How Green Becomes Wood

"I had a great time!" Sloan said, "I'd linger out my goodbye, but I really can't." After giving Rumy a quick hug goodbye, she hopped into her car and began the drive home. It only took until she couldn't see Rumy and her tiny home in her rearview mirror before the discomfort and anxiety regarding her friend's plan crept back in. It would be fine; she was sure but couldn't help but think of all the horrible stories she had read and been taught about her whole life.

The next day at school, Milo told Xander he had another job interview lined up: over the past little while, he had a few different ones but didn't come near to being hired at any of the locations. This interview was at a local independent record store, and he wanted to be excited about it, but had significant doubts about his ability to be hired literally anywhere.

Finally, that Friday was prom night at last! Roughly a quarter to half of the prom-aged girls at the school either didn't come at all, or left at half of the day. Unlike on Monday, Sloan's mom knowingly pulled her out at lunch with the express intention to bring her to the hair salon, knowing it'd take some time for her hair to be properly styled. After school, then, Claire's mom dropped her off at Sloan's house so they could finish getting ready together.
 
Xander listened to Milo and nodded along with his concerns. He agreed it seemed like it was going to be a hard thing to do: to find a job anywhere in this town, but he assured Milo it wasn't just him. Other teens were having the same troubles. The most commonly landed job was one at a fast food joint, but there was a reason why those had a high turnover rate. He assured Milo that a good job was worth waiting and working for. Maybe he'd get the record job, maybe not, but he wouldn't get any jobs at all if he didn't apply. Applying and interviewing still sucked big time no matter how you sliced it.

Friday was a hectic time for the seniors. Even Toby was affected, though he seemed mostly excited. No one was quite certain if he was actually going to prom or not and if he had a date. He was hard to pin down.
 
Since Sloan's bedroom overlooked the street, the whole time they were getting ready, Claire couldn't help but take glances out the window towards the Necropolis, which Sloan only mildly teased her for, but she couldn't help it! Every date they went on left her liking him more, trying not to catch a glimpse of him was an impossible task. At least it was, until she had to focus on doing her own makeup while Sloan did hers.

Sloan decided to do a gold and blue look to match her dress and her jewelry, but Claire kept it more natural and soft.

"Next year I want to do something more dramatic," She said, putting on a soft pink lip-gloss, "but this isn't my real prom, so I can't pull out all the stops yet."

"You're going to look like a fairy next year, and I'm so excited," Sloan said in a slow, cautious way, leaning in carefully towards the mirror. At that moment, she was attempting to apply a fake eyelash and couldn't break her concentration.

Once they were both ready, and they had taken all of the requisite mirror-selfies and silly pictures in Sloan's bedroom, they went out to the front lawn to take the pictures Blair requested, so she could be certain they would be nice. Once they took nice normal pictures, they decided to replicate the stereotypical couple prom poses, laughing as they did.

Obviously, Sloan was in the dress they had bought at the mall, which she accessorized with the necklace they had surprised her with and gold hoop earrings. Claire just wore a simple pink slip dress, which had originally been a bridesmaid dress she wore to a cousin's wedding the year before, a silver bracelet and necklace set, and pulled her hair half up with rope braids.
 
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Alec sat at his window watching out as Sloan and Claire did their pictures on the lawn. He could see them really well from his angle up in his room, and he sat with his chin on his hands, watching with the occasional wistful sigh. Claire was amazing! His one regret that it had taken them so long to try dating. Oh well. Nothing in life was a waste! Not time spent single, not time spent with the wrong person. Now he had the opportunity to enjoy being attached to her, and he fully intended to enjoy it to the fullest and use his privilege to completely moon over her as she stood in that pretty pink dress posing with her best friend.

Xander went to find Dark to complain. Instead of doing homework, he had to sit and watch Alec act like he was in some romance movie. Xander could practically see the cartoon hearts floating around him!
 
Just as the two girls were about to leave--not in the classic stretch limo from movies but in Sloan's old VW Bug--Claire looked up and caught site of Alec in the window. Faintly blushing, she waved one hand shyly but couldn't hide the delight in her eyes to have seen him. Then, she took Sloan's arm and hurried with her to the car.

Looking up from the book he was reading, Dark asked in a flat tone, "What do you expect me to do about it? Blind the boy?"
 
Alec's face lit up when Claire saw him and waved at him. He raised his hand and tried to give a restrained wave in return, sighing again happily when she scurried off into Sloan's old bug. She was so pretty! And adorable.

"I was hoping maybe you could blind me, instead," Xander grumbled.
 
"No, no, no," Dark shook his head, turning his page idly, "Then you would be listening to the pining instead of seeing it. Although this is an ideal house to live in, were I to blind you."
 
"Your mother and I have well surpassed that sort of yearning," Dark replied indignantly. Had he known the term, he'd have referred to what Alec was experiencing as puppy love, which lacked the emotional nuance he felt differentiated their sort of pining and adoration.
 
"It might not be whatever you call young, baby love, but it is still yearning and pining and goth-colored hearts flying around your head whenever you look at her, or when she's thinking about or listening to you," Xander said blandly.
 
"She does like dancing with her friends," Xander nodded. "You couldn't pay me to be at that kind of function, though. I just hope she has the kind of night she deserves."

Rumy did not have a date to prom, but she did arrive with a group of fellow friends who also did not have dates and decided to go together. She did not normally take too much time with her looks beyond the basics, but, as was tradition, she'd gone all out with a dark blue denim-inspired dress with cut away shoulders, brass buttons, and red plaid accents and accessories. She'd done her makeup in bold red and blue colors to match her outfit, and her hair was perfectly done in bold, layered curls held in place by a subtle headband.

Toby showed up late, and he had a date with him. She was clearly a skater girl, and they matched each other's vibes perfectly. Toby was wearing his nice jeans with a white shirt and a formal suit jacket, and his hair was tamed for once. His date - a tall, surprisingly muscular girl with a deep tan and easy-going smile - had her hair in multiple tiny braids and an A-line formal dress that was tie-dyed and faintly glittery with a sequined belt. She was a lot more down-to-earth than Toby, but seemed more than willing to be a bit spontaneous.
 
Sloan mostly hung out with Claire, although as promised, she did dance with Rumy, and by no means did she ignore her other friend. The venue prom was hosted in was really decorated beautifully---rather than going for a common theme like Paris or The Roaring 20s, Sloan and the other member councils decided to do a 'night sky' theme, so they had lots of twinkly lights and fake clouds strung up, so it was pretty but didn't cross the line into cheesy. A touch Sloan was especially proud of was finding a Prom Queen crown with stars on it to match the theme.

As expected, the food wasn't the greatest, but the punch (which remained unspiked all evening) was pretty nice. Sloan and Claire both remarked they thought it'd be more like the movies, because it bordered on boring or awkward at times, but overall they really enjoyed themselves.
 
Toby and his girlfriend hung out primarily with their own crowd, though they did mingle with Sloan and her friends briefly. They were clearly enjoying themselves, and Toby seemed pretty much immune to awkward situations. Rumy enjoyed the evening, but she had about the same opinion as Sloan. It was fun, and the decorations were great, but it was also kind of boring.
 
After the night ended, Sloan and Claire got back into her car and they drove to whatever fast food place was both still open and nearest so they could eat food which was actually filling before driving back to where they'd be spending the night. Almost immediately, after returning home, Sloan changed out of her dress and, leaving it in a heap on the floor, set about the hard work of taking down her prom hair, lamenting all the while that she still looked so good it felt like a crime to undo it all, but she couldn't handle the stimulation of being so done up anymore.

"It's like that Buddhist sand art," Claire murmured. She didn't jump straight into changing, partially because Sloan was in the bathroom, and instead leaned near the bedroom window, gazing across the street at what she now knew to be Alec's bedroom.
 
The light was on in Alec's room, though the curtains were drawn, so it was muted from the outside. He'd heard Sloan and Claire arrive home and looked outside briefly, but only long enough to make sure they got in safely. Then, satisfied, he'd sat down to draw while listening to low music.
 
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