How Green Becomes Wood

"Some, I think," Milo said, looking down at his camera, "But it's just getting started. There is still time." He looked up at the dance floor, "Sloan looks happy. Whose idea was this, by the way? Who first thought it up?"
 
"Alec," Xander told him. "He had the idea first and then ran it past Peter because there's no way we could afford this place even if we charged people an entrance fee, and we wanted something a little nicer than the back room of a pizza parlor."

"Want anything?" the "bartender" asked Xander.

Xander glanced at him. "A Roy Rogers."

"Coming up." He looked at Milo expectantly. "And you?"
 
"This is definitely a little nicer than a pizza parlor," Milo confirmed, looking again at the ballroom, and then, startled, at the bartender, "Um. Lemonade. I think. Thank you." Was he supposed to know the name of a nicer drink? He didn't know, and there wasn't a menu or anything. "What's a Roy Rogers?"
 
"Coke and fancy cherry syrup," Xander told him. "It's like a cherry cola, but with an upgrade. I think it's got cherries in it, too."

The bartender handed them both their drinks and asked if they wanted straws. Xander said yes and then offered to let Milo have a sip of his drink through the fresh, untouched straw. There was a Marchino cherry on the rim of his glass and a couple in the drink itself.
 
"Oh, thank you, but I don't really like carbonation. It's really, um... intense, you know? I don't like it. I always let pop go a little flat or use very little of the carbonated drink so I can get the flavour without... the bubbles." Milo replied, taking a little sip of lemonade, "Why do they give you a straw and then also sugar the rim?"
 
"The look of things, I guess," Xander said, wandering down toward the food table. "Makes it special. I hate flat pop. Can't stand it, but I get the carbonation thing." He turned and glanced at the dance floor to see Toby asking Sloan if she wanted to dance. So far, he hadn't shown any particular skill in dancing, but he was enthusiastic! "You gonna dance?"
 
"It tastes the same," Milo said with a little shrug, "It's just that people drink warm, flat pop. Cold flat pop tastes the same as cold carbonated pop." He followed Xander's gaze to the dance floor where Sloan, after some hesitation, accepted Tobey's offer to dance, and took a quick picture of it. She was a bit nervous, because she didn't know him well, and the only other time they had spoken, besides when she gave him a tour, was when he skated up to her in the middle of the cafeteria, so she wasn't totally certain of his intentions, but in the absence of definite proof... She went along with it.

"Absolutely not." Milo said definitively.
 
"Me neither." Xander consulted the food table. "Mini meatballs, or mini sausages? Or both... can I fet both on these tiny plates? Oh, there's tiny bowls, too."

Alec cheered Sloan on as the song changed to Brandy Clark's "Girl Next Door." Toby grinned in delight when Sloan said yes and happily took her hand for a brief moment, but he kept his distance while dancing. Sloan wouldn't know it, but Toby's main reason for keeping as much distance as possible while still actually dancing with a person was to keep from stamping on her feet. He moved and grooved enthusiastically, clearly just enjoying himself as he tried to include Sloan. He looked like one of those videos of toddlers dancing at weddings. It was awkwardly hilarious to watch.
 
Milo picked the little snacks he wanted, "I don't want to be in a crowd of people, and I definitely don't want to look stupid with them."

Sloan did her absolute best not to laugh at the way Tobey was dancing, because even though she just found it amusing, she didn't want it to come across like she was mocking him, so she just went along with it as best as she could. It was fun, and at least it meant she didn't have to worry about looking at all stupid. Throughout the song, something popped into her head, and she went back to Alec, lightly taking his arm and walking him off the dance floor, "So, um... Of all the people here, how many of them know... you know... Why you all organized this?"
 
Xander glanced back at the group dancing. "I seriously doubt you'd stand out in this group. Either of us. I just don't like dancing. Or crowds. Wanna sit at a table, or one of those couches?"

Alec considered the question as he caught his breath. "Um... Becky does, I don't think Tom fully knows. Peter knows. I didn't tell any of them the full story, in detail, but I think some guesses have been made. I swore them to secrecy, though."
 
"Either is fine," Milo murmured, and then thought about it, "The couches are probably more comfortable, though. And if we're there, it'd stop anyone from wanting to get a little too close to each other for a public space from sitting there."

"Okay..." Sloan replied, trying to figure out if that was acceptable to her, not that there was anything she could do about it, "But like, how much? Of what they know? Like what's the 'full story'? And the rest of them, like... the people who don't join us at our lunch table, ever."
 
"Cool," Xander agreed, leading the way to the couches with his overflowing bowl in one hand and his drink in the other. He sat down on the end carefully, not wanting to spill anything on the couch. They were comfortable but more firm than a living room couch so that it was easy to move and sit up.

"I told them that you had a bad experience at a party and that I wanted to make it up to you. I didn't tell them the exact bad experience or anything else. Becky knows that it was because you wanted to do something your parents wouldn't approve of, and that's why she invited you to her house. Perfect cover. We five - Peter, Becky, Tom, Xander, and I - we, as teens, deserve as a group to be able to have a party and not have to worry about our safety from our fellow teens, but not something ridiculously supervised. Everyone else here just knows that we wanted to have a fun but respectful party. That's it."
 
Milo sat near him, and almost immediately he had one leg bouncing, but that was just a fact of life for him and he didn't even really notice it. "What's the difference between this and prom, for you?"

Sloan nodded along with his explanation, deeming it fair. A bad experience at a party, strict parents. That's nothing. None of that called to mind... the rest of it. The parts she hated that even Xander and Alec knew. "Cool. Okay. I just, I thought it'd be weird if the school was like, 'yeah a whole party was thrown for Sloan but it wasn't even her birthday or anything.'"
 
"I'd have to rent a suit for prom, find a date, and there's no couches," Xander said bluntly. "And it's for a school-wide torture-fest. This is for," he stopped himself. "A... different reason." He shoved a meatball in his mouth before he could make a mistake and say something he shouldn't.

"Oh, no! Definitely not!" Alec laughed in relief. "That would be incredibly weird. No, they just think we decided to have a party because we want to. I think a lot of them actually think Peter wanted to throw this party to flex or something."
 
"You don't have to rent a suit," Milo replied, "and I think plenty of people just go to prom with their friends. It's not the fifties anymore. Plus it's not the entire school," he gestured at the room, "Just the seniors. Or juniors and seniors, depending on the school district."

"Oh good. Good." She sighed, releasing the grip she had on the ends of her hair, "It would have been a nightmare. It's better they think it's just so Peter can show off. Although he should've had his parents dress like they're secret service, or something, if they really wanted to commit to that."
 
"Still different, still dumb, a waste of money, and way too much pressure," Xander said. "You think you'll go when the time comes?"

"Apparently, his mom wanted to make it themed, but Peter refused to dress up that much or have a masquarade," Alec grinned. "She then vetoed his request for a DJ."
 
Milo shook his head, "Prom is supposed to be about celebrating graduation with your peers. There doesn't seem to be much of a point in celebrating if I was only at that school for a month. None of them are my peers, then. Not really. Just... faces."

"If it had been a masquerade, or themed, and I hadn't have warning to prepare an outfit for it, I never would've forgiven any of you," She laughed, "How did your parents take it?"
 
"Despite the fact that we didn't move everywhere, that's pretty much how it was for us until real recently," Xander remarked. "I still feel like most of these people are my peers, but... Alec loves it."

"I definitely would have given you a heads up then!" Alec assured her.
 
"What would you do if he wants to go?" Milo asked.

"Good!" She laughed, walking back to the dance floor, more or less just presuming he was following her, "Because that would have been the cruelest thing you could do to a girl!"
 
"Probably go and stand in a corner to make sure he stayed out of trouble," Xander shrugged.

Alec laughed and followed her. "You'd definitely stand out then! I'd never do that to you."
 
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