Chapter 21

"This is going to be a nightmare," Maria stated as she turned to face Liz. Both of them were standing outside Liz's locker as Liz went through her locker. She turned to face Maria.

"It will be fine," Liz soothed and Maria shot her a disbelieving look.

"Liz, it's the prom!" Maria exclaimed and Liz nodded.

"I know, it wasn't that long ago you were all excited now you're freaking out like mad!" Liz exclaimed. "What's going on with you?" Liz asked as she closed her locker door and leaned on it, facing her best friend.

"It's the prom," Maria stated and Liz looked at her before nodding.

"You mean the prom night?" Liz asked and Maria looked at her and Liz smiled. "You think James is going to ask you to sleep with him, aren't you?" Liz asked and Maria sighed.

"I'm being irrational, aren't I?" Maria asked and Liz reached out and linked her arm through Maria and both of them walked off toward the quad.

"No, I think it's perfectly normal. I mean, if it was Max and I, I would be nervous too," Liz told her and Maria looked at her.

"You and Max have already made love," Maria pointed out and Liz nodded.

"Because it was the right time for us two, we just knew in our heart that we were ready to be together."

"What if I don't feel like that tonight?" Maria asked and Liz opened the door that led to the quad.

"Tell him how you are feeling, if you are not ready then let him know. James would never push you into something you're not ready for. Hey, he could be feeling the same way you know," Liz, suggested and Maria nodded.

"I know, it's just, it's weird you know. I mean, I always thought I would go to the prom with Michael and maybe sleep with him then but now I'm dating James and going to the prom with him, Liz, I haven't even said 'I love you'!" Maria exclaimed and Liz laughed.

"Maria, breathe deep and slow before you pass out," Liz advised. Maria took in a deep breath. "Everything will be fine, all you and James needs to do is talk to the other and find out how the other is feeling," Liz advised and Maria nodded as they came to a stop outside her class.

"Thanks Liz," Maria told her before she stepped into her classroom, leaving Liz shaking her head as she walked away from the class and out into the Quad where she took a seat at a table and pulled her out books so she could work on them.

"Hey," Max greeted as he straddled Liz from behind. Liz smiled as she rested her back against his chest.

"Hey," Liz greeted back.

"Wanna go to the prom with me?" Max asked and Liz laughed as she rested her head on his shoulder so she was looking up at him.

"And here's me thinking you were never going to ask," she teased. Max grinned as he bent his head down and kissed her.

"Hey, I've been waiting for this moment for ages, like I'm gonna miss out on asking you to the prom," he teased back and she grinned as he leaned back down and kissed her once more.

"Do you have to?" a male voice whined and they broke away to see James standing there on the other side with a wince.

"If I can put up with you and Maria, you can put up with Max and I," Liz informed him and James rolled his eyes as he sat down on the table on the other side of them and pulled out his lunch. "Worried about the prom?" Liz asked and James looked at her.

"Is it that obvious?" he asked and Liz shrugged.

"Kinda," she admitted and James sighed.

"More like the night," he admitted and Liz nodded. "It's just, I really like Maria," James started. "And I don't want to pressure her or anything."

"James, have you had sex?" Liz pressed, looking at her cousin with a wary eye and James nodded, causing her eyes to widen. "When?" she demanded.

"With Victoria," He explained and Liz nodded in understanding.

"Victoria?" Max asked.

"James ex-girlfriend back in Florida, she's a spoilt brat," Liz muttered, causing James and Max to look at her in a stunned shock. "Oh come on!" she exclaimed. "She broke up with you because she was convinced that I was trying to come in between the pair of you!"

"What?" Max asked and Liz nodded as she looked up at her boyfriend.

"Yep, she was convinced that I wanted James for myself," Liz informed him and Max shook his head.

"Sounds like she's a bit paranoid," he admitted and Liz laughed.

"Totally," Liz agreed and James rolled his eyes.

"Come on," James groaned and Liz looked at him.

"Well, all I can say is be honest with Maria, tell her that you have done it before and you are not going to pressure her into anything she doesn't want to do," Liz advised and he nodded as he picked up his books once more.

"I better head off, catch you later," he told them and they nodded as they watched him leave before Liz rested the back of her head on Max's chest.

"Why do I get the feeling that we're going to be looking at a long time?" Liz asked, Max just kissed her forehead.

"How are things going with your dad?" Max asked and Liz shrugged.

"Okay I guess," she admitted before she looked up at him. "I still find it hard to speak to him."

"It's a natural thing, at least your dad isn't pressuring you into talking to him," Max told her and she nodded.

"Yeah, I really want to know much as I can about my biological mother but it's too hard to speak to him about her, knowing that he lied to me about her all those years."

"It'll be okay," he whispered as stroked back her hair as she rested her head on his chest and they both just relaxed, enjoying their time together.

"Hey Maria," James greeted when he caught up with his girlfriend at her locker. Maria turned to face him and she gave him a smile.

"Hey," she greeted and James smiled back.

"Listen, we need to talk," he told her and she nodded as she closed her locker door.

"Follow me, I know somewhere," she told him and he nodded as he followed her toward the band room. They both stepped in and moved over to the small table that was in front of the blackboard. "So, what did you want to talk about?" she asked once they placed their bags down and grabbed some seats.

"About the prom night," he told her and she looked up at him. "I'm not going to pressure you anything you don't want to do," he told her and she nodded. "But I feel I need to be honest," he admitted. "This won't be my first time." Maria looked at him, shocked.

"You've had sex before?" she asked and James nodded.

"Yeah, with my ex-girlfriend back in Florida when we were dating," he told her and she nodded. "I know a girl's first time is a pretty big thing and I'm just letting you know that there is no pressure on you whatsoever and I'm just telling you about my past because I really care about you a lot and I don't want to hide this from you," he explained and she smiled softly.

"Thank you," she told him and he looked at her. "You doing this just shows me how much you care for me," she explained and James nodded.

"Now that's out of the way, Maria Deluca, will you do me the honour of coming with me to your prom?" he asked and Maria laughed.

"Yes," she told him and he grinned.

Alex made his way into his History class and sat at his normal seat when Isabel made her way through and sat down next to him.

"Hey," Isabel greeted and Alex nodded.

"Hey, you going to the prom?" Alex asked and Isabel nodded.

"Yeah, I was wondering if we could go together, as friends," Isabel suggested and Alex shook his head.

"Can't, I'm going with Sarah," Alex told her and she nodded as she turned back in her seat, wondering how the hell was she suppose to get Alex back if he was busy with another girl.

Kyle walked in and took his spot in front of Isabel. Isabel leaned over and tapped his shoulder, causing him to turn around.

"Do you want to go to the prom with me?" she asked and Kyle looked at her, taken back.

"Erm, sure," he told her and she flashed him a smile, he shot her a small smile back before turning back round to the front while Alex shook his head at the scene and felt sorry for Kyle as he had no idea what he was getting himself into.

Michael made his way into his art class and took up his seat next to Tess, who shot him a smile.

"Morning," she greeted and Michael grunted back. "Not really a morning person are you?" she teased and Michael smiled slightly.

"Sorry, late night," Michael told her and she nodded.

"Have you heard about the prom?" Tess asked and Michael nodded before he looked at Tess' expectant face and winced inwardly.

"Would you like to go?" he asked and Tess grinned.

"Yes," she told him and he nodded.

"Okay, I'll meet you at the Crashdown, that's where everyone else is meeting up so we can all go together," he told her and she nodded.

"Sure," she told him and they turned back to the front to face the teacher as he stepped in.

"Do you get the feeling that something major is going to happen and nothing is going to be the same again?" Liz asked as she looked up at Max and he looked down at her.

"Is your gut telling you something?" he asked and Liz looked back off into the distance.

"Just that tonight is going to be the most amazing nights of our lives, that our hearts will take us in directions we thought we would never go but it's going to be the last time we're all together and having fun," Liz admitted in a soft tone and Max's tighten his arms around her waist.

"I'm sure that everything will be fine," Max assured her, not once feeling reassured at all and they couldn't help but wonder what was going to happen that would change their world.

Maria and Liz found themselves in the backroom, fixing their hair and make up, dressed in their prom dresses, as they got ready for the prom.

Soon, Liz took a deep breath and took a step back before looking at her best friend and they both smile, excitement shining in their eyes.

"Are you ready?" Liz asked and Maria nodded as they both stepped out in the Crashdown, everyone turned to look at them.

James felt his breath get caught in his throat when he took in Maria's form. She wore a white gypsy dress and her hair was curled with flowers in them.

"You look great," James told her as he stepped forward and handed her a small baby-breath corsage and slipped it onto her wrist. Maria smiled when she saw it and reached up and kissed him, gently on the lips before she linked hands with him and moved over to the others.

She could see that Tess was dressed in her light grey dress while Michael stood off to her side dressed in a tux, looking uncomfortable. Isabel was dressed in her red dress while Kyle was dressed in his tux. Alex was dressed in his tux while Sarah was dressed in a deep green dress.

Max walked over to Liz, he was dressed in his tux and his hair was dressed in its usual style. He carried a small white rose corsage.

Liz stood there in her black dress, her hair was curled with some pinned back with pins as she looked up at Max.

"You look gorgeous," Max told her and Liz smiled as she lifted her wrist and Max slipped the corsage on before leaning down and kissed her on the lips before they turned back to the others.

"Come on in kids," Amy called out as she held the camera and shooed everyone toward the counter so she could take their picture. Max and Liz stood to one side; Max had his arms wrapped around her waist as Liz rested her back against his chest. Maria was next to her and James had an arm around her shoulder. Tess stood in front of James with Michael standing slightly off to the side, behind her. Isabel stood next to Michael with Kyle in front of her. Alex and Sarah were standing off to Isabel's side, wrapped up in an embrace as they all faced the camera.

"Say cheese!" Amy called out and they all grinned.

"Cheese!" they call repeated together, laughing as they thought forward to their future.

When they arrived at the school, the prom was in full swing with people dancing.

"Alright!" Alex cheered when one of his favourite songs came on and he dragged a laughing Sarah onto the dance floor.

"We're dancing," Maria told Liz as she took Liz's arm and dragged her out on to the floor, leaving Max alone with James and everyone else.

"Looks like we're in for a great night," Max told James, who laughed.

"Food?" James asked and Max nodded.

"Lead the way," Max stated as they both moved over to the food table. "So, how did yours and Maria's talk go?" Max asked as he picked up a plate and James nodded as they started picking out food for them to eat.

"It went fine, I told her about Victoria and how she isn't any under pressure," James told him and Max nodded.

"Good thing for a girl to know. When Liz and I went out together, our hormones were kinda wild," Max admitted with a sheepish grin. "But we held out and in time, our first time was amazing," Max told him and James grinned as he looked at Max.

"I wanted to let you know that I'm glad that you and Liz got together," James told him. "I've never seen Liz happy like this before and I know you make her happy." Max smiled as he looked over at his girlfriend, who was laughing and dancing with Maria.

"She makes me happy," Max told him and James nodded as they turned back to their food.

"Hey," Liz greeted when she showed up her boyfriend's side, a bit breathless from dancing. Max grinned as he wrapped an arm around her waist and kissed her on the forehead.

"Have a good time?" he asked and Liz smiled.

"Yeah," she told him as a slow music started up and Max took Liz's hand and led her out onto the dance floor. Liz placed a hand on his shoulder before resting her head on his chest as they both swayed to the music, both enjoying their time together.

Sarah, Alex, James and Maria had the same idea and started swaying with their partners.

"They seem really happy," Sarah observed from where she was dancing with Alex, who smiled and nodded.

"Yeah, they are," Alex, confirmed. "It's been a rocky road for both of them and I'm just glad to see Liz with the man she loves." Sarah looked up at him and smiled before she kissed him, both of them losing themselves in the other.

"Do you want to slip away early?" Maria asked from where she was encased in James' arms as they danced, James looked down at her before smiling.

"Nah, let's just stay here and dance the night away," he told her and she giggled as James leaned down and kissed her, both of them enjoying their time together.

Liz sighed as she pulled away from Max after three slow dances and looked up at him.

"Let's get out of here," Liz told Max and he nodded as they both left the school with Tess glaring at their back, she was getting frustrated that Max had shown no interest in her whatsoever before she turned back to Michael, who was standing stiffly next to the table, his eyes on Maria and James, who were dancing and laughing.

"Are you ready to go?" Tess asked and Michael looked down at her.

"Yeah, let's get out of here," he told her and she nodded as they both left together while James leaned in and kissed Maria, both of them enjoying their night together.

"Let's go," Sarah told Alex as she looked up at him. Alex looked down.

"Are you sure?" he asked and she smiled.

"Yeah," she told him and they both left the school with Isabel staring after Alex with a look of sadness adoring her face.

"What are we doing here?" Max asked as he and Liz entered the bowling alley. Liz grinned as she switched the lights on to a dim and took off her shoes before grabbing her socks.

"Something James and I learnt when I went to Florida to visit him once, that people put tons of wax on the alley to make it easier for the balls when bowling but what they don't know is, that if you just slide on it with your socks, you actually feel like you are flying through air," she explained as she pulled on her last sock and stood up.

Max pulled off his shoes so that he was clad in his socks.

"So, I'm guessing you want to try flying?" he asked with a amused smile and Liz smiled as she walked over to Max, took his hands and walked backward, pulling Max with her.

"Oh yeah," she told him before they reached the edge of the alley and she slid herself across the lane. Max laughed as he slid across the lane before he caught up with her and they both started dancing on the lane, loving their time together.

Alex and Sarah made their way into Sarah's bedroom, sliding Sarah's dress off her body while removing Alex's tux before they finally divested each other from their clothing and climbed into Sarah's bed, where they kissed again, getting used to the feel of each other naked bodies pressed together.

Alex tore his mouth away from her and asked the one question that's was burning in his mind.

"Are you sure?" Alex whispered and Sarah nodded. They both kissed as they crossed the last barrier toward lovers as the night began to fade into daylight.

TBC