"Well I'm sure as fuck not getting my money back for these dresses," Michelle growled, "why the fuck does tomato juice have to stain, wit even is the point of tomatoes? Am gonny ruin Mae next time I see her!"

All but Orla scrubbed away at their dresses with toilet roll and hand soap, listening to the Macarena drift in from the gym hall. The fabric was all well and truly wrecked, as was the groups one-week streak of no meetings with Sister Michael.

"Am really enjoying watching Clare's knuckles turn white from scrubbing, so I am, but I'm gonny go get granda and see if we can catch the end of this song" Orla hopped off the bathroom counter and galloped out of the door, back into the main hall to fulfil the only reason she came to the prom.

"Right, pure long shot here but any chance you think your granda still carries that Swiss Army knife with him?" Michele questioned Erin with a menacing look in her eye. It was one of her 'lightbulb moments' which she only had after a drink, or four, and that absolutely nobody could talk her out of.

"No chance Michelle!" Clare quickly retorted, things had already escalated miles beyond what she was comfortable with.

"She got you in trouble too, ye know, Clare!"

"That doesn't mean you have to stab the girl!"

"Am no gonny stab her, just threaten her until the wee Donegal dickhead shites herself and learns her lesson!"

"Aw aye Michele, that will solve it, we're no gonny get in any more trouble than we already are!" Despite Clare's desperate attempt, sarcasm was not the way to handle Michele in times like these. The only answer was to leave her be, or to use brute force.

"Glad you see some sense Clare! Now does he carry the knife or what?"

Erin shrugged, knowing how relentless the brunette was and before anyone could try and stop her again Michele darted back into the main hall, dripping Heinz tomato soup as she went. Clare went to follow Michele in an anxious fit to try and stop her, but Erin grabbed hold of her arms before she could leave the bathroom.

"What do you think you're doing Erin, we've got to go out there and stop her!"

"Stop Michele? Catch yourself on Clare, she'll end up either stabbing us as well, or cacking herself like she did with big Mandy!"

"This whole night is an absolute disaster." Clare sighed and sank herself down onto the bathroom floor, shaking slightly as she went, most likely as a result not only of nerves, but also her soaked dress.

Tensions had been high the whole week. It started with Mae's arrival into the group, which sparked a feud with Erin and Clare which hardly had any time to truly resolve itself before they had all been 'Carrie'd.' Now Michele was about to get done for knife crime and the girls had ruined dresses, it was non-stop and it was starting to eat away at all of them.

"Look Clare, nobody's blaming you for all of this, it will blow over" Erin added with an attempted helpful tone. She sat down next to Clare, putting her hand on her shoulder rather patronisingly. She had a way of trying to be a good, honourable person, but completely sticking her foot in it and making things worse.

"W-why would they blame me?" Clare looked at Erin with a puzzled expression.

"Well, because Mae was your date.."

"And how is it my fault that she's a bloody psycho?!" Clare's voice reached new highs as she searched for the logic in Erin's mind that made Clare responsible for Mae's actions.

"Well if you hadn't brought her shopping then none of this would have kicked off." Erin really believed herself to be a beacon of truth in this situation. What Clare saw as blame shifting, Erin saw as logical justification for the nights' events. The stress and the exhaustion were creeping up on their mental well being as the two girls found themselves pointlessly arguing.

"You wanted her to come just as much as I did, Erin!"

"Aye but you're the one who was up her arse all week and needed to find someone to take to prom!"

"I didn't need to bring a date Erin, Mae just happened to ask!"

"Aye, after she found out you'd been stood up!"

"By you!" Clare growled.

"All I'm saying is, if you hadn't been so desperate and defined by whoever was taking you to prom, we wouldn't be here!"

"You're unreal Erin! Honestly, if anyone's desperate it's you, imagine taking James to prom, bloody James!"

Erin suddenly realised she had no quick comeback. Her argument was pulled from thin air, and Clare was right. It was a little desperate how quickly she had clung to James' arm. She could try and sound witty and pulled together, like she hadn't actually gushed when James showed up at her door, but at the end of the day, she knew she was being confronted with her truth.

"Well I'm sorry you're jealous, Clare!" The words just spilled out of her mouth, without really thinking. Not half an hour ago, Erin had been the one to apologise to Clare for being jealous over Mae, and now all of a sudden she was changing the narrative of her own story? Why was she so resentful towards Mae? Wasn't it all over anyway, surely the group wouldn't take her after the evening's events? So why was Erin picking a pointless fight with her already distressed best friend in the bathroom after their prom? She had no answers for herself, but before she could act reasonable, the damage had been done. For what was Erin Quinn if not hot headed?

Clare's face had contorted into a mix of confusion and disgust at what Erin was saying. She thought that they were back on good terms after their brief conversation earlier in the hall. Erin had apologised for being jealous, so what was there left to be arguing about? Sure, they were going to get into trouble on Monday but Erin had to know that this wasn't truly Clare's fault? Was she still jealous of Mae? Surely not.

"What the hell would I have to be jealous about?" Clare retorted.

"I don't know Clare, maybe you like James?" Erin's logic had completely disintegrated.

"I think you're forgetting something important, Erin." Erin paused, taking a minute to remember Clare's obvious lesbianism.

"Ah hah! So, you're jealous that James took me to prom when you secretly wanted to!" She subconsciously wanted herself to stop talking. Where did that even come from?

Clare's face went chalk white. She felt her insides drop to the floor as a massive lump formed in her throat. Either Erin was onto something about Clare that she herself didn't even fully understand yet, or Erin had completely lost the plot, she didn't know what was worse. All she knew was that this was her limit.

"Once again, you're arrogance is staggering, Erin!" She felt exposed, almost dirty after Erin's accusation, but she couldn't understand why. She had done nothing to allude to her liking Erin, in fact she consciously avoided anything that may seem suspicious ever since she came out to avoid situations like this.

Clare maintained herself, not breaking eye contact with Erin. She was determined to prove herself this time, but she could feel her voice begin to crack, dead giveaway. To an extent, she could see through what the taller girl was saying to find the biggest reach of all time, yet she couldn't help the way her body involuntarily seized. She couldn't help her heart racing, nearly pounding out of her chest. She had only felt like this once before and that was when she uttered her biggest secret for the first time to Erin, or anyone for that matter.

Clare was struggling to comprehend why she was so affected by what Erin said or thought about her. Sure, she was a sensitive girl, but if Michele behaved the same as Erin, she wondered if she would still feel thing churning inside of her that keeps her up at night.

It would make sense, Erin had been her best friend since primary school. So, it was normal for your best friend to have such an impact on your life? Right?

Clare pulled herself together as much as possible, with tomato juice staining her blonde hair, and got up left the bathroom without another word.

Erin's brain had finally given her respite as she could think of nothing to say as the smaller girl up and left.

Shakily she got up off the floor and headed back to the sink where they were cleaning up. She took a look at herself in the mirror, watching herself tremble slightly, the same way Clare had been earlier that night. She looked herself dead in the eye and tried to find an answer as to what the hell just came over her. There was nothing.

There was a light knock on the bathroom door which surprised Erin, it was a public toilet why was someone knocking? It wasn't until she saw a mess of curly hair poke through the door frame that she realised it wasn't a girl, but James.

"I came to check if you're okay"