TROPHY DATE

"If you thought—ow—I was joking, Grim, you were—OW!—sorely mistaken!" Mandy shouted from the bathroom, carefully plucking her eyebrows in front of the mirror.

"But Mandy, surely you'll reconsider,"the Grim Reaper pleaded, floating in the door and spinning the girl to face him. "Couldn't you just—"

"Can it," she snapped, forcing his hands off of her shoulders and turning once more to the mirror. "I'm not discussing this with you—"

"Den who will you discuss it with?" Grim interrupted. She didn't even spare him a glance.

"You'll do it Grim, and you'll like it. Now go get ready; I trust you can find something suitable to wear." When it was obvious the girl wasn't going to pay him any more attention, the Messenger of Death threw his hands down angrily and stormed from the room.

Mandy had been difficult as a child, but she had only become even more demanding as she grew older. She had forced him to do many strange and/or degrading things over the years, but this one took the cake.

Tonight was Billy and Mandy's Senior Prom. And Grim was to be her date.

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"I still don't see why you couldn't just go with Billy again this year," the Reaper muttered as Mandy navigated the streets on the way to their destination. He tweaked the red flower in his lapel irritably; why did he have to wear this stupid tuxedo? His robe had always been formal enough for far more important occasions. Mandy frowned deeper as she passed another car.

"Billy ruined my Junior Prom, Grim. There's no way he's going to ruin this one." The skeleton sighed; there really was no way out of this. He remembered Junior Prom with an inner smirk; Billy had spilled punch on Mandy, stepped on her feet, knocked her down the escalator (and onto Grim who was chaperoning, naturally, and his head had been stuck in a fall down the Up-Escalator for half an hour), tore the train of her dress, and ended the evening by asking her about the "Prom Night Tradition". She hadn't spoken to Billy for nearly three weeks after the event.

But that was no reason to be taking it out on him! She had grown up pretty; it would be easy for her to find some unfortunate sap to escort her. But no; she just had to continue to make his existence pain, didn't she? And it wasn't as if he didn't like her, because sometimes Mandy was okay. He just didn't like the idea of being chained to her for the whole evening without even the slightest chance that he could run off on his own for a bit.

He sighed again and scratched irritably at his cummerbund; it was going to be a long night.

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When they had pulled into the parking lot of Endsville's Civic Center, Mandy unbuckled her seatbelt and sat still. Grim, who was in the action of opening the car door looked at her curiously.

"...Is some'ting da matter, Mandy?" he asked, half-sitting down as she stared straight ahead, a frown twisting her pink-painted lips.

"Just waiting." He blinked at her for a moment in complete confusion before understanding dawned upon him and he smacked his forehead with one bony hand. Exiting the car, he strode to her side with as much dignity as he could muster in the unfamiliar attire and opened her door for her. The frown lessened a bit as she stepped daintily from the vehicle.

As they walked arm-in-arm to the doors, Grim reflected on Mandy's somewhat-disturbing girlishness. For such a grumpy, feministic young woman she was quite—well, girly. She always had been, actually; she only wore dresses and skirts, she liked unicorns (well, alright, she also liked demonic monsters, but the fact remained. Unicorns! I mean, come on!), she had enjoyed applying make-up ever since she turned 13, she had a substantial stuffed-animal collection and her favorite color was pink. Her Prom dress was pink too, actually. It was a nice, girly dress, with plenty of lace and sparkly-things and a semi-revealing cut. She had even curled her hair and worn pink high heels. Grim had never felt so out of place on a date before (although, admittedly, he hadn't had much opportunity to). If he didn't know Mandy to be the evil, vicious creature that she was underneath all the frills and lace she hid herself behind, he would feel quite strange indeed.

Well, he felt strange, anyway. But not as odd as he would be feeling.

Upon reaching the doors, Grim took his cue and opened it for her. She flashed him a very fake, slightly menacing smile as they entered the large building and grabbed his arm again. He exhaled strongly as the heavy doors closed behind them. There would be no turning back.

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"Could I get you some punch, Mandy?" Grim asked in a monotone as they located an open table. They hadn't received too many stares, although that wasn't totally surprising. Most of the kids in Endsville had seen Grim at some point over the years he'd been trapped there, and, being that the town had a small population, that didn't leave too many to be surprised. Still, he had been hoping for a more exciting reaction. Maybe some screams, panic, running, chaos... after all, how often did a 7 ft. skeleton escort a girl to the Prom? He was willing to bet that this was a first in Prom history. Possibly a second, but then there are all kinds of weirdoes running around out there.

"Yes, please." She sat in the chair he held out for her and removed her wrap. Grim hurried off to the refreshment table.

The table was oddly vacant when he arrived as those previously there had left as soon as they saw him coming. He was taking his time scooping up the punch, eager to spend as much time away from his "date" as possible.

The attack came out of nowhere. One minute he was carefully filling the ridiculously small punch glasses and the next he was frantically attempting to keep his balance while dodging the droplets of red juice now sailing through the air. The added weight on his back was making it difficult.

"Hi Grim!" The familiar greeting awakened feelings of both annoyance and relief in the Reaper. At least now there was some chance he might be able to slip away sometime in the evening.

"Get off me, boy," he ordered, allowing the annoyance to take over for a bit. There would be plenty of time for relief later.

"I didn't know you were gonna be chaperoning again this year!" Billy shouted as he released the skeleton from the bone-crushing grip. Billy, now eighteen years old, looked just like his father, if a bit skinnier and with wild, red hair. He had never grown into the nose, and his eyes still held the vacant, dazed look Grim had grown accustomed to over the years. He was quite a bit taller now, of course, almost on level with Grim himself. And his tuxedo was a size or two too small.

"I'm not here to chaperone dis year," the Reaper sniffed, turning again to the bowl and filling the glasses once more. "I'm here with Mandy. As her date."

He regretted saying it almost immediately as Billy's perpetually glazed eyes began to crinkle at the edges and his mouth shot up at the corners. He glared as the boy began to laugh.

"Grim and Mandy sittin' in a tree, K-I-S-S-S-S-S-S-"

"Yes, dat's quite enough, Billy." He turned and walked back toward the table. Maybe Billy being here wasn't such a blessing, after all.

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The two arrived at the table to see Irwin also seated there. While the young man had long since replaced his thick glasses with contact lenses, he had never been able to solve his weight problem. Nor his crush on Mandy. It seemed the more disagreeable she became the more infatuated he was. Even now he was nervously wringing his hands and sweating while trying to make small talk. Mandy was ignoring him.

"Here you are," Grim said, depositing Mandy's glass on the table. She blinked at it before fixing him with a stare.

"I didn't think scooping punch took so long. Did you have trouble figuring out the ladle?" she sneered, looking somewhat angry. Grim jerked his thumb over his shoulder.

"Nah, I just met up wit'-"

"Hi Mandy!" The girl was yanked forcefully out of her chair and into the arms of the rather excitable Billy.

"Billy! Let me g-"

"Oooooh, you look so pretty!" he gushed, squeezing her tighter. "Aren'cha glad to see me, Mandy? I bet you didn't know I was gonna be here!"

"Yes. I. Did. Billy," she grated, twisting her way out of his grip. Although her tolerance level had increased about as much as Billy's intelligence over the years, her strength, in proportion to her old friends, hadn't changed a bit. Billy was on the wrestling team, and Mandy, aside from a bit of dabbling in gymnastics, hadn't done much over the years. When she had finally managed to wiggle free, she fixed the boy with a menacing stare. "You called me earlier today and told me you were coming, remember?"

"...no." Mandy's glare melted into a look of disgust.

"B-Billy's right, Mandy; you look r-r-really n-nice tonight," Irwin stuttered, looking at his hands. Mandy continued to ignore him and turned to Grim.

"I want some munchies," she stated, her expression daring him to argue. He tried, naturally.

"But I just got back from-"

"Now, Grim." He sighed and trudged back over to the refreshment table.

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Much the night passed around their little table; Billy and Irwin filling the silence by chattering back and forth. Mandy alternated between sitting in silence and ordering Grim to get drinks or snacks. It got to a point where the Reaper couldn't take it anymore, and he stood.

"Mandy, could I talk to you for a minute?" he asked, pulling out her chair and yanking her to her feet. She blinked at him. It was a rather menacing blink, but he had decided that he wouldn't be deterred. Ignoring Billy's chorus of 'Grim and Mandy sittin' in a tree: A-B-D-X-X-I-C!', Grim lead her through the crowd and into a shadowed corner. She glared up at him, quirking an eyebrow.

"Well?" she asked dryly when he didn't speak. His skull gave an audible creak as his features rearranged themselves into an even deeper frown that usual.

"Gimme a minute, girl. I'm tryin' to tink of how to put dis." He tapped one bony digit against his skull for a minute before dropping his hands. "Mandy, I'm havin' a horrible time."

"It's Prom, Grim. It isn't supposed to be fun for you."

"And I suppose you're havin' a ball?" he shot back, giving her a once over. "Nothin' about your body language is suggesting that to me." She gave him a smug look.

"Maybe it's not too exciting now, but that part'll come soon enough. In fact," she reached into her tiny, pink-beaded handbag and extracted a tiny notebook, flipped it open, and appeared to consider its contents, "you and I are due to get our Prom photo taken in about fifteen minutes."

"What is dat?" Grim asked, looking curiously at the notebook. Mandy started to put it away.

"Nothing you have to worry a—Hey! Give it back, Grim!" He had snatched the notebook from her hand and was now holding it up to his eyelevel, which was quite out of her reach.

"What is dis, then... Prom Schedule? Let's see, Item Number 1: Arrive, find table, get punch. Item Number 2: Socialize." He quirked a non-existent eyebrow at this. "Socialize? You?"

"Can it," she snapped, hopping now in an attempt to get the book. Grim glared at her and held it higher.

"Huh... get photo... socialize more... slow dance... go—wait a minute! Slow dance?! I never agreed to—"

"You have to slow dance at Prom, Grim. Everyone does. If we don't, my Senior Prom will be ruined. And I'll make you pay." Never before had her deadpan voice sounded so deadly. The Reaper was so taken aback that he dropped the notebook, which fell right into her open purse.

"I had no idea dis Prom ting was so important to you, Mandy," he said. Her expression softened back to its normal, granite-like impervious state.

"Well, since my entire life has been one large horror movie, I figured I deserved at least one night of normalcy. That night is tonight; we're doing everything according to the book and will have the perfect prom night. Disagree," her expression turned menacing again for a moment, "and I'll break your face." He blinked.

"If you wanted a normal Prom night, den why are you making da' Grim Reaper be your date? Isn't that a bit unusual?" Mandy shrugged.

"You're a trophy date, Grim. Tall, dark, mysterious, and easy to control."

"Trophy date, huh? You forgot handsome." She blinked at him several times.

"Yeah, sure." She grabbed his arm. "Picture time, big boy." They disappeared into the crowd.

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As the photographer, who was making a point of not looking at him at all, posed them for the photo, Grim indulged in a bit of inner reflection. Mandy wasn't given to flights of fancy. Well, at least not as long as he had known her, and that was for most of her life, and all of the important bits. She had never swooned over boys, always laughed at chick flicks (especially when somebody died) and spit on every romance novel she had ever laid eyes upon. It was just the way she was; sensible, realistic, and heartless.

But here was the same girl, allowing a photographer to lay her head against Grim's bony chest, wrapping her soft fingers in his sharp finger bones, and only half-frowning at the camera. He had never before witnessed such behavior in her. Billy? Yes (and he did not want to remember that instance, thank you very much). But Mandy? No.

It wasn't until after the flash that he realized that he'd forgotten to smile for the picture. Unfortunately, Mandy had noticed too.

"Why didn't you smile?" she demanded as they navigated the crowds on their way to fill the next item on the list: 'Socialize'. Grim snorted.

"You tink dis is a fun time for me? Besides, you didn't either."

"I'm different. I don't have to smile if I don't want to."

"I'm da same as you in dat respect, my girl." And on that note, they dropped the subject.

While weaving through the mass of couples, Mandy stopped up short. Before them stood Mindy: her old childhood nemesis. The other girl was clutching the arm of a muscular looking young man. While Mindy had also grown up pretty, she was not as pretty as Mandy in Grim's biased opinion (although this bias goes against Mandy most of the time. It's very hard to make excuses for someone who makes your existence so horribly unpleasant, after all). After a moment, Mandy seemed to make some kind of decision. She straightened up, threw her shoulders back, and dragged Grim the remaining distance to the other couple. And she did it with poise.

"Hello Mindy," she said flatly. "I thought that was your perfume I smelled. From across the room." Mindy snapped to attention immediately and gave Mandy and Grim the once-over.

"Well, I didn't expect to see you here, Mandy. You look... nice," the girl answered back, somewhat disdainfully. She gave Grim another glance. "Although you date is a little unsettling. I always knew you were into the occult, but I didn't know the occult was into you, too." Grim's jaw dropped so far at this comment that it fell off. Mandy appeared unconcerned about the remark as Grim scrabbled on the floor for his missing bone..

"Oooh, clever, Mindy. Did you come up with that all by yourself?" she said, detaching herself from her skeletal escort and moving to stand in front of Mindy's date. "I don't think we've been introduced. I'm Mandy." She held her hand out daintily. The boy looked around nervously before smiling at her and taking it.

"Hi, the name's Greg. Pleased t'meet'cha." Mandy smirked at him.

"I've seen you around school before, haven't I? Maybe at a football game?" Greg beamed, totally unaware of the fact that Mandy had never once attended a football game.

"Oh yeah, definitely! I'm number 28."

"I bet you run really fast," she continued. Greg's chest swelled slightly.

"Fastest on the team." Mandy nodded and smirked at him again, then crooked her finger, beckoning him closer. He leaned down and she whispered something in his ear. Grim noted that Greg's color had gone slightly pale.

"Well, it was nice meeting you, Greg. And good to see you too, Mindy. I hope you enjoy the rest of your evening." Mandy turned and once more locked her arm in Grim's, leading him away from the other couple. The skeleton was determined to spoil her fun and not ask her what she had said, but there are some things a person just needs to know.

"Okay Mandy, what'd ya say to dat kid? Or do I even want t' know?" Mandy, brushed a curl from her forehead.

"Oh, I was just letting him in on a bit of information I thought he deserved to know."

"...yes?"

"I'm sure I told you about it. You remember; it was that one day I came home from school and you asked me who died and why it was so funny." Grim thought for a moment before shaking his head.

"Mandy, you know I don't actually listen to any'ting you say when you're like dat," he said, disappointed that his remark in-no-way hurt her feelings. She shrugged.

"Well, I'll tell you again, but only because it's so funny. You see, Greg back there is her brand new boyfriend. Her old one dumped her, but wouldn't tell anyone why out of embarrassment."

"Get on wit' it already!"

"Let's just say that she gave her old beau a few unwanted guests in his intestines." Grim slowed down for a moment before picking his pace back up.

"...dat's disgutin'. And you told dat' Greg-boy just now?"

"Maybe." Grim gave a little chuckle.

"You are evil, my girl."

"Don't I know it?" Mandy took out her mini notebook and crossed "Socializing" off the list.

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This was the moment. This was the time. The big slow dance was about to start, and Grim was hiding. He wasn't exactly sure why, but all he knew was that he absolutely could not dance with Mandy. It would be a crime against nature! ...or at least against his own feelings. Slow dances were meant to be shared with someone you were close too and cared about, not some snot-nosed control freak that you despised most of the time. He would rather dance with Billy.

...Okay, well, maybe not.

He considered his options from his hiding spot beneath the refreshment table. He could stay here and be safe from the dance, but Mandy would probably grind him into powder later, and that takes awhile to heal from. On the other hand, he could always pretend that he didn't know who Mandy was and try and fool himself into thinking that he was having a random, intimate moment with a pretty girl. ...which would never work. Mandy demanded recognition, and any attempt at ignoring her presence would be about as fruitful as an apple tree in the middle of the desert.

The skeleton shook his head; this wasn't fair. Ever since those kids had forced themselves into his existence, it had been nothing but pain. Well, okay, there were those times that they had fun together, and there were moments when seeing them happy made him happy, and seeing them sad made him sad, and occasionally he'd think he felt a flicker of fatherly emotion somewhere behind his breastbone... but did those paltry moments make up for the 8-ish years he'd spent beneath that wicked child's heel?

He thought about her notebook and her wish for the 'Perfect Prom Night'. 'Slow Dance' had been circled and underlined with little stars around it, as it was clearly the most important part of the evening. She would never forgive him if he bailed on her now... but did she deserve it? He thought for a moment.

Grim was just about to admit defeat and crawl out from under the table when the music began and the dance floor flooded with couples. He froze for a second before banging his skull against the ground.

He was going to die. Again.

He slipped out from behind the table and half-stood, looking around for his probably-pissed date. He spotted her at the edge of the crowed, attempting to lead Billy in a proper slow-dance. Billy was trying to waltz and kept swinging Mandy off her feet as he changed direction too quickly. Irwin was longingly watching them dance from the sidelines. Mandy had the look of a woman barely holding a terrible rage in check. He gulped. Definitely not a good time to go over there. Staying in the shadows, the Grim Reaper made his way through the crowd and back to their table, dreading the end of the song.

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There was no explosion. There weren't even words. The dance ended, the three teens drifted back to the table, Mandy bringing up the rear. When they reached the table, Mandy didn't sit. She didn't even look at him; just grabbed her wrap and her bag and turned away from the table. She walked evenly to the double doors, threw them open, and strode out. The three males stared after her in silence.

"Uh... Grim? Maybe you should go talk to her? She seemed pretty mad," Irwin volunteered after a moment of stony quiet. Grim looked at the two boys desperately.

"Can't one of you do it? She probably doesn't want to talk to me right now." They shook their heads quickly.

"Are you kidding, Grim? We can actually die! The most she can do to you is take you apart! Besides," Billy frowned, "you're the reason she's mad. You gotta take care of it."

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She was unlocking the door to her car when he caught up with her. Finding the tuxedo uncomfortable to run in, he'd done a quick change back to his customary robe during his dash across the lobby. That one turned some heads, lemme tell ya.

"Mandy!" he called. She didn't look up, just pulled the key out of the lock and began opening the door. She was nearly inside when he reached her and dragged her back out. "Just hold on a minute, girl. We need to-"

"Let me go!" she snapped, trying to wrench her arm away. Grim was having none of that. "I don't want to talk to you, Grim. If you don't let me go right now, I'll break every bone of your body. And don't think I won't do it."

"All because of a silly dance? Mandy, dat's ridiculous."

"It is not."

"Yes, it is. I've never seen you behave so childishly, not even when you were ten years old!" She finally managed to shake him off and turned to glare at him. But the force of her hateful look was dimmed by something that he'd never seen on her face before. He'd long ago assessed that Mandy was unable to cry, and that assessment held true even now, but there was something very close to sadness in her face, and it was completely different from any look he'd ever seen on her. It was... frightening.

So was the sound her hand made as it cracked against the side of his skull.

"Is it childish to want one perfect night? Because, while I know it's unrealistic, I'm certain people much older than I am do it all the time. You've done it, on occasion. So don't you dare say I'm being childish!"

They were quiet for a moment, Mandy staring angrily at the ground and Grim rubbing the side of his skull. He searched for something to say, and came up empty. After a few more moments, he decided to wing it.

"Look, I'm sorry I ruined your night-" he began, but her expression cut him off. She lifted her head a bit to glare at him; every last feature of her face radiating ice.

"Yeah, I bet you are. Well, I don't forgive you." She turned once more to the car. "In fact, I never want to see you again. You're free; get out of here." Grim gaped as she drove off. Free?! After all these years... free? It felt so horribly new to him. He was... free.

He stood in the lot for a moment before smiling to himself. He gave a short laugh, snapped his fingers, and disappeared.

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Mandy threw her keys on the hook next to the door as she entered her home. The lights were off, but she didn't need to see. Besides, blackness seemed to fit her mood.

She tore off her wrap and yanked the pins out of her curled hair, snarling as the hairspray kept it in place for a good ten seconds before it fell from its perch. She couldn't even have a good, dramatic anger scene, could she?

"God, I want to kill something..." she muttered, removing her heels as well before making her way to the stairs, which she was planning to storm up in the most cliché way possible. Her plans were ruined, however, when she ran into something solid, which immediately closed around her.

"Welcome to my reality," the deep, familiar voice said from the shadows. Mandy nearly shrieked in anger, but composed herself. She chose to growl instead.

"I told you I never wanted to see you again, bonehead."

"And this way you can't. So shut up." She struggled in the bony embrace, but was unable to break it. She silently made up her mind to start weightlifting. "Well, Mandy, it seems that I'm free now for the first time in years. I could do any'ting I want to do, and you have no say in it. How does that make you feel?"

"Let. Me. Go." He laughed.

"I don't tink so. Y'see, I've got some plans for you, my girl, whether you like it or not." Mandy rolled her eyes in the dark.

"Oh yeah, like what? Decapitation?" Grim shifted his grip and rested his skeletal hands on her hips. The girl was so shocked that she didn't even move.

"No. More like a dance." The music started out of nowhere, filling the dark, empty room. Grim was moving by himself at first, but Mandy gradually reached up and managed to link her fingers together behind his bony neck. They swayed to the waltz in the darkness, both silent for the duration of the song.

When it ended, Mandy was immediately released. She ran to the light switch and flicked it up, revealing Grim standing where he had been when he'd let go. She gave him a critical once over, then brushed past him to the couch. He followed and sat down beside her. They were silent.

"...so... I guess this is goodbye?" Mandy asked after a moment. Grim shrugged.

"I dunno. An immediate move back to da' Underworld would be a bit hard on me, I tink. I'm so used to life here on da surface now. I'll go back, but it'll hafta be gradual. I was gonna ask if I could impose on you for a place t'stay until I'm fully ready to go back. If it wouldn't be too much trouble..." Mandy looked at him blankly.

"I'll talk to Mom. She's been kinda nervous about you being around here so much since I turned 14, but I bet I could make her see sense. After all, you are a friend of the family." He grinned at her.

"Well, dat's good to hear," (of course, Billy was conveniently forgotten in this exchange).

"Nah. If worst comes to worst, you could always sleep on the rug in my room." He chuckled a bit and the ghost of a smile appeared on Mandy's lips. He stretched, filling the room with the sounds of bones creaking and joints popping.

"So... did your Prom go alright after all? I heard your date was a real jerk." Mandy shrugged.

"It turned out in the end. I've fulfilled every item on my list but one, but that can wait. And how about you? Did you have a good time?" He yawned.

"Oh, I s'pose so. I was lucky; my date was da' prettiest girl in the place, and she danced like you wouldn't believe." Mandy punched him in the arm and he laughed. The girl got up and stretched.

"Well, Grim, I'm gonna go get changed and hit the shower. Feel free to crash on the couch." She bent over and did something she had never done to anyone before, and Grim gaped at the spot she'd been standing in long after she'd gone upstairs.

"Well, if dat don't make dis da' strangest night ever. A kiss for da Grim Reaper..." her mumbled to himself, rubbing his bony cheek absently as he stared into space. Just as he rose to go to bed, something sticking out of half-open purse caught his eye. Grim scratched his chin and picked up the tiny notebook, wondering what part of her schedule she missed. He flipped through until he came to the last page with writing on, and his eye sockets stretched larger than ever, the creak of his bones filling the silent room and upsetting the ancient Saliva, who had been asleep outside.

He stared at the paper for a few more moments, before tearing it out and scrawling something on it with a calligraphy pen he magicked up. He left it on her bedside table, and left the house, laughing.

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Mandy left the bathroom half an hour later, clutching the towel to her as she made her way across the chilly hall to her very pink bedroom. She'd heard the front door close and figured Grim had gone next door to Billy's for the night.

It wasn't until she was fully dressed and climbing into bed that she noticed the piece of paper on her table. She looked at it with curiosity. It read:

"Dear Mandy,

Went to Billy's for the night. I'm sure you'll understand. I'll be over in the morning.

--GRIM

P.S. You're a little young for me, child. Call me in about three thousand years"

Mandy erupted into laughter, dropping the paper on the floor. In the middle of the page, the last item of her list glared at the sky in brilliant, hot pink ink. In large bubble letters, it read:

"PROM NIGHT TRADITION"

And somewhere, out in the night, Greg Hanson was making a mad dash out of a hotel room, screaming about worms.

This would most certainly be a night to remember.

The End

Previously not here Author's Note:

Hi, thanks for reading. I just wanted to let everyone know that this is NOT a romance. It seems like one at points, but I was trying to convey a more fatherly-emotion in Grim. It came out sorta mushy -.- Anyway, thanks to the girls who commented before I reposted this, and I urge everyone to review, as this is my first Billy and Mandy story, and I'd really like some feedback. Okay, have a good one, y'all!

P.S. Pics for this fic: (Grim, Billy and Mandy); (The pic that started it all; also entitled Trophy Date)