Shenanigans

At Adrienne's

"So... I heard Mike asked you to homecoming!" Adrienne cheered, hugging Rory.
"Yeah, but he just meant it as friends." Rory answered, sounding kind of hurt, looking at the floor.
"He is so full of bullshit. He's in love with you. He's just in denial." I said, looking in the mirror. My hair looked awesome today.
"No, no he isn't. Why does he keep acting like that?"
"If I had to explain Mike to you, we would be here for the next week." I said. We all laughed.
"Is it too late? Can I take it back?"
"Um, no. I AM NOT going to that prep-fest alone."
"You wouldn't be alone. Jason would be there with you." Rory snorted. Adie looked at me, confused.
"Why would Jason be there with you, Alaina?" she asked, sounding hurt and angrily confused. I sighed.
"He asked me to go with him. I think he just did to get to Tre. I said yes. I know we NEVER go to these things and it's basically choosing Jason over Tre, but I mean he did ask. And I dunno, maybe since it's our last year, we could just go in protest."
"Protest? Lane, you're talking out of your fucking mind! And I thought you weren't choosing someone over someone else!"
"I'm not. It's just..." I turned back to the mirror and leaned my forehead against it. There was a long, awkward silence.
"I don't have a dress." Rory finally said. I turned back around and Adrienne was practically glowing with excitement.
She had the biggest closet of vintage clothes that scared the shit out of the preps. Dresses were at the top of that list. She grabbed Rory's wrist and pulled her to 'the closet' as it was referred to by Billie and I. Rory looked at all the dresses with shock and awe. I didn't realize she had that many dresses and I've known her for 5 years.
"Wow. These are gorgeous. Where did you find all of these?" Rory said, slowly flipping through each dress wrapped in that clear, plastic wrap they put around dresses.
"Thanks. I go to thrift stores." She picked up a black, ruffled dress that looked like it was brand new in 1950. "This one was only $20."
Rory stared at it with large eyes. Adie smiled and handed it to her. I think we have a winner...
"You like it?" She asked. Rory just nodded. I think she was too into shock to even say anything. "Take it. I don't need all these anyway."
"Are you...are you serious?" Rory asked, shaking like an anxious little kid in the candy store.
"Yeah. Go ahead!" Adrienne said, smiling.
Rory grabbed Adie's neck and hugged her.
"Thank you SOOOOO much! This dress is amazing."
"No big. Just think of it as a welcoming present. Do you need me to do your makeup?"
"Sure. Thank you so much, Adie!"
"Yeah, you're gonna have to do mine!" I chimed in. No one had paid any attention to me for a while!
"Yeah, I know, sweetie." She said and laughed.

Mike's POV
Homecoming night

I checked my hair in the mirror. It was hard getting it the exact way I wanted it. I wanted to look nice for Rory. I didn't think that was a crime. Billie, Tre, and I were all wearing matching suits. We weren't too sure about Jason. Lane had a hot pink dress which made my skin crawl. I was hoping Jason wasn't gonna wear a hot pink shirt, but who knows. I don't know why Alaina was gonna look so weird. She rambled on and on about a protest. Adie was wearing a cheetah spotted dress. And I had no idea what Rory was wearing. They were gonna surprise me.
"Michael, your friends Bobby Joe and Drake are here." Vinnie slurred out. He couldn't even be sober in front of my friends. I just wished he would die...
"I'll be down in a minute." I yelled. I got my tie on and ran downstairs. I looked at Vinnie, suddenly passed out on the couch. I hope he doesn't wake up. I had no clue where my mom was.
"Who's Bobby Joe and Drake?" Tre asked, looking around.
I pointed at Billie. "Bobby Joe." I said. Then I pointed to Tre. "Drake."
"OH, hey Drake! Nice to meet ya, buddy!" Billie said, mocking Vinnie and shaking Tre's hand.
"You too, Bobby Joe!" Tre exclaimed. They laughed with each other. I laughed too.
Alaina came down the steps in boots with the other girls. Yeah, she was making a protest. It was a "let's see how mismatched I can be" protest. I was almost embarassed she was my sister.
"Hey sexy!" Billie yelled at Adrienne. She ran over to him and started hanging all over him like she always does.
Rory came up to me. She looked amazing. If I was gonna make a move, it would be tonight. I went to the fridge and got the corsage I bought her out. I put it on her wrist and smiled. I felt like I was proposing. She smiled back. Maybe I could try to-
"Oh fuck! Jason's here!" Alaina yelled. I don't think she realized Tre was even in the room. She laced up her boots and ran outside.
"What's her deal?" Tre asked, watching her run around.
"I don't think she wants us to know what they're doing!" Adrienne joked.
Alaina came running back in about five seconds later.
"What was that for?" I asked.
"It was just mom."
"Why did you want to get to Jason before he came in the house?" Tre asked her.
"Because you guys aren't gonna be in the room together. You look too nice to be fighting." She said, straightening his collar and patting his chest. They were staring into each other eyes and I thought they were gonna sart making out. Until...
"Hey guys. Where's my pink hot date?" Jason said, kind of stumbling and slurring.
How many drunks are gonna be at the Pritchard household tonight? He looked at Alaina and Tre and started getting a red face.
"YOU, you just can't keep your hands off her, can you? I threatened to kill you at the club. I'm keeping my promise!" Jason said, stumbling towards Tre. I grabbed him by the collar.
"Not tonight, Jason White. She was just...um...dusting off his shirt. No need to kill Tre tonight." I chimed in.
Mike Dirnt, the protector of his 5 minute younger sister. I liked the sound of that.
"So, we need to get going. I'll be driving you and Jason, Lane." Rory said. I didn't want Lane in the car with the drunk Jason and I didn't mind someone else driving.
"Buzzkill." Jason said, looking at the floor.
"Well, I'll see you guys there." Tre said, leaving with Billie and Adie.

at the dance

I handed my tickets to some dumb blonde whore. Wait a second, was that-
"Michael Pritchard... at a homecoming. I never thought I'd see the day!" Maria said. I looked at Rory, who looked like she wanted to beat the shit out of Maria.
"Maria, fuck off and die." Lane chimed in.
"Oh, the sister is gonna get in it now. Well, well, well. You brought a date even, Mikey! She's cute! How did you get her? Slip her something, too?"
"What the fuck did I ever do to you? Can you just let us go in in peace?"
Maria sighed and faked a hurt look.
"Oh, Mikey, you're no fun! Go in there so the jocks can knock your head into the wall a few times and give you some sense. You're gonna need it. People like you guys don't belong here."
She grabbed the ticket from my hand and I walked in, arm and arm with Rory. Adie, BJ and Tre were here already. We sat at the table with them. I guess Lane was having trouble with Jason...or maybe Maria. I finally turned around when I noticed everyone else turning around and staring at Jason, who was leaning on Lane. He wasn't passed out, just looking like Adie did when Billie was around.
"I love you!" Jason said, grabbing all over Lane. She looked extremely uncomfortable, like she didn't want him on her arm. I didn't blame her.
"That's nice, Jason." She said, struggling to get to her seat. She sat next to me and sighed. I think I was her comfort zone. Jason sat right next to her and collapsed over on her shoulder.
"No, like I LOVE YOU, Alaina. Like I wanna marry you, love. Will you marry me?"
"Jason, I'm not 18 yet."
"Right. We'll elope to Vegas in February. That's when your birthday is right?"
"Yes, Jason, that's when my birthday is."
"OK. You should wear that dress. You look HOT! Like, really hot. Like, I wanna make out with you, hot."
The more he talked, the more uncomfortable Alaina looked.
"Jason, dude, aren't you supposed to wait til the afterparty to get wasted?" Billie joked.
"Huh?"
"Nevermind. OK, well this is gonna be interesting."

Adrienne's POV
Alaina looked like she was gonna die of humiliation. Jason was wasted, Tre looked like he wanted to beat Jason, Mike was too obsessed with Rory, Billie was too obsessed with me and I was too obsessed with Billie. Oh what a happy place this was for us!
"D...d'you wanna dance, Lane?" Jason asked her.
"No, Jason, I don't."
"Then why did you come here with me?"
"Because you asked."
"Oh, you're still hot. I'd totally do you!"
I would laugh if I didn't feel her pain. She put her hand on her forehead and sighed.
"Does anyone have a gun?" She joked.
"Rory, Lane, let's go to the bathroom. We need to fix your hair." I said. We walked off and ran to the bathroom.
It was a good thing I brought my makeup bag. Alaina was crying buckets when we got in there.
"Why is he fucking drunk? Why can't I have, like, a minute of my life where something goes right? I hate him so much right now!"
"You agreed to-" I started
"I know, I know. I didn't think he would be drunk!"
"Good point!" Rory chimed in.
She had her arm around Alaina and was trying to settle her down. I thought I would let her finish crying before I fixed her makeup.
"I wish I would've just not gone at all. Or asked Tre..."
"Honey, you couldn't have done that. It would've been choosing." I said.
"Maybe if I just threw myself off a bridge it would all be over!"
"Doesn't sound like a bad idea if you ask me." the cheerleader that Alaina had pounced on the first day of school snorted.
"Will you shut the fuck up, bitch!" Rory snapped. I thought she would be the next to kill her. Then I realized who it was...
"Maria. Stay out of it! No one even mentioned your name!" I said, glacing over at her. She flipped her hair back. "Poser bitch." I muttered under my breath. At least I thought it was...
"Adrienne Nesser. Queen of the punk society? I hardly think so. You're the biggest poser out there."
"I'm sorry, but I didn't go from emo to prep in 2 weeks straight. I also didn't bleach my hair so many times that I now have to wear a wig because my real hair fell out!"
How did Alaina not know that was Maria when she attacked her. maybe she did and didn't say anything. Whatever it was, it was probably to try and keep Mike away from hurt.
"Excuse me, but this is my real hair. Unlike your mop."
"Excuse me, but I do think that I remember you not knowing the difference between eyeliner and lipliner."
She stomped her foot and marched out, angrily. You don't want to remind queen of the sluts that she used to not know which makeup was which. I looked back at Lane, who was done crying and had a smile.
"Nice work, Adie." Rory said, high fiving me.
"Yeah. I always hated her when they were together. I knew she would end up like THAT." Lane said. I got my makeup out of the bag and fixed her face. She looked even better than before.
"Go out there and get him." I said, patting her shoulder.
"Who?"
"You know who!" Rory and I both said.
We walked back to the table, where Jason had passed out and was sleeping. Tre was throwing ice cubes at his head. I don't think he really even noticed. Billie was laughing along. Where the hell was Mike?

Billie's POV
While the girls were gone, Jason had finally passed out. Which gave me an idea.
"Hey Tre, wanna play 'who can wake the drunk'?" I asked.
"If I get to harm Jason White in anyway, yes." He perked up when he said yes. I handed him my cup.
"Take my ice, throw it at his head. I know how you love throwing things at his head."
"Guys, what if Lane comes back?" Mike asked.
"I don't think she's too thrilled with him right now." I said.
"Whatever. What do you think's going on?"
"Girls go to the bathroom in groups. It's like written into their DNA. They tell each other everything. So, Alaina is probably crying about how bad the night is going with Jason. Rory and Adie are trying to comfort her. She's gonna tell them what a jerk he is, they're gonna spread it to other people or other girls that are in the bathroom in their 'groups' are gonna overhear, because girls like gossip, then tell their friends. Then Jason is gonna get screwed and never be able to date again." I theorized. I was a smart fellow!
"That made absolutely no sense, but it made perfect sense at the same time." Tre said. laughing. He reached his hand inside my cup and threw the first piece of ice. Jason just mumbled, didn't get up. Tre continued to throw. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a white dress. None of the girls had a white dress. Oh no, it wasn't-
"Hey Mikey. Look, I'm sorry about the little fight we had out there. Our song is on. You know, 'Disappear' by Hoobastank. I was wondering if you wanted to, maybe, dance?"
'Don't do it Mike, don't do it.' I said in my mind. I didn't want to talk to that dumb bitch, so I kept to myself. Mike sighed.
"Well, they might be in there a while. Alright, for old time's sake." He said and walked off. Wasn't Rory gonna be happy? A few minutes later, the girls came back. Alaina looked a lot happier and better than before. I was more interested in Tre hitting Jason, though.
"Where's Mike?" Adrienne asked. Oh fuck, he was dancing with Maria still.
"Um...dancing?" I squeaked.
"By himself?" Rory asked, looking puzzled.
"Um...not exactly..."
"Whatsername?"
"Is she even here?" Tre asked.
"No...we definently know her name..."
Great, they come back when the girls finally get done.
"Oh my gosh, Mike. I totally forgot how fun it was to be with you! You're not dating anyone right?"
"No, Maria. But I'm not going back down that road, again."
She scoffed and flipped that bleached mess back, along with her head.
"You don't know what you're missing, Michael Ryan Pritchard!"
"It's Mike Dirnt and you have a boyfriend..."
"Who, William? No, we broke up."
"Whatever, Maria. We didn't work out when you were 'punk'. We're definently not gonna work with your new...whatever this is."
"Your loss." She said and turning on her heel, she pranced off.
"Mike, who was that?" Rory asked.
"My...ex."
"I got that. Is that Maria? Were you dancing with her?"
"Yeah. But she apologized and it was just because it was our song and-"
"Save it. I understand. You know what, I think it's about time for me to go home."
"Farore, it's not like that!" Mike pleaded.
"No, see, I made a mistake. Alaina, how are you feeling? Do you wanna go home?" she asked. Alaina glanced at me, shooting me a dirty look.
"You know what, yeah, I do."
"I'm not ready to go home, yet." Mike said.
"I guess not, you're dancing with other girls." She snapped.
"Guys, don't do this!"
"Mike, just shut up. Get Jason up, we'll go home."
Billie dumped the remainder of the ice on Jason's neck. He shot up.
"WHERE AM I?" He yelled.
"Jason, we're going home." Alaina said.
"Oh, awesome, back to your place!"
"I wanna go, too." Tre said as soon as Jason made that comment.
"Alright. Adrienne, can you take Mike home?" Alaina asked.
"Yeah. I don't really want to after tonight. But I will." She said, glaring at me.
"What the fuck did I do?" I asked, annoyed.
"I wouldn't worry about it." Billie said.
"She grabbed my keys out of Adrienne's purse and marched out with Tre, Jason and Alaina behind her.

Jason's POV
Tre was a stupid, stupid boy. I got in the back, knowing he wouldn't if I did and then Alaina had to sit by me. I scooted next to her and tried to kiss her. She let me do it a few times, until I went for her dress.
"Jason, stop it!" She yelled.
"You're my date. I need to get under your dress at least once tonight."
I started getting queasy. I wasn't going to get sick. Not when I was about to get to 2nd base with the love of my life. She was gonna pick me. I knew it. She wouldn't have came with me if she wasn't gonna pick me. Tre was in the front seat. I bet this was killing him.
"Jason, if you fucking touch me again, I'll call rape."
"Come on Alaina. I know you love me!"
"Get the fuck off me!" She yelled. She was squirming and pulling away. Just a little bit more of the zipper and I'd have her dress off. If she would just sit still...
"Jason White, leave her alone!" Rory said, suddenly pulling off the side of the road and stopping. Great, now I get to be hassled. It didn't matter. I was gonna have Lane. Maybe Rory, too.
"She picked me. She wants me. Just playing hard to get."
"JASON! I don't want you, alright! I just said yes because you asked and I didn't want to hurt your feelings. I like Tre. I'm not picking anyone yet because I don't wanna hurt your feelings. Do you not understand that?"
She wasn't serious...was she?
"Alaina, you didn't need to..." Rory said.
"No. I'm fucking sick and tired of this making me choose."
"But Tre-"
"I don't give a shit if Tre heard. I'm going insane! You heard me. I don't love you, Jason. I don't want to have sex with you. I don't even want to make out. You are just a friend. A really good friend."
Buzzkill. I wonder how awkward it's gonna be on Monday morning when we see each other again. I wonder if this was just all in my imagination or if the love of my life really did just turn me down and hurt my feelings. I would just have to see in the morning. Farore started the car up again.
"Wait, Jason's car is at my house." Alaina yelled.
"Oh shit. Good point. Do you think he could spend the night?"
First they say to stay away from her, then they think I should stay the night with her. What kind of people are they?
"Umm...he would have to stay on the couch. Unless Vinnie is still there and he can sleep in Mike's room. Mike can sleep on the fucking floor, the way he's acting tonight."
"If Jason's spending the night, so am I." Tre chimed in.
"Good idea, someone needs to watch him all night." Rory said.
"I'm not watching him!" Tre snorted.
"I don't want you watching me, anyways." I said. Rory sighed.
"Fine, I'll do it. Do you want me to drop you off at your house, then, Tre?"
"No, I'm still staying the night. He better not try anything on Alaina."
"Oy, boys these days!" Rory said.

Tre's POV
We finally got to Lane's house. I noticed the stepdad wasn't on the couch anymore, but the TV was on. Jason slumped on the couch.
"Great, guess I'm sleeping on the floor..." Rory snapped.
"No, you can take Mike's room. He might not be home for a while. The dance is still going on for another hour."
"Where am I gonna sleep then?" I asked. Alaina smiled.
"I have a double bed, Tre."
"OK, so Tre gets to sleep in your bed and I don't? That's not gonna give me a complex!" Rory joked. We all laughed.
"You can sleep in the guest room if you want." Alaina said.
"Awesome. But that's OK, I'll take Mike's room. It will really scare the hell out of him when he sees me in his bed."
"Well, feel free to eat, drink, watch what you want. Mi casa es su casa. And don't hesistate to use the bathroom or borrow clothes if you need them."
"Thanks."
"No, thank you!"
"For what, dear?"
"For being a friend. I'm sorry about Mike being an ass."
"It's not your fault. Just because you came from the same egg doesn't mean you can control what he does."
"Sometimes, I wish I could."
They both laughed. Lane gestured out for a hug and Rory hugged her back. Then Lane went back upstairs and motioned for me to come with her. Was she thinking what I'm thinking? I followed her up there and sat on the bed. She was going through her drawers looking for something.
"I guess you know I like you, right?" I nodded. "And you know why I wasn't picking you." I nodded again. "Tre, I think I love you."
"I think I love you, too." I said. Why did I think? Hell, I knew I loved her!
She plopped on the bed next to me.
"You think?"
I sighed.
"I know I do. I didn't ask you to homecoming because we never go, so I didn't think you would go. And I only came tonight because I was scared something was gonna happen with you and Jason. I know this is killing you, Mike keeps telling us that. Maybe after tonight, Jason will lay off. I don't know because he's pretty wasted tonight. I do know that I love you. I have since we met, when Al dropped out and I replaced him."
She leaned in closer to me and I assumed I was supposed to lean in close to her too. She kissed me and then looked at my face. I guess the smile I felt in my brain was also on my face, because she did it again. Then we continued into what we did that night we played spin the bottle. Before I knew it, we were undressing and then it just happened. Afterwards, we just layed there, holding each other.
"Alaina, I love you."
No answer. She was asleep. I felt my eyes close, too. The next thing I heard was Mike's voice in the morning.
"ALAINA! SOMETHING HAPPENED TO JASON SLASH JE...WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING IN BED WITH MY SISTER?"
OH shit, he looked pissed. I was dead!