WrongorWriteBoxedSetstripped

by Sky Corgan

  It was heartbreaking seeing such a beautiful girl destroy herself. Krista had the boys drooling all over her with her long red hair, bright green eyes, and adorable smattering of freckles. She was petite and peppy, with a very sing-song voice that only added to her overall appeal. Even Darren admitted that he found her attractive a time or two, though he felt that she was bad news, which she was.

  Every semester, her skirts got shorter and her attitude got nastier. She'd skip class, get caught making out behind the band hall, and the drug dogs found pot seeds in her locker. She'd been in trouble at least half a dozen times her junior year, but no matter how bad her screw up, nothing seemed to turn her around.

  Then I got a phone call in the middle of the night. She had gone to do a drug deal, but everything went south when they saw how pretty she was. The guy held her down and forced himself on her, telling her that he'd track her down and kill her if she squealed to the cops. She didn't. Despite my begging and pleading and threatening to tell her parents what happened, she let it go by the wayside. The guy got off scot-free, never to be heard from again.

  Krista was shattered. The experience changed her completely. For the longest time, she was nervous and jumpy. She went straight home after school and didn't want to go out on the weekends. She lost all interest in boys and became a sad shell of the girl I used to know. It took months for her to heal, and as she did, she became a better person, realizing the consequences of partying and not being careful of the company she kept.

  I was sad about what had happened to her, but it taught me a valuable lesson. There were bad people in the world, and it only took one mistake to change your life forever. I found myself becoming more cautious, not pushing guys so far, and being clear about my intentions before I even started messing around with them. It made me feel safer somehow.

  I spent senior year helping Krista get herself back together. We started to go to church with her mom, and I was happy that I could be a part of reforming her into the sweet girl I had met in freshman year. Now that Krista wasn't being so crazy, Darren was hanging around with us more. We started to feel like a solid group. It wasn't just her and I or Darren and I, it was the three of us. We did everything together, from bowling to going to the movies to hanging out at my house or Krista's house. Darren's parents wouldn't let her come over to his place because they thought she was a bad influence. They weren't particularly pleased that he was hanging out with her either, but they couldn't stop him. Darren was obedient up to a point, and once his parents had bought him a car for his sixteenth birthday, even he had become a bit rebellious.

  Prom was quickly approaching, and I couldn't wait to be asked. There were several guys who I thought liked me enough to ask, but I was a bit surprised when Darren stepped in line first. He waited until we were alone at his house, studying upstairs in his room.

  “So, prom,” he began awkwardly, tapping his pencil eraser on his textbook.

  “Hm?” I asked, looking up from my English homework.

  “You're going, right?”

  “Yeah. You?”

  “I'd like to. I mean, you only have one senior prom.”

  “Indeed. So, who are you thinking about asking? Krista would go with you in a heartbeat.”

  “I hadn't thought about asking Krista.”

  I could hear the nervousness in his voice. Krista and Darren would be perfect together, I thought. She was gorgeous; he was handsome. She was practically obsessed with him, and they got along well enough.

  “Who else would you ask besides Krista?” I gave him an annoyed look. If he asked anyone else, she'd be hurt, and I absolutely hated the idea of him hurting her.

  He kept his eyes down on his book, though I knew he wasn't reading it. “I was thinking that maybe you and I could go together.”

  I let out a raucous laugh and then immediately felt bad about it once I realized he was serious.

  “Why would you want to waste your prom with me?” I quirked an eyebrow at him.

  “Well, I hadn't thought of asking anyone else.”

  “Ask Krista,” I told him, wanting to end the subject as soon as possible. It was such a stupid idea, him and I going together. That would be like going to prom with my brother. It definitely wasn't happening.

  “If no one else asks you, will you consider it?” his voice was thick with a twinge of hurt. Oh God, it was like my mother said. This was Darren being weird. I was so thankful this part of him rarely showed.

  “I'll consider it,” I told him, then prayed to God, Buddha, and every other religious figure that someone else asked me out before prom.

  The Gods were kind. William Blake asked me out three weeks before prom. He wasn't the only one to ask me out, but he was the first, and so I thought it was fair to go with him. William wasn't a jock, but he was popular and handsome with an appealing bad-boy reputation. He liked to live fast and party hard, street racing in the middle of the night and showing up at every keg party within a five-mile radius of Castroville. I was excited to be going to prom with him. It was guaranteed to be a fun night.

  When he asked me out, I figured that Darren would submit and ask Krista out, but he didn't. Instead, he decided to be stubborn and not go to prom at all. Thankfully, someone else asked Krista to go, though she was still a bit bummed that it wasn't Darren. For a while, I felt guilty that he had decided not to go. He made it sound like it was important to him. It wasn't my fault that I was the only one he wanted to go with though. We weren't children anymore, and I wasn't going to let him guilt me into feeling sorry for him.

  Chapter 3

  The night of prom came, and my heart was all aflutter as I stood in my room getting ready. Like idiots, my mom and I had gone dress shopping at the last minute, so instead of getting the stunning white and pink dress I had been looking at in the dress catalog, I ended up getting a white and purple one instead. It was still a pretty dress, long and flowing with printed white satin and these strange purple flower designs on it. My favorite part was the top, which was white and strapless with a purple satin under bust sash that had rhinestones on it. It wasn't my dream dress, but it would do. With my long black hair twisted into an updo, it was the closest to looking like a princess I had been since playing dress up as a child.

  It took everything in me to keep my excitement at bay as I put the finishing touches on my makeup while I waited for William to arrive. I could hardly wait to see him in his tux. He was tall and lanky with dark features, and I was certain he'd look absolutely dashing cleaned up, not that he looked bad the rest of the time.

  The doorbell rang, and nervousness welled up inside of me as I gave myself a final look in the mirror. Would he think I was pretty? I sure hoped so. William was hot, and I wouldn't mind going around a few bases with him, I thought with a smirk before twirling around and running downstairs.

  When I got halfway down the stairs though, my ear to ear grin softened in disappointment. My father was at the bottom of the stairs, holding open the door for Darren, who was staring up at me with a single rose in his hands. He wasn't dressed up for the prom, and I knew he had come just to make me feel guilty.

  “Wow, you look gorgeous,” he said as I finished descending the stairs.

  “Thank you. I see you kept to your word not to go to prom,” I replied stiffly.

  “Yes, but I still wanted to see you in your dress.” He held the rose out to me, and I took it with hesitation. “This is for you.”

  “Darren. Not going to prom?” My mom came out from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a dishtowel.

  “No, ma'am.” He smiled at her, ever the gentleman.

  “That's a shame. I would have liked to see you all dressed up. It would have made for some good pictures.”

  Darren laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. Why had he bothered to come? It was so awkward.

  “Well, you should probably go,” I intervened. “William will be here soon, and it would be kind of odd if you were here too.”

  “Why?” He
looked offended. “I'm your best friend.”

  You could cut the tension in the room with a knife. The night hadn't even started yet, and Darren was already ruining it for me. I couldn't hide my scowl.

  “I guess I'll be off then,” he sighed, taking the hint. “I hope you have a lovely night.”

  “You as well,” I replied, quickly ushering him out. As he walked to his car, he glanced back and gave me a pitiful look of longing. It didn't change how I felt though. He was my friend, and that was all he would ever be.

  William was fashionably late. Or more like annoyingly late. I should have expected it though. That's what the cool kids did, show up late to everything. I would have thought prom would have been more important than that to him, but I guess not.

  When my father opened the door to him, William looked me up and down with wolf's eyes. I couldn't help but blush, even though I knew my father was standing only a few feet away glaring daggers into the boy whom he thought might try to besmirch my honor. If it was up to him and my mom, they would have had me go to prom with Darren. This was my night though, and it was the only senior prom I would ever have. They could live with me making my own decisions.

  “Mr. Edwards. Mrs. Edwards.” He nodded respectfully at my parents before returning his attention to me. “You ready to go, babes?”

  To my surprise, he forgot to get me a corsage, but I tried not to think much of it as I flanked his side, and we walked out to his Mustang GT.

  We barely spoke a word to each other as we drove to prom. He commented about how beautiful I looked, I thanked him, and then he turned the radio on to fill the void between us.

  When we got to prom, it was all about socializing and being seen. I felt like a shadow, following William from group to group as he talked to his friends. At one point, I asked if he wanted to dance, but he didn't seem very interested. To be honest, the highlight of my whole time was seeing Krista and her date. She had been smart, going dress shopping the second plans for prom were mentioned at school. She had ended up with this gorgeous short green dress that had golden peacock feathers embroidered up the side. It complimented her long red hair perfectly.

  “You look amazing!” I told her as I stood at arm's length, admiring the dress.

  “You look great too.” She smiled at me.

  “Pfft. This dress wasn't even my second choice. That's what I get for last-minute shopping though.”

  “I still think it's gorgeous. It looks beautiful on you.”

  “Thanks.”

  “So, no Darren after all,” she sighed as if she was actually disappointed.

  “Oh man, Krista, it was so awkward. He came to my house earlier, looking all pathetic and giving me the sad puppy look,” I whispered, hoping William couldn't hear. I wasn't sure if he was the jealous type or not, but I figured it was probably better for him not to know about Darren coming over and giving me the rose.

  “That's kind of romantic,” Krista replied with a smirk.

  “It's not romantic. It's stupid. He was trying to guilt me out, I just know it.”

  “The man wants what he wants.” She shrugged. “Too bad it's not me.”

  “Too bad is right.” I frowned, thinking about how Darren's eyes had lit up when he saw me in my dress. It was a different look than the one William had given me. Darren looked at me with appreciative wonder. William looked at me with lust.

  “Are you going to James Phillip's after prom party?” Krista asked, breaking me out of my thoughts.

  “Oh. Um. I don't know.”

  “Him and William are close friends. I figured you guys would definitely be going.”

  “William hasn't mentioned anything about it to me. What about you? Are you going?”

  “Nah. My parents are being lame. They want me home right after prom.”

  “That is lame.”

  “I told them that I'm almost eighteen and should be able to do whatever I want.”

  “That's true.”

  “Then they gave me the living under their roof speech.” She frowned.

  “That's also true,” I laughed, though I knew she didn't think it was funny.

  We chatted away the rest of the night, talking about all the gorgeous and not so gorgeous dresses on the dance floor, who had brought who to prom, and how we thought and hoped the rest of the night would play out. Krista had come with a guy named Johnathan Rosenthal. He was a shy nerdy guy, not the kind she usually went out with. She said she was tired of dating bad boys though, and that he was a nice change. He seemed very attentive to her, answering to her beck and call. It was kind of cute to see them together. He was being a perfect gentleman, unlike William, who was almost completely ignoring me. It made me wonder if I would have had a better time coming to prom with Darren. At least, he would have paid attention to me. He would have gone above and beyond to make sure I had the perfect night.

  “You ready to go, babes?” William asked when most of his friends had left.

  “Sure. I guess.”

  I hugged Krista, said my goodbyes, and then we were in the car again, heading in the opposite direction of my house.

  “Where are we going?” I asked.

  “To James Philip's house. He's throwing a big party tonight.”

  “Oh,” I replied, a bit annoyed that William hadn't had the decency to tell me earlier. “I'm supposed to be home by midnight.”

  “That's lame,” he replied rudely.

  “I'll text my parents and let them know I'll probably be late,” I grumbled, pulling my phone out of my clutch to type out the message. They wouldn't be too pleased, but they would understand.

  By the time I finished sending the text, we were pulling onto the side of a neighborhood street. I could hear the music blaring four houses down. Rows of cars lined the sides of the road, and all the traffic was headed towards James Philip's house, which was alive with lights and sounds.

  I felt like I was in some movie as we approached the place. There were more kids than I had ever seen at one party before. Half of them were still in their outfits from prom, the other half had dressed down into casual clothes. I kind of wished I could have dressed down too. My mom would be pissed if my dress got ruined, even though it wasn't very expensive.

  We made our way inside, and again, I became a shadow behind William, following him around while he talked to his friends. The only difference between the party and prom was that now we had beers in our hands, and he was being a lot rowdier. At least, the alcohol gave me something to do, since there was no Krista to chat with.

  Eventually, I integrated myself into a corner and just watched the action from afar. William did a keg stand in his tuxedo, and I wondered if he was trying to impress me, or if he had completely forgotten I was there. The question was answered when he rushed to my side afterward. His brown eyes were hazy looking and bloodshot, and there was alcohol on his breath as he leaned in to give me a sloppy kiss on the lips. There were no sparks from the kiss, no emotion other than awkwardness with a twinge of disgust.

  Suddenly, all of his other friends disappeared. Not in the literal sense, but in the sense that he finally, for the first time all night, turned his attention completely on me. How I had wanted that to happen for the longest time. Not now though. Not what he was quickly becoming embarrassingly drunk.

  He half pushed me, half stumbled on me as he pressed me into the corner for a series of heated kisses, causing me to knock my head on a picture frame. I felt cramped up against the wall, completely uncomfortable and awkward.

  “Can we not do this here?” I whispered into his ear, doing my best not to cringe away as I felt his lips on my neck like two fat slugs trailing saliva up to my earlobe.

  “Yeah, baby. You're right. We shouldn't do this here.”

  I was relieved when he pulled away. His hand wrapped around mine, and he tugged me out of the corner. It took me a few seconds to realize where we were headed. Up the stairs. To the bedrooms that were reserved for . . . that.

  Well, you did wan
t to get around some bases tonight, I told myself as I followed William up the stairs. He seemed too drunk to last very long, so I wasn't overly concerned. A lot of guys got whiskey dick when they drank. I had a feeling that William wouldn't be an exception to the rule.

  Door number one had two couples in it rutting like animals. I blushed as they stared at us with shocked faces the moment William opened the door. He mumbled an apology to them, shut the door, and we went on to door number two, which happened to be occupied by another couple who weren't quite so far along in their make-out session. By some miracle, door number three was empty, so William pulled me inside and practically flung me down on the bed before he went back to shut the door.

  I couldn't help but giggle at how unstable he was. He took a few unsteady steps towards me before pausing to pull off his shirt. He was thin but fit, with the beginnings of a six-pack trailing down his stomach. I barely had enough time to take him all in before he crossed the distance between us and attacked my lips with a torrent of messy kisses, practically falling on top of me.

  I wrapped my arms around him as best I could, trying to hold him to me but also at bay at the same time. He was aggressive, too aggressive, his hands and lips wondering clumsily over my body.

  “Slow down, cowboy,” I said as he began hiking up my dress.

  For a second, I thought he was listening. He looked up at me and stopped fidgeting with the bottom of my dress. But then his hands wrapped around the top of my dress, and he roughly pulled it down over my breasts, burying his head between them. My discomfort level rose about ten notches as I realized he was going to be difficult. I had learned long ago that there was a fine line between gracefully rejecting a guy's advances and completely ticking him off with your resistance.

  “Slow down,” I said again, gently curling my fingers into his short brown hair as he took one of my nipples into his mouth and began sucking.