Lpov
I'd never been one to get nervous for big events. Growing up with increasing amounts of people staring at you each year sort of had a dampening effect on milestones like birthdays and graduations. In fact, I hadn't even bothered to have a sweet sixteen. After going to events sponsored by the same designers and icons that could be found at the Met, well, where did you really go from there? And the last thing I wanted for my birthday was to be photographed.
Today, however, seemed to be an exception.
"You look like you're going to throw up." Ellie said, her eyes meeting mine in the mirror she was sitting in front of as I set the last strand of her hair with a pin, the rhinestone sparkling in light from the vanity.
"I'm fine." I said automatically, spraying the curls falling down her back with one last touch of hairspray so that they stayed in place.
She looked like a princess, which, I suspected, was exactly how she wanted to feel tonight, even if she'd never have admitted it. She kept beaming every time she caught her reflection in the mirror, and twirling the skirt of her dress when she thought no one was looking.
In the end I had gone with blue for her, and I was glad I did. It definitely was Ellie's color. The skirt fell to just above her knees, sheer layers extending towards the floor towards the back of the dress in an asymmetrical hemline that created a cascading effect.
"I'm with Ellie on this one." Amber said somewhat unhelpfully from across the room as she looked up from her phone. "You're kind of wide eyed."
She'd gone with emerald for her dress, and where as Ellie had gone the princess direction, Amber had chosen something far closer to an evening gown. A simple, but cleanly cut square top, backless, with thin straps, and a long skirt with a slit no doubt to show off, admittedly, killer legs. Probably from running around on the soccer field all the time.
She looked stunning, a complete knock out, and I sort of expected Cole to pass out the second he saw her.
"Don't listen to them." Jenny said reaching into her purse and pulling out a vial of perfume. She sprayed herself and rolled her eyes before she grinned at me. "You look amazing."
Of all of us, she had gone the most traditional with her look, a fitted white dress that flared out below the knee, her fair hair curled and braided into an elaborate low bun.
I hadn't expected a girl as pretty as her to have any issues finding a date, and was surprised to find out it wasn't until the week before prom someone had asked her. But, considering it was the school's quarter back, I didn't think she was complaining.
Unable to help myself, I glanced in the mirror for what felt like the millionth time today. I'd spent far less time on my dress than Ellie's, partly as I was more familiar with my own measurements than hers, but also because without her direction, I wasn't exactly sure what things like this were supposed to look like. The internet hadn't helped.
There were so many styles ranged from short cocktail dresses to what looked like essentially wedding dresses in different colors, even straight up ball gowns. There was no way in hell I was making something like that on any sort of dead line.
Not really one for crystals and lace, and certainly not wanting to put up with adding them myself, I'd decided in the end to go with something simple. A color I knew I looked good in, red, and a fabric that was comfortable, silk.
Expensive, yes, but it wasn't the worst fabric to work with. Compared to what the other girls had picked out however, I was starting two wonder if, for once in my life, I'd missed the mark when it came to a dress.
"Would you stop fretting?" Amber asked raising an eyebrow. "You're giving me second hand anxiety."
She frowned, and the look she shot me was almost reproving.
"I thought you'd be used to this sort of thing. Getting all dressed up and going out."
"Not for something like this," I muttered, wishing I'd gone for a style that wasn't so fitted. I already felt like I couldn't breathe.
"You cannot possibly be nervous." She said indignantly, as if there was something offensive about the idea.
"Well then." I said irritated. "That's fixed, isn't it? Thanks Amber."
She rolled her eyes.
"I'm sorry, but I don't have a lot of sympathy for you Lorelei. In that dress, I'm pretty sure you could run a guy over stealing his car, and he'd thank you for it. Probably offer to keep paying the insurance."
This caused Ellie to laugh and when I caught Jenny's gaze in the mirror, she shrugged as if to say, 'she's got a point.'
"I think someone's here." Ellie said glancing out the window.
We'd been getting ready in a guest room at my father's house where the initial photos of the group were being taken. One, because it would make for nice pictures but two, it would be easy to keep unwanted photographers out.
"Looks like some of my group." Amber said crossing the room peering out at the car that had just pulled into the drive.
Several girls in long, brightly colored dressed filed out of the SUV, looking around with interest.
"We should probably head down." Jenny said glancing at her phone screen, no doubt to check the time. "More people will be turning up soon."
My father had already let them in by the time we'd manage to make it to the main level, causing several of them to blush, clearly star struck.
I guess it wasn't all that surprising. They were Amber's friends and on the soccer team after all, but it was still strange to think that like me, most of these girls had grown up watching him play. Might have even idolized him at some point. Not entirely comforted by this fact, I stuck with Ellie for the most part, trying to concentrate on our conversation as more people, primarily Amber's friends and their dates, started to arrive. I knew I should have been acting more social, mingling with the others, executing a charm offensive, hitting everyone on all sides but I just… couldn't.
With each second that passed, my nerves seemed to be getting worse and worse and I had no idea why.
I was being an idiot. Plenty of these kids were going to be approached with questions about Dex and I after photos inevitably made it to the internet. I needed them to like me. To think I was nice and approachable, to keep this image of Lorelei reformed alive.
But all thoughts of what I was 'supposed' to be doing vanished the second I saw a familiar red muscle car rolling through the security gate followed by an extremely lifted Jeep.
"Maggie." My father said brightly, embracing the petite red head I recognized to be Dex's mother that hopped down from the vehicle.
She smiled and returned the embrace.
"How's the Lambo?" she asked. "Heard you had some trouble getting it shipped from Europe."
"Quite a bit more than some." He said in exasperation. "But while I've got you here, I had some questions about the power steering…"
I lost track of the conversation however, when the driver's side door of Dex's car opened and he ducked out it, looking as if he'd stepped out of a bond movie in a dark, perfectly fitted tux, and it felt as if, for a moment, the world had stopped. Or maybe it was just my heart.
Time resumed with it's next beat as his friends Cole and Michael slid out of the car, but I couldn't look away from Dex.
I'd grown up around professional athletes, met models, singers, actors, and yet I couldn't help but think none of them could hold a candle to a Dex that actually put in an effort.
I knew the moment he saw me, because for the first time I could see my appearance had caught him off guard. His eyes widened by a fraction and his mouth fell open slightly, as if he'd meant to say something, but forgotten how.
It wasn't the first time someone had looked at me like that, but when I started to walk towards him, my heart fluttering as he smiled, I realized it was the first time in a long time, that I cared what someone thought about my appearance. And that it had never felt like this.
"Hey." I started, surprised at how quietly it came out.
"Hey."
"You look great."
"I feel like I'm in a straight jacket." He said scratching the back of his head awkwardly.
"A very fancy straight jacket." I pointed out and again he smiled.
"Lore, you look…" but his voice faded as he continued to look at me, as if he couldn't believe I was really standing in front of him.
"Like I'm a brilliant conversationalist?" I asked, hoping to make him laugh, but he didn't. He just continued to stare, and for once, it didn't bother me. I might have let him stare at me all night if he continued looking like that.
"I honestly don't think there are words to describe how beautiful you look." He said softly.
"Well we could always ask my mother." I said pretending to sigh, but feeling my cheeks flush. "I'm sure she's been told she's all of them."
"I don't think she'd want to be compared to you right now. It might upset her."
I felt my eyes go wide.
"Dex." I said incredulously. "You can't just say stuff like that! What if she found out? She'd crush you!"
"I'm fine with that." He said and he sounded so sincere, I didn't know if he was joking or not.
Either way, I couldn't help but smile.
"Adorable."
We both looked up to see Dex's mother standing in front of us her phone out, her beaming as she set up for another photo.
"Mom." Dex said in exasperation, but she shook her head, having none of his protests.
"I don't want to hear it Dexter." She said in a business like tone. "I am a mother. I've earned this."
"Full name." I said smirking up at him as she gestured for him to put his arm around me. "She means business."
"It's a scary thought, but I think you're right."
He put his arm around my waist.
"Smile Dex." His mother urged which only caused him to scowl.
"I hate taking pictures." He said darkly. "I've never been photogenic. My photos never come out right."
"Just picture Jake getting attacked by an angry flock of geese." I said and almost immediately he started to laugh. "That's what I always do."
…
Prom photos, as it turned out were far less glamorous than I expected them to be. Having grown up in a sphere of the population that was used to being on camera, I hadn't realized how much learning to be photographed was an acquired skill. And as much as I hated standing willingly for picture, I found pretty quickly that the whole thing was kind of cheesy. It was nothing like the movies or the photos I'd found panic searching online. No one seemed to know where to stand or how to pose, asking for photos in odd places like the stairs or by the pool, all together at first, then in little groups. But it was nice not to be the only one in the spot light, and I had to admit, as awkward as the whole thing felt, a part of me was actually quite glad that when Ellie, Jenny, and Amber had taken photos together, they always insisted I join them. I also might have asked Dex's mom to send me just about every one of the photos she'd taken... including the ones of just me and my dad.
He'd surprised the entire group by ordering a limo, a massive one looking as if someone had taken Jake's mother's Hummer, and stretched it to the point of ridiculousness, and had caused a minor freak out from some of the couples when it arrived. Still, there were enough people that even the oversized vehicle was looking a bit crowded and I was a bit relieved when Dex offered to drive us himself. Though, I had a feeling that was more about who I was going to be with on the drive, rather than who I wouldn't be.
I knew enough about prom to know that quite often, people went to dinner before the dance, sometimes somewhere nicer so they didn't look completely out of place in literal tuxes and gowns, so when he pulled up to the board walk, which had food ranging from ice cream carts to one of the best sushi restaurants in town, I wasn't all that surprised. What did surprise me, however, was when Dex took my hand as I stepped out of the car, the place he headed towards was the arcade.
He grinned, clearly spotting my confusion.
"You put the nerd in a dress." He said as we stepped into the building and I saw that it was, for the most part, empty. "But that's not going to stop her from slaughtering aliens."
He nodded towards a space further into the arcade where sure enough, Ellie and Cole were battling it out with their plastic guns, both Amber and Michael cheering for their respective dates as their scores increased rapidly on the screen.
"It was Ellie's idea." He said grinning as I looked around to see groups of people milling about, some ordering from the snack bar while others went to check out the different games. "She called a few weeks ago. Turns out, you can rent this place for private events. They even kept the kitchen open. She might have had to drop a name or two, and your dad might have made a call... but the owner agreed to shut the place down for the evening while we're here. Which means-"
"No cameras." I said grinning and he nodded, smiling as I laced my fingers with his.
"No cameras." He agreed and I felt a swell of excitement go through me as the reality of the situation hit me. Looking around as the place that was so familiar to me, suddenly had a whole new layer of meaning.
"C'mon." I said dragging him towards the pin ball machines. "Let's see if we can hit every machine before we leave."
Dpov
I wasn't going to lie, I hadn't been thrilled about the idea of prom in my last relationship, and had positively dreaded it after it ended, but after the shock had worn off, and it had sunk in that Lorelei had actually agreed to go with me, I'd actually been pretty excited.
That was until we reached the venue.
The school had rented out a ball room in one of the nicest hotels in the city, and as we pulled up towards the entrance, and realized why her father had insisted his agent and a group of what Lorelei had irritably called 'handlers', take us from the arcade. When I saw how many photographers had crammed themselves outside the entrance of the hotel, I almost wanted to just turn around and go straight back to the arcade.
"Jesus." Amber said an eyebrow darting up as Howard swore.
She, Cole, Ellie, and Michael had ridden with us in the car Howard had all but frog marched Lorelei into the second we'd stepped out of the arcade.
"The hotel swore they weren't going to leak this." He spat immediately pulling out his phone, no doubt to find a contact to yell at.
"You think someone told them?" Ellie asked her eyes going wide as she turned to Michael whose expression was skeptical.
"No idea." He said frowning. "But it wouldn't exactly have been hard to figure it out even if they hadn't said anything. It's not as if the location was secret. They could have gotten that information from anyone and figured there'd be a good chance Lorelei would turn up."
"They're blocking the side entrance." Howard said darkly letting out a second string of curses, craning his neck to see that there were photographers posted not just at the front of the building, but around the sides as well. "This isn't good."
"I could step out of the car and start screaming." Amber said in a helpful, if not matter of fact tone.
Everyone stared at her.
"What?" she asked, clearly not understanding why we didn't think she was brilliant. "It would distract them. And while they're all staring at the crazy chick, you two can slip out of the other side of the car." She frowned when no one answered this, her tone defensive as she continued. "I don't see anyone else coming up with ideas."
There was an absurd sort of practicality her statement, and I saw the corner of Lorelei's mouth quirk slightly up, in what was clearly a suppressed grin.
"We could try that." She said glancing at Howard her, and while her tone and expression were thoughtful, her eyes were glittering with amusement.
He glowered at her.
"Not funny Lorelei." He said darkly and she shrugged as if to say, 'what can you do?'. "And that doesn't fix our issue." He continued impatiently. "Even if she managed to act unhinged enough to distract everyone, which I highly doubt, how are you going to get into the building?"
"I think you're underestimating how unhinged I can act." Amber said flatly, her eyes narrowing at Howard, clearly learning to like him about as much as Lorelei and Jake did.
"Not a great sign for you." Michael muttered glancing at Cole.
"You're all over thinking this." Lorelei said rolling her eyes, checking her reflection in the window, and then to everyone's utter shock, opening the door.
"What-" Howard started his eyes going wide as the world exploded in bright flashes.
Instantly Howard and the handlers started scrambling, doors flying open after her, but Lorelei, spine straight, was already walking towards the entrance.
It was strange, seeing her shift from the girl crushing her competition on the giant Pac Man machine, to someone looking as if they were walking on a red carpet.
"Guess we're doing this." Amber said with a shrug, grabbing Cole's hand.
He looked surprised, but followed her out of the car. I saw Ellie give Michael a hesitant look before she too slid out of her seat.
"I can't believe her." Howard muttered as I stepped on the pavement after Michael.
I went unnoticed for a moment, everyone too distracted by the literal daughter Aphrodite commanding their attention to be bothered with anything else. It didn't surprise me. Lorelei always looked insanely beautiful, but tonight…
I'd meant it when I said there weren't words for it. Her dark hair stood out in vivid contrast to a fire red dress, falling over exposed shoulders, the blue in her eyes so intense, I was surprise it didn't vaporize whichever of the photographers she looked at on the spot. And despite everything I knew about her, how often I was reminded that Lorelei was in fact, just a person, moments like this, I sort understood the public's fascination with her.
It was like watching a meteor enter the atmosphere, burning as it shot across the sky. An embodiment of Aphrodite's power passing through the mortal world. The sort of thing that you couldn't look away from, even if you could never really explain to yourself as to why. It was something, I thought, that wasn't meant to be fully understood, even by the gods really, but demanded we all keep trying.
I had the feeling however, that Aphrodite herself could have turned up at this very moment and no one would have noticed. And when Lorelei turned, her gaze meeting mine, I barely noticed as the flashes were turned on me.
The moment could have only been seconds, but it seemed to extend into an eternity as the world around just suddenly didn't seem all that important. I didn't hear the requests to look at the cameras. I didn't see anyone but her.
Her smile had faded by the time our eyes met, and I could tell she felt for more apprehensive about the situation than she was willing to let on. I wasn't sure if anyone else had noticed, but it made me want to push through the mob of idiots and get her out of here, running over any one who got in my way in a manner that would have made even Jake proud. Something about her expression however, reminded me of the time I'd run into her during capture the flag. When she had tricked me, and plenty of other people that she'd needed rescuing.
And I had remembered what Jake had said about the Aphrodite campers. Warned, really.
Lorelei wasn't the sort of person who needed rescuing. She never had been. She'd been exactly where she wanted to be in the woods at camp, gotten me exactly where she'd wanted me to be. Something told me I was in the exact same sort of situation here. I had the feeling that while Lorelei might have wanted me over there with her, it wasn't because she thought she needed help.
I was vaguely aware of Howard snapping at the photographers while several of the crew he was with tried to push them back and clear a path, but strangely, I didn't meet any resistance from the crowd as I made my way to Lorelei who smiled as I stopped in front of her.
"Kind of wish we'd gone the Amber screaming route." She said and I couldn't help it, I laughed.
"You know I think there's like a thousand photographers here, and yet I'll bet my mom still managed to take more pictures than all of these people combined."
People continued to shout trying to get our attention, asking for photos and clarification on our 'relationship status' but we ignored them as we continued towards the entrance where, thankfully, the lobby was mostly empty.
My friends must have already head into the dance, music thumping from behind as set of heavy, expensive looking doors to our left.
Her eyes landed on it, and I was amazed to see that, after everything that had happened outside, it was only at this point that Lorelei was starting to look a bit nervous.
"You ok?" I asked her and she nodded, but she didn't say anything.
Her hands were joined in front of her, one thumb training anxiously over the back of the other, a strand of hair near her temple fading until it was nearly blonde. The color that was least like her own, and I was starting to realize was the one it reverted to when she was feeling anxious or stressed. Not like herself. Even when she wasn't aware of it.
"Seriously Lore, what's up?"
"Nothing," she said shaking her head. "Nothing I just-"
But I brushed the strand behind her ear holding the faded end between us and when her eyes darted to it, she sighed and looked away.
"I guess I just want your friends to like me." She said on a heavy exhale and I stared at her.
"My friends like do like you."
"Not just your club friends." She said quietly. "I mean, like, everyone. Your class mates, the guys on your team. I've never gone to a normal school before or done like, normal stuff like this. I don't know how I'm supposed to act, who I'm supposed to be." Her eyes darted towards mine, almost as if looking for direction. "What if they all hate me?"
I was stunned to see the strand fade to an even lighter blonde and I realized she was serious.
"They won't." I assured her. "And you don't have to 'be' anyone." I added as she fidgeted nervously, and I took her hands in mine to still them. "Besides, who cares if people don't like you? You generally don't like people either."
"True." She said her tone considering, as if she thought this was a valid argument and I grinned.
"Why do you think we get along so well?" I asked and she smiled slightly.
"Good point."
"We can always leave if you hate it." I assured her and I thought I saw then tension in her shoulders relax a fraction as the blonde began to darken, returning to it's usual color.
"Think Ellie will forgive me?" She asked raising an eyebrow.
"I think she'll be fine." I said smirking a little and glancing at the door where I was certain she was having the time of her life with Michael and the others. "C'mon." I continued, threading her fingers with mine. "For once, I'm as well dressed as you are. Let's go remind ourselves why we hate being around people."
She laughed and let me pull her towards the door, and had a feeling that tonight, even if we were going to be surrounded by people, I really wouldn't mind.
