A/N: Thank you for all the feedback on the one shot that inspired this. By popular demand, here's the full story. Rick, Michonne, the 90s, and a summer job. Without further ado...
"We weren't going to work out anyway."
It was not an easy thing to hear from her high school sweetheart, regardless of its veracity. It also definitely was not the sort of statement that a person wanted to hear on their prom night. Nevertheless, Michonne stood blinking in her iridescent lavender dress, her eyes on her very recently ex-boyfriend.
"Mike, are you serious?" she squinted at him, unbelieving.
"Do you really want to go into college dragging around your high school boyfriend?" Mike questioned. His boutonniere matched her corsage.
The truth was, she absolutely did not want that. Still, she figured they would at least make it to graduation.
"You want to do this tonight?" she asked him, leaning back on her heeled mules, blowing one of her microbraids back from her face.
"Figured it'd be better to do it before the pictures. Save some money," Mike shrugged. It was a practical suggestion. Mike was nothing if not practical.
"Why buy me this then?" Michonne brandished her wrist, the small forget-me-nots and irises shining in the low light of the gym.
"You were a good girlfriend. I wanted to get you something to remember me by," Mike smiled winningly, as though this gesture made up for all the rest.
Wordlessly, Michonne fiddled with the tie on the corsage, undoing the miniscule knot. She dropped the flowers in her ex's hand without fanfare.
"Enjoy your night," she told him, spinning on her heel and heading back into the dance.
Mike did not follow her. Michonne knew that he wouldn't. It didn't stop her from pushing her way back onto the dance floor, smiling at her friends as she headed towards the stage. It was time for the announcement of prom queen and king and Michonne had no plans on missing it.
"All right," student body president Andrea Holden beamed down from the stage at them all, her blonde hair coiled into an updo of tight spirals, her lipliner perfectly matching her eyeshadow. "It's time!"
A chorus of cheers went up from the audience. Michonne felt Sasha at her elbow. She glanced over at her friend, smiling.
"Where's Mike?" Sasha asked in a whisper, adjusting her rhinestone gown.
"Who cares?" Michonne shrugged. "We broke up."
"What?" Sasha's head snapped around. She ignored a glare from Andrea on the stage. Sasha had none of the fervor for prom that their golden-haired friend possessed.
"We weren't going to work out anyway," Michonne parroted, turning her full attention back to Andrea.
"Still," Sasha murmured, "He could have done it after prom." She flexed her fist experimentally. "Want me to get Ty to go find him?
"He's not worth all that," Michonne promised her. Besides, Sasha's little brother Tyrese was liable to kill Mike. The boys already had a rivalry of sorts from the football and the basketball team. Mike was quick, but Ty had about 50 pounds on him since he hit that growth spurt.
Sasha scoffed. "Well, let me know."
Michonne chuckled quietly as the prom court was announced, slowing making their way onto the stage. She took her place among them, smiling brightly at Andrea and the audience as she stood in line next to Lori Wayne, skinny with mermaid-like brown hair, Maggie Greene green-eyed, short haired and bubbly, and Jessie Anderson, blonde, blue-eyed and full figured. Opposite them, the nominees for king stood elbow to elbow. Michonne recognized a few, Zeke from art class, dark skinned in his black suit with his long dreadlocs pulled high, Phillip from debate, ruddy in complexion, his brown hair expertly parted to the side like a politician, Glenn Rhee from gym, tan and ebon haired and grinning winningly at Maggie. The one she didn't know personally was closest to her. One glance, and Michonne knew who'd be taking the crown.
"Rick Grimes!" Andrea announced his name with a flourish. The crowd exploded into an uproar.
Rick stepped forward, looking modest but gracious. It was strange to see him without his standard baseball cap. Michonne had never realized how curly his hair was, or what a nice smile he had. The pitcher of the King County Kings state-champion baseball team, Rick Grimes was famous through their little corner of Georgia.
Michonne relaxed her shoulders, counting down the seconds where she could escape back to her friends. If Rick was prom king, then surely prom queen was—
"Michonne Bechet!"
She started at her own name, but her reaction did not compare to Lori's. The slender brunette exclaimed in disbelief before pulling herself together, fixing a smile on her face that was fake as a three-dollar bill.
If Rick was shocked that his beau hadn't been voted in, he didn't show it. Instead, he reached for Michonne's hand, holding it dutifully as they both were crowned. From the audience, Sasha gave her a thumbs up. Even Mike applauded her loudly, waving as though he hadn't dumped her minutes before.
"Congratulations," Rick told her lowly as a photographer snapped away.
"Thanks," Michonne was still in shock. She chanced a glance at him. He cleaned up pretty nice. She'd only ever seen him in Kurt Cobain flannels or his baseball uniform. "You too. Sorry your girlfriend didn't win." She wasn't sure what compelled to her to say this. Perhaps it was her newfound singledom.
"I'm not," Rick turned his eyes on her, his cheeks dimpling. "And she's not my girlfriend."
Michonne's eyebrows jumped. Rick noticed and laughed.
"What happened?" she asked him, unable to help herself. Rick and Lori were the Barbie and Ken of King County High.
"Caught her behind the gym with Shane Walsh," Rick delivered this with the air of a person discussing the weather. Shane was his teammate, the catcher. Michonne was suddenly glad that the season was over and the school year was closing. The drama was getting uncontrollable in her senior year.
"Damn," Michonne took another look at her competition. Lori looked as though she had swallowed something sour.
Rick adjusted his crown, looking as though he wanted to just take it off. "He did me a favor, really."
Michonne sympathized. "My boyfriend dumped me ten minutes ago. Said that we weren't going to work out anyway."
"Damn," Rick whistled lowly.
"You want to dance?" she asked him, suddenly determined to have fun tonight.
"I do," Rick agreed, tugging her towards the dance floor. "I think we have to anyway."
Sure enough, Bryan Adam's started pumping through the school's sound system. The crowd formed a circle around the dance floor, caging in the prom court. Glenn and Maggie found one another like iron and magnet, Zeke kindly accepted Jessie's proposal to dance, and Phillip stepped into to seize a still-scowling Lori.
"Well," Rick reached for Michonne, looking for all the world like a Disney prince. "Shall we, queen?"
"Sure thing, king," Michonne played along. Rick's hands spanned nearly the length of her waist as he swung her into position. She clutched at his shoulders. "Why is it always this song?" she lamented quietly.
Rick grinned. To Michonne's surprise, he began to sing in a pretty fair imitation of Bryan Adam's gravely voice. "Don't tell me it's not worth fighting for..."
Michonne succumbed to giggles immediately. "Oh my gosh, Rick," she snorted as he continued his impromptu karaoke. "Why do you know the words?"
Rick paused, his eyes flickering to Lori then back to her. "My ex had questionable taste in music."
Michonne shook her head. "Not a power ballad fan?"
Rick shrugged, adjusting his hands around her hips. "There's one I like. Not this one."
"Oh?" Michonne tilted her brows. "I figured you were mostly a Nirvana fan."
Rick laughed outright. "Mostly a farmer's kid with a lot of flannel."
"Lucky you, that it got popular then," Michonne smiled.
"Yeah," Rick pulled her in closer, "Lucky me." The song wound down as the audience clapped. Ace of Base pulsed into the gym and the crowd surged around them, joining in on the dancing. Rick's grip on her loosened, but he didn't let go. Michonne was in no hurry to release him either. This was the most fun she'd had tonight.
"Did you take your prom pictures yet?" an idea occurred to her.
"No," Rick shook his head. "My mom already got about a million pictures of me in this suit."
"Do you mind taking one more?" Michonne asked. "My mom is going to want one."
"Can't disappoint your mom," Rick nodded solemnly. His lips twitched in the hint of a smile. "C'mon," he took her hand again, leading her off the floor to the photo booth.
Prom pictured turned into punch, which led to another round of dancing. Michonne was pleased to find that Rick, though not as talented of a dancer as Mike, did not lack in enthusiasm.
"What are your plans this summer?" Rick asked her, shouting over the music.
"I need a job," Michonne's stomach tightened at just the thought. UCLA loomed ahead, the promise of a shiny new future. That shiny future came with a hefty cost, even with her scholarship.
"What kind of job?" Rick asked, looking thoughtful.
"The kind that pays," Michonne laughed.
"You like movies?" Rick continued his line of questioning, sliding seamlessly into the Macarena.
Michonne joined him, swiveling her hips. "I do." She wondered for a moment if he was asking her out. Her heart began to thump quicker.
"There's an opening at the theater. It's pretty easy work. Free popcorn. Free movies," Rick turned to look at her. "Want me to put in a good word?"
Michonne swallowed, smiling at him. "That would be great."
-l-l-l-l-
"How are you getting home?"
Prom was over and students were streaming out of the gym, headed to after parties, hotels, and dark corners, each determined to hook up.
"I was going to ask Sasha," Michonne answered. In truth, she hadn't thought much about it. Mike had been her ride.
"I've got my truck," Rick gestured to the parking lot. "Let me give you a lift."
"You aren't going to that thing in the woods?" all the athletes were. Michonne figured Sasha and Andrea were going to drag her there one way or the other.
Rick scoffed. "I see those guys enough. I was just going to grab something to eat."
A silence stretched between them. From behind, Michonne heard the clack of heels.
"Michonne!" Andrea was by her side in a moment, flushed and clearly excited. "Are you ready?"
Michonne reluctantly turned her head to look at her friend. "Ready for what?"
"The party! Ty is driving! Everyone is going to be there," Andrea bounced on the balls of her feet.
"Not everyone," Michonne's eyes found Rick again. He smiled just the slightest.
"Let's go," Andrea reiterated. "Shane is waiting for us."
Rick swallowed thickly at the sound of his teammate's name. Michonne turned to her friend.
"You go ahead," she smiled. "I'm going to call it a night."
"And miss the chance to rub your crown in Lori and Jessie's face?" Andrea looked affronted. "Sorry Rick," she added as an afterthought.
"No worries," he chuckled.
"Plus," Andrea doubled down, "I heard what Mike did. You should come celebrate dropping that dead weight."
Michonne shook her head at her friend's lack of tact. Still, the sentiment was appreciated.
"You go ahead," Michonne repeated. "Call me to tell me about it tomorrow."
Andrea blinked at her. "Ok...What are you going to do?" She asked skeptically.
Michonne chanced a look at Rick. There was something almost hopeful in his eyes. "I'm going to grab something to eat."
"Fine, whatever." Andrea was already moving off, a huge smile on her face. Across the parking lot, Shane Walsh had made an appearance. "I'll call you in the morning!"
Michonne waved her off. Rick watched her go, unable to hide his grin.
"Ready?" Michonne reached for her hair, straightening her tiara.
"Ready," Rick tilted his own crown jauntily.
Together, the Queen and King left the prom behind them.