For this week's challenge (write an AU) at dao_challenge on LJ. It's just not fandom without a high school AU.
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It was a typical day at Denerim High, and in the cafeteria Amy Surana picked at her food morosely. She had been trying all week not to look over at the rich kids' table where her ex-boyfriend now sat, but it hadn't been working. He never looked back at her, that was for sure. And why would he? She was a bookish mage with glasses and a ponytail who played the bagpipes in the school band. He was the sweet, handsome star of the Templar sparring team. Of course it hadn't worked out.
And now he had asked that rich, snotty Elissa Cousland to prom.
Her best friend, Leliana the foreign exchange student, patted her hand. "He is not worth it, no?" she said, while a whole table of geeky freshmen boys fainted at her sexy accent. "There are other, how you say, poissons dans la mer."
"Not like Alistair," Amy said sadly.
"'Tis true," said Morrigan from the other end of the table where she sat reading existentialist philosophy. The goth chick was less mean to Amy than she was to anyone else, so that probably meant they were friends. Or not, you could never tell with Morrigan. "There can be no one as dim in all of Denerim. Trapped in that slab of beefcake is a mind the size of a pea."
"Did someone say slab of beefcake?" said a cheerful voice, and Zevran sat down at the table, grinning. Morrigan groaned. Leliana rolled her eyes.
Amy regarded her friend. Zevran really was attractive. Sure, he did get around, but underneath that suave lothario exterior there was a sweet and sensitive boy who just wanted to be loved. Or maybe not. Either way.
"Zevran," Amy said, "do you want to go to the prom with me?"
"I thought you would never ask," Zevran said. "Sadly, this means that I have already asked someone. I shall be attending with Laura Brosca and Ian Mahariel. Since neither of them knows I have invited the other, hijinks will most likely ensue."
"Why go in any case?" Morrigan said. "'Tis a useless overpriced ritual meant to impose traditional standards and norms on impressionable youth. I would never involve myself in such a fiasco."
A shadow fell across the table. Everyone looked up. Then further up. Sten, the biggest, tallest, most mysterious guy in school, stood there. What was he doing here? Sten never talked to anyone. But now he was looking right at Morrigan.
"Prom," said Sten.
Morrigan regarded him for a moment. "Fine," she said.
Sten grunted and moved on.
Amy sighed. "Now everyone's got a date but me!"
Zevran grinned wickedly. "You could always go with Oghren. He likes you." Across the room, Oghren, or "Big Og" as he was known on the football team, belched magnificently and wiped his face with the sleeve of the guy sitting next to him. He saw Amy looking at him and gave her a good-natured leer.
"Oh, this is useless," Amy said. "I don't want to go to the prom with anyone else, just Alistair. Ms. Wynne tells me I should just believe in myself and wonderful things will happen to me, but she's wrong. I love him so much!" She started to cry.
Morrigan patted her shoulder. "There, there," she said awkwardly.
"I have a plan," Leliana said firmly. "Ma cherie, we are going to help you get him back."
"How?" Amy said. "A sailing competition?"
"A ski race?" Morrigan said.
"Vast amounts of underage drinking?" Zevran said hopefully.
"All three if we have to," Leliana said. "And we're going to start with my very favorite thing in the whole world." She whipped Amy's glasses off her face. "A makeover montage!"