Note: I've done a slideshow on the side of the pictures of each girl's prom dress, so take a look! Chelsie's dress was really hard to describe so it's easier to look at the picture, aha. The people in the pictures aren't them - just look at the dresses :)

-----------------------------------

Whoever was on the decorating committee had done a good job – Olivia had to hand it to them. The gym was completely transformed from its usual appearance, and actually looked good, although it probably helped having thousands of dollars available in the school budget to spend on the very best decorations.

White net drapes were hung from the ceiling, swooping downwards towards the floor to create a somewhat magical setting. Tables had been set up at one end of the room, each covered in a pristine white tablecloth and decorated with expensive-looking flower arrangements. The other end had been reserved for the dance floor, designated by four columns, each securing more drapes. The colour scheme of blue and white had been followed throughout, and everything seemed to match perfectly. Even the satin bows which were tied to the back of each chair exactly matched the colour of the balloons that were scattered around the room.

"So... what do you think? Your first dance at Serenity Falls," Chelsie said, grinning, as she turned to Olivia. It seemed that she was more excited about Olivia attending than Olivia herself. The smile had not left her face since the car pulled up at the front of the school, and the way her voice was slightly more high-pitched than usual was also a giveaway.

"I think... Alyssa’s dad must’ve paid for all this."

Her eyes widened slightly as she took in the sheer volume of decorations that were packed into the gymnasium. Sure, it looked good, but it also must’ve cost an absolute fortune.

"No kidding."

It was still fairly early, and the doors to the gym hadn’t long been open. This meant that the place was still relatively quiet, seeing as most people preferred to turn up fashionably late. However, being one of the first people to arrive did have its advantages: they were able to take a good look at the place before it got too crowded, plus the fact that they were able to eye up everyone’s outfits as they began to arrive.

"You want a drink?" Fred asked them both, glancing in the direction of the bar that had been set up in one corner. "It’s probably a good idea to get some punch now before it gets busy."

"Yeah, okay," Chelsie nodded in response, and so did Olivia. Fred trotted off in that direction, leaving the two girls to stand there and examine the choice of attire of everyone who walked in the door.

"I like Lauryn’s dress," Chelsie said, leaning in closer to her best friend so her voice could be heard above the sound of people arriving and the beat of the music that was playing from the speakers. She nodded her head appreciatively as her eyes scanned over the sky blue dress that Lauryn was wearing. "Looks pretty."

"Yeah," Olivia agreed with a small smile, although she was still experiencing a slight sinking feeling as she noticed that every single person she had seen so far had a date. Even Lauryn was smiling cutely up at the slightly nerdy guy on her arm.

The hall was filling up rapidly and barely five minutes had passed before they found that they were now in close proximity to their classmates. Fred returned with the drinks and they stood there awkwardly for a few moments, sipping companionably and wondering what to do next.

"So..." Olivia said, willing to do anything to break the silence that had settled between them. "What do we do now?"

However, they were interrupted by the music dying down and feedback from the DJ’s microphone. Olivia wrinkled up her face, trying to block the high-pitched screech from reaching her ears as it echoed around the room.

"Sorry about that, guys," he said, with a sheepish smile, once the noise had stopped. "But if you could all turn your attention that way..." He gestured in the direction of the door. "I give you... Alyssa Taylor."

And sure enough, right on cue, the doors were thrown open and in strutted Alyssa, to the tune of an upbeat dance song that played through the speakers. She was smiling innocently at everyone she made eye contact with, and on her arm she had a guy Olivia recognised as one of the football team.

A few cheers erupted from various areas of the room, although after recent events, it was apparent that Alyssa was not nearly as popular as she used to be. However, with a few menacing glares sent in multiple directions, the welcoming picked up and she was soon basking in her usual attention.

Olivia took a moment to admire her dress. There was no denying that it looked good on her, but then again, it was Alyssa Taylor - the richest and most confident girl she had ever met in her entire life. With her signature strut and supermodel stature, she could probably make a garbage bag look flattering. It was an air of confidence that only very few people were blessed with.

The dress was long and flowing, in a deep purple colour that contrasted with her tanned skin. Her blonde locks curled softly around her shoulders and down her back, and there was a small silver tiara placed elegantly on the top of her head. The dress was one shouldered - the strap being silver and covered in diamanté, sending speckles of light in all directions as she moved. It clung to her figure perfectly, but then again everything always did, and the skirt flowed elegantly to the floor.

Smiling widely at the guy on her arm, she began walking forwards as the crowd of students parted before her, allowing her access to the centre of the room, where she would probably reside for the rest of the evening.

"Looks like her love of attention is still ever-present," Olivia murmured to Chelsie.

"When is it not?" Chelsie responded, smiling. "But whatever. That’s Alyssa for you."

Olivia laughed quietly, but stopped immediately when she caught sight of something that made her heart skip a beat. Turning round quickly, she froze to the spot when her eyes were met with the sight that she had feared. Or maybe it was what she wanted to see. Whichever option it may be, the sight still made her breath catch in her throat and her stomach tighten.

"Hey, what are you-" Chelsie stopped as she saw what Olivia was looking at, unable to stop her mouth from falling open ever so slightly.

"He showed up alone?" Olivia managed to choke out, in a quiet voice.

Her eyes were locked onto the sight of Ethan in his tuxedo, shuffling into the room with his hands in his trouser pockets. He looked almost... nervous, but she couldn’t think of any possible reasons for this. Her eyes lingered on his face, unable to stop herself from noticing how piercing his green eyes looked, even from a distance of a good few metres away.

But then suddenly, without any warning, his head snapped upwards, and she found herself locked in direct eye contact with him. Immediately a deep blush rose to her cheeks and she pushed her head downwards, forcing herself to look at the floor.

Why wasn’t he with anyone? It wasn’t as if he didn’t have a choice, like Olivia. He could have the pick of all the single girls in the school... and probably most of the taken ones too. The only explanation would be that he didn’t even ask anyone, but her mind couldn’t think of a possible reason for that, either.

Why did he have to be so confusing?

Silently, she cursed herself for ever becoming involved with him. Sure, there had been some fun times, times when she felt so elated she thought her heart might burst out of her chest, but there was also no way to erase the pain from her memory. The feeling when she had walked in on him and Sammi, when he had told her to keep their relationship a secret, when he refused her second chance...

"You’re thinking about him again, aren’t you?"

Olivia was jolted back to reality by the sound of Chelsie’s voice. The blush rose to her cheeks again. Why was the look on her face always a total giveaway? "Uh, no..." she lied half-heartedly, even though the truth was blindingly obvious.

"Why don’t you just go talk to him?"

"Because, I told you. I’m done with him."

"So why are you still thinking about him?"

"I’m not!" she said, a little sharper than she had intended. "I’m not. Can we just please try and forget about my suck-ish life for one moment? I’d rather just try and have a good time."

"That, we can do," Chelsie said, grinning at her best friend, just as the DJ resumed its original music and turned up the volume. "Come on, party girl."

***

"Carter!" Courtney screeched, her voice echoing off the tiled walls of the girls’ bathroom. "Do you want me to go out there with my straps halfway down my arms? Come and help me! Now!"

Carter sighed irritably and pushed the door open a fraction, poking his head round in order to get a look at his girlfriend. He hadn’t been in a bathroom of the opposite gender before, and he was almost wary of what he might find. "You want me to go in there?"

"Why’d you think I called your name?" Courtney said, shooting him a menacing look. "Get the fuck in here and help me!"

He sighed again, rolling his eyes before pushing the door open fully and stepping inside. Courtney was standing by the mirrors, staring desperately at her reflection as she adjusted the bodice of her dress.

"What’s wrong with it?" he asked, his brows furrowing in confusion.

"Are you serious?" Courtney screeched, the high-pitched sound causing his ears to ring. "Can’t you see? The stupid shop’s measured my shoulders wrong, and the straps keep falling down!"

Her arms fell to her sides and sure enough, her left strap slid off her shoulder and downwards towards her elbow. Carter resisted the urge to roll his eyes as he stepped forwards. "Isn’t there a way you can adjust it?"

"It’s a gown, Carter, don’t be so stupid! Of course you can’t! It’s custom-made!"

Sighing, he bent down slightly, running the satin material through his fingers and trying to figure out a way of fixing this - or at least getting Courtney to shut up. With every day he spent with her, she was only getting more irritating, and he was beginning to experience a feeling of deja vu, as this was exactly what had happened when he had been dating Alyssa.

Why was he drawn to such high-maintenance and demanding girls? Oh yeah, they were the hottest, but they never worked out. With another small sigh, he pulled down the strap until it sat on Courtney’s shoulder, but when he removed his fingers, the material just bounced back into its ill-fitting place.

"Well, that’s not going to work!" Courtney said, glaring at him. "God, Carter, you’re so dumb sometimes!"

"What do you expect me to do?!" he shouted at her, surprising even himself with the volume and tone of his voice. He hadn’t meant to, but as the fiery words escaped his mouth, he couldn’t help but feeling slightly... empowered. "Just stop going on about it, Courtney, it’s only a freaking strap on a dress! It’s not the end of the world!"

Courtney opened her mouth to retaliate, somewhat shocked by Carter’s sudden outburst. She was not used to him defending himself - usually, when she asked him to do anything, he would just obey without so much as a complaint. Her mouth gaped open slightly, but she found herself unable to think of a comeback.

"Why don’t you fix it yourself? Go and find some safety pins or something."

"I can’t go out there, Carter!" she wailed, her angry tone now softened into a more irritating cry. "It’ll ruin my entrance! If I go out, everyone will see my dress and it won’t be a surprise anymore! And mine has to be better than Alyssa’s! I’m not letting that skank win again."

"You know, everything doesn’t have to be a competition between you guys. You’re only making it worse for yourselves."

"Yes, it does!" Courtney shrieked at him, her eyes narrowing. "How can you say that? If I don’t compete, it’ll only let that bitch think she’s won - and there’s no way I’m giving her the satisfaction."

Carter stayed quiet for a minute, his face tilted towards the floor. After a few seconds of daunting silence, he looked upwards and spoke.

"I’m done."

Courtney paused, a flicker of worry evident behind her eyes. "What?"

"I said, I’m done." Carter slid his hands into his pockets, trying his best to look calm and collected. "I can’t deal with this anymore. I’m done." He turned on his heel, and began heading in the direction of the door.

"You’re leaving me?" Courtney said incredulously. "You’re leaving me, on the night of the dance?"

Carter turned, a smirk playing at the corner of his lips, even though the situation was really nothing to laugh at. "Looks like it."

"But... but... you can’t!" Courtney wailed. The look of shock was evident on her face. Standing there in the middle of the bathroom, her satin grey dress curled around her body and the straps round her elbows, an upset expression on her face, she looked... vulnerable.

Carter felt a pang of guilt, but remembering her usual demanding persona, he quickly shook it off. "I think I can," he said, with a small shrug. "Consider yourself now dateless."

"B-but... you can’t show up alone!" Courtney protested, clinging on desperately to anything she could say that might make Carter change his mind. "You’ll be the laughing stock of the school!"

Carter shrugged again, smirking. "No, I won’t. But that just might be you."

And with that, he turned back around, pulling open the door and walking out into the hallway, leaving Courtney standing in the bathroom alone, wondering what she was going to do now.

------------------------

Ooooh :P So Carter's left Courtney... any ideas on what's going to happen next? Anybody think they know what Ethan's big plans are? It's so exciting :D Don't forget to drop me a comment for a chance of a dedication - you've only got 3 chances left now!