Survival Of The Fittest

(Enter: a dolled up Cassidy Kant)

Cassidy's eyes widened and heart pounded as she stared around at the blue and gray balloons all around the ballroom. Many teachers hustled by, perhaps seeing students arriving meant they needed to adjust their behavior. Not many students were there yet. Cassidy's parents had practically rushed her out the door, at least now she could say they were on time without the guilt.

Being one of the first couples to arrive, Cassidy felt relieved. She could watch to see who came with who, and how nice everybody looked. She turned her head toward the doorway, feeling her ponytail drag across her exposed shoulder blades as she did so. It had been curled to fanciness, and was looking elegant as ever. When her eyes looked to either side, she could see the inner sides of her bangs, which were hair-sprayed into position.

Her long, rosy red dress was fitted at the torso, and then more open at the bottom. She'd realized that an ankle length dress might impede dancing, but she didn't mind holding it up. Matt probably wasn't a big dancer anyway. Well, just dancing would make him a big dancer, but his size wouldn't affect his actual-

She turned to Matt and smiled. Sure, hardly anybody was around, and the night hadn't even REALLY begun yet, but just looking forward to the evening was enough to make joy bubble up inside her.

Her smile grew even larger as she saw more dressy teachers behind him. Her hands raised in front of her, one grasping her clutch, the other in a fist.

"This is so exciting!! Where should we sit??"

((Matt Masters has entered the prom))

As Matt walked through the door, he looked around at all of the prom decorations.  The teachers had really gone all out in their decorating.  There were balloons, chairs, and banners proclaiming that it was prom.  The whole room had a feeling about it that Matt himself couldn't really describe.

Matt himself felt somewhat out of place, partially due to his less-than-perfect outfit.  He'd had enough money left over to buy some nice pants and shoes, but other than that, all he had was a long-sleeved white shirt with a black suit jacket that Oscar had lent him for the occasion.  It wasn't bad, per se, he was actually dressed nicer than he had in years.  He just felt a little odd that he was pretty much wearing a hand-me-down jacket at a social event that most high schoolers spend extraordinary amounts of money on.

He looked down at his side and saw Cassidy.  Her hair was done perfectly and she was wearing a majestic red dress.  In Matt's eyes, she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, and he considered himself lucky to be at the prom with her.  She smiled at him, and he returned the favor with a smile of his own.

"This is so exciting!! Where should we sit??"

Matt surveyed the room.  Since almost nobody else was there, pretty much every seat in the room was up for grabs.

"Well, I guess we can sit anywhere we want.  Good thing about getting here early's that none of the seats are taken."

Sophie McDowell stared at the dance hall before her. When she heard the theme was "Moonlight Serenade", she seriously wondered what that would entail. The theme brought images of starlight, a river, and a passionate dance. Still, it looked like they really went all out with the theme.

"Wow Dave, they did really well with the decorations!" she exclaimed.

Sophie was so excited for the evening. All she hoped for was to dance with her friends and have a great time. She felt she didn't even really have to worry about much. She was going with her friend, and they were just going to enjoy the night without any worry.

Sophie didn't even stress out about her dress. She found a jade green, strapless, knee length mermaid dress for a reasonable price, and could easily match it with a simple pair of heels and a clutch. Her long blond hair took quite a bit of styling though. Aside from two small strands of hair that were left curled and laying in front of her shoulders, the rest of her hair was straightened and tied in a large braid, which was tied with a green ribbon at the end and with small flowers tied in as well. She was inspired by Rapunzel's hair in Tangled, and figured it would be a great look for this evening.

So, after some early photographs and dining, Sophie and Dave were at the dance hall, ready for Prom. Sophie's eyes scanned the room. That's when she noticed Cassidy Kant and Matt Masters. Sophie grinned. She couldn't believe how great Cassidy and Matt looked.

"Cassidy! Matt! How are you guys?"

Sophie made her way over to the duo.

"Wow, you guys look amazing! Are you both ready to have fun tonight?"

Dave Russell smiled back at Sophie, nodding in agreement as he stood before the elegant prom hall and soaked in its ambiance. Things had worked out after all.

Dave had been lucky to make it to prom that night: his parents had neglected to budget properly for it and his own savings had run rather short. Luckily for him, his always vigilant grandparents had come to his rescue once again at the last minute, funding Dave's ticket in the nick of time. All it took then was one hand me down suit from his father and a handful of leftover dollars for spending money, and he wasn't going to miss out on the second most defining event of his high school career after all.

Sophie had been just as last minute as his ticket had been when it came to asking her out. He liked her, sure, but his first choice had unfortunately been taking by the time he'd been able to ask her. He hadn't known that he and Sophie were planning to get dinner before they arrived, but he had taxi money for food and how could he say no to a lady, especially one looking as hot as her? He'd just figure out a way to get home afterwards.

A he looked around, seeing who else had arrived as early as them, Sophie called out to Cassidy and Matt. Dave waved at them, more to Matt than Cassidy, before he and Sophie approached the two. He hadn't really talked to Cassidy much, nothing that wasn't just casual anyway, but he and Matt shared a common interest in the refuge shelter. He'd only volunteered there a handful of times however, compared to Matt's regular work.

"Hey Matt, looking good. You too, Cassidy."

Cassidy turned hearing new voices. Seeing sweet Sophie with her date, she beamed.

"Wow, you guys look amazing! Are you both ready to have fun tonight?"

Oh boy, maybe a couple to hang out with. She hadn't really talked with anybdy but Matt about prom plans, but they could be floaters.

"YES! And you are looking fantastic yourself!"

And now a compliment from the relatively unfamiliar Dave, too. Tonight was a magical night when relative strangers could come together and celerate together. A final hurrah of meeting people and saying goodbye. Everybody was friends tonight. High school was just about over, and she was ready to go out on a great note.

And it seemed both Sophie and Matt already knew Matt which was a relief. She was afraid she'd have to introduce him and make him be uncomfortably social. She opened up her arms to give Sophie a hug, and then one for Dave too. The music was on, and she was everything but jumping up and down.

As Matt looked around the room, he noticed two newcomers approaching himself and Cassidy.  The new couple turned out to be Sophie McDowell and Dave Russell.  He didn't know Sophie too well, but she seemed pretty nice.  Dave, on the other hand, Matt knew quite well.  He had seen Dave working at the center occasionally, and he certainly respected anyone that would give their own time to help someone else.  Matt smiled and nodded as the two came over to greet them.

"Sophie.  Dave.  Nice night, isn't it?"

Cassidy looked excited to see Sophie and Dave. Sophie was happy about that. She voted for Cassidy for Prom Queen, knowing she would be a good pick for the crown. Cassidy's joyous reaction affirmed her pride in that vote, and Sophie wanted to spend some time with Ms. Kant and her date before the night ended.

Cassidy complimented Sophie's appearance and moved in for a hug.

"Thank you. That dress looks great on you as well," Sophie said, giving Cassidy a quick peck on the cheek.

Sophie looked over Matt as well as he spoke up.

"Yeah, I can't believe how great this place looks."

She took a quick look around the area and noticed some of the vacant tables.

"Say, would you guys like to get a table together? It might be fun for the four of us to hang out, drink punch, and dance the night away."

Sophie gave a quick tap on the ground as she said the last part. She let out a short laugh as she took a look at her date and her friends. This was going to be an awesome evening.

"Oh, thanks Cass." Dave said with a smile at the unexpected, but enjoyed, hug, returning it with a tight one of his own. It didn't change the fact that the two barely knew each other, but that never stopped Dave from keeping friendly with someone. Plus, hugs, especially from chicks, were just awesome.

After that there was a "Yeah." in agreement to Matt, a "Sure." at Sophie's suggestion, and then nothing. He was happy to hang out with the other two for now, it'd be cool to hang out with Matt for sure and Cassidy was probably fun, but his mind was still elsewhere. It didn't seem that she'd shown up yet.

"Whatever, she'll get here sooner or later." He thought to himself. Okay, so they hadn't made the plans that he'd wanted to, but even if she was coming with a date there was nothing wrong with him just saying hi, right? It wasn't like dates had to be just one on one, after all he was there on a date with Sophie as far as he cared and he was more than happy to hang out with Cass and Matt. The more the merrier, as he always agreed.

Snapping out of his thoughts, he flashed another smile to the other three around him. It'd be fun to hang out with them for now, so that's what he'd go with and love every minute of it. At least until sooner or later came.

Cassidy smiled at Sophie's returned compliment, and then relaxed upon herding Dave call her "Cass." Sure, they didn't know each other very well, but the fact that he was comfortable shortening her name suggested he had, at least, a positive opinion of her.

Sophie was giddy admiring the room, and seemed ready to get festive. Cassidy fed off her excitement and looked around for refreshments. A long table had several dishes laid out, though all were covered. A punch bowl with ladle was at the end nearest the dance floor.

"Sure, let's go!"

She walked by the circular table closest to the food table and snatched up two glasses from the elegant table setting. Handing one to Matt, she smiled at the excitement of being one of the first to have some prom punch!

All four of them were pretty excited about the night to come.  If anything, they would at least have a good night of fun and music, and that sounded just fine to Matt.

He noticed Cassidy grabbing a couple of glasses off the table and extending one towards him.  Matt took the glass, said a small word of thanks, and looked towards the refreshment table.  He walked over to it in order to get a closer look.  He saw various little finger foods on the table, some appeared more appetizing than others.  In the middle of the table was a large bowl of punch.  Matt was about to grab the ladle of the punch bowl, but he stopped himself.  It didn't seem polite to just start drinking the punch before anyone else got a chance.  He looked over to the rest of the group and gestured his arm towards the refreshment table.

"Ladies first."

Sophie gave a small cheer as the four of them made their way to the refreshments table. It seemed to have the usual fare of food one would expect to find at Prom; punch, cookies, finger sandwiches, vegetable platters, and some other general stuff.

Cassidy and Matt were already getting some punch. Sophie figured she'd make some plates of food for everyone. She picked up some tongs and plates and began to fill them with cookies and brownies. She grabbed a bit of every type, hoping that there was something everyone would like.

"Hey guys, I got snacks!" she declared.

"So, where should we sit?"

"What? Oh, I'm cool with wherever."

Okay, so he was really distracted and not just loving the time with the other three, but so what? Lana was one of his best friends, and if he was excited for her showing up then he was going to be excited and there wasn't anything he could do about it. It wasn't like he'd dated Cass, Sophie or Matt anyway, so he had other things to do and worry about and it wasn't a crime. Okay he thought about asking Sophie out that one time, but that never turned into anything and he was mostly just still bummed about how things ended up with Lana and god where was she?

Unable to make his ex appear any sooner than he wanted, Dave couldn't do anything but go with the motions of the rest of the posse that he'd ended up tagging along with as they started grabbing nibbles and entrées. He wanted to have fun: he didn't let his grandparents spend all that money on him and his night that he'd looked forward to for months just to end up moping the whole time, but Dave never had been and never was going to be that patient a guy.

"Wait, you're still hungry Soph?"

Cassidy gave a very slight curtsy in appreciation of Matt's chivalry, and then used the ladle to fill her own glass. She started to lay it back down against the bowl's edge before becoming aware of her own rudeness. The ladle rose again and cautiously moved over Matt's glass. As it moved, the liquid sloshed around dangerously, she moved extra slowly to avoid any spillage.

In the background she heard Sophie announce she'd gotten snacks for them all. How thoughtful, maybe she should pour two more glasses. She filled Matt's, a little splash at then end came straight up, and then dropped right back down, making ripple waves bounce around the surface. The moment seemed too perfect, she would pour Sohpie and Dave drinks in a moment.

She raised her glass towards Matt, beaming and basking in the moment all the while.

"Wait, you're still hungry Soph?"

Oh no. Cassidy turned her head slightly to see the reaction, leaving her glass up in the air just in case Matt wanted to clink.

Come on Dave, that is NOT something you say to a girl.

Matt let Cassidy, Sophie, and Dave have a go at the refreshments table first before he grabbed anything.  Sophie got a few plates and filled them with various desserts from the table, and Cassidy got herself some punch, as well as filling up a glass for him.  She smiled at him, and he smiled back.

Matt took a hard look at the refreshment table for himself.  He saw finger sandwiches, vegtables, cheese plates, and little hot dogs on toothpicks, which he honestly did not know actually existed until this point.  Loading a tray with a couple sandwiches, cheese cubes, and tiny sausages, he turned around to see Cassidy looking at Dave and Sophie.  Apparently something had happened, or one of them had said something, but Matt had been too busy focusing on the refreshments to notice what had occurred.  Noticing that Cassidy was holding her glass in the air, Matt did the least awkward thing he could think of in this situation and lightly tapped his glass against Cassidy's.

*clink*

Dave seemed really surprised by the amount of food Sophie put on her plate.

"Don't worry, it's not all for me," she explained. "Although, I will admit the brownies look good enough for me to eat the whole tray."

Sophie saw Cassidy and Matt clink their glasses together.

"That's the attitude. L'chaim!"

Sophie let out a short chuckle. Now she was thinking of the four of them doing the bottle dance. If only they could find some hats and bottles.