While on the outside nobody would think it of him but Rob really did quite enjoy the nights watching the school teams play. What it didn't enjoy was seeing Deus sat up with him and the rest of the group rather than down on the field lighting it up. Even so, with the performance to that point there was very little reason to get excited. 'This is a shower of shit today...' he muttered to himself.

The game ticked by and the group spoke amongst themselves as things just appeared to get worse and worse. Whether it was the lack of Deus or the general mood of the school bringing the team down, nobody would ever really know for sure. However as usual DJ was there to try and lift everyones spirits. With a flick of the wrist he lofted a kernel of popcorn into the air before catching it in his often big mouth. Whatever bet he had made before hand had slipped past Rob's ears as he watched his school drop another pass deep.

DJ patted him on the shoulder with a smile. "Get your dancing shoes ready, brother. Shit's gonna be magical." Rob turned and looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "What are you on about DJ?" Before DJ could reply Augie piped in with his joke and it all became clear to Rob who couldn't help but laugh. "Let's be real...while i'm incredibly flattered...no...honoured by your wanting to dancing the night away with me, I am afraid that I am truly unable to dance."

Rob leapt up to his feet and did his best spinning ballerina impression, narrowly avoiding a tumble down the bleachers. "See? How on earth would I be able to keep up with your fantastic skills? Surely someone more suited to this would be Isaac? That guy has some serious moves."

Turning to the groups very own Bear Grylls Rob moved to continue the joke but caught ear shot of Isaac's suggestion to move inside. Deus agreed and the charade soon dropped. The fact was the game was pretty diabolical and to be totally honest, Rob wanted to go home and get changed before heading to the party anyway. "Guys I think leaving now is a superb idea. I need to go get my sexy clothes on anyway. Shall we say meet in the hall in an hour?" Rob reached in his pocket to take his car keys out before turning back to the group. "Anyone other than the sexual predator known as DJ want a ride home? Don't think I would be able to trust him to keep his hands off me." Rob winked in his friends direction as he waited for an answer.

Listening to everyone speak around her it was clear that the game was not worth watching. Last year's had been more fun when Deus was playing and they had someone to root for. Arabella was on the field for cheer, but the girls didn't have much to cheer for. It was a shame that their last Homecoming game was going to end in a big loss. Oh well, it was only football after all. When Isaac spoke, Bernie leaned back into his knees and looked up at him, she stuck her tongue out at him before leaning forward again, "Yeah, I'm with all you guys. Let's bounce."

Bernie laughed at Rob and DJ's antics, specifically Rob's outlandish dancing. The two were definitely lifting the groups spirits as they were usually good at. Bernie pulled her cellphone from her jacket pocket as she quickly texted to Ara that some of them were heading inside, and others were going to be heading with Rob back home to change into more fashionable clothes. Bernie had not planned really for dressing up tonight, she was putting most of her money elsewhere, and besides- Prom would be way more important in the scheme of school dances, right?

Getting up from the cold bleachers, Bernie exclaimed- "Okay, see you perverts later! I'm going inside before I die of ammonia or whatever that disease that makes your lungs pop is called." she expressed, clearly not knowing what the proper pronunciation or complications of pneumonia were. Climbing down the bleachers, the group was split into people going with Rob and people going into the school.

The dance was not ready as people on the student council scurried inside the gym placing decorations and setting up the inside bleachers. A place to have people sit on waiting for a special someone to ask them to dance, or perhaps a place to just rest tired legs from dancing. The student council had decided on the very typical theme of "Winter Wonderland" and the several shades of blue and white was a clear indication of that. Construction paper snow flakes were haphazardly taped everywhere, and the tech team had been busy at work making just the right lighting. It was a teenager's dream come true, surely!

Bernie removed her coat, hat, and mittens- shoving them into the sleeve as she passed it towards one of her peers who was doing a makeshift coat check in the outer hallway. Her simple outfit would be revealed; a pair of black leggings and a soft pink over sized, off shoulder sweater. Ivan Santos passed her a name tag for her to write her name on. She wrote in all capitals; BERNIE B♡ before handing it back to him. He pressed it on to her jacket, signifying her jacket. Ivan then placed a bright blue wrist band around her wrist telling staff she was a student here, and not a student from a neighboring town's school trying to get in on the action. "Thanks Ivan." she complimented, and he returned a friendly smile, and a reminder that the dance would not be ready for another twenty minutes at least.

Walking off to the side slightly, Bernie leaned against the wall waiting for the friends who came with her to finish checking their coats.

_{The sport. The crowd. The facade of spirit in the air...}

It was a High School game. That was certain in Alice's mind. It was all too common that the hundreds of pairs of eyes one might expect to be tracing the speedy players on the field were busy observing the crowd. Each socialite scanned their friends moreso than they paid attention to the game, it seemed. It was all a puzzle, the school— in some manner Alice didn't fully understand, but who was she to judge? Her eyes, too, failed to watch the field. Instead her gaze was captivated elsewhere: upon a graffiti mural that stuck out on the side of the fieldhouse. It was subtle, emblazoned across the wall obscured by the bleachers so that only someone who might have went looking for something—or someone who was trying to get away from the prying eyes— would find. _{'𝒞𝒶𝓃'𝓉 𝒽𝒾𝒹𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝓈𝑒𝒸𝓇𝑒𝓉𝓈'}, it said. "Not anymore apparently," the girl replied. Subtle, spooky, graphically pleasing.

A torrent of cheering momentarily sweeped through the bleachers dragging Alice's eyes away from the hidden dusting of spraypaint. Her friends awaited her back in their seats, and she couldn't avoid the game forever. She shrugged her flowing peacoat more tightly around her body before surging on and back up the metallic stairs. She had arrived just in time to see Rob almost launch himself down the stairs in a tumble. Her approach came just as quietly as her exit had, thus Alice didn't interrupt the conversation. Talk of leaving was brought up nearly immediately and a look of surprise came to Alice's face. She had no intentions to argue with her friends but did feel the need to speak up. "Leaving already? The game's just—" Alice interrupted herself as her gaze fell upon the scoreboard. "Ah... That would make sense." A moment later, she clandestinely averted her eyes unto Deus, offering an amused look and a small shrug. "Their loss, it seems."

As Bernie mentioned her plans to head in, Alice perked up. "I'll come with you. Nothing like spending extra time in school..." Her escape was much easier than expected, but Alice supposed that was in part due to Bernie. She trailed after her friend alongside the rest of those going inside to observe the quaint setup early. She offered few words to the student at the door, removing her coat and going through the strangely uniform process that could only have been formulated by high school staff trying their best to prevent petty theft. Inefficient but effective.

Alice intended not to draw too much attention to herself. As such, her outfit was a rather unsuccessful attempt to emulate subtlety observed in works like the hidden gem beside the bleachers. Of course, that involved a lot more thought than she had hoped it would. In an effort to maintain some semblance of formality (as something too casual would draw just as many eyes as something too flashy), Alice wore a simple black dress beneath her coat with black tights beneath. Nothing too revealing, and nothing too '18th century', she'd mused. Of course, that was until she'd become aware of the theme that had contrasted her ideas entirely. Alice chose to rectify this mistake and satiate any friends that may accost her for otherwise ignoring the theme with a fistful of blue glitter thrown haphazardly in a swathe down the side of her dress and a matching blue ribbon run through her hair.

Soon enough, Alice had taken up her rightful position against the wall as the observer. The scurrying students raced through the hectic scene to prepare for the onslaught of incoming students. Alice couldn't imagine why anyone would volunteer for the position. More stress to deal with? Perhaps it just wasn't for her. "As picturesque as you'd imagined, Bernie?" Alice rubbed her arms slightly, as if still trying to escape the cold that had shook her back at the stadium. "Can't say I want any reminder that winter is coming soon..."

"I'd love to come back to your place to watch you get changed, Rob," he glances at Alice for a split second, "...but I kinda wanna get some actual music playing. I've heard from reliable sources that they have a Bluetooth system that I can hijack if I get there early enough," Augie said. Crossing his arms and putting his hands in his armpits to keep them warm, he took up the rear of the line of those who were heading straight to the dance.

On the way, he lost himself in thought about what music he'd be playing. At the time of walking through the door, he had a pretty solid list consisting of some 90s bangers that everyone would know, and some newer tunes that would get people feeling good about the night. Some thematic winer-y songs, too. Towards the end of the list he put slower, more lyrical songs that might suit the mood when the dance was dying.

It was considerably warmer inside, so he decided he would ditch the coat. Under it he was wearing a button up shirt over the top of a long sleeve shirt. It was fairly casual wear, or, if you asked him, it was "warm and not over-dressed".

First port of order: connecting to the speaker system. Every second he wasted was another gamble against the chance of shitty music for the night. A few slips of the finger here and there would see him visibly tense up. The silence seemed full of fear, right up until the fateful moment the speakers confirmed they were connected. "Awww yeah! Time for tunes, guys. Well not yet, when more people get here. So they don't know it was me and all. Ara, if you wanted the decorations to be good, you shoulda volunteered. Take matters into your own hands. You coulda done way better here, too," he said. She had been having a rough time recently, so he decided to not completely tear her a new one for complaining about something that was wholly in her power to fix.

While waiting for the others to finish checking their coats in, he perused everybody's outfits, of which all of them had more effort put in than his own. They were all a bit getup-y, though he did like the apparent carelessness of the glitter on Alice's dress.

Looking up from her phone, Bernadette looked Alice up and down, and offered her a soft smile. She liked the black dress, it was simple but beautiful. The splash of glitter was confusing, but Bernie did not think too much more of it. Alice had a unique style, so it must have been on purpose, unless she rubbed up against some of the directions on the way over. When Alice questioned her about the decorations she shook her head, "It's definitely better than I could do, but hopefully Prom will be better. I heard we're having it on a Riverboat!" The idea had only be a rumor at the moment, heard from a friend of a friend who was on the student council

Ara's comment could be heard as Bernie glanced at her. She was happy that Ara had gotten back to her normal self, the last couple weeks had been hard on- and Bernie had tried her best to be a good friend. However, when someone is going through a bad break up, and the emotions are on a roller coaster ride from hell.. well, sometimes all you can do is just hang on tight and smile for the camera. Bernie took a look at Arabella's outfit next. She too was dressed head to toe in black. Bernie squinted her eyes, for a moment. Did she not get the memo to dress in all black? Was Alice her new BFF and they had matched for the dance? Bernie shook her head, no- it was most likely just a coincidence.

Laughing at Ara's comments about the decorations, she nodded, "I was just telling Alice that I hope Prom is better. This is kind of... tacky, but at least we get a dance. Which with how bad the game is going outside, I'm thankful for." Bernie nodded, catching sight of Augie as he approached the group. He gushed about music as the girl giggled to herself. She hoped Augie would not get caught. His music taste was not in par with Bernie's but she could get down to really anything, if she tried hard enough. "Student council wouldn't let Ara be in their group cause they know she's got expensive taste, and they only have a budget of ten dollars and about thirty cents, which Ara spends on the freshman who carries her books to class." Bernie added to the teasing with a small smirk. She loved Ara, and knew that she would be able to take the joke as she was in a good mood tonight.

Bernie looked to the doors, watching the other students rush about. "I hope they open the doors soon, I am actually kind of excited to dance this year." she commented, as she watched a person wheel in the old fashioned popcorn machine the school used for every event. Hopefully the rest of the boys wouldn't be too long at Rob's house, but knowing Rob he had something extra up his sleeve and would get anyone who followed him home involved.

---

---

Isaac, for his part, went out to his truck and grabbed his clothes to change into before heading inside. After a quick stop at the bathroom, Isaac came out in his homecoming garb.

He was never really a fan of dressing up, but it seemed appropriate to mix things up a little for Homecoming. So Isaac came out of the restroom in jeans, boots, a brown belt, a green and very lightly plaid shirt, and a gray suit coat. He ran a comb through his hair and his beard before putting it away and making one more run out to his car to put away his other clothes.

Isaac walked towards the gym and looked around for anyone he knew, stopping mid-stride and feeling his mouth go dry when he saw Bernie. Oh no, he thought to himself, feeling a wave of nerves wash over him. Somehow he managed to take a spot next to her, opposite of Alice. What he couldn't do was keep his face from reddening. Fuck. He'd thought this would be a really great night to do this but now he was just intimidated and...

No.

Isaac balled up a fist and took a deep breath. He was going to talk to her. Before he could get himself too nervous to speak. He had to do it. As soon as possible.

"Hey Berns," he felt himself say before he could even stop himself, "...uh," his bravado fell a little flat for a second and his face only got more red. "Um... can I... can I talk to you for a minute?" He indicated the corner as a place where maybe they could talk for a second. "Just... real quick. Before I can talk myself out of it."
Isaac stood there for as long as it took, looking at Bernie almost apologetically, but with an unusually determined glint to his eye. "If you don't mind, of course."

While the others were talking out their arrangements and what they were gonna do, Deus still somehow found himself invested in the game. It was like the Monstars stole his team's talent, they looked drained out there. If only...This was what it felt like to be on the outside looking in. This feeling sucked worse than when Deena was potty training. Never again.

His eyes quickly blinked as he suddenly noticed the others starting to get up and head off. Looked like it was about that time. With that, he simply went to the locker room. While Rob and a couple others may have had to go home to get changed, Amadeus merely kept his change of clothes here. Granted, not in any of the players' locker rooms, where it'd smell like back-knee sweat and hotdog water, but rather in the coaches'.

Thus, real quickly, Deus replaced his Sterling varsity jacket, with a navy, Eastern style, frog-button jacket and a white shirt beneath. His generic red sweatpants replaced with black, almost slim-fitting jeans. His royal blue chuck taylors replaced with...nothing. He kept those on. Deus wasn't going for anything too formal or nothing like that. It was only the Homecoming dance. Not like it was Prom.

Upon entering the gym, his eyes surveyed the room to everyone putting the finishing touches to everything. Y'know, somehow, despite looking like they using decorations from when the school was first built, he was still more optimistic about the dance. When his view landed on the small group of his friends that formed, Amadeus made his way over with no delay.

"Well, aren't you ladies lookin fine this evening?" Deus complimented and smirked. Really, he was talking to all of them, but his eyes bounced at Arabella more often than the others. It was a weird feeling to explain. Their main connection to one another had been the dude who abandoned the both of them. So, there was this sort of closeness that he felt with her in that regard. That...and the fact that he couldn't stop his heart from speeding over the limit when around her...

Keep it together, bruh.

Deus broke his peek streak at the Queen Bee when he glanced at Augie instead. Change the subject, stay cool. "You got that Stevie Wonder track on the playlist?" He asked his fellow music history nerd. He couldn't help but notice their friendly neighborhood lumberjack was stumbling over his words when he was talking to Bernie.

This was something that had been brewin for a little while now, and to see him yank that courage out to finally say something made Deus smile on the low. One thing was for sure.

Isaac was a helluva lot braver than he was.

With the majority seemingly not wanting a lift Rob skipped off to his car on his lonesome. He joyfully drove home excited for the night ahead, he didn't know why but just had a feeling that it was going to be an unforgettable night. Spiderman could sense danger, Rob had a knack for sensing a good time and Homecoming gave nothing but good vibes...even if the football had been agonising. The drive was short as it always was at this time of day and it meant Rob wouldn't be that long from his friends before he could make his way back.

Pulling into the drive of his fathers house one of his favourite songs, The Forsaken Effigy, began to play over his stereo. Rather than leave the car he decided to stay and let out a gutteral roar along with the track's introduction. Several minutes of headbanging later, he emerged from his car and headed inside.

He entered his bedroom to find his clothes spread out across his bed as he left them. Part of him expected his younger brother to have done something to them but the little devil had been quite well behaved recently. Rob being Rob didn't often do things considered normal and his plan for tonight was exactly that. Most people would be smart casual at the very least while Rob was going to turn up in costume. That was until he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket.

Taking his phone from his pocket Rob unlocked it to find a message from one of the people from band class. "Dude you need to check out the website! You're next!" Rob froze and all sense of having a good night went away. The website that had single handedly ruined the lives of the schools populace was going to be taking aim at him. He was always an open book, especially to his nearest and dearest but he had no idea what the secret could be. Some secrets wouldn't matter but others would impact quite of alot of people and those were the ones that he was worried about most. All thoughts of having a great night were gone and replaced with feelings of dread.

Sitting down on his bed Rob went to the website and right in front of him was his name emblazoned across. There was no countdown, no warning of when he would be exposed to everyone. He couldn't only imagine it would be tonight, when better to try to embarass someone than when everyone is at Homecoming. Robs head hung down into his chest for a moment as he tried to think once more about what the secret could be. He let out a frustrated groan and rose to his feet, throwing his costume into the corner of his room. He moved to his cupboard and decided to wear something more appropriate. If he was going to get made fun of then it was going to be while looking his best, not like a failed comedian.

He donned his best black suit with a white buttoned shirt underneath while deciding against a tie. He left the top couple of buttons undone before moving towards the mirror in the corner of his room. He looked himself over while straightening out his jacket, happy with how he looked. If anything he was overdressed but he thought he looked good...it was better than dressing like a pirate. He moved back to his closet and pulled out a pair of polished, black shoes and finished off his outfit for the night.

All finished and ready to go face the now haunting prospect of Homecoming, Rob made his way downstairs only to see his brother rush out. "Where the hells the pirate costume bro?" He could see the disappointment on his younger brothers face. "Sorry Matt. Someone snitched to the teachers." Matt rolled his eyes before snapping back with his usually childhood humour. "Whatever Robbie...you're clearly dressing up for your girlfriend." Before Matt could carry on his fathers voice called him from the living room. Rob let out a sigh thinking about his brothers words, Only if that was the case Matt, then maybe tonight would be fine. The thought soon faded and Rob found himself on his way back to the school.

The drive seemed to drag on as his mind tried to wrap around what could be the big reveal for him tonight. He thought of all the things big and small that could even be considered a secret. It wasn't until he reached the school that he realised what one secret would be the most gossip worthy amongst the students. His heart sank. It can't be that...only we knew... His attempts to keep himself sane failed and the secret that was best kept by him was now the one he expected most to be revealed. He slammed his hands hard on the steering wheel several times. "Fuck this shit!" He yelled at the top of his lungs for a short while before exiting the car and heading towards the entrance.

People were starting to arrive to Homecoming in droves, couples and singletons alike flocking into the hall. Rob walked with his head hung low, replying to any greetings with nothing more than an effortless 'Hey.' It was out of character for the usually jovial musician and people could tell. Most of them understood because by now they all knew or were at least finding out that he was up next.

His secret if he was right about it, wasn't something that he felt bad about. The fact was he wasn't alone in it and that was what worried him the most. How would they react? What would they say? With the reveal there was potential for his life changing forever, losing those he cared about most. The good feeling from earlier seemed like a million miles away, he now just felt like he was going to lose all that he cared about.

His mind continued to race as he entered the hall, even the horrendous music selection couldn't distract him from his thoughts. He only broke his train of thought and worry as he approached his closest friends. He first caught sight of Bernie who seemed to be listening to Isaac while the others talking amongst himself. He raised his head and forced his best fake smile as he approached them all. With Ara's back to his approach he put his hand on her shoulder and leant into the group.

"Hey guys...when am I going to be allowed to put some proper music on?!" Moving his hand from Ara's shoulder he reached out to give all of the boys a mixture of handshakes and fistbumps before giving each of the girls a kiss on the cheek. By time he had finished he found himself opposite Deus. He gave him a nod before opening up another question to the group. "Who got their grandmother to decorate this place?"

"Projection is an unhealthy coping mechanism, Robert," DJ snidely remarked in response to Rob's joke. As he stood up, following the others' lead in ditching the game, he decided to make another quip. "I might be a little late to the dance, I gotta stop by Kathy's Salon to get my hair dun did." Assured that his friends would leave with a smile on their face, DJ went on his way, accompanying Rob to the parking lot before hopping into his uncle's truck.

The Carter home was rather quiet that evening. When DJ arrived, Max was doing his homework at the dinner table while his mother was finishing up the last of the dishes. DJ gave them both a quick hello before going to his room.

Now, formal wear was not DJ's strong suit in the slightest. Outside of funerals, weddings, and other unavoidable events, DJ stayed far away from anything resembling a suit and tie. Regardless, he made himself dress up for Homecoming, because he knew his friends would never let him live it down. Especially not Isaac.

Theresa, bless her heart, went through the trouble of digging up one of his father's old tuxedos for him. Grey jacket and pants, black dress shirt, and a white bow tie came together to create a look DJ was...actually pretty happy with. Of course, he was mostly just glad it fit him.

One truck ride later, and he was back at school. Proud of his new ensemble, DJ strutted into the hall with his head held high, offering minor greetings to any other students who recognized him.

"Yes, it's really me."

"Old suit, actually. Used to be my dad's."

"Hey, not as good as you, hotshot. You are killing it in those heels."

"Clear the dance floor. There's a storm coming, and it's looking to be a Cat 5."

It didn't take long for DJ to spot his friends, as they were all standing in a rather close circle. With a quick adjustment of his tie, he approached, catching the tail end of Rob's words as he reached the group.

"Look, she spends most of her nights drinking prune juice and watching Dr. Phil. I just thought it'd be a good way to get her out of the house."

”Poor freshman,” Augie said with a grin, after deciding to jump on the teasing bandwagon. Ara was cool, but she was too easy to stir up were Augie's thoughts.
Speaking of his thoughts on people here: Isaac had just been doing something that Augie would have judged as beyond his capabilites if he hadn't seen it with his own eyes. He was happy for him. He gave the pair a wink just before Deus asked if he had the Stevie Wonder song on the playlist.
”It is now!” he said, whipping his phone out and swiftly adding the song. He and Deus didn't have much in common musically, so he was quick to add anything they could both jam to. ”Oh and if you guys have suggestions, just let me know. It'll go on there,”

Next, Rob showed up. Augie could tell something was wrong. He couldn't tell what, but it was there. ”Oi, I put this on. If you got something to put on, tell me- nothing too heavy,” he winked, concealing his worry for a moment before turning them both away long enough to say ”Rob, if you need to chat at some point, just tell me you need to throw up or something, alright?”
Out of context, this sentence may have seemed strange, but Augie’s face said it all.

As the group came together, Bernie's excitement for the dance grew. The group joked with one another, talking shit and laughing with one another. Things felt like old times, and it was good, it was a good feeling. Meeting her gaze with Isaac, she heard him speak but it didn't quite register in her head at first. Glancing over at Arabella real quick, she raised her eyebrow in curiosity. "Um, yeah- of course. Do you wanna go outside or something?" she questioned, in a meek voice. Something quieter than her usual peppy and excited tone.

Isaac hadn't been expecting any kind of showy response or vehement refusal, but something about the way she replied made his knees wobble. Too late now. Had to act.

"Um, yeah. Outside is good. Or just around the corner. Just... someplace at least a little private." Isaac lead the way towards the door that lead out to the parking lot, stopping just short of it.

"Okay. I'm sorry if I say too much. I'm just nervous. Um. I like you." Well. Straight to the point. Why give himself time to chicken out, right? "I really like you. And when we went for shakes I... I said some stuff I've been regretting for months. I do wanna date you, Berns. You're amazing. You're beautiful. You're so far out of my league you might as well be playing a whole different sport. But... I wanna try anyways. I'll fly as close to the sun as I can and try to take it in my hand... even I fall out of the sky, it would be worth it. Just to have known what it was like to be with you.

Isaac flushed. He'd not expected to wax poetic like that. He hoped he hadn't gone too far off into the weird with that.

"Um. Long story short I kinda wanna be your boyfriend. If that's ok with you."

The cold air was harsh on Bernie's warm cheeks, a bit of relief in the moment as listened to what Isaac had to say. She recalled fondly the few times she had asked Isaac for a ride home from the grocery store that Isaac and her older brother worked at. It wasn't long until she had developed a crush on him- and then when she had asked him out on a date the first week of school- he had politely turned her down.

It had pissed her off, and frankly made her want him more- but she didn't pursue it afterwards. She left it at that. She was still friendly to him, and continued to do things with him while they were in a group, but the mood shift from the days leading up to going out for lunch after school and the days afterwards had a very different tone.

"You're an IDIOT!"

She exclaimed, the eyes of a few classmates turning to look at them as they headed indoors for the dance. She lowered her voice, stepping towards him. "Yes, that is okay with me." a devious smile spreading across her lips, before she delivered a small peck on his. "But, this was my idea first. Just so you know."

Isaac flinched when she called him an idiot, his blush burning all the hotter as he braced himself for rejection.

But it didn't arrive.

Instead, she stepped closer and said it was alright, with that impish grin she would get any time she was about to do something clever. Isaac expected a oneliner. Maybe a "Just kidding, loser!" What he hadn't expected was a kiss. His first, actually, as potentially shameful a fact as that was. He almost didn't register her next sentence as he was too busy standing there and being dazed.

"I... yeah. You were right. I've been a fucking idiot for months and... damn, can I kiss you again?" As soon as indication came that she was alright with the idea, Isaac had his arms around her waist and pulled her in to kiss her, a little more fully and a little slower, but still a far cry from making out. "Holy shit... Bernadette is my girlfriend... BERNS IS MY GIRLFRIEND!" He covered his mouth. That was probably loud enough for the others to hear. But... he really didn't care.

Watching Isaac cover his mouth with his hand as his voice thundered outside, Bernadette giggled. "Okay, that is enough celebrating, it's fucking cold outside- let's go in." she stated, turning back to go inside to her friends. She couldn't wait to tell Ara and Alice about what had happened. Looking back, she grabbed Isaac's hand as she led him back inside and to the group.

---

A few moments later, the doors would open and the dance would start!

_{In the eye of the storm?}

As Bernie eyed the doors, Alice was right alongside her, though the anticipation felt between the socialite and the outcast were founded on entirely different concerns. While Bernie eagerly awaited her fellow students to populate their lives once more, Alice remained apprehensive. She hid it rather well, though. She'd become quite good at that. Dances were never her thing, but once again, attempting to evade another big event in the lives of her friends never went well for Alice. If she were to be honest with herself, Alice would have preferred the crowds never arrive, leaving her friends to intermingle with a certain degree of peace. That wasn't how dances worked, though. Alice knew that.

When Rob arrived, that certain degree of solemnity covering Alice's face seemed to fade ever so slightly. His humor did seem to brighten the group up in general, and it shifted the focus of Alice's wracked mind. "Perhaps things could have been better if one of us stepped up to help... Really anything we could do would be an improvement..." As Alice mused aloud, her eyes lofted up to view the cheap strings of decorations. She knew that, in part, Bernie was right. It was Homecoming. What could they expect? Alice wasn't sure that their prom would do anything to dazzle her and her friends, but it had to be better than this.

It seemed the entirety of the dance was under scrutiny, which Alice couldn't help but join in on as Augie had shuffled the set music already. A smile crossed her face for the first time since Alice and her friends had entered the building. "Between all of you, we'll definitely have an interesting mix..." When Augie polled the group for suggestions, Alice was hesitant to speak up. Some part of her knew that whenever her song arrived, she wouldn't be around to hear it. The auditorium in which they found themselves was dull enough as is, but to spend an entire night here was something Alice was never prepared for.

When the group of familiar faces had finally amassed, Alice relaxed her posture. Being with her friends had at least made the night somewhat worth attending. The flow of humor and playful teasing kept their chatter alive and well until Isaac spoke up to pull Bernie aside. Alice maintained silence at that point, her curious eyes watching the pair as they moved off beyond the rest of their friends. It wasn't until Bernie returned with Isaac's hand in hers that Alice seemed to fully comprehend what was going on, but she had greater things to worry about. As other guests began to come rapidly into the building signifying the start of the event, Alice was reminded once more of how much she'd dread being witnessed by all the watchful eyes. Alice spoke before anyone could bring up the strange ordeal between their two friends.

"I'll be back. I'm going to use the restroom." Alice had already begun to move off by the time Bernie and Isaac had made it back, and really left little time for words of protest after she spoke. As she weaved in between the crowd of the others, Alice let herself intermix with the eye of the storm that was the dance in its full breadth. It wasn't where she wanted to be, but beyond the aching cloud of gossip and glamour lied a salvation— or at least, as close to a salvation as one could find in a school. When Alice reached the restroom doors she didn't hesitate a moment lest prying eyes scout her out. Without much thought, her direction changed, leading her down a set of stairs beyond the dance and deeper into the school's halls.

Alice knew the layout well, and her destination was by no means far in the labyrinthine hallways. Within moments, Alice stepped up to the door of the art room.

Secret Reveal 4.

Everyone that would be attending the dance was inside the gymnasium at this point. The teacher's after a certain time were only letting people in if they had to go use the bathroom or something along those lines- if you were coming too late, you wouldn't be let in at all. The football team (as well as the remaining cheer team) had recently been dismissed and were all showered off and inside the dance, schmoozing up the ladies and taking advantage of the pizza that the cafeteria had just brought in. It was only a dollar a slice and all of the proceeds would be going to the junior/senior prom later in the year.

The Sinners were taking a dance break to grab something to eat, and some punch to sip on to regain their energy. Bernie had offered to pay for everyone to have a slice of pizza, or two if they wanted. She was happy to treat, since she had gained a little extra income recently. "It's on me guys, I've been doing so much shoveling lately in the neighborhood. Want to use it for good things, or i'll just spend it on makeup I never use." she said as they stood around a high top table.

One of Augie's songs came through the sound system [Led Zeppelin - Dazed & Confused]. The soulful music put a confused face on several teen's faces and even the person running the booth was trying to figure out why his phone was disconnected and outside source was connected. The electric guitar rolled and filled the room, some people rocked out through it- other's took the moment to take a bathroom break or other means of filling time.

You hurt and abused tellin' all of your lies
Run around sweet baby, Lord how they hypnotize
Sweet little baby I don't know where you've been
Gonna love you baby, here I come again.

The lyrics were loud and clear as one of their classmates named Trevor Rogers came up to the table and shoved Robert's shoulder. He was laughing and cheerful, his thin stature and long hair resembling Rob's. Trevor smiled, "You're a fucking dog dude. Just saw the site." he looked over at Ara with a devilish smile, before placing his phone in the middle of the table for the group to look at:

Robert Cadogan is a such a nice guy.
Robert Cadogan hates to see people cry.
Robert Cadogan has a secret he wants to bury.
Robert Cadogan took the head cheerleaders cherry.

Bernadette raised her eyebrows as her mouth parted into an audible gasp. Arabella was her best friend, and she had never told her that. She remembered the several times she had seen Ara coming from Rob's house and just figured they had to do work on a project. They had been working on a project alright. Bernie looked up to Ara, with a bit of disappointment. She wished she would have told her. Then she looked to her next door neighbor, and hoped that he had treated her right.

Augie waved to Alice as she left the group for a moment. Maybe waving to someone when they went to the bathroom was the wrong thing to do, but who really cared who he waved to? He went around with the group after, taking up Bernie's offer of pizza. "A dollar a slice really is extortionate," he says, looking at the slice, "Like sure, it's going to prom, but geez man. Serve alcohol instead, make bank."

When Dazed and Confused came on, Augie recoiled slightly. He checked his phone slowly and confusedly, saying "This was meant to be as a slow song later, for couples or the like." He shrugs, "Guess time flies when you're having fun," he says, sitting down with the others.

Not long after, an unfamiliar face ran over, telling Rob that he's a dog, and mentioning the site. He raises an eyebrow at Rob, and, still not looking at the phone, yells some obscenities at the other guy. [i][color=A43333]Who is he to go speaking to people like that, while attempting to shame them in front of their friends...[/i]
But somewhere in the rush of anger spewing from Augie, he saw the other guy look at Ara rather oddly. Augie's eyes widened.

When it came to a party, there was only one thing better than dancing.

And that was pizza.

The fact that Bernie was paying for it made it all the more tastier. "Watch yourself, Berns. You keep doing things like this for me, I might marry you on the spot." Of course, the irony and impact of that statement was lost to DJ as he tore into his first slice.

After a round of thrilling conversation, the mini pizza party was interrupted by the appearance of one Trevor Rogers. DJ was familiar with Trevor, but wasn't really someone he hung out with. There were a few times, but mostly DJ just associated him with Rob. They did look similar, after all.

"Takes one to know one, Fido," he commented, taking a drink of punch as he peered at Trevor's phone to see what the fuss was about this time. He didn't expect a whole lot; Rob was one of his best friends, after all. Whatever secret he had, it couldn't have been that shock-

"Jesus, Carter! Say it, don't spray it!"

DJ ignored the annoyed dance-goers, coughing as he recovered from his impromptu spit-take. He knew Rob and Ara had a tendency to stick together, but he didn't think it would lead to something like that. It made him wonder when exactly it happened; before or after Ara was dating Ron. Furthermore, he wondered who exactly knew such a secret aside from Rob or Ara, and put it on the site. With each reveal, it seemed, the scope of the mastermind got bigger and bigger.

"Well...I guess that's out there now," he said, wiping his mouth with a napkin. Looking at Rob and Ara, he offered a shrug. "I mean...congrats. Both of you. I...assume you didn't expect us to find out this way, but, regardless, I'm happy for you. I think some of the rest of us are, too, right guys?"

Bernie giggled at DJ, "Might take you up on that offer DJ if this doesn't work out." she teased, her hand squeezing Issac's under the table for a moment. Bernie was glowing, for the first time in so long she was feeling important and wanted. Sure, she had the attention of a few boys at Sterling Heights High but it never lasted long, and in the shadow of her best friend- well, it wasn't often that she had the spotlight- if only for the moment.

In the midst of the boys cussing out Trevor, and Rob taking Ara outside something inside of Bernie snapped. It may have been teenage hormones, or maybe this year had just been one gut punch after the next- but as her face contorted and her eyebrows strained on her face, Bernie became absolutely livid. She dropped her pizza onto the plate, as she declared to the table, "I'll be right fucking back, I HAVE TO PISS!" she shoved past Trevor, walking out of the auditorium and straight into the girl's bathroom- her upper lip quivering.

How could Ara have kept this secret from her best friend for all of this time? Did she not trust her enough? She had seen the two at Robert's house multiple times and thought they had just been working on a project together or just hanging out as friends. Was she that stupid? Were the snide comments her classmates made about her being just a airhead true? Slamming the door of the larger handicapable stall, Bernie slid down the cold tile wall and let out an anguished and muffled by her fists against her mouth scream.

Soon after the tears came.

Bernadette was happy for her friend that Robert had been her first, it made all the stories of her ex as well as Ron not seem so bad in retrospect. She wasn't happy that Ara hadn't told her this, she knew that when she eventually lost her virginity that Arabella would be the first person she told, if not the only. Wiping her eyes with the outer part of her thumb, she pulled her legs up to her chest. Her own secret hung heavy in her heart. Was she any better, if she had hid her own secret from Ara? She didn't know truly, and she was too upset to really want to think about it anyways.

Gathering herself, she went up to the mirror to check her makeup and fix up her hair a bit from where she had slid down the wall. A classmate looked over at her, and offered a pity smile. "It's okay, there are a lot of fish in the sea." she said as Bernie nodded. She didn't want to share her life story with Aimee Johnson, who had earlier in the year been revealed to have chlamydia. Taking her leave, Bernadette noticed that Alice had not been in the bathroom any wondered where she had gone off to, she debated texting her privately but didn't want to disturb her if she had really been in the bathroom but having difficulties.

Deciding to go back into the auditorium, Bernie wrote a text message instead directly to Ara. She sat down on the lower bench of a bleacher away from her friends, taking an actual moment to write out a thoughtful statement:

I know that you are with Rob outside but I wish that you wouldn't have lied to me. I'm not as dumb as every one thinks I am. I wanted to be happy tonight, and have it be MY day for once. Isaac asked me to be his girlfriend tonight, and I didn't even get to be excited about it with you, because even during Rob's secret being revealed it became a day about YOU, YOU, YOU! I want you to know that I love you and you are my best friend, but I just-

She deleted the entirety of the text replacing it with;

SO HAPPY 4 U BABE. TTYS?!

Walking back to the table with her friends, she took back her position as she took a bite of her pizza, the slice since had run cold.

Augie leaned back in his seat, slumping a little. Everyone had disappeared, or gone silent. Bernie and Isaac were a thing now. Maybe Rob and Ara, too. He was happy for them of course, just overwhelmed. Of course, he was very unhappy about Ron's secret being revealed.
The way he saw it, where someone put their parts was their own business and this site had no right to broadcast that. That being said, there was no turning back time, nor was there anybody to hold responsible. Yet.

Bernie left the table in a huff, which brought Augie out of his stupor. He gazed around like a stunned mullet for a second, looking at who remained. Deus, DJ, Isaac, and himself. Ara and Rob had buggered off, and Alice had been on a seemingly never ending toilet break. Maybe Bernie had gone to fetch her?

He stood up, waved to the group, and left, because it just felt like the right thing to do. Once out of the hall, he disconnected his phone from the Bluetooth and hooked it up to his ear buds, blasting SWANS. The sweet repetition took him, seized his feet, enraptured his mind. He walked with no apparent goal, eyes closed and arms outstretched. Each beat, or the suggestion thereof, saw a step. Each piercing roar or eerie whine sent shivers down his spine.

Why have people when you can have music? funnily enough, were his thoughts as he gently collided with the door of the art room, Alice inside. He opened the door and took out one ear bud, music faintly audible against the canvas silence.

"So this is where you went. You see the website?"

Deus was simply quiet amidst his interacting friends. For a little while, everything seemed normal. DJ and August were up to their usual antics. Bernie and Isaac had made their way out, likely for the country boy to make his finally make vows 'nd shit. Alice disappeared for the "bathroom". Well, Deus knew her long enough to know better than that. Either way, it was essentially a classic night for the Sinners.

Frankly maybe a little too classic. Everything seemed to move by rather quickly in his perspective. He was checking on his phone to see what some of the players were saying in the Football Team's group chat. He knew that some of them wouldn't be coming today due to the loss.

By the time he next looked up, he saw Isaac and Bernie coming back, hand in hand. His closed lip smile widened slightly. Well, Deus be damned. The boy done got him one. It was something that he was genuinely happy about for both of them. He knew Bernie since they were little kids. Going through the motions of high school, he never really felt that much of a romantic sort of interest in her. Hell, she reminded him more of Deena than any of his other friends. Because of that, seeing her "all grown up" with a man now made him feel all old.

Old and self-conscious.

The thread of thinking made him trace back to Arabella. He realized all of the emotions he felt about her through wrinkle in time. Small flashbacks back to when he first met her. How he always got overlooked by her in Ron's shadow. Maybe...Maybe this was the night to make something happen? Though, that'd take away from Bernie and Bunyan. He wouldn't want to do something like that.

Besides that, the night was still young. Wasn't really a reason to get into all that mess right at the moment. If anything, it'd make a brotha look more desparate than anything else. AKA, drama Deus didn't need. Speaking of, Fairly Oddparents' Chet Ubetcha-head-ass, Trevor Rodgers came up out of nowhere.

Initially, Deus would've just ignored his ass, considering that he was one of those kid reporters for the school paper. He came across the nosy ass dude all the time, and actually expected for him to come up and pettily ask Deus how he felt about not playing tonight. Though, what he brought to the table, was much worse than that.

Apparently, the damn SHS site came back to take another chunk out of The Sinners. This time, it was about Rob, as indicated by Trevor's words. Now this seemed like it was going to be something outlandish. Rob was already kinda hype personality wise, but it wasn't a surprise to learn that he had a secret.

Everyone has them. That was what the site had taught Deus, and likely everyone else, personally. Though despite all that being in mind, the sports prodigy still wasn't ready for what he read off of Trevor's phone. It sent an ice shard down his spine with the last line that he read. It was probably more apparent in Deus' eyes than it ever was that the news was hard hitting. There was no mistaking what the message was telling him from the phone in his hand.

This was weird, though. This seemed like it would be more so a secret that belonged to her, rather than Rob. He didn't know what to feel. Was he supposed to be disgusted by the fact that the person who ran this site knew this information?

Was he supposed to be happy for Rob and Ara? Fairly speaking, compared to his own, this wasn't as personal. Though, the counter to that claim was Claire, who left soon after it was divulged that she never had this happen to her.

Was he supposed to feel betrayed? Somehow, he truly did. He had no reason to be. Deus never left any indication. If Basketball wasn't his birth talent, maybe it could've been acting. He never said anything about his feelings about the Queen Bee. Well, now, he never would.

It was all over Rob's face. This wasn't going to be something that he was letting go of. This was his secret, because he had all of the same feelings that Deus himself had. He should've realized it sooner. They were almost always together. As a matter of fact, they damn near acted more like a couple even when she was with Ron.

Deus didn't look back up from the phone as Rob whisked her away from possible embarassment. He could hear the others break away from their little area, Augie and Bernie. For separate reasons, of course, but both probably related to the Ara thing.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, being that of Trevor's. "It's been fun and all but uh, I'll need my phone back dude."

Deus, after composing himself somewhat from the shattering blow to his emotional spectrum, looked up at him for a minute. Instead of simply giving the phone back, Deus threw the dude's weak-ass blackberry into the air. In some stroke of powerful luck, and basketball trick shot skill, the phone landed right into an open trash barrow that was being wheeled out. When he heard the impact of the phone hitting soft and hard plastic, Deus finally turned his gaze away from Trevor.

"WHAT THE FU--"

"Stay up outta everybody business." Deus was collected but cold with the interruption, as the kid went to chase after his mobile device. With doing that though, he already felt like his night was a wreck. He glanced lightly at Issac and DJ. Those two were best buddies, so, surely threy'd be fine.

Or at least that was how Deus looked at it, considering that he too got up. For the first time in, probably ever, he actually felt crowded in a room full of people. Maybe this was how Alice felt all the time.

The young man headed over to the gym's supply closet, near all the DJ equipment, pulled a basketball out of it, and started down the main hall. He bounced it as he walked, not giving a fuck about how much it echoed. Deus debated calling his aunt to come pick him up, but quickly decided against it. No need to bring that energy home. Deus just needed some way to clear his head, so, to the outside baskets it was.

It wasn't like he was missing anything in here anyway.