The week went rather fast. For the moment I tried to put my mother's journal to the side. Kylie and I went shopping for a dress for the prom. We met up with Brooke for lunch. She was with a few of her friends, the ones that she hangs out with at school. I'm not really friends with any of them. We talked about what colors to wear and how we were going to fix our hair and make-up. One of the stores was having a really good sell on dresses. We all went in. Each of us picked out a dress and took it to the dressing room to try on. Brooke looked fab in the first dress that she picked out. It was dark purple satin, strapless. She looked stunning in it with absolutely no tan marks. Her friends all picked out the same dress, but different colors. Dare to be different. Kylie found a turquoise dress, very tight against her breast and stomach area, then it flared out right above her knees. It was pretty on her. The store even had the shoes to match. Now all she needed was the last few accessories.

I had tried on a few of the dresses, not pleased with any of them. Then in the back of one of the racks, I had noticed a dark reddish, black velvet dress. It was stunning. It just so happened to be my size. I took it to the dressing room. Pulling it up over my hips and then sliding my arms in. The arms were tight and flared out at the bottom with sheer. The front of the dress was tight around my breast, pushing them out, showing more cleavage than I had intended. The velvety material swayed all the way down to the floor, a part of the sheer draped along the side and down the bottom. It looked black, but when the light hit it just right it was deep red. The sheer part glimmered with glitter. When I went out to show them, their facial expression was priceless. Just what I was looking for.

No comments were made. Brooke paid for her dress as well as mine with her father's credit card. He requested that I bought one. He has been extra super nice since the accident. How would I ever pay him back for all that he has done for me?

Landon showed up at the Grandparents house right at six o'clock. He had made arrangements for a candlelight dinner before the prom. I heard him pull up and knock on the front door. My grandfather greeted him.

"Shayla, Landon is here for you," he yelled up the stairs.

"Coming," I yelled back.

I finished a few last minute touches to my face and hair. I put on another fresh layer of lipstick the shad of dark red of course and added a few red tips to my hair. I flared it out with the tips of my fingers. The red tips put a nice touch to it making the dress even more glamorous. Then I added the black choker with rubies around my neck. Before I opened the door to walk down, I glanced at the picture of my parents by my bed. "I wish that you could be here to see me. I'm growing up. How do I look?" I kissed my fingers and then placed in on top of the picture. "I love you guys."

As I walked down the steps, Landon was looking up towards me with his jaw nearly hitting the floor. I think I caught him off guard for a moment. Thank goodness he was not in the middle of a football game or he would have been tackled to death. He took my hand when I got to the last step.

He smiled and whispered, "You're gorgeous." As if he really never looked at me before, kinda like we were on a blind date and this was the first time he saw me. He twirled me around and admired what he saw.

"Why thank you. You clean up well yourself."

"Thanks."

On the way out the door, he helped me down the steps and then into his car. I smiled looking up towards my Grandparents who by the way were on the front porch waving and still taking pictures by the second. He drove calmly down the driveway and once out of sight sped off, letting the engine rive up.

The candlelight dinner was awkward considering I was with him, alone. He had everything planned out. We sat in the back corner of the room so no one would be able to see us. He had even placed the order in advance, which kinda bothered me in a way. I guess because for one I can order myself; I'm not helpless here and the other because what if he ordered something that I just didn't like. Anyway the waiter brought over a sparkling white wine to start off with. Landon picked up his glass ready to make a toast, noticing that I did not pick up my glass.

"Make a toast with me."

"I don't drink Landon, beside aren't we a little too young to be drinking this?" I picked up the glass, letting the wine swish around.

"No!" He lay back against his chair, then bent over closer to the table. He reached for my hand. "Shayla, it's just one glass, one toast to us for the night. No one can see you, no one will know. Come on just one little sip."

The way his eyes sparkle, the way his mouth moves when he smiles, makes it so hard to say no to him. I swallowed hard and took the glass in my hand again. Picking it up just so and tapping it lightly to his glass as he made the toast. "Too us; may tonight bring us closer." I took one small sip, letting the warmness make its way down my throat.

The waiter brought the main dish. I was expecting a big hunk of red meat, maybe medium rare where you could still see pink inside. Who knows what the side would have been. But I knew he was a football player and they all loved their meat. To my surprise he picked up the cover of the dish off and underneath was a hamburger with all the trimmings on the side and a half plate of fries.

"You looked surprised." He smiled looking at me momentarily.

"I am. I was expecting meat with blood still running out everywhere, but this is good, definitely good." I smiled and took one of the fries.

"I didn't know what you would like on your burger so I asked them to put everything on the side, is that o.k.?"

"It's fine, thanks." I smiled. By the time dinner was done so was the glass of wine, that I told myself that I was not going to drink.

We made our way to the prom. He pulled up and then got out, running around to the other side and helping me out the door. I waited on him to park the car and then catch back up with me to walk inside.

As we walked inside, everyone was staring or at least it felt like it. Landon of course was very popular and here he was taking a girl like me to the prom, the not so popular girl. I was technically a nobody at this school. I was different from all the other girls. I could hear a few of the other girls make remarks about us. I'm sure Landon heard as well because he took me by the arm as we made our way into the main room.

There was a band playing on the stage. Balloons were everywhere. They had tables set off to the side of the floor. There was another table off to the far side with snacks and drinks. A few of the couples were already dancing on the floor. Kylie made her way towards me with her date dragging behind her.

"It's about time you got here; I need to talk to you." She let go of her date and reached for my arm.

Landon motioned for me to go on. "I'll get us something to drink." He winked.

"Be back in a second." I took Kylie's hand and tagged along behind her to the bathroom. When we got in I looked in the mirror. "All right, what's going on?"

"I overheard some of the guys talking; it's all a set up Shayla." She pushed me into one of the stalls and closed the door.

"What are you talking about?" She so over exaggerates everything.

"Tonight, Landon. It's all a set up. It was a bet..."

About that time the door opened and a few of the cheerleaders walked in. We overheard their whole conversation as we stood quietly in the stall.

"Did you see her? Who would wear that color to the prom?" Julie laughed.

"A witch." They all laughed at the same time.

Julie was angry and she hissed, "A witch with a big capital B. Who does she think she is anyway, coming into my life and going out with my man, I don't think so! And if she even thinks that she is going to get anything from him tonight so help me."

"It's tradition Julie, all the football players do it and you know it. They all pick the one girl and they lead them on thinking that they are going to get something, hoping to be like us and tomorrow they will be nobody all over again."

"Yeah, how humiliating?" One of the other girls sighed.

"Yeah, you guys are right, by Monday she will be withdrawn even more and Isaiah can have her again." Julie proceeded to put on another layer of lipstick.

"Psycho Isaiah. They are perfect for each other."

"Yeah, losers...." The door closed behind all of them.

I opened the stall door and walked out to look in the mirror again. "What is it with them?" I examined my hair and makeup in the mirror just like they had done.

"Their preps, plastics. You and I are no one; we mean nothing in this school. Do you want to go on home?" Her hand was cold upon my shoulder.

I shrugged her off. "No. I will play their little game. It's time to get back."

As I was walking out the door Kylie yelled out, "You're just going to get hurt, Shayla."

I found Landon and sat down practically right in his lap. I grabbed his hand and smiled. "Come on let's dance." I forced him onto the dance floor. We started to dance. I danced around him, a little seductive. I made my way around bumping into him lightly, getting his full attention on me. My body flowed with the music, blocking everything else out around me. Then a slow song started to play and we danced so close to each other that it would have to take a massive force to pull us away from each other. I watched as Julie watched us on the dance floor. She tried to get close to us, but I made sure that she did not get to close. I could see the fire rise in her eyes. Her friends danced among us as well, each one of them staring us down, or should I say me. I did happen to notice that all the football players were with a different girl, not their girlfriend. So I knew that the rumor was true. They pick the less popular, the girl that will never ever be popular and make them feel good, so good that when the night is over they wished that they never stepped a foot out of their house again. To crawl up and live like a little hermit crab.

I didn't notice that Landon had been watching me so closely as I watched the others dance around us. For once I was not smiling; I was trying to think of what I was going to do. "Do you want to get out of here?" I asked him.

I realized that I caught him off guard. His eyes perked up at the sound of my request. "Sure." I grabbed his hand and made my way through the crowded dance floor and out to the parking lot. "Where did you park?"

"I'll go get the car." He started to let go of my hand.

"I don't mind walking, show me the way." We made it to the car in less than two minutes. He was nice enough to open the door and made sure that my dress was all the way in before he got in. He took off. I looked back at the gym. A few of the girls were standing outside watching as we took off into the night including Julie. That's when I also noticed Isaiah, he was standing by his car. Our eyes met for a quick second. And within that split second was when I realized that I had hurt him even more.

"Where do you want to go?" He glance my way as he placed his hand on my thigh.

I pretended that I didn't know, as if I was the dumb one here. Then I looked over at him. "Come on Landon, its prom night for crying out loud, didn't you book a hotel room for us?"

"Actually I did, but..."

I cut him off, "so might as well get some use out of it don't you think?" I patted his hand that was still on my thigh.

For once he was speechless. He drove to the back of the hotel and we got out and walked up to room 212.

"So are your other friends coming or not?" I questioned as he unlocked the door.

"Later, we booked a few of these rooms for tonight."

"So are they bringing their dates or their real girlfriends?"

He glanced at me twice, in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"I know that they took other girls to the prom. My question is do they screw them and then leave them here alone in the morning or leave them at the prom to find their own way back home?"

"What?" He acted dumb as if I had no clue what I was talking about.

"Landon, I'm not a stupid little chick. I know you will be with Julie, if not tonight, tomorrow. You won the bet; you got me to go to prom with you. What did you win for taking me?" I paused, waiting for the answer but he did not say a thing. I took off my heels, and started to unzip the side of my dress. "If you sleep with me, do you get more points? What do you get Landon?" Still he said nothing; he just shook his head in disbelief as if I had no way of knowing the truth. I let the dress fall to the floor around my feet. I was only wearing my two piece lingerie now, black as night. The straps held my panty hose against my thighs. I pushed him onto the bed. I let him look at me while I turned the lights on dim. I wanted him to see all of me. I went back over to the bed and got on top of him. His clothes still on. I straddle him like a horse. "How many points do you get Landon? How many?" I hissed, begging to know as I unbuckled his belt.

"You don't have to do this Shayla. We don't have to do anything. I was being an ass. I got you to go to the prom that was the bet. I'm sorry?"

"Sorry." I started to laugh. "This is prom Landon. Do you have any idea what you and your friends are doing to those young hopeless girls? They want to fit in, they want to live the way you guys do and do you have any idea what you have done to them?"

"Me!" He said defensively. "I have nothing to do with them." He was starting to get agitated.

"Oh! That's right, just me." I pushed him back against the headboard. "You made a bet on me and you won. You blackmailed me to go out with you Landon. I should have known; there is no way in hell that you would be the one for me."

"You have it all wrong Shayla. Alright I did blackmail you, I'm sorry for that, but I really wanted to go with you. I have fallen for you." He put both hands on my hips, trying to pull me closer to him. "I want you Shayla and only you. I started to fall in love with you during the play. I really want you. I'm sure that I can kiss better than Isaiah."

I pushed his hands away from me and got up from the bed. I started to put the dress back on. He stopped me just as I was getting ready to zip up the side. "Don't touch me." I yelled at him. I continued to zip the side up, walking out the door leaving him behind. I could hear him calling for me, saying my name a few times. The fresh air breezed through my hair. I then noticed the upstairs walkway was covered with football players now. A few of the cheerleaders were standing against the rail. I wondered if they were waiting on their boyfriends to come out of the rooms. Would they be with the desperate ones or did they leave them behind at the prom.

"I have feelings for you Shayla, I love you." Landon stood in the doorway looking at me and then over at Julie, shocked to see her standing there. Ops! Did he just put his foot into his mouth? When he saw her, he got mad and punched the door leaving a dint in it.

Julie was irate, "Keep your nappy fingers off my man or else."

"Is that a threat?" I asked her getting up in her face. "I would watch what I say if I was you." I stared her down. I could tell that I was intimidating her, her hands trembling. I noticed that the crowd was now watching us, waiting for us to fight or something. Instead for some unknown reason I walked back over to Landon and kissed him roughly on the lips. "Thanks for tonight Landon." I said sarcastically. Then I looked back at her. "It wasn't our first time you know and it probably won't be our last. So I guess you better get use to it Barbie." I continued to walk down the steps and out to the road. Considering that I did not have a way home, I started walking. I did hear in the background the guys hooting and hollering about me and Landon. There is no telling how many points he got out of that statement. I also heard Julie giving Landon the third degree.

I didn't even walk a half of a mile when I heard his car pull up beside me. He slowed down and rolled down the window. "Get in, I'll take you home." He always knew where I was. How did he know?

"Thanks Isaiah."