ic Save Tonight [IC]

[Electra]

Erin returned Alex's hug, looking over her roommate's outfit. "You look amazing," she said honestly, unable to keep a trace of surprise out of her voice. The outfit was flamboyant, and very Alex, but everything actually matched and looked remarkably grown up. "I love that dress on you. And all the decorations, everything looks gorgeous." She gave Mike a smile as well. "And you look great too." Guys had it easy, though, so it was less of a surprise there. "It looks like a really good turnout.'

[Gizmo]

Hanging back a few paces to give the embracing roommates space enough, Trevor returned Alex's smile, though at several fewer watts. "Fantastic job with everything," he told their hostess, bending from the waist in the slightest suggestion of a bow. He accepted Mike's massive handshake, following the broad shouldered teen's gaze down to the ground and the vintage limousine. "Thanks. Wasn't sure if I'd have her running in time." Looking around the room, he recognized most of the faces, matching them with various bits of trivia and gossip he'd accumulated simply by knowing when to listen. There were few that he felt he legitimately knew, however, and he had to suppress a vague feeling of having intruded. He was glad to see Eve and James nearby, giving them a subtle nod in greeting.

[Cyroa]

James felt his insides clench as Trevor and Erin walked in arm-in-arm as he'd known it would. Still, he kept the happy mask in place. He'd just have to be happy she was happy and to grin and bear it. Still sucked pretty badly though. He worked hard to keep even that away from his surface thoughts though. Alex might already know thank to James' confession (he still couldn't believe he'd come out and told her) but Eve didn't. Since she could only communicate through reading minds, he was going to keep that one buried if he could.

He was all smiles when they walked up. As Erin embraced Alex and commented on dresses, he followed Mike's lead and extended his hand to Trevor. It took a little effort to resist the urge to grind the man's hand to pulp, light him on fire, or any one of a dozen less-than-cordial actions sprung to mind. Trevor didn't deserve the animosity though it was safe to say James wasn't his biggest fan for a couple different reasons. "Trevor," he said with a nod and firm handshake. "You look beautiful Erin," he said by way of greeting and honesty. He looked up at Mike. "Well, almost everyone. Chris isn't here yet. But I've yet to figure his patterns out so who knows when he'll show."

[N/A]

Eddie's Mustang left twin trails of burning rubber as it skidded to a halt in front of the AEON building. Not burnt rubber - burning rubber. Foot-high flames danced in twin columns down the street behind them. "What a rush!" Zoe exclaimed as Eddie helped her out of the car. She grabbed him and kissed him furiously for a moment, then pulled away and exhaled. She took his arm. "Live fast, die young, and leave a good-looking corpse surrounded by as many other corpses as possible. That's the dream, right? Lead on." She glanced up the side of the skyscraper for a second. "Y'know, we could just run up the side of the...Naaah. I promised Alex we'd tone it down tonight. And besides, we already made an entrance."

[quotemyname]

"In that case, I guess we'll be taking the elevator." Eddie said as he led Zoe by the arm into the building.

---

Finally entering the ball room with the others, Eddie and Zoe were nothing less than fashionably late. Eddie spread himself out, giving handshakes and hugs to everyone. "James, dapper as usual I see," handshake, "Thanks once again for the ride. And Eve, it's wonderful to finally meet you," hug, "You look wonderful!" Eddie moved onward with practiced grace, "Trevor, good to see you again, man," handshake, "Good to see you out in the sun for once." The speed at which, Eddie performed his greetings barely allowed anyone to get a word in edge wise. "Erin!" hug, "That dress looks amazing on you." He complimented her. "Mark, glad you made it," handshake, "And Zarana," hug, "Nothing measures up to your natural beauty." Finally, Eddie moved to the final pair, "Alex, our beautiful host," Eddie bowed and kissed the back of her hand, gracefully, "And Mike," handshake, "Put'er there, big guy." Finally, Eddie finished with the greetings.

"Now that that's out of the way," Eddie turned to the collective group and threw his arms out to the side, "Let's party!" Eddie put on his biggest smile. It was no secret that he loved parties.

[N/A]

"James, dapper as usual I see," handshake, "Thanks once again for the ride."

Zoe turned a almost-imperceptible shade of red and cleared her throat nervously. "Um...James. Hi." She couldn't even look him in the eye.

"Erin!" hug, "That dress looks amazing on you."

Zoe greeted Erin with the same cool demeanor they had always employed when greeting one another. She waved. "'Sup."

"Alex, our beautiful host," Eddie bowed and kissed the back of her hand, gracefully, "And Mike," handshake, "Put'er there, big guy."

Zoe hugged both of her future parents enthusiastically. "Hey Guys! Congratz! Looks like this is the prom everyone's gonna be talking about. The place to be. You really outdid yourself, Al."

"Now that that's out of the way," Eddie turned to the collective group and threw his arms out to the side, "Let's party!" Eddie put on his biggest smile. It was no secret that he loved parties.

Zoe backed up Eddie's proclamation by cupping her hands to her mouth and issuing for a simple high-pitched "WHOOO!"

[alderwitch]

Alex glanced around and nodded slightly to everyone, and after giving Zoe one more hug, she broke away from the group and headed to the small stage, floating up to the microphone there.

"If I could have everyone's attention?" Alex said as she adjusted the mike to her height and gave the teenagers a little smile, "First, I'd like to thank you all for coming to Claremont's Summer Nights. I'll get out of the way in just a moment and let the first DJ start us up. I just wanted to point out the photographers in the corner. They'll be here all night doing posed shots of couples and groups. If you have any requests as far as music goes, there's a stand to drop dedication requests on. Please try and keep them respectful, however. They will be screened. Don't forget to drop your suggestions for the prom kings or queens in. Now, lets make this a night to remember."

With that, Alex nodded to the first DJ and held her arms to Mike to be lifted down, her smile absolutely radiant.

[Gizmo]

Trevor quickly shook the growing number of hands being extended to him, only having time for a quick nod and slight smile for each of his classmates. He was still turning about on his heel when Zoe's high-pitched shout caused him to tilt his head to one side in a largely suppressed wince, reduced to blinking a few times in rapid succession. After Alex's announcement, he joined the others in applause, though the laconic teen was somewhat less vocal in his approval.

[angrydurf]

Finished with the round of greetings Mike made his excuses as he went to follow Alex stopping as she began to speak. Mike smiled up to Alex as she gave her speech and as it drew to a close made his way to the stage to gently close his hands around her waist and lower her to the ground. He took her hand with in his own and with a grin, "This really is great Alex." he said warmly. He offered a small bow, "May I have this dance?"

[Avenger Assembled]

Mark applauded when Alex was done, glad to see his friend having made such a fantastic speech. Zarana took the lead as they moved around the floor, her well-built physique more than making up for the several inches he had on her. He made sure to say hello to all his friends, keeping on that nice smile that didn't quite reach his eyes, though he did snicker when Zarana muttered "Good job with that bint Daisy!" to Zoe when they moved around the floor past each other. Maybe he wasn't that happy, but he was having a good time and he had a hot date who would probably put out if he hung around long enough. That had to be a good thing.

[Electra]

Erin said all the hellos that needed to be said, listened to Alex's speech, and then put her hand on Trevor's arm to lead him off towards the corner. "Let's get our picture taken," she suggested, nodding her head towards the photographer's booth. "That way if we decide to do any showing off later, I won't have to worry about my hair so much." Even with both of them busy, they'd managed to squeeze in a training session together that week, which had included some fighting, and also some dancing. It had been fun, but Erin found that, like fighting, it was hard to really get into the spirit of it without getting a little mussed.

[Cyroa]

James flashed a little smile and a nod at Zoe. Yeah, for the person who wanted to not say anything, she sucked at keeping a secret. But with the hustle and bustle they were soon parted and no one seemed to notice her hesitation and issue with him. He clapped along with everyone else at Alex's short speech. After that, the couples started moving off to pictures and dancing.

He looked out at the dancers with a kind of regret. It had been months since he'd been on a date, he recalled with some surprise. Besides the very rare one night stand kind of things, the last one being over a month ago, he hadn't even been with a girl in like forever. Most of it was simply that he hadn't had the time. He was just too busy. He'd missed training sessions at school, classes, and worst of all he missed spending time with his friends. He was always running around doing one job or another, scrambling to learn anything he could to help him or better his abilities. It had certainly paid off. He knew more about the mystical arts than almost anyone else thanks to that perseverance and time spent in various dimensions where time was a little different.

Part of it though was he just wasn't the same person he used to be, he realized as he pondered it. Sure, random dates were fun. And sex was always great but it wasn't enough anymore. Along with choosing his own destiny, apparently he'd started growing up in other ways as well. He looked out at the couples and was just a little envious of them. (Specifically of one particular couple at the moment too.) A long term, stable relationship was something he had zero experience with but it was starting to seem like an attractive prospect.

He stood off to one side and pulled out his phone. It was an easy cover as he checked in on Persephone and her work, seeing if there was anything amiss out in the world he needed to deal with. No such luck apparently.

[N/A]

Zarana muttered "Good job with that bint Daisy!" to Zoe when they moved around the floor past each other.

Zoe slapped Zarana a high-five. "If we're lucky, she won't be stupid enough to show what's left of her face here tonight."

"If you have any requests as far as music goes, there's a stand to drop dedication requests on. Please try and keep them respectful, however. They will be screened."

"Hah! Awesome. We totally have to fark with as many of our friends as possible. Let's make whoever's screening the requests earn his money tonight!" Zoe giggled mischieviously to herself as she scrawled out several request slips. "Rock & Roll Lifestyle" by Cake dedicated to Eddie. "Only Happy When It Rains" by Garbage for Mike. Cobra Starship's "Good Girls Go Bad" for James. "I Don't Want To Grow Up" by The Ramones for Alex. REM's "Shiny Happy People" for Mark. "Refugee" by Tom Petty for Erin. "Kick Him When He's Down" by The Offspring to Chris. "Welcome To The Jungle" by Guns & Roses for Zarana ("Too obvious? ...Naaah."). And "Barbie Girl" by Aqua for Daisy Gibbons, "Just in case." She also dropped "Pantera Fans In Love" by Nerf Herder dedicated to herself and Eddie, "Heroes & Villains" by Powerman 5000 dedicated to Young Freedom in general, and to the Claremont student body in general, "Everything Louder Than Everything Else" by Meat Loaf. Of course, each request was dropped within a fraction of a second, far too fast for anyone to actually see, and of course they were all anonymous.

"Don't forget to drop your suggestions for the prom kings or queens in. Now, lets make this a night to remember."

"Like they even gotta ask? Alex. Mike. Done." She dropped her ballot into the box.

Erin said all the hellos that needed to be said, listened to Alex's speech, and then put her hand on Trevor's arm to lead him off towards the corner. "Let's get our picture taken," she suggested, nodding her head towards the photographer's booth. "That way if we decide to do any showing off later, I won't have to worry about my hair so much." Even with both of them busy, they'd managed to squeeze in a training session together that week, which had included some fighting, and also some dancing. It had been fun, but Erin found that, like fighting, it was hard to really get into the spirit of it without getting a little mussed.

Zoe grabbed Eddie's hand and dragged him toward the photographer's tables. "OMG, she's totally right! We're probably lucky we even arrived vaguely presentable. Better get the pic before we start really moving."

[alderwitch]

Alex and Mike had the advantage of being around before everyone else arrived. Just another sign of her frightful ability to plan and organize. So, as the line formed up for the photographer quickly, Alex smiled and reached up to rest her hand against the breast of Mike's tux. He lifted her other hand up to just about chin height - hers, not his of course or Alex would have been straining. They were hardly the most skilled or even, in Alex's case especially, the most athletic. It was more of a gentle sway across the dance floor than anything acrobatic or flashy but Alex never took her eyes from Mike's face as he gently spun her.

'I love you,' It was more the feeling than words that hummed down their private link, 'Everyone's in a good mood by and large, which means things are perfect. Just what I was hoping for. Something normal and teenage where we don't have to try and pretend to be normal teenagers...'

[Gizmo]

Trevor let Erin lead him toward the photographer without argument, a bit of bemusement slipping into his smile. The dark haired youth found the contrast between taciturn pragmatism behind Erin's reasoning and the young woman's haste to secure the photographic keepsake oddly endearing. He supposed he wasn't at his most logical when she was around, either. Normally having his objectiveness clouded would have nagged at him, but in this case he didn't mind.

[quotemyname]

Eddie took significantly longer to make his request list than Zoe did, for obvious reasons. At least each one of the suggestions immediately came to the top of his head.

Not one to suffer anonymity, Eddie signed his name at the top of the paper:

Chris Kenzie - Gay Bar - Electric Six "Remember this from last summer?"

James Prophet - I'm Burning For You - Blue Oyster Cult "Keep living for giving the Devil his due."

Erin White- Prayer of the Refugee - Rise Against "Sing through the day!"

Mark Lucas - You Got Lucky - Tom Petty "Don't get carried away."

Mike Harris - Superman - Goldfinger "Try to keep the ground on your feet."

Alex Albright - Sister Psychic - Smashmouth "She's all tellin', all knowin'"

Zoe MacMillan -Cold Hard Bitch - Jet, Eddie left the comments section on that one intentionally blank.

Eddie also included one for their class as a whole:

Paradise By The Dashboard Light - Meatloaf "Prayin' for the end of time!"

"Prom King and Queen?" Eddie questioned as he stared at the blank ballot, "Well, yea. I mean, duh, it's either them, or the biggest rock star couple in the room," He gave Zoe a pointed look, "But I'm above voting for myself, so..." He quickly scribbled "Alexandra Albright and Michael Harris" on the ballot and dropped it in the box.

---

As soon as he was finished, Zoe was dragging him off to have his picture taken. Which was not necessarily a bad thing. "Jesus, yes. Let's get all the formal stuff out of the way so that we can actually have some fun!"

[N/A]

"Oh, razor!" Zoe exclaimed. "He's using a digital camera. Here, gimme that for a sec." She reached into one of Eddie's pockets, grabbing the PDA she'd stashed there when she checked her coat and purse at the door. She tapped the front of it a few times, then shoved it back into Eddie's jacket and winked at him. "Now we won't have to wait for our copies."

Her first pose was a bit on the traditional side, if relaxed. She clasped Eddie's hand, her fingers interlocked with his, and leaned her head against his shoulder, her smile closed-lipped, but wide and easy. For the second picture, she pulled him around to face her, leaving their profiles to the camera as she kissed him. "Thanks for indulging me, Babe."

[quotemyname]

"Are you kidding?" Eddie asked after returning the kiss, "I wanted this as much as you did. This is going to be the greatest night of our lives, and I want something to remember it by. To remember you by."

After the second picture was taken, Eddie held up his index finger to the photographer, requesting a moment. He opened his jacket, and pulled out a small plastic case. He revealed the corsage that he'd hidden, tossed the case on the floor, and slipped it around Zoe's wrist. "One more?" He asked?

---

As the two walked away from the photographer's booth, Eddie pulled Zoe to a stop for a moment. The two stood at the edge of the dance floor between the raised wood that made up the center of the room, and a nearby table. "Okay, I really didn't want to worry about this, but I figured I should just say something before we start dancing and I forget about it again." His tone was sincere and hopeful, "Is everything okay with James? You've been acting really weird around him and whenever I bring him up. You don't do that with anyone. Especially not with James. What's up?"

[angrydurf]

Mike nodded to her with a wide smile as they slowly drifted around the dance floor, 'I know what you mean. Its good to see everyone just relaxing and getting to be themselves.' he replied silently, 'None of us get to do that enough these days.' He added with a vaguely teasing impression about her own rather impacted schedule of late. Not that he was much better of course, 'I'm really glad we have this.' he thought as he leaned down to press a fairly chaste kiss to her lips, at least by their classmates standards if not his own. 'I can't help but think this is all of our last chance for that.'

[N/A]

"Okay, I really didn't want to worry about this, but I figured I should just say something before we start dancing and I forget about it again." His tone was sincere and hopeful, "Is everything okay with James? You've been acting really weird around him and whenever I bring him up. You don't do that with anyone. Especially not with James. What's up?"

Zoe stared, pale and open-mouthed, up at Eddie for a couple seconds. Then she stammered. "N-n-nothing, Eddie. It's nothing. James and I...had an argument the other day. We were playing some pranks on Daisy, to get back at her for those nasty rumors she spread about Alex. James and I had some differences of opinion, I went ahead and did my thing without his help, which I coulda really used, the Old Man caught me, and so things have been weird with James and me since then. It'll blow over."

"Look, getting out there and dancing until we forget about it sounds like exactly what I wanna do right now. OK?"

The best lies are always the ones based on something true. I don't wanna lie to him. He's always like "You can tell me ANYTHING!" But we can't tell him this. Not unless we wanna crush him, and lose him forever. Wow, is that as selfish as it sounds when I spell it out? Fark me.

[Avenger Assembled]

Mark eventually slipped away from his date just long enough to fill out a list of song requests for all his friends:

Erin: "I am Woman, Hear Me Roar," Helen Reddy Hey, she needs a nice one!

Eddie: "Evacuate the Dance Floor," Cascada It's dancy. Eddie likes dancy music, doesn't he?

Alex: "Brick House," the Commodores Heh! Bet she won't see that one coming.

Zoe: "Changes," David Bowie Ooh, hope that doesn't make her mad...

Trevor: "People Are Strange, The Doors Trevor seems like he'd appreciate that one.

James: "Cotton-Eyed Joe," Rednex Devil in a Blue Dress? No, something silly, so he'll laugh.

Mike: "Born to Fly," Sara Evans Let's get some country up in this hizzy! Mark thought without irony.

Zarana: "Let's Get Physical," Olivia Newton-John With any luck, we will, heh-heh-heh

He thought for a moment, then voted for Erin and Trevor for prom king and queen. Because they deserve it. And because Trevor never tried to beat me up! After that, Zarana yanked him back on the dance floor, just in time for a song he didn't recognize, one that was fast, sweaty, and with lots of physical contact. And that was...that was pretty good.

[alderwitch]

'Always so pessamistic, Mike. There's still senior year.' Alex smiled up at her tall boyfriend, at least a little closer to his height in her delicately strapped heels. She twirled under his arm, one of the few couples on the floor not doing the teenage grind and sway. 'Don't fret. Everything's going to be just fine.'

[quotemyname]

"Heh, I hadn't realized Ol' Dunc' got a hold of you." Eddie gave his girlfriend a teasing smile, "I thought you were faster than that!"

"Look, getting out there and dancing until we forget about it sounds like exactly what I wanna do right now. OK?"

"Yea. Let's tear it up!" Eddie grabbed her by the hand and pulled her into the center of the dance floor.

The DJ suddenly heard static in the one ear of the pair of headphones that he was holding to his head. The static faded, and Eddie's voice came through. "Sorry, guy. I need this real quick." He apologized as he hijacked the man's sound system.

[groove]21771466[/groove]

As the tin whistle began to sound over the speakers, Eddie stood in the center of the dance floor. The other dancers didn't even know what was going on, but most were able to realize that the best dancer in the house was just about to start working. They stopped, turned, looked, and backed up to give him space. A few seconds later left only Eddie and Zoe standing in the center of a clear fifteen feet of open space with which to show off.

The only other two of their group that had been on the floor at the time, Mike and Alex, ended up with a front row show.

The drums and guitar kicked in, and Eddie launched into a very professionally executed Irish Jig. As he danced, he held his hand out to Zoe, beckoning her closer. As soon as the first verse kicked in, their hands touched, and they paired up effortlessly, launching into the same dance routine. Zoe felt the music flow into her like a liquid poured straight from Eddie's veins. It was infectious, and instantly swept her up. She found that she unconsciously and instantly knew the next steps in the routine and exactly how to do them as though she'd rehearsed them a thousand times. So fluid were her motions, that her dress didn't even get in the way.

The two tore across the dance floor for minutes. For the entire length of the song, they were a blur of impressive skill in motion, dancing until they forgot every single care they had in the world.

[angrydurf]

Mike danced Alex out of the way as the crowd started to make room for Eddie and Zoe, he gave a small shrug and shake of his head. Without a doubt Eddie was good, they all knew that, and Mike like most had become accustomed to his showboating style in pretty much all he did. 'That's Eddie for you always the showman.' he thought to Alex his message tinged with good natured sarcasm. 'Zoe's pretty good too, I'm betting she gets it from you.' he teased as Alex especially when young had been a complete klutz.

[alderwitch]

Alex smiled inulgently as Mike automatically moved to protect her from the shifting students. Never one to care much about the spotlight, she tucked her cheek against Mike and slid an arm around his waist, "Oh, but she's happy. This is like a teenage dream and for everything else, she's still a teenager."

Alex wrinkled her nose at his mental teasing and poked his stomach with one finger, No bringing up the knobby knees and elbows phase at prom. That's just unkind. Not everyone has the sort of natural physicality that you do...