FANG POV
Iggy and I stood at the staircase, waiting on Emma and Max to come down from their rooms.
"We've got two hours until prom starts and I would like to go get something to eat!" Iggy shouted up the stairs and I snickered.
"Shove it, Ig!" Emma screamed back down and I chuckled. Iggy rolled his eyes and took a seat on the carpeted stairs. I joined him, my chin resting in my hands, and watched other couples climb into limos outside the double doors. Our limo- a black stretch courtesy of Dr. Martinez- was waiting in line behind four cars. If Max and Emma weren't down here in a couple minutes, I'm sure that limo driver would ditch us. Walking to the prom didn't sound very fun, either.
"Hey, boys." Emma giggled behind us and we turned quickly to take a look- well, not exactly in Iggy's case- at our dates. My jaw dropped to the floor as Max descended the stairs. Her dress was a deep fuchsia color, with bits of blue and dark purple weaved in. As she moved, the light caused the colors to change and mix with one another. The word 'chameleon' came to mind as she finally reached me.
"So, what do you think?" She spun around a few times, showing me the whole dress, and I grinned wider.
"You look amazing." She blushed but tried to hide it by messing with her hair. I grabbed her hand, drawing her towards the doors, where our limo was pulling up.
"What is it?" Emma asked Iggy as we slid out into the humid night.
"A black stretch Hummer, my dear," He kissed her on the cheek and then helped her into the car. I took Max's hand, doing the same, and then shut the door behind us. "To Olive Garden, good sir!" Iggy called to the driver, who just shook his head and chuckled, pulling off into the night.
Later…
The minute we pulled up to the hotel where our prom was being held all we heard was music.
I'm bringing sexy back
Them other fuckers don't know how to act
Come let me make up for the things you lack
Cause you're burning up I gotta get it fast
Iggy groaned, "I hate this song!" Emma giggled, tugging him out of the Hummer, and I turned to Max.
"Do we seriously have to go? They're playing dirty pop music!" Max just rolled her eyes, pushing me out of the car, and slid down onto the ground behind me. I gripped her hand in mine as we made our way inside the doors.
The banner above our heads read A Wish Come True, with stars and blinking lights draped everywhere. I have to admit, they did a pretty good job. You would have never known that this was some stuffy hotel lobby.
Max, Emma, Iggy, Katie, Nathan, and I found a table and the girls dropped their purses off.
"So… what now? It's not time to dance. What do we do for another hour while we wait for everyone to show up?" Katie, Emma and Max's best friend, questioned, leaning into Nathan, who shrugged.
"Let's go wait for people at the door." So we did, along with the other thirty people that were already there. Max and I really weren't looking for anybody. We were too busy sharing kisses underneath a star that was having light spasms.
"God, you two! Can't you wait until prom's over to get a room?" Nathan laughed and I shot him the bird.
"Hey, Max!" Sam grinned, shooting through the doorway towards us. I curled my fist up, my other hand placed on Max's lower back.
"Hi, Sam. Who are you here with?" Max came off as kind, but I knew inside she was scheming.
"Uh… nobody," Sam glanced around the room quickly, even though it was almost empty, "I was wondering if you would… dance with me, later. I mean, I know you're going with him," He jerked his thumb towards me and I grit my teeth, "but it'd still be life-changing to dance with me, huh?"
"Oh, sorry, Sam, but I'll probably be with Fang the whole night. Maybe I can catch up with you sometime, when he's had enough of me." She smiled sweetly at Sam, who's eyes flashed with the star's light above us.
"But… why won't you dance with me?"
"I'll be busy. Sorry." Sam edged closer and I did the same, eyeing him with the I-will-kill-you-if-you-touch-her look, but surprisingly he didn't back down. Hmm… he must have gotten brave somewhere between last week and tonight.
"I'm giving you one last chance, Max…" Sam hissed and I pulled Max away.
"And I'm giving you one last chance to get the hell away from her." I growled, stepping up in front of him, and he glared at me.
"Whatever. Enjoy your prom, Maximum." Sam whispered, barely loud enough so we could hear it, and stalked off towards the tables. Max rolled her eyes, leaning against me, as people flooded through the doors. Behind us, Justin Timberlake was still blaring, the last chorus wrapping up to an end.
"So, Fang, are you bringing sexy back?" Max giggled, her brown eyes looking up into mine.
I grinned, "Bring it back? Why, I have no need. I never lost it."
Later…
Max and I were wrapped up in the middle of about five hundred other people, swaying to the music, as the lights above us swirled. The song playing ended, so nearly every couple stopped rocking back and forth, and stood there awkwardly. A couple of beats played, sounding like hip-hop music, before someone whooped.
I say he so sweet
Make her wanna lick the rapper
By now, the whole senior class was partying, Lil Wayne's beats thumping the dance floor. She was driving me crazy. She kept digging her hips into mine and it's not like I could just step away from it. I'd be even crazier to do that. To take my mind off her dancing- which was growing really, really, really hard- so there were no incidents, I kept my mind on the music. All right. Lollipops. They tasted okay, but usually left a horrible aftertaste in your mouth if they were cheap.
She lick me
Like a lollipop
Okkkaayyyy, not helping. Suddenly, there was just beats and then it was over. Thank God, I was just about to ruin prom night. But at least I wasn't the only one; I saw plenty of other guys keeping their hands in their pockets.
"Yo!" Nate grabbed my shoulder as another song started playing. "We're on in four. Let's go." I kissed Max quickly as she headed to the bathroom and then whispered to Emma to watch out for Sam, knowing that she could take care of him better than anyone else.
I told her this as she laughed, but Iggy glowered at me, "Excuse me? What about moi? I play on the freakin football team!"
"And you're also going to be up there on stage. Won't be much of a help, now will it?" I replied and he paused.
"Hmm… I've always wanted to know how hard I could throw my drumsticks and aim perfectly, though." We laughed but then it died down, letting the music cover our silence for a bit.
"So did you ever find out if he was behind the ring thing or not, after what Nudge told you?" Emma questioned and I nodded, scanning the area for Sam as Max came back from the bathroom, heading towards us.
"He can control metal, so I know he had something to do with Max's ring." I knew that she really wouldn't have drowned, but still there was the fact that he could control metal. God knows what he was planning next.
"Hey, you two," Max gently hit me on the shoulder, "Aren't you supposed to be backstage?" My eyes widened. I had totally forgotten about that! I didn't even answer Max, but followed Iggy as he took off for the stage entrance door.
The lady hosting our prom- I think she was some washed out famous person- announced us to the crowd. They cheered, of course, since all of them had seen us play at the talent show and then some at the after-party. Jason strummed a chord on his Fender as a single light shone across the stage, painting out backs in blue.
Check yes Juliet
Are you with me?
Rain is falling down on the sidewalk
I won't go until you come outside
Check yes Juliet
Kill the limbo
I'll keep tossing rocks at your window
There's no turning back for us tonight…
I finally had a chance to look out at the audience. My friend Cory was out there, along with Bo and Seth. I spotted Foster and his date Sarah near the very back, dancing together. Against the back wall were the teachers, who were kind of bopping along to the music, since none of them had really listened to pop/rock in the last twenty years.
I finally found Max, dancing with Emma close to the front of the stage. She caught my eye and waved, then continued dancing with Emma. I smiled and pushed on into the rest of the song, my hearing tuned into Nate's guitar slamming along with my vocals.
Run baby run
Forever we'll be
You and me…
Later…
The bass was thumping at my feet, sending shockwaves up and down my body. Max was running her hands over my shoulders, when suddenly she was gone. I snapped my eyes up from where Max had been standing to find Sam yelling at her. I quickly pulled Sam off of the dance floor and towards the tables.
"What do you think you're doing? I told you not to touch her again!" Max was behind me, tugging at my arm, telling me not to worry about Sam.
"Like hell I'm not! He just ripped you apart from me for no good reason," I turned back to Sam, where he was standing there, smug, "Now what do you want?"
"Isn't it obvious?" He grinned, his eyes flickering over to Max, before they returned to face me.
I growled, stepping forward, "You're not touching her. What part of that don't you understand?"
"Fang! Come on!" Max tried again, but I held up a finger to quiet her.
"See! That's what I'm talking about, Fang. You don't show Max respect. All you do is boss her around. She needs a man. She needs someone who will treat her equally, not be some kind of sexist pig." Sam snapped at me, and I curled my hand into a fist. By now, Iggy and Jason had come over, wondering what was up.
"Oh, and cheating on her with her enemy is better? Is that showing her 'respect', because if it is, then please, by all means, tell me what the hell I'm doing wrong?"
"That's all in the past now! The only reason I ever dated Lissa was because I wanted to get in her pants! Max didn't want to have sex, so I just thought Lissa was the best way. God knows she gave it out like candy to babies."
There was a giant pause before Iggy spoke up, "I thought you didn't know what had happened, Sam? You told us that you didn't remember." I watched as Sam's "plan" fell apart: his eyes grew wider, he kept gulping, and his hands were cringing around each other.
"Uhh… no. I was just making that stuff up. I really don't know why I cheated on Max. I just needed a better excuse than 'I don't remember'." The only thing I saw next was a flash of Max and then the imprint of a hand on Sam's face.
"You bastard! You cheated on me because you couldn't keep it in your pants? How sick and perverted are you? How dare you call yourself a gentleman, wait, scratch that, how dare you even call yourself a man?" Max was fuming and I noticed that her hand was ready for another smack. But did I step in her way?
Of course not! As soon as Max punched Sam again, one of the teachers rushed over and stopped Max from taking another swing at the pig.
"What is going on here?" Mrs. Kemp stood between Sam and Max, her eyes narrowing at our group.
"Sam dragged me off of the dance floor and then basically told me that I should be dating him instead of Fang. Cause apparently he's 'the best thing to ever come into my life.'" Max rolled her eyes as she quoted the last part with her two fingers. Mrs. Kemp glanced back at Sam, lifting one eyebrow, and then grabbed his arm roughly.
"Boy, you sure have stirred up enough trouble for one night. I'm sending you back to the school. You can think this entire thing over in your dorm." With that, Mrs. Kemp dragged Sam off, but not without him turning around and giving us that really creepy look that usually means something bad. But, of course, nothing bad happened. The roof didn't cave in or explode. Thank God, cause I'm sure Sam was capable of it.
Max gritted her teeth, leaning onto my chest as I hugged her close. "Idiot."
I grinned, kissing the top of her head, before pulling her back to the dance floor, "Come on. We've still got an hour to blow before it's over." Iggy whooped, running and sliding over to the dance floor, where he hit a couple of girls that were dancing in a circle.
"Hey, fifty bucks they play the Soulja Boy next!"
Yoooouuuu!
Soulja boy I tell 'em
Hey I got a new dance for ya'll called the soulja boy
"IGGY!"
Later…
"Now, to present this year's Hardin Valley High School prom king and queen!" The washed up lady- Jennifer Lopez- squealed excitedly. The band was behind the curtain, ready to play for the king and queen's dance, so we were just listening, not really caring who won.
"Your choice for Hardin Valley High School's prom king is…" You could hear the shredding of paper and then, "Bo Bowers!" Ahhh. Good ol' Bo. People were clapping and whistling as I heard Bo tromp across the stage.
"And now, ladies and gentleman, your choice for Hardin Valley High School's prom queen is…" There was one of those long dramatic pauses, just like in all those high school shows- like Dawson's Creek, ya know?- and then Lopez spoke. "…Sarah Belle!" Girls were shrieking and people were whooping as Sarah stepped onstage. The only way I could tell was that her heels made that little clipping sound as she headed across the metal stage.
"Congratulations, you two! Now, let's have Echo come out one last time and play you a song!" Wasn't she the entertainer? I rolled my eyes, but straightened out myself as the curtain lifted up.
And I'd give up forever to touch you
Cause I know that you feel me somehow
You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be
And I don't want to go home right now
I immediately locked eyes with Max, as the couples who were dancing circled around her. I could tell that she felt out of place. She was, in fact, the only one alone in a circle of lovers. I felt a tightening in my chest as I watched the other couples, lost in each other, and I was up here singing and missing every bit of it. This was senior prom. This was supposed to be the greatest night of our lives. So why was I letting Max and I be separated, while everyone else enjoyed the last song?
Suddenly, I hopped down from the stage, the cord on the microphone carrying me so far out onto the dance floor. Couples parted, making a line straight to Max, and she laughed, walking towards me as I kept singing.
And I don't want the world to see me
Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
She wrapped her arms around my shoulders, kissing my lips quickly before I had to sing again, and leaned her head against my chest. The lights above us were making the glitter in her hair sparkle, the tiny speckles glowing in my eyes.
The guitars played and strummed on as the tempo grew faster and faster. Finally it grew up to just a long stretch of Jason's guitar solo, and then suddenly it paused, if only for a quick second. I took in a deep breath, kissing Max on the lips quickly.
And I don't want the world to see me
Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am
As we were waiting for our limo, Max leaned in and kissed me hard on the lips.
"So, what was that for?" I grinned down at her. She shrugged, "I dunno. I guess for singing to me and getting off of the stage to dance with me."
I smiled, "My pleasure, dear lady." I leaned in for another kiss, but Iggy smacked his hand on my shoulder, jostling Max and I away from each other.
"Yo, bro! You know what time it is?"
"Time to take these heels off?" Emma complained and Max nodded next to me.
"No! It's time for the after-party!" Iggy exclaimed as he opened the door to the limo for us. I groaned, noticing how bad my feet were hurting already from dancing and standing up all night. But we did get to change our clothes and there was supposed to be water fights around two in the morning and other fun stuff to do.
"You wanna go?" I asked Max as our driver pulled out of the parking lot. She nodded, smiling up at me, and gripped my hand in hers.
And I don't want the world to see me
Cause I don't think that they'd understand
When everything's made to be broken
I just want you to know who I am…
The songs are: SexyBack by Justin Timerblake, Lollipop by Lil Wayne, Check Yes Juliet by We the Kings, and Iris by The Goo Goo Dolls.