where her boyfriend didn't show back up even after thirty minutes and she ended up sitting off to the side with the other single girls.
As she sat at the table a couple other students ended up whispering about her boyfriend and she was able to make out his name. With that, she knew she had to find him. She was foolish into thinking he forgave her. She left the area, exiting the school to find him, which she did… but he wasn't alone. He was with another girl and the two were making some not so nice sounds. With tears quickly in her eyes she rushed from the scene. He was cheating on her with the one girl she hated and he knew it.
It didn't take her long to make it to the parking lot. But where was she to go? She arrived with her boyfriend, which meant she had no ride home and she was NOT going to go home with that bastard. No one was on her side, not even hell was.
She continued to run, not paying attention to a yellow Camaro with black racing stripes going from the hood all the way up and down to the trunk. But as she sped past it, something sparked inside the vehicle. But with her tears blurring her vision, she didn't pay attention. Of course that also meant she wasn't paying attention to where she was going until a flashlight suddenly shone in her face and something grabbed her arm.
"Ah!" she shrieked.
"Look what we have here," a male voice said.
"All dressed up and no place to go," another whipped out.
Sudden fear ripped at her heart. She tried to struggle free but whatever was holding her arm had a strong grip. She knew without a shadow of a doubt someone was holding her and that someone was male and she could smell liquor on his breath. This was not good.
"Let me go!" she screamed.
"Why should we?" the one holding her asked. "You're too cute to let go."
"Someone help me!" She continued to struggle against her attackers, full well knowing what was probably going through their minds. Now she really knew 'Hell' was out to get her. No matter where she went, hell was constantly finding her.
The one holding her began to pull her backwards, while the other grabbed her skirt and began to lift it up, showing more of her legs. Just then the sound of an engine sounded and lights flashed into everyone's eyes. Her skirt was released; giving indication the one who was trying to lift it up was now shielding his eyes.
"Let the woman go!" a young man's voice demanded as a door opened to a vehicle the lights was shining from.
Quiet wails were coming from the woman being held, as she was scared out of her mind. This was seriously a bad day and now she really felt like hell was out to get her.
"Who the hell is going to stop us?"
A man seemed to step away from the car and he looked less than pleased. "I will ask again. Release her or suffer the consequences. This is not a night you want to piss me off." He ignored the questioned asked to him.
Seeing the punks weren't going to let the poor woman go, more juristic measures were needed. If anyone were to have looked into the car, one could immediately see the digital numbers from the radio were moving all on its own. The numbers stopped as an ear-piercing squeal came from the speakers of the car, forcing the guys to release the woman to cover their ears.
Both men dropped to their knees, as the shrill immediately was too much for their ears. Unfortunately the sound had the same effect on the woman, but it couldn't be help. The second both punks were on the ground, the sound stopped. Where did the sound come from and why wasn't the man affected by it?
"Now, get your sorry asses out of here before I report you to the dean for causing a disturbance on school grounds!" The man demanded harshly.
Giving a horrifying look, the two men scrambled to the feet, running faster than anyone thought was possible. Knowing the close was clear, the woman's savior moved away from the car, going over to the woman.
"Are you ok?" he asked gently.
"Ah!" she screamed in fright, pushing herself backwards, causing stains to appear on her gown, which was already partially ruined now.
He lifted his hands, backing away. He had to gain the woman's trust. "I'm not going to hurt you," he whispered. "No one will hurt you, I promise."
She looked up at him; finally realizing his voice belonged to the same one who stopped her attackers. "Who…who are you?" she whimpered.
"You can safely say I'm a…" he paused for a moment what should he say? He couldn't tell her the truth. "I'm a cousin to Sam Witwicky. He asked me drive him here to the senior prom. My name is Brian."
"Sam's cousin?" From hearing the boy's name, she knew perhaps this guy was at least trustable. Sam had seemed to be type who would not stand for seeing people hurt and would kick anyone's ass that would.
"Amber," she answered quietly, taking the chance to give the man her name.
"Amber? That's a pretty name." He took a good look at her. "Why aren't you inside having fun?"
She turned her head with a piece of her hair coming out of its style. One of the bobby pins must have fallen out during her struggle with the punks. "What's there to do in there?" she whimpered. "My boyfriend just deserted me for someone who hates me."
Brian sat next to the woman. "Now, that's not fair. And I suppose you arrived here with him."
"Hell is out to get me!" she blurted, covering her face with her slightly dirty hands, further smearing her makeup.
"That's not true," Brian tried, lightly touching her bare shoulder.
"It is!" came a muffled sound from her hands. She lifted her head. "For the past two weeks it's been hell for me. I've already been attacked once and my boyfriend thinks I lied to him."
"Attacked? You mean just was about to happen?" Brian knew what those creeps wanted.
"Well…" she paused as she wiped her tears. "Not…exactly…" Her head snapped up. "But it was still an attack!"
Brian jerked slightly from her outburst. What did she mean? "I don't know who said what, but I assure you, I will not judge you."
She snorted. "Someone spiked my drink." Tears again came to her eyes. "I was drugged damn it! And taken advantaged of… or at least that is what it appeared as. I don't know if anything did happen to me. I can't remember!"
Her head dropped into her hands once again as heavy sobs wracked through her body. Unknown to her but the car Brian exited out of was now closer to them and the lights had dimmed, putting them in the light but dimmed enough to not hurt the eyes. As for Brian he was at a complete loss. He did the first thing that came to him. His body scooted closer to her and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her tight against his chest, letting her cry on him. He had seen it done many times between Sam and Mikaela when she was upset.
She gave a gasp when he touched her, but feeling his warm chest against her body, she had the feeling he wasn't trying to take advantage of her. He did say he was a cousin of Sam's. Removing her hands from her face, only for her fingers to grip his shirt, she continued to sob, just as soothing music came from out of nowhere, but was quiet enough she really didn't pay attention.
For what seemed like forever, the two sat on the ground, just allowing her to cry. Eventually the tears stopped and she was able to hear the light sounds of the music. The music was soothing and relaxing. She knew it was coming from Brian's car. She had never heard music quite like it.
Seeing she was calming down, Brian knew it was finally time to break the silence. "Why don't I drive you home?" he offered. "You probably could use some comfort of your own home."
"But you don't know where I live," she whispered no longer able to speak normally.
"You can tell me or just show me," Brian countered. "Please, let me drive you home so I can know you're safe."
She took an intake of breath. "You would do that for me? I'm a complete stranger."
"Should that matter?" he asked. "I know we're basically strangers but I do care for others and making sure they are safe. Besides, you got yourself all dressed up tonight and I feel bad your night has been ruined."
Amber was in complete shock by the man's words. She looked into his bright blue eyes, a feature she never seen on a person before. His eyes were beautiful and really matched his unruly blondish hair. He looked no older than about 21 or so. She also saw something else in his eyes and something was telling her he was being completely honest with her.
With a nod of her head, she wiped her tears once again. "I look like hell."
Brian stood, lowering his hands down to help her to stand. She took his offering. His hands felt warm and comforting. Standing up, she could see he wasn't much taller than her. Her only standing five foot three, she could see he was only a few inches taller than her. During the struggle with the creeps, she lost her shoes.
With his hand in hers, the two walked the short distance to the car. As he opened the passenger door, she noticed for the first time the car he was driving.
"Oh my god!" she blurted. "This is Sam's car."
Remembering what he told her about driving Sam to the prom, he smiled. "Yeah it is. Why?"
"I have always wanted to get a drive in this car." Picking up her skirt, she climbed into the car. Brian made sure she was fully in, her full skirt included, before shutting the door. Walking over to the other side, he was quick to get in as well.
She could still hear the music playing from the stereo. Leaning her head back, her eyes closed, enjoying the music. The whirl of the engine came to life and the vehicle began to move. Soon her head lifted up.
"I don't suppose we could make a stop somewhere before you take me home?" she inquired.
"Where would you like to go?"
"There's a lake where the teens often like to hang out. It's always been the one place I like to go to when I feel like this. I also don't live too far from there."
"Yes, I know where that is. If you live out there, how did you get back and forth to school?"
She chuckled, which was the first time the whole night since leaving the house since she smiled. "A school bus. When I was a freshman, I did live closer to the school but my parents' divorced two winters ago and since my dad left the state to move East, I opt to remain behind. I really didn't want to change schools. My mom bought a house nearby the lake."
Brian seemed to nod. It was a bit hard to see in the dark with only the headlights giving off any sort of light in the car. "The lake is a beautiful location."
Amber leaned her head back once again, allowing the silence to go between them. The only thing preventing the inside to be totally quiet was the music, which was strange to her ears but yet soothing at the same time. Not bothering to lift her head, after some few minutes, she broke the silence.
"What type of music is that?" she asked. "I've never heard anything like it."
"Ummm…" Brian started, wondering how to answer the question. "I like to tinker around with music."
With wide eyes, Amber lifted her head and looked straight at him. "Are you telling me you made that music?"
"Well not exactly…" he paused. "I like taking parts of music and manipulating it." Well that wasn't exactly the truth, but it was answer he hoped she would accept. "Does the music bother you? I can turn it off."
"No. The music is beautiful. I wish I had something like that."
"I could make you a CD if you'd like," he offered without thinking.
"You would do that?" she blinked. "That would be nice."
The two went silent again until reaching the lake. Brian pulled off the road, parking just on the side. He kept the headlights and music playing as the car turned off. Amber was about to reach for the door handle to step out when Brian reached his hand forward, grasping her left arm, gently. She gave a gasp in startlement.
"Please, let me help you out." He was quick to release her arm and climbed out, going over to the other side to open her door, holding out his hand for her to grasp. Unknown to her, this was Brian's first time doing this with anyone but one would think he had done this several times before.
Amber was totally stunned by his actions. She had been having a terrible night but now here was this strange man and he seemed very nice. She wasn't sure why, but she felt like she could trust him. Unlike many people she knew, she really didn't have a lot of trust issues, though she was never again going to trust her ex-boyfriend for anything.
She took his proffered hand and stepped out of the car. Looking up to the sky, the clouds were moving, finally showing a clear sky with a full moon. Being able to see what her face looked like, Brian let go of her hand and reached into the glove compartment, pulling out a cloth.
"What are you…" she started. She never had a chance to finish when Brian left the safety of the headlights to move towards the lake. Squinting her eyes, she could see he stopped just at the edge of the water and bent over. She couldn't see what he was doing but she could hear the water sloshing around before it stopped and he stood back up. Turning back to her, he walked back, stopping just in front of her.
He took the now wet cloth and gently began to wipe her face free from the smeared makeup and tear stains. She took an intake of breath as the cool material touched her face, wide eyes staring at him.
"A Beautiful lady such as yourself shouldn't look so out of place," he answered her silent question, continuing to lightly wash her face from all make up. Once her face was done, he took each hand and carefully washed them, one at a time. They were both covered in ruined makeup and dirt and he wanted to be sure everything was gone.
Amber's heart was fluttering like mad. This strange man was so gentle towards her. No guy had ever treated her like that before. And being around Brian, she was vastly starting to forget everything up to the point when he saved her. He was truly being a gentleman. Something that every teenage boy was lacking that she knew of.
Just as soon as all the makeup finally was gone, Brian took the cloth and tossed it into the back seat from the opened the window. Music from the stereo suddenly changed, playing regular music. The song that was just starting to play, Amber was quick to recognize the song the love theme from the movie Titanic. Her eyes closed as her body began to sway to the rhythm of the music.
Brian watched for a few moments until the lyrics began and he felt something within himself. He so wanted to help this woman not feel like her evening was totally ruined. "Would you like to dance?" he asked slightly nervous, holding his hand to her.
"Me dance?" she blinked, surprised. She looked down at herself, not forgetting she was all dressed up to dance. She looked up to Brian and could see he was really trying to help brighten her evening a bit better.
With a shrug, she stepped closer to her, carefully resting her hand in his proffered one. His hand tightened over hers as he pulled her closer to his body, putting his other arm around her waist. She gave a slight intake of breath once again as he pulled her close and soon had her gently swaying to the music. With the full moon and the location, it would have truly been a romantic moment. But that wasn't the case. He was helping her find comfort as she was trying to calm down from the night's events.
All too soon the song ended. The two stopped and just looked at one another. Amber had a feeling of being completely safe in the man's arms and that alone was frightening her. She had only just met the guy and she was already feeling like she could put her full trust into him.
She took a step back. "Thank you for the dance," she blushed.
"You're welcome," he answered kindly. "Thank you for being a nice dancing partner."
Her blush deepened as her heart began to beat faster. She had to get it under control and fast. "Perhaps you should take me home now."
Without so much as a word, he took her hand once again and walked back over to the passenger side of the car, letting her back in. He went to the other side, getting in. Once they were back on the road again, she was quick to give him, her address. It didn't take them long to arrive at the driveway where he turned and drove straight up to her doorstep.
This time when he stopped, Brian remained in his seat this time as Amber opened the door to step out. She looked at him as she stepped one foot out of the car.
"Thank you Brian," she spoke, breaking the silence. "For everything. For saving me in the parking lot and for giving me a lovely time at the lake, even if it was only brief."
"You are most welcome," he answered with a soft smile. "If you wish to speak to me, you can contact me through Sam. I do live in town."
"I will take that under consideration," she smiled. Fully stepping out of the car, she gave one last look. "I will never forget the moment at the lake." With that she turned away, heading inside the house.
Brian's body seemed to melt away in a series of static energy and the entire inside the car went completely dark. A voice suddenly came from the radio.
"As I will never forget it either…" the voice whispered.
Just then a new sound came from his speakers. "Bee… where the hell are you?"
"Sorry. I'll be there shortly. I'll explain when I get there."
The Camaro pulled into gear, driving back the way it came, heading back to the school, but going at a speed that was abnormal for regular cars. Once getting to the school, Sam who was annoyed, stood outside the front doors.
"What happened?" he demanded.
Straight from the radio in the sounds from movies it said. "Again, sorry. D.I.D. needed help."
"What damsel?" Sam knew Bumblebee's crypt messages.
"Amber. Pretty."
"Amber?"
Mikaela then came up to the car. "There's a student missing. Amber Trixton. She was last seen shortly after we arrive."
"I drove her home," Bumblebee answered in his normal voice. "She was in trouble in the parking lot."
"What happened?" asked Mikaela.
"A couple of drunk creeps tried to attack her until I intervened."
"Oh gosh! And she's alright?"
"Mikaela, you don't have to be discouraged. I drove her home, she thinks I'm Sam's cousin, Brian."
Sam lowered his voice. "You used your holographic form. But I thought that was installed for emergency purposes?"
"Saving a woman probably from being assaulted, I consider that as an emergency."
"But why Brian?"
Bumblebee was getting tired of the twenty questions. "It was the first thing that came to mind. Mikaela, why don't you go in and inform them of Amber's whereabouts and then I'll take you two home. I believe that is the reason why you're annoyed I wasn't here when you wanted me to."
Mikaela nodded. She picked up her skirt, which happened to be a black and green halter gown. The gown wasn't as full as Amber's but was puffy enough to be careful in how she was stepping so it didn't catch on anything. Her hair was pulled back in a French braid, twisted around her head.
Sam sat himself into the driver's seat, pulling off his bow tie. He really didn't want to go to the prom but with Mikaela wanting to, he felt obligated. After two hours, they were both ready to go home. The drama that was beginning to happen at the school was bothering them plus Mikaela's ex-boyfriend Trent, was becoming a pain. Just as soon as Mikaela returned to the car, she sat herself in the passenger seat just as Bumblebee released control to Sam to drive back to Mikaela's home.
