This is my favorite movie, and I decided to write something that no one has touched on yet—Shermer High's senior prom. Unfortunately, it only focuses on my favorite pairing. Can you guess?

Please be kind and review J This will be in two parts.

By the way, I thought of the idea for this when I was watching the movie the other night and I caught one of Bender's one liners:

"Sweet…you couldn't ignore me if you tried."

Her situation hadn't improved. Daddy still used her, and Mommy still abused her. Claire's drunken shadow of a mother had almost taken over her life. She'd lost count of how many times she stayed home Saturday night, making sure her mother didn't crack her head open on the bathroom floor. Of course, she knew her friends would remain oblivious to the whole thing; they were too concerned with themselves, their boyfriends and their god-damn prom.

Claire brought her palms to her eyes at this thought. Sitting with her head in her hands, she wondered how exactly her life had come to this.

Charlie Lenahan had approached her two weeks ago last Tuesday. She remembered having her head in her locker when a large hand came to rest on her shoulder. Her heart skipped a beat…strong hands…and in her surprise she conveniently hit her head against her coat hook. Vision blurry, she vaguely remembered being asked to the prom, and said yes offhandedly, not even realizing who it was. Charlie Lenahan, fortunately, was a soccer player whose reputation as a stud was well known. Unfortunately, Claire had no interest in him.

Her dress was pink. Most people would say it was appropriate for Claire, but if she chose she would have gone with deep red. "That red clashes horribly with your hair," her mother had said when she put it on. It was one of her few sober moments. "The pink makes you look so special, Claire. Like a princess."

It wasn't until she was back in the car with the puffy package in her lap that she even realized what happened. She vaguely remembered being asked "Claire, honey, are you okay?", and her lack of response must have answered her mother's question quite clearly. The car ride was silent the rest of the way home.

One more night, she thought to herself as she put on her makeup. It was like putting on a whole new face, really—a face that had become more of a stranger to her in the last few months than ever before. It was May, and graduation would soon be approaching. Her day of liberation. It was the day when she could throw away her life at Shermer High—a reputation of perfection she fought so hard to preserve. It was funny now, thinking back on her high school years. The things that were important to her freshman year were long ago tossed aside for new worries and concerns. In a few short weeks, she would be finally be rid of her own self-inflicted stereotype.

Hair fixed, dress zipped, and makeup on, she felt better than she had in years. The prom last year was a dismal affair; her boyfriend Taylor had just broken up with her, and she had no date. Luckily, her good friend Alyssa found her an escort in no time—a college baseball player, Brian something. He was kind to her, which was especially nice, considering the circumstances of her breakup. However, she couldn't help thinking that Taylor would have been there if she had just done it.

Although Claire's mood was still a dark one, feeling pretty can work wonders. The dress was way too puffy for her tastes, but her eyes sparkled right along with the diamonds on her neckline. It's good enough, she thought. It'll get me through.

Charlie brought her a corsage of white roses. He complemented her dress, flirted with her mother, and posed flawlessly for her father's photos. Her high heels clicked along the driveway as she scurried to the Porsche in the rain. Of course, with her luck, her perfectly curled hair would be a mess in moments. She was trying to salvage her makeup as they pulled into the parking lot of Shermer High.

He parked the car and ran around it to open her door. Charlie crouched low with his suitcoat over his head, yelling over the rain."Sorry, princess, but I can't park any closer than this! We're going to have to make a run for it!"

She didn't look in his eyes, but took his hand. "Please don't call me that."

They had almost made it, until a sharp pain in her ankle and cold cement met the bottom of her right foot. "I lost my shoe!"

The pouring rain obscured her vision. Her clear shoe would barely be visible in this strong of a downpour. But for some reason, she needed that shoe. "Go on, I'll meet you in a minute."

Claire laughed a bit to herself as he nodded and darted for the door. Of course Charlie wasn't a gentleman, but she already knew that. Turning around, she limped down the steps carefully until she reached the lowest one. Nowhere in sight.

Here she was, clad in her prom dress, soaked to the bone by a passing spring shower. And all she could think about was finding her shoe. It wasn't even that expensive, but somehow the thought of it being lost was bothering her more than she was willing to admit. Twisting the single diamond in her ear, she looked for a few more moments until she saw it, lying on its side to the right of the steps.

She hurried over and wedged it on. Her first step, though, was met with a searing pain through her leg, causing her to wince. She took a few more steps, then rounded a corner to take the back stairway into the gymnasium.

There, soaked through his several layers of clothing, drenched cigarette in hand, stood John Bender.

Conclusion will be up soon :)