The cool, fresh night air was a relief as Will finally escaped the swelteringly hot gym of Lakeland High School. He took a moment to savor the feeling of the cool air on his skin, and reflect on the absurdity of trying to hold Prom in the school gymnasium. Sure, the original venue had discovered asbestos only a week before, but no one should be asked to endure this disaster as their senior prom.
Will looked around; the area was deserted apart from two members of the school staff. He caught the eye of a wrestling coach whose name he did not know. The coach gave a polite nod, which Will returned. Not prepared for the sauna back in the gym, but wanting to avoid making idle small-talk with a wrestling coach he knew only on sight, Will resolved to take a walk. He set off in the direction of the football field, in hopes of at least avoiding any unwanted entanglements.
The football field and the bleachers appeared completely deserted. "Just a quick break," Will told himself, planning to briefly sit and prepare for another journey into the kiln. As he approached the bleachers, he detected the distinct smell of cannabis wafting from somewhere nearby. Will's interest piqued, and he quickly abandoned his plan of sitting quietly by the empty football field.
Will took a few minutes to snoop around, hoping to discover the source of the inviting aroma, and crossing his fingers that they would be willing to share. His curiosity was quickly rewarded as he found his friend Becca enjoying a bowl barely concealed by the stands. She was wearing a deep blue dress and her short, dark hair was pinned elegantly to her head. Will noticed her dress also showed off her large breasts spectacularly. He cared for Becca, and valued her friendship, but he had always loved her tits.
A moment after he spotted Becca, she saw him,"Will!" she exclaimed; her eyes lit up at the sight of her friend, and she quickly motioned for him to join her. Will needed no further convincing, and stooped under the bleachers to join Becca, who immediately passed him her pipe. Will accepted gratefully, and took a long draw from the glass piece. The pot tasted excellent; Becca had always been reliable on that front.
"What are you doing out here?" she inquired as he passed the pipe back to her.
"Needed some air," Will offered as an explanation. "Prom in the fucking gym," he added ruefully.
"Right?" Becca agreed. "It's fucking gross in there. I'd take the asbestos any day." She rolled her eyes as she took another hit.
Will only nodded in response, before a more important question came to him: "wait, what are you doing out here all by yourself? What happened to your big date?" Becca had been attending prom with Sean McGrath, an enormous Linebacker from the football team with a scholarship to play at some shitty division three school. Everyone at Lakeland knew Sean, but nearly everyone also knew he was a jackass.
Becca rolled her eyes again, even more obviously this time, "that dumb fuck decided to pregame. He chugged a half a bottle of vodka, puked his guts out in the parking lot, and passed out in the back of his truck"
Will did his best to stifle a laugh. He felt bad for his friend, but it was hard not to laugh a bit at her misfortune. He had been so surprised, and more than a little disappointed when he heard about her choice of prom date.
"What the hell did you see in him anyway?" Will finally asked.
"Nothing. Believe me. Absolutely. Fucking. Nothing." Becca replied insistently, adding emphasis to each word, so as to remove any doubt.
"Then what was all this about?" Will's confusion only deepened, but he was relieved to discover his friend had at least not completely lost her mind.
Becca took another long hit from the pipe and exhaled before speaking from a thick cloud of smoke, "look, I know he's a douche, but he's a really hot douche, and I knew it would really piss off Claire."
There it was. Suddenly this all made sense. Becca and Claire had been close friends before a spectacular and very public falling out a year ago. Will had never been brave enough to ask Becca for details. Claire and Sean had dated for most of the year, and then split up just weeks ago.
"Wooooow," Will began. "Becca, I get it, but damn I never thought you'd go that far."
"Me either," Becca replied tonelessly, now speaking more to the ground than him. "My plan was just to do prom, hook up once, and then ditch him."
"You were going to fuck that guy!?" Will blurted out. Being petty was one thing, but this...
"Hey, slut shaming isn't cool!" Becca replied defensively.
"I'm not slut shaming," Will replied hurriedly, eager to clarify his disgust in her plans. "I never said a word about Luis, Brian, or Ty. Because they're good guys. Sean is not. You can't honestly even tell me you like him"
Becca nodded sullenly. "I know. I let it get out of hand for sure. It's for the best he's laying in the back of his truck covered in vomit."
Will got the sense Becca was even more glad than he was that her plan had not come to fruition. Once again, he felt for his friend. The pair sat in silence for a moment, each taking a deep drag from the pipe, which was finally finished.
"So why are you here alone? Plenty of girls would have come with you." Becca asked him as she cleaned out the glass pipe and stored it in her purse. Will could tell she was changing the subject, but felt she more than deserved the reprieve.
"Kinda got my heart set on a girl, and someone else beat me to it," Will replied, trying to avoid unnecessary details.
"Duuuude, I'm so sorry," Becca replied. Her face showed genuine sympathy, and she reached out to put a hand on his shoulder. "assholes ruined senior prom for both of us," she added in an upbeat tone. Will appreciated her humor; he knew she was trying to cheer him up.
It was Becca's positivity that compelled him to speak, "same asshole, actually," he said. His heart pounded as he watched her expression move from one of confusion to a look of understanding. He held his breath and waited for her response.
"What!?" Becca asked weakly. "You wanted to ask me?" Will nodded in response, struggling to look her in the eye.
He felt her hand touch his cheek, and found the courage to look back at his friend. She was looking at him with a look he had never seen before.
"I wish you had," she said in the same weak voice. "we'd both be having a lot more fun tonight.'
The pair shared a silent moment, sitting together under the bleachers. Will felt a disorienting mixture of elation and disappointment. The notion that Becca wished he had asked her in time filled him with white-hot joy. The knowledge that prom night had arrived felt like a bucket of ice water.
Becca pulled out her phone, and glanced at it briefly. She placed it back in her purse and looked back to Will, "it's only 8:30, wanna be my prom date?"
