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May 17, 2001

Harrison High School

Colorado Springs, Colorado

11:46AM

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Despite my relatively light classload, my head was swimming with the sheer amount of information I had to process with final exams happening tomorrow. That seemed to be the prevailing attitude within the lunchroom, with many of the upperclassmen looking at their textbooks while eating; at least those who cared about their grades. Even Seth and Julie were bouncing review questions off each other.

"You missed the final battle last night!" Will remarked, nudging me with his elbow. "Thanus faced off with Chernobog and sent him into the abyss while we battled the hordes of undead! How's your new foxy friend?"

I blinked, until I reminded myself that Isla had been present when Meika was wounded. "In game, she's recovering," I answered. "I think her player has a lot to do as I haven't seen her online. She mentioned something about graduating, so I can't imagine whatever city or state she's in can't be much different than here."

Will shrugged, taking another bite of his burger before responding. "You have a point. Most of the people in the RP rooms are folks who aren't in school; I guess having steady jobs gives them a set schedule they can play with."

"Speaking of graduation and things leading up to it," Julie chimed in, peering over her glasses with a serious look. "Have you made a decision about prom yet?"

"Not quite," I shrugged. "Things have been a zoo around here, if you haven't noticed."

The glare she gave me wasn't far removed from ones I had gotten from my mom when I was younger and refused to do my homework. "You realize prom is next week, right? While I hoped you'd get your head out of your ass by now, you need to let Holly know one way or the other."

I blinked at her. "Okay. I'll let her know this weekend."

Julie shook her head. "Not good enough," she insisted. "Today. She's studying in the library right now, so go talk to her before you leave for the day."

The timing was pretty crappy, considering I was almost done with lunch and hadn't made any specific plans to stick around unless Mrs. Callaway needed me. If I was being completely honest with myself, I was still on the fence. I wasn't sure I could deal with being at a social function with someone other than Megan. My mind kept drifting back to the prom last year; how carefree it was. Two months later she was gone. I took a breath and forced the bitter memories down. "Okay," I answered, "I'll talk to her."

Julie apparently caught my expression, another glare cast in my direction. "If you do the stupid thing and turn her down," she warned, "turn her down easy. Don't throw a friendship away because you're not in the mood to deal with your issues." The admonishment caused Seth to look up and nod in my direction; while he wasn't getting directly involved it was clear he had Julie's back in this case. Will blinked at the three of us, wisely staying out of the conversation. It wasn't headed towards an argument, but it was clear that Julie wasn't going to let things go unaddressed.

"Message received," I remarked, picking up the dregs of my lunch. "I'll catch you later, then." Taking a deep breath I tossed the trash away and headed towards the library.

The hallways were relatively empty, owing to most students either having lunch or making some last-minute studying for final exams tomorrow. The library, however, was a different story; it was a quiet hive of activity as students pored over books or frantically scrolled the Internet for last minute information to try and finish a final report. By sheer force of habit I made my way to the circulation desk, where Mrs. Callaway and Mr. Tindall were in the process of dealing with incoming textbooks from classes that were done with them.

"Hey there!" Mr. Tindall waved to me from a stack of geometry books he was inspecting. "What brings you to our neck of the woods today?"

"I figured I'd check in," I answered. "Did either you or Mrs. Callaway need me for anything today?"

In response to hearing her name, the librarian glanced to me. "Not today," she responded, "since finals are tomorrow I'd rather give you some extra time to study for them. I recall you're taking Science Fiction and Advanced Regional History this semester, right?"

I nodded. Along with Mr. Schaeffer's class I was taking a science fiction class. The final for that one was to write a short story detailing what the future would look like in about thirty years; I already turned mine in but the class presentation was tomorrow. The final exam for my history class was comprehensive, but I still felt confident about it. "Yeah," I answered back. "I'm in pretty good shape but I could use some time to brush up at home."

Mrs. Callaway nodded. "Excellent. Feel free to find a spot if you'd rather study here, but if you want to head home for the day that's perfectly fine. Good luck on your finals!" With that she turned back to her work.

That left me to my own devices, and I had to make a decision I wasn't really ready to make. Suppressing a sigh I glanced over the bookshelves and tables, trying to spot Holly amongst the crowd of people. I didn't see her right off but managed to get a look of disgust from Katie, whose cohort were busy cramming for their exams at a nearby table. Rolling my eyes, I wandered to the back of the room where the less-inclined students were milling about.

Holly was sitting at a table in the corner; a quiet area sheltered behind a couple of bookshelves. She was again dressed in her more alternative style; probably as a bit of defiance against the popular clique she had parted ways from. She looked up from her textbook as she saw me approach, a soft smile tugging at her lips as she motioned to a chair across from her. "Hey, you," she greeted. "What brings you here? I figured you had work to do."

"Mrs. Callaway doesn't want to put anything on my plate this close to finals," I explained as I sat down. "Also, Julie sent me here."

Holly nodded, her smile wavering for a moment. "Is this about the prom?"

"Yeah," I confirmed. "She wants me to give you an answer today. I'm not really sure what to say, one way or the other."

Holly closed her textbook and set aside her notes, a curiously soft expression crossing her features as her blue eyes gazed into mine. "Your decision isn't about what Julie wants us to do, and it isn't about what I'd like to do for prom. Yes, I would be happy if we went together. The important question to ask is what you want to do?"

I sighed, not bothering to hold it back in front of her. "I really don't know, Holly," I explained. "There's a lot of factors that make this complicated. You seem like the only person who might understand it, even if you're the person this decision is going to affect the most."

She nodded at me as she ran her fingers through her hair. "Are you willing to discuss what your feelings are about all this?" The calm, soft expression remained as she leaned forward.

I was about to answer until I heard a less familiar voice enter the conversation. "So, the skank and the geek are back here, making out. I figured as such." I turned around to see Katie standing there, a smirk on her face as she crossed her arms. "Too bad Matt isn't here to break up your little party, so I guess I have to do it myself."

Holly's features turned from calm to furious in a split instant. "I already told you we're done, Katie. Matt's big mouth got his ass in trouble, especially after he thought he could threaten my dad over the phone." I blinked; was he actually stupid enough to threaten her dad? I hadn't told her that we had already met; threatening me was one thing but doing it to a Green Beret colonel was pretty high on the list of dumb ideas.

Katie scoffed. "Doesn't matter. If his prom plans are screwed because of you two, then I'm going to screw with yours. Don't forget about the dirt I have on you, half-dyke."

Holly just about jumped out of her chair, but I held out a hand to stop her. I was trying to be calm, but what she said touched a nerve. "Katie," I growled, "Mrs. Callaway is on the other side of that wall. Final exams are tomorrow, so you're rolling the dice and taking your chances. Either leave us alone or start making plans for summer school." I held her gaze with a look that could have probably melted steel.

Katie sneered at us. "Mark my words, if I see you at prom both of you will regret it. We'll talk later." With a scoff she wheeled around and walked off, leaving both of us alone.

Holly was trembling with anger. "Do you see what I've had to put up with? That bitch thinks she owns everyone in this school."

I took a deep breath. "Maybe we need to get out of here. C'mon, follow me." Without waiting for a response I got up and made my way for the back exit; it wasn't normally allowed but I used it all the time. The wooden door opened out into a storeroom for unused books; the room itself looped around the library to a side door off the main hallway.

"If it wasn't so close to graduation I'd love to break that bitch's nose," Holly spat, her voice full of venom. "I'd gladly catch a suspension for that." I was slightly taken aback; I knew she was angry, but this was a side of her I hadn't seen before.

"In a couple of weeks this won't even matter anymore," I reasoned. "She's going to try to antagonize you into making a mistake, Holly. Keep things low key, at least until after prom happens?" We had been wandering the halls during our short exchange; I had wanted to perhaps continue our conversation in the courtyard outside the cafeteria, but the steady drizzle outside wasn't very welcoming.

Holly sighed and nodded at me. "You have a point," she admitted, "At the same time Katie's gotten away with so much shady crap without getting in trouble for it. It's infuriating."

"People like her get away with it, sure," I pointed out. "They get away with it until it comes back to bite them in the ass. I'm sure she'll pull the same crap in college, but she'll likely run into someone who force-feeds her a slice of humble pie."

Holly snickered at the remark. "God, would I love to be a fly on the wall for that," she commented. "Wait, are we going to that computer room?"

I shrugged, just now consciously realizing that's where we were headed. "I figure we won't get bothered by Katie's clique there, right? We _were_in the middle of discussing the whole prom thing before we got interrupted." I unlocked the door to the storeroom and headed inside, Holly following me as I turned on the lights and shut the door.

The workbench stools, which were probably borrowed from the electronics classroom across the hall, weren't nearly as comfortable as the chairs in the library, but they would do. Holly settled into one of the stools, taking a few deep breaths; I figured she was still calming down from Katie's interruption. "We were discussing how you felt about going to prom in the first place," she stated, a slightly calmer tone taking over her agitated demeanor. "If you're serious about having this discussion, let's start there?"

I nodded. Considering I was the one to bring it up(even if it was at Julie's behest), I needed to follow through. "I don't know where to begin, Holly," I admitted. "I feel like I'm betraying Megan's memory by going in the first place, let alone with anyone else. I keep on seeing our prom picture any time I think about it." I shut my eyes and glanced away, taking a deep breath of my own.

The sensation of Holly's hand wrapping around mine was almost startling; a gentle squeeze given in reassurance. "None of that was your fault, Adam," she started, the frustrated edge in her voice melting away to concern. "I understand how you feel. At the same time, I don't think Megan would want you to stop your life because she was no longer here. If things were reversed and you were no longer here, would you have wanted her to be in your situation?"

I surprised myself by not pulling away from her. "You have a point," I conceded. "I wouldn't want her to go through this. The memories are still very strong, and I don't want to forget her. She deserves to not be forgotten."

Holly's hand squeezed mine again. "She won't be forgotten," she reassured. "Her parents won't forget her, neither will her brother. You won't, and neither will I. She was a good friend; a better one than I deserved at the time. Make your decision based on what you want. You have to forget about what Julie and Seth want, or what I might want, or what your memories of Megan want."

I opened my eyes to see tears brimming in hers, despite her trademark soft smile. I blinked the beginnings of mine away and took another deep breath. "What about Katie's demands?" I asked. "I don't want you to get hurt because she wants to play Queen Bitch up until the last second."

She blinked the tears out of her eyes and shook her head. "To hell with her fucking demands, Adam," she spat. "I already made my decision by asking you out. They might bite me in the ass; I've done things that will get me in trouble and that my parents will be pissed at me for. At the same time, I'm tired of living under her fucking boot, and I'm willing to take the risk. If you really want to go with me, we can try to keep away from her."

I had my doubts that would work, but she gave me some heavy food for thought. The only caveat was that I needed to act on it now; I didn't have days to come to a decision. She had some good points, despite the risk of drawing Katie's ire and exposing whatever she did. I had some pointed thoughts about that but I kept them to myself; she didn't need me to chime in.

The Rubicon moment had arrived, and I was about to cast the dice. "Okay," I began. "I will take you to the prom if you still want me to. However, there is one caveat I want to make?" Holly's expression changed to mild confusion, but she nodded to me in confusion. "This can't be a date. You're a good person, Holly, but I'm still hurting. I might be hurting for a while. I want to be your friend, but I can't be anyone's 'more'."

Her hand squeezed mine again, though a little tighter. Her eyes met mine, her smile widening slightly. "It's okay," she spoke as she stood up, tugging on my hand to get me to join her. "I understand. I'm happy to go to the prom with you as a friend. Thank you." Adding to the chain of surprises she swept me into a tight hug; the faint scent of her shampoo mingled with lilac perfume carving into my memories as we embraced. I felt her lips on my cheek, just as they had almost a month before. As quickly as it happened she let go; a sheepish expression on her face and a hint of a blush.

"You're welcome?" I blinked at her; my voice full of confusion. "Let's try to stay away from Queen Katie and her royal pain in the ass entourage as much as possible next Friday?"

Holly grinned at my reaction, though our time was about to be cut short by the bell. "I'll try to tell Julie to keep quiet about that," she remarked, "but you know how she gets excited and mentions things she shouldn't to people she shouldn't mention them to." Yeah, that happened around her. A Christmas gift to Megan got spoiled because I had made a comment to Will around Julie. I knew she didn't mean anything by it, but it was a little irksome.

The drawn-out electronic tone sounded through the intercom system, which meant that Holly had to go to class and I had to end my day. "Good luck on your finals tomorrow," I nodded at her, offering her a ghost of a smile. "Talk later?"

Holly drew me in for one more tight hug before pulling away, meeting my smile with a grin. "Absolutely. Let's get past these finals." She waved as she left the room, leaving me to regain my thoughts. I waited until after the passing period was over to sneak out.