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"It's just not fair! Everyone has a date except for me." Ocean whined at the lunch table, majority ignoring her usual complaints. Thankfully it was early so the whole group didn't have to endure this.
"That's just completely false, you're not the only single girl in the school, I'm pretty sure everyone at this table isn't going out with anyone." Noel rolled his eyes. "Besides, you can always go with someone as friends, or y'know, not go at all? I'm not sure why you're so obsessed with this. I Thought you never cared about prom." He shook his head.
Ocean looked slightly offended at Noel's response, immediately getting defensive "Why would I not care! I'm head of the student council, class president, and in line for being valedictorian! I need to show up, since I'm the school's reputation!" Ocean declared proudly before sinking back into her chair. "Besides, Connie already got a prom date so it's not like I can just go with her…"
"Sorry Osh… I'd feel bad rejecting him, plus he's really cute." Constance smiled slightly, before going back into her awkward demeanor, "Sorry got carried away, but! If it makes you happy I can still try to hang out with you for a bit- She suggested until immediately getting interrupted.
"No, no, no! I do not want to be someone's third wheel, what happened to friends before boys!" Ocean exclaimed, causing Constance to tense up slightly.
"I think you mean bros before hoes." Mischa laughed while sitting down at the lunch table along with Ricky.
"I absolutely do not mean that! And don't call women hoes! This is why you haven't gotten a prom date." Ocean scoffed, gaining an eye roll in response.
"I don't have date to prom because I already have my shawty! Me and Talia are going to have nice romantic dinner on Skype, little orphan a-hole." He grumbled, taking a sip from his drink.
Noel just sighed, Ocean looked like she was about to explode at this point, he wanted to try and step in just so she didn't hurt someone. "Ocean look, I'm going with Ricky as friends, how about you do that with uh-" He started, trying to look for someone Ocean was on slightly good terms with. Thankfully Penny sat down at the lunch table. "With Penny! Yeah, you can go out with Penny." He suggested.
"I am not dating Penny Lamb!!" Ocean exclaimed, obviously misinterpreting what Noel just said.
"Huh." Was all that Penny said, completely lost in the conversation due to just sitting down.
He rubbed his eyes in annoyance, "No, you're not. You go out with her as friends, like what me and Ricky are doing, what I literally just said." He sighed deeply.
"Yeah but you're gay, it's different since you're probably going to end up with a date at the end of it." She grumbled crossing her arms.
"When did I even say Ricky was into me, or imply he was gay??" Noel let out an exasperated sigh.
"I am." Ricky signed, earning a couple laughs from the choir, except Noel and Ocean.
"Well that just proves my point doesn't it?"
"No. It doesn't. Sweet Jesus Christ on a bike, Ocean you like Penny, you two are both… straight… go out with her as friends so you can fill the lonely gap you keep whining about. " He said, placing his head on the table in annoyance.
Ocean just sighed looking over to Penny "This is just a friend thing, okay?" She mumbled slightly flustered, she swore she was the straightest girl in school. But most people in the choir knew how much of a lie that was, and Penny was her weakness that made that side of her show.
"Sure, and don't worry. I'm not going to be like them, I'm uh straight too…" She mumbled rubbing her neck awkwardly, earning a sigh of disappointment from Noel. Compared to Ocean she was a bit more open, still trying to convince herself she hadn't found the right guy, had to latch onto the most mediocre men to convince herself of that. That poster of Johnny Moon in her bedroom haunted her, almost like a reminder of what she's supposed to be.
"Good, can you pick me up? I don't have a car-, and prefer not to walk in a dress." Ocean mumbled quietly.
"Aww how cute." Noel laughed quietly.
"Friends pick each other up all the time! Me and Constance do it!" Ocean threw her hands in defense, giving Noel a death glare.
"Sorry, couldn't help it." He snickered, "Well, I'll see you two 'straight' girls later tonight." He packed his stuff up as the bell rang, the rest of the choir leaving after.
~~~~~~~~~~
Ocean was strangely greeted by her parents when she got home, which would make the fact she did have to approach them a bit easier. She didn't have a prom dress, and desperately needed one, so her last resort was to her mom.
"Your home early." Her mother said blankly, it wasn't early at all, she was just too stoned to realize when her daughter was actually off of school.
"Uh-, yeah… Also I need to ask you-, do we have any dresses I can wear for prom…" She mumbled awkwardly.
"Prom? Who's the lucky guy?" Her mother laughed, raising an eyebrow.
"No-, no one I'm just going with my friends…"
"Shame, well you can use my old dress from when I was your age, regardless make sure to bring protection. Don't want to make the same mistake we did."
"That mistake brought her into the world." Her father muttered over to her, both of her parents laughing.
Ocean froze before storming off to her parents room, ignoring their remarks to the best of her ability. She did eventually find the dress she was referring to, it looked… okay… not ugly enough to be bullied for, but clearly a bit old fashioned. She took the dress back to her room, and called up Constance.
"Oh hey Ocean! How are you handling getting ready?"
"Fine… I guess, I probably don't have the prettiest dress in the world." She sighed, glancing over to it.
"That's alright! I can come over to help you with makeup if you want! I'm picking my date up anyway, he doesn't have a car."
Ocean checked to make sure her parents left the living room before responding, "Yeah you can, I don't really know how to do most of that… without your help." She sighed deeply, she hated admitting she wasn't perfect at everything.
"Alright! I'll come over as soon as I can." The call ended, Ocean now anxiously waiting for Constance to arrive, messing with her hands slightly as her mind began to wander.
"What if Penny thought I was ugly? No, no, she wouldn't do that… would she?" She thought to herself "It doesn't matter anyways, we're just friends. She wouldn't have an opinion since she's straight… just like me…" Before she went insane with these thoughts Constance soon arrived, Ocean quickly letting her in.
~~~~~~~~~~
Ocean was still quite anxious about this whole thing, messing with her hands anxiously as Constance did her makeup. "I'm not sure if this is a good idea Connie… What if Penny-, ditches me or something?" She mumbled anxiously, her head already running in circles.
"That's just not like her Osh, trust me you'll be fine, oh! You should maybe try to keep your hair natural? I'm sure Penny would find it cute." Constance smiled.
"Ha, ha, this isn't a date with Penny Lamb, gosh Noel's rubbing off on you…" Ocean grumbled clearly misunderstanding.
"Sorry-, that's not what I meant…" She sighed, "Look I'm sure people in general would find it pretty? You want to keep the reputation, I just think it's a good idea."
Ocean was reluctant but did eventually agree, pushing the hair straightener she always used to the side. As Constance finished up doing her makeup.
Constance checked the time, it was almost time to go. "Well I have to get my date, please don't-, pass out… I know how anxious you might feel, but you'll do fine. Good luck with your date!" She smiled before leaving.
"I'm not!-" She began to yell back at her but it was useless. She just sighed deeply, carefully heading out as well, as she waited for Penny to pick her up.
~~~~~~~~~~
Penny arrived shortly after Constance left, having to borrow her social worker's car she barely knew how to drive. Her head began to wander a bit after arriving, she had already been deemed as the weirdo lesbian, despite the fact she didn't think she was one at all. But going out with a girl seemed to be a death wish waiting to happen. She pushed her anxiety to the side and rang the doorbell, though the anxiety only began to pile back up.
Ocean stumbled to the door in a panic, answering it and trying her best to look completely sane and not like she had just nearly fallen down a flight of stairs. Both of the girls couldn't help but blush at the sight of each other.
"Wow-, uh-, you look nice…" Ocean mumbled awkwardly, looking at the floor to ignore her cheeks heating up. Penny didn't have anything really fancy to dress up in, it was just a mix of her uniform with a nicer skirt. But Ocean was still panicking at the sight.
"Thanks, you look nice too… I didn't know your hair could do that-" She mumbled hesitantly motioning to Ocean's curls.
"Oh I just straightened it a lot-, I think it looks more professional…" She laughed nervously, messing with her hands.
"Well I think it looks better this way, wait that sounds mean… I mean-, both are really good! I just like curls!" Penny exclaimed, both of them were too awkward for their own good.
"Well I'll keep that in mind." Ocean smiled ever so slightly, messing with her hair, hoping Penny wouldn't notice the blush on her face.
Thankfully Penny didn't notice, she was quite oblivious despite being also flustered in her own way. She let Ocean into her car, quickly reminding her that she was not a good driver in the slightest, before heading to the school.
~~~~~~~~~~
They got to the gym where prom was hosted, already it was completely packed with students. Ricky and Noel were in the choir, waving the two over to come over to them.
"And how are my two 'straight' friends doing?" Noel teased, only getting a scoff in response from Ocean. "Also I got to say, you don't look terrible for once! You still have the issue of being a ginger, but you should really let your hair be natural more often."
"I never looked terrible-, and yeah-, that's what Penny suggested." Ocean mumbled awkwardly, messing with her hands. "How's Constance doing? Is she still with her boyfriend?"
"Yeah, they're over in the absolute sea of straight couples. Don't go there unless you bring a barf bag, kinda wish Mischa had come. He would've at least made this event slightly more entertaining." Noel sighed, leaning against the wall. "I've just been watching Ricky draw the whole time, he's quite a good artist don't y'know?"
"Yeah okay that's great Noel, continue to gush about your boyfriend in front of the single girls." Ocean grumbled.
"Ricky is not my boyfriend?! I just like his company." Noel sighed "Listen you're acting like I develop a crush on every man I'm in proximity with. While you being a self proclaimed straight girl, are madly in love with the girl you have now taken to prom!"
Ocean and Penny just froze, both red in the face as Noel laughed quietly. He didn't want to seem like too much of a dick and embarrass both of them, so he quickly derailed the situation. Though it was more similar to escalating it. "Okay, since you were so insistent about having a prom date. I dare you to go up when the couples dance is called." He smirked along with Ricky.
"What!?!" Ocean was stunned, she couldn't fathom that idea, she didn't want to be shoved into a locker and deemed as an outcast for the rest of her life. Hoping Penny didn't agree to this death wish of an idea. Unfortunately, she did.
"Fine, if it gets you to stop accusing us of being gay. We're only going to do this as a joke, I've seen the guys do it as a joke before. But it has to be as far away from the cluster of couples. Since we are not a couple." She stated, in all honesty, she wanted Noel to just shut up with this. She was aware of Ocean and Noel's constant bickering, almost acting like bitter siblings. But she hated when it would somehow get to her. Besides, if straight guys do it, then it's not gay if two girls do it either.
Ocean gave Penny the most terrified look she'd even seen from the girl. "I-, I don't really know how to dance-" She mumbled awkwardly, messing with her hands, picking at her nails.
"I'll teach you, it's not that complicated, most people here can barely dance as well." She mumbled, smiling ever so slightly.
"How much money can we bet if they kiss." Ricky signed over to Noel, earning a light chuckle in response.
Before they could even think about it some more, the DJ announced the couples dance song, everyone getting their dates and beginning to slow dance. Most of them had little to no coordination, so it wasn't like there was any competition. Noel pushed Penny and Ocean over to the side, so they could do their thing.
Penny hesitantly reached out for Ocean's hand, she was reluctant but grabbed it, looking away so Penny couldn't see how red she was at this moment.
"Are-, are you sure this is something straight people did?" Ocean mumbled awkwardly, only getting more flustered at Penny holding her side to guide her.
"I'm going to be completely honest, I have no idea, but everyone is too focused on their partners to notice us." She replied as she looked around the room filled with way too much PDA.
Ocean did eventually relax, her apprehension and anxiety washing away as she and Penny began to get more comfortable. Slow dancing to cheesey commercialized pop songs. Ocean's mind tried desperately to rationalize this as a friend thing, but she couldn't help getting lost in Penny's beauty. She shook her head slightly knowing it was wrong, her mind too conflicted.
"You're uh-, pretty good at this…" Ocean mumbled, looking down slightly. Her hands were shaking, though once Penny held onto them, it immediately stopped. "Is this not your first time?"
"Nope, I'm literally just copying everyone else." Penny replied with a laugh.
"Oh. Well I like it regardless, have I ever told you that you're kinda pretty…" She mumbled awkwardly, almost immediately regretting what she had said.
"You think I'm pretty?" She tilted her head.
"Y-yeah-, you have a pretty voice, and uh-, yeah…" She had to stop herself before getting carried away.
Both of them paused for a moment, like the whole world froze. They both leaned in, almost as if they wanted something more. But ultimately, they pulled away, as the world came back to an awkward stop. The couple's dance had ended. Though they came back to Noel, hand in hand, forgetting to let go of each other. Which already made the situation a bit more awkward.
"So is it now-" Noel started, wanting to tease but ultimately didn't want to ruin the girls night. "So can we now all agree to never go prom single again, since watching those straight couples was very painful." Noel quickly stated.
"I dunno, I thought it was nice…" Ocean mumbled looking over to Penny, smiling slightly.
"It was, do you uh-, want to do this next year?" She replied, rubbing her neck awkwardly.
"Actually-, can we just hang out more? The dancing and outfits are not required, unless you want that I suppose…" Ocean mumbled quickly, once again trying to hide how flustered she was.
Penny just smiled, "Yeah, I'd like that."
And as Noel and Ricky placed bets on how long it would take each other to date each other, Penny and Ocean's mind were only focusing on one thing.
'Fuck, I am not straight.'