All I Wanna Do is Run

What the fuck?

As Courtney sat in her car, that was the only string of words that came to her mind. She kept replaying the scene over in her head, wondering if she made the right decision when she said yes to Alejandro asking her to go to prom. Of course, she was aware that there was some kind of ulterior motive that he had, though she couldn't figure out exactly what it was. Probably just to get in her pants. She sighed. It was just one night of her life, after all, so she knew it shouldn't matter so much, but she couldn't help but feel… disappointed. Shaking her head and drawing her keys out of her backpack, Courtney pushed them into the ignition, starting the car. It was nearly dark, and she had multiple tests to study for, assignments to work on, and new violin music to practice. There wasn't any time in her schedule to be stressing about boys. She hadn't for four years, and she wasn't going to start then.

Once she got home, she parked her car in the garage, shut the car off, and got out. Carrying her backpack with her, she walked up the steps leading from the garage to inside her home.

"Mamá? Papá?"

"They're out… again." Courtney turned to see her sister, Kate, sitting at one of the barstools in the kitchen, leaned over a spiral notebook that she was writing in. A textbook was angled to where she could glance up at it and she had her earbuds in, though they weren't playing loud enough to where anyone else could hear it.

"Of course," Courtney frowned and dropped her bag where she was standing, "Did they say when they would be back?"

Kate didn't respond verbally, opting to point a tanned hand at a piece of scratch paper that was situated on the opposite end of the counter from where was poised. Courtney crossed the room, taking the note in her hands. In her father's doctor-like scrawl, it read:

Dearest Courtney & Kate,

Your mother and I have been called in to look at some very important paperwork that we just received from a client. We are not sure how long it will take, so we plan to stay overnight. I attached $50 for dinner for you both.

Be good.

Courtney hugged her arms to herself. Both of her parents worked as corporate lawyers at one of the most prestigious law firms in a remote city. She was grateful for everything that her parent's jobs were able to give her: stability, comfort, nice things, and good opportunities. She wasn't blind to the fortunes that her parents having well-paying jobs gave her, but she knew that people at school assumed that she just had it made out for her. They thought that she was frigid because she assumed she was better than all of them without even knowing her. Not like she'd ever given them a chance to. She ran a hand down her face, noting how she needed to stop psychoanalyzing herself. It wasn't exactly helping her mood.

"I already ordered the usual takeout to be delivered," Kate said, not taking her eyes off of what she was reading.

"Great. I'll… I'll be in my room." Courtney left, grabbing her backpack on the way.

After navigating up the foyer's stairs and into her bedroom, she flipped on the light switch, turning on the faux chandelier that hung in the middle of her room. She took a seat on the swivel chair by her desk before grabbing a match and lighting a candle. The vanilla-scented aroma filled the room as she got out all of the assignments that she needed to complete and motivated herself enough to begin working.

She was halfway through her self-made AP Macroeconomics test review, already having eaten dinner, showered, and resumed working, when her phone buzzed from where she set it down on her bed. Once she finished the question she was scribbling the answer to, she stretched her arms above her head, letting out a yawn, before looking at the clock. Only 9:00? Getting up from her desk chair, where she had been hunkered down for the last few hours, she walked over to where her phone was. She picked it up and looked at the notification

SNAPCHAT

from Duncan Romero

Courtney frantically threw her phone back on the bed. Why is Duncan messaging me? Why now? Why after today? She thought about what he could possibly be messaging her as well as declaring to herself that she should have never let Bridgette convince her to download the app as she shakily picked the device up again. Blowing out a breath, she opened the Snapchat with one hand while the other played with the hem of her light pink pajama shirt. It was a picture of him, she could tell from the dog collar he never took off, showing the left side of his jaw.

care 2 give me some of those gov answers princess? ;)

Rolling her eyes, she tried to suppress the smile tugging at the corners of her lips. Should have guessed. She focused her camera on her hand covering the work she had been working on.

Yeah, right. Do I need to email Mr. Caldwell?

With another thought, she took a picture of her face; the picture displayed her head leaning against one of her hands with an eyebrow raised. Her normally chestnut hair hung as dark brown around her face, still slightly damp, with her side bangs covering much of her forehead.

Besides, you should know more than me about the government, considering how often you get in trouble with it.

She chewed on her lip as she awaited Duncan's response. The small vibration took her out of her daze and she cursed herself after she immediately clicked on the photo. The photo showed his feigned surprised face.

wow is the princess admitting that I'm better than her at something?

Courtney smirked, snapping a picture of herself.

You wish.

The next message didn't come for quite some time. Courtney decided to take this as a sign that she should get back to her work, so she resumed the study guide she had been busy with, moving onto the next question. God, Courtney, distracted much? She pushed her phone farther away from her on her desk, focusing in on the task.

She managed to get two questions in before her phone buzzed her out of her concentration. Reaching over, she held the piece of technology to unlock it and swipe over to her Snapchat conversations, seeing Duncan's name appear at the top of the list. She tapped on the new message. It was a video, starting out by showing Duncan's lopsided grin before he flipped the camera, showing several other boys in the video. While he appeared to be setting up the camera on something to act as a tripod, Courtney tried to figure out who the other people were. It looked like Owen, DJ, Geoff, and… Harold? That elicited a chuckle from her as she was sure that the last boy was not there by his own will. They seemed to be in the living room Geoff's house, the lighting dim but still allowing her to see. Courtney recognized the space from when had been there for a few parties that various friends had coerced her into going to. She wasn't an avid party-hater, just constantly having better things to do, which, coincidentally, fell on all of Geoff's party dates. In the video, Duncan got the phone set up and stood back in line with the others. One by one they all lifted their shirts up, having black paint smeared into a character on each of their stomachs. As they stood in order it spelled out:

?

The video stopped then and Courtney gasped, bringing a hand over her mouth. He had done that for me? Duncan asked me out to Prom? She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping that it was all a dream and that when she opened them, all of these suddenly new boy problems would vanish. Bringing her phone to the camera, she took a picture of the wall in front of her, worried her face would give too much away.

Alejandro already asked me.

Duncan's response was instantaneous, coming to her as a text chat.

cool.

And then,

have fun courtney.

What does that mean? She pursed her lips. It wasn't like she could just accept his proposal when she had already said yes to Alejandro. How would people see her as a person? As student council president? If she ran for office one day? She couldn't, and wouldn't, allow her promises to mean so little. Duncan didn't really like her, anyway. She definitely didn't like him. They just had a little moment today, that was all.

Is that all you want it to be?

Eyes looking up at her ceiling, she attempted to rid herself of the burning of tears threatening to spill. She would not let herself cry over such a frivolous situation. But, oh, how she wished she could.

So much for not caring about boys.

Wanting the day to be over with, Courtney hurried through the rest of her homework. Some assignments she left unfinished as she had already started them or was just planning to start way in advance of the due date. The house was quiet and another few hours had passed, so she assumed that Kate was already sleeping. She put all of the work back in her bag and zipped it up. Walking across the room, she plugged her phone into the charger while setting an alarm, then laying it on her bedside table. She looked at it one more time, shook her head, and walked into the hallway. Moonlight entered through large windows that overlooked the upstairs hallway where the tan girl stood. Chilly air swept through the rather large home, encompassing the girl and pushing her towards her sister's room. Kate was asleep in her bed, her brown-black hair that she had inherited from their father splayed across the pillow. Courtney took a second to examine her room. While Kate's room was similarly styled to Courtney's, she had taken it upon herself to add many polaroids strung onto her walls, various posters and art pieces, along with other memorabilia. Courtney's room had a few pictures taken with family and friends, but not to the amount that her little sister kept. She stepped over to the bed and pulled the covers up, moving under them. Pulling the cozy blanket up and around her, she turned on her side. The comforting warmth of another person helping her to doze off.

Letting out a groan, Courtney placed down the table she had been helping Leshawna to carry into the large hotel ballroom. A month had passed since Alejandro had asked her to be his date along with the happening with Duncan, and student council was expected to set up the space for prom. So, she had made absolutely sure that everyone would be there to help out and not skip to leave only a few people doing all the work. Her eyes scanning the room, she looked in disdain at all the work that still needed to be done. The group had been laboring for two hours now — well, most of them had been.

"Noah, if you're not going to do anything useful, I'm going to make you leave."

The aloof bookworm removed his eyes from being fixated on the classic literature as he raised one of his brows, challenging, "Are you saying I can go home?"

"What? No! No, that is not what I meant!" She pulled at her hair. Why did he choose today to be so irritating? "Go help Lindsay decorate the tables."

He stared back at her.

God. "Please."

With that, Noah left to meet with Lindsay, who was examining the combination of flowers that she made a bouquet with at the center of one of the tables. Feeling a bit better because of the added effort she got, Courtney scanned over what everyone was doing.

Eva was stomping into the room, carrying multiple dining tables without any help, most likely having rejected anyone who offered it. Courtney still wasn't sure exactly how she got elected into student council, though she was sure that it had to do something with threats of fighting anyone who didn't vote for her. Honestly, Courtney had to admit that there were times when even she was scared of Eva, especially with the brute strength that she possessed. Wanting to show her support for the school sports, Courtney had gone to one of the wrestling matches, which is when she learned that that was what Eva did apart from student council. From that day, Courtney advised herself that it was better to never be at odds with her.

Moving her vision to her right, she saw Leshawna now putting a tablecloth on the rest of the bare tables, while Beth worked with her, arranging the cutlery and napkins. Courtney genuinely didn't have anything bad to say about Leshawna. Even with the girls both having strong personalities, they generally agreed on most things and were able to come to a compromise with little to no insults on the rest. She knew that Leshawna enjoyed the involvement that the council had in the school, especially with how personable she was; she liked to have an opinion and help better the school. That was why Courtney appointed her as the other Director of Public Relations, along with Geoff. On the other hand, Courtney would have never guessed that Beth would join the student council. She was amicable, but generally quiet. After a falling out in her and Lindsay's "friendship" with Heather junior year, she ran for student council going into senior year solely to spite Heather. The girl had guts. Courtney applauded her standing up for herself like that, especially when that was so out of character for her. Eventually, she was appointed as secretary for the council.

Looking at the girl herself, Heather stood while assembling the picture taking area across the room, containing the cardboard Eiffel Tower in front of a city-scape background. Though they constantly opposed each other, Courtney held a special respect for Heather. While she was conniving, manipulative, and just plain rude, she was also incredibly smart and Courtney had done well enough in her psychology class to understand that was all just a front that she put up. It wasn't like Courtney didn't have a few of her own. Besides, Heather had barely complained when Courtney was elected as President over her for the fourth year in a row, and she had willingly taken on more tasks than she was originally anointed in the times where Courtney had become truly overwhelmed and started taking it out on the council members. That had to mean something.

Close to Heather, Alejandro stood on a ladder as he strung up lights that went across all walls of the room. Ugh. It had completely slipped Courtney's mind that she would later have to actually spend multiple hours with him. Though most of the seniors had grown aware of his antics when it came to girls, it was a well-known fact that he used his charms to get himself elected into the council, though neither Courtney nor Heather trusted him enough to appoint him to a named position.

Turning to look directly to the opposite wall, Courtney saw Trent setting up a microphone in the center of the makeshift stage for any announcements as well for when they presented Prom Queen and Prom King. Geoff ultimately had been able to get his parents to let him off the hook, though they still hired someone else to emcee, and he was conversing with Trent as he checked the equipment for the DJ booth. Courtney was making her way over to them when she was stopped by Alejandro calling her name while he clambered down the ladder.

"I can't wait for tonight, Courtney," he cooed, deliberately stepping closer to her and making sure to roll the R slightly when he breathed her name.

"Yeah… okay," she fought the urge to roll her eyes at his cliche manner of flirting. She tried to manage a kind smile, though she was almost certain it looked more like a grimace. He added a wink before she decided that was her cue to leave and continued on her way to the other two boys.

She stood before the stage, questioning, "Hey, Trent, is there anything you need help with?"

He looked up from what he was toying with, "Yeah, could you hand me that extension cord by your feet?" Courtney examined the ground for a second and picked up the cord, passing it up to his extended hand. He gave her a nod of thanks. As he plugged in the cord, Courtney turned to get closer to Geoff to ask him the same question.

"So… what was that with Alejandro?" Oh, right. Courtney realized that she had never confessed to Trent that Alejandro had asked her to accompany him and, more importantly, that she said yes.

Wringing her hands together, she tried to stay confident in her decision to accept, though she kept her eyes staring down at the floor under her, "He's my date tonight."

"Wait, what?!"

"Alejandro asked me to be his date for prom and I agreed."

"Courtney!" Trent had completely stopped what he was doing, his mouth hung agape and his eyebrows were raised. Courtney felt bad that she hadn't confided this information in him earlier, but she wasn't entirely sure that she had made the right decisions about the dance. While she knew she could trust him in not telling anyone, she was worried that he might think less of her. Besides, she wouldn't even know how to bring the subject up.

"No way, dudette!" Another voice piped up. Geoff crouched over the emcee equipment, having been eavesdropping on the conversation. "That's why you didn't go with Duncan? The dude wouldn't talk to us about it." He wouldn't talk to her about it either. On multiple occasions, she had tried to talk to him, to get things back to normal. Each time he acted evasively and tried to leave the conversation prematurely. She had no doubt he was embarrassed and probably slightly resentful, and it terrified her that that resentment might last until they couldn't fix it.

"Courtney!"

Thanks, Geoff. She had also never told Trent about the entire situation with Duncan, telling herself it was unnecessary. It was over. It had happened. And that was that. She had only confessed to Bridgette what happened after Courtney had begun taking out her obvious emotional turmoil on other classmates and peers with more intensity than usual; Bridgette pulled her aside after school and the two girls spent the rest of the afternoon together, to which Courtney did feel much better the next day. Sticking her hands on her hips, she said, "Trent, I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but, really, it's not that big of a deal."

Trent looked aghast, "Courtney, you are telling me that this is not that big of a deal? Do you know who that guy is?" He jerked his thumb to the side, referring to Alejandro.

"Of course I do." She crossed her arms, her voice tight.

"Ugh, okay, just," Trent sighed and sat on the edge of the stage and rubbed his eyes, "why?"

"I figured it was just one evening and I didn't have any other plans. It might be nice going with someone for once. I'll be fine," she explained, unclear of exactly who she was trying to convince that it had been a good idea.

The musician recognized that he wasn't going to get the intimate conversation that he wanted to, so he settled with, "Alright, Court… just don't let that guy hurt you."

A genuine smile spread across the girls face and she pulled him into a friendly hug, "Do you even know me?" Trent chuckled at that and she let him go, stepping backward before prodding, "Are you taking Gwen?"

His face flushed with only a hint of pink, "She said she's gonna go with a few friends, but we agreed to meet together here." The smile lingered on his face.

"That's great. I'm happy for you. I'm going to go check on everyone else's progress."

Trent nodded and stood up before pausing, "Hey, Courtney?"

She turned back to him with a questioning gaze, "Yes?"

"I think Duncan would've been good for you."

The sentiment made her heart ache. She gave him a "thanks," turned, and hastened to make her rounds with the other members. The group spent the next few hours making the ballroom out to be the perfect embodiment of the "Springtime in Paris" theme that all of the students would love. Strings of flowers decorated the room along with the bouquets set as centerpieces at the dining tables. The cardboard silhouettes of cityscapes lined the walls, while fake replicas of famous paintings at the Louvre that the Art Club had graciously agreed to paint were dispersed throughout the room. Candles sat on the tables and string lights lined the cityscapes, which would add to the ambiance once they were lit. The tickets had all been sold. The votes had all been collected. Courtney collapsed back, leaning on the stage. Finally.

"God, okay, Bridgette," the brunette laughed, "I'll send you a picture, just give me a second."

"You better!" Bridgette's voice came through the phone resting on the bathroom counter.

The mascara wand glided over her lashes for a final pass before being put back in the tube. With her makeup and hair done, Courtney moved back into her room, carrying her phone, to put on her dress. Bridgette and she had gone dress shopping at a local boutique that same afternoon that Courtney had told her about what happened with Duncan, and when Courtney walked out of the fitting room with this specific one, Bridgette's expression gave away immediately that it was her favorite of Courtney's picks. Luckily, it was also Courtney's favorite, which Bridgette could tell from the slight twinkle in her eye when she turned to face her reflection. Just seeing that change in her friend's manner made Bridgette smile and tell her that she had to buy that one.

And that she did.

Unzipping the garment bag that held the gown and running her hand across the fabric, her eyes brightened. It felt just as amazing as it had when she first tried it on. She took the dress out and slipped it on over her legs. Grabbing for the zipper, she silently thanked the boutique for putting the zipper on the side instead of on the back. Courtney stood in front of her full-length mirror, smoothing out the fabric. Deep violet fabric cascaded across the length of her body. The bodice was fitted, complemented by the sweetheart neckline that flowed into the off the shoulder sleeves, which draped elegantly over her arms. A slit ran up one of the sides, though it wasn't visible unless her leg was positioned outwards. Her chestnut hair, loosely curled, fell above her shoulders. As the satin fabric caught the light of her bedroom, the corners of her mouth turned up. She felt like a princess.

She frowned. He called her that so much, her thoughts heard it in his voice.

"Court, did you put it on yet? I wanna see!"

Courtney chuckled, picking up her phone and texting Bridgette a picture of herself in the mirror. "Okay, I sent it to you."

There was a pause before Bridgette exclaimed, "Oh my god, you look amazing!"

"Thanks, Bridge."

"Seriously, you look hot!"

"Bridge!" Courtney interjected, sounding more playful than she intended. Sitting on her bed, she swung her feet as she chatted with her best friend. Bridgette was getting ready herself on the other end of the line, and it was almost identical to being in the same room. The air was light and Courtney couldn't help but notice the afternoon sun shone into her room brighter than was normal. It warmed her heart.

An alarming ring pulled Courtney away from her conversation, the phone in her hand vibrating. The caller screen signified that the call was coming from Leshawna. Her brows furrowed and her lips pursed.

"I've got another call coming," Courtney told Bridgette.

"Oh, that's okay. Geoff's coming in, anyways. See you tonight, love you!"

"Love you, too. I know you'll look great." Courtney smiled gently, holding the phone tighter.

Bridgette let out a little "You know it!" before ending the call, allowing Courtney to accept Leshawna's. She held the device up to her ear again.

"Hello?"

"Hey girl!" Leshawna's voice said, "so, we've got a bit of a problem." Leshawna clarified, deciding there was no use in beating around the bush.

A problem? Courtney jumped to her feet, her pulse quickening. She ran through a hypothetical list of what she might exactly be calling about, but nothing came to mind, swearing that they had done everything that they could've so the night could be perfect. "What could possibly be the problem?"

"The caterer said they never got our request for the food."

"What? That must be wrong! I made sure to check it at least four times!" Her feet paced back and forth as she tried to think of what could have gone wrong in the process.

"They said they got an order for the seventeenth, but not the eleventh."

Courtney looked at her alarm clock. Only an hour until people would start arriving at the dance, and even less time until Alejandro was going to be there.

Taking in a breath, she responded, "Okay. Okay, I'll figure something out," and hung up. Chewing on her lips, she ignored the fact that the nude-pink makeup would end up on her teeth and looked for Alejandro's name in her contact list to make yet another call.

On the fourth ring, he picked up. "Hola, Hermosa," Alejandro greeted, a lull in his voice, "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

Ignoring the urge to gag, Courtney explained what Leshawna had told her, eyes darting to the clock every few seconds. She wasn't sure exactly what she wanted to get out of calling him, just any sort of aid in the situation would have been nice.

Once she finished relaying the information, he replied, "Well, I'll see you at the dance, then."

Her pacing halted. "You're kidding."

"What?"

With a locked jaw, she asked, "You're not going to help?"

"What? Oh, Courtney, you know I would travel to the ends of the Earth to support you in every endeavor, but I can't carry the food in my car. She was just cleaned last week, and, I swear, the grease may ruin her. She will smell like un burro sucio. I can't have that. You understand, right?"

Courtney couldn't believe this. Did he really just say that? And he wasn't joking? Shutting her eyes and clenching her fist to keep from throwing her phone across the room, she muttered, "Alright, Alejandro." Not bothering to listen to whatever flirtatious remarks or excuses he had, she cut him off.

Courtney spent the next twenty minutes searching various restaurants to see if they would be able to give her the large amount of food that would be required. Her heart couldn't stop racing, no matter how many times she checked the clock and found that she had more time than she thought. At last, an Italian restaurant answered that they would be able to give her a good amount of pizza, with some salad and pasta dishes. It would have to do. She just hoped that, if anything, the senior students would find it ironic that the Italian food would be near the fake Eiffel tower and it would be another issue to deal with. With that settled, she was a bit more at ease, though it still felt like a race against time.

Practically running down the stairs, she called out to the house, "I'm leaving early!" When a response didn't come, she frowned, seeing if anyone was in the living room before continuing to walk by the front door.

A sticky note was tacked onto it, one side detached.

Courtney,

Emergency meeting, something needed our attention. We know you look beautiful and you'll have fun. Don't forget: curfew is midnight.

Her teeth grit. Her throat tightened. Her stomach felt nauseous.

God-fucking-damnit.

Leaving, she slammed the door shut.

Heavy bass jolted Courtney's body with every beat the DJ played, the music so loud that she could hardly hear anybody talking around her. The playlist he was playing was straight from the top 40 playlist and, while she knew that she would eventually go home a headache or tinnitus from the sheer volume, she let herself enjoy it in the moment. With the main overhead lights now off, the room was engulfed in colorful disco lights mixed with the serene, hazy glow emanating from the string lights that decorated the space. People of all different circles of friends intermingled in the open space where they danced. Some people were dancing jokingly, doing the latest fad while others filmed, some were grinding, to which Courtney turned her nose up at and looked away; some were pushing their friends to dance with someone they liked, blush evident even in the lighting; some were dancing with their friends, making up moves as they went. It comforted her — seeing her handiwork come alive and people dancing in it, complimenting her on it. People liked it. It made her feel like it was all worth it.

She basked in that feeling.

Courtney had been at the dance for about an hour, much of that time spent handling the refreshments and cuisine, which she had barely made it there on time with. A few acquaintances had pulled her into conversations. They talked about nonsense: how the prom was, plans after high school, and how they were definitely going to miss each other. To that Courtney just chuckled.

Craving to take a break from the bombardment of interaction, Courtney stepped back to her place she had been staying by the refreshments, standing politely in case anyone needed anything. No one she truly wanted to spend time with had arrived. Or at least she hadn't seen them. Yawning, she poured a cup of punch for herself, tasting it to see if anyone had spiked it while no one supervised the table. Not surprised. Although a small sip confirmed that someone had indeed spiked it, she didn't stop drinking it.

Black hair swung as its holder made her way towards the brunette, heels clicking with each strut, the sound somehow coming through over the intense music. Golden-blonde locks followed closely behind, matching the stride of the raven-haired girl.

"Heather."

"Courtney."

Setting her cup down, Courtney matched her strength in her arms-crossed pose, placing her hands firmly on her hips. Her eyes narrowed slightly at Heather's constant smirk.

"Hiii, Candice!" Lindsay piped up from behind Heather, a ditzy smile present as she waved.

Not bothering to correct her, Courtney responded, "Hi, Lindsay."

Heather rolled her eyes. "Anyways, Courtney, I just have to compliment you. I wasn't sure if you could pull this whole thing off," she gestured, her smirk growing at Courtney's glower. "Seriously, it looks better than I thought it would."

"I get it," Courtney said shortly. She was about to respond feistily before realizing this was one of the best compliments she would get out of Heather, so she added, "thank you."

"I totally agree! It feels like we're actually in Paris! My aunt once took me there to go shopping and it was, like, so much fun," Lindsay giggled, "Hey, all three of us should, like, totally go together sometime!"

Making eye contact with Heather, Courtney was surprised to see a genuine smile playing on her lips. She shook her head, "I'll keep that in mind."

A rap song that she couldn't recognize started playing. Heather offered, "Hey, dance with us?"

Courtney's eyes widened. Placing her palms out, she tried to dismiss the invitation, "No, I'm fine—"

"Remember what I said about you needing to let loose? Yeah, still needs to happen," Heather sighed, "Whatever, I bet you're just scared."

Both girls grinned, knowing exactly what she was trying to do. At this point, Courtney didn't care.

"Fine."

So, Heather and Lindsay guided her to a spot they decided was good enough, in the middle of the crowd. With the help of the little bit of alcohol, Courtney found it much easier to enjoy the moment and take part in the festivity. She had taken classical dance lessons for a great number of years in her life, but she was almost certain that she still looked ridiculous, though she noted how just about everybody did. Usually, Courtney was easily irritated by Lindsay and clashed constantly with Heather, but as she found herself actually enjoying being with them, she thought of all the stereotyped groups that people were told to stay away from. It wasn't as divisive as it was portrayed in all of the typical high school movies. There were no clear boundaries. Still, everyone had people that they made up their mind about without even getting to know them. A certain mohawked delinquent came to mind for her. She wondered how many people had done that to her.

After a few songs, she spotted Bridgette sitting at one of the tables with her boyfriend. Courtney said her goodbyes and separated to go see her best friend. Calling out her name to get Bridgette's attention, she eventually noticed Courtney and raced over to her.

"I told you you would look amazing," Courtney laughed as they embraced, meaning it earnestly. Bridgette's steel-blue dress was in a mermaid-style, both aspects bringing in the girl's love of the ocean to her own wardrobe choice. She had made a joke about it when Bridgette tried on the dress in the boutique.

"And so do you!" Bridgette held Courtney's upper-arms, glancing down at her dress again. "Court, this whole thing is amazing. I'm so proud of you." She hugged Courtney again, and Courtney leaned into it.

"Thanks, Bridge."

"Always," she beamed. "Can you believe it? After this, we just have graduation. This is our last bash where we're all still here before everyone becomes adults and goes off to college."

"It is," Courtney mused thoughtfully. A loud crash brought Bridgette's and her attention to Geoff, who was scrambling to pick up pieces of food that he seemingly had knocked off the table. She turned back to Bridgette, who was laughing, "What about you two? Any plans?"

"We've decided just to go with the flow. You know, to see where life takes us. We talked about it after he promposed at the surfing competition at the beach. With the writing on the surfboard and everything."

Courtney's smile faltered. "Right, I remember the pictures you showed me."

"Anyways, what about you? You came with Alejandro, yeah?" Bridgette questioningly looked around, "Where is he?"

Thinking about it, Courtney hadn't seen him once for the time that she had been her. She let out a humming sound, circling herself to see if he had even shown up yet. Once she noticed him, her mood instantly turned sour. She wished she hadn't seen him at all.

He was propping himself up against the wall with his forearm, hovering over both Katie and Sadie, closer to them than was normal for someone who was simply chatting with another person. Watching them for a second more, he caressed the taller one's face and the two girls giggled at whatever he whispered to them.

Courtney chewed on her lip.

The shorter girl kissed him on his cheek. His lips parted into a smug grin as he leaned closer, saying something to make Sadie blush and Katie giggle yet again.

She'd seen enough.

Turning back to Bridgette but keeping her head lowered, she told her a rushed, "Excuse me." Eyes focused only on the exit door by the side of the stage, she darted out of the building and into the cold night air.

Maybe it was the numerous complications that she had to deal with, when she thought she had done it correctly the first time. Maybe it was the overwhelming stress that had only been suppressed by alcohol. Maybe it was the fact that she felt abandoned by her own parents on a day most would pay even more attention to their children than usual. Maybe it was the jealousy of seeing Bridgette and Geoff constantly in a happy relationship. Maybe it was the fact that she agreed to come with a guy who gave zero fucks about her. Maybe it was that she felt humiliated.

Whatever it was, or whatever combination of things that it was, Courtney started crying. Alone, in her prom dress, the girl who tried to always push the emotions that might present her as "weak" was sobbing.

As soon as the door shut behind her, her face fell and she dropped onto a bench, bringing her knees up to her chest and burying her face in her hands. Tears streamed down her face, falling onto the cold concrete, staining it a darker gray. Tremors wracked her body as she struggled to take in a breath in between each sob. She felt her heart rate quicken to an abnormally fast pace, but she had no idea how to slow it down while she couldn't even rationalize her thoughts. The intense wave of emotions let her ignore the chilliness of the alleyway and the terrible smell of the dumpster that had been placed in it. Cars passed by on the street, mixing with the sound of intermittent pedestrians who walked by. She was thankful that no one seemed to hear her. Even as her tears subsided, her body continued to shake, lip quivering and throat tightening. She wasn't sure if she was breathing correctly.

And just like that, something banged against the wall near where she was sitting. Her head whipped to see what caused the sound, tears unceasing and heart aching.

The door shut.

A boy stood there, cigarette in hand, evidently assuming that there was no one out there. Another sob broke through the girl's body, bringing his attention to the only other person in the alleyway. Concern spread onto his features.

"Courtney?"

That only made her cry harder.

Duncan.

A/N: This chapter is alternatively titled 'everything goes wrong for Courtney also I'm trying to give reasons for how she acts in canon.'

thank you all for reading and I love youu