Friday, June 15th, 1984

John went home with Claire after school on the Friday before the prom. He had band practice later that day and while it would have been closer to walk there from his house, Claire had an Atari now and that tipped the scales in favor of her house. It was fun because lately she had become obsessed with trying to find a game that she could beat him at. When John originally suggested that she buy the Atari, he had no idea that she would turn out to be so competitive.

At first, John had easily been able to defeat her, but now that her skills were improving he was finding it more of a challenge. The score of their current game was tied. They each just needed one last fish to win, and as John raced to reel his in, he heard the telltale noise that Claire's fish had just been eaten. John grinned. His undefeated streak still held.

"NO! Stupid shark!" Claire shouted at the TV in frustration. "Why do you always have to win?" she asked him accusingly.

"Because I'm better than you at video games?"

"But you said you never played Fishing Derby before."

"What can I say? I'm a natural," he said smugly.

Claire glared at him. "I want a rematch."

John set his joystick down, glad for once that he had to leave. "Can't. I've gotta get going."

"Already?" Claire asked, glancing up at the clock.

"Yeah, it's going to take me at least a half-hour to walk over there, and Eric always gives me shit when I'm late."

"Next time I'm totally going to win," she said as she got up and turned off the Atari.

"Suuure you will," he said, gathering up the game cartridges.

"Hey, can I ask you something?"

"You just did."

"I'm being serious."

"So am I."

"John."

"What?"

"Are you really okay with Brian taking me to the prom?"

John handed her the stack of games. "Is there some reason I shouldn't be?"

"No, I was just curious," she said as she placed the games back on her shelf.

"Secretly hoping that I'd be jealous and decide to take you at the last minute?" he wondered.

"No." Claire looked back at him and narrowed her eyes in question. "Are you jealous?"

"Of Mr. Math Club? I'm not sure that's humanly possible. Besides, he won't try anything with you 'cuz he knows I'll kill him if he does."

"Great," Claire moaned, "Now he's going to be too scared to even dance with me."

"Ask yourself, would that really be so bad?"

"Yes!" she exclaimed as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "That's the whole point of going to a dance."

John laughed. "Relax, I didn't even say anything to him," he assured her as he stood up.

"You're still coming over tomorrow night, right?" she asked.

"For the party thing?"

Claire nodded. "Uh-huh. Everyone else is going to be here, so you have to come. Plus, we're going to order pizza, and Mrs. Nakamura really outdid herself baking cookies and buying a ton of junk food for us."

John pretended to think it over. "Well... I guess so. It's not like I have anything better to do," he finally said.

"Good. We should be back here by ten-thirty."

"Do I have to sneak in?"

Claire snorted a laugh. "No, you can ring the doorbell."

"Ooh, the doorbell. I feel just like a V.I.P.," he teased. Claire shoved him playfully and he fell back onto her bed. "Are you still planning on introducing me to the parental unit, then?" he asked.

Claire plopped down next to him. "Yeah, they want to meet you. Well, technically, I guess they want to meet Brian. Ugh," she sighed, "I'm not looking forward to explaining this to my mom, especially after that whole Parker mess. She's going to think I tricked her."

"Maybe I should sneak in after all," John said under his breath.

"No, you can't. I don't want to have to hide you forever."

John shrugged. "It's worked so far."

"I'm getting tired of sneaking around though," Claire admitted. She glanced down at him. "Don't you have to leave?"

"Yeah, but now I'm comfortable," he replied, tucking an arm under his head.

" C'mon," she said, grabbing his other arm, trying to pull him up, "You have to leave before my parents get home anyway."

"You said that your father won't be home for another hour," he reminded her, easily resisting her efforts.

"What about band practice? You don't want to upset Eric."

John relented and allowed Claire to pull him into to a sitting position. "Yeah, he'll wring my neck if I'm late again tonight." He stood up and was about to head for the door, when Claire's sudden exclamation stopped him.

"Wait!" She walked over to her dresser and pulled a small box out of one of the drawers. "I just remembered this."

"You're only going down to the front door, you don't have to get dressed up," he said impatiently.

"Do you really think I'm that vain?"

"Do you really think I'd be standing here if I did?"

Claire rolled her eyes at him out of annoyance. "You kind of killed the moment, but I wanted to show you this," she said, walking back over to John with the box. "I dropped it off at the jeweler's a while ago, but I didn't pick it up until last weekend."

She lifted up the lid to reveal a single diamond attached to a delicate white gold chain. Seeing the look of confusion on his face, she explained, "It was my diamond earring. I had it re-set it so I could wear it as a necklace." She opened her hand and showed him the other diamond, still an earring. "This one's yours," she said. "It always was."

John looked down at the earring resting on Claire's palm. He had always regretted giving it back to her the way he did after she had so selflessly given it to him. He was almost afraid to take it back. Afraid that he would have to acknowledge what it meant this time around.

Claire seemed to sense his hesitation. "I want you to keep it this time," she said. "No matter what happens, it's yours. Maybe it'll remind you that you're not worthless and that you have someone in this world who cares about you."

John stared at Claire in awe and realized for the first time that the feeling he had been so reluctant to put a name on, the feeling that he felt towards Claire, was love. He was in love with her. The rich, innocent princess that he met by chance in detention had finally defeated the big, tough criminal. He gently took the earring from her and replaced it in his ear.

Claire admired it with a smile. "It looks good on you."

John kissed her, hoping it would show her how he felt, because he sure as hell couldn't tell her. From the look Claire was giving him though, he knew she understood. He was afraid she might actually cry. He broke the moment before he turned into a complete sap and said, "Alright, let's go."

Claire walked John downstairs and as they were passing through the foyer, the front door opened, causing them both to freeze in their tracks. Mr. Standish entered, fifty minutes early. Claire was going to have to introduce John to her father now, whether she wanted to or not.

"Hi Honey," Mr. Standish cheerfully greeted Claire. His gaze landed on John and he regarded him with curiosity. "Who's this?"

"Daddy, this is John."

"Charles Standish," he held out his hand and John shook it. "You look familiar, have we met before?"

"No," John replied.

"Are you sure? Maybe I've just seen you around the club then."

"No, his parents aren't members," Claire told him. "We met at school."

Mr. Standish smiled. "Ahh, yes, I remember now. You were the young man who was with Claire when I came to pick her up after her detention."

"That was him," Claire admitted, embarrassed that her father had seen them kissing.

"And you've been together all this time?" Mr. Standish was confused.

"Sort of," she replied.

He suddenly understood. "You wouldn't happen to be the Fender boy that my wife was so worried about, would you?" he asked John.

"Bender, but yeah, I guess I am."

Mr. Standish laughed. "Good, good. She's going to hate this." Then he stopped smiling. "Oh. That's a problem, isn't it?"

Claire nodded. "I don't know how I'm going to tell her."

"My wife is a bit tricky to deal with," Mr. Standish explained to John. "If you see her, it's best just to run in the opposite direction." A ringing phone caught his attention. "That'll be my partner, wondering why I haven't called to tell him how the case went today. I'm glad I finally got the chance to meet you, John. I trust that you'll see Claire safely home from the prom?"

John looked to Claire, not knowing how to answer. Luckily, she jumped in and saved him.

"Daddy, John would never let anything happen to me."

"That's right, sir," John added helpfully.

"Wonderful. I'll leave you two kids to your plans then, and I'll see you tomorrow night."

XXX

There was a cool breeze blowing on Saturday evening and Claire shivered as she waited outside for her ride. She shifted her wrap to better cover her shoulders and looked down to admire her dress again. She had found exactly what she was looking for in the shop of one of her favorite designers. It was a pale blue, strapless gown with a sweetheart neckline and a full skirt. The bodice looked like a corset and the skirt was decorated with hundreds of tiny rhinestones. Her new necklace added the final touch. When she had looked in the mirror earlier, she finally felt like the princess John had always called her.

Claire's parents had joined her outside so that they could see her off, and while she appreciated the gesture, she was beginning to wish they hadn't bothered.

"I don't like that you're picking your date up and I haven't met him," Mrs. Standish fretted. "This never would've happened if you were going with Parker. This is all your doing, isn't it, Charles?" she asked her husband.

"Oh, no you don't," Mr. Standish replied. "Don't blame me if Claire finally came to her senses. I'll bet that Parker is just as arrogant and self-entitled as his father. I don't know why you'd want our daughter to date someone like that."

"I want what's best for her. You'd let her date a criminal if she wanted to."

"At least she'd be happy. For Christ's sake, Helen, she had to spend the night at Rick's apartment because she was too afraid to tell you they broke up! Hell, you even drove Rick away! He couldn't wait to move out on his own, who's fault is that? How much longer until Claire leaves us too?"

"My fault? You're the one that spoils them both. Don't think I don't know that you helped finance that dingy room that Rick calls home. And now, you rented this ridiculous car for Claire!" She gestured at the limo that had just pulled up in front of them.

"I just thought that the kids would like to arrive in style," he said.

"Ha!"

Mr. Standish rubbed his temples. "Do we have to do this now? I'm sure Claire doesn't want to hear us fighting on her special night."

"Fine. I need a drink anyway," she said. She turned to Claire before going back inside, "Don't forget, I expect to be introduced to your date the moment you come home."

XXX

John sat down on his bed on Saturday evening. He picked up his guitar and started playing in an effort to keep occupied until he had to leave. Moments later, he looked up at the clock. Six more hours until Claire's party started. He looked over at the tuxedo, still hanging on the back of his door, and frowned at it. The stuffy shirt, the fancy trousers, the tie that would no doubt choke him if he tried to tie it… No. There was no way he was wearing that. And he had no reason to. He was absolutely not going to the prom. Claire wasn't expecting him, so she wasn't going to be disappointed when he didn't show up.

He shook his head and went back to playing. Twelve minutes later, he looked up at the clock again. Time was moving incredibly slowly. He put his guitar down in frustration and stretched out on his bed. He tried to picture what the others were doing. He imagined that when Claire went to pick up Brian, his parents would've tried to come along with them. Or better yet, Brian would be wearing some hideous outfit that his mom picked out that probably came with a top hat and cane. John chuckled at the mental image that created. Andy and Allison were probably laughing while Claire was trying to figure out how to do damage control. His hand went subconsciously to his earlobe and he twisted the diamond stud between his fingers.

"Fuck," he swore out loud.

XXX

The limo driver took Claire to Allison's house next, since she lived nearby. She was waiting on her front porch, but her parents were nowhere to be seen. Claire waved when the limo pulled up and Allison smiled and took a picture. She really seemed to be excited to be going to the prom after all.

After Allison, they picked up Andy. Claire hung back while Mr. Clark took pictures of Andy and Allison. Mrs. Clark was telling them how to pose. Claire knew that Andy's father had been unhappy to hear about Allison at first. He even went so far as to blame her for Andy quitting the wrestling team. The last she had heard, though, was that he was finally starting to get over his anger. Claire took his presence outside as a good sign. When Mrs. Clark finally thought they had enough pictures, she let Andy and Allison get in the limo.

The last stop before school was Brian's house. As they pulled up out front, they saw Mrs. Johnson fussing over his appearance. Claire was relieved when she saw that he actually looked normal. In fact, she almost didn't recognize him. He looked like a different person in his tux and definitely seemed more confident.

The trio got out of the limo and introduced themselves to the Johnson family. Brian's little sister looked like she couldn't believe that her brother was really going to the prom in a limo with a girl. Mrs. Johnson enthusiastically greeted Claire. Brian had told Claire that his mom thought they were a couple despite him denying it, so Claire was not surprised when Mrs. Johnson asked if she was planning on going to Northwestern so that she could be close to Brian. Claire was trying to think up a polite response when Mr. Johnson saved her by suggesting they all pose for a group picture. Fifteen minutes later, after the one group picture had turned into many pictures, mostly of Brian and Claire, the group was finally on the road and headed to the prom.

XXX

John passed by his parents in the kitchen on his way out of the house. His father was sitting at the table with the evening newspaper and his mother must have been in a rare good mood because she was cooking. She called out to him when she heard him go by.

"Come, sit down, Johnny. Supper's almost ready."

John actually found himself wishing that he could, but it was too late, he had already made up his mind. He stopped and entered the room, telling her with a twinge of regret, "I can't. I'm going out tonight."

Mrs. Bender turned from the stove and squealed in delight when she saw how John was dressed. "Ooh, look at you! You look just like your father did when he came to pick me up for our first dance."

John's father lowered the newspaper and gave John a once over. He frowned at his appearance. "He looks like a goddamn bum."

"Well, I think he looks handsome," Mrs. Bender said to her husband. She turned to John, "Don't mind what Dad says, he was just as rough around the edges as you before the war."

"The army would do him good," his father commented as he went back to his newspaper. "Force him to get a haircut."

"So who's the lucky girl?" his mother asked. "Someone from school?"

"Yeah."

"Tell her to come over sometime, I'll make dinner."

"Sure," he said, even though he knew his mom would forget about the offer as soon as she popped her next batch of pills. He started to walk away when his father called out to him.

"Hey! Be smart, boy. I don't wanna have to hear about how you knocked up some girl. Or then you'll really be out on your ass. Understand?"

"Yes sir."

"Have fun!" his mom cheerfully called after him.

As John walked to school, he felt thankful that he hadn't been talked into renting uncomfortable dress shoes. He wasn't lying when he told Andy that he had other shoes. He just left out the part about them being a pair of black Chuck Taylors. They probably would have looked ridiculous with the tux if John hadn't made the few modifications that he did.

He had been dressed in the whole outfit at first, but then he couldn't remember how to tie the tie. And without the tie, the shirt looked stupid, so he happily took it off too. Instead he opted to wear a plain black t-shirt underneath his tuxedo jacket. He thought it looked good. He just hoped that Claire would appreciate his style.

When John entered the crowded gym, he panicked slightly. He was not used to this scene. He passed by plenty of unfamiliar couples as he looked around for anyone he recognized. Finally, he decided to stand off to the side by the refreshments table for a few minutes so he could get a better view of the crowd. To his dismay, a small group of girls gathered near him to gossip. He tried to tune them out as he watched the dance floor, but it wasn't working.

"Oh my God! Your corsage is so beautiful!" one of the girls exclaimed.

The second girl held up her wrist and admired her flowers. "I know, isn't it? James totally surprised me with it."

"I wish Adam had gotten me roses," another girl complained.

"Really? But your lilies are so pretty," the second girl said.

"You think so?" the girl asked.

"Definitely," the others reassured her.

"I heard that Kelly's boyfriend didn't even get her a corsage," the first girl commented.

"No way!" yet another girl exclaimed. "What kind of guy doesn't bring his date flowers? She should totally dump him."

John rolled his eyes. He had to get away from them before his brain melted. As he was about to relocate, the song ended and he saw Claire coming toward him with Brian in tow.

"I'm going to get something to drink," she was telling Brian. "Do you want any—"

John heard Claire's voice hitch in her throat the moment she saw him standing in front of her. She stared at him in disbelief and he thought she looked beautiful, like a real princess. "I didn't get you flowers," he said stupidly. For some reason it was the only thing he could think of to say.

"I don't care," she laughed, throwing her arms around him as her tears began to fall.

John held her close for a moment, ignoring the looks he was getting from the group of girls. A slow song started to play and he let Claire go, instead taking her by the hand. "C'mon, Cinderella, the least I can do is give you one dance tonight with your Prince Charming. I'm only offering this once, too, so you better take advantage of it." Claire happily let him lead the way.

Andy and Allison came over to join Brian and they all watched the unlikely couple disappear onto the dance floor. "Are you going to be okay with this?" Andy asked Brian.

"Yeah," Brian grinned, "He's Claire's rightful date anyway."

"You look amazing by the way," Claire said once they were alone. "Those girls were definitely drooling over you."

"Damn straight they were," John said cockily.

"Thank you for coming," she said softly. "You didn't have to, you know."

"I know, but I figured this could be my one and only chance to ride in a limo."

Claire saw right through his statement. "You felt left out, didn't you?"

"Pfft," John replied unconvincingly.

Claire smiled and rested her head on John's shoulder as they swayed in time to the music. Him being there with her had made the night perfect. But with that one realization, Claire began to think that it all might be too good to be true. "Maybe you shouldn't have come after all."

"You'd rather be dancing with Brian?"

"No, but right now everything is completely perfect."

John knew she must be thinking back to their conversation in the diner. "Don't worry about what I said. We'll be fine," he told her, feeling like for one night he could believe in fairytale endings. "The only thing that makes tonight different from all the rest is that we're together with everyone. And there's going to be pizza. Also, Brian probably forgot his toothbrush again, so we'll get to tease him about that." Claire giggled and he continued, "But like I said, tonight's just another night. At some point we'll fall asleep and when we wake up we'll live our lives like any other day. No regrets."

Claire lifted her head and looked at him strangely. "Were you always this smart, or does that tuxedo have magical powers?"

John shrugged. "I could be completely wrong," he conceded.

"Oh?" she questioned.

"Yeah," he said with a smirk, "When midnight comes around, we might just turn into pumpkins."

A/N: I can't believe it's really over. I've had so much fun writing this story that I'm almost sad to let the characters go. But, before I do go, I want to say a gigantic thank you to everyone who read and reviewed Look My Way. I can't even express how wonderful it's been to read all of your kind words.