Price Check On Monogamy

"Nah, I'm no good at dancing."

I did an exaggerated pout and tugged on Tyler's hand. We'd just eaten, and everyone had kind of split off into their own separate things; Eli was helping out in the back to work off some of his detention, Tawny and Adam were standing in line to take their pictures, and Lexy and Jason had run off to go dance. Which is exactly what I wanted to do.

"I can't dance, either," I pointed out. "I'm clumsy as hell, remember? C'mon, it'll be fun!"

Tyler laughed and pushed me toward the dance floor. "Fine, fine. I'll meet you out there, let me go get us some drinks."

I grabbed his hand and raised an eyebrow at him. "You'll actually show up, right?"

Tyler rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to ditch you, Tiger. Relax, okay?"

I stuck my tongue out at him and wove my way through the crowd to get to the dance floor. The second I was there, I spotted Lexy and Jason-- it really wasn't hard with what they were wearing and Jason's flail-dancing.

"I like your dancing," I laughed, going up to the two of them. Jason shoved my shoulder lightly and laughed.

"Shut up, Tigon, no one asked you."

Lexy shook her head and hugged me. "Where's Tyler?" She looked around exaggeratedly, and the only reason why I laughed was because it wasn't exaggerated; being Lexy, that's exactly what she was doing. Looking for Tyler. She was just too short and too hyper to do it standing still.

"He's on his way, he's getting drinks."

Lexy smiled brightly, even as Jason tugged at his tie awkwardly. Lexy loved Tyler... probably because he was so much like Jason. Jason, however, didn't like him because, like Eli, he had no respect for a boy who could run away from trouble and leave a girl behind, and it pissed him off that Lexy thought they were so alike-- it made me sad. Jason and Tyler would've been really good friends, otherwise.

Me and Lexy started dancing, laughing and working up a real sweat. When Tyler bumped into me, I was almost grateful-- apparently, I'd need that drink after all.

"Thanks--" I started, but stopped short as I turned around and was face to face with Tandem. "What the fuck do you want?" I asked tightly.

Tandem looked like a deer caught in the headlights. "I-- I didn't see you there." When I didn't say anything to that, he added flatly, "I, I didn't know that you could dance."

"What's going on?" Lexy grabbed my arm and tugged me back. Throwing Tandem a dark look, she added, "Go away, her boyfriend's on his way back."

I pulled my arm away from Lexy and smiled at her reassuringly . "I can handle it, Lex. Thanks, okay?"

Lexy nodded slowly and squeezed my arm a bit before letting go. With one more dark look at Tandem, she grabbed Jason's hand and tugged him back a little further; far enough away to not hear, close to enough to see everything. I turned back to look at Tandem.

"Well?" I prompted. I didn't know what I was waiting for. I'd told him everything, and he hadn't said a thing. He hadn't tried to talk to me. He hadn't tried to see me. He'd let go of it, and so had I. So what was I waiting for, and what was he standing there for?

"I..." Tandem trailed off, swallowing hard. "You, you look good tonight, Tiger. I like your dress."

"Thanks," I said flatly. "Tandem, what do you want?"

Tandem rubbed his arm, and I noticed for the first time that he looked great in a tux. I shook my head; so not the time to think about it. "I, err, I just wanted to ask... umm..." he held out his hand suddenly. "Do you want to dance?"

I stared at him, long and hard. I wanted to say no; technically, I wanted to scream no and stomp away like a little brat, because I was feeling angry and I had no idea why. There wasn't a damn reason to. Instead, though, I took his hand shakily.

Before either of us could say anything, though, Tandem let go abruptly and was yanked back by a very pissed looking blonde girl in a short, sparkling yellow dress.

"Tandem, what the hell are you doing?" She hissed at him, eyeing me up like I'd just spilled grape juice on her dress.

"Clara, shut up," Tandem snapped, yanking his arm back.

"You're one of Katy's friends," I said suddenly, cutting off Tandem before he could say anything else. The girl narrowed her eyes at me.

"Yeah, yeah I am, and I'm also Tandem's date. You're just the ex girlfriend, so back the fuck off my man."

I blinked, hard, and stared at Tandem for a second. He couldn't even meet my eyes; he'd turned bright red, his eyes on the ground.

"Keep him," I said flatly. "I don't want the fucking idiot, anyway. I hope you catch him with his tongue down my sister's throat."

Clara's mouth dropped open, but it wasn't her that snapped at me.

"Tiger, fucking let it go!" Tandem shouted at me. Thank God the music was too loud for anyone but people close to us to hear. He'd shoved Clara away from him, his hands clenched at his sides and his eyes directly on mine.

Oh, fuck that, this was not my fault.

"Fuck you, Tandem," I hissed. "We already fucking settled this, why the fuck did you come up to me?"

"I told you why!" He shouted back at me. "I fucking told you, I wanted a dance, damn you!"

I laughed harshly and rolled my eyes. "Tandem, shut the fuck up. You're here with your date, if you remember. And so am I. As Lexy said, my boyfriend's on his way back."

The look on his face made me smile, until I'd turned around. I hadn't meant to go off at him, and I sure as hell hadn't meant to bring up what happened with Kip. It probably really doesn't sound like it, but I honestly don't care about what happened with Kip anymore. No, what pissed me off was the fact that he hadn't said a fucking thing when Clara had opened her damn trap. Not one thing, not even after he'd come up to me and asked me for a dance. Something he couldn't even choke out at first.

I just wanted him to leave me alone. Was that so much to fucking ask for?

I sat down at the back of the room and dropped my head into my hands. I didn't want to let him ruin tonight for me. I wouldn't let him do it. I was about to start ripping my hair out when I heard sniffling next to me.

"Tawny?" I asked, turning to look at the girl next to me. Blinking and standing up fast, I repeated, louder, "Tawny, are you crying?"

Tawny looked up at me shakily, smiling even as tears dripped down her face. "I'm fine," She said quietly. "Tiger, go find Tyler and dance or something."

"Tawny, cut it out!" I knelt next to her and wrapped my arm around her waist. Grabbing her chin, I forced her to meet my eyes. "Tawny, what the hell is going on?"

Tawny pulled her head back and away from me, wiping at her eyes. "No, no, it's all fine, Tiger. Just... just go and have a good time."

I bit my cheek hard. "Tawny, I'm not going to just leave you--" I stopped short as I caught a flash of purple on the ridge of her chin. I couldn't talk-- there was no way that was what I'd thought it was. "Tawny...?" I grabbed her chin again and turned her head up so I could see it in the light.

A huge bruise was forming on the right side of her face.

"What the fuck is going on?!" I snapped, standing up and pulling her with me.

"Tiger, please--"

"Tawny, answer the fucking question!" I snapped. Tawny flinched a bit, making me feel a little bad... but not even close to bad enough to let this go. "What the hell gave you that bruise?"

"Tiger--"

"Tawny." I grabbed her shoulders and looked her dead in the eyes... but she wouldn't meet my gaze. "Tawny, for the love of God, will you tell me what happened?"

She didn't say anything for a long time; long enough to make me think she was ignoring me. "He... he didn't mean to," she said finally, softly enough that I had to strain to hear it.

And I flipped the fuck out when I finally realized what she'd meant.

"I'M GOING TO FUCKING KILL HIM," I almost screamed, turning fast and scanning the crowd for that sleazy, disgusting, putrid, vile--

"Tiger, don't!" Tawny grabbed my arm fast and yanked me back hard. She turned me fast, and I realized that she was crying harder now than I'd seen her cry since her last break up. She lowered her voice and cleared her throat. "I'm... Tiger, I love him. Please, he didn't mean it."

I didn't realize that I was crying, too. I hugged Tawny close, and when her crying had slowed down, I pulled away slowly. "Tawny, you need to tell me what's been going on. How long has he been hitting you?" Tawny opened her mouth, but before she could say anything, I added, "Don't lie, Tawny, I'll be able to tell."

Tawny bit her lip and sighed. Staring at the ground, she said quietly, "It's just been for a couple weeks. He doesn't do it all the time, he's just... he's just worried, he's been stressed, he might be kicked out of school, his grades are terrible..."

"So he hits you?"

Tawny shook her head fast. "No, no, no. No... he just... sometimes, I can't..."

I let go of her and helped her sit back down. Kneeling in front of her, I looked Tawny straight in the eyes. "You can't protect him."

Tawny squeezed her eyes shut, but tears still managed to slide down her face. "Tiger, don't hurt him."

I stood up, and pulled my hand back when she grabbed it. "Aren't you tired, Tawny?" I asked quietly. Tawny stared up at me, her eyes big. "Aren't you tired of this?"

She looked down slowly, and when I walked away, she didn't try to stop me. I scanned the room fast, and found his nasty ass in less than three seconds.

"ADAM WONG," I screamed at him. Adam turned on me, first looking pissed as hell, then looking like he'd just seen the devil.

And, oh, was that appropriate.

Adam turned fast and was out of the room as fast as he could be. Fucking coward. I almost had him, but he slipped into the guy's bathroom before I could actually grab him.

"ADAM, GET YOUR FAGGOT ASS OUT HERE." I slammed on the door as hard as I could, and I didn't stop until someone grabbed my arm.

"Tiger, what the hell is going on?" I turned and yanked my arm back away from... Jeremy?

"Jeremy, what the hell are you doing here?" I asked, more shocked than anything else. I hadn't seen him all night, and I sure as hell wasn't expecting him to be the one to stop me.

"Woah, calm down, Tiger," Jeremy laughed, holding his arms up. He wasn't wearing his jacket anymore, his hair was a mess, and he wasn't even wearing a tie. I would've laughed if I wasn't so pissed off; how typical Jeremy. "I heard you shouting. What's going on?"

"No valedictorians to make out with tonight?" I asked, trying to smile. Me and Jeremy were still on good terms, and I didn't want him to think that I was pissed at him-- but I also didn't want to tell him what had happened with Tawny.

Jeremy rolled his eyes and smiled. "Nah, you know me. Staggin' it up in here."

I laughed and shook my head. "Of course. Of course."

Jeremy's smile disappeared, however, and he grabbed my arm. "So why are you pounding on the bathroom door and looking for Adam?"

My face darkened instantly. "Jeremy, let it go."

Jeremy's eyebrow's knit together. "Tiger, what's going on?"

I bit my lip, but finally let out a breath I hadn't known I'd been holding. "He's a bad person and I need to kick his ass for it."

Jeremy didn't budge an inch. "Tiger, what did he do to you?"

"It wasn't..." I sighed and took a deep breath. "It wasn't to me."

Jeremy opened his mouth, then shut it fast. Without another word, he let go of me, pushed past me, and disappeared into the bathroom.

The next thing I heard was a slam against the door that made me jump back.

"Tiger? What's going on?"

I turned and looked wearily at Tyler, holding drinks and staring at me, confused as hell.

"Sorry, Tyler," I said softly. "Is it okay if we go home now?"

Tyler's face was still looked confused, but he nodded slowly. "Did I do something?" He asked, wrapping his arm around my waist. He'd dropped the drinks on a side table, and he looked like he was about to cry. "I didn't... if you really wanted to dance, you know..."

"Tyler, it's not your fault," I smiled at him and hugged him hard. "It's really not, okay? It has nothing to do with you. Can we just go back home?"

Tyler smiled, but I could tell he still didn't totally believe me. I sighed and buried my face in his shoulder. "Can I spend the night at your house? I think there're going to be people at mine, and I don't want to deal with it..."

Tyler tightened his arm around my waist and kissed the top of my head. "Of course. I'll take you to go grab some clothes, and we can head back to my house."

- - -

Tandem leaned against the wall behind him and nailed his head against it.

"Tandem, what's going on?" Tandem groaned as Clara walked up to him-- or, rather, stomped up to him. Her hands on her hips, she pouted at him. "Why are you all the way back here?"

"I told you, I'm not in the mood," Tandem snapped.

Clara stomped her foot. "It's all that bitch Tiger's fault!"

Tandem grabbed her arm and yanked her toward him. "Do not fucking blame shit on Tiger. I'm not in the mood because you're being a bitch and I didn't want to come with you. That is why I am not in the God damn mood to deal with you."

Her mouth dropped, and Tandem would have felt a little bad, had he not been totally over the entire night. He didn't know why he hadn't told Clara to get the fuck away when she'd first come up to him; probably because he was still pissed that Tiger had managed to get over him so easily. So fucking easily-- why was he so stuck on her, when she'd made it absolutely clear she didn't give a fuck? Then to come to his prom with that punk...

He'd followed Tiger when she'd walked away, at first to yell at her, then to make sure that she was okay when he realized that she was crying. When she'd flipped out over whatever had happened with Tawny, however, he'd stopped. He couldn't just walk up to her when she was obviously so upset; he'd followed her on her mad rampage, planning on waiting until she'd calmed down to talk to her. She'd just... well, she'd never calmed down. When she'd started pounding on the door, however, he'd freaked out. If she was the crazy bitch he'd dated-- and, obviously, she was-- she was gonna keep pounding until Adam got out or she got thrown out. And Adam, being the little dick he was, wasn't coming out.

So he'd sent Jeremy to go save the day and figure out what the fuck was going on.

Then Tyler had come back and, of course, Tandem realized too late that he'd sent Jeremy to go save Tawny from whatever the fuck was going on with Adam-- not to save Tiger. No, that asshole Tyler had saved Tiger. That asshole Tyler was taking her home. That asshole Tyler was standing where he'd kill to stand again, to hold her, to talk her down from killing someone.

No, instead, Tandem was standing exactly where he'd always stood-- at the top of the world, with girls fawning over him on all sides, with an after party waiting for him, with a crazy ass night ahead of him filled with all the things in a teenager's life that really mattered: alcohol, drugs, chicks, loud music, and friends.

The only difference was that Tandem had never realized how fucking lonely it was at the top until now.