Nick and Jessica had been going to the same high school for four years, and they had been good friends the whole way through. They didn't talk as much as they used to in recent months, but that was mainly because they hung out with different crowds, which grew apart over time. This didn't bother them too greatly, except for one thing: Nick had developed a big crush on Jessica, only he never acted on it because he felt it would be weird for him to get involved with a good friend. Now that they had begun to grow further apart, however, he felt like his chance of ever getting together with her was slipping away for good.
It was the final year of school, and drawing to a close at that. With the end of the year came the social event that everyone knows and anticipates the year round: the prom. Nick knew that this might be the last chance for him to tell Jessica his feelings, but he was still very nervous about it. "What if she says no?" he thought. "It would be way too awkward... it would ruin things." Maybe he was just making excuses for himself.
"Just do it," a voice said, waking Nick from his reverie. It was his friend Danny. They and the rest of their friends were eating lunch together, as they always did.
"Huh?"
"Ask her to the prom, jeez. It's not like you're asking her to marry you or something," his friend laughed. Nick nodded his head and smiled weakly; he clearly wasn't convinced. "All right, look at it this way: you think it'll be weird to ask her to the prom, right?"
Nick nodded his head. He did. It may have been silly; maybe he was attaching himself too much to the whole idea. Was he putting too much pressure on it? Prom always seemed like such an important night. It would be difficult to put too much pressure on it; it WAS important. "And, let's face it... a lot of kids use the prom as a gateway for sex," Nick thought to himself. "It changes things completely."
"All right. You two aren't going to the same universities next year. If you ask her and she says no, oh well, big deal. If she thinks it's weird, you probably won't see her again anyway. But if you don't ask her at all, you'll miss your chance. She won't stay available forever."
It was a rather blunt way of putting it, but Nick had to agree; at least, a part of him did. If she did say no, it wouldn't be TOO weird, he realized. He probably wouldn't see her after graduation anyway, and they had been slowly drifting apart over the years anyway. But if she said yes... then at least they would have that one last night before it all came to an end.
The boy nodded his head. "All right. I'll do it." He still wasn't sure he could muster the confidence, but he was resolved. Danny laughed and patted him on the back to encourage him.
*
The difficult part of the rest of the day was actually finding Jessica. Unfortunately she and Nick did not share any classes during that semester, so they only saw each other very briefly between classes and after school. It was a tiring hunt: Nick darted through the halls between classes, visiting her locker as quickly as he could, and never finding her. That is, of course, until the bell rang to end the day.
Coming around the corner from the English hallway, Nick saw her standing at her locker. The halls were crowded with students moving about, getting things from their lockers and getting ready to go home or head off to whatever activities they had planned, but when he looked at her they all faded away and didn't matter anymore.
"No cold feet now. Just got to do it, that's all," he thought to himself.
Slowly β his feet felt like cement bricks β he trudged over to Jessica and waded through the crowd. He gathered every inch of 'cool' he could find and leaned back against the locker beside hers, catching her attention.
"Oh, hey Nick!" she said cheerfully, moving a few books from her backpack to her locker and vice-versa. "What's up?"
"Hey, Jessica, I was wondering..." He managed to get that far, and then trailed off suddenly. She stopped what she was doing and looked up at him quizzically (he was a good deal taller than she was).
"Yeah? Something wrong?"
"Oh, no, I... was just wondering if you'd like to go to the prom with me."
Nick almost heaved a sigh of relief as the words came out of his mouth, but restrained himself for fear of seeming too ridiculously needy. The nervous pause that came from Jessica quickened his pulse, however. Aside from that, the world seemed to slow down, and he felt as though his worst nightmare was being relived right before his eyes.
"I... I already said I'd go with John."
Nick distinctly heard the sound of glass shattering in his head: the sound of his one hope breaking into a million pieces. John. Of course. He had seen her with him more and more often of late... why didn't he suspect that they would go to the prom together? He felt like slapping himself across the face right then and there.
Apparently he must have been silent for an alarming number of seconds, because Jessica tilted her head and asked, "Are you okay?"
"Oh, yes, fine," Nick blurted, attempting to look as though he was totally cool with it. "Ah well. Have fun with John, then." He smiled cheerfully (as cheerfully as he could, anyway) and walked off down the hall, sinking into the crowd. He didn't see Jessica's expression as she watched him walk away.
*
"That's tough luck, man," comforted Lucas, another of Nick's friends, the next day at lunch. It was only slightly sincere, considering the fact that it didn't affect him at all, really, but Nick was happy for the comforting just the same.
Danny was the first to try and cheer him up. "Well, it doesn't matter. I've got an extra seat at my table, and you're welcome to fill it if you like."
Nick looked up and furrowed his brow. "You don't think I'd look like a loser going without a date? I'd feel kind of... out of place."
Danny shook his head. "No, no. Not everyone has a date for the prom, you know. Some people go just to have a good time, though that may shock you just a little bit." Danny laughed, and Nick chuckled a bit himself.
"All right... sounds fun. I've already paid for my ticket, anyway," he laughed.
*
The night of the prom finally came, and Nick was at Danny's house with the rest of their friends, waiting for their limo. Most of them had dates, but some of them met with the same unfortunate end as Nick had, in one way or another. Even so, they were all dressed to kill, and ready for a good time.
Nick was wearing a black suit which he had rented. He didn't like such fancy attire in general, but given the circumstances, it was necessary; one of his friends' dates said that the colour accented his short, dark brown hair and eyes very nicely. He was quite tall, and well-built, although he wasn't a hard-core athlete by any means.
"Finally, he's here," Joseph said. He was one of the guys without a date, and he had been looking out the window in his boredom, waiting. The limousine driver walked up to the door and knocked. Danny quickly went to open it.
"Sorry I'm late," the man said. He had a thickly-accented Russian voice. "I couldn't find house. Very confusing area at night."