"Quatre, look over here!" Mr. Barton snapped at the boy. "Iria wanted me to take a whole roll of pictures of you and your date and, by golly, I will."
"Oh, sorry." Quatre smiled at the camera.
It was time for the senior prom. All five boys rented a limo for the night for them and their dates to arrive in. Wufei and Sally were going together, Heero and Duo were going with each other, Trowa invited his new girlfriend, Dorothy Catalonia, and Quatre invited his friend, Relena Peacecraft.
"Dad, anymore pictures and Quatre and Relena's gonna go blind from all the flashes."
"Oh, hush. Being a doctor myself, I know for a fact that that won't happen. And Quatre! You look fine, now look at the camera!"
"Oh, geez. Sorry." Quatre smiled again and looked at the camera in Mr. Barton's hands.
From outside a horn honked.
"They're here!" Dorothy squealed.
"All right! Let's go." Relena said, leading the way outside.
"Have fun kids. And don't stay out too late."
"Right, right." Trowa waved, closing the door behind him.
The four walked up to the limo where the other four were waiting.
"Senior Prom, here we come!" Duo shouted as he stuck his torso through the sunroof. "Get ready to paaaartaaaay!!"
The others laughed at their friend's excitement before heading off to the Hilton Plaza, where the dance was being held.
"Please enter your votes for prom king and queen here." Said a leadership student as the group walked in.
"Oy, Q! You're nominated!" Duo exclaimed.
"What?" Quatre picked up one of the ballots and sure enough, his name was there. "Who did this? I thought we weren't gonna participate in this."
"It wasn't any of us. We know how you hate attention." Heero defended.
"How do I withdraw?" Quatre asked.
"You can't." the leadership boy said. "Once you've been nominated, you're stuck. If you want to know who did it, you're gonna have to wait until they announce the winners. Good luck."
"Don't you mean bad?" Quatre shook his head.
"Oh come on Quatre. It won't be so bad. All the people on this ballot are your friends so you can't feel alone." Relena comforted the boy.
"Hey! Quatre! Good luck buddy!" Someone called from the crowd.
"Uh, thanks!" he called back. "Oh no..."
"Quatre, don't worry. There's a three to one chance that you'll lose." Dorothy said, giving the blonde an assuring smile.
"Thanks. Just don't vote for me, okay?"
"Hey, ballots are supposed to be secret." Sally said, winking at Quatre. "I don't care how shy you are, Quatre Raberba Winner. I want to see you win."
"I agree." Wufei said nodding at the blonde before folding his ballot and adding it into the box.
"Same here." Heero added.
"Trowa, buddy!" Quatre said, turning to the taller boy. "You're not gonna vote for me are you?"
"Too late. I already handed my ballot in." Trowa smiled.
"Ugh. Fine. Hurry up so we can start dancing. I want to get my mind off of this." Quatre pouted.
"Good luck, Quatre!" someone else called.
"Thanks..." Quatre called back half-heartedly.
"Let's dance, cutey!" Relena took Quatre's hand and hurried off to the dance floor. They were soon joined by the other three couples. It was going to be an interesting night.
* * *
"Who do you think nominated him?" Dorothy asked, leaning her head against Trowa's shoulder.
"I have absolutely no idea. I would have but we all agreed that we wouldn't nominate each other."
"Oooo! What if someone has a crush on Quatre and this is their way of showing him? That'd be soooo cute!"
"Hm."
"May I have your attention please?" Mr. Johnson, the activities coordinator, called from the stage. "Will all nominees please step up to the stage?"
"Oh! It's time! Let's go find the others!" Dorothy grabbed Trowa's wrist and pulled him through the crowd. They soon found Wufei and Sally and were later joined by Heero and Duo. They found Relena standing in front of the stage.
"This is so exciting!" She squealed at the others approached her. "I hope Quatre wins."
"Where is he?" Heero asked.
They scanned the stage and didn't see the blonde boy anywhere.
"Will Quatre Raberba Winner please report to the stage?" Mr. Johnson called. "Quatre Winner to the stage, please."
"No! I don't wanna go! Let me go!" Quatre called, fighting against two other leadership students as they dragged him to the stage.
"Awww, poor Quatre." Sally pouted. "He's so scared."
"I'd be too, if I were forced to stand on that stage." Dorothy added.
"Uh, heh. Quatre Winner, everybody!" The audience applauded.
"Yeah! Go Quatre!" someone called.
"Woo Hoo!! Good luck Quatre!" another person called.
Quatre blushed slightly before nodding and hiding behind the other nominees.
"Awww, how cute!" Sally squealed. "He's hiding!"
"Quiet, woman." Wufei snapped. Sally just flicked him on the forehead.
"Okay, ladies and gentlemen. Settle down, settle down. For your prom queen. Third runner up, Nancy Jacobs! Nominated by Sonia Tran!" The crowd cheered as Sonia walked up to Nancy and handed her a rose. "Second runner up, Teresa Medley, nominated by Mary Walker!" Mary handed Teresa two roses. "First runner up, Martha Klein, nominated by Jordan Wheatley!" Jordan handed Martha a bouquet of six roses. "And your prom queen is Janet Williams! Nominated by Corey Gomez!" The ballroom exploded into to more cheers and applause as Corey handed Janet her sash, crown and bouquet of a dozen roses. Janet stood off to the side while the other three girls walked off the stage to join their dates.
"Now, for your prom king!" Mr. Johnson continued after the crowd calmed down. "Third runner up, Ryan Tatum! Nominated by Janice Young!" Janice walked on stage and handed Ryan a single rose before walking off stage. "Second runner up, Alfred Do, nominated by Ashley Quinn!" Ashley handed Alfred two roses before stepping off stage.
'Oh God, oh God...please let me be runner up. Please let me be runner up...' Quatre crossed his fingers and bit his lip in anxiety.
"This is it, you guys. Do or die!" Relena whispered loudly to the guy, giddy with anticipation.
"More like king or not. I bet he's praying for the not." Sally chuckled.
"First runner up, Vincent Nguyen, nominated by Shawn Carter!" Shawn handed Vincent his six roses and walked off.
"Oh God..." Quatre swallowed. His face automatically paled as he was nudged forward. "Ladies and gentlemen, introducing your new prom king, Quatre Winner!" The ballroom roared with cheers.
"All right!! Q won! Q won!" Duo and Heero jumped up and down in excitement.
"Yay!! He won!!" The girls squealed in unison.
Wufei, though usually very conservative, couldn't help but jump and scream in Quatre's success. Trowa gave a huge smile and cheered on his best friend.
"Whoa, whoa. Quiet guys. I wanna hear who nominated him." Trowa said, finally realizing that the person still hadn't been announced because of the volume the crowd was making. The others soon calmed down and the rest of the students eventually calmed down as well.
"Congratulations to Quatre, nominated by Ralph Flores!"
Trowa's jaw immediately dropped as well as Quatre's.
"R-Ralph Flores?!" Trowa cried with utter surprise.
Ralph calmly walked onto the stage with a slight smile on his lips. He walked up to Quatre and placed the crown on his head. While putting on the sash, Ralph leaned in to whisper into Quatre's ear.
"Congratulations, Quatre. I know you probably have some questions so meet me outside after your dance with Janet, okay?"
Quatre just stared at Ralph.
"I won't hurt you..." Ralph assured.
"Uh...okay..." Quatre whispered back.
Ralph pulled away a smiled at a stunned Quatre. He walked off stage and disappeared into the crowd.
"Now, people, make way for the King and Queen's spotlight dance." The crowd parted like the Red Sea and made way for Quatre and Janet to dance.
"Congratulations, Quatre." Janet whispered.
"Uh, you too." Quatre smiled.
Quatre took Janet's hand in his and place one on her hip while Janet placed her other hand on his shoulder. The two waited for the music to start before they danced.
"I'm glad you won. I didn't really know the other guys."
"Thanks. I'm happy you won, too."
* * *
Trowa and the others were off to the side, watching Quatre and Janet's victory dance.
"Trowa, what's wrong?" Dorothy asked.
"R-Ralph Flores?" Trowa said, still stunned.
"What's wrong with that?" Duo asked his arms wrapped around Heero's neck.
"He used to beat Quatre up in elementary..." Trowa whispered more to himself than to the others.
"He what?" Heero asked, concerned.
"Maybe Ralph had a change of heart." Sally offered.
"Or maybe he has something planned. You know, like Carrie." Duo said.
"Duo!" Relena smacked the braided boy on the head.
"Maxwell, you really know how to ruin things..." Wufei shook his head.
"He what?" Heero asked again.
"What if he does?" Trowa asked.
"Don't worry about it." Dorothy comforted. "It's probably nothing."
"HE WHAT?" Heero asked more agitated.
"Beat Quatre up. Weren't you listening?" Duo asked.
"Duo!" Relena smacked Duo again.
"Will you stop that?" Duo growled.
"If she does, I'll continue it." Wufei smirked.
"How could you let that happen?" Heero huffed turning to Trowa.
"Heero calm down." Sally said placing a hand on Heero's shoulder.
"It was before Quatre and I were friends..."
"So you watched him get beat up?" Heero growled looking about ready to pounce on Trowa.
"It's not his fault. Calm down Heero." Dorothy said. Heero relaxed a bit, but still glared daggers at Trowa.
"Can I say something?" Duo piped in.
"I know letting him get beat up was wrong. I regret that letting it happen." Trowa defended, glaring right back at Heero.
"Can I say something?" Duo asked again.
"Having a guy of Flores' size against Quatre is injustice." Wufei said, shaking his head.
"But it's not like it happens anymore, right?" Sally added.
"Can I say something?" Duo asked more urgently.
"WHAT, DUO?!" the group hollered in unison at the boy.
"Where's Quatre now?" he asked calmly in response.
The others turned their attention to the dance floor to see that Quatre and Janet had stopped dancing a while ago and that it was once again filled with the rest of the senior class.
Author's Notes/Disclaimer: No own, no sue. You know that. Ralph Flores is back! I own him! And Mr. Johnson is real and the nominees aren't. Just pulled names out of a hat. That's all.