"The Prom"

Based on the Episode Written by Marti Noxon

The following story is copyright © 2022 by Mark Moore.

Cordelia was napping in Angel's bed. Angel smiled at her as she woke.

Cordelia smiled. "What? Do I have funny bed hair or something?"

"Or something?"

"I guess we got a little carried away with the whole post-slayage nap thing." Cordelia felt her hair. "Ohhh, not good." She sat up.

"Where you going?"

"To go kill a cat on my head."

"I think you look perfect."

"Oh, yeah, I really like..." Cordelia paused and reconsidered. "Okay!" She lay down. "You know, this place really isn't girl-friendly. Maybe we should think about getting a drawer, you know, for some of my stuff. Because that's what couples do: they have drawers."

"Mmmm, that's right."

"You know, I-I figure, that way, sometimes I could spend the night. Like, after the prom, it would be nice to be able to just come back here and spend some time together."

"The prom?"

"End-of-high-school rite-of-passage thingy. Think cotillion with spiked punch and electric sleigh."

"Right."

"Oh, don't worry, it's at night. And lots of girls have older boyfriends. You'll blend."

"I think maybe you should go, huh?" Angel suggested.

"Nooo..." Cordelia groaned. "Must be a few more hours before sunrise."

She got up and walked to the window. When she pulled back the blackout curtain, it let in a blast of sunlight directly onto the bed. With an exclamation, Angel rolled out of bed, away from the light, apparently unharmed.

Cordelia pulled the curtains closed suddenly. "Ooh, sorry. I guess it's later than we thought."

Angel had a worried look.

Buffy, Cordelia, and Tara were sitting at a picnic table outside Sunnydale High.

Cordelia smiled. "Well, at least, we all have someone to go with now. Some of us are going with demons, but I think that's a valid lifestyle choice. More importantly, I have my eye on the kick-assiest dress."

Buffy smiled. "Cool."

Tara smiled. "I'm sure it'll look nice on you."

"Angel's gonna lose it." Cordelia suddenly grew serious. "But not his soul. He's gonna lose it. His it."

In the library, Buffy and Tara were in the middle of a discussion.

Buffy nodded. "So it was blue and sorta short."

"Not too short, medium. And it had this weird, sorta fringey stuff on its arms."

Giles walked in. "What's that, a demon?"

"A prom tux that Tara was thinking of renting. Can't you ever get your mind out of the Hellmouth?" Buffy asked him.

"I'd be delighted to. However, the day of the mayor's Ascension is fast approaching, and we don't know what to expect."

"Well, what about the pages that Tara stole from the mayor's book?" Buffy asked him. "Look, she put her life on the line there, pal. Don't tell me they're useless."

"On the contrary, no, we, uh, we know the Ascension refers to a human transforming into a demon, the living embodiment of an immortal. And Graduation Day, our Mayor Wilkins is scheduled to do just that."

Wesley entered, followed closely by Cordelia.

"Trouble is...we don't know which demon he is going to become."

Giles looked at Wesley. "There are thousands of species."

"So it's safe to say we shouldn't waste any time on such trifling matters as a school dance."

Cordelia was offended. "You take that back!"

"Except, of course, on the actual night; I will be aiding Mr. Giles and Ms. Calendar in their chaperoning duties."

"What? Excuse me?" Giles asked in surprise. Then he relented. "Fine, fine, fine."

Buffy looked at Tara. "We'll get you a tux. I still haven't decided on mine either. You know, we should check April Fool."

"Don't go there!" Cordelia suddenly exclaimed. "I shop there."

"I myself will be wearing pink taffeta, as chenille would not go with my complexion. Can we please talk about the Ascension?" Giles asked.

Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Giles, we get it. Miles to go before we sleep. But especially if we're all gonna vaporize or something on Graduation Day, we deserve a little prommy fun. One night of glory, not too much to ask."

That night, Buffy, Cordelia, and Angel entered a sewer tunnel through a manhole in the roof, climbed down the ladder, and started walking.

Buffy sniffed. "I always say patrol's not complete without a trip to the stinky sewers."

Angel looked straight ahead. "I'm sure I saw him come down here."

"Couldn't we just let this be the vamp that got away? We could say he was this big." Cordelia held her hands apart.

"What can I say? I need closure."

"You need clothes. You don't have a tux, do you?" Cordelia asked him.

"Since when did patrolling go black tie?"

"For the prom, silly."

"We have more important things to think about right now than a dance, Cordy."

Buffy lowered her eyes and let out a low whistle.

Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Sorry, Giles. I'll just be quiet."

"Come on, don't be that way."

A vampire dropped from the roof, growling.

"Not now, you two." Buffy casually staked the vampire and shoved him to the floor.

Cordelia turned to Angel. "I'm not being that way. Every time I say the word 'prom', you get grouchy."

"I'm sorry. I'm just worried that you're getting too...invested in this whole thing."

"What whole thing? Isn't this the stuff that I'm supposed to get invested in? Going to a formal, graduating, growing up."

"I know."

"Then what? What's with the dire?"

"It's, uh, it's nothing."

"No, you have 'something' face."

"I think we need to talk, but not now and not here."

Buffy nodded. "Agreed, mostly because I don't wanna hear it."

"No. No, if you have something to say, then say it."

An uncomfortable silence passed between them.

"Angel, drop the cryptic. You're scaring me."

"I've been thinking...about our future. And the more I do, the more I feel like us, you and me being together, is unfair to you."

"Is this about what the mayor said? Because he was just trying to shake us up."

"He was right."

"No. No, he wasn't. He's the bad guy."

"You deserve more. You deserve something outside of demons and darkness. You should be with someone who can take you into the light. Someone who can make love to you."

"I don't care about that."

"You will. And children."

"Children? Can you say jumping the gun?" Cordelia asked him. "I kill my goldfish."

"Today. But you have no idea how fast it goes, Cordy. Before you know it, you'll want it all, a normal life."

Cordelia shook her head. "Fuck that. I don't want a normal life."

"But you will someday, and that's all the more reason why you should have a real relationship instead of this - this freak show."

Cordelia was stunned. Buffy was avoiding eye contact with them and popped a Mentos.

"I didn't mean that."

"I'm gonna go." Cordelia turned to leave.

Angel grabbed her arm. "I'm sorry. Cordy, you know how much I love you. It kills me to say this."

Cordelia looked at him. "Then don't. Who the fuck are you to tell me what's right for me? You think I haven't thought about this?"

"Have you, rationally?"

"No. No, of course not. I'm just some swoony little schoolgirl, right?"

"I'm trying to do what's right here, okay? I'm trying to think with my head instead of my heart."

"Heart? You have a heart?!" Cordelia asked him.

"Don't."

"Don't what? Don't love you? I'm sorry. You know what? I didn't know that I got a choice in that. I'm never gonna change. I can't change. I want my life to be with you."

Angel was silent for a moment. "I don't."

Cordelia was stunned. "You don't want to be with me? I can't believe you're breaking up with me."

"It doesn't mean that I don't-"

"How am I supposed to stay away from you?"

"I'm leaving. After the Ascension, after it's finished with the mayor and Faith. If we survive, I'll go."

"Where?"

"I don't know."

"Is this really happening?"

Buffy looked at Cordelia and gently put an arm around her. She looked at Angel. "We're leaving. If you wanna stay down here, feel free. It's where you belong."

Cordelia was crying. Buffy gently nudged her. They turned around and walked away, leaving Angel behind.

Cordelia laid her head on Buffy's shoulder, sobbing.

"Do you want me to drive you home?" Buffy asked her.

Cordelia suddenly stood up straight and looked at Buffy in panic. "No!"

Buffy looked at her in surprise.

"Can I stay at your place?" Cordelia asked her.

Buffy gave her a sympathetic smile. "Of course."

In Buffy's bedroom, Buffy, Cordelia, and Tara lay on the bed, Cordelia between Buffy and Tara. Buffy was wearing a pair of seldom-used pajamas, and she had let Cordelia borrow another pair. Tara wore pajama shorts and a sleeveless undershirt.

"So...that's it?" Tara asked Cordelia.

"That's it. Assuming we survive this Ascension thing, he's gonna leave town."

Tara sighed. "Well, he's a fool. And he's an asshole for doing it right before the prom."

Cordelia sighed. "I agree with that, but he's right. I mean...I think, maybe in the long run, that he's right."

Tara thought about it. "Yeah, I think he is. I'm sorry. It must be horrible."

"I think horrible is still coming. Right now, it's worse. Right now, I'm just trying to keep from dying." Cordelia's face contorted in pain.

Buffy sighed. "Oh, Cordy."

Cordelia leaned over onto Buffy's neck and started sobbing. "I can't breathe, Buff. I feel like I can't breathe."

Buffy and Tara pressed close against Cordelia, shielding her in a protective cocoon. They lovingly stroked Cordelia's hair.

The next day, Harmony was walking on the sidewalk and saw Cordelia inside April Fool. She opened the door and entered.

Cordelia was admiring the same dress from before.

Harmony walked over to her. "Okay, how long does it take you to buy a damn dress?"

Cordelia started and looked at her. "Harm! I, uh, I'm considering things a little more carefully nowadays. I don't want to get stuck with another dud."

"Is this a customer or a friend?" Rhonda, a salesgirl with shoulder-length blonde hair, asked Cordelia.

"A friend."

"So you better get back to work and quit goofing. Mrs. Finkle so has it in for you."

"You work here?" Harmony asked Cordelia in surprise.

Cordelia sighed. "Yes. Yes, I work here."

"But, uh, why?"

"I'm trying to buy a dress."

"But don't you already have all the dresses?"

"I have nothing, okay? No dresses. No cell phone. No car. Everything's been taken away, because Daddy made a little mistake on his taxes. For the last twelve years. I'm broke. I can't go to any of the colleges that accepted me. And I can't stay home, because we no longer have one."

"Uh, wow."

"Yeah, neato. Now, I have to work part time just to get a lousy prom dress on layaway. And I have to wear a name tag. I'm a name tag person."

Suddenly, a roughly humanoid, snarling creature burst through the front window of the shop. Harmony pushed Cordelia out of harm's way and attempted to grapple the creature. It pushed her down and jumped on top of her. Then it attacked a man wearing a tuxedo, rending and tearing savagely.

In the library, Buffy, Tara, Amy, Katrina, Cordelia, Harmony, Giles, and Wesley sat around the table, watching a surveillance tape of the attack.

Harmony pointed. "Right there. See, it's - it's like he just realized he forgot to put money in the meter or something."

"You know the part that totally weirded me out?" Cordelia asked. "That thing had good taste. I mean...he chucks Harmony and went right for the formal wear."

Harmony nodded. "Yeah!" She thought about it and looked at Cordelia, frowning. "Hey!"

"I'm serious. Look at the outfit that you're wearing. Now, look at the kid that the monster went after. Very smooth lines 'til he was shredded."

Buffy looked away from the TV screen. "I don't want to see it again."

Giles looked at her. "Buffy, I know it's horrible, but, if you're going to hunt this creature, you should study it."

"Think I got it."

Wesley looked closely at the video. "If I'm not mistaken, this is a hellhound."

Giles nodded. "Yes. It's particularly vicious. It's sort of a demon foot soldier bred during the Machash Wars. Trained solely to kill. They feed off the brains of their foes."

"Look!" Cordelia pointed. "Right there, zoom in on that."

Tara looked at her. "It's a video tape."

Cordelia looked at her. "So? They do it on television all the time."

Katrina shook her head. "Not with a regular VCR, they don't."

"Perhaps we could stay on the topic for once. What were you doing this afternoon?" Wesley asked Cordelia.

"What? Um, I was-"

"Burning a hole in Daddy's wallet - as usual. I just bumped into her during my dress hunt."

Cordelia looked at Harmony in surprise.

Amy noticed something. "What's that? Pause it."

Tara paused the tape. A male teen could be seen peering through the shop's broken window.

Cordelia stared at him. "Hello, hellhound raiser."

Giles got last year's yearbook off a shelf, and Amy flipped through it at the counter.

Katrina pointed at a photo. "Tucker Wells. He's in my chem lab."

Wesley looked at her. "Let me guess. He was quiet, kept to himself, but always seemed like a nice young man."

Katrina shrugged. "He didn't seem the murderous type, anyway. Something must have happened to him."

Cordelia looked over at Buffy. "How's it going over there, Buff?"

Buffy was leaning against the counter, nearly asleep. "Fine."

"Well, I just wanted to say that your impersonation of an inanimate object is really coming along."

"Thanks."

Harmony looked at Buffy, and then she looked at Cordelia. "What's she supposed to be?"

Cordelia gave her a look.

Tara was at the PC. "I got into Tucker's e-mail account. Listen to this message Tucker sent to this kid, David Metz, at school last week: 'The Sunnydale High lemmings have no idea what awaits them. Their big night will be their last night.'"

Harmony was reading over her shoulder and smiled. "Ha! Shows what he knows. We're the Razorbacks."

Tara gave her a look. Harmony just smiled at her.

Giles thought about it. "So...we have a threat against the students on their big night, a hellhound trained to attack people in formal wear-"

"Oh, are we all catching up now?" Cordelia asked him.

Giles ignored her. "Tucker is planning to attack the prom tonight."

Amy rolled her eyes. "Once again, the Hellmouth puts the special in special occasion."

"Why do we even buy tickets for these things?" Katrina asked.

Harmony frowned. "Wonder if I can take my dress back."

Cordelia looked at her. "Don't you dare."

"But Tucker is going to-"

"No!" Cordelia yelled.

Buffy woke up, startled.

"Nobody fucks with the prom!" Cordelia declared. "You guys are going to have a prom. The kind of prom that everyone should have. I'm going to give you all a nice, fun, normal evening if I have to kill every single person on the face of the Earth to do it."

Harmony stared at her, confused. "Yay?"

"Okay, Wes, why don't you go to Tucker's house?" Cordelia suggested. "He's probably not there, but it's worth a shot."

"All right. Perhaps strength in numbers would be-"

"You can take Buffy."

"If that's your plan, all right, all right. What about the others?" Wesley asked.

"Trina, why don't you and Amy track down this David kid that Tucker e-mailed? See what he knows, if he's involved?" Cordelia suggested.

Katrina nodded. "We're on it."

Cordelia looked at Tara and Harmony. "And you know what? Could you two check the magic shop?"

"Magic shop?" Harmony asked.

Tara looked at her. "Yeah. It's right next to April Fool on Maple Court."

Harmony looked at Cordelia. "Okay. Why?"

"See if anyone's been in, buying supplies to raise a hellhound."

Tara nodded. "Gotcha."

"Giles, you said this thing eats brains. Any brains?" Cordelia asked.

"Um, I suppose."

"Then Tucker must be feeding it, right?"

Cordelia went to the meat-packing plant. She saw a guy in a white coat and a hard hat. She walked over to him. "Excuse me. You look like you work here."

"I do."

Cordelia grinned. "Great! Can I ask you a few questions?"

"Sure."

Cordelia walked with him next to hanging carcasses.

"Do you ever get any orders for some weird items?" Cordelia asked.

"Like what?"

"Cow brains. What about cow brains?" Cordelia asked.

"Yeah, yeah. This kid orders cow brains a couple of times a week."

"I need to ask him a few questions. Does he pick it up here?" Cordelia asked.

"Nah, nah." He took out a pen and notepad and wrote something down. He tore off the page. "Goes to this address." He handed her the note. "Good luck. He's a weird kid."

Cordelia smiled and took the note. "Thanks. Thanks a lot."

The packer walked away. Cordelia looked up to see Angel nearby, paying another packer for a plastic bag.

Angel saw her. "What are you doing here?"

"Hello to you, too."

"Sorry. I'm just surprised."

"Me, too. I don't know why, though. Where did I think you get your blood, McPlasma's?"

"How are you?"

"Right as rain, whatever that means."

Angel gave her a doubting look.

"Don't look at me like that. I can lie to you if I want to now. We're ex, remember?"

"If it means anything, I miss you."

"Could we not, please? When I think about us, I have this tendency to sort of go catatonic. And I really can't afford to do that right now. Gotta stop a crazy from pulling a Carrie at the prom."

"You still planning to go?"

"Strictly in the managerial capacity. But it's fine. I mean...the..." Cordelia paused. "I'm cool with going stag. I accept I won't be with you or share a dance with you. But I'm certainly not going to let some subhuman ruin it for the rest of the senior class."

"Let me help you."

"I'm okay."

"If you ever need my help-"

"Look, I got it!" Cordelia yelled. She paused and considered. "Thanks." She left.

Cordelia stopped by April Fool on her way back to the school. She walked over to Rhonda. "Hey, Rhonda, would you be willing to let me cover any of your shifts? I kinda need the money."

"Um...sure. Tomorrow afternoon?" Rhonda offered, restocking a rack.

"That'd be great."

"It's yours."

Cordelia grinned. "Great! Thanks!" She turned to leave.

"Hey! Don't forget your dress. Aren't you wearing it tonight?" Rhonda asked.

Cordelia looked at her, embarrassed. "As much as I hate to admit it, I haven't finished paying for it yet."

Rhonda took the dress off the paid rack. "Well, somebody did."

Cordelia was surprised. "What? Who?" She looked at the receipt.

Cordelia entered the library. Giles was sipping coffee. Buffy, Tara, Amy, and Katrina were sitting at the study table, glum.

Buffy looked at Cordelia. "Zeroes all around, Cordy."

Tara shrugged. "Sorry."

Cordelia smiled. "Make not with the long faces. I got the address. Now, the prom starts in a little while. I want you guys to go on, and I'll catch up with you as soon as I put a lid on this asshole."

Amy was surprised. "What? No way."

Katrina shook her head. "We can't just leave you, Cordy."

Giles looked at her. "Cordelia, they're right. You need-"

"To see taillights. Hit the door. I have everything under control."

Buffy looked at Cordelia. "Cordy, it makes sense for me to go-"

"Have. A. Nice. Time." Cordelia stared at her.

The four girls reluctantly stood up.

Cordelia looked at them. "Now, remember: you're on directly after Self-Moralizing Commie Scumbags, performing last."

Buffy nodded. "Got it."

Buffy, Tara, Amy, and Katrina left the library.

Cordelia looked at Giles. "I want you at the gym. Keep an eye on them until I get there." She marched into the book cage and began loading up Buffy's weapons bag.

"I don't have to tell you that you're being rather rash. Finding an address hardly adds up to case closed."

"Look, it's done. You want to go after them and tell them that they can't go? That all of their planning and dreaming was for nothing? That they can't spend tonight with their honeys, of all nights?" Cordelia asked him.

"Angel's not taking you, is he?"

"Angel's leaving me. He's leaving town."

"Oh, Cordelia, I'm sorry. I don't really know what to say. Um, I understand that this sort of thing requires ice cream of some kind?"

"Ice cream will come. First, I want to take out psycho boy."

"You sure?"

Cordelia nodded. "The great thing about being a Slayerette: kicking ass is comfort food."

The prom was held in the school gym. The lights were flashing, and students were dancing. Jenny, Giles, and Wesley stood by a table, munching hors d'oeuvres.

Wesley stuck a cracker sandwich in his mouth. "Well, I must say this is all rather odd to me."

Giles nodded. "Oh, yes. At an all-male preparatory, they didn't go in for this sort of thing."

"No, of course not. Unless you count the nights you made the lowerclassmen get up as girls and watched them-"

Giles shot him a look, which shut him up. Jenny stopped eating mid-bite, intrigued.

"Dip is tasty, isn't it?" Wesley asked.

Buffy, Tara, Amy, and Katrina arrived.

Buffy smiled nervously. "We got in. Maybe we should dance before we get besieged, bedeviled, or beheaded or something."

Tara smiled. "It's not gonna happen."

"You're not even a little nervous?" Amy asked her.

"You think Cordy is going to let us down?" Tara asked her.

Amy didn't reply. She just forced a smile and shrugged.

"Want to have some punch?" Katrina asked.

Buffy shrugged. "Sure. Not too much, though. I don't play well while drunk."

They headed toward the punch bowl.

Cordelia sneaked down a staircase inside Tucker's house and found Tucker about to release a caged hellhound.

"You're ready to go."

"Sorry, new plan." Cordelia threw him away from the cage. "The prom's a go, and you're pathetic."

"Maybe. Maybe not." Tucker broke a vase over Cordelia's head.

"Motherfucker!" Cordelia brushed the shards off her jacket.

He brandished a screwdriver at her. She saw video tapes on top of the TV with labels indicating films such as Prom Night IV and Pump Up the Volume.

"So that's how you did it? That's how you brainwashed the hounds to go psycho on prom?" Cordelia asked him.

"Neat, huh?"

"I don't get it. What kind of sicko wants to destroy the happiest night of a senior's life?"

"I have my reasons."

"Whatever. Every maladjust has his reasons. Luckily for me, you're an incompetent maladjust." Cordelia disarmed him and tied his hands behind him with an electrical cord. She opened a door and started to push him through it. "Now, I'm gonna lock you in here, and then I'm gonna party like it's..."

In the room were three empty cages before three blank TV sets.

"Gotta have a redundancy system. Any incompetent knows that. My three fiercest babies are on their way to the dance right now. You think formal wear makes them crazy, wait 'til they see the mirror ball."

"Shit!" Cordelia exclaimed.

Tucker started laughing. Cordelia punched him in the face, knocking him out.

Back at the prom, Buffy, Tara, Amy, and Katrina had gotten their instruments set up.

Amy smiled as she adjusted some settings on her drum machine. "You all will be happy to know I have saved enough money to buy a real, actual drum set."

Katrina smiled. "Kickass, babe."

"When are you gonna buy it?" Tara asked Amy.

"Next week. I should be able to get enough practice in to be able to play decently enough at the graduation celebration at the Bronze."

Buffy thought about that. "Assuming we'll be alive to play it."

Everyone was silent for a moment.

Tara gave them a hopeful smile. "Well, that's the goal, right?"

Buffy forced a smile. "Yeah. All right, let's do this."

The four of them turned on their microphones.

Buffy looked out at the audience. "Hi, we're Buffy and the Slayerettes. I'm Buffy Summers, the lead guitarist. On keyboard is Tara Maclay. On drum machine is Amy Madison. On bass guitar is Katrina Silber. By the way, Katrina is leaving town after graduation to attend Caltech! Whoo!"

There was a smattering of applause and cheers from the audience.

"Yeah, so we'll be needing a new bassist after graduation, so, y'know, if you're interested, y'know, get in touch with us." Buffy looked at Tara. "Okay-"

"Hold it!"

There was murmuring from the crowd. Buffy looked. Faith was walking up toward the stage. Buffy, Tara, Amy, and Katrina stared at her, slack-jawed. Harmony, who was videotaping the band with her video camera, was shocked to see Faith at the prom. Jenny and Giles were worried.

Faith got up on the stage and walked over to Buffy. "Forget about me?"

"What are you doing here?" Buffy asked her.

"I'm here to perform. I'm part of the band, ain't I?" Faith asked.

Buffy stared daggers at her. "News to me."

"C'mon, B, what are we startin' off with?" Faith asked her.

Buffy looked at her bandmates. They shrugged.

Buffy looked at Faith. "'Kids in America' by Kim Wilde. Know it?"

"Yep."

"Great..."

"We'll alternate lines. You sing the first verse, and I'll join in near the end. I'll start the next two verses, and you'll join in."

"Fine." Buffy looked at Tara and nodded.

Tara started playing her keyboard.

"Looking out a dirty old window.
Down below, the cars in the city go rushing by.
I sit here alone, and I wonder why.

"Friday night, and everyone's moving.
I can feel the heat, but it's soothing, heading down.
I search for the beat in this dirty town."

Faith removed the microphone from the stand.

"Downtown, the young ones are going.
Downtown, the young ones are growing."

"We're the kids in America. Whoa-oa!
We're the kids in America. Whoa-oa!
Everybody live for the music-go-round!"

Faith started playfully touching Buffy, running her index finger up and down her chest.

"Bright lights, the music gets faster.
Look, girl, don't check on your watch, not another glance."

"I'm not leaving now, honey, not a chance."

In the audience, Harmony stared at them in shock. Tara, Amy, and Katrina played uneasily. Faith smiled sexily.

"Hot shot, give me no problems.
Much later, baby, you'll be saying never mind."

Faith playfully pushed Buffy away. Buffy stared at her and shook her head.

"You know life is cruel; life is never kind."

Faith and Buffy came back together.

"Kind hearts don't make a new story.
Kind hearts don't grab any glory.
We're the kids in America. Whoa-oa!
We're the kids in America. Whoa-oa!
Everybody live for the music-go-round!"

Harmony frowned, her initial shock turning to anger. The rest of the audience, by contrast, was getting into the performance. Jenny and Giles were concerned but went along with it. Faith snuggled up close to Buffy.

"Come closer, honey, that's better.
Got to get a brand new experience, feeling right.
Oh, don't try to stop, baby, hold me tight."

"Outside, a new day is dawning.
Outside, suburbia's sprawling everywhere.
I don't want to go, baby."

"New York to east California, there's a new wave coming, I warn ya.
We're the kids in America. Whoa-oa!
We're the kids in America. Whoa-oa!
Everybody lives for the music-go-round!"

Outside the gym, the three hellhounds loped toward the building doors. Cordelia dropped the trailing hound with a crossbow bolt. The other two turned and chased her.

Cordelia turned and ran. "That's right. Follow Cordy. Good dogs."

They chased her for a few moments, then heard Buffy and the Slayerettes playing "Kids in America" and reversed course.

"Oh, come on. That song sucks."

Cordelia chased them into the building. The hounds were pawing at closed doors at the end of the hallway. Cordelia approached, and they attacked her. She wrapped one in a hanging banner, then wrestled the other one for a while. She pulled out a knife and plunged it in the hellhound's chest, killing it. The first one escaped the banner just as a male student opened the doors into the hall.

"Get back!" Cordelia grabbed the hound before it could attack the student, grappled with it, and finally snapped its neck. She let its lifeless body fall to the floor.

The student was shaken. "Bathroom?"

Cordelia pointed in the direction to go in.

"Th-Th-Tha-"

"You're welcome." Cordelia looked down, sighed, shrugged, grabbed a hellhound by the paws, and started dragging it across the floor to dump it outside.

After a long while, Cordelia entered the gym in her new dress. Buffy saw her, and they exchanged nods and smiles. Wesley was struck by a coughing fit. Giles was not facing the door and looked askance.

"Sauce is hot." Wesley's eyes lingered on Cordelia. "Very hot."

Buffy, Tara, and Harmony met her.

Tara smiled. "Cordy, you look awesome."

Cordelia smiled. "So do you."

"Everything cool?" Buffy asked.

"Coolest. Devil dogs are history. How's the prom?" Cordelia asked.

Buffy smiled. "Everything's perfect."

Cordelia gave them a big smile.

Harmony smiled. "You look amazing, Cordy."

"Thank you." Cordelia emphasized this by raising her eyebrows and staring at her friend.

Harmony took Cordelia's hands in her own. "It looks good on you."

"Well, duh."

They shared a laugh, and then Harmony, Buffy, and Tara walked away.

Wesley approached Cordelia. "May I say...you look smashing."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cordelia asked him.

"N-Nothing." Wesley stood there for a moment, unsure what to do, and finally turned and walked back to the table.

Jenny laughed. "Smooth move, Wes."

Harmony retrieved an item that she had stashed away, walked onto the stage, set the item down, and turned on the center microphone. "May I have everyone's attention, please?"

Some people gave her their attention.

Harmony waited a moment longer and then raised her hands above her head and waved them. "Yoohoo, up here! Thank you! We have an award to give out. Is Buffy Summers here tonight?"

The crowd turned and found Buffy at the punch bowl, getting drunk now that her gig was over. She was nervous to suddenly be getting a lot of attention.

"The prom committee asked me to read this." Harmony held up a note. "'We're not good friends. Most of us never found the time to get to know you, but that doesn't mean we haven't noticed you. We don't talk about it much, but it's no secret that Sunnydale High isn't really like other high schools. A lot of weird stuff happens here.'"

"Zombies!" someone in the crowd yelled.

"Vampires!" someone else yelled.

"Hyena people!" a third person yelled.

"Snyder!" someone else yelled.

That got quite a bit of laughter.

Harmony waited for the laughter to die down. "'But, whenever there was a problem or something creepy happened, you showed up and stopped it. Most of the people here have been saved by you, or helped by you, at one time or another. We're proud to say that the Class of '99 has the lowest mortality rate of any graduating class in Sunnydale history.'"

That received applause from the crowd.

"And we know at least part of that is because of you. So the senior class offers its thanks and gives you, uh, this." Harmony held up a multicolored, glittering, miniature umbrella with a small metal plaque attached to the shaft. "It's from all of us, and it has written here: 'Buffy Summers, Class Protector'."

The crowd broke into sustained applause and cheering. As Buffy walked to the stage, she looked and saw her close friends - as well as many members of Slayer School. Buffy stepped up onto the stage, and Harmony presented the umbrella to her. Buffy took her award, faced the audience, and smiled.

Later, as "Wild Horses" by The Sundays played on the sound system, Jenny and Giles walked onto the dance floor and began to dance. Amy and Katrina were dancing close - as were Harmony and Tara.

Cordelia was watching the dancers from a distance, feeling lonely.

Buffy walked up behind her. "Hey."

"Hey." Cordelia nodded at Harmony and Tara. "What's that about?"

Buffy sighed. "Harmony's still feeling upset about Faith, and she didn't accept when anyone else asked her to prom, so Tara's dancing with her for a while."

"Glad someone's happy."

Buffy looked at Cordelia in sympathy. "You did good work tonight, Cordy."

"Thanks. And you got a little toy surprise. Can I see it?" Cordelia asked. "I wanna see what I chipped in on."

Buffy offered the umbrella to Cordelia. "Listen, Cordy, I know about your financial situation."

Cordelia took the umbrella and looked at Buffy, embarrassed. "Omigod, did Harmony blab?"

"No. I just noticed you weren't driving your car anymore, and I saw you shopping at 7-Eleven recently."

"Oh." Cordelia looked down and started examining the umbrella.

Buffy smiled at her. "It means a lot to me that you contributed what little money that you have to this. I had no idea that you could be so generous."

"Every now and then, people surprise you."

Buffy looked past her. "Every now and then." She took her umbrella back and left.

Cordelia turned to see Angel at the door. They walked toward each other and met by the punch bowl.

"I never thought you'd come."

"It's a big night. I didn't want to miss it. It's just tonight. It doesn't mean that I-"

"I know. I mean...I understand."

"Dance with me?" Angel asked.

Cordelia offered her left hand to Angel. He took hold of it. They walked to the center of the dance floor, held each other close, and danced.