Title: The World through the Eyes of a Basket Case
Author: TWBasketcase
Chapter: Thirty-seven
Chapter Summary: Ally finds out what Claire's feelings are about the date tonight and also confronts Andy about his motives; prom starts and once Claire gets anxious we find out exactly who the mystery man is…and she isn't too sure if she is happy with the results.
Rated: T…16+ to be safe.
A/N: HAHAHAHAHA! You guys are so much FUN to irritate! Man you make me wanna do mean things with this story, lol. I loved the reviews and each one of you had me laughing out loud. Especially Lazaefair and Santafelover…you two officially get a dedication for this chapter for being my most insane and hostile reviewers! You make me feel so happy…I love hostility. :)

Chapter 37 – Motives

"He got me a date tonight with one of his friends."

I squeezed my eyes shut and took a sharp intake of air; this is not good. There is no good coming out of this…nothing…nada…god what is her problem?

I opened my eyes once more and saw that they were staring at me looking very confused. Claire set down her curling iron and sat me down on the toilet. I was still trying to control my anger so she lifted the curling iron to my own head and began to finish my do.

"Allison, are you okay?" I looked at Michelle with a smirk and shook my head. Claire began rolling ringlets through my hair and I just remained silent. Michelle for her part began painting her finger nails once she was finished applying her make up.

The silence in the room was deafening and I was beginning to think I could cut the tension in the air with a knife…no…make that a machete. After two, three, fours ringlets falling against my neck I had it.

"Why the hell would you agree to something like that? Are you a fucking basket case or something?"

Claire continued tugging on my hair and I caught the smirk across her face through the mirror, "How ironic."

I rolled my eyes, "Seriously! What the hell Claire?"

She pursed her lips together until they turned a very light shade of pink – almost white – and continued what she was doing. I took a deep breathe and concentrated on Michelle stroking emerald green streaks of nail polish across her nails. She was doing them rather quickly, yet to perfection. Her ears were slightly red from the glares I was shooting left, right, and center, but for the most part she tried to seem unfazed by it all. I don't know what in the holy hell Michelle was thinking agreeing to this – oh I am gonna kill Andy – Michelle is her best friend! She should know better than to set her up with someone else! I watched as my taller friend stood up and made her way towards the counter; she held an iron up to her hair and began to straighten it. I looked back to the mirror and watched as Claire pulled the top half of my hair back into an elastic. I am so irritated and if one more princess for one more moment remains silent they are gonna get a taste of crazy person wrath.

She let the remainder of my hair drop and she smiled softly, "There…it's all finished." And with that she made her way to stand next to Michelle and finish her own hair. I looked into the mirror and saw that my hair was done up nicely with curled strands falling here and there – does this girl honestly think that playing with my hair is gonna calm me down? Argh!

"Claire,"

She continued to style her hair, spray it with hairspray, style, hold, spray, style…just flat out ignoring me.

"Claire…" I repeated a little harsher this time. This time her eyes met mine momentarily and she continued playing with her hair until it stood out with layers flared out flamboyantly. It was pretty seventies retro looking but it suited her. She placed her iron down on the counter and picked up her mascara.

"You might wanna wait to put that on and just acknowledge me for a second, princess."

She looked up to me again and replaced the mascara. She sighed and blinked a few times and that's when I noticed the tears welled up in her eyes; she stared at me pleadingly, "Don't make this hard for me please."

I opened my mouth to reply but she held her hand up to cut me off, "Please?" I closed my mouth and squeezed my eyes shut once again; how the hell could these two let this get so far? They are the most irritating people on the planet!

I shook my head at her and pinched the bridge of my nose, "Why? Why are you doing this to yourself?"

A tear rolled down her cheek quickly and she just as quickly wiped it away, "You don't understand…it's not going to work between John and me…I have to be strong and move on." And right then and there my heart broke for both of them; all the words the two of them confided to me suddenly meant everything and their trust in me to keep my mouth shut meant nothing.

"Don't do this Claire…he loves you too much; he will be heartbroken!"

She sniffled and scowled, "He can't be heartbroken when there is no heart there to break. He has already made it crystal clear to me that he wants nothing from me and has no problem fooling with my emotions."

I sat cross legged on the floor and rocked slightly trying to figure out how to stop this, "Claire how do you feel about him? Tell me the truth…"

Another tear fell down her cheek as she attempted to color her lips, "You know exactly how I feel…I already told you I don't want you to make this hard for me. I was really excited about this date and now you are giving me cold feet! Please, please stop! I know he is your best friend – or whatever – but please as my friend let me move on…without him."

I furrowed my eyebrows slightly and stared at the floor, "This isn't right."

Michelle gave me a knowing look with pursed lips and glanced back to Claire, "She is right you know hun."

Claire looked at Michelle pleadingly, "I can't play this game with him anymore though. If it was my absolute wish he would be there tonight…for me. But that is not going to happen and I accept that; I have accepted that for weeks. So when this opportunity came up I grabbed it…I needed to for my own sake and sanity."

I looked at her seriously, "But he would go…for you."

Claire shook her head and squared her shoulders; she was taking her most serious and final stance, "John Bender is not the type. Me and him are two worlds apart…it was never made to work as much as I wanted it to. He isn't the knight in shining armor…he isn't the flowers and roses guy…and he certainly isn't one to make dreams come true. That is just the way it is and you know it…both of you…you over estimate him. You don't know him like I do and this is just the way it's gotta be."

I leaned my done up head against the wall, "Yeah but I know a side of him too…a side that would kill for you."

She shook her head, "It's just the way it's gotta be."

I glanced at Michelle who just looked so heart broken for her best friend; so heart broken in fact she had already smudged newly applied mascara. She locked eyes with me and I clenched my jaw; she in turn sadly shook her head. She grabbed another bottle of nail polish and sat in front of me with it; it was a darker shade of lavender than my dress but still matched all the same. Claire in turn, stood in front of the mirror applying her make-up fiercely.

She leaned closer to my face, "I was excited for her at first but then I had my doubts…what are we going to do?"

I shrugged, "I don't know but this ain't right."

She nodded and whispered, "I know but this is Claire we are talking about…she is as stubborn as they come."

I sighed but I knew she was right; when Claire had her mind set it was set. Although somewhere deep down I knew that she too had her doubts…she had to, right?

Michelle finished my nails and screwed the cap back on, "It's like some tragic love tale." I nodded in response but before I could reply I was cut off by the slamming of an object to the counter top. I looked at Claire who was jamming all of her stuff back into her purse, "When you guys are done whispering…Michelle I am ready to go home and get dressed."

I closed my eyes and then looked back to Michelle who nodded at her, "Yeah…Andy is gonna be here in like twenty minutes anyways. We should get going." I nodded and stood up. With our hair, nails, and faces done up the only thing missing besides our obvious state of dress was some calm nerves.

We exited the bathroom and made our way towards the front of the apartment. My father and Pam were seated at the kitchen table and Pam lifted her head – dad being dad didn't but whatever – and she widened her eyes, "My you girls look fabulous!"

I looked at Claire who gave her a huge…yet sincere smile, "Thanks Pam…we are going to have a major blast tonight!"

Pam smiled, "Good for you Claire. I hope you have fun."

I looked to Michelle who just smiled faintly, "Yeah me too."

The two girls exited out the front door and I was left alone – not entirely but due to who the company was that I had I might as well say I'm alone. I sighed and looked back to the kitchen table; my father was intently scribbling away at the crossword in the paper while Pam gazed back concerned. It kinda freaked me out for a second but in a way I felt somewhat calm. She stood from her chair and motioned for me to follow her out of the room – and reluctantly I did so; following the woman who was more often than not the source of my irritation.

She marched straight into my room and sat on my bed; I rolled my eyes and shut the door behind me and stood before her. She pursed her lips together and patted the bed; I shook my head and she sighed, "Look Allison…I know we aren't on the best of terms…"

I sighed dramatically, "You don't have to do this you know…"

She nodded, "Yes I do; I feel like ever since I have been around here you have been having trouble with your dad…"

"I have always had trouble with my dad…don't give yourself credit."

"I am not trying to take credit for anything! I just want you to know that I am here for you…I am most certainly not your mother…or your father for that matter; but I wanna be your friend…you look like you need someone to talk to and I want to be that person."

I blinked a few times, "No you aren't my father for sure…or my mom for that matter. They would have never said anything as nice as that to me."

She gave me a small smile, "I meant it…now what is bothering you?"

I hesitated – this is unknown territory to me, "I'm just nervous."

She smiled, "You have nothing to be nervous about…prom is something that is fun. I think that you will end up having a good time tonight no matter what is going on with your friends. This is a special time for you…and for Andy. Live it up to its fullest because it only happens once."

I nodded, "Thanks…that's good advice."

She smiled, "Well I hope you take it."

I grinned and she smiled in return, "Now go get that dress on…you don't wanna keep that hunk of yours waiting, do you?" She stood up and chuckled as I raced to the closet in horror as I remembered Andy was to be here any moment. She opened the door and stepped out and was about to close it before I stopped her, "Pam!"

She turned around with a small smile, "Yeah?"

I rubbed my fingers against the smooth fabric of my dress and looked at her, "Thank-you…I think we should talk again sometime." She nodded happily and shut the door to my bedroom to leave me alone with my thoughts; all five billion of them. I quickly jumped out of the clothes I was in and stepped carefully into the dress; it's unlike anything I have ever touched or wore before in my life…it was amazing – almost fragile – to me.

I chewed down on my lower lip as I zipped up the back of it; I stood in front of my mirror and analyzed myself; just three months ago I was this shell dressed in a world of darkness where my ideals had played over easy on reality. I was child like and scared…and here I am ready to do the one thing I never, ever dreamt of doing. Have I seriously come this far? Sometimes it all seems so surreal…

"Allison! Andrew's here!" I heard Pam call from kitchen. My heart leapt and I took a deep breath, "Just a sec!"

I gathered up some of the other accessories Claire had let me borrow; a purse, some shoes, and a gold necklace. All these things at the moment seemed so necessary…yet so unimportant. I feel so nervous to face Andy yet at the same time I wanna go lunge on him and strangle him over the whole Claire mess.

I straightened out my dress and patted down my hair and exited the room and took the short walk to the kitchen. I saw him standing there fiddling with his jacket as he raked his fingers through his hair nervously. It was kinda cute; and just the sight of him standing there all dressed up for me really meant something to me at that exact moment…kind of like this unreal feeling that swept over me that kinda made me love him that much more.

He wore a simple black tux with a white dress shirt and white tie; his hair combed neatly forward…looks like he just got it cut too. To me he looked like something only Michelangelo could create…but this was reality…ideals behind me he is here now.

I cleared my throat and he nearly jumped out of his skin at the sound; and much to my delight he nearly jumped out of his skin again when we locked eyes.

He smiled, "Wow…uh…you look…" he scratched the back of his head and smiled.

"Thanks. You look good too." I walked towards him and he reached for my hand pulling me into a small kiss. I simply returned the gesture and when he pulled away he reached into his pocket, "I got something for you."

I smirked, "Corsage or something?"

He smirked, "Nah…screw tradition." He gave me a wide grin and placed it into my hand. I looked down and saw the simple gold chain with a ring around it…his senior year school ring. He swallowed hard, "I want you to have it."

I nodded numbly and reached up to take off the small necklace Claire had lent to me; and he in turn took back the chain and placed it around my neck himself. He stepped back as if to admire his handiwork and smiled, "You ready to go?"

I nodded, "Yeah."

He nodded and opened up the door and held it open for me; I glanced back at Pam who gave me a wink and I made my way out to the car.

XXXX

We got ourselves situated in the vehicle and within a few moments we were on our way over to Shermer High. And once we were on the road I made my move, "So…I heard Claire has a date tonight."

He smiled a little and shrugged, "Yeah I did her a small favor."

I nodded blankly and looked back out the window, "Are you sure it's a favor Andy? I mean with everything…"

He looked at me a little sharply, "Look Al, we've been through a lot of shit the last two weeks or so and I just want tonight to be fun…for everyone. Things will fix themselves, okay?"

I sighed, "I know but…"

He shook his head, "No buts…things will fix themselves. I think Claire will make her decision tonight and whatever it is I'm sure she will make the right one."

I sighed and narrowed my eyes playfully, "What exactly are your motives behind all this Clark?"

He smirked, "Just giving her a push in the right direction so I can enjoy my night with you; if Bender doesn't like it too bad for him."

"It better be the right direction."

He snorted, "Shut up and quit being a pain in my ass."

I laughed out loud, "The only pain in your ass is your head thickening while it's too far up there."

He laughed infectiously and gave me a bright smile, "You're over analyzing just a little bit, aren't you?"

"No."

He let out a string of quiet chuckles as he pulled into the parking lot of the school; there were cars and limousines all over and the entrance had all sorts of ribbons and pretty light fixtures and plants around it. The school never looked better in my opinion; well then again…the school never did look good. He looked at me intently as he turned off the ignition, "Are you ready to go?"

I looked around a bit more at all the couples entering the school and the way everything seemed so chaotically peaceful. Kinda like Monday all those months ago; the school was in a much different light.

"Yeah I am ready."

"Good," he smiled; he unbuckled his seatbelt and quickly exited the car to make his way over to my side. He opened the door for me with a cheesy grin plastered on his face, "Mi Lady…" he swept his arms in a sweeping gesture…giving me ample room to smack him in the gut. He let out an over dramatic groan and closed the door behind me, "You'll never let me have my moments, will you?"

I shrugged, "Nah…that's giving you the easy way out."

He snorted and pulled open the school door for me; when I stepped foot into the once familiar hallway I was in awe. The hall was lined with wired arches covered in flowers and lights leading towards the gymnasium. All the lights were off in the same ceiling we crawled through just a month ago and the only light was emitted from the purples and pinks of the floral arches.

He linked his arm through mine and gave me a smile, "Let's get going."

I nodded numbly and followed his lead towards the gymnasium; and when we stepped into it I was in for an even bigger surprise.

The farthest corner of the wall was a stage; a romantic forest complete with mists, fairies, and beautiful fruit trees graced the backdrops of the main visual. Sets of blue, red, pink, and white lights surrounded the stage where a live nine piece band stood belting out a song…kinda familiar…it was a cover by a band called The Simple Minds…or something. But the stage was so extravagant I could hardly peel my eyes away from it.

The beautiful forest mural bundled and exploded from behind the stage; stretching all around the entire gymnasium wall length; whoever they got to paint this one was definitely NOT a member of the Shermer committee. With outstretching branches and small portraits of tiny animals poking their faces about made me feel like I was in some sort of wonderland.

Couples danced and twirled around on the floor laughing and smiling throughout it all. Not once have I ever seen the student body of Shermer so delighted and carefree; no cliques, or classes, or homework…no teachers (well…you know), or detentions, or parents. Just each other in the thrills of music and dress; it made me wonder if I had been missing out on high school life since I have been here…it was enchanting me.

"They did a good job didn't they?" Andy's voice snapped me from my thoughts.

"Yeah they did…it's beautiful."

"Thank you, thank you!" I heard a happy voice interrupt from behind me; I spun around to come face to face with Miss Prom Committee herself, Michelle Manning…as well as Brian and a nervous looking Claire. She wrapped her arms around my neck, "You look gorgeous."

I swallowed shyly, "Yeah thanks…you look great too."

She spun to Brian who – like me – looked absolutely stunned, "Isn't this amazing?"

He nodded stupefied, "Yeah…I never really imagined it would be like this, you know? Shermer High all snazzed up for a formal festival? You guys did great I think."

She smiled widely and turned to Claire, "What do you think?"

She plastered on a smile…which looked somewhat sad, "It's really romantic."

Michelle gave her a friendly smile and wrapped a hand a around her waist, "Chin up, sister! We're here to have a major blast, remember?"

She nodded with a laugh; her perfectly done up hair bouncing, "Yeah I remember…still waiting for mystery man though."

Michelle chewed her lip amusedly, obviously still thrilled with her prom, "He'll be here…then we will get down and party!"

Andy and I laughed at her flamboyancy; and then laughed even more as she grabbed Brian's hands to dance in the middle of our circle. His ears turned bright red but he went along with it anyways; Michelle had that playful affect on him. I looked at Andy with a grin as he held onto my hand I stared him in the eye, "Thank you."

His grin widened, "For what?"

"For asking me here, bringing me here…everything."

He smiled sweetly and leaned his head down to meet my lips…a short but sweet kiss that meant more than the world. His smile widened but quickly became slightly smaller when he looked over my shoulder. I turned around and noticed Claire who looked like her jaw was ready to hit the floor…hell all of them looked like they were gonna fall to their knees. I followed their line of vision and I too, stopped dead in my tracks.

Andy cleared his throat, "Claire there's your date."

I squeezed my eyes shut and then opened them again and sure enough there he was; clad in a pair of dark dress pants, a short-sleeved white dress shirt (obviously cut off and very much untucked), a pair of black Army Rangers combat boots, and a black tie with…cherries on it.

He tried to look unfazed by it all but with the cigarette left burning between his lips and his dark eyes glued to hers without budging…it gave it all away.

Andy approached Claire apprehensively and placed his hands lightly on her shoulders, "Claire…meet my friend, John Bender."

TBC