This would have been updated sooner, only I got chicken pox (or possibly poison ivy, the doctor doesn't actually know, which is weird), the day after I got back from vacation. Apparently it's a total lie that you can only get chicken pox once, it can happen more than once if you're that unlucky. Which I am.

And I'm not entirely satisfied with this chapter, but I can't seem to get it right so this'll have to do.

You And Your Friend

"So, homecoming, Pruey, you got a dress picked yet?" Tom's leaning back lazily in his chair across the lunch table from me, barely looking at me.

"A dress? Not yet. Why?"

"I wanna know what color corsage to get you," he says, as if it's obvious.

"Why?" I ask dumbly, and he looks at me with irritation.

"So it can match your dress, you dumbass!" Well now I'm just pissed.

"But we're not going together," I say. "You haven't asked."

"As if I need to ask," Tom responds, and I hate him at that moment for his utter arrogance.

"Of course you do," I snap. "How else will I know you're going with me?"

"We always go to these things together," he says. Since when?

"Someone already asked me," I say, "and I said yes."

"Who?" Tom asks, sitting up and looking interested in me for the first time since this stupid conversation started.

I hesitate. "Andy." Tom looks blank. "You know, the-"

"The jackass in homeroom?" He says incredulously as he realizes. "But you didn't say yes?!"

"Yep," I reply as calmly as possible.

"You don't even know him!"

"Yeah I do. He's in loads of my classes."

"Well you can just tell him no," Tom says with a scowl.

"No. I already said yes."

"So what?" He says. "You can say no!"

"Why is this such a problem for you?" I ask. "Just about every girl in the school will go with you if you ask! Ask Lora! She's dying for you to go with her!"

"I don't want Lora, I want you," he says with a dark look.

"You can't always have everything you want," I say, just because I know normally Tom does get what he wants.

Tom spends the next few days being decidedly cold with me, despite the fact he's asked Lora, who gladly agreed to be his date. By the third day I'm pretty sick of it.

"Hey Tom," I say, standing by his desk.

"Hi," he says coolly, looking in the opposite direction from me as if he's never seen anything more interesting than that desk next to his.

"So I heard Lora said yes."

"Of course she did. You'd be crazy to say no." He turns to look at me, pointedly I might add.

"Come on Tom, I'm sorry I'm not going with you. I didn't realize you wanted to go with me. Of course I'd have said yes if you asked first! I just don't want to go back on my word!"

"Why do you always have to be so decent?" He mutters. "I thought cheerleaders were suppose to be bitchy." He slides a hand around my waist and pulls me onto his lap, so I know I'm forgiven. "You should have waited anyway. You can do so much better than him."

I pointedly ignore this comment.

"Do you wanna catch a movie later?" He asks, and I hesitate. It's probably not a good idea to say no to him again. I guess I'll be climbing out my window again tonight.

"Sure," I reply. "What are we seeing?"

He shrugs. "I dunno. We can decide when we get there, can't we, my darling Prue?"

I slide off his lap as Mr. Benson comes in.

I'm surprised to find Andy leaning against the door of my car after school.

"Hi," I say. "What's up?"

"I don't know," he says in a tone that clearly suggests he does know. "Why don't you tell me?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," I say rooting around for my keys, not in the mood for another argument with someone over something ridiculous and trivial.

"You don't have to come with me if you don't want," he says, looking annoyed,

"Come with you where?"

"Homecoming!"

I open my mouth to ask him what the hell he's talking about, when he says, "Have you forgotten we're in homeroom together or something?!"

"What are you-"

"'Oh, Tom," he says, putting on a high voice. "Of course I'd have gone with you if you'd asked me first! I just don't want to go back on my word!' Why is every girl in this school part of his goddamn fan club?! Can't any of you see what an arrogant stuck-up bastard he is?"

That is so not what I said. "Andy, I was just trying to appease him! He hasn't spoken to me for days!"

"So what?" Andy mutters darkly. "What were you going to do to make it up to him, have sex with him?"

"What is that suppose to mean?" I demand.

"Sitting on him with your arms around his neck, looking adoringly at him!"

"Well it isn't like we're going out!" I point out. "You're overreacting!"

"Overreacting when you sit on Tom's lap, saying behind my back that you don't want to go with me. I don't think so. I thought you were different from the rest of them, but you're not, you're just the same."

"Andy! I do want to go with you, much more than I want to go with Tom! I'm glad you asked me first! Tom's just so arrogant that he assumes everyone's falling at his feet!"

Andy looks suddenly guilty.

"I'm sorry," he says, frowning intently at the ground. "I don't know why I said that. You're perfectly within your right to sit on him, and to not want to go to homecoming with me-"

"I do want to go with you! And I'd much rather sit on you any time!" He looks up at me, and then laughs, stepping closer.

"How about you sit on me tonight?" He says. "We'll go see a movie…"

I wonder if he overheard Tom ask me to see a movie too, and if he's trying to test where my loyalties lie.

"Well I already have plans," I say, "but I guess I could cancel." His hand's resting on my hip, sending that electric spark through me like the time we shook hands. I'll tell Tom I'm sick.

"Excellent. I'll pick you up at seven."

"Okay. But don't knock on the front door," I add hurriedly, and he raises his eyebrows. "I don't want my grandmother to know," I explain. "She's been pretty pissed off with me recently, and her seeing you is the last thing I need. I'll sneak out."

Andy shoots me a strange look, but I chose to ignore it.

You And Your Friend is by Snake River Conspiracy. I think it was actually in Charmed, because the band appeared in the show.

Also, I don't know about the next few weeks because I'm moving to college in two weeks, which is basically a nightmare at the moment, so it could be a few weeks until I update again.