Disclaimer: I own none of the characters used in this work of fiction. I am only using them for entertainment purposes.
Notes:This is a Heroes and High School Musical crossover. No, you don't need to have watched Heroes to read this as it's really AU where Heroes is concerned. Besides, only Claire Bennet appears. This was written for the livejournal community galorechallenge using the prompts Prom and Red Dress. Much thanks to lara-xo for looking over this piece. I hope you enjoy it. Feedback is loved.
-X-
Promises
"There all done," the enthusiastic voice stated, turning the chair to face the large mirror.
Claire sighed in relief and opened her eyes to the handy work of her cousin, a smile appearing on her pretty face. She looked at the reflection of the pretty blonde just behind, whose expression glowed with satisfaction.
"Thanks Sharpay, you did a wonderful job with the make up."
Sharpay Evans nodded; "Of course, did you really have any doubts in me Claire?"
The shorter blonde giggled softly, "None."
"Great!" Sharpay clapped her hands together before she reached out for her cousins' hands. "Now we can't have you sitting down any longer or the back of your dress will wrinkle. This is prom and we don't want that."
Claire was hosted up to her feet by the drama queen, laughing as the teen continued on how everything was to be perfect and on the fact that Taylor was more then a little bit late. A soft knock sounded from Sharpay's bedroom door, followed by soft clapping. Both blondes turned to the intruder; Claire offering a smile to the older twin as Sharpay rolled her eyes.
Ryan smiled from ear to ear at the pair, holding his arms out to engulf both girls into a massive hug. Sharpay released an indignant squeak, barking for him to release them at once or else god forbid their dresses be ruined before they even made it to the dance.
Her pleas went on being ignored as Ryan kissed each girl on her cheek before he released them. "The two of you look amazing. I'm sure Troy and Chad will be pleased."
The boy only received a pointed glare from his twin while Sharpay smoothed out her dress. Claire looked her cousin over. Ryan looked as charming as ever in the black tuxedo. The cummerbund and tie a beautiful teal color to match the color that Taylor had chosen for her dress.
With a gentle elbow to the boys' ribs Claire smiled teasingly, "Don't you look handsome Ryan? Ready to sweep Taylor off her feet?"
A pink hue quickly rose to the boys' cheeks at the mention of his current girlfriend.
"Oh, don't get his head all swelled up Claire." Sharpay huffed, ignoring the mumbled comment her brother made. "So, where's Taylor?"
Ryan tugged at his right sleeve, "She said she's coming with Troy and Chad. They sho-" the doorbell rung just as he went to finish his reply, he chuckled at the timing. "That should be them now. Are you two ready?"
He extended an arm out to both just as the twin's mother called up to the trio that their dates had arrived. Claire took a deep breath, preparing herself for East High's prom. A glance at her cousin told her that Sharpay was far from nervous. The drama queen as confident as ever as she took hold of her brother's right arm. Any doubts in the girls mind was washed away at the smiling faces of her family, without any more hesitation, Claire took the left arm of Ryan Evans that he had offered. The boy leading the two girls out of the room and down the stairs to face their dates.
-X-
Troy tugged helplessly at the sleeve of his suit jacket for what seemed like the hundredth time since he'd put it up. The blue-eyed teen fidgeted, debating on whether this had been a good idea. Chad had been scowling since he had arrived at the Bolton residence and found his best friend in this state. The large haired teen had just reached up a hand to smack the back of Troy's head in hopes of knocking some sense into his captain when Taylor placed a comfortingly hand on Troy's.
"Hey, are you ok?" The brilliant teen asked, removing her hand once Troy had stopped playing with his sleeve.
Troy looked up at her in surprise; he hadn't heard her come into the room. "Oh, hey Taylor. I didn't hear you come in."
Taylor laughed softly, "Yeah, I rung the doorbell a few times until your mother finally answered it for me. She sent me up here."
He nodded and stated with a bright smile, "Well you look great. Ryan will certainly be in for a treat."
The teen looked down at the thin-strapped teal dress she wore; though the action was more to hide the blush that had crept its way to her face. She shook off the blush quickly before looking back up at the boy.
"Thank you. You and Chad look great as well." She nodded at them respectively, Troy's tie and cummerbund a nice red color while Chad's was a sugar pink that the teen had fought against. "So what's the matter?"
Troy quickly shifted his eyes, "Nothing's wrong. Why do you think something is wrong?"
The girls' brow rose as she crossed her arms over the sequenced part of her dress. "As if the fidgeting wasn't enough to clue me to something being wrong Troy."
Chad chuckled, receiving a glare in return, "His just nervous. He even tried to make a run for it."
Taylor shook her head, the little curls that framed her face gently smacking against her skin; "Sharpay would murder you if you stood up her cousin."
Troy sighed, "I know that and I wasn't planning to make a run for it. I just...it's complicated."
"He was mumbling something about a promise before you came in." Chad offered another glare tossed in his direction.
Taylor nodded, before glancing at the clock. "Well boys, we don't have anymore time to waste. Our prom is only two hours away and you know that Sharpay wants to be there early."
She motioned them out of the room, fixing Chad's tie just before he walked past her, and to Troy's car. The ride to the Evans' home was a silent one aside from the music that escaped from the cars' radio. Before the three knew it, Troy pulled into the Evans' large driveway and Chad was already on his way to ringing the doorbell.
Mrs. Evans answered the door, gushing at how amazing Taylor looked in her dress and how handsome the two boys' looked before calling up to Sharpay, Ryan and Claire. That nervous feeling was returning as Troy began to toy with the buttons on his sleeves once more. Taylor reached out to touch his hand just as the trio made their way down the stairs. The girls were each attached to one of Ryan's arms; Troy didn't realize he'd been holding his breath until he released it once they had entered the massive living room.
"Wow, babe you look amazing." Chad stated as he extended his arm for the blonde Ice Princess to take. She giggled at his comment, replying with her own that she knows she looked amazing. Troy had to admit, the sugary pink dress did look wonderful on her but no one topped Claire.
Claire dressed in a strapless red dress that stopped just before the floor. The bust of the dress was sequenced nicely with flower designs that spiraled. The shade of the dress looked stunning on the blondes' body, the dress and light make-up were also complimented by the style of the girls' hair. It was pulled into a neat twist on the top of her head, two strands of hair framing her face and a red rose barrette set just right.
Troy blinked at the sharp pain in his side, resisting the urge to yell out for two reasons. One, Claire Bennet stood just in front of him expectantly and second, he did not want to give Sharpay the satisfaction of teasing him the whole night. He blinked back a tear to look up at Chad who discreetly nodded his head towards Claire before he returned to engaging in conversation with Ryan.
With a shift gulp, Troy took his cue. "You look amazing Claire."
Claire bowed her head shyly and smiled, "Thanks."
The two remained oblivious to the other two couples until Sharpay took it upon herself to clear her throat. The blonde frowned, waving her hand.
"As much fun it is to stand here and stare at one another, I would much rather be at the hotel for our Prom. The limo is waiting for us." She stated and grabbed her boyfriend's arm, the large teen having no time to protest as the surprisingly strong blonde pulled him out of the house. Taylor and Ryan followed not far behind. Troy shook his head before extending his arm to his partner for the evening, which Claire gladly accepted.
-X-
Prom was better then they expected, the students had picked the theme and theirs was none other then Old Hollywood. The ballroom was dressed elegantly in gold and various cut out stand-ups of famous Hollywood personas stood ready for pictures. But that was not what Troy focused on.
He attention was on the blonde in his arms and how close his body was to hers. While his hands dare not to venture any further then her small waist, Claire retained a strong hold around his neck.
"Thanks for coming tonight, Claire." He mumbled over the loud music.
Claire raised her head to look at him, "What?"
Troy smiled down at her, "Thanks for coming. I really appreciate it."
She rolled her eyes in response; " I did make you that promise a while back, besides it looks like you have more then one admirer. I don't know why you'd want to come with me."
Troy's eyes flickered about at the other girls. None of them seemed to be happy that the Golden boy was in some unknown girls' arms. A nervous smile crossed his lips until Claire gentle touched his cheek, blue eyes returning to her with full attention.
"You know you didn't have to come." They continued to dance and Troy was fully aware that Sharpay and Chad were not far off watching them.
"I wanted to." She answered, standing on the tips of her toes to place a soft kiss on the surprised boys' lips.
He blinked and blinked again before a smile slowly crept its way over his handsome face. "What was that for?"
Claire shrugged, "For everything I guess."
With another sweet kiss to the lips, Claire rested her head against the basketball players' chest. Troy continued to smile idiotically hands still firm on her waist, head bent down resting atop of hers as they continued to sway to the music.