Nationals was a success and senior graduation was only a few weeks away which meant Aaron would be moving after the summer to start college as well as working at Leo and Val's restaurant part time. For now, however the guys were trying to figure out what to do about prom.
"It's not senior prom for us yet but we still need to make it special for the girls, Aaron you're the expert. What should we do man?" Nathan asked him when he brought in the refreshments that Aunt Val prepared. The guys were meeting up at the restaurant so they could start planning without the girls finding out.
"Damn, I feel like I just don't know anymore…Holly's got me all messed up…" Aaron ran a hand through his hair and Joey looked at him.
"I have an idea, and I know just the girl to help me out."
"What did you have in mind Joe?" Eli asked.
"Get your camera and I'll get mine and meet me by the editing room tomorrow morning at school. For now, let's discuss what we came here to discuss. Prom." Joey smirked and said no more about his plan.
"You boys sound like you could use some help." Aunt Val said as she sauntered into the room. "You're overthinking things. You've known Kate and Shelby for years; you know what they like. Bring them here and ask them to prom, with a song."
"Aunt Val you're a genius, that's so obvious!" Joey stood up and hugged her. "Cassie would probably love that too."
"I'm a woman, it comes naturally." She laughed. "Aaron, baby." She put her hands on his cheeks. "Why don't you just ask Deborah?"
"Oh yeah, she was telling Shelbs and my sis that Mitch was out of town so he can't take her to her senior prom." Nathan lightly tapped Aaron's shoulder.
"Yeah I guess, I mean she deserves to go to her senior prom, right?" Aaron shrugged, he'd known Deborah and her sister Judy since they were kids. She'd been dating Mitchell Puckerman for years now, they didn't attend the same school as Aaron but they still hung out often.
"Not a big fan of that Mitchell Puckerman, but his motha is a sweetheart." Val nodded as she walked back into the kitchen to get the boys something to drink.
"Lemme help you out with that Aunt Val." Joey followed her.
"She's right about Mitch, he's kind of a jerk to me and Nate." Eli took a slice of the pizza Nathan brought out earlier.
"Jerk? He's a flat-out bully, I'm glad he doesn't go to our school. At least he's decent to Deb, but guys let's get back on subject. We know how and where we're going to ask the girls to prom. Now the question is, what song do we go with?" Nathan asked.
"You know what? I think I know the perfect song." Aaron was starting to cheer up a bit, Holly may have hated his guts right now but that didn't mean he should keep moping around. "Gentlemen, let's get to work."
"Yo Deb wait up."
Deborah Goldman had been walking home from school, opting out of a ride with Judy and her boyfriend Russell, when she heard someone calling her name.
"Oh, hey Aaron. What's up?" She walked up to his car as he was getting out of it. "What are you doing here? Oh! Did Holly finally forgive you?" Aaron had been confiding in her about it, to get a female perspective that wouldn't be bias towards him.
"Nah, she won't even talk to me. I'm here because I heard your guy Mitch was out of town, so I figured I'd do the gentlemanly thing and take you to prom." He leaned against his car.
"Oh, the gentlemanly thing huh? You sure you're not just trying to use me to make a certain blonde jealous?" She smirked and Aaron laughed.
"No way, in all seriousness Deb I think you shouldn't have to miss out on our last prom ever just because you don't have a date. We'll go as friends; you can come to our school's senior prom. Judy and Russell too, I'll even dance with you." He teased and she playfully punched his arm.
"OK, you've got a deal. Now are you just going to stand there or are you going to give me a ride home?"
"Geez, you Goldman women are sooo demanding." He joked before opening the passenger door for her. "Let's hit it."
Joey and Eli had shown up at Deb and Judy's place just as Aaron was pulling away.
"He must've been asking Deb to prom." Joey assumed as they walked up to the door.
"Probably, so what's this whole 'plan' you claim you have man?" Eli asked as he rang the doorbell.
"You'll see in a minute." He told him as Judy came to the door. "Judy! Just the girl we wanted to see."
"Hey guys, what are you doing here?"
"Especially without the girls around?" Deb wondered aloud as she walked out of the kitchen.
"We need a favor actually, you are kind of friends with Cheryl and Janine from my school, right?" Joey asked her.
"Well yes I guess you could say that, why?"
"We need you to get them to tell you all about how they kissed my brother." He smirked and lifted up his camera.
Eli laughed. "So that's your idea? Dude that's genius! What do you say Judes?"
"Oh sure, you guys are more my friends then they are. Besides I'd love to see Holly's face when you show her the footage and she realizes what a mistake she's made."
"You should wait until after prom to show her though, I think we can all agree the poor guy needs a little fun before more drama unfolds." Deb suggested.
"Yeah you're right Deb, do you girls have any suggestions on how we could get them to confess?" Eli asked.
"What if I have a sleepover? I could invite all my cheerleader friends from the neighborhood. Deb could sneak you two in after everyone arrives and you can film from a hiding place." Judy suggested.
"As long as you don't get any wise ideas about filming anything other than that." Deb warned, her look was playful but her tone was serious.
"Are you kidding, our girls would kill us!" Joey laughed. "Come on, lets figure out what would be a good hiding place."
"I'm home!" Elizabeth called out as she arrived with Daniel from the airport. She had been filming out in L.A. for the past few weeks and she was anxious to see her children. Daniel had picked her up from the airport instead of simply sending a car because he was desperate to see his wife as well. Sometimes their respective jobs kept them apart every now and then. One of the few disadvantages of being a business man and an actress.
"Ma you're back!" Aaron smiled and made his way down the stairs. "Shelby, aunt Val, ma's home!"
He gave her a big hug, Shelby and Val came out of Val and Leo's side of the house where Val had been helping Shelby pick out her prom dress.
"Mom!" Shelby hugged her. "You're home early!" She was excited that her mother made it in time for prom.
"Liz, thank god!" Val said in a teasing manner. "Now you can help me with this teenager of yours, she can't decide on a prom dress. It's a good thing the store has a catalog."
Elizabeth laughed. "Let's go out tomorrow for a girl's day, we'll find one then. Where's my baby boy by the way? I want to hear all about this new girlfriend of his."
"He and Eli are down the block at Deb and Judy's, he said he wanted to talk to her about something." Aaron shrugged. "But he should be home soon."
"Speak of the devil." Shelby chuckled as Joey walked in.
"Mom!" Joey ran and hugged Elizabeth. "When did you get back?"
"Just a few minutes ago." She ruffled his hair. "Now what's this I hear about my youngest son finally getting a girlfriend?"
"Mooom, come on…" Joey blushed while Shelby and Aaron snickered behind him earning them a glare from the youngest Corcoran. "Her name is Cassandra and she transferred to our school from Los Angeles. She's a sophomore like Shelby and I. It was totally love at first sight…It kinda took me a while to ask her out…" He blushed and rubbed the back of his neck.
Elizabeth laughed. "That reminds me of someone." She smirked looking over at her husband.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Daniel moved to stand beside her.
"I bet she's referring to the fact that it took ya a whole year to ask her out." Val nudged her brothers side.
"Ooh, this sounds like a story I want to hear." Shelby sat down on the couch with her mother and aunt Val.
"It's kind of embarrassing." Daniel pouted.
"Don't be such a baby honey, it's actually cute. Valerie and I had been best friends for a long time much like you and Katherine." Liz started. "I had never met her older brother before, because we were in high school and he was in college. He came home for Hanukkah one year and Val had me over because my parents were out of town."
"That's when I saw her for the first time." Daniel smiled at her.
"And he pined over her for a year, trying to get every last detail about her out of me until finally I had enough and locked him in a closet with her." Val smirked.
"Which worked because we're married now." Liz laughed.
"That's actually what we were planning on doing with Joe and Cassie." Shelby chuckled.
"You what?" Joey huffed and Aaron started laughing hard.
"Just be glad we didn't, but if we wouldn't have had that party we probably would have gone through with it." Aaron shrugged.
"You guys are evil but I still love you." Joey smirked earning a pillow in the face from Shelby.
"So, your uncle owns this place?" Cassie asked Shelby as she looked around the restaurant, it was after closing so their group were the only ones in there.
"Yeah, it used to be my grandparents until they retired and gave it to my parents. My dad fixes it up and hires one of his friends, Leo Roselli, to manage it right? Well aunt Val is like the big boss of this place, because my dad has a lot of other businesses and things to handle."
"So, I'm guessing she met him and fell in love?" Cassie asked referring to Leo and Val.
"Not exactly, she kind of hated him." Shelby laughed. "They butted heads a lot."
"A lot would be an understatement." Kate added. "But eventually he got her to marry him.
"More like I got him to marry me." Aunt Val smirked as she walked out of her office with Leo in tow.
"Hello girls, and who's your friend? Joes' new lady I presume?" Uncle Leo held his hand out to Cassie and she returned the gesture.
"Cassandra July, it's nice to meet you sir. This a nice place you both have here."
"Why thank you young lady, that would be Val's handy work." Leo kept his hand on his wife's waist.
"Well, like I always say, a clean restaurant is a happy one. You girls follow me, I think it's about time you see why I asked you three here afta closing." Val led them to the karaoke room which was adjacent to the main restaurant. They saw their boyfriends standing on the stage while Aaron was off to the side setting up Joeys camera.
"What's all this about?" Shelby smiled looking around at how they had the place decorated. They took the simple approach, decorating with stars instead of hearts. Most likely because Joey and Cassie had just started dating and he didn't want to come on too strong.
"Just take a seat and you'll find out." Nathan chuckled.
"We'll I'm curious to find out what the tuxes are about." Kate sat down in one of the circle booths facing the stage along with Shelby and Cassie.
After setting the camera up Aaron went on stage and grabbed a base guitar, Joey picked up his guitar, Eli the keyboards, and Nathan the drums.
"You girls ready?" Eli asked before playing the opening melody.
As soon as they recognized the song the girls started laughing, and the goofy dancing the guys did while playing their instruments didn't help.
Eli sang the opening lines.
We're no strangers to love
He pointed to Kate and then himself while shaking his hips in a goofy way. She laughed and danced her way to the front of the stage.
You know the rules and so do I
A full commitment's what I'm thinking of
You wouldn't get this from any other guy
He gestured to himself and she shook her head in amusement, Aaron chuckled and double checked that the cameras were recording.
I just want to tell you how I'm feeling
Gotta make you understand
All the guys joined in on the chorus, Joey looked at Cassie to make sure she was amused. He didn't want the guys to sing anything too romantic considering he and Kate had only been dating a short while.
Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry, never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you
Nathan took the next verse and Shelby followed Kate's lead but instead of going to the front of the stage she walked onto it. Going up to dance beside Nathan while he played the drums making amusing gestures towards her while he sang.
We've known each other for so long
Your heart's been aching but you're too shy to say it
Shelby rolled her eyes playfully and ruffled his hair, he pulled her onto his lap and moved his arms around her so he could still play. She laughed and wrapped her arms around his neck.
Inside we both know what's been going on
We know the game and we're gonna play it
And if you ask me how I'm feeling
Don't tell me you're too blind to see
She smirked and playfully covered his eyes with her hands before kissing him. At the next chorus Cassie and Kate joined them on stage.
Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry, never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you
The girls sang the backing vocals and danced together off to the side each taking a microphone.
(Ooh give you up)
(Ooh give you up)
(Ooh) Never gonna give, never gonna give (give you up)
(Ooh) Never gonna give, never gonna give (give you up)
Joey sang the last verse while dancing with Cassie, she was having fun and found the whole thing hilarious. She was happy that he became her boyfriend, she could see them being together for a while.
We've known each other for so long
Your heart's been aching but you're too shy to say it
Inside we both know what's been going on
We know the game and we're gonna play it
I just want to tell you how I'm feeling
Gotta make you understand
Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down
Never gonna run around and desert you
Never gonna make you cry, never gonna say goodbye
Never gonna tell a lie and hurt you
The guys stepped away from their instruments and stood in a line. They pulled open their shirts revealing letters painted on their stomachs. Nathan had P, Eli had R, Joey had O, and Aaron ran up with a poster that said M? The girls laughed and pretended to discuss it among themselves.
"Of course, I'll go to prom with you silly." Shelby told Nathan and gave him a hug.
"I'm surprised you even asked, as if I would've told you otherwise." Kate patted Eli's chest.
"Yeah, but I figured you'd appreciate the gesture." Eli shrugged and placed a hand on her waist.
"Well you figured right Mr. St. James." She kissed him.
"You know, I've never had a guy sing to me before." Cassie smiled as she walked up to Joey. "It was very sweet, and yes I'll go to prom with you."
He pumped his fist into the air and pulled her into a hug, spinning her around and causing her to giggle.
Aaron smiled and motioned for aunt Val and uncle Leo to come back out. "Thanks for helping out you guys."
"Anytime kid, by the way I heard from my lovely wife here that you're taking Deborah Goldman to your prom. Word of advice, make sure that it doesn't get back to her boyfriend Mitch. I don't trust the guy y'know?" Leo told him.
"We've gotta protect this pretty face." Val told him as she held his cheeks.
"Don't worry you guys, I'm sure everything will be fine."
A few days before prom Joey and Eli put their plan with Judy into action. She had a sleepover with the girls as planned. While they were in the bathroom giving each other facials Deb snuck the guys inside. "I'll hide Joey under Judy's bed and you can hide in the closet Eli. I'll tell Judy where you are so she can keep Cheryl and Janine from discovering you."
About an hour later the girls were in Judy's bedroom playing a sort of secret telling game. They guys waited to start filming until what was being said actually applied to why they were there.
"So, Cheryl, I heard you actually got a kiss from Shelby Corcoran's older brother Aaron. How in the world did you pull that off without alerting Holly Holliday?" Judy inquired curiously. Her friend Susanne's ears perked up.
"Ooh, I heard about that. Yeah how'd you do it?"
"I'm curious too." Mandy, another friend of Judy's asked.
Cheryl and Janine loved to gossip and they figured it would be OK to tell them considering they didn't go to their school.
"I'll tell you, but this doesn't leave this room." Cheryl started after the girls agreed. "OK so, we were at this senior party, right? At Mickey Del Vecchio's house, and Aaron Corcoran walks in with two of his friends. Holly was nowhere to be seen."
"After a while when she didn't show up we figured she wasn't coming, but then Cheryl remembered she was out of town visiting her dead grandmother or something." Janine waved her hand in the air dismissively.
Judy tried not to roll her eyes. "So, then what happened? I'm dying to know…" The mild disgust in her voice was lost on them.
"Well one of his friends, Brad I think, gave him some punch. I happen to know it was spiked with this mighty strong concoction earlier that night. I'm not exactly sure what it was but after he drank like one cup he was on the couch about to pass out." Janine continued.
"That's when we decided to pounce." Cheryl smirked sharing a look with Janine. "He was basically unconscious but still awake enough to think we were Holly. That's how we managed to each get a kiss from him."
"We wanted to see why his guard dog kept him on her hip at all times, turns out even when unconscious his kissing is incredible." Janine sighed dreamily. "But then Holly showed up and it got crazy, I don't think I've ever seen anyone get slapped so hard."
"Hey, just be happy she didn't come after us." Cheryl told her.
"Oh, so that's why they broke up. I was wondering what happened there. So, if he's been single why haven't you girls tried to get a date?" Judy asked while waiting for Deb to come upstairs with a distraction to get the guys out of the house.
"Oh, we've both tried but that boy refuses to date anyone, he's still hung up on the giraffe." Janine rolled her eyes.
"I can't possibly see why." Cheryl shrugged.
"Yeah, big mystery." Judy mumbled sarcastically under her breath.
Deb got them out of the room by asking them if they wanted to watch some movie, Joey couldn't quite make it out, but as soon as they headed downstairs Deb got the boys from their hiding spots.
"Did you guys get enough footage?" Deb asked as she led them to the back door.
"Yep, more than enough. Thanks for the help Deb, and thank Judy for us too will ya?" Joey put his camera in his bag.
"Yeah, we'll have to get her something for being willing enough to have to entertain those two all night." Eli gave Deb a brief hug and slipped out of the door with Joey.
"So, when are we gonna reveal this evidence we've just acquired?" Eli asked Joey.
"Well I figure we'll take Debs' advice and do it after prom, we have to figure out how to get Holly to watch it and who knows how she'll react." Joey told him.
"Right, after prom it is. Well catch you later man, I promised Kate I'd take her out tonight and I don't want to be late." Eli waved and ran up the street to get his car.
Joey walked through the gate to his back yard and saw his parents dancing by the pool. He smiled to himself, even with their busy schedules they always found time for each other. He hoped when he got married he and his wife could have a relationship sort of like theirs.
"Hey you're home, your mom made meatloaf." Daniel told his youngest son as he approached.
"Mm, mama's home cooking. Better believe I missed that." He kissed Elizabeth's cheek and walked inside the house with them.
"Sorry I got back so late, Deb had to figure out how to get us out without being seen." He explained to his mom as she placed a plate in front of him. He had explained the whole plan to his parents the night before. "Where's everybody else?"
"Well your sister is out with Nathan looking for a tux for prom, and Aaron is down on the beach taking a walk." Daniel told him as he sat down across from him looking through some tax papers. "I should really fax these to my accountant."
"Honey, no business talk at the table." Elizabeth folded her arms and shook her head disapprovingly.
"Oh, I'm sorry dear I wasn't thinking. Come on, let's let the boy eat and you and I can go back to our dancing." He smiled and held his hand out to her which she gladly took.
Joey chuckled and watched his parents go. After he ate dinner he made his way upstairs and was surprised to see light coming from his room. He always turned it off before he left, he gently pushed the door open and saw his desk lamp was on. "Must've forgot about it…" He mumbled to himself but movement caught his eye. He turned towards his bed and saw Cassie laying there, asleep.
"Cass?" He laughed and went over to her, she looked so peaceful and he didn't want to wake her but he was curious as to why she was there. He gently shook her arm and she yawned waking up.
"Joey…?" She looked around as she sat up, once she remembered where she was her eyes widened. "I must have fallen asleep."
"Not that I'm not happy to see you babe, but what are you doing here so late?"
She sighed and leaned her head on his shoulder. "My parents are divorced which is why we moved here, but my dad showed up at our house this evening. They were screaming at each other so my older brother brought me here. Your mom told me you weren't home but I could stay as long as I wanted."
"I'm sorry Cass, I couldn't imagine what that's like." He held her close.
"It's all right, I just hope he goes back to L.A. and leaves my mom alone."
"You can sleep in my bed if you want, I'll take the couch." Joey offered.
"Don't be ridicules, you're sleeping right here with me." She laughed.
"I Am?"
"Of course, silly!" She kissed him. "But no funny business."
"Wouldn't dream of it…" He told her before smirking and tickling her.
"Joey!"
