Hi! I'm not dead (well, obviously I'm not dead for any of you that happen to have me on Alert and have maybe noticed that I've been obsessively contributing to the TV show Covert Affairs)… I just get really easily distracted.

Obviously.

But I have a new color! You guys probably won't be happy with me, because it's unrequited!Max/Terry, but I hope you'll take the win anyway. XD

$4$

Teal.

Unexpected, understatement of the year
That's for sure
Who'd have thought that I'd be standing at your door?
It's just the way you say my name that throws me
All the windows of my past are closing

- "For You From Me," by Jon McLaughlin

This was embarrassing. If anyone caught her standing there, looking like she had lost her mind in the middle of her room for no particular reason, any reputation as a genius would go right out the window.

Luckily, this was her room, so there was no reason for anyone to walk into her house without her knowledge.

A small victory.

She was being irrational, clearly. But the fact of the matter was, that knowledge was not doing jack to get her out from in front of her mirror and out the door.

She never had this problem, normally. She was not the type of girl to get all hung up on a dress.

But… this was prom. This was supposed to be that one moment in lie when she was allowed to act girly over a dress.

Especially when it was such an awesome dress. It was fairly plain, strapless and floor-length and followed the line of her curvy figure, but it was the color that truly stuck with her. It was bight, vibrant teal, but iridescent so that sometimes it looked bright blue and other times it looked seafoam green. It was hypnotizing, and the more she stared dumbly at he reflection the harder it was to look away.

"Max?"

She jumped, spinning around and reflexively trying to cover her dress-cad body with her hands- stupid, she knew because it wasn't like she was standing around naked.

"Max?" he repeated again, and she knew it obviously wasn't anyone dangerous because the only person not in her family that had a key was her best friend.

"Max, are you ready to go?" Terry asked, hesitantly knocking on her shut bedroom door. "Dana's waiting in the limo."

She gathered what was left of her wits together, glancing in the mirror one last time. Her hot pink pixie cut was more or less in place, and the minimal extra makeup she put on earlier seemed to be holding up nicely. She picked up the small gold clutch she borrowed from her sister and headed to the door, calling out, "Sorry! Yeah, I'm ready."

Max pulled open the door, eyebrows rising automatically at the sight of Terry in his tux. This wasn't the first time she had seen him in a tuxedo, so it wasn't anything new but she always needed that first initial moment to appreciate the view. "Sorry I took so long," she said, grinning.

Terry opened his mouth, but nothing came out. "It-it's fine," he recovered, but she noticed he was suddenly having a tough time making eye contact- or, rather, keeping his eyes above her neckline. "You, umm-"

Her smile turned awkward when he couldn't finish the sentence, so she propped her shoulder against the doorframe and crossed her arms over her chest. "I know, I look weird," she said, keeping her smile tight. "But according to Chelsea and your girlfriend, I apparently have to get all dressed up for prom. I much prefer my sweatpants."

He cleared his throat, his face turning an interesting shade of pink. "Really?" he muttered. "'Cuz I think I prefer this."

Now it was Max's turn to blush, looking away from him and running her fingers through her short hair. "Yeah, well, this is only a one-time thing," she said, shy. "Then it's back to t-shirts and jeans again."

Terry finally got his shit together enough to react. He smirked wryly and replied, "That'll be a damned shame."

Something settled right then between the two of them, heavy and unspoken that wasn't supposed to appear between two friends but had in that moment. This was most certainly not one of their usual moments and she wasn't sure out to handle it.

Repetitive knocking on the front door broke that moment, and Max wasn't sure if she was more relieved or disappointed. She slipped past Terry's broad form, ignoring the way that her body was all too aware of his proximity. She crossed the house, trying not to trip over her three-inch heels along the way. Maybe she could slip into flip-flops during the dance and no one would have to know.

She pulled open the door, smiling automatically when she saw Dana standing on the other side.

The petite dark-haired girl looked gorgeous, as usual. She was wearing one of those pretty princess-type dresses in silver with her hair up in a curly bun.

"I don't mean to be a total pain in the ass but I really don't want us to be late," Dana said, smiling back. "You look really pretty, by the way."

Max's expression turned sheepish, and she felt a sudden flash of guilt for thinking less than innocent thoughts about her friend's boyfriend. "Thanks," she said. "You look great, too."

Tilting her head to the side, Dana glanced behind Max's figure. "Where's Terry, anyway?"

"Right here," he called, stepping out of the hallway. When Max locked eyes with him again, she felt that same odd sensation as before settle at the base of her spine. "Everybody ready to go?"

"Yeah, I think so," Max said quietly, breaking eye contact with him and pretending to check her purse to make sure she had everything she needed- which she did.

"Schway," Dana said brightly, immediately turning on her heel and daintily walking back to the limo.

"You ready for the last prom of our lives?" Terry asked once Dana was well out of earshot, dangerously close to Max's ear.

She repressed the automatic shiver and managed a hesitant smile, staring into his too blue eyes and watching a startlingly similar emotion to her own cross his face. "Probably not," she admitted, earning a knowing grin.

He laughed, wrapping a friendly arm around her shoulders as he shut the door behind them. Something was still there, lurking in the back of both their minds, but it was something that could be dealt with another day.

Tonight was prom, after all.

$4$

It's a little off because as anyone with personal experience knows, this is an awkward problem in any friendship, but for the most part I liked the way it turned out. :)

Additionally, I totally loved my prom. This is the first time I've ever written a fic about one, even if this is before the actual prom goes down.

Hope you guys liked it!