Survival Of The Fittest

"Ah, I was born here. You can send thanks to Deng for that."

"I see..." replied Maxwell. He didn't immediately know who Sarah was referring to, until he remembered a few seconds later that Deng was the name of the former leader of the Chinese Communist Party. He honestly didn't blame her family for immigrating, after all he couldn't stand the thought of having to actually live in a Communist country himself.

He then noticed that she and her date (Reiko was it?) started waving to someone behind him. He briefly turned his head around to see who it was, only to quickly turn back after he realised that it was that damn transvestite they were waving at. Vera turned around as well, giving Vivien a quick wave herself. Maxwell hoped dearly that it was Sarah who Vivien was waving at, NOT him. The very idea made his stomach crawl. Naturally, of course, he tried his best to mask these feelings of disgust by pretending to have not noticed him.

Then, a thought struck Maxwell. Wait... what if he decides to come on over or something?!? Now that was something he definitely did not want to have to deal with. He could pretend to tolerate a homosexual woman easily enough, but to pretend to tolerate a homosexual MAN was something completely different. Needless to say, he knew he had to think of some excuse to leave.

He finished off his drink quickly, and after placing the cup down on the table he politely said to the three girls "I hope you all don't mind, but I... Have to use the men's room right now." He turned his head towards Sarah. "Its been a pleasure to speak with you" He then turned his head again to Vera "I'll, uh, meet you back on the dance floor if thats ok with you?" He said as he started slowly towards the direction of the bathroom.

"Ok, take care now" She said, watching as he walked on off. She turned her attention back towards Sarah as soon as he was out of ear shot. "I hope you forgive him. He can be a bit, well, awkward at times"

She briefly looked back at Vivien again to see if his attention was still on them, or if it was actually Maxwell who had caught his interest... The thought amused Vera somewhat.

She then turned her attention to Reiko. "So... How did you and Sarah meet exactly?" she asked curiously.

((OOC: Sorry. Writer's block))

Simon walked over to the photo booth with Clio. They smiled as the photographer took his picture. After, he scratched what would have been his left leg with his right foot. He didn't know what to do right then. He looked out at the dance floor, then to Clio.

"Wanna dance?"

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

"Yep, that's him." Alex smiled and waved to her brother before turning back to Jason, looping her arm through his, causing him to start sweating a little. "So what do you want to do first? Should we grab a table, hit the dance floor, or see what they have to eat?"

Jason just thought about it for a second. He extended his other hand to Alex. He motioned over to the dance floor. "Shall we?"

((Jason Clarke continued in Closing Time))

Roman tried to think of a way to quickly condense the essence of the man code for Samaya, but really, it wasn't even worth the effort. "Forget I ever brought it up. Some snacks sounds good. The food must be pretty decent tonight since those guys over there seemed to have taken residence at the punch bowl." He nodded his head in the direction of the cluster of males who were hanging around the food table as they neared the area. "Although how you have room for any more food after appetizers, dinner, and dessert at Applebee's is beyond me."

Catching the tail end of Felicia's comment about people potentially spiking the punch, Roman grinned as he reached for cups for himself and Samaya. "Nah, punch can't be spiked. At least one person here would be dancing with their shirt off, all alone and in the corner, if the punch was spiked. Which would make for a much more…memorable evening, don't you think?"

______________________________

Aislyn watched as Vivien recounted her laps around the dance floor, complete with a gleeful little wave at Max Lombardi. While she normally wouldn't approve of Vivien's teasing the boys, there was something about Max that rubbed her wrong. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but there was something…smarmy about him. Reaching out, Aislyn lightly smacked Viv on the arm. "Don't tease the uptight ones. We're all here to have a good time, remember."

As Felicia returned to her date and the small scene unfolding by the punch bowl, Aislyn began tapping her foot in time to the beat. "I don't know about you guys, but by the time this dance is over, I want to have a reputation for having mad skills on the dance floor. Who's gonna join me?" Scanning the crowd once more and still not spotting Claire, she just had to shrug and give up on the other girl. As long as she goes home with me, I suppose it'll all be okay.

((OOC: Ack. Ack I say!))

James felt Thea grope him but he did not show his surprise. Or at least he tried to not show his surprise, because he blurted out a light "eep", like a shocked mouse. He worked into it though - heck, Thea was just being a tease. Nothing for him to get angry about. James let out a laugh as if to say "Oh, you silly girl~", and wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Alright then!" James agreed, pulling his date over to the refreshment table. "Do you know where the rest of the cheerleading squad is? I hope that they're sticking close together!"

It was worse than GLoria had thought...the person she'd bumped into was Quincy Jones! This night was worse and worse! Gloria opened and closed her mouth a few times, no sound coming out, when he spoke up. "Calm, down, girl. No harm done. I ain't gonna hit you, just cause you bumped me." "

She hadn't even considered that! GLoria swallowed, lowering her hands from her mouth nervously. She tried to calm down. He had just said he wouldn't hit her, why was she so worked up? She nodded at his question of wanting a refill, letting him lead her to the punch again. "I...I'm so sorry..." she mumbled quietly. "I don't know how that happened, I-I..."

Felicia joined them just then, having been called over by Quincy. "Hee hee... what are you two doing? The punch bowl absorbin' ya with its powers or something? I wonder if somebody spiked it..."

Gloria managed a tiny smile, shaking her head. "I-I hope n-n-not..." she whispered, then flushed as she realized: a lot of people might have preferred spiked punch. "I--I just m-mean, my mother would k-kill me if I ca-came home drunk, and I d-don't want th-that..." She turned red again, dropping her gaze to the floor. "I'm sorry..."

It was kind of embarrassing to admit, but after the furious make-out session had ended - and ended pretty damn well, Erik had to admit - he slowly became aware of a rather pressing urge. Despite (or perhaps because of?) all his time spent in the bathroom frantically making himself appear presentable, he'd neglected to take care of one of the necessities of life. A necessity which often could be neglected during stressful situations, such as a prom date with someone who was barely out of the closet. However, the termination of said stressful situation would generally trigger it again.

In short, Erik had to poop. He quickly made his excuses to Brendan and headed off in the direction of the washroom, which fortunately was fairly empty at this time of night. Someone was primping in front of the mirror and someone was having a discreet smoke out the window, but it wasn't the crowded, raucous room he'd been worried about.

He took care of business as quickly as possible, hesitating for a few moments in front of the mirror to comb a stray bit of hair back into place and make sure he wasn't rumpled. The kissing had been good (okay, great), but now that he was away from Brendan there was a flutter of worry in his stomach again.

Bobby Barron would be here tonight. And that would be awkward. Especially because...well, shit, he liked Brandan. He liked him a lot. But it had been only minutes since the kiss and already his nervous brain was kicking into overdrive. Was this the right time for a relationship? Was Brendon right for him? Could he handle the inevitable break up? What if he was a jackass? What if he didn't feel comfortable coming out properly?

He took a long breath, firmly reminding his inner voices to shut up, and headed out the door. He spotted Chloe almost immediately, talking to Brendan. One hurdle down, then, the tall boy had met his Strongwoman. Excellent. Relaxing slightly he headed over, angling himself so as not to be seen by Chloe, until he could plant his elbows on her shoulders and incline his head to drop a nice loud smacking kiss onto her hair.

"Chloe, ma belle!" Looking up, he grinned at Brendan, blowing him a kiss as well. "I see you've met the man of the hour!"

Thea smiled up innocently at him and then snuggled into James' embrace. She wrapped her arm around his shoulders as he pulled her towards the refreshment table.

"Alright then!" James agreed, pulling his date over to the refreshment table. "Do you know where the rest of the cheerleading squad is? I hope that they're sticking close together!"

Thea looked around and was surprised, now that James had pointed it out, that the vast majority of the cheerleading squad wasn't in attendance. She frowned and said, "Actually there's only a few of us here. Those girls better be able to fit into their uniforms for competition."

***********************************************************
"Although how you have room for any more food after appetizers, dinner, and dessert at Applebee's is beyond me."

"In my family, food equals love. And food is almost always the answer to any problem. So I'm used to eating larger portions," she said as they made their way across the room.

"Nah, punch can't be spiked. At least one person here would be dancing with their shirt off, all alone and in the corner, if the punch was spiked. Which would make for a much more…memorable evening, don't you think?"

"Nope," Samaya said with a laugh. "Just a normal evening at the Varsity. Well, almost any evening I've been there. I think this evening's in a class by itself. Course it would give us more to talk about then fashion Monday. As it is there's been a whole lot of people wandering in and out of the bathroom. I thought that was something we did in school, to get out of class."

*************************************

Jason just thought about it for a second. He extended his other hand to Alex. He motioned over to the dance floor. "Shall we?"

Alex laughed and took Jason's hand. "We shall, although I have to warn you I'm not very good at this kind of thing," she said. "Most of my time is spent lying on the floor under cars, not dancing on them, but then I'll try anything once." She hesitated then finding the beat in the music began to sway in time with it.

((Alex continued in Closing Time))

It took Reiko a few moments to realize the last question had been directed at her, having at that point assumed the two girls were going to talk amongst themselves. When she finally did realize she had been asked something, along with what she had been asked, she couldn't help but smile. Now there was an interesting story.

"We kinda.... ran into each other a few months ago." Reiko began. "And one thing led to another and... here we are."

After this, she would look at Sarah again, wondering if she would add anything to the story or not.

"Hee hee... you guys worry too much!" Felicia chortled, taking some more of the punch and drinking, patting Gloria on the shoulder. "You have a good night, huh? And if some guy bumps into you... don't get all scared, okay, hon? They're just a bunch of big softies... assert yourself and become the guy!"

Felicia had begun hitting one of her hyper stages. This fully manifested as she wrapped an arm around Quincy, still smirking. "And how has Rocky Balboa been doing? Sheesh, I thought you got lost in the bathrooms!"

"Actually there's only a few of us here. Those girls better be able to fit into their uniforms for competition."

James frowned. "Oh really? I figured that a good chunk of them would be here."

Well now what? James had planned every detail about tonight to the t but in hindsight he didn't put much thought into what he would do after prom. He figured he and Thea would just hang out with the cheerleading squad. He knew Fiona Sparki and... um... James was kicking himself now. Why hadn't he planned for this? Damn it! Now what were he and Thea going to do?

Obviously picking up on the frown that had eventually found it's way onto his face, and he couldn't let Thea think he was at all sad. James forced a genuine smile and gently rubbed her shoulder. "Forget it Thea. If we don't meet up with your squad afterwards, we'll figure something out. Believe you me, I've got plenty of ideas, for contingency's sake."

Contingency? Who the hell uses CONTINGENCY? James was so upset that he was using big scholarly words!

"Don't tease the uptight ones. We're all here to have a good time, remember."

Vivien playfully rubbed where Aislyn had slapped him, blurting a soft "ouch." He didn't quite get how teasing Max wasn't a part of having a good time, but he decided to keep his distance anyway. No use getting a black eye during prom, after all.

"Aw, you're right. It's too hot to do anything productive anyway." Vivien lounged in the closest chair he could find; he didn't know if someone was sitting there or not, but he didn't care either. "Aislyn, be a dear and fetch me some punch, s'il te plait?"

---

"Oh okay, I'm, uh, Brendan. Great to meet you. Erik talked about you a bit, said you were nice"

'Nice.' Is that the only adjective Erik could've used to describe his very best friend? Ah well, it didn't matter. "Ah, Brendan!" she exclaimed, now that she knew the boy's name. "It's great to meet you! So how long have you and Eri-Gah!"

Elbows on her shoulders and a kiss on the head could only mean that Erik decided Chloe would make a great table. She was pleasantly surprised that she didn't have to balance a cup on her head. This time. "Erik, mon chou!" Removing her friend's elbows, she turned to face him and gave him a France-style kiss on both cheeks. "You would not believe the adventure I had today! Oh, but that can totally wait! First, introduce me to your date - don't give me that look, I know I've met him but it's more cute to introduce your date like a true gentleman - and then later on I have big news. Big, big groundbreaking news!" She paused a bit to take a short breath of air. "And also, didn't I tell you about this dress? Doesn't it just scream 'Belle'?"

"It's great to meet you! So how long have you and Eri-Gah!"
Chloe was greeted by Erik with two elbows and a kiss. Brendan stared in bewilderment at the Chloe-table forming in front of him, shaking his head amused.
Wacky wacky people, you are.

"Chloe, ma belle!"
Erik blew him a kiss, and Brendan immediatly inhaled and smiled in pride at the same time. A funny thing, pride was. To him, anyway; what did he have to be proud of? Well, starting tonight, an open-doored closet, a boyfriend, and new friends. Before that? Nada! So it was a new experience for everybody!

"I see you've met the man of the hour!"
Chloe turned around and gave Erik a few Italian-like kisses on the cheek. If only she knew where that mouth had been tonight, she would be so happy...
"You would not believe the adventure I had today! Oh, but that can totally wait! First, introduce me to your date - don't give me that look, I know I've met him but it's more cute to introduce your date like a true gentleman - and then later on I have big news. Big, big groundbreaking news!"

LIke always, Brendan stood on the sideline and watched this sketch of human interaction continue. God, he was happy tonight? Where was the old, cynical Brendan who wrote disturbing fanfiction and never left his room? Gone into oblivion, he was! And replacing him was a shy, nervous wreck who took life by the reigns and knew that whatever happens, happens.
"And also, didn't I tell you about this dress? Doesn't it just scream 'Belle'?"

*

Clio stayed with Simon as he got their photo taken, smiling a gorgeous smile. Almost not finding a stray hair in time, she held up the line a LOT trying to get it back in. God, she was pretty clumsy, wasn't she?
Simon then asked if they wanted to dance. Clio beamed at him.
"I'm up for anything you want."

Acacia grinned at Max, allowing him to lead her through the mass of people in the Prom hall. It still felt a little strange that she wouldn't be seeing most of them again. Even though there were definately some people she'd never spoken two, and one or two faces she'd never seen before in her lives. Were they in their grade? Or were they outsiders that had been snuck in? Dates from outside of school, perhaps? She sincerely hoped it was the latter option; their grade was big, yet Acacia liked to think that she knew lots of people. That was an advantage of being a cheerleader, people tended to know your name.

She picked up a plastic cup at the table, at least the prom committee had invested in seethrough plastic such that it didn't look quite as crass as the white plastic variety, and poured herself a cupful of punch, without waiting for Max to offer, realising as she was halfway through pouring that perhaps he would have wanted to, being gentlemanly and all. She pushed the thought from her mind, instead taking a sip from her cup of very much non alcoholic punch.

"Tastes like concentrated blackcurrant juice" she remarked, looking at the deep red liquid critically, allowing the taste to settle on her tongue rather like a wine critic, though she admittedly knew nothing about wine. It did look like red wine, which would add to the classiness of the photos, even though it would look better if they were in wine glasses. "To be honest, that's probably what it is..." she added as an afterthought. "You should try some, Max, we'll pretend it's alcoholic and go kerazy!" she grinned, tipping her glass towards him slightly.

"B-Become the guy?" Gloria echoed softly, lifting her head again. She thought about that, hand over her mouth with her eyes directed downward. Was that really what Felicia had meant, or did she mean to say something else? Was Gloria supposed to act like a guy, be loud and tough? I don't think I could do that... she thought to herself, a little sadly.

She started a little bit when she noticed Felicia put her arm around Quincy, and her face turned a bit redder. "O-Oh, you're t-t-together here!" she squeaked a bit. "I could've s-spilled on your date--Oh, I'm sorry about this...Ah, now I can' t st-st-stop apolog-g-gizing.." she stuttered, shaking her head a bit. Trying to compose herself and control her stuttering.

Max led Acacia through the throng, nodding and smiling at familiar faces as they made their way to the drinks table. Everyone was having a good time, and if they weren't, well, they probably shouldn't have bothered coming. Max chuckled to himself as he thought this, callous as it was. Tonight was about having fun; if people were too busy moping about not having dates or alcohol or whatever, that was their problem. The DJ was good, the dancing was good, the venue was good, the people were good, the...

"Tastes like concentrated blackcurrant juice," Acacia commented snarkily, glaring at the liquid contained in the see-through glass she was holding. Max laughed, and nodded in agreement as she added that that was most likely what it was. "Don't want everyone getting drunk under supervision, do we," he added, fully aware of the myriad of issues that he was leaving out. The school didn't want no drunk seniors on their hands - much better for the parents to be responsible for those particular train wrecks.

"You should try some, Max," Acacia offered jokingly. "We'll pretend it's alcoholic and go kerazy!" As suggested, Max grabbed some, sculled it down, and looked at Acacia. "Ac...acasha..." Max said in his most exaggerated drunk slur, "You...you is...very special person...I think...no, no, I think you are special...hey look a duck." He straightened himself up and smiled - his routine wasn't very good, but hopefully it got the desired response.