One Of the Boys [An All Time Low Fic]

Somebody That I Used to Know

As I stated before, Prom season was upon us and in full swing as the school year came to an end. I talked to Alex about whether or not we would go together and he was ecstatic that I even mentioned it. It’s funny; I never took him for the Prom type, but he was all ready for us to step out as a couple at the dance.

Of course, that meant I had to go dress shopping. Who knew that shopping for Prom dresses was almost as ritualistic as shopping for a wedding gown? As Claude and I trolled through the mall together looking for the perfect dress to wear to our last high school dance, I watched girls I knew grouped together like schools of fishes swimming through the ocean that is the mall. I watched Freshman and Sophomore girls who had been invited by sleazy upperclassmen drag their harried mothers in and out of departments stores looking for all types of dresses, accessories, shoes; you name it.

Claude and I kept it simple. We got lunch at our favorite restaurant and then hit the department stores with our fingers crossed that the Prom sections weren’t completely gutted. As we walked into Macy’s, we passed the MAC counter with the same supermodel consultant standing behind the counter that I was humiliated in front of over the last summer. I smiled at her as she looked at me. I doubt she remembered me. I looked so different now.

We thumbed through gowns and picked out a bunch that we liked. Claude and I were getting along so much better nowadays. She even offered to sleepover at my house that night for old time’s sake. It felt like things were finally returning to normal.

Halfway through our fashion show, we got to talking and I decided to ask her about the drama they were going through while my life fell apart. “So… what happened to Adrianna? I mean, I heard she was cheating on Alex, but I also heard that there’s more to the story.”

Claude adjusted the straps to the blue and silver gown she was wearing and looked herself over in the mirror. She shook her head and said, “It’s so complicated. I mean, I liked her and all, but… she was… nevermind.” Claude looked uncomfortable.

I got up and helped her center the gown on her body. “Well, I mean, what happened?”

She looked at me nervously and said, “I just don’t want you to be mad at any of us. It’s not like we wanted to hurt you or anything.”

My heart stopped. “What do you mean? What did you guys do?”

She shook her head. “Nothing! Hold on. Let me change out of this dress.” She went into the dressing room. I could hear the zipper fly down and hangers rustling. Finally, she emerged carrying the gown and went to the return rack to set it down. Then she turned to me and said, “She did this to you.”

“Did what to me?” I asked. “What did she do?”

“Everything!” Claude exclaimed. “She got Michael and Melanie to take creep shots of you. She convinced Lisa to talk you out of coming to our show. She started the MySpace page. She did it all.”

I swallowed hard. “What?! Why would she do that to me?!”

Claude looked away and said, “She knew, Liz. She had always known about your feelings for Alex and she was threatened because… well, I mean, he felt the same. We didn’t know it at the time, but he felt the same about you.”

I nodded slowly. “Unbelievable. I can’t believe she would do this to me.”

Claude shrugged. “What can I say? She was afraid of what you could do. She was afraid of losing Alex. In the end, she really did love him, but what she did was just… beyond cruel. She was all about poisoning people against you and when she succeeded, she was so happy. I guess that’s why I was so mad at you.”

I shook my head. “I don’t understand.”

She sighed. “She convinced me that you were just using me. That you only cared about me because of my dad’s money and that once you had Alex, you’d drop me and never talk to me again. And it worked, because you never once thanked me for helping you get popular. I felt like what she was saying was true.”

I placed a hand on her shoulder. “Claude, I should’ve thanked you for all you did, but I just… I didn’t know how. You did so much for me and I really appreciate it.” I looked down sadly. “I just don’t believe any of this.”

She nodded. “It was awful. We all had to sit there and pretend like we didn’t know what was going on because she kept telling us that it would, ‘teach you a lesson about using people.’ None of us wanted to be a part of it at first, but then… It just kinda played out like that.”

I thumbed through more dresses, determined to find the right one. “Well, I guess it backfired in the end anyways, so there’s no use getting into a fight over it.”

Claude made a noise in the back of her throat. “So, are you gonna tell me who you’re going to Prom with yet?”

I blushed. I still hadn’t told her about Alex and me. I figured that I could probably tell her, but I didn’t really believe that we were together. It was like living in one of my daydreams where my life is awesome and the world is perfect. Saying it felt so foreign. I swallowed hard and said, “Well… umm… I’m going with Alex.”

Claude’s head whipped around at me so fast, I thought she was going to break her neck. “Are you fucking serious, Liz?!” I nodded slowly. She practically tackled me. “I knew it! I knew it! I knew something was going on between you two now! I can’t believe you didn’t tell me! Oh my god!”

I chuckled. “Well, to be honest, I’m still getting used to it. I haven’t even told Mom or Kat yet! I know they’ll be shocked.”

She nodded. “They’re gonna freak. Wow… I can’t believe that you guys are a couple! That’s so awesome!”

I laughed. “Yeah. It really is. He is so much more amazing than I imagined he’d be.”

She smiled. “I’m happy for you guys.”

“Thanks.” I said smiling back at her. We both grabbed a few more gowns and tried them on. Hopefully Prom would be better than Homecoming was.