Go Team! A Prom Night from Hell

[I don't know what's wrong with me that this is what I instantly thought of writing. ]



“You look beautiful tonight,” Andrew murmured.

Chelsea smiled so widely it stretched from one side of her face to the other, lighting up her eyes. “Thank you! I still can’t believe it! Prom Queen!” One manicured hand reached up to touch the twinkling silver crown set into her blonde tresses. A little green rhinestone dragon glittered at the center of it, the school’s mascot claiming the most beautiful senior of the night.

Andrew smiled warmly at her. “You deserve it,” he whispered as they walked hand in hand in the wooded area behind the high school. Music still spilled out into the night from the gym, strobe lights flashing through the windows high up in the gymnasium’s walls. A soft breeze played with his dark hair as he looked down at her. Noticing the goosebumps on her arms, he slid his tuxedo jacket off and draped it over her bare shoulders. Chelsea nuzzled into its collar, the dark fabric smelling of the carnations pinned to its lapel and Andrew’s mouth-watering cologne. Putting his arm around her, he pulled her close to the warmth of his side and kissed her before they walked further into the trees.

Chelsea’s heart visibly raced above the bodice of her dress as they drifted away from the lights around the school. Careful of her crown, she tilted her head back and gazed up at the stars. She wanted to engrave this moment into her memory forever, the weight of the crown on her head, the fizzing of complete contentment and lust in her stomach, the warmth of Andrew’s jacket over her shoulders, and the arm of that amazing, charming, hot! guy around her. She didn’t believe in astrology, but right now, she believed there had to be some cosmic alignment of the stars or planets that allowed her to be right here at this moment. The only mar to this night was the musky smell of snake and sulfur drifting on the breeze, probably from litter in the creek that trickled through the woods before them.

His lips teased her ear, and she turned into him, her mouth meeting his until they had to stand still, while they slowly tasted each other with lips and tongue. Andrew broke away and shook his head slightly at her, his hand caressing her cheek. “Not yet.”

She smiled playfully in answer, wanting more but willing to wait until they reached their destination. She cleared her throat as they moved on, her eyes darting between the dark path before them and the handsome face above hers. “I still don’t know why you asked me to prom, Andrew. I mean, I know –“ she laughed at herself softly. “I know I’ve always had a crush on you. But what made you decide to ask me? Captain of the football team, salutatorian, class president, all around hot guy.” Andrew laughed softly this time, not looking at her. “You could have asked anyone to prom. Any girl. Why me?” Her hand reached up to brush her crown again. “This is because of you, I know.”

Andrew pushed aside a low-hanging branch, holding it back till they passed, and finally looked at her. “Chelsea, you’ve always been the most beautiful maiden in our class.” Her mouth quirked at that description, but she waited breathlessly for him to go on. “I have a lot of responsibility, trying to be an example for the guys on my team, and for our class. I had to ask the prettiest girl to prom.” He smiled down at her, and Chelsea’s heart leaped in her chest. She leaned up on tiptoe and kissed him hungrily. His hands slid around her back and pulled her against his chest, their breath growing ragged as teeth scraped together and their tongues fought for space. This time, Chelsea pulled away.

“Andrew, what is that smell?” The stench of musk and sulfur had grown stronger as the wind turned.

He drew a ragged breath and then took her hand, pulling her farther down the path. “You’ll see.”

The trees parted ahead of them on the path, the stars glittering in the inky blackness around a huge rock formation. The smell of sulfur and musk was almost overpowering here, carried on searing gusts of air. Chelsea turned to Andrew in confusion, her beautiful face wrinkled in dismay. “Andrew-“

His mouth closed over hers in a breath-stealing kiss, drawing all thoughts from her mind as he wrapped her in his arms. He finally broke away and looked down into her eyes, his expression resolute in the starlight. “Thank you, Chelsea, for a magical night. You were the perfect prom queen. Thank you for coming with me tonight, for being my date, for representing your school. I will never forget you.”

He released her and stepped back, glancing over her shoulder at the huge formation behind her, before turning around and heading back up the path. Chelsea took a hesitant step after him. “What? Andrew?”

Something moved behind her, the hot breath of musk- and sulfur-laden air growing overwhelming against her back. Her stomach bottoming out, she turned slowly. The rock formation had shifted, and a pair of slitted eyes glared at her ten feet away.

And in the ancient tradition of beautiful maidens and monsters, the dragon devoured her, her scream quickly swallowed in the hot fires of its gullet.

“Go Dragons,” Andrew murmured as he quickly walked away.





In the parking lot, two of her classmates opened their car doors to leave for the night, their hair falling from their coiffures, their pantyhose the worse for wear, their memories of the evening clean and bright. Chelsea’s scream echoed through the night and quickly became muffled, shut off.

The driver glanced over at her friend across the top of the car. “Oh man, Chelsea got lucky tonight!” Their laughter followed them into the car as they closed the doors and drove off into the early hours of the morning.

Haha! That was brilliant!

I loved every word of it. Good job!

Man, even with the foreshadowing you kept me guessing! I was expecting some kind of devil or demon, something hell-related. Very nice writing

My only critique is that you didn't have to give his whole resume in one breath, so to speak. I know what you were trying to do, but maybe spread it out a little? I'd just keep the captain of the football team, and mention the others one at a time elsewhere

Thank you, Gwyndolin!

Yeah, it seems kind of heavy, rereading that bit, Whisper. Maybe I could cut it down to captain of the football team, but I was thinking of what kind of pressures, so to speak, would this guy have to be under to do this? If this school has a tribute going to its mascot every year, and it's the responsibility of the top dog at school to feed the prettiest girl to it, to ensure another year of success at the school, who would be handed the responsibility? (Sorry about the run-on there.) Would it be the captain of the football team? The class president? The valedictorian or salutatorian? What do you think? I couldn't decide, and I wanted this seemingly all-around awesome guy, who would have so many choices laid out for him, to feel pressured enough to go ahead and feed an innocent girl to a dragon. (An innocent girl whom he wouldn't mind getting it on with, but, heh, she has to be a maiden, so that slims down the numbers to choose from and keeps his pants on, so to speak.)

LMAO GOOOOOO Dragons! (Eating young gullibles near you!)