Young Love Was Such Dumb Love

Bennett Fallon put the last touches of her 1950's inspired makeup fixing her red lipstick and tucking in the long necklace into her dress, feeling the cold metal of the ring on her chest. She flared out her gold gown that gently flowed over every curve, she didn't want to seem vain, but she knew she looked good. Melissa stood behind her in her navy dress putting on some more mascara before sighing loudly.

"I can't believe we have to go to our senior prom stag," Melissa laughed, a sadness in her eyes. She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear that had fallen from her updo. The girls decided that their lack of dates shouldn't interrupt their last dance of their high school careers.

"I know it sucks that the guys have to go on tour, but you know it'll be good for them and the band," Benny shrugged fixing the bobby pin that pinned up some of her hair on her left side. She finished curling the last strand before smiling, her look completed.

"Yeah, I know," She whined before pouting out her lips. "Tim didn't have to go, I mean he's just their manager. He could've come home for just one night." Melissa knew that he probably wouldn't have, but she liked complaining at how her boyfriend of nearly a year missed her senior prom.

"Yep, but at the end of the day he is a man, did you think he was going to miss the chance to hang out in California with all his friends, to come back to high school to go to prom?" Benny said, knowing that John probably wouldn't have come back for her either. "Plus, at least we can go with each other!" She tried to find the bright side of this situation.

"Good point, now let's go take the loneliest prom pictures ever," Melissa laughed holding out her elbow to the brunette. They carefully made their way down the stairs where their parents and Mrs. O'Callaghan were waiting with cameras and posed.

"Oh good lord, you girls look beautiful, lemme take a picture to send to Tim and John so they see what they're missing," Mrs. O'Callagahn laughed holding up her iPhone that she seemed to still be learning how to work. Melissa and Benny looked at each other with mischievous smiles before giving the camera their most seductive looks. "They'll definitely regret not coming home with that one," Mrs. O'Callaghan laughed after looking at the picture and showing it to the other mothers.

"You ready to go?" Melissa asked once their parents had enough pictures to fill up their camera's memory cards. Benny nodded before kissing her parents goodbye and hugging Mrs. O'Callaghan.

"Be good girls!" Mrs. Nickelsen called out after them as they walked out the door. They held up their dressed to keep them clean, revealing both of their new heels. They waved once more before climbing into Melissa's new white Jetta and sang obnoxiously to Taylor Swift on their way to the Hilton ballroom a couple of blocks away from their high school.

"So what are we supposed to do with no dates at prom?" Melissa asked raising an eyebrow at a bunch of couples slow dancing under tacky lights as a mediocre deejay spun some okay songs.

"I don't really know, do you wanna get fat on the free cookies and talk shit?" Benny shrugged before nodding towards the condiments table. Melissa laughed and they made their way to the chocolate chip cookie platter and sat down at one of the tables laughing at awkward couples.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of Corona del Sol High School, are y'all ready to find out your prom queen and king are?!" The deejay shouted trying to pep everyone up, a few people let out boo's while the majority of the crowd cheered. Melissa looked over at Benny, who was trying to play off why she still wanted to go to prom. Benny had been nominated by someone, who no one knew, for prom queen. She didn't think she was going to win, but she wanted one last memory in high school even if John couldn't be there.

"I can't hear you! I said are y'all ready to find out who your prom queen and king are?!" He called out again with pretty much the same response. "Can I get a drumroll please? Alright guys, your prom queen and king are Bennett Fallon and Mark Waters! Get up here!" The deejay shouted and the crowd cheered loudly. Benny had her jaw dropped and looked to the blonde at her side who was slapping her to go up on stage.

Benny made her way up, holding up her dress to avoid tripping on it and met up with the typical jock with wide shoulders and a cocky smirk on his lips as he looked her up and down. They got plastic crowns placed on their heads and sashes, a random student government representative gave Benny a bouquet of red roses and they smiled posing for yearbook pictures before Mark led her out onto the dance floor for their dance, a permanent smile on her face.

"You bitch! I can't believe you're prom queen!" Melissa laughed hugging her tightly as she made her way out of the dance floor still holding her dozen roses in her arms. "Congratulations!" She added on, they wanted to leave and get some food since both girls had effectively been starving themselves to look perfect in their dresses.

"I know, I can't believe it either! Mark Waters is such a creep though," Benny laughed climbing into the passenger seat as they made their way to a local diner that had the best burgers in town.

"I cannot wait to eat a shit ton of food, ugh after three weeks of salads, this is going to be awesome!" Melissa sang as they parked into the lot of the diner. They made their way into the diner, people staring at Benny who was still wearing her crown and sash, mostly for fun at this point. "You should call John and tell him the news!" Melissa smiled after texting her boyfriend everything that had happened tonight.

"I've actually been meaning to call him," Benny blushed pulling out her phone and dialing the numbers she knew like the back of her hand. She waited patiently while the phone rang, butterflies fluttering away in her stomach after not talking to him for a while.

"Baby! Hey baby!" John slurred, and she sighed. She could tell he was already fucked up, but what could she expect? He was in California with his best friends and he had just played a show, of course he was going to drink.

"John! I miss you so much," Benny's heart starting to race before she remembered what she was going to tell him after the waiter gave her an odd look. "You'll never guess what happened! I won prom queen!" She laughed excitedly.

"Babe, why are you on the phone? Come back to the party," A woman's voice could be heard over the ruckus of what Benny assumed was a party. The mystery woman sounded quite intoxicated too. "I want you so bad right now," her voice seemed to yell, though it was an intimate whisper. Benny's stomach dropped and she immediately walked out of the diner to avoid making a scene.

"I'll be right there," John chuckled before he remembered he was on the phone with his girlfriend. "Baby, are you still there? What'd you say?" He called out trying to hear over the loud music and people yelling, not even thinking to leave the room.

"John, who was that?" Benny asked trying to keep her cool, but the tears came falling gently down her cheeks. She sucked in a breath as he muttered 'no one' and she let out a sharp breath. "John O'Callaghan! Answer me! Who was that?" She practically begged, she hoped he would say his cousin or Pat speaking in a girl's voice.

"Baby, don't worry about it. She's no one," John slurred, he plugged one finger in his free ear and tried to hear his finacee through the phone. "Babe, are you there?" He struggled to stand, but he could hear her tears. He sighed knowing that this was probably just another fight, they would kiss and make up and his inebriated mind drifting to makeup sex and he smiled.

"John, either tell me who that was or get the fuck out of my life!" Benny gave him an ultimatum. After a couple of times of the same woman calling John's name, Benny literally felt sick, she pressed the end button not willing to hear any more. She ran over to the parking lot and tried her best to hold her own hair and puked. Her whole world was spinning and the happiest day of her life was quickly turning into the worst.

"Bennett! Are you okay?" Melissa came running out as best she could with her heels and long dress before seeing the vomit and tears coming from her best friend and quickly grabbed her hair. "Oh my God! What happened?" She asked trying to hug her as Benny bent over and heaved until nothing came out, she finally crouched down at started sobbing.

"John, it's John," She cried, never having felt such a terrible pain in her life. Even when she was drugged and her sense of self was violated it didn't hurt her as bad as she felt right now. Her chest felt like it was caving in and it hurt to even breath, but she was hyperventilating.

"Ben, Benny, shh," Melissa cooed, hugging her and rubbing her back gently with tears coming to her own eyes. She hadn't seen Benny this torn up, ever and it was starting to scare her. What if the boys had gotten into an accident or John was hurt? "Breathe, sweetie, just breathe," Melissa whispered until Benny could take slow, deep breaths, her tears starting to flow quietly.

"He's cheating on me, right now," Benny whispered afraid that if she said it out loud it would make it more true. What other explanation could there really be? Bennett Fallon shook her head, she was engaged to the boy she loved, she was a happy high school student, who had just won prom queen, about to graduate and go to college in the fall, this couldn't happen in her life. People passed by staring at the two girls in beautiful dresses crying in the parking lot.