Survival Of The Fittest

James Claypoole was feeling pretty elegant. His leather shoes had been polished obsessively earlier that day and were gleaming with light reflected from the ballroom. His black pants were buckled up with a black belt, accompanied by a black shirt and tuxedo. Completing the set was a vibrant pink bow-tie, standing out defiantly from his otherwise monochromatic attire.

He was fairly embarrassed to find himself dateless; he had appearances to keep up, after all. Still, there was always the chance to hook up with someone at the prom itself.

He smiled to himself as the bouncy synths of Never Gonna Give You Up started playing through the speakers. It was good to know someone had a sense of humour. Making his way to the dance floor he began bobbing up and down in time with the music. As he reached the edge of the crowd of dancing students he really started getting into it, rhythmically throwing his arms about and surrendering his body to the power of cheesy 80's pop.

***

Patrick Pennington was regretting his decision to come to the prom. He had started awkwardly attempting to dance near the edge of the dance floor, but had soon stopped when he realised how stupid he looked. Then someone had the great idea to put that song on and everyone around him started acting as if this was the funniest thing to have happened in the past century. Fucking conformist sheep. I bet they're the sort of idiots who watch Adam Sandler movies whilst gorging themselves on Big Macs.

Then some black guy with a fucking ridiculous pink bow-tie on started flailing around right in front of him. Patrick found himself pretty amused by this for the few seconds before the guys arm swung in his direction and elbowed him in the face, leaving him momentarily stunned. "Hey asshole, watch where you're going!" he shouted out. The guy just fucking shrugged at him, before wandering a short distance away and carrying on with his dance.

Patrick had had enough. He briskly walked back to the entrance, pushing past people as he went. Stepping outside, he inhaled a deep breath of the cool air. He walked a little further from the entrance before withdrawing his tobacco and Rizlas from his pocket and rolling himself a cigarette. Drawing the smoke into his lungs, he observed the people still arriving and tried to come to a decision on whether he should leave.

((Continued From: So Fresh, So Clean))


David couldn't put into words what he was expecting at Prom.

He knew he was expecting girls that wouldn't talk to him to be dressed up like pretty little Russian Dolls and he expected there to be tons of gentlemanly guys unwilling to dance in loafers and sweating profusely into jackets that were either too large, too small, or so blatantly uncomfortable they just wanted to flex their way out of them: Bruce Banner style. Instead he was greeted with the relatively normal folks looking relatively surprised to see him dressed in a suit, some free food, and…was that? Could it be? Did the dance floor comfirm such notions?

Much like Patrick Pennington before him David saw a kid crumping to ‘Never Gonna Give you up', nevermind the fact that they were playing 80's music at a school dance (and how reminscent of a sitcom the dated music was) or the fact that they were Rick Rolling everyone…the fact that people were amused by this song and were crumping to it and genuinely dancing? It was such a ridiculous concept that David—the monkey in the suit with the 7/8th's of an inch gauges couldn't help but get behind it. Dirty D was bemused, he was amused, and the grin plastered onto his face pretty much told everyone that the dirty student was intent on having a good time.

Twisting his wrists around to get comfortable in the dratted cuff links he had such a hard time figuring out David made his way to the table with the food and the drinks…nothing said eligible bachelor like brownie smears on a tux and Kool-Aid lips.

Well except crumping to ‘Never Gonna Give you up'.

((Everett Taylor continued from In The Park))

Everett Taylor plodded into the Prom, dressed in a rented tuxedo that didn't quite fit, and a nice, formal black tie. He was at the dance because he was expected to be, not because of any great interest on his part. It was supposed to be a big thing, but he wasn't dating anyone, wasn't capable of dancing without tripping over his own feet, and wasn't very interested in staying up late or being in loud environments. He knew he'd probably end up calling his mom to pick him up within the first couple hours.

Still, tickets had been expensive, so he was going to at least try to get his parents' money's worth out of the evening. He saw a snack table and headed that way, knowing that he was going to regret it. He'd probably just spend the whole night eating junk food, and make himself sick. Besides, the last thing he needed was fattening crap like brownies and nachos. He hadn't really tried to lose weight, even though he hated how he looked, but he usually didn't go too far out of his way to sabotage himself. Still, though, he could already feel the excuses mounting.

It's Prom. Prom's about doing crazy things. If I eat garbage for one day, it's not the end of the world. I'll actually jog tomorrow to work it off. Yeah, definitely.

As he reached the table and took a cookie, the music switched to some poppy song. It took him a few moments to recognize the voice of Rick Astley. Everett groaned, but wasn't really upset. It was a stupid internet fad, sure, but Prom, being the pop-culture cesspool it was, was the perfect place for that sort of thing. Besides, the song wasn't half bad.

---

Jennifer paused her slight dance when the music shifted. The new song was something she knew she'd heard somewhere before, but she couldn't quite place it. Everyone started laughing, though, so it was probably from a TV show or commercial or movie or something. She didn't really care.

It wasn't the most dancable song, though, so she took a few steps back, off the dance floor again, and just stood around watching everyone.

Prom wasn't what she'd imagined as a little girl. It wasn't elegant, magical, or even all that special. There were no fairy princesses here, just the same old girls (and guys) she spent every day with. On the other hand, it wasn't what she'd imagined before turning up, either. There was no shouting, no accusations, no fistfights. No drama. It was just another dance, like any other.

"I don't know, I've never heard this music before."

"Oh..." Rizzo nodded, not noticing the distaste the other guy seemed to have for a foul mouth. He looked from the door to the DJ and realised what song was on. It raised a smile.

"It's from before we were born." he told Chris. "But people like putting it on Youtube."

He never imagined he'd have to explain the concept of Rickrolling. This kid must never have been online except when told to do so for homework. Unless he had a full set of encyclopaedias...

"So, you're stagging?" he asked, noticing there was no sign of a date stood around Chris.

And then it started playing.

The reactions varied between different responses. On one hand, some seemed annoyed, to the point where a guy immediately went outside. However, on the other side of the spectrum, there was another guy with a pink bowtie who started to dance to it, hitting the leaving guy in the face. "Dance" was the loosest term for it, as he was mostly bouncing up and down and flailing his arms. See, this was why Aileen didn't want to dance; she would probably end up looking worse.

Well, at least some people were happy. And, that was a good thing, right?

And then there was a guy with a red-haired ponytail who had ran past her and over to the boy shouting stereotypical 90s quotes, and started talking to them about a desire for "better" music. He seemed to enjoy the current music, though he admitted there were better songs, like the ones he apparently requested, "Ghostbusters" and "Come On Eileen". Wait, wait, wait...


Oh, hell NO.


Aileen felt the hand holding her water bottle grip harder. Damn it, she spoke too soon, way too soon. Why... why here of all places? Was there a cruel god wanting to punish her? Did the boy hate her for some reason? Whatever, overall she was now about to experience listening to that song that everyone had to make jokes about at least once. Let's see if she could tolerate the song this time. But, right now, she needed to have a little talk with this boy. Lifting herself from her seat, Aileen made a few steps towards him, and gave a small sigh. Well, here goes.

"You guys do realize some people hate that song, don't you? Er, the Eileen one", she said to them, raising her eyebrows. After which her hand moved to her forehead again.

Woo boy.
_________

Well, of course it was a rickroll. Jon definitely did not need to tell her that. Chase, well, had ears, right?

But, at least he was amused. Heck, many people were. Okay, there was one guy leaving in a huff, but you would expect that to happen if you got hit in the face by a hyperactive guy wearing a pink bowtie. Wow, that guy seemed to really enjoy this song. It was kind of funny, in a way, to see him dancing like that. Chase had to suppress a laugh, due to the fact that she did not want him or anyone else to notice that she was laughing.


Also, Jon apparently was not bothered by the humming, and now put his arm fully around Chase, clearly having made his mind. Wow, was she really getting cuddled? It felt nice, in a way. Smiling to herself, she also noticed that he was now staring at the DJ. Following his gaze, Chase now noticed the DJ was glancing at the list with a facial expression that clearly said he was a little... surprised? Was that the word? Probably. What was the next song, anyways?

However, the next song turned on, just so happening to be Tainted Love. Not a bad choice, actually.

Chase was aware that Jon was now playing with her hair, as if in thought about something. However, he suddenly raised a question, and one Chase would have loved to hear. Namely, he was asking her to dance.

Her grin becoming even bigger, she said "Why, I'd love to."

While Josh was talking, Daniel was writing down a few more songs down on the board, he doubted the second one would play though

Bohemian Rhapsody- Queen
Fresh Prince Of Bel Air Theme Song- Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince


"Dude! I had the exact same idea! But Marty said they'd probably not have it. You know, it being a rock song an' all" said Joshua as he looked over to Mart who at this time was helping himself to the snacks. "Still, I did request this one little tune which should liven up the party later..."

Daniel shook his head, "Any dance that does not have Bohemian Rhaphsody is a sad dance indeed" if the DJ heard he gave no reaction, however someone else entirely had a diffrent reaction to something else Daniel had said. The person in question had auburn hair and looked a lot like Daniel surprisngly, she seemed pissed about something. She was cute though, Daniel had to admit.

"You guys do realize some people hate that song, don't you? Er, the Eileen one", she said as Daniel looked at her, a bit confused.

"Um, yes, isn't that true for most songs, what's so important about this one" he said as the song changed over to Tainted Love, Daniel stomping his feet at the classic beats in the song

----------------------------

Chris listened as the other kid explained the song's popularity to him. "Ah, I don't go on the internet that much." Chris admitted as the boy asked him a question.

"So, you're stagging?" Rizzo asked as Chris looked at him dumbfounded. He had never heard that phrase before in his life, and was quick to admit it.

"What's stagging? I mean I don't have a date if that's what it means"

-----------------------------------

Sometimes I feel I've got to
Run away, I've got to
Get away from the pain you drive into the heart of me

Jon grinned wide as the song started, humming along to it as well as Chase answered his question with an enthuastic yes. Jon grinned as he walked out to the dance floor, pulling her along with him as he let go of her, his hand accidently grazing her chest as he did. "Sorry" he said as his cheeks turned red. Jon danced in the way most guys danced, going side to side with limited arm movements as he stared into Chase's eyes. They were close when they danced, close enough that Jon could smell the shampoo in Chase's hair. It was almost intoxicating, Jon leaned forward as Chase danced, kissing her lips.

"Any dance that does not have Bohemian Rhaphsody is a sad dance indeed"

Joshua, after noticing that Daniel had written down the song on the requests sheet, couldn't help but nod his head in approval.
"Well, guess it wouldn't hurt to try at least" he said with a grin, only to then notice that an auburn haired girl in a purple dress had walked up to them and started speaking to Daniel.

"You guys do realize some people hate that song, don't you? Er, the Eileen one" she asked.
"Um, yes, isn't that true for most songs, what's so important about this one" he replied.

As they spoke, the music changed over to Tainted Love. Huh, that was fast. Time flies when you're having fun I guess. Joshua could see that, even in this situation, Daniel couldn't help but tap his feet to the beat. Hehe, that rhymes...

Joshua, on the other hand, was more concerned with what he should do. At first he was going join in the conversation, but he decided against that notion. This was more Daniel's conversation after all, seeing as he put the song on the requests paper in the first place. Besides, he didn't particularly like the song either. So, for now at least, he just stood and watched.


Which, as it happened, was also what Marty was doing. With a plastic cup of lemonade in one hand, and the other in his pocket, he stood by the snack table and observed how the prom was going. He noticed how some guy accidentally hit another whilst dancing, leading to the hit individual to leave the hall in a tantrum. Can't blame him really he thought to himself, although he suspected the corny song to have something to do with it too. Then, speak of the devil, the music changed to none other then Tainted Love, by Soft Cell. Was that the song Joshua was referring to? Nah, couldn't be, not really his thing...
Still, as he looked over the crowd, he couldn't help but realise something. For every person who came alone, there were two who came together as a couple. That was to be expected of course, this was a prom after all. But after briefly witnessing someone actually kissing their date, he couldn't help bit notice that he was actually rather... well, jealous. It was then that he realised that he'd never actually bothered trying to ask a girl out before, let alone dare attempt at kissing one. He tried to shake the thought from his mind, after all he's here to have fun, not curse himself for everything he hasn't done with his life. Although, the fact that Tainted Love started playing didn't help.

He looked over at Joshua, who was still by the requests table talking to Daniel and... the girl with the auburn hair?!? Great. Seems even the living anachronism is having more luck then I am...

He sighed and took another sip of his lemonade, with tasted substantially better then the cheap cola. Ah he did so, he looked over his shoulder at some of the other people who weren't strutting their stuff on the dance floor. There were a couple of other guys eating at the snack table, more then he expected anyway. But he also noticed that the Hispanic girl, Jennifer, was also standing around dateless...
Forget it. She's way out of you're league anyway, he thought to himself as he scratched his head and took another sip of his beverage.

Besides, if you're lucky enough some desperate girl might ask YOU out for a dance. He couldn't help but chuckle at the idea. After all, a girl would have to be pretty desperate to ask a nobody like Marty out.

((Debut of Nathan Price))

Nathan Price looked around as he stood in the door. He didn't really see the point of going to Prom, however, his parents had been putting their foot down increasingly often, and insisted that he go. Nathan had given the spiel that he didn't know anybody, so why go, to which his parents stated that he could then use the time to get to know others. Nathan stated that he already knew people, and none of them were going to prom. His parents replied with something along the lines of "You're going to Prom, and you are going to have the time of your life, and that's that." Ergo, he was at the Prom in a black tuxedo.

Great. So now I'm at a dance with no reason to talk to anybody, and the music sucks.

Nathan stepped inside and frowned as he heard Rick Astley from the speakers. Yecch. Who actually listens to this crap? The security guard looked at him funny, as if worried that Nathan might cause trouble. Nathan just flashed his prom ticket, signed in, and walked inside as the music changed from the Rick-Roll song to Tainted Love. He just shook his head as he went to the snack table, got himself a lemonade, and walked on over to the DJ booth. There was only one song that he had in mind as he put the pen to the paper. Was he the only one here with good taste in music?

Devo - Whip It

There. Everybody will thank me for this later. They always do.

The boy looked... confused. What, the concept of not liking songs is somehow rocket science?


Then he spoke. Apparently he thought it was true of all songs. Well, yes. But, he didn't seem to take the hint that Aileen didn't like it. Either that, or judging by the feet tapping, he was trying to brush her off, like an insect that just so happened to be on his clothing. Well, best to provide an explanation.

Woo boy. Let's just hope he gets it.

Taking another deep breath and removing the hand from her face, she released the air in another loud sigh and started speaking again.

"Okay... how about this? How would you feel if someone made a song with your name in it, and pretty much everyone made jokes about your name involving that song?"

A pause came from Aileen shortly afterward.


Well, let's just hope that he understood why exactly she hated that song now. It wasn't even that good a song, in her personal opinion. To her, it was as if a pair of mating cats were being tossed into a grinder. But, that was just her. What was the guy's name, anyways? Damn, she still didn't know everyone's names. But, then again, what was new? Only the place, of course.

Why was she confronting this guy about the song, anyways? Normally she shunned social contact, but, perhaps she needed something to do, even though she was already having fun with the atmosphere. Though, if she got lucky, it would result in a fairly interesting conversation, and possibly something to get her out of that writer's block she had been having recently. Ah well. Let's just hope that he doesn't go and scream at her or something for not liking it.

___

And now Chase was being lead off to dance, of course.

As Jon removed his arm, he accidentally grazed it against her chest. At first it was a little awkward, but Jon's reaction was... kind of funny, in a way. Wow, she didn't know guys could blush that much. And here she thought that she was the one doing all the blushing throughout the evening. She let out a small giggle, but quickly stopped herself, out of fear of embarrassing him further.


And so, the pair danced, as one might expect.


Throughout the dance, they ended up looking deep into each other's eyes. Was... was this like some sort of dream? Was she really dancing with him? In a way, it felt kind of surreal. She never really expected him to say "yes" to the invitation in the first place. And now... they were dancing. That, at all was something.

But then Jon just had to do it.

He leaned forward, and Chase had a feeling of what was going to happen. But, before she could really react, their lips were now touching in that way.

Her own cheeks now turned a brighter scarlet than before, and, once the kiss ended, she found that she could barely stand, out of euphoria. Did he... did he... holy crud. He kissed her. That was completely unexpected. What did one do after being kissed? Did she do the right thing while being kissed? It was... her first, actually. And... and... and... well, first kiss!

Bowing her head down with a shy, yet happy little smile, she kind of fidgeted on the spot. What could she say here? Needless to say, Chase could never be happier. Did she need to put it in words? Probably. But, none were coming out. Come on Chase, say something!

"Ah... ah... I'm s-sorry. It's just th-that..."

She looked up, finding herself staring back into his eyes.

"Er... I h-had never been k-k-kissed before."

At this point, she gave him a wider, more confident smile.


So, he really did like her, huh? After all, he kissed her. Did this mean... she could very well end up with a boyfriend, a guy who she had previously shown interest in? Possibly. Who knew? Was Jon ready for a relationship? Was Chase ready for one? Well, it was better to toss aside all doubt, and just enjoy herself for now. After all, it was Prom, and they were together, right?

And so, the dance continued.

((Anna Chase continued in here))

Daniel nodded as Aileen explained her point, it made sense really as he stopped tapping his foot to the beat as the song changed and he cringed as the familiar violin started to play. "Sorry bout that, Aileen" he said, since he assumed that was her name. "Er, you want to talk somewhere else, like outside, it's quieter there." he said before holding out his hand. "My name's Daniel, Daniel Vaughan" he said as he grinned liked an idiot.

--------------------

Jon broke away from Chase as he looked at her, she seemed to be light-headed. "Are you alright?" he said as he frowned, did he make her mad. Oh poopie that would be terrible.

"Ah... ah... I'm s-sorry. It's just th-that..."


"Er... I h-had never been k-k-kissed before."

Jon nodded as he smiled at Chase, holding her close as they continued to dance for the rest of the night


(Jon contiund in Post-Prom thread)

"I still can't believe you managed to drag me to this thing," Raidon grumbled. In spite of his complaints, he was looking very good in his tuxedo: he wore it well, casually, not as though it were formal attire but as though it were a part of his being. Every stretch of fabric was neatly ironed, smoothed into place, and his tie did not look restrictive. It looked completely natural.

Not so Simon. A bit bigger to begin with, and always more at ease in loose clothing, his tuxedo was neither comfortable or flattering. The bowtie was off-center, his sleeves and pants were wrinkled, and the tux, a shade too small, hung on his body in an unappealing way. In spite of this, however, he looked cheerful, while Raidon looked decidedly sour.

"You only get one Prom, dumbass," grunted Simon, his eyes sweeping the room. "Lord knows with your attitude you never got any girls to take you."

"Oh, and you did?" Raidon inquired, eyes flashing.

A rueful grin took Simon's features. "Maybe." He was feeling good; a cheerful fuzz of memories was overlapping onto his vision. It was very rarely that he let himself go, but...

Well, it was Prom, wasn't it? If there was anytime to cut loose.

"My, Simon," Raidon commented, leaning into a wall. "Really? When do you ever take off your virginal dress."

"And when, my friend, do you ever withdraw that stick from your ass?" Simon retorted.

"Never, it's wedged in their pretty deep." He offered Simon a small smile and went back to watching the others, uneasy. Social events...how he hated social events. He rarely talked to any of these people, why on earth would he...?

"Punch," Raidon announced, and made his way towards it.

After observing the conversation, Joshua could easily see where Daniel was attempting to lead it to. He smiled and patted Daniel on the shoulder. "If you need me, i'll be over there chatting to Marty..." and with that, he walked on over to the snack table where Marty was standing.

"Saw you speaking to that girl over there" Said Marty as he saw Joshua approach.
"Naw, she was more talking to Daniel really..."
"Ah, I see..." Marty replied, feeling somewhat glad that his suspicions earlier were only half true. "Still... Theres not much happening here, is there?"

"Nah..." Said Joshua, pausing to check out how the prom was shaping up. "Still, least its better then sitting around in an ass smelling bedroom, eh?" Joshua replied, helping himself to an apple juice.
"Yeah, true I guess..." Said Marty, finishing his drink.

The two just stood there for a moment, observing the prom and the people around them. People were still arriving, some as couples and others on their own. The atmosphere, with the exception of the occasional guy who was obviously in a bad mood, was generally friendly. Many people seemed to have come together as friends rather then as a couple, something which made Marty feel slightly less pathetic. Overall, it seemed as though nothing of any interest whatsoever was going to happen, which for Marty was a good sign indeed...

"Can't wait till they put the song I suggested on, though. Because trust me, it'll blow EVERYONE'S minds!"

For some reason, Marty had a bad feeling about this...

(continued from The Morning of the Prom)

"Wow...looks kinda like the movies," was the first thing Celeste said. She looked around the room with her eyes widened a bit, squeezing John's arm tighter without realizing it. Part of her worried, though...she was so little, and all these people--what if she got trampled on in the crowd. Or worse, if someone stepped on her dress and the whole thing came right off? Sure, John had seen her in her undies, and in less, but there was no way in hell she was letting the entire senior class see her in underwear!

Oh, what I wouldn't give for crazy psychic powers in that situation... Celeste thought to herself, imagining the rampage she could go on if her dress was indeed ruined. Or even worse than that, the night in general. But she wasn't going to allow that. Relaxing her grip on John's arm, she let her eyes wander teh room a bit more, unsure of exactly what to do at the moment.

"Well, we just arrived...What do you think we should do, though?" she asked him. Were they supposed to start dancing right away, eat something (some of those cookies did look pretty tasty), or socialize? They had to do something; they were blocking the entryway.

[[John Smith continued from The morning of the Prom]]

"Wow...looks kinda like the movies,"

John chuckled at Celeste's comment. It really did. Not quite Back To The Future 'under the sea' prom, but certainly 'generic' prom.

"Well, we just arrived...What do you think we should do, though?"

John looked around, wondering too what they should do. He pulled her gently over to the sign-in book and handed her the pen.

"We'll sign in, then we can get something to eat or drink?" he shrugged. "Then, I suppose I could embarrass you with my dancing moves..."

------------------------------

"What's stagging? I mean I don't have a date if that's what it means"

Rizzo rolled his eyes. This Chris guy was just so fun to be around...

"Yeah, it does mean that." he told Chris. "I'm gonna go chat to some girls... Have a fun prom."

As Maxwell Lombardi entered the prom hall with his date, he couldn't help but feel a strong sense of dread. Perhaps it had something to do with the lame Ghostbusters music that was playing, or maybe it was to do with the fact that he was surrounded by morons who actually felt that dancing to outdated pop songs from the 80's made them look cool. Most likely, though, was that it was simply because he didn't actually want to be there in the first place.

Good god, how on earth did I even get into this predicament…?

He thought back to a few days ago, when he decided on actually going to the prom in the first place. Before then, he had decided against that notion. After all, he barely knew anyone and most likely the music would be complete tosh. But after a while, he came to the realisation that this would probably be his last chance of attending a prom, seeing as once he'd finally moved school he wouldn't get another chance to attend one. Seeing as the last thing he wanted was to be plagued with the fact that he missed a once in a lifetime moment he decided on going anyway, although he would first need a suitable partner to go with. I mean, what kind of pathetic sap would you have to be in order to attend the prom alone?

He decided he would need someone attractive to be his date, after all he has a reputation to think about. Sadly, he had made the slight mistake of deciding to come too late, and most of the more attractive girls would already be taken. However, when all looked lost, he finally came across the perfect girl to ask out in the school art department afterschool. He was on his way to pick up some minor item his teacher had demanded him to retrieve when he came across this striking young specimen he found sitting with her legs crossed in the middle of the room. She seemed to be writing down notes or something, Maxwell couldn't really remember, he was more fixated with the fact that she was an all round stunning woman to behold. And, to make matter better, she seemed to be alone. Maxwell knew he wouldn't get a better chance, and decided to risk it. He went in claiming to be lost, trying what he called the "Colin Firth Approach" (Wherein he would deliberately act like a bumbling, albeit charming, fool in order to earn her sympathy). Luckily for him, she was gullible enough to buy it. And to makes things even better, she too didn't have anyone to go to the dance. It didn't take long for him to make an arrangement with her to attend the prom together, and after a few days here he was with her at the very prom.

Still, not that it made him feel any better. It was a shame too; after all he decided to wear his best white tuxedo and everything. But, for some reason or another, he just felt particularly apathetic tonight. Still, as he looked at his date standing right besides him, at least tonight they'll be some kind of reward for all this tedium.

"So, uh… care to dance?" he asked

Vera Osborne looked up at her date, and offered him a fake smile which hid the fact that she found the whole charming bumbler thing to be more annoying than charming. Of course, she didn't realise that he was putting on an act, but neither did Maxwell realise Vera was as well. She never actually intended on going to the prom. Why should she? She had other things she could do with that time, far more interesting things. Plus, all the worthwhile men where already taken, so there would be no point in asking anyone. That was, until, this idiot bumbled in on her, interrupting her whilst she was in the middle of her studies. She was about to give him a mental thrashing when she then realised that he was actually quite handsome, not to mention fairly naïve. She decided then that perhaps she could at least have a little fun by playing along, pretending to be an equally naïve girl in need of some love and attention. At least that way the payoff will be worth all the trouble.

"Sure! I'd love to!" she replied


Whilst the two faux love birds danced the night away, Marty and Joshua where busy conversing about video games.

"So, uh, you finish Mass Effect yet?" asked Joshua.
"Yeah"
"Oh, cool… what'd you think of it?"
"It was alright… moral decisions weren't hard enough though."
"Ah, I see… So, did you… well, you know"
"Know what?"
"You know… Rock the Kasbah?"
"… I'm not following you"
"Get jiggy with it?"
"You can dance in Mass Effect?"
"No! I meant did you totally do it!"
"OH! Oh… no, I did not. Wasn't aware that was possible"
"What're you kidding? That was the main selling point of the game dude!"
"Really? I was under the impression it was the epic sci-fi story that was the main selling point…"
"That too… anyway, if you WERE aware, which of the two chicks would you have boned?"
"I dunno… the Mexican girl I guess?"
"Yeah, she's pretty sweet… I preferred the blue chick myself. Totally rad if you ask me…"
"Ah, I see…" Marty stopped for a moment. He remembered that Joshua told him how he'd played through the game using a female Shepard, and it wasn't until now that it became obvious why…

"Well anyway, can't wait until Mass Effect 2 come out. I hear it'll be out in…" Joshua stopped, as a familiar tune started to play. "Aw sweet! Beat it!"

"That's the song you put down?" Asked Marty, who personally always felt that the song's lyrics had an unfortunate double entendre subtext to it. However, Joshua never bothered to answer, and instead to centre stage and started doing this bizarre, improvised amateur dance to the song. Marty somehow mamanged to find the display to be both embarrassing and highly entertaining at the exact same time. Plus, it did help that by the time of the guitar solo Joshua did pull of a decent air guitar to match the music.

((All my characters continued in The Dance Must go on!))