Survival Of The Fittest

Robert looked at the other girl, swallowing slightly. "Er.... Everything's fine. She's a little nervous, and the others over here are just kinda... there. To be honest, I wasn't paying much attention to them. I'm just trying to put Gloria at ease," he said, voice shaking slightly from nervousness. He glanced at his phone to check the time. He turned back to Gloria, leaning in slightly to speak quietly to her.

"Um.... Do you want to step away from the crowd? I don't know about you, but I don't like being closed in," he said, quiet enough that it wasn't likely to be over heard. He gave Gloria a brief smile before stepping back slightly to give her room to breathe.

Jen was completely in her element. She'd been treated like a princess all night. Geoffrey had picked her up and taken her to prom. It would have been nice if her dad had been there to see them off, but he was busy. Still, he looked splendid in his tux. Jen definitely had picked out a good date for the night.

She'd slipped a hip flask down her cleavage, and had been sipping vodka from it whenever she went to the bathroom. As such, she was heading towards drunk. Not there yet, but not in any state to drive, she figured. Just as well that Geoffrey was there. Actually, where was Geoffrey?

She'd been dancing with him for a good part of the evening, getting up close and personal as much as she could. The guy had been nothing but nice to her ever since that day at the mall. He deserved a proper treat. He'd even paid for her dress. Low cut, showing cleavage, but cut to hide the rest of her figure. She loved it. And was more than happy to pay him back for it, any way he wanted her to. As long as there was no cash involved.

Stopping to breathe at the side of the hall, she tried to get her head straight. She'd left Geoffrey by the punch bowl to go to the bathroom again. Now, where was he? She surveyed the room as best she could. Most of the students were in various states of prom fatigue as well. She looked around, trying to see if Geoffrey was anywhere nearby, or anybody that she could talk to.

Sending Rob a grateful smile, Gloria nodded, still shakily, a bit, and stepped away from the group, mumbling quiet apologies as she did. She hoped nobody would be too offended--she just couldn't be surrounded by this many people, be in the center of attention...Gloria took a few deep breaths as she found a chair, sitting down with her hands resting on her knees. That was kind of scary... she thought to herself. For some odd reason, she briefly found herself wishing she was an asthmatic, so she could take out an inhaler...get deeper breaths and it'd be enough of "explanation" to keep anyone else from asking questions.

Sending another tiny smile Rob's way, Gloria mouthed a shy "Thank you..."

Robert watched Gloria step away, planning his next move. He was maneuvering through this social fiasco pretty well, although his next step could make or break him. He smiled back at Gloria and waited until she was looking down. The poor girl seemed terrified of crowds, which he could relate to. He walked over to the table serving drinks and surreptitiously sniffed the punch. He didn't think it was spiked. What were they doing? Wasn't it a tradition to spike the punch on prom in order to get into your dates dress? Oh well. He grabbed a pair of paper cups and filled them one with punch and one with water. He could offer both, and drink whichever she didn't. 'So, why am I acting so... not myself? I blame hormones. Stupid hormones. About as useless as... something... really useless!' Robert thought, walking toward the back wall, avoiding the deep crowds. He cut along the walls to come in on Gloria's left.

"So, I saw you sitting here like this, and I thought to myself, 'Self? Why don't you get the lady a drink?' And I answered myself, 'Well, self, that sounds like a darn good idea.' So hear I am, and here you are. And I'm such a nice guy, I brought you a choice. Water, or punch?" Robert said, smiling. His tone slid slightly, sounding almost sarcastic while he retained all seriousness in his speech. It was a method he had heard about to keep someone simultaneously at ease and on their toes. He thought it sounded slimy, but hoped he managed to pull it off. He punctuated it with a smile to show that it was in good fun.

As Rob walked away, Gloria looked back down at her feet, taking a few more deep, calming breaths. She truly hoped her mom didn't ask how Prom was...or if she had fun. Gloria really couldn't say "yes," to that, now could she? Granted, the evening had picked up a tiny bit--she'd just met someone as shy as herself, what a shocker!--but other than that... And I don't think that "I met someone who's quiet like me, and hates crowds as much as I do" is what she'd want to hear anyway... Gloria thought, somewhat sadly as she scuffed at the floor a bit with her toe.

Hearing a voice, Gloria jumped in surprise, squeaking a bit, but relaxed slightly as she saw who it was. "R-Rob...?" Her eyes traveled down to the cups in his hands, listening to him speak. Despite herself, a tiny smile appeared on Gloria's lips, and the smallest and quietest of giggles slipped out. It sounded to her like Rob was making more jokes, trying to relax both her and himself. That did relax Gloria somewhat, and, for some odd reason, amused her slightly. But...her smile faded a little...What should I drink? She'd heard about people spiking punch, but it didn't look like anyone was too drunk. Then again, one never knew. So she could refuse the punch and take the water--but then Rob would drink the spiked punch and she couldn't live with that on her conscience!

"U-Uhm..." she finally stammered, raising her voice slightly. Might as well risk it...She couldn't let a potential new friend--or at the very least, an acquaintance--get drunk. "P-Punch...please?" she whispered, reaching out to take it. When her hand was a few inches away from the cup however, she paused. What if he wanted to hand the cup to her? Would it be rude to just take it? Gloria looked up at him nervously, hand just hovering there in front of the punch-cup.

Robert smiled at the awkwardness. It was a bit of a trip finding out that people existed who were more awkward than him! He'd have to approach more people during college; he might have more in common with them than he thought. He pushed the punch into Gloria's hand gently and pulled a chair up beside her. "I wouldn't worry about the punch. There are teachers stationed to watch it at all angles, plus it doesn't smell like alcohol," he said, smiling again.

He took a sip of the water, glancing around as he did so. The crowd was, obviously, beginning to thin as people went off to their after-prom parties and... other things teenagers did, like... partying with in a horizontal position. And drinking. Among other things.

At long last, the second-hand clicked into place, and the cogs brought the minute-hand right along with it. With the absurdly slow-passing last half-hour finally up, Ema could leave without feeling at all awkward about it, and to someone with her odd reasoning, that was an all-important factor. Saying goodbye to the others she'd spent the grueling 30 minutes with never really occured to Ema, so she made herself scarce fairly quickly, depositing the thoroughly emptied cola can in a bin on her way out of the main doors.
The thinning crowd did prove a little difficult to navigate, given her stature, but Ema eventually found her way to the roadside, took a seat upon the nearest solid wall, and waited. "With any luck.." she mused beneath her breath, just barely audible, "I'll get out of here before something awkward happens..."

All in all, it had been rather anticlimactic. The Prom, supposed to be the biggest day of a highschooler's life, especially a female one's.. and it just seemed like it had been a waste of her time. She hadn't danced, she hadn't taken a date, and the highlight of the evening had been getting to see a particularly soppy shy-romance kick off - not what she'd call the greatest night of her young life.
She kept thinking, as she sat there, awaiting a lift home, that more should be going through her head at that point in time. High School, for the short time she'd been there, was as good as over now. It was a turning point in her life, she'd be going off to college soon, and not long after that, truly becoming an adult. But she didn't think of those things in such grandiose terms, they just seemed so far away, so unreal, as if they'd never really happen to her.
So, feeling dejected and, dare she label it such, bored, Ema sighed a loud sigh. She didn't even have anything to do whilst she waited; normally she'd have a coat full of pens, pencils, scraps of paper, an iPod, and God knows what else to mess around with, but, she complained aloud this time, "This stupid dress doesn't have any pockets!".

[Ema Ryan continued in V4]
(Edit - Considerably less writer's-block'd right now, so I've put some more detail in... the original was pretty pathetic. Also put in my attempt at tragic irony, which I do so love...)

((Chadd Crossen continued from The Dance Must go on!.))

The evening had been winding down for a while now.; Chadd and Janet had finished their food and started dancing yet again. Back in the heat of the moment, back to their fun. There had been about an hour of uneventful dancing... Well, if one could call an evening of dancing with the most amazing girl in the world uneventful. There had been a few faster, more basey songs during the latter half of the night. While it wasn't his forte to listen to stuff like that, they still weren't all that bad for the purpose they actually came on for. In the announcements in the days before the Prom, there had been a "no PDA rule" enforced, which basically meant no grinding. No one was even remotely bothering to enforce it, and hell; if they didn't want High School Seniors grinding, they shouldn't let them go to Prom!

The time flew by quickly. Only about fifteen minutes remained in the evening, one that had no idea would end up being the absolute best of his numbered days. The tracks slowed down significantly, and he took the redheaded cheerleader's hand in his, pulling her body close to him. One hand on the hip, one hand on the small of her back... There we go. Step one two three... Step one two three... He kept reciting over and over in his head, dancing back and forth with the love of his life. He let his forehead rest on her neck, closing his eyes and letting the music and his step take them. A soft "I love you" escaped his lips softly, unsure as to if it were reach it's destination or not. Just being close to her melted all of his worries away, a soft smile escaping his lips. Only fifteen more minutes until the night is over... And only fifteen minutes until essentially the rest of their lives. And for once, that thought didn't scare him. He knew that as long as his future involved her somehow, that everything would be just fine.

"O-Oh, right..." Gloria mumbled, looking into her cup before taking another sip. Now she felt a little guilty for having Rob take the water...punch tasted much better than water, after all. "Do y-you w-w-want--?" she started, before hastily stopping, flushing red again and mumbling "Never mind." He probably wouldn't want it back, it had her germs on it! And he'd already given it to her, so if she wanted to switch, that would imply that it tasted horrible, and...Gloria's face burned up again as she debated with herself. Why was she making this so much harder than it needed to be?

She took another drink, watching the clock. It finally signaled the end of Prom, but she didn't get up to leave yet. After all, Mom's not going to be here for a while... Gloria fidgeted in her seat, glancing up at Rob for a moment. At least she'd made a friend. She hoped.

"U-uhm...s-so....h-h-how are you g-geting...h-h-home?" she whispered. It was too awkward, sitting her silently. She had to strike up a conversation.

Robert looked up. He had drained the water cup, and, with no conversation forthcoming, had satisfied himself by watching other people and imagining what their vices were. It was a fun game. You looked at someone and asked yourself, "What deadly sin have they committed?" For some of them it was easy. Most of the girls had Pride all wrapped up. A large number of the guys had Wrath and Lust taken. Others were more difficult. Gloria, for example, appeared to be a rather pure person. Of course, she was hardly animated enough to show what her carnal sin was, plus she didn't talk much. Oh, yeah. She had said something.

"How am I getting home? Uh... I'm probably walking, honestly. My Mom's most likely already asleep. She has work early in the morning tomorrow. So... yeah. I'm walking," He said, grimacing slightly. It would be dark, and that was... bad, he supposed. Personally, he preferred the dark. Generally less people around. Unfortunately, those who were around usually were looking to hurt you. Or, y'know, just generally belligerent. Same difference really.

((Janet Claymont continued from The Dance Must go on!))

This night was supposed to be perfect, but it wasn't.

Janet had been managing to keep up a façade of having fun for Chadd's sake the entire evening now, her hollow smile plastered on her face like a shiny poster on a decrepit building. She had wanted to enjoy herself on her and Chadd's most special evening, but the secret of her cheating on him had been eating away at her insides all night, growing more and more malignant each time she looked into his happy, perfect eyes.

"I love you too." she whispered back honestly, as she danced slowly in his embrace. Behind his head, she peered up to the clock hung high on the wall in front of her, noting that the evening was due to be over soon. Knowing their school, the ending would probably be pretty anti-climatic compared to everything else that had gone on that night. Frankly, she wasn't desperate to hang around for it: they'd already had their picture taken, so the only thing left to do was dance the night away, and her heavy heart was weighing down her dancing too much to care about it anymore.

"Chadd..." she whispered once again, pulling back to look at him sadly in the eyes, trying her best to still look happy. "Let's run away." she smiled, attempting to mask her misery with an impish smile. "Let's just take off early."

She didn't want to be at the prom anymore; she'd had fun whilst she could, but now the place was just too depressing for her to stick around, keeping up her lie to Chadd. She just wanted to get somewhere else, where the two could be together in peace, where her mind could think about something else.

She smiled up at him, her feelings for him taking all importance of the matter. She would go wherever he went that evening, because she loved him with all her heart.

((Janet Claymont continued in A Night to Remember))

"Chadd... Let's run away."

He grinned, unable to contain a laugh. "Run away together? Forever?" He kissed her softly on the nose, nodding at her actual proposition.

"Let's just take off early."

Janet was right, the end of this night was going to be nothing to boast about. The limo driver had texted him about half an hour ago to let him know that he was waiting. So why the heck not? They could still spend time together... Oh, that's perfect! Chadd's entire face lit up, he knew just where to take them. Neither of their parents expected them home any time soon anyways, nor did they probably care. Heck, Chadd's parents thought of Senior Prom as a rite of passage, so no one was going to be mad if they spent a few more hours in each other's arms.

"Definitely Janet. Let me just take off to the restroom first; I'm not sure how good that fish actually was!" He attempted to mask his true intentions with a lame, and probably disgusting joke... In reality, he was just going to text the Limo Driver. He kissed her on the cheek quickly, whispering in her ear. "I'll meet you down in the lobby beautiful. I promise I won't be long." With that, he turned and shimmied his way across the dance floor one last time towards the restroom.

Leaning over the sink, he crafted his text with one hand. "were cmng. tke us 2 field by plmrs? I gt ride frm thr." In reality he didn't have said ride, he was just hoping to hell that his mom or dad was willing to cart his sorry butt back to the house. He grinned, hit send... aaand... "NO SIGNAL".

"Shit." He looked around, raising the phone high above his head. "Work you stupid fucking thing... Of course this Podunk high school would pick a fucking prom hall that has no service with Verizon. Just my damn luck." He quickly ducked into an open stall, and possibly did the stupidest thing he'd done all night. He put one dress shoe covered foot on each side of the toilet, and stood out as high as he can... "MESSAGE SENT TO LIMO DUDE." Flashed across the screen. "Perfect!" He took a step to get down and slid. The poor lovebird landed flat on his palms, just barely keeping himself from eating stained linoleum. He glanced at the clock on his phone, his eyes went wide, and he rushed from the room as quickly as he could.

Back down in the lobby, he snuck up behind Janet, all at once resting his head on her shoulder, and his hands on her waist, pulling him self nice and close. "Sorry about that hon. You good to go?" Almost not waiting for her inevitable Took you long enough, let's go., he rushed her out towards the limo, picking her up as they got to the door and pulling her into the long black car himself.

Tonight was just about to get better and better.

((Chadd Crossen continued post-prom))

"I-In the dark?" Gloria whispered, hands tightening around her cup. She looked up at Rob, her blush starting to fade at last. He was seriously walking? But what about muggers? He was dressed in a tux, what if someone thought that a fancily-dressed person was a perfect target? "B-But...You d-don't live too...f-f-far away, d-do you? W-What if...s-something...something happens?"

As soon as Gloria said that, she wished she didn't. Stupid girl, now she might have worried him! She looked away, back down into the punch, catching a bit of her reflection in it. Her ears burned at the thought of even asking, but "...M-my mom...c-can give you a...a-a-a ride...S-So you don't...d-don't have to walk...Okay?"

Robert blinked. "Oh.... Well... I don't want to impose," he said, biting his lip.

Still, the walk home was long. Before going to prom, he had walked the path a few times so he knew if he should plan on staying the whole time or leaving early. He had decided that the walk was short enough to be manageable, but it was still farther than the walk from home to the cinema or the mall. And now that it was suggested, a ride would be nice. Nicer than a walk, anyway.

"Well.... Um.... Okay, if you think your Mom will be okay with it. I-I mean, I don't want to impose, but... the walk is quite a way... so.... Yeah," he said, becoming a little flustered.

I really need to try and stop stuttering, Gloria thought, embarrassed. But even so, she still stuttered as she replied "I-It's fine...Mom wo-won't mind...a-at all. She...Sh-She'd be glad to d-d-do it..." And glad I asked someone to let her drive them home, too, Gloria suddenly realized, the fact not helping her seemingly-permanent blush. Her mom would assume that Rob was some boyfriend or a crush...at the very least, a good friend. Gloria wondered how she should break the news that they'd just met a few minutes ago...

Maybe she shouldn't. It had been ages since a friend of hers had gotten to sit in the car with Gloria and her mom, anyway, so her mother would be ecstatic about this. A friend.

"B-But I w-warn you...she's n-not going to b-be here for a-a-another..." She checked the time. "T-Ten m-mi-minutes." Another look down at her shoes. "S-sorry..."