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Couple: Jason & Martha
Rating: T
Setting/Event: Martha asks Jason to prom after Kelsi agrees to go to prom with Ryan
Random Stuff:
- prom dress
- rented tux
Jason Cross entered East High an hour before school started with one mission in mind: to ask Kelsi Neilsen to prom. While it was no secret that he liked her and she liked him, neither had had the guts to formalize anything, until now.
Jason walked down the empty school hallway and came to a stop in front of the music room where he could hear Kelsi playing the piano. He pulled a breath spray canister from his jean pockets, squirted some into his mouth then pocketed it again. He took a deep breath then moved the yellow daisy to his left hand as he reached for the door.
Jason froze just inside the doorway when he saw Ryan Evans sitting next to Kelsi on the piano bench, neither had noticed his presence.
“So what are you doing for prom?” Ryan asked Kelsi.
“I don’t know,” Kelsi shrugged. “Nobody has asked me.”
“Do you want to go with me?” Ryan asked her. “You know, as friends.”
“Say no,” Jason mentally urged Kelsi.
“Sure, why not,” Kelsi shrugged.
Hurt, Jason left the room, not caring that the door slammed behind him. He threw the daisy away then ran to the gym.
-----
Martha Cox sat with her best friends Taylor McKessie, Gabriella Montez and Kelsi in the busy cafeteria. With prom just two short weeks away, it was the topic of conversation.
Even though Martha was dateless, she was crossing her fingers that Ryan would ask her to prom. She had had a crush on him for a while and since they had started hanging out last year, she hoped he would ask her.
“So has Jason asked you to prom yet?” Gabriella asked Kelsi. “Or do I need to get Troy to nag him a little.”
“No, um, actually, Ryan asked me this morning,” Kelsi replied.
“What?” Gabriella, Taylor and Martha chorused.
“I was as surprised as you guys are,” Kelsi laughed. “But we are going as friends.”
“But what about Jason?” Martha asked. “I thought you liked him?”
“I do like him,” Kelsi replied, looking Martha oddly. “It’s just a dance and Ryan and I are just friends.”
“Jason likes you, how do you think he’ll feel when he finds out that you’re going with Ryan?” Martha said.
“He’s a big boy, he’ll deal with it,” Kelsi replied.
“I hope you’re right,” Martha said. She stood up and walked away.
-----
“That’s totally bogus,” Chad Danforth shook his head after Jason told him, Troy Bolton and Zeke Baylor about Kelsi and Ryan. “I know Ryan can play ball, but dude, that’s just lame going after another guy’s girl.”
“You’re telling me,” Jason grumbled.
“So now what?” Zeke asked him. “You’re still going to prom right?”
“Yeah, right, I’m not setting my foot in the gym that night,” Jason shook his head.
“Dude, you have to come,” Troy said. “What else are you going to do? Stay home and watch Oprah with your mom?” He grabbed Jason by the shoulder. “You still have two weeks, ask another girl to prom.”
“I don’t want to ask another girl to prom,” Jason stated. “I want to go with Kelsi.”
“No, Jason, Troy has a point,” Chad said. “You should ask another girl to prom and make Kelsi jealous.”
“No, Chad, that’s not what I -”
“Think about it,” Chad cut Troy off. “You show up at prom with another girl and Kelsi gets totally jealous. And then she pulls the other girl’s hair and there’s a hot chick fight and clothes get-”
“You have a girlfriend,” Troy interrupted him. “Don’t listen to him Jason.”
-----
“Everything ok Martha?” Taylor asked, catching up to her friend after school.
“Mmm hmm, everything’s peachy,” Martha replied.
“You sure?” Taylor frowned. “You seemed really upset at lunch.”
“I just think it’s low of Kelsi to go to prom with Ryan and leave Jason without a date,” Martha shrugged. As the words came out of her mouth, a plan was formed and a smile crossed her face.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Taylor asked.
“Positive,” Martha nodded. “I’ll see you later, Tay.”
Martha walked off and started her search for Jason. If Kelsi was going to go with Ryan then why shouldn’t Martha go with Jason?
A small voice in her head tried to tell point out that Kelsi wouldn’t have agreed to go with Ryan if she’d know that Martha liked him, but Martha chose to ignore it.
She found Jason at his locker, putting his books away.
“Hey,” she greeted. “Do you have a minute?”
“Uh, yeah, sure,” he nodded. “What’s up?”
“I’m sure you’ve heard about Ryan and Kelsi,” she mentally kicked herself for starting there after she saw his face harden. “Look, Jason, what I want to know is if you’ll go to prom with me?”
-----
Jason ran his hand through his hair as Martha waited for him to answer, but he wasn’t sure how to answer. They weren’t very good friends and the fact that she was one of Kelsi’s best friend’s made him consider saying no, but then again she knew that he and Kelsi liked each other so since she was asking him, maybe it was ok. It didn’t help that his mind kept going between Chad and Troy’s thoughts on making Kelsi jealous.
“I guess that’s my answer,” Martha said after a few seconds. “I’ll see you around, Jason.”
Jason sighed as he leaned back against his closed locker. He felt guilty for not giving Martha an answer, he knew how much guts it took to ask somebody to prom.
Pushing off his locker, Jason knew what he had to do. He hurried down the hall, towards where he knew Martha’s locker was and found her closing her locker.
“Martha,” he called as he headed towards her. “I’m sorry, that was rude of me.”
“It’s ok, Jason,” she replied. “It’s fine, I get it.”
“No wait,” he said, grabbing her arm as she turned. “I want to go to prom with you.”
-----
Martha looked over Jason’s shoulder and saw Kelsi entering the hall with Taylor and Gabriella. She smiled and looked at Jason, “Great, then it’s a date.”
“Awesome, I gotta get to practice, I’ll see you later,” Jason turned around and nodded to the other girls before leaving the hall.
Martha fished her keys out of her purse as Taylor, Gabriella and Kelsi made their way to her.
“What was that?” Kelsi asked her.
“Jason and I are going to prom together,” Martha shrugged. “But don’t worry, we’re just going as friends.”
“What do you mean you’re going to prom with my Jason?” Kelsi demanded.
“I’m sorry, I thought you were going with Ryan,” Martha said, crossing her arms. “What’s wrong with Jason going with a female friend?”
“You guys aren’t even friends,” Kelsi stated. “I’m the only thing you two have in common.”
“Then I guess you should be thankful that he’s going with me and not another cheerleader,” Martha stated. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go find a prom dress.”
“You can come with us,” Taylor said. “And you and Jason should come in our limo with us. There is plenty of room for two more.”
-----
“You dawg!” Chad grinned proudly after Jason told him about going to prom with Martha. “Going with one of her best friends to make her jealous is absolutely brilliant!”
“I still think trying to make her jealous is a bad idea,” Troy shook his head. “It’s just asking for a confrontation.”
“Guys, I didn’t ask Martha, she asked me,” Jason stated. “She obviously knows what she’s doing.”
“I take back the dawg declaration, you’re nothing but a puppy,” Chad shook his head.
“What Chad meant to say is that we’re happy you have a date to prom,” Troy rolled his eyes. “And you guys can totally come in the limo with us, since Zeke and Sharpay have their own transportation to and from prom.”
“I can’t help it if Sharpay wanted to get a private car,” Zeke shrugged. “Not that I can blame her, she can’t keep her hands off of me.”
“That’s what she said,” Chad grinned.
“Yo! Guys,” Coach Bolton yelled. “Are we going to stand around and gossip like a bunch of girls or are we going to play today?”
“Coming coach,” they called back.
“We’re getting tuxes after practice,” Troy told Jason. “Wanna come with us?”
-----
When Martha got home from shopping with the girls, she was surprised to find Ryan sitting on her front porch.
“Hey,” she said, biting her tongue to keep herself in check. She had wanted him to ask her to prom, not Kelsi; she liked him, she didn’t like Jason.
“I heard through the grapevine that you’re going to prom with Jason,” he said, shoving his hands in his pockets.
“You heard right,” she nodded.
“I’m happy for you,” he said, nodding his head. “He’s a good guy.”
“He is.”
They stood in silence for a few minutes, him rocking back and forth on his heels and her standing with her backpack on and her prom dress laid over her arm in a plastic bag.
“So is there a reason you came by?” She asked. “Other than to clarify that I am going to prom with Jason?”
“Uh, nope, that was pretty much it,” he said. “Is that your dress?”
“Yeah, it is, but I have to do some work on it,” she replied. “You know, make it work for my body and such.”
“I’m sure it’ll look great on you.”
“Thanks,” she smiled.
“Well, I guess I’ll see you later.”
-----
On prom night, Jason put on his tux then rode with his parents to Troy’s house. Troy’s parents were hosting dinner party for the parents that started with taking pictures of the five teen couples going to prom together.
When Jason and his parents got there none of the girls’ families had arrived, so Jason went to Troy’s room where he found his friends waiting.
“These things are so uncomfortable,” Chad grumbled as he pulled on his tie. “I feel like I’m being choked.”
“Told ya not to get the bow tie,” Troy shrugged. “You ready for your date with Martha, Jason?”
“We’re just going as friends, it’s not a date,” Jason stated. “I like Kelsi, not Martha.”
“Hey guys,” Ryan said, pulling the others attention to the door of Troy’s room. “Troy, your mom told me to come get you guys since the girls are starting to arrive. Oh and Zeke, my sister told me to tell you to be outside in five minutes because you guys are going to get your pictures professionally taken.”
“But what about my parents?” Zeke asked.
“I’m just the messenger,” Ryan held up his hands.
“Well, come on, the ladies await,” Troy said.
-----
By the time they were in the limo on their way to dinner, Martha could still see spots from the camera flashes and her cheeks hurt from having to smile so much. She was also regretting her decision to take Taylor up on her offer to ride with her, Chad, Gabriella, Troy, Kelsi and Ryan in the limo, especially since Ryan and Kelsi were sitting at the front, looking right back at her and Jason.
She caught Ryan’s eye and he gave her a soft smile.
“You look really pretty tonight,” Jason said, pulling Martha’s eyes away from Ryan’s. “Your dress is really nice.”
“Thanks,” Martha smiled, smoothing her light pink dress. “The corsage you got me matches it perfectly.”
“My mom called your mom,” Jason blushed as the limo pulled up in front of the Olive Garden.
They piled out of the limo and went into the restaurant, where their reserved table was waiting for them and Martha ended up between Jason and Ryan.
“I knew that dress would look good on you,” Ryan whispered to her. “You look beautiful, Martha.”
“Thanks,” she blushed a little.
After dinner, they piled back into the limo and headed to the school.
-----
Once at the dance, Jason led Martha into the gym and they got in line to get the photo taken then headed towards the table their friends had grabbed.
When he saw Ryan get up and lead Kelsi to the dance floor, Jason turned to Martha and asked, “Do you want to dance?”
“Sure,” she nodded. She took his out stretched hand and let him lead her out to the dance floor.
They danced to a couple songs until a slow one came on. Jason started to walk away, but Martha grabbed his hand. “Dance with me,” she said.
The song was half way through when Jason felt a tap on his shoulder.
“Mind if I cut in?” Ryan asked.
“Uh, sure,” Jason nodded, stepping back. He walked off the dance floor not entirely sure what had just happened.
“Wanna dance?” He heard a soft voice behind him ask.
He turned and found Kelsi looking up at him.
“I thought you were here with Ryan,” he said.
“Well, judging by how Ryan and Martha are dancing now, I think it’s safe to say that we’re both dateless now.”
“Oh.”
“Dance?”
He nodded and she led him to the dance floor.
-----
“Ryan, what are you doing?” Martha asked after Jason walked away. “I’m here with Jason.”
“But you should be here with me,” Ryan stated. “And he should be here with Kelsi.”
“But you asked her and I asked him,” Martha stated.
“I only asked her because Sharpay pressured me to ask Kelsi,” Ryan replied. “It’s not easy to say no to my sister, if you haven’t noticed.”
“I’ve noticed,” Martha stated, glancing over at where Zeke stood in a black with pink accents tux trying not to step on the ruffled train of Sharpay’s dress. “Why didn’t you just tell me that Sharpay was pressuring you? We could have figured something out.”
“I tried to tell you that day at your house,” he replied.
“Oh.”
“Look, Martha, everybody knows that Kelsi and Jason like each other and that’s the way they handle things, but me, I don’t like everyone knowing my business.”
“I don’t either.”
“I know, that’s one of the things I like about you,” he smiled. “And there are a lot of things I like about you.”
“There are a lot of things I like about you, too,” she said.
“Like my dashing personality?”
“Don’t forget your humbleness.”
-----
“They look happy together,” Kelsi said, taking her eyes off Ryan and Martha and bring them to meet Jason’s. “Maybe all this confusion will pay off in the end for them.”
“What about us?” Jason asked. “Is it going to change anything for you and me?”
“Like?”
“Kelsi, I don’t want to have to be afraid that some other guy is going to come out of nowhere and snatch you away from me. I like you a lot and I want to be your boyfriend. I want to know that even if I don’t ask you until the morning of a dance that you’ll be available and want to be my date that night.”
“I want to be your girlfriend,” Kelsi smiled. “But just so you know, if you wait until the morning of a dance to ask me, you’ll have to do a lot of sucking up to make up for it.”
“Got it,” Jason grinned. He lowered his head towards hers and kissed her lips softly.
“Hey kids!” Chad exclaimed, grabbing Jason’s shoulders. “None of that at prom.”
“Chad, leave ‘em alone,” Taylor rolled her eyes.
“Party song!” Gabriella shouted as an upbeat song came on. “Let’s dance!”
-----
Martha smiled as her friends joined her and Ryan back on the dance floor and they danced. She and Taylor did a little salsa dancing then she and Gabriella spun each other around before Martha found herself standing face to face with Kelsi.
“I’m sorry,” they both gushed at the same time before hugging.
“If I had known you had a crush on Ryan, I wouldn’t have said yes to him,” Kelsi shouted over the music.
“I know, my conscience tried to tell me that but I wouldn’t listen,” Martha stated. “And I’m sorry I asked Jason to prom to make you mad.”
“I forgive you,” Kelsi smiled. “Because we finally decided what we’re doing.”
“Dating?” Martha asked. Kelsi nodded. “Oh!!!” She turned to Taylor and Gabriella. “Jason and Kelsi are a couple!!”
“Finally!” The other girls squealed as they hurried over and joined the celebration circle.
“What about you and Ryan?” Gabriella asked. “Are you two official?”
“Consider her taken,” Ryan stated from behind Martha. He held out his hand to Jason and said, “We cool, man?”
“Yeah,” Jason nodded, shaking Ryan’s hand.
“Thanks Jason,” Martha said. “I had fun being your date.”
“I had fun, too,” he smiled.
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