Misadventures at Prom

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"...yeah and yOU KNOW WHAT SCREW YOU, TOO. I DON'T NEED YOU AND YOU SURE AS HELL NEVER NEEDED ME!!!" Fox screamed at the person screaming at her from the bottom of the stairs. Of course they had to get on her nerves now. Fox had a lot of preparing to do, and the sun was already starting to sink it's way out of the sky. Panicking, Fox swallowed her tears and the knot in her chest and dashed into the bathroom for a quick shower before she started getting ready. Only Arceus knew if she would be ready before Wolf got there. Wolf could NOT meet her parents. That was certain.

Their fingers entwined, the heat and warmth of Zash's body was no longer aggressive but welcoming, inviting Fox to relax let the heat seep into her and let her worries of Wolf and whatever it was that had just transpired melt away. Zash looked a tad shy for what was probably the first time in his life, the assertiveness and sudden wild demands of Fox weren't what made him start to get cold feet. No she couldn't do that even if she tried. This was just typical Fox to him, maybe a tad bit more jealous than Zash had imagined but as he put some thought into it he did realize he had just kinda disappeared with Briana. But what the hell did Fox think he was doing with Briana?!
He replied to her as he started to let her lead him to the dance floor yet again. " I was looking for you too you know. How hard did Wolf bang you while you were sneaking away." he cat called back unable to allow himself to be topped by her accusations of events that had not transpired with Briana.

His tone started to soften as they were now in the middle of people looking rather happy slow dancing all around to their song which had entered about a quarter of the way in and they had yet to begin their slow dance and Zash was quickly becoming more and more worried about one little detail. He leaned in close and whispered into her ear...

His cheeks started to turn a rosy red as he confided in her, admittedly when he had been "dancing" with Briana it had mostly been him just been standing next to her watching her go at it, and just keeping his arms around her while she swayed to the rhythm of the song and he just followed suit.

"Oh, really? So she was bent over, then," she rolled her eyes. "Don't freak out, he was giving me my corsage. I mean, if you were really all that jealous you could have taken a minute of your time to find me. Just think, it could have been you!" She snorted out laughter. "Look, I get it, she's good looking. Don't bullshit around, just be straight. I don't need details, just.... don't lie to me." She sighed, clearly not happy abut also clearly ready to accept it and move on.

She mellowed out pretty quickly, feeling comfortable and warm as she typically did around the blazing fire man. She got a little closer, leaned her head against his shoulder.

He drew closer to her ear, and she admittedly gasped a little as she felt his breath grace her ear, right before he whispered something to her.

She blinked.

"You.... you wot mate."

She gave him a strange look. "What do you mean..... you can't dance?! Are you.... slow dancing is barely dancing! It's more akin to immitating grass on a slightly breezy day, how do you not.... Can you not swing your hips rhythmicly? God, now I pity Briana." She gripped his hand reassuringly and grabbed him at his hip. "Come here you big hopeless dope, I'll teach you how to do the easiest dance in history." She smiled wide up at him, her eyes squinting shut. She started to guide him in the one dance she knows how to do because it's freaking slow dancing.

" Hey I was never good at copying I'm too original for that anyways!" He replied quickly faking being half hurt as he slid his arm around her caressing her around the waist his hand slide down and lightly grabbed at her ass and with a smirk he said to her. " This is how slow dancing goes right?" He teased before slowly lingering longer than necessary but still bringing his hand back up to the small of her back. He continued to speak to her in hushed tones as the gentle beat of their song made him move easier since it was so familiar so dear. He spoke now not with worry but with seriousness he couldn't help being playful and teasing Fox but he did sincerely want her to know that.. " Me and Briana didn't do anything." The way he suddenly just brought the topic back up almost made him insecure but he wasn't likely to be awkward he was too comfortable in situations like this ease of conversations came to him too naturally. " We danced a bit, slow danced I mind you none of that grinding. She's nice and everything but I just I'm not interested like that. Probably should have told her earlier but.." He trailed off.

He looked down to her arms as she had mentioned her corsage, it was a thing to behold. the intricate design of the flower and the vines that intertwined to hold on her wrist. He made a mental note to deal with that later, and returned his gaze to Fox she was cuddled up to his chest so he didn't know if she say him staring but as he was spurred on by the lyrics of the song of the promise of things that he left on the table.
" But she's not important right now, I'll make it up to her later right now we're enjoying ourselves. You look beautiful you know that, I don't think I got a chance to tell you earlier." He said with soft compassion which was mostly unusual in their speech but by no means unwelcome. It was nice to mix in the really touching feelings with their normal hilarity.

"That you are," she reassured him, sighing against his suit. She ignored his hand at first, half-assuming she knew where it was going to wind up anyways, when it suddenly appeared somewhere she wasn't expecting. She drew in a quick breath in her surprise, lifting her head to give him the "Oh, really???" look. "So that's how you slow dance, huh?" She smirked, reaching her own hand down and reciprocating out of teasing spite. She clicked her tongue and rolled her eyes as the two of them returned their hands to the appropriate place. His voice was soothing to hear, settling her further. She felt right here; she had no worries here. It was them, together, like they always were. They would take care of each other.

"Mmm..." she hummed as he talked to her. "I... if you really mean it, I believe you... But I've got my eye on you, mister," she gently replied in a both joking and serious tone. "...That probably would have been a good thing to get out there. People tend to make their feelings pretty important." She held back the urge to ask him exactly who was important to him, then; to finally know if he had moved on. She closed her eyes, still tense at the small spot of ambiguity between them. He could have anyone, after all. He could move on to anyone. He had seen her since they were little. What if he was tired of it...?

Her eyes opened, and she caught him staring as she spoke. She found herself getting flushed under his gaze, the same way she had gotten with Wolf. Her heart fluttered as he sighed. His words made her happy, much to her guilt, but they also inspired empathy for Briana. She hoped that whatever this had caused her wouldn't last her too long. Still though, his compliment and the swelling of the piano melted her just a bit. It was a strange to hear him using such a gentle tone of voice, but it was so sweet that she almost fooled herself into thinking she heard her feelings echoed back. She didn't want to make any assumptions, didn't want to impose anything onto him.

"Well, I did fall down the stairs," she chuckled, "but I really do appreciate it coming from you." Her voice was a soft coo. "You're looking pretty put-together yourself, Zash. It suits you." The question was still nagging at the back of her mind. His words from before echoed in her head... "I should have told her before..." yeah.... She shouldn't be holding her thoughts back, either. It wouldn't do any good to hold any of this back. It was their time. Time to get it out of the air.

"Tell me something...." she looked up at him. "....You don't 'like' Briana, you don't really commit to 'liking' any girl, really. Are you... opposed to it, or something? Is there anyone you really 'like?' Is it a game, or are you just opposed to the idea...?" she trailed off, but her lip.

"And what......... about us?" The words were barely above a squeak.

The song's coda ( innuendo ) was fat approaching now as the words between both Fox and Zash started to hold a new level of intensity. At first he took the liberty to let another sly smile cross his lips as she complimented him for what felt like the third time, while it was numerous it was also greatly appreciated. He could see the color building in her face as she received his compliment too. It gave Zash a moment of great thought he almost didn't hear her say she enjoyed it coming from him.

Then she told him what she saw in the way he was with Briana, the way he was like with most of the girls he interacted wit here. It wasn't that he was opposed to anything like that, in fact that was what he wanted more than anything right now. Just not with Briana, not with the girls that say him in all his black leather and hot headed glory. No he didn't need them he didn't want them, what he wanted what completed him in totality was her was Fox. The girl who saw him at his lowest and at his best, loved him in the worst of times and in the best of times.

I can't let her think like that. That's not true Fox now I just-

"And what......... about us?" The words were barely above a squeak.

The words stopped him cold. Why are you worried? the simple thought seemed to push all the uneasiness away. Zash's face which had started as a contorted show of panic and distress as he had heard her describe the way he seemed to mess around but with the last words that left his mouth his expression eased to a look a pure tranquility. he took his hand from her waist and raised his hand to her cheek tucking a hair that had fallen loose back behind her ear.

"The reason it seemed like I can't be with anyone isn't because I'm against it." He was close to her know leaned down so their eyes were perfectly level and he closed the distance between their faces with each and every word, because it seemed that it was incredibly far with each passing second he felt that the mere centimeters that were between them were too much. " It's because I'm against being with anyone but you. I love you." He said it plainly not hiding any of his thoughts or feelings he couldn't if he tried from her was never able to anyways as he cuffed her cheek and finally leaned in to kiss her.

Fox was worried for Zash the second she saw the fearful emotions displayed on his face. She watched Zash's eyes with a flurry of emotions. Apprehension, nervousness, fear... but also, hope and excitement. Was this right? It had gone unspoken for years. They had always just accepted the feelings as normal; that's just how they felt about each other. But... that normalcy was just what made her worry sometimes. If it was so easily accessible, he could find it elsewhere, right? But, then again, it was also true that he never seemed completely sated with anybody. Or.... well..... anybody else.

She started to realize it as he spoke to her softly. It was pretty obvious, but easy to miss being buried in their everyday routine. Of course it was there. She was important to him. Her worries and observations had clouded her vision, had convinced her of the opposite... But they had also made her ask the questions, brought her straight to the truth. She only needed him to remind her, she needed to hear what he was thinking. She leaned into his face as he drew her closer, and she could feel herself filling a void in someone who needed it filled.

She smiled. This was right. This made her happy. Being needed, receiving love and fun in return. Taking things day by day, figuring it out together. She loved the way she was always able to laugh with him, even when the world seemed like it couldn't get any darker. Always open with each other. And yes, there was a certain thrill in the danger. He always kept her on her toes, without treating her like she was too fragile. There were many reasons why she loved him, too. Fox loved that this was her place.

Their foreheads pressed together as he confessed. She sighed. Here she was again, only this time she didn't feel nearly as nervous. There wasn't the same tension. Finally, some peace. She smiled lightly in the few moments leading up to the contact between them, feeling rather relieved and happy and light.

She wasn't thinking anymore. She leaned in, as well.

There was a warmth between their lips as they met that was an overwhelming mix of both calming and exciting. It was a feeling they had certainly shared before, but never like this. She rubbed the back of his head gently, letting the kiss drag on until she broke away to let her breath out. An unshaken, "I love you, too," passed over her lips as her breath escaped.

She handed him the drink suddenly as he had been looking down sullenly. Wolf raised his eyes to see Briana handing him a cup of fruit punch with sympathetic eyes. He took it as she gingerly raised it and her own the two of them clinked their plastic cups together and threw it back.
" You looked like you needed a drink of something stronger but they only had punch." She said apologetically as she leaned back against the table looking into the crowd at what Wolf could guess but refused to acknowledge not that this chatty girl would let him. Irritation seethed through Wolf, he was almost exclusively a calm and collected individual. He was the vanguard of balance of planning it was the most fitting and the place he felt best in he knew it himself but as Briana said...

" At least they're cute together. I hope I can find someone who looks am me like he looks at her." She sounded almost to tears at this point drowning in her miser, with Wolf for company.

That was the last straw something inside snapped as he turned to look and saw Zash with his lips pressed against Fox's and the worst of all was that she was reciprocating, gently caressing his head inviting his kiss. The jealousy and frustration inside Wolf reached it's fever pitch he moved with the speed  he was gifted with above that of the normal people this dance and closed distance to that douchebag who thought he would be able to take Fox right now at this dance that he had asked her to.

He knew everything would be okay as she reached up and grabbed onto his hair, rubbing the back of his head gently. He felt as though he could live in this moment forever. She pulled away and he felt the urge to pull her back in again, he didn't want to stop, it felt too good it felt like it was something he had been searching for such a long time. Maybe since the moment he met her.

"I love you, too,"

Zash wanted to say so much back let her know so much in return everything caught up in his throat though. As for what seemed like the first time he was speechless. But there was another reason for that, Danger! the feeling pricked the hair on the back of his neck he reflexively instinctively pulled back from Fox and turned to face the threat head on, immediately striking a defensive pose he also would have  summoned up flames to defend himself but stopped himself from doing that in front of the entire school.
Oh no... Wolf? Why? He saw him but he could barely believe it, he was coming at him aggressively tactfully for a fight. Zash would definitely lose in a fist fight to Wolf, he was confident in many things but a fist fight was for Wolf's advantage by far especially as he was hesitant to use pryomancy. Then maybe by coincidence or maybe it was fate delaying the inevitable whatever it was it was not time for a show down like this just yet.

Fox looked at Zash contentedly, unaware at first of the oncoming threat. Once Zash sensed it, however, she could immediately see the change in him. She peeked over his shoulder and Oh Holy Arceus the Creator Wolf looked mad. She had never seen him like this, she almost didn't recognize him. Her heart fell into her stomach, she hadn't meant for this... They should have waited. She should have made him wait. She cursed herself; this was her fault... She was supposed to be the conscious one.

Is it time?

Yeah, it's about that time.

Fox prayed for Arceus's divine judgement to come and strike her down quickly. He did not. Fuck.

She started to move to prevent a fight, but she suddenly felt a hand behind her, making her stop. It was.... well, she certainly hadn't seen the guy frequently.... she thought maybe Zash had beaten him up once? It seemed like he recognized her, with that horrifically toothy smile. It almost looked criminal.

"Hey, aren't you Fire's nerd meat?" the dude asked, sizing her up. His "date" seemed to be ignoring it, a few of the other guys in their group were making eyes at her as well making her incredibly uncomfortable.

"I uh. Excuse me, what?" Fox barked back, both balling her fist while observing the tension between Wolf and Zash. She was torn between rage and worry.

"Woah woah woah. Cool down, pink. Nobody here's interested in beating you." he replied. Fox's jaw dropped to the ground. "In fact, you clean up real good, but for that guy? Really? Doesn't even know how to dance for a hottie. Get that fine ass over here and we'll make the most of you," he sneered.

"Oh fuck you," Fox screeched, preparing a fist for the guy's face.

There was a strange ease in the way that Wolf and Zash started to drop into their confrontation against each other, the only thing that seemed strange was that Wolf was attacking first. But as Zash raised a hand to defend himself both of the two could hear even through the voice of Fox retort to someone in a very irritated voice say. " I uh. Excuse me, what?"

Both of the boys froze and locked eyes, a silent message transferred between them with the simple look of their eyes. We get this douchebag right? and the reply that they both unanimously understood Oh in the name of our lord and savior Arceus.
They dropped into step together as Fox cocked back a punch that would certainly have rocked this fellow to kingdom come... But Zash and Wolf needed to blow off some steam. Zash in very quick strides stepped in between Fox and Patrick one of his long time enemies in school. He extended a hand and patted him on the shoulder. " Patrick my pal my amigo how is it going?" He said with a huge melodramatic smile.
While all this was going on Wolf made his way behind Patrick and extended a leg and Zash noticing Wolf was in position gave him a hard shove at the shoulder he had his hand on. Patrick tripped hard over Wolf's extended leg, but Wolf was not done just yet he still needed to quell his anger somehow so he gave the jerk a sharp knee in the side while he was falling that left him cradling his side and wheezing on the ground.

Zash laughed and could barely manage a " Holy shit dude I haven't beat his ass that bad before." He pretended to wipe tears from his eyes and quickly dragged Wolf by the arm grabbing him back to Fox whom he made the " Let's GTFO from the scene of the crime!" signal and Wolf made an appalled face. God did I just do that to a normal guy?! he instantly felt guilty but let Zash drag him away.
" Dude you see Wolf beat his ass?! I thought he was the nice one!" Zash said to Fox as he led the trio across the big tent. " We got a table across on this side or do we need to get one in a hurry?" Zash asked in lack of his fore sight to Fox.

All of a sudden, Wolf and Zash blew past her, taking down the guy who had just been harassing her. She silently cursed them for making it to him before she got a chance, but in a weird way.... she was relieved they were letting off steam. She didn't want to see them fight. This was.... This was still their night. She was startled by the display of violence from Wolf, something she so rarely saw.... it unnerved her.

As they escaped the crime scene, she chortled. "Yeah, looks like you've got some massive competition, huh? Man, he's really stepping up!" she winked. "Yeah, we got a far table, I compensated for you once again."

The rest of the prom was mostly spent with dates, Fox with Wolf and Zash with Briana. They enjoyed the dinner over loud table chat, reminiscing about old times and getting into little spats with the other randies at the table. After dinner the EDM broke out, turning the Prom into a giant rave. There was one more slow dance, and then that portion was over. There was an optional break for changing clothes, which a large majority of the girls (including Fox) took advantage of.

After prom was actually held in the next town over, in an entertainment complex with a wide assortment of things to do. Trampoline basketball, big people jungle gyms, even a small laser tag arena, to name a few. It was big. And there was plenty to do.

The first event was a DDR competition. 7 finalists on brutal difficulty slamming the mats like there was no tomorrow, desperately trying to knock each other out. If you fell below 50%, it was game over.

By the second verse of the song, 5 players were out. Only the king, the man, the legend, Cassian Harper and Fox herself were left. The champion versus the newcomer. She had been training for this day. He had seen her from the shadows. They locked eyes. Their fury, their souls bared to each other. They didn't even have to look at the screen, they tapped out every move with perfect precision. Like they sensed it. Like they felt it.

".....you're good," Cassian panted. An exchange between just the two of them, shared only by two equal competitors.

"I'm the best. You're just good competition," she sneered back, panting heavily. Their bodies were drenched in sweat. The tension was completely palpable.

"You'll have to prove that to me. Convince me fully that you're worthy of my respect, Kitsune Dawn Fira," he replied back. She was shocked and flattered that he knew her name.

The song pulsed into the final round of it's refrain.

This.

Was.

It.

Briana had taken the opportunity much like Fox to change out of her elegant orange dress and into yoga pants and a white tank top. She was certainly happier now than when the events of the beginning of prom had transpired. Zash had been paying her some much needed special attention and seemed far more relaxed and invested in the night than before. He even was focused on her during the last slow dance instead of staring off at Fox the whole time. She was settled nicely in between the two boys as they cheered on their childhood friend in what might be her toughest challenge yet.

"END HIM FOX" Zash screamed out from his place in the back of the crowd that had gathered to watch this amazing DDR battle. He had not taken the opportunity to change but he had ditched his jacket in the limo they had taken over here. He also loosened his tie so it hung halfway down his person , untucked half of his white shirt from his dress pants, along with undoing the buttons of his collar and cuffs. To the surprise of Wolf, Fox and even Zash himself somehow his hair had gotten more disheveled but somehow still held that pristine look about him. It was one of the greatest mysteries of Zash but right now the biggest mystery of all was " Where the hell did she get time to be this good at this?!" Zash asked in disbelief to Wolf.

" I have no fucking clue." He replied mirroring Zash's surprise. " LET"S GO FIRA" he called out. Wolf had also taken the opportunity to ditch his jacket in the limo along with his tie. His shirt was still tucked in and only the top button of his collar was undone, his white pants and shirt still spotless through all the night was an accomplishment in an of itself. He looked different this way, not as put together as usual but there was a pleasantness to that.

The tension in the air was palpable. Everything was coming to a head. Bare feet slapped against the mats with terrifying precision. The contestants seemed so deeply lost in their focus that nothing else around them existed except the competition. Their lithe bodies moved through the air with unexpected grace as they added little dance moves into the performance for style, trying to make things more interesting. They stared each other down, trying to intimidate each other, daring the other to back down.

The "hosts" of the event (two charismatic students from a relavant club) looked stunned, barely able to keep up with their commentary as they stared with the rest of the crowd. The competition had never gotten this far into a song at this difficulty before, it was a completely surreal experience getting to hear this much of it. The crowd reaction ranged from frenzied whoops and hollers and stunned, confused, and tense silence.

"....getting tired yet.... buddy?" Fox smirked through her labored breathing.

"....Not anymore tired.... than I've paced myself to feel," Cassian panted back, also sounding particularly strained. The look they were sharing told all; neither was going to stop until they had to. Until the very last moment.

The hosts started to count down the seconds until the song was over.

"It's not.... too late to surrender," Fox huffed through a crooked smile.

"It would be.... disrespectful to surrender," Cassian panted back.

"25! 24! 23! 22! 21! 20!....."

Fox tensed up, the look in her eye telling Cassian that she was planning something. He didn't like that. The way she was moving... she was planning something. A big finish, he assumed. Fox could tell that he was catching on, and she sneered. Her look challenged him, pressured him to just try and stay ahead. Large beads of sweat rolled down Cassian's face. He was falling for her goading, and he loved it. He hadn't felt this challenged in a long time, hadn't had anyone push him this close to the edge, intentionally. He was happy to oblige her. Happy to push himself all the way to the edge, use up every peice of his body and will just to meet her challenge. Never had his reputation meant so little to anyone. He could get used to this.

"..... 8! 7! 6! 5!......."

The ending was fast approaching them. They knew what they were going to do.

They both finished the song by backflipping on the mat, hitting the last two notes as they came back down. Cassian, entirely spent, collapsed onto his knees. Fox, in a similar condition, fell on her ass.

There was a moment of tense silence on all sides when the clapping and cheering died down and the end finally swept over the crowd. Not even the hosts had commentary for this moment. It was over. The rest was up to the game's calculations.

It went through the motions congratulating the players and then loading the results screen. The number of "Excellent," "Good," and "Missed" moves loaded up first, but they were mostly ignored for the final percentages.

It was so, so close. So close to domination, with only a margin of difference in the scores.

96.76% - 96.62%

"CONGRATULATIONS TO THE NEWCOMER!!" the female host nearly screamed into the microphone.

Fox was immediately back up on her feet, thrusting her fists into the air, jumping around. She took a few laps around the front of the crowd, celebrating her victory with reems of overly-excited high school students. She screamed and cheered along with them, jumping up and down and doing various who-knows-what with her arms. All round there were chants of celebration, everybody riding a high of euphoria from the ending of the competition.

Cassian's head was low, but he was smiling. He hardly looked defeated, he was just letting Fox have her moment. He watched her with amused eyes. So this was what it was like to be humbled, to give everything you had only to loose by that much. It sucked, yes, but it also felt good. Felt good to weigh something, to be grounded in humanity once again. To fall off the pedestal and see the ground again. He let out a huge sigh of relief, and took another look at the girl who had knocked him down. He still smiled. When she finally made it back on stage, he forced himself up and joined in her celebration, hugging her and congratulating her breathlessly.

The award passed quickly after that, and paled in comparison to the winning moment. After the high died down, the crowd started to split apart a bit as everyone looked for room to breathe. Fox motioned for her friends at the back of the crowd, and then went over to the water bottle table and started to chug water while she waited for her friends to find their way over.

She felt a pressure on her shoulder.

"Hey."

She whirled around and there was Cassian, his sandy-blonde hair plastered to his scalp by drying sweat. She smiled at him, a tiny bit cockily but mostly good-hearted. "Sup? That was a great game, huh?" she chirped back cheerily.

"It was. I'd even go so far as to say you taught me some things..." he replied. She beamed proudly.

"I sure got to show you, huh mister Champion? And I bet it was fun to watch. I'd say good time was had by all," she joked, still riding a bit of a confidence high.

"I couldn't agree more. It was a pleasure playing against you," he smirked back. They shared one more friendly hug of congratulations. He could see her friends approaching over his shoulder, which he knew meant his time was almost up with her.

"Hey...." he whispered into the hug, "...always keep that alive inside you. If you can rely on anything, it'll be that." As he pulled away, Fox raised an eyebrow at him. He winked and made a "shhh" motion. "We should talk again sometime. Enjoy tonight," he called over his shoulder as he turned and returned to his own little group of friends/fangirls.

"Yeah.... you too?" Fox waved back, a little confused but also curious... As he walked away, she turned around and noticed her friends coming towards her. "YO!!!" she called, smiling once again.

The three of them were by far in the stunned silent group as Fox and Cassian dueled it out there excellent moves sending reverberations of the sheer skill somehow increased the amount of silence seem all the louder. As the time came for the end as the count down hit the final seconds no one let a single breath escape, they wanted the intrigue, the captivating moment to last a life time but the song did come to end the final beats hit as both of them landed their last move, the back flip to end all dance competitions and fell down in exasperation. As the screen scrolled most of the crowd could only be satisfied with the well fought battle no matter who won but not Zash.

End this pussy ass mother fucking nerdy bitch Fox! I want him to crawl out of here with this tail between his legs! Zash kept the internal dialogue of the moment to himself but he had a resounding dislike for this boy. Maybe it was the similarities between the two, maybe it was the way he could dance and Zash could not or really it was all about how he was being so fucking chatty with Fox.

But regardless the screen scrolled and the results came on and in the entire explosion of the celebration Zash Wolf and Briana were lost in the sea of the people. The trio marveled over Fox's performance as they shifted and continued to fan girl over the whole event. Eventually they did see Fox, Wolf was the first to notice he was about to let the other two know but decided against it at the moment as Fox seemed to be having a moment with this Cassian fellow. Now Wolf had already been through a lot tonight with people moving in on his date but he was strangely calm about this new arrival. He didn't feel very threaten by him at all honestly. There was something about his mannerisms and the way he was being that made him think that Cassian wasn't exactly into girls not that there is anything wrong with that. Wolf waited a few moments for him to nearly be done before calling over to the two of them and the three rejoined our victorious heroine.

Zash threw up a high five and said " Way to stick it to that loser!"

Briana akin to Zash was celebrating Fox's victory in her own way without bashing the other competitor since she could see the appeal of him.

Wolf was reserved in his reactions also, being a little unsettled by the interaction between her and Cassain but he let that pass, if he was really that concerned he would ask latter but he assumed that the feeling would pass and settled for a winning smile and a " Mission accomplished!"

Fox smiled and laughed as she slapped Zash and everyone an excited high five and laughed happily. "C'mon Zash, that's no way to talk! He was a really tough guy, I was sure I was gonna lose," she chuckled patting him on the back. "Thank you so much though... I swear, the only thing I could hear over the pulse in my ears was you guys!" They laughed at that. The sweat on Fox's body glistened a bit the lighting of the space. There was certainly plenty of it, visible on the parts of her body that the crop top and pants didn't cover. She was way too overheated to slide her jacket on, so the visage was hardly marred.

The rest of the night was spent eating food and participating at after prom events. Briana killed at laser tag. Wolf managed to dunks like ten times on the trampoline basketball court as the four of them took it over for a while, making Zash feel like he really needed to compensate, so Zash triple backflipped over the net separating the two of them and tackled him onto the trampoline. They laughed and wrestled, with Zash coming out on top after landing an very uncomfortable to very sensitive place on Wolf. He celebrated the victory anyways. Fox was hypnotized in front of everyone. It was an experience. Many people left scared.

A few hours later, everything disbanded and the students were released to go home. The limo arrived for the four stooges, but Zash insisted on walking Briana home as she lived in this town. He assured them he would be able to get back on his own. With his words spurring them on, Fox and Wolf boarded the limo and were on the way back to her house, her bag slung onto a seat next to them

The initial silence was filled with the reassuring sound of a car motor chugging home. Fox took a moment to ruminate on the past night, drooling over towards Wolf every couple of minutes or so due to physical and emotional tiredness. She sighed. She felt awful about having to leave him, about rejecting him so suddenly. There was still time to do something about it, though....

Fox finally let herself lean into Wolf, a small smile adorning her face. She rubbed her hand gently over the beautiful peice of art that he had gifted her, touching it so delicately so not to break it.

"You're still warm," she told him softly.

Her lips quickly twisted into a look of dismay. "Umm.... I... about when we were outside the tent..." she whispered softly. "...Please, don't take it too seriously, okay? I don't want this to get in between us. You're very important to me, and you're a wonderful man. I don't know how I got lucky enough to know somebody like you." She sighed happily as she reminisced about the night a little in her head.

Slowly, she lifted her head.

"Just know.... that I love you, too. I'm sorry I hurt you. But I don't want us to grow apart." She looked up at him, before reaching he lips up to his temple and giving him small, gentle kiss on his temple. She smiled against his skin before pulling away.

"Consider that a thank you... it will never be enough to repay you, but I hope in some small way, it helps. And... if you feel upset, or anything, please tell me. You can trust that I won't go away if you don't want me to, no matter what. I really want to help you, if I can."

She leaned against his shoulder, allowing him some privacy, and held his hand in both of hers as she awaited his reply.

The silence following their time in the limo was strange for Wolf, after the endeavors of the night it was strange to finally be in this calm environment. He had started to unwind his stress and now his eyelids drooping slight. Fox spoke to him telling him he was still warm a smile came across his lips as her familiar need to reassure him, one of the things he admired so much about her, began but it was obscured by a yawn that he quickly covered and shoveled back down into his throat. He didn't wanna step on Fox's toes here as she started to pour her heart out.

He leaned down into her as she came to kiss his forehead. She spoke softly and kindly her words coming out slowly and sweet like honey. With each one Wolf could feel his worry wash away and out of his system entirely. He didn't have any idea how he was going to be able to talk to Fox the next day after this... But here she was again coming to his rescue. He could feel that she had the same worries he did, that she was just as concerned for his feelings as he had been for hers. As her lips left and she backed off slowly. She found his hand and collect it up into hers in a reassuring gesture and found her place on his shoulder.

He let out a contented sigh and let himself enjoy this moment with her with them together like this before finally answering back to her. " You worry too much." He spoke into her hair as he turned his head to her signally he was answering her now. " There isn't a thing you could do that could drive me away Fira. I'll always be there to bail you out or need your ever present rescue until the end of time." He said to her as the limo made it's way up to her drive Wolf quickly instructed the driver to stop short of the drive and thanked him gratefully before opening the door. " Come on girl it's late." He said and lead the way around her house to the side where her all familiar window was. He knelt down to the ground and placed a hand to the ground where with his magic her created a spiral ice stair case up the window's ledge. " There ya go don't worry about hiding it this'll break away once your up safe and sound." He promised as Wolf hugged Fox tightly for a few moments before finally letting go bidding her goodnight and taking his leave.



The night air was wonderful on the pair as they walked through the town of Ashtin together drinking in the events of he nights all at once.  

" I had a lot of fun." Briana told Zash as she leaned into him while walking. She started to go on to him telling him all about how the night had ended up being special just what a girl would want in a prom even after some misfortunes at the start she would be able to look fondly back on this moment when she remembered high school.

As she went on, Zash didn't hear a word his thoughts raced not in the present but in what he was going to do soon. He was going to her now with a completely different intention and different plans than ever before and he was well aware. The feeling ran through him like electricity which made him giddy which was a good thing for Briana who thought he was finally warming up to her more.

Before Zash even knew it they had made it to her house Briana unlocked the door and before entering into her home to leave the night beyond she turned around and launched up to her tip toes and stole a kiss right from Zash's lips, he was so stunned even with his incredible reflexes he was caught off guard and then before he could say a word she turned and scampered off into the house. A smirk played across Zash's lips and he laughed lightly to himself. I guess she got a victory tonight too. He thought cheerfully to himself as he started down the street hands in his pockets and plans in his head.


Zash rolled up in his father's pick up truck to the corner just around the bend of the  Duchamp household. He had the headlights turned off to hopefully not disturb anything in the neighborhood. He made the trek around the bend and up the side of the house to her window. Zash made a leap off the nearby tree and landed lightly on the window sill. He almost jumped right in like he usually did when he already found it open but he paused for a moment when he noticed perched on the windowsill was the very ice corsage that Wolf had made Fox. Zash paused for a long moment looking at it, he was a stubborn boy but he had to admit it was absolute art in the most perfect form. He hesitated only a moment to admire it before fire lapped up from his hand and he reached over and grabbed the rose gently in his burning hand it melted away rather quickly to nothing, nothing but running water. Zash almost felt guilty, almost.

He climbed into the window turning back towards the glass pane as he got his body into the familiar study/ bedroom. He not longer was dressed in his suit and dress clothes, though he looked sharp in them it wasn't really his look. he had changed to a pair of blue jeans instead of his usual skinny jeans and wore a light athletic quarter zip jacket over a shirt that was obscured by said jacket, instead of the usual unzipped leather jacket and alternative rock band tea shirt. " Hey princess, it's time to head on out for after after prom." Zash said barely above a whispered into the room.