"Party at the Prom?" Ellie questioned sarcastically as she surveyed the invitation in her hand. "Please tell me this is a really lame joke, that the dance committee didn't pick that as the prom theme?"
"Blame Heather for the lameness," Marco sighed. "Everyone else wanted a Serenade theme with Piano keys lining the floor and golden music notes hanging from the ceiling."
"So why cave?" Alex piped up, digging her plastic fork into what looked like potatoes.
Marco snorted and said, "Have you ever had to sit through one of Heather's temper tantrums? It's right up there with sticking rusty nails in my eyes on my list of ways to torture myself."
"Knock her down a peg or two, trust me it works," Alex suggested.
Ellie snickered, well aware of how annoying Heather could be. They'd been paired up in grade nine for an MI project. The group work had only lasted a couple of weeks but it had felt like months by the time it was over.
"How do you suggest he does that?" Ellie asked, raising her eyebrow in curiosity.
Alex shrugged. "You could always break into the gym the night before prom and redecorate it."
"Right, because I really look like the breaking and entering type," Marco laughed.
"I don't know, it could be fun," Ellie added with a little smile. "I'm sure Paige and Craig would help. Like one last hooray before graduation."
"Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?" Marco shrieked, his forehead wrinkling in mock concern.
"You really need to lighten up a little, Marco. It's not like we'd be robbing a bank. It's the school gymnasium; what are they going to do expel us?" Alex asked, shoving her plate away from her. "Besides, it's not exactly breaking and entering if I know someone with keys."
Marco shot a worried look back and forth between Alex and Ellie. "You guys aren't going to let me say no to this are you?" he asked, swallowing the lump in his throat.
Both girls returned the look with evil smiles, as they shook their heads no.
-0-0-
Ellie had to nearly pull Marco down the dimly lit streets as they made their way toward the school. They were supposed to meet the gang at the back entrance where they'd unlock the maintenance door. From there they'd make their way to the janitor's closet where they had hidden the decorations. It was simple a simple plan, get in, change up the theme, and then get out. Nothing could go wrong.
"Jesus, what took you guys so long?" Alex hissed as Ellie and Marco made their way around the side of the building.
Ellie pointedly looked at Marco and said, "Someone's being a baby."
"I just don't think this is a great idea," Marco replied defensively.
"I'm with Marco on this one," Emma said. She stepped in drawing Ellie's attention to where she stood beside Manny and Craig.
Ellie did her best not to roll her eyes. The sight of Craig with Manny still caused her blood to boil. She just didn't get what he saw in her.
"There's a surprise," Alex muttered under her breath.
"Are we doing this thing or what?" a familiar voice broke through the crowd, "because I have better things to do with my Friday night then hang out with you lame asses."
An uneasy quiet fell over the group as Jay pushed his way towards the door. You could almost cut the tension with a knife, it was so thick. The concerned look creasing Emma's face slipped into irritation at Jay's appearance, and the disgusted look on Manny's face made Jay's presence somewhat enticing to Ellie.
The door clicked as Jay turned the key, breaking the silence. He pushed it open with his foot then steeped inside. Ellie quickly followed wanting as much distance between her and Craig as physically possible.
"Jay?" she heard Marco whisper harshly. It was quickly followed by a snarky remark from Alex, but Ellie couldn't make it out as she ventured further into the deserted school.
"Afraid of the dark, Nash?" Jay snickered, motioning to where Ellie's hand was firmly wound into the fabric of his jacket.
Ellie quickly let go, shooting him a defiant look as she replied, "Should I be?"
Even in the darkness she could see that ****y smile curling up the corner of Jay's lips, his white teeth gleaming from the outside light that was drifting in through the open door. She rolled her eyes, quickly moving past him and into the stairwell leading up to the main hallway.
-0-0-
"It looks like a cotton candy machine blew up in here," Craig said stepping into the gym and taking the decorations in with disgust.
"Or a bottle of Pepto-Bismol," Jay joked.
Manny, who was still desperately clinging to Craig's arm, ventured to let go long enough to make a circle of the gym. "I don't know," she started, "I kind of like it with all the pink."
"You would," Ellie muttered, receiving a nasty look from Manny as she returned to Craig's arm.
"Okay, guys," Marco interrupted, stepping into the center of the gym and taking charge. "Emma, Manny, Craig and I will stay here and de-heather'ize the gym. Paige, Alex, Ellie and Jay can start bringing in the other decorations. We should have this done in no time."
"Hold up, killer," Jay interjected, pushing himself off the doorframe he'd been leaning on and stepping into the gym. "No one said anything about manual labor."
"Go!" Alex replied. She forcefully pushed Jay out of the gym. Ellie and Paige followed as the four made their way down the empty hallway to the janitor's closet.
"I say we ditch the losers and go have a foursome in the auto shop," Jay suggested, ****ing his eyebrow distinctly in Ellie's direction.
"Hun, could you be anymore disgusting?" Paige questioned as she pushed past Jay and caught up to Alex.
Jay snickered, "I don't know but I'm willing to find out if you're up to the task."
"Not even in your perviest dream," Paige shot back.
"Don't worry, Princess, you're not really my type," Jay replied, his eyes trained on Ellie not Paige. "What about you, Nash, up for a little pleasure?"
Ellie rolled her eyes, pushing Jay away as he moved to drape his arm around her shoulders. She was beginning to have second thoughts about this plan of theirs.
"You know if you stopped running your mouth we'd get done a lot faster," Alex stepped in, turning to look back at Jay and Ellie. "Didn't you say something about better things to do?"
"Wow, she actually acknowledges my presence. Here I thought you'd forgotten all about me," Jay remarked.
Alex's jaw dropped slightly as Jay's words hit her, though she quickly recovered, retorting, "I'm sure the skanks at the ravine haven't forgotten about you. They're probably wondering where you are right now, or better yet you can go back to the gym and harass Emma!"
Jay's jaw clenched in anger, the lines jutting out, making him look harder, older and fiercer. His blue eyes flashed furiously as he mumbled, "Screw you, Lexie." Then after a second thought he added, "Screw all of you."
Jay tossed Ellie the set of keys that had gotten them into the locked building, then turned and made his way back down the hallway towards the stairs. Ellie stopped dead in her tracks the second her hands wrapped around the keys. Her eyes were glued there for what seemed like hours until she finally looked up at Alex then back at Jay's retreating form.
"Whatever, let him go," Alex said as she took the keys from Ellie's hand. "We only needed him for the keys anyway."
-0-0-
Ellie held one side of the ladder as Marco climbed up to hang the last of the golden music notes. She had to admit the gym looked much better with the black, white, and gold decorations then it had when they first entered into Heather's pink paradise.
"Hey, where's the other bag of balloons?" Alex called out from across the gym where she was blowing up the black and white balloons and tying them to a trellis arch.
"I'll go check the closet," Ellie offered as Marco began descending down the ladder.
-0-0-
There was something kind of creepy about walking down the deserted hallways of Degrassi alone and at night that sent chills down Ellie's spine. She quickened her pace, wanting to get back to the group as fast as possible.
"Where are you?" she muttered to herself as she searched the closet for the missing balloons.
"Boo!" a voice yelled at the same time the closet door slammed shut.
Ellie jumped, spinning around to find herself face-to-face with Jay. Without even thinking she swung back and nailed him in the arm. "You jerk! That's not funny," she shrieked crossly. She shoved him back against the door.
"Ow," he teased, rubbing his arm where she'd hit him. A smirk graced his lips, causing Ellie's anger to soar higher. "It was a little funny," he added as an afterthought.
"You're such a jerk," Ellie muttered, pushing Jay out of the way and reaching for the doorknob.
"I couldn't exactly leave without the keys," Jay explained as he watched Ellie twist the doorknob. He waited for the door to open but it didn't. All the playfulness left Jay's voice as he stepped closer to the door. "Now that's not funny," he said, "stop playing around and open the door, Red."
"I'm trying," Ellie insisted, turning the doorknob again with no luck. "It's locked."
Jay nudged Ellie out of the way, wrapping his hands around the knob and shoving against the wooden slat that was blocking their way out. The door didn't budge. He tried again a little harder but still the door remained shut tight.
"Where are the keys?" Jay asked, his hands still tightly circling the doorknob.
"Gee, why didn't I think of that?" Ellie replied sarcastically. "Oh, right, because I don't have them. They're in the gym with Alex."
"S***," Jay groaned as he frantically turned the doorknob, throwing his weight against the door.
"Would you relax?" Ellie suggested, her brow furrowed in concern at Jay's panic. She placed a hand on his shoulder to stop him. "Sooner or later they'll realize I haven't come back and they'll come looking for me. We just have to hang tight 'til then."
"Easy for you to say," Jay huffed. He let go of the doorknob and smacked at the door with the flats of his hands.
"I'm sorry but I find it hard to believe that you, Jason Hogart, Degrassi's very own resident badass, is afraid of small spaces," Ellie teased, trying to ease both the tension and Jay's panic.
With a deep breath Jay turned around to face her, his back pressing against the wooden door. "What makes you think I'm afraid?" he asked coolly. He slid down the smooth wood until he was sitting on the floor. "Maybe I just don't want to be stuck in here with YOU."
Ellie sighed, taking a step closer before sitting down beside Jay's feet. "Well, I'd much rather be stuck in here with you then stuck out there watching Manny throw herself at Craig."
"So, you have a thing for the rock star," Jay taunted with a weak smile.
"No!" Ellie shot back defensively, then with a roll of her eyes added, "Maybe just a little."
Jay chuckled, "At least he's not gay. I still can't quite wrap my head around Alex being into chicks, especially overly preppy spirit squad princesses."
"I know the feeling," Ellie replied. Jay looked confused so she elaborated, "I dated Marco, remember?"
Jay nodded and rested his head back against the door behind him. He took a deep breath. "Kind of wouldn't mind watching them make out, though," Jay said, smirking.
Ellie lightly kicked Jay in the hip with her boot, suppressing a laugh. "Perv," she muttered.
Jay laughed as the tension in his shoulders slid away. He looked over into Ellie's green eyes that, despite her best efforts, were dancing with laughter. He opened his mouth for a smart-mouth comeback, but before he could speak she stopped him.
"Don't," she warned, shaking her head, causing the long, red curls to drift around her shoulders. After a short pause she added, "So how exactly did you manage to snag the keys to the school?"
"My old man's one of the janitors," Jay admitted with a hint of indignation. "I swiped them while he was passed out."
"What's his drink of choice?" Ellie asked with the same hint of indignation. "My mom's was always vodka, straight from the bottle."
"Jack with or without the coke depending on his mood," Jay replied. "Although sometimes he parties with Jim or Jose or whatever happens to be in the liquor cabinet at the time."
"Wow, who knew we had so much in common?" Ellie asked, pulling her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them.
Jay shrugged and said, "I don't know. I kind of always thought you fit in with us outcasts. You know when you were with Sean or whatever. Definitely never thought of you as the prom type. But what do I know? I spent the last four years dating a lesbian."
"I'm probably not even going," Ellie mumbled, resting her chin on top of her bent knees.
"What, no dress?" Jay asked half-teasing.
"No date," Ellie replied.
"So you're one of those girls that need a stupid date to go to a stupid high school dance," Jay offered. "You could always ask Isaacs, I'm sure he's flying solo."
"Ha, ha, very funny," Ellie replied sarcastically. "What about you, are you going?"
"To prom?" Jay asked, his voice rising in shock. "I don't think so."
"Why not? I'm sure Amy would love to be your date," Ellie teased back.
"I'm sure she would," Jay laughed. "But Degrassi social events aren't really my thing."
"Then why go through all this trouble to help redecorate the gym?" Ellie asked, raising her eyebrow in curiosity.
Jay shrugged. "I don't know because of Alex I guess. It's the first conversation we've had that didn't end in yelling since the whole cheating thing."
"You care about her, huh?" Ellie asked, a warm smile lifting her lips.
Jay thought about it for a minute as he locked eyes with the red head sitting across from him, and said, "I guess."
An awkward silence fell over them at Jay's admittance of actual feelings. Ellie picked at the fray of her jeans, still hugging her knees with one arm. She could feel Jay's eyes studying her, watching her, waiting for her to say something.
Ellie looked back up at him, opening her mouth to speak just as a voice rang through the closed door. "Ellie, you in there?" Alex asked from the other side.
"Yeah, we kind of got locked in," Ellie called back as the key slipped into the lock. A soft click signaled the unlocking of the door as both Ellie and Jay climbed to their feet.
"We?" Alex asked as the door swung open, bringing her face-to-face with Ellie and Jay. "Oh."
"I came back for the keys," Jay explained, stepping out of the closet quickly and snatching the keys out of the door.
Alex eyed him suspiciously before turning back to Ellie and saying, "We found the other bag of balloons. The gym's all done; we can go now."
-0-0-
Ellie stood in her bedroom starring at the dress hanging on the back of her door. She'd picked it out months earlier hoping to catch a certain boy's attention. "So you're one of THOSE girls," Jay's words drifted back to her, "that need a stupid date to go to a stupid high school dance."
She wasn't one of THOSE girls, girls like Manny, whose whole world centered on a stupid boy. She'd prided herself on not being like that, not being the typical teenaged girl. Jay had reminded her of that.
Ellie pushed herself up off the bed, ignoring the groan of the springs as she strode across the room to the bedroom door. Pale blue satin flowing into a full skirt, it had caught Ellie's attention immediately; even now looking at it sent butterflies through her stomach. Maybe she was one of THOSE girls, but with or without a date she'd made up her mind to go.
-0-0-
Ellie stood along the back wall of the gym watching as her fellow classmates swayed and groped and cuddled on the dance floor. She'd only seen Marco once and only for a split second. Paige and Alex were somewhere in the throng of people, and Craig and Manny were seated at a table with Peter and Emma. In that moment she was having a hard time remembering why she'd talked herself into coming.
"What? No pink?" a deep, husky voice asked nudging a shoulder against Ellie's.
She laughed, turning her head towards Jay to reply, "Contrary to popular eighties beliefs red heads don't look so pretty in pink."
"What made you change your mind?" Jay asked, chuckling as he leaned back against the wall.
"I didn't like being called one of THOSE girls," she replied. "What about you?"
A shriek from a short distance away drew Jay and Ellie out of their conversation. Heather stood in the doorway, a look of pure horror turning her face red, washing out the pink of her dress.
"That's why I came," Jay snickered as he watched the scene unfold. "You're right, pink and red don't go well together."
Ellie laughed as the gym came back to life, everyone ignoring Heather's tantrum in favor of their own fun. Ellie turned back to Jay, a smile lighting up her entire face as she swallowed the lump in her throat and asked, "Want to dance?"
Jay nodded, leading Ellie out onto the dance floor, the flat of his hand resting at the small of her back. He encircled her waist as she slid her arms around his neck. They both began swaying to the soft beat that floated through the gym, bouncing off the golden music notes above their heads.