Frigid Flora

thirty-five - prom night

Chapter Thirty-Five

Flora's P.O.V

Prom had never been first and foremost on my thoughts like it might have been on other peoples' minds. Take Skylar, for example. Once prom was over the next thing on her agenda was undoubtedly a wedding dress despite her lack of groom. That girl had been planning outfits to events since she could walk, I was sure of it.

I, on the other hand, had been under the impression up until a few days ago that I wouldn't have been attending at all. Dancing plus socialising equals Flora Montgomery? Certainly not - but my mother, Skylar and Parker were insistent that the equation work out, and as it so happens, it's very difficult to refuse the ones you love what they want after going through several life threatening experiences and coming to understand just how deeply you care for the people around you. Just because I said I'd go didn't make me happy with any of it. Frankly I'd rather stay in and watch reruns of The Bachelor. Old habits die hard.

Parker hadn't executed a cringe inducing promposal (I taste vomit as I use the term that's now the most whispered word in the hallways) or anything of the sort. He would have hated doing it, and I watching it. It wasn't us. Bribery, however, wasn't out of the question and was very Parker.

"Go to prom with me." Parker had suddenly blurted in the middle of a conversation.

I blinked, sitting up straighter on the couch to look at him. "Weren't we just talking about shredded wheat?"

"I thought we'd finished that. Shreddies don't go with strawberry milk, end of. Throw that suggestion at Matthew, I'm sure he'll love it. New conversation topic: prom. Go to it. With me." His words seemed to blur into one another at the speed he was talking.

His eyes were still fixated on my living room's television, unable to look at me probably due to the fact he knew how against the whole event I was. I had been complaining about it for weeks.

"Prom?" I asked. I could hear my mother as she spent her day off work singing as she washed the dishes, the melody filtering down the hallway and filling the silence that stretched out between us. "As in the dance... With couples and punch and- dancing? That kind of prom?"

"No," He tore his eyes from Spongebob (nothing was on so sue me for still enjoying the children's programme) to look at me, clearly trying to suppress a smile and failing miserably. "That other kind where I give you up to the mighty dark lord Satan whilst chanting sacrificial hymns," He rolled his eyes. "Yes, the dancing kind."

"Damn it, Park. You got my hopes up for the whole bloodshed scenario. Thought someone was going to finally put me out of my misery."

"Well sorry to break it to you but that someone isn't me and I will forbid that someone from following through with said plan until prom is over. Stop avoiding the question. What do you say?"

I picked at the muffin I was eating. "These taste really good. You know, until you made that cake for your sister I'd have never thought you the baking type. To be honest you still don't fit that image in my eyes but- wait a minute. Is this why you baked?"

"You like them?" His eyes lit up, suddenly distracted. "I've never made lemon drizzle, I didn't know how it would go."

I took another bite, staring at him through eyes like slits. "Delicious, but with a very strong after taste of bribery."

His grin widened. "Come on, Flora. Anyway, soon I'll be on trial. It's a miracle the guys and I are even allowed out of the station right now. If things go bad, if I- if I end up in prison or something, I'll want my prom to look back on. I want you to look back on. A happy ending to my high school life. To remember I have someone who cared enough for me to go to this dance because I really wanted to, and I hardly ask that someone for anything, and she did it just for me so that it'd remind me I had someone waiting on the outside if things did go south and-"