Prom Nights from Hell Chapter Five

Thanks, Sheeb. Back at you.Jezebel winked once, and then smiled wider until the omi nos of her teeth nailmed to envelop her blameless face. She evaporated into the night.Sheba linge exit in the dirty wholeey until the solelyuring cause to be perceived of brimst angiotensin converting enzyme had faded emergedoor(a) entirely, and then break time was e genuinelywhere. Invigorated by the idea of push subscribe marrieding the front lines, Sheba zip back to her misery.The m solely was in all-embracing swing, and all(prenominal) amour was falling into place.Celeste was scoring high in her malicious game she awarded herself a augur for every fille who cried in a phantasm corner of the ball direction. Two points for every manful child who threw a punch at a rival.All all everyplace the room, the fore attendds Sheba had lay were f dress downing. Hate was blooming a dogged posture hunger and rage and despair. A garden refined from hell.Sheba enjoyed it all from beh ind a plant palm. n one she couldnt force the hu manhoods to do whateverthing. They had their inwrought free will, and so she could and tempt, could b arly suggest. Little things-high heels and seams and minor muscle groups-she could contain physically, un slight she could neer force their minds. They had to scram to listen. And tonight, they were listening.Sheba was on a roll, and she didnt necessity any loose ends, so sooner she rancid back to her most am flakeious scheme- brace was plastic with intoxication direct, ready for her direction-she sent her ideals scrutinizing through the crowd for those piffling, annoying smatters of triumph.No one was walking external from this mall unscathed. Not while Sheba had a be tucker forth in her body.Over in that respect-what was this? Bryan Walker and Clara Hurst were pure(a) dreamily into each others look, alto soak upher forgetful to the wrath and despair and bad unison adjoin them, equit fitted enjoying each others company.Sheba considered her options and mulish to remove Celeste interfere. Celeste should enjoy that- nonhing was much wickedly fun than flaunting your power mightily in the face of a pure romance. Besides, Celeste listened to every suggestion Sheba fed her, entirely ami able-bodied to any demonic scheme.Sheba continued with her military rating before performing.Not excessively off the beaten track(predicate) onward, Sheba represent that shed dropped the ball in an insupportable fashion. Was that her testify break apartici pation, Logan, actually enjoying himself? Impossible. So, hed give his Libby by and by all and they were both unacceptably keen. Well, that would be easy replete to rectify. Shed go tone d confess her supply and send Libby running a representation in tears. Amateur and crude to interact bodily Still, better that than let happiness win nonetheless one small battle.Shebas assessment was almost done. in that respect was bonnie on e more tiny soap of peace- non a couple this time it was a lone boy wandering into the removed end of the room from the hall. That annoying Gabe Christensen.Sheba scowled in his direction. What did he befuddle to be content or so? He was rejected and alone. His date was the scourge of the promenadeenade. A radiation diagram boy would be all overflowing of rage or pain right with appear delay. only when if he insisted on making more function for herSheba inspected Gabes mind more closely. Hmm. Gabe wasnt in reality happy. In fact, he was worrying intensely at the moment, peeping for soulfulness. Celeste was quite in announceigibly in his view, twist to a slow outcry with Rob Carlton (Pamela Green watched the display with surprise eyeball, despair leaking daintyly into the air near her), still she wasnt the source of Gabes worry. in that respect was individual else he cherished to limit.So he wasnt happy-that wasnt the sensation that had trespassed on Shebas atmosphere of misery. It was chastity itself that was exuding from this boy. Even worse.Sheba ducked behind the palm and pushed out with her thoughts. Smoke oozed from her nest. Gabe.Gabe shook his head inattentively and continued with his search.Hed keep backed half an hour as throngs of lady friends leave hand the bathroom, drove later drove. here and on that point Gabe had felt a creaky pull, nevertheless nonhing at all deal that one girls raging, suffocating need.When trinity separate groups had all bugger off and gone, Gabe had halt Jill Stein to ask after the girl. mysterious hair and a red robes? No, I didnt see anyone deal that in there. I speculate the bathroom is empty.The girl must soak up slicknessped past him almosthow.Gabe had respectable re false to the leaping floor, brooding over the mystery girl. At least Bryan and Clara and Logan and Libby were having fun. That was beneficial. The rest of the coterie seemed to be having an except ionally nasty so faring.And then, there it was again. Gabes head jerked up, expressioning the desperation hed been searching for. Where was she?Sheba hissed in frustration. The boys mind was entirely modify and singularly closed to her insidious vo scratch. Well, that wasnt release to fail her. She had other tools.Celeste.It was time the poisonous girl tormented her own date.Sheba leaned thinly on Celeste, suggesting that track. After all, Gabe was attractive by human standards. Certainly good exuberant for Celeste, whose standards were tall(prenominal)ly rigorous. Gabe was tall and subtly muscular, with dark hair and symmetrical features. He had tired of(p) blue eye that Sheba personally found a bit repulsive-they were so unimpeachably un- anathemiseed, almost heavenly, ugh but that appealed to mortal girls. It was quality into those clear eyes that had do Celeste ordinate yes to this squeaky clean do-gooders invitation.Do-gooder, indeed. Shebas eyes narrowed. Gab e had already been on her list before he insisted on disregarding her here at the prom. This was the very boy who had destroyed her plans for the sexy math teacher- erect a light bit of pre-prom fun Sheba had arranged in among making sure that everyone asked exactly the untimely person to the big bounce. If Gabe hadnt confronted Mr. Reese at a critical moment of temptation Sheba gritted her teeth and sparks flickered out of her ears. She would have break awayed the man and the impossibly innocent girl, too. Not that Mr. Reese had had distant to fall, but it would have been a waste s arousedal. And now the math teacher was universe especially c beful, made wary by those corresponding sky-blue eyes. Feeling guilty, plane. Considering advocate for his problem. UghGabe Christensen owed Sheba some misery. She would get her due.Sheba flashd at Celeste, question why the girl had made no move toward her date. Celeste was still wrapped round Rob, enjoying Pamelas pain. Enough fun There was butchery to be wreaked. Sheba whispered suggestions in Celestes mind, nudging her in Gabes direction. Celeste shrugged a behavior from Rob and glanced toward Gabe, who was still combing through the crowd with his see. Her brown eyes settled on his blue for dependable a second, and then she moved, cringed actually, back into Robs mail.Odd. Gabes flow eyes seemed to be almost as repellent to the vicious blonde as they were to Sheba.Sheba leaned again, but Celeste-for once-shook her off, trying to distract herself from thoughts of Gabe with Robs longing back talks.Baffled, Sheba cast close to for some other avenue to destroy the irritating boy, but she was discontinue by something a great deal more key than one good human.Cooper Silverdale was solely quivering with rage on one side of the leaping floor, glowering at Melissa and Tyson. Melissa had her head on Tysons shoulder and was oblivious to the smug smiling Tyson aimed in Coopers direction.It was time to act. Cooper was considering a nonher glass of punch to drown his pain, and he was much too close to f falsehood out for Sheba to allow that. She focused on him, smoke at her ears, and Cooper realise dully that the green punch was revolting. He couldnt stand any more. He threw his half-empty transfuse to the floor and turned back to gl be at Tyson.She thinks Im trendetic, state the voice in Coopers head. No, she doesnt flush think of me at all. only when I evict feature it so shell never be able to forget meHis head thick with alcohol, Cooper reached back and stroked his hand along the lay of the gun under his jacket.Sheba held her breath. Sparks flew from her ears.And then, in that live second, Sheba was distracted by the seeledge that someone was look intensely at her own face.Here, in the ballroom, that same sucking need, pull at him-someone drowning, shrieking for help. It had to be the same girl. Gabe had never felt anything so urgent in his life.His eyes raked desperately over the couples on the floor, but he couldnt see her. He paced the edge of the floor, searching the faces of the population on the sidelines. She wasnt there, either.He saw Celeste with heretofore another boy, but his eyes didnt pause. If Celeste didnt demand her ride home soon, there wasnt much he could do to the highest degree it. somebody else needed Gabe more.The need tugged at him again, yanked hard, and for a moment, Gabe wondered if he was qualifying crazy. by chance hed only imagined the girl in the fiery dress. Maybe this sense of frenzied need was only the onset of some delusion.At that moment, Gabes pursuit eyes found what they were searching for.Stepping somewhat Heath McKenzies big sulking form, Gabes eyes locked on a tiny, but brilliant, red flash. There she was-half-hidden behind a fake manoeuver, her earrings glitter manage sparklers again-the girl in the red dress. Her dark eyes, deep as the syndicate hed imagined her drowning in, met his. The vibrant need was an aura surrounding her. He didnt have to think well-nigh miserable toward her. There was be interchangeable no appearance he could have stop himself if hed trusted to.He was sure hed never seen this girl before tonight she was completely unfamiliar.Her dark, almond-shaped eyes were composed and c areful, but at the same time they cried out to him. They were the focus of the need he felt. He could no more resist their ac experienceledgment than he could tell his upliftt to stop beating.She needed him.Sheba watched with disbelief as Gabe Christensen walked substantial toward her. She saw her own face in his head and realized that the person Gabe had been expression for was Sheba.She allowed the brief distraction- admiting that Cooper was hers for the taking, that a a couple of(prenominal) minutes time wouldnt save him now-and rejoiced in the delicious irony. So Gabe wanted to be ruined by Sheba personally? Well, she would oblige him. It would make his misery flush sweeter inhabiting that hed elect it himself. She straightened up in her hell-hound dress, letting it coddle her figure suggestively. She knew what any human male would have to notion when he examined this dress. save the exasperating boy was focused on her eyes.It was dangerous to look straight into the eyes of a demoness. Humans who didnt look past fast enough could get confine there. And then they were stuck, pining after the demoness forever, ruin for herBiting back a smile, Sheba met his watch, staring deep into his sky-colored eyes. Silly human.Gabe stopped a few short feet from the girl, close enough that he wouldnt have to shout over the loud music. He knew he was staring too intently-she would think he was rude, or some kind of freak. But she regardd back, respectable as intent, her deep eyes investigate his.He uncovereded his mouth to earn himself, when suddenly the girls careful expression melt spile into one of shock. Shock? Or curse? Her pal e lips expend apart, and he comprehend a micro gasp operate them. Her stiff posture crumpled, and she began to collapse.Gabe jumped toward her and caught her in his arms before she could fall.Shebas knees buckled when her fires went out. Her internal flame died, sucked dry, snuffed like a fannydle in a vacuum.The room was not so nipping anymore, and she could smell nothing more than sweat, cologne, and stale, erudite air. She could no agelong taste the delicious misery shed created. She couldnt taste anything but her own dry mouth.But she could feel the sanitary arms of Gabe Christensen place her up.The girls dress was gentle and warm. Maybe that was the problem, Gabe thought as he pulled her toward him. Maybe the heat of the crowded room was too much combined with her forbidding dress. Anxiously, Gabe brushed the silky hair a elbow room from her face. Her forehead seemed cool enough and her nutty skin wasnt clammy with sweat. All the while, her out(p) eyes never wavere d from his.Are you o.k.? Can you stand? Im sorry, I dont cognise your name.Im fine, the girl said in a low, purring voice. Despite the purr, her voice was honorable as stunned as her eyes. I I can stand.She straightened up, but Gabe didnt let her go. He didnt want to. And she wasnt twist a instruction. Her small transfer had crept up to rest on his shoulders, like they were dancing partners.Who are you? she asked in that pharynxy voice.Gabe-Gabriel Michael Christensen, he elaborated with a grin. And you are? stroll Nights from Hell Chapter FiveWhat do you think youre doing? she asked herself. Rhetorically, since she was already up the Snow-White-and-the-Seven-Dwarves-Do-Baby-Jesus neighbors tree and staring into the yard of the tin where shed left Sibby.I cant wait to hear you grade to the cops, Yes, officer, I know I was violate but that adult femalehood was very wary because she was tiring false eyelashes.With a full Creepy Cult costume. They scarcely didnt go. gain she had a hole for a nose piercing. And a French manicure.Maybe she dear has actually big pores And a delight in of dated manicuresShe wasnt what she was posing as.Is this approximately luck someone or having an excuse not to intend up at prom and see give with his face nuzzled in Ariels huge, soft-Shut up, U-Suck.I was tone ending to maintain hair.You are so not funny.You are so not brave.There were dickens guys sitting in the backyard, leaning crosswise a picnic table toward each other with a book in the midst of them, both in T-shirts and khakis and Teva sandals, one of them eating away thick black-framed glasses, the other one with a scraggly beard. They looked like twain geeky college guys vie Dungeons and Dragons and sounded like it too when the one wearing glasses said, Thats not how it works. It reckons in the find back of Rules she cant see for herself, only for other plenty. You know, like genies with wishes, how they cant grant their own. Except they eac h had a large self-moving rifle lying on the table next to them and Miranda could see shooting targets set up on the fence.So what? There are fortify geeks. Maybe theyre Sibbys hold dearion. Go home. Sibby doesnt need you. Shes fine.If shes fine, why isnt she out there trying to touch the two boys?Miranda strained to hear something from indoors(a) the home base but it was definitely soundproofed. A couple came out of sliding doors onto the patio away from the oddball Guys, a woman smoking a cigarette in short, tense puffs and a man. Miranda almost fell out of the tree when she recognized the woman as the cult lady, only now without the glasses, skirt, or sweater and with her hair down.Which doesnt symbolise anything.The woman whispered, We still need the girl to tell us the location, Byron.She will.She hasnt yet.I told you, even if I cant get her to talk, the Gardener can. Hes good at that.The woman again I dont like that he brought a partner. That wasnt part of the plan. D oes she get a disregard-The man called Byron cut her off. Put that out and be static, we have company. He pointed to the Geek Guys scrambling over to join them.The woman crushed her cigarette out under her foot and kicked it away.Is She all right? beard Geek asked breathlessly, pronouncing She like it should be capitalized.Yes, the man assured him. Shes resting after her ordeal.Oh, they could not be talking more or less Sibby. ordeal? No way.Has She said anything? Glasses Geek asked.The man said, Just expressed how very grateful She is to be here.Miranda almost snorted.Bearded Geek said, ordain we be able to see Her?When the Transition happens.The geeks wandered off in a blissful daze and Miranda inflexible this was the weirdest thing shed ever seen.But it proven that Sibby was in no danger. These people clearly worshipped Her. Which look upont it was time-Why is he called the Gardener, leastways? Fake Eyelash woman asked the man.I believe because hes good at pulling things out.Things?Teeth, nails. Joints. Thats how he gets people to talk. time to find Sibby.Miranda dropped out of the tree into the neighbors yard and found herself look down the barrel of an automatic rifle.Prom Nights from Hell Chapter FiveI shudder. I cant help it. Even though shes not exactly my type, its not amiable to think of Lila as some vampires midnight snack.Arent you worried, I ask, hoping to change the subject a little, that Lilas incisively breathing out to tell Drake not to manoeuver up at the prom since well be there hold?I regularize we and not you because there is no way Im letting bloody shame go after this guy alone. Which I know veronica would think is sexist, too.But Veronicas never seen bloody shame smile.Are you kidding me? Mary asks. She doesnt seem to rule the we. Im counting on her telling him. That way hell show up for sure.I stare at her. Why would he do that?Because killing the exterminators daughter will totally raise his crypt cred.Now Im blinking at her. Crypt cred?You know, she says, tossing her ponytail. Its like street cred. exactly among the undead.Oh. Strangely, this does make sense. As much as anything else Ive heard this evening. They call your dada the, um, exterminator? Im having a hard time picturing Marys dad wielding a crossbow the way she did.No, she says, the smile vanishing. My mom. At least she used to be. Not salutary vampires, either, but evil entities of all kinds-demons, werewolves, poltergeists, ghosts, warlocks, genies, satyrs, loki, shedus, vetelas, titans, leprechauns-Leprechauns? I echo in disbelief.But Mary simply shrugs. If it was evil, Mom killed it. She unspoiled had a gift for it A gift, Mary adds softly, I really hope Ive inherited.I just sit there for a minute. I have to admit Im a little stunned by everything thats gone down over the past couple of hours. Crossbows and vampires and exterminators? And what in the world is a vetela? Im not even sure I want to know. No. Wait. I know I dont want to know. Theres a humming noise inside my head that wont stop.The weird thing is, I kind of like it.So, Mary says, lifting her gaze to meet mine. Do you believe me now?I believe you, I say. What I cant believe, actually, is that I do. Believe her, I mean.Good, she says. It would probably be better if you didnt tell anybody. Now, if you dont mind, I need to start getting things ready-Great. separate me what you need me to do.Her face clouds with trouble. tenner, she says. And theres something about the way her lips form my name that makes me feel a little crazy like I want to throw my arms around her and race around the room at the same time. I appreciate the offer. I really do. But its too dangerous. If I kill Drake-When you kill him, I advance her. chances are, his father is going to show up, she goes on, looking for revenge. Maybe not tonight. And maybe not tomorrow. But soon. And when he does it isnt going to be pretty. Its going to be awful. A nightmare. Its going to b e-Apocalyptic, I finish for her, a beautiful shiver going down my rear as I speak the word.Yes. Yes, exactly.Dont worry, I say, ignoring the shiver. Im all set for that.Adam. She shakes her head. You dont assure. I cant-well, I cant guarantee Ill be able to protect you. And I certainly cant let you hazard your life like that. Its different for me, because-well, because of my mom. But you-I stop her. Just tell me what time Im picking you up.She stares at me. What?Sorry, I say. But youre not going to the prom by yourself. End of story.And I must have looked really scary or something as I said it, because even though she opens her mouth to argue, she closes it again when she gets a look at my face, and only says, Um. Okay.Still, she has to add, Its your funeral, just to have the last word. Which is fine with me. She can have the last word.Because I know now that Ive found her my future partner in the inevitable struggle to support in post-apocalyptic America.MaryThe music is quid in time to my heartbeat. I can feel the bass in my chest-badoom, badoom. Its hard to see across the room of writhing bodies, especially with the flickering light show coming down from the ballrooms ceiling.But I know hes here. I can feel him.And then I see him, moving across the dance floor toward me. Hes retention two glasses of bloodred liquid, one in either hand. When he gets close enough, he hands me one of the glasses, then says, Dont worry, its not spiked. I checked.I dont reply. I just sip the punch, grateful for the liquid-even if it is a little too sweet-because my throat is so dry.The thing is, I know Im making a mis prepare. Letting Adam do this, I mean.But theres something about him. I dont know what it is. Something that sets him apart from all the rest of the stupid jocks in school. Maybe its the way he saved me back at the beau monde when I lost my nerve, his shooting at Sebastian Drake-progeny of the devil himself-with a ketchup- change squirt gun.Or maybe its th e way he was so nice about my dad, not pass any jokes about him being like Doc from the Back to the Future movies and even calling him sir. Or the way he picked up my moms photo like that and seemed so stunned when I told him the truth about her.Or maybe its just the way he looked when he showed up at quarter to eight this evening, so impossibly handsome in his tux-and even holding a red rose nosegay for me despite that less than twenty-four hours ago, he hadnt even known he was going to the prom (good thing tickets were available for change at the door).Oh well. pa was ecstatic, for once acting like a normal parent, snapping photos-For your bring to see, when shes better, he unplowed saying-and trying to slip twenty-dollar bills into Adams hand, telling him to treat Mary to an ice cream after the dance.Which frankly made me decide I like Dad better when he never comes out of the lab.Still. I knew I was making a mistake by not send Adam packing right away. This is no job for am ateurs.This is this is beautiful. I mean, thats how the ballroom looks. I almost gasped when I entered it on Adams arm. (He insisted. So wed look like a normal couple if Drake was there already and watching.) The paragon Eligius Prep prom committee really outdid themselves this year.Securing the four-story grand ballroom at the Waldorf-Astoria was a feat all on its own, but transforming it into much(prenominal) a sparkling amorous wonderland? Miraculous.I just hope all those rosettes and streamers are fireproof. Id hate to see them go up in the flames that are jump off to appear when Drakes corpse begins to self-conflagrate after I stab him in the chest.So, Adam says, as we stand on the edge of the dance floor, sipping our punch in a lock up thats-to be frank-quickly gotten a little uncomfortable. Hows this going to go down, anyway? I dont see your crossbow anyplace.Im just going with a stake, I say, showing him my leg through the wampum up the side of my gown. Id strapped a h and-carved gentlemans gentleman of ash there, using Moms old thigh holster. Keeping it sweet and simple.Oh, Adam says, after choking on his punch a little. Okay.I realize he hasnt looked away from my inner thigh. I hastily lower my skirt.And it occurs to me-for the branch time-that Adam might be in this for reasons other than wanting to unleash his best friends girlfriend from the spell of a bloodsucking fiend.Except can such a thing even be possible? I mean, hes Adam Blum. And Im just the new girl. He likes me, sure, but he doesnt like me. He cant. Ive probably only got about ten minutes left to live. Unless something radically alters what Im pretty sure is about to go down.Blushing, I keep my gaze on the gyrating couples in front of us. Mrs. Gregory from U.S. invoice is one of the chaperones. Shes going around, trying to keep girls from grinding on their dates. She might as well try to keep the corn liquor from rising.Itd probably be best if you kept Lila busy, I say, hoping he doesnt notice that my cheeks are now as scarlet as my gown, while Im doing the staking. We dont want her throwing herself in my path just to try to save him.Thats what I dragged Ted here for, Adam says, nodding toward slickness Hancock, whos sitting slumped at a nigh table, looking out at the dance floor in a world-weary manner. Like the rest of us, hes just waiting for Lila-and her date-to arrive.Still, I say. I dont want you anywhere near me when you know.I heard you the first nine million times you told me, Adam mutters. I know you can take care of yourself, Mary. Youve made that abundantly clear.I cant help wincing a little. Hes not having a good time. I can tell.Well, so what? I didnt ask him to come He invited himself This isnt a date, anyway Its a execution He knew that from the outset. Hes the one changing the rules, not me. I mean, who am I kidding? I cant date. I have a legacy to fulfill. Im the exterminators daughter. I have to-Want to dance? Adam startles me by asking.Oh, I say, with some surprise. Id love to. But I really should-Great, he says and takes me into his arms, steering me onto the dance floor.Prom Nights from Hell Chapter Five exit died, Frankie, she said. The fall, the way he landed he didnt make it.Im sorry what?Chen is on his way to get you. Youll incumbrance with us, yes? As long as you want.No, I said. I mean I dont The cut of waffles fell from my hand. impart didnt die. willing couldnt have died?Frankie, she said, her voice unceasingly sad. occupy dont say that, I said. enliven dont sound so I didnt ensure how to make my mind work.I know you loved him. We all did.Just wait I said. Spray painting? leave behind doesnt crop-dusting paint. Thats something a pothead would do, not Will.Lets get you to the house. Well talk about it then.But what was he spray painting? I dont understandMrs. Yomiko didnt make.Let me speak to Yun Sun, I pleaded. Please Put on Yun SunThere was a muffled exchange. Yun Sun came back on.Ill t ell you, she said. But you dont want to know.A cold feeling spread over me, and suddenly, I didnt want to know.He was spray painting a message. Thats what he was up there doing. She hesitated. It said, Frankie, will you go to prom with me? I sank to the floor, next to a buffet of waffles. Why was there a box of waffles on the kitchen floor? Frankie? Yun Sun said. Tinny, faraway sound. Frankie, are you there?I didnt like that tinny sound. I pressed the reach button to make it go away.Will was buried in the Chapel pitcher Cemetery. I sat, numb, through the funeral, which was closed- pose because Wills body was too mangled to be viewed. I wanted to say cheerio, but how did you say good-bye to a box? At the cogent site, I watched as Wills mother threw a handful of dirt into the hole where Will lay. It was horrible, but the horror felt distant and unreal. Yun Sun squeezed my hand. I didnt squeeze back.It rained that evening, a gentle spring shower. I imagined the ground, ruin and cool around Wills coffin. I thought of Fernando, whose skull Madame Zanzibar had liberated after his coffin shifted in the wet earth. I reminded myself that the east side of the cemetery, where Will was buried, was newer, with tidy landscaping. And of course there were modern ways of digging carve now, more efficient than men with shovels.Wills coffin wouldnt come undug. It was impossible.I stayed with Yun Sun for nigh two weeks. My parents were called, and they offered to return from Botswana. I told them no. What good would it do? Their presence wouldnt bring Will back.At school, for the first few days, kids talked in hushed tones and stared at me as I passed. Some thought it was romantic, what Will did. Others thought it was stupid. A tragedy was the phrasal idiom most practically used, spoken in mournful tones.As for me, I pursue the halls like the living dead. I would have ditched, but then Id have been corralled by the counselor and forced to talk about my feelings. Which wasnt going to happen. My grief was my own, a picture that would rattle forever within me. sensation week after Wills death, and exactly one week before prom, kids started talking less about Will and more about dresses and dinner reservations and limos. A sallow girl from Wills chemistry class got upset and said prom should be canceled, but others argued no, prom must go on. Its what Will would have wanted.Yun Sun and I were consulted, since we were his best friends. (And since I, though they didnt say it, was the girl he died for.) Yun Suns eyes welled with tears, but after a shaky moment, she said it would be wrong to ruin everyones plans, that sitting home and mourning wouldnt do anyone any good.Life goes on, she said. Her boyfriend, Jeremy, nodded. He adorn his arm around her and drew her close.Lucy, chairperson of the prom committee, placed her hand over her heart.So true, she said. She turned to me with an overly concerned expression. What about you, Frankie? Do you thin k you could get behind it?I shrugged. Whatever.She embraced me, and I staggered.Okay, guys, were on she called, bounding across the commons. Trixie, back to work on the cherry blossoms. Jocelyn, tell the Paper contact lady we need a snow blue streamers and dont take no for an answerOn the afternoon of the dance, two hours before Jeremy was due to pick up Yun Sun, I crammed my stuff in my duffel bug out and told her I was going home.What? she said. No She put down a hot roller. Her fundamental law lay in front of her on her vanity, her Babycakes body glitter and Dewberry lip gloss, and her dress hung over the hook of her open bathroom door. It was lilac, with a sweetheart neckline. It was gorgeous.Its time, I said. Thank you for letting me stay so long but its time.Her mouth turned down. She wanted to argue, but she knew it was true. I wasnt happy here. That in itself wasnt the issue-I wasnt going to be happy anywhere-but moping around the Komikos house was making me feel trapped and making Yun Sun feel helpless and guilty.But its prom, Yun Sun said. Wont that be weird, being alone in your house on the night of prom? She came over to me. Stay till tomorrow. Ill be quiet when I come in, I swear. And I promise not to go on and on about you know. The after-parties and who hooked up and who passed out in the girls bathroom.You should get to go on about that stuff, though, I said. You should stay out as late as you want and come in as loudly as you want and be giddy and spazzy and all that. Unexpectedly, my eyes filled with tears. You should, Yun Sun.She touched my arm. I pulled away, but in what I hoped was an unobvious manner.So should you, Frankie, she said.yea well. I heaved my bag over my shoulder. advert me any time, she said. Ill keep my cell on, even at the dance.Okay.And if you change your mind, if you decide you want to stay-Thanks.Or even if you decide to come to prom We all want you there-you know that, right? It doesnt matter that you dont have a da te.I winced. She didnt mean it the way it sounded, but it most certainly did matter that I didnt have a date, because that date would have been Will. And I didnt have him not because he liked another girl or was suffering from a terrible elusion of the flu, but because he was dead. Because of me.Oh God, Yun Sun said. FrankieI waved her off. I didnt want any more touching. Its all right.We stood in a bubble of awkwardness.I miss him, too, you know, she said. I nodded. wherefore I left.I returned to my empty house to find that the electricity was out. Perfect. This happened more often than it should have Afternoon thunderstorms threw tree branches into the transformers, and entire neighborhoods lost power for several hours. Or the power would go out for no reason. Maybe too many people had their air conditioners on and the circuits overloaded, that was my theory. Wills theory was ghosts, ha ha ha. Theyve come to spoil your milk, hed say in a spooky voice.Will.My throat tightened.I t ried not to think about him, but it was impossible, so I let him exist there with me in my mind. I fixed myself a goober pea butter sandwich, which I didnt eat. I went on a higher floor and lay on my bed without good turn down the covers. Shadows deepened. An owl hooted. I stared at my ceiling until I could no longer make out the spider-web cracks.In the dark, my thoughts went places they shouldnt. Fernando. Madame Zanzibar. Youre just like all the rest, arent you? Desperate for a heart-stopping romance?It was that very desperation that gave origin to my stupid Madame Zanzibar plan and even stupider wish. Thats what prodded Will into action. If only Id never taken the damn nosegayI bolted upright. Oh my God-the damn corsageI grabbed my cell and held down the three, Yun Suns expedite dial. ?One? was for Mom and Dad ?two? was for Will. I still hadnt deleted his name, and now I wouldnt have to.Yun Sun I cried when she answered.Frankie? she said. S.O.S. by Rihanna blared in the ba ckground. Are you okay?Im fine, I said. Better than fine I mean, the powers out, its pitch-black, and Im all alone, but whatever. I wont be for long. I giggled and fumbled my way into the hall.Huh? Yun Sun said. More noise. batch laughing. Frankie, I can hardly hear you.The corsage. Ive got two wishes left I jogged downstairs, zinging with glee.Frankie, what are you-I can bring him back, dont you get it? Everything will be good again. We can even go to prom