Be Gay Do Crime

A message pinged on Ashe’s personal phone, but she elected to wait until the current dance was through before she checked it.  Crystal was leading her in the dance, and she was loving it.  Despite being the one wearing the suit, despite being the nominal leader of her burgeoning gang, Crystal was giving her the full experience of being a girl at prom. 

It was sweet enough to give her diabetes. 

Crystal’s green eyes shimmered in the dim lighting of the dance floor, and the soft waltz carried through the room as they drifted along to the slow beat.  Ashe was grinning widely down at her girlfriend, the difference in height no different than usual, because Crystal would never wear shoes that she couldn’t run in.  Hell, Ashe half expected her to come to prom in combat boots and a dress that doubled as tactical gear. 

Then again, they were both armed, so that wasn’t far from the truth.  Looking into an armored suit might be a good investment in the future, probably a few years down the line should she still be around and kicking.  Ashe had no fantasies about getting out of the game, she was committed, and too many people knew who she was now.  She had a lengthy list of enemies that would need to die if she was planning to back out of gang life.

That was the downside to getting so involved.  Her last chance to back out had probably been the night of the pawn shop, a clean exit and most of the players would have probably allowed it given her history with those involved.  The only downside was that most of the girls she rescued would have been picked back up by the gangs and right back to being bought and sold without care or regard. 

She’d made a choice, and she would have to live with everything that came with it.  The song ended and Crystal grinned, shuffling to grab her by the waist and guide them toward the concessions table.  Ashe took out her phone and grimaced.  Speaking of having to live with the consequences… 

“Kendall’s funeral is next Tuesday,” Ashe said.  Crystal turned, an unspoken question on her lips.  Ashe shrugged, pocketing her phone once more before buttoning it closed.  “Group message, I was tagged along with my parents by Reynolds.” 

Crystal’s shoulders slumped, and she sighed, leaning back against one of the tables.  “So much for trying to not think about that.” 

Ashe grimaced, and decided to pour herself some punch.  She took an experimental sip and sighed in relief.  Someone had already spiked it, though with some really cheap vodka from the taste.  Whatever, it would help take the edge off.  She filled a second cup and passed it to Crystal with a smile and wink. 

Prom night was almost a rite of passage for high school kids, getting drunk for the first time, trying drugs, losing their virginity, it was all solidified as a ritual by popular media.  Ashe just happened to be ahead of the curve on most counts thanks to her lifestyle giving her a very different view on things.  No point not living a little when any given day might be your last. 

“This shit is horrible,” Crystal said, glaring at her cup.  “I’m tempted to report it just so someone else might spike the new batch with something better.” 

“Don’t count on it,” Ashe muttered. 

“Of course the tranny would report alcohol,” someone said from nearby. 

Ashe turned, finding several of Gray’s buddies sneering at her.  She raised an eyebrow, then downed her entire cup without breaking eye contact with the guy at the center of the group.  One of the girls whistled when she didn’t even react to the sharpness of the alcohol.  Just because it was cheap, didn’t mean it was weak, even after being mixed into the punch. 

“Why the fuck would I care?” Ashe asked.  “I’m more affronted by the shitty quality than anything.  Seriously, could nobody spring for some Chopin at the very least?” 

Another of the boys seemed surprised by that.  “You’ve had Chopin?” 

“Once,” Ashe said with a shrug.  “Not my spirit of choice, but a friend loved it.” 

She didn’t like to dwell too much on Robbie, wherever the man happened to be.  He was probably dead, which hurt to think about.  He hadn’t even died for a real reason, other than to remind Ashe of her place.  Alejandro wanted to control her, bring her into his circle and keep her on a leash.  Killing someone that had her back was the exact wrong way to go about that. 

Yes, she was aware of the hypocrisy there.  

“Oh come on, Ashe,” Crystal said with a grin.  “Cheap alcohol is part of the experience.  The cheap stuff has a charm all its own, even if my father won’t admit it.” 

Ashe rolled her eyes at the clear attempt at goading them.  “If you say so.” 

“Are you really Crystal Ellington?” one girl asked, falling for the bait like a champ.

Crystal chuckled, striking a bit of a pose as she did.  “I suppose I am.  I’ve heard quite a few things about my reputation in the school.” 

She’d said that last bit glaring at one of the boys who had looked away, his cheeks darkening.  Ashe couldn’t blame them, her girlfriend was pretty damn attractive, but she wasn’t anything like their sick little fantasies about her. 

Ashe grabbed her girlfriend’s hand and gently pulled her close, her other hand going around her waist and they shared a chaste kiss before separating, but Ashe kept one arm around her, holding Crystal closed as she looked upon the gawking boys.  Their reactions ranged from surprise to outright anger at the sight of two girls kissing. 

Not that they would admit that was what just happened. 

“Sorry to burst your fantasies about me,” Crystal said sweetly, “but I’m gay as fuck.” 

“You’re here with a man,” one of the angry ones said.  “Obviously you like dick.” 

Ashe snorted at the crassness of the comment, but Crystal was tensing beside her. 

“You’d be wrong there,” Crystal spat.  “Just because you’ve never seen a pair of tits before doesn’t mean you get to insult my girlfriend like that.” 

“Hey!” a girl exclaimed. 

Crystal turned slightly, and looked her up and down.  “That explains his confusion, if you’re his point of reference.  Ashe’s are bigger and she has more curves.” 

The heat of a blush spread across Ashe’s cheeks and she couldn’t help but grin.  Looking closer at the girl, she also couldn’t deny the truth of that statement.  It was rather affirming to see, and she stood just a bit straighter and held her girlfriend just a bit tighter. 

“How dare—” 

“Why are you even humoring the freak?” Gray said, stepping up to the group, the freshman on his arm grinning fiercely. 

Ashe barely paid attention to the girl, but still filed away an idea for later.  Jessica had plans for him, and she wasn’t about to step on her toes.  That didn’t mean she couldn’t fuck with the man as her eyes lingered on his sleeve. 

“How’s the arm?”  He snarled and her grin could only grow.  “Oh, still sore I see, or is that just your ego?  I’m sure many girls here could say they took the whole football team at the same time, guess I can count myself among that number.” 

Someone barked out a high pitched, squealing laugh and Ashe turned towards it, but kept Gray in sight.  Rachel had been the one to laugh, and she recognized Jessica’s dress next to her, though she was keeping her head down but gently hitting the table with her fist.  More than a few of the assembled people were glaring at Rachel for that, but Ashe wasn’t about to let them bother one of her people when she was right there. 

Gray seemed to consider taking advantage of her supposed lapse in awareness, his fist clenching as his arm coiled back, but he didn’t act on it.  Instead he shut his eyes and took a breath.  She knew he likely had his own plan for her, and she needed to let it play out so she had probably cause to defend herself. 

A simple punch would be grounds to pin him at best, not do what she wanted.  No, she needed to get him set up for what was to come, and that required him to walk away, at least until the announcements of king and queen.  Jessica was set to be crowned queen, and nobody expected her to be there.  She hadn’t caught wind of who the would be king was, but she had her money on Gray having secured it just so he could say something about his ex. 

He was in for quite the surprise. 

Ashe tried not to grin at the thought, it was going to be so much fun to watch his face when he realized that she was right there, alive and well.  Still, he was fuming, and she was enjoying poking at his insecurities a bit too much.  She turned and pecked her girlfriend on the cheek. 

“Come on, let’s get back to dancing,” Ashe said. 

Crystal smiled, glancing back at Gray, before pulling her in for a kiss that was anything but chaste.  Ashe couldn’t help but reciprocate, and at least one girl gagged at the sight.  Ashe smirked, still kissing her girlfriend even as she raised a one-fingered salute, flipping off all of them before guiding them back out to the dance floor. 

“You enjoyed that,” Crystal said, falling back into the lead position.  

Ashe shrugged, hands back in place.  “He has plans too, and acting too rashly only threatens them.  Sure, I could have played the meek girl card that I used to back as a Freshman, but that was never me.  I was more ‘stoic defiance’ than wilting wallflower once I realized they would never let me fade into the background.” 

“Yeah, I can’t see you being meek,” Crystal said softly.  “I’m guessing that was when your parents started teaching you to defend yourself?” 

“Not quite,” Ashe said, swaying with the slow music.  “They started teaching me right away, but it was the first drills they ran me through that showed how well it was working.  That’s what showed me I could take care of myself.  That first run through the firing course, it was invigorating.  I didn’t do the best, or even all that well for my age range, but I still finished it with what was a respectable time for a first run.” 

“Now look at you,” Crystal said, looking her up and down in a way that Ashe couldn’t ignore.  “Fuck you’re hot.” 

A denial was on the tip of her tongue, but Ashe forced it back, she was done being self demeaning.  No, Crystal wouldn’t be saying that if she wasn’t seeing something that she liked.

“You’re not so bad yourself,” Ashe whispered back.

It was a shame that they couldn’t duck out and just enjoy themselves.  No, they just had to make plans that required them to be present.  Having responsibilities sucked, even if they were illegal as well as morally gray.  Prom was a single night, and Ashe would only get to do it once, and there was nobody else she would rather be there with. 

One of the other dancers bumped her hip, and Ashe looked up to find Jessica beside her, grinning widely.  “That was beautiful.” 

Ashe rolled her eyes.  “Nothing special about putting that blowhard in his place.  Not the first time you’ve seen me do it either.” 

“No, but it was the first time I could actually laugh at it,” Jessica said. 

“Speaking of laughing,” Crystal said, glancing at Rachel.  “Was that wise?” 

The girl in question shrugged.  “Probably not, but it isn’t like his opinion of me will matter after tonight.” 

“Just stay safe,” Ashe whispered, eyes flicking to and fro.  “He isn’t one to take slights lightly if he thinks he has the upper hand.” 

“He won’t be in any position to do anything after today,” Jessica said, her voice almost a growl.  “No matter what, I intend to neuter the bastard.” 

Laughing, the group split, content to enjoy the next several songs, though Ashe was constantly fighting the temptation to sneak off for a bit like they had when they talked the sound guy into playing more appropriate stuff.  Getting some waltzes and other proper dancing tracks thrown into the mix didn’t take much encouragement. 

When the current song faded, the next didn’t come on, instead they were greeted by the voice of someone up on the stage.  The assembled teens all turned towards the stage, and Ashe knew that the evening was beginning to wind down if they were ready to make the big announcements of the night, though they might just want to get the memorial portion out of the way so they didn’t end the night on a downer. 

Ashe recognized the boy as the student council president.  She’d barely paid him much mind, just some brainy kid that was a teacher’s pet.  He wasn’t exactly scrawny, but he wasn’t muscular either.  He’d never bothered her, so she tended to disregard him.  It wasn’t like he made any special effort to make sure she wasn’t hurting after a particularly bad week. 

“Attention students of Halsey high,” he said with a slightly nasal filled voice.  “This is Kevin Hartley, your student council president.  I hope you’re all having a wonderful evening.” 

There were a few murmurs across the crowd, but that didn’t seem to deter the man. 

“Yes, I won’t take too much of your time, but there is one matter to be resolved before the evening concludes.  The announcement of the prom king and queen!” 

There were a few muted cheers, but the chuckling coming from most of the students was far louder.  He’d said it with such enthusiasm that it truly was comical.  He didn’t seem to mind the reactions either, which showed that he was a half decent public speaker. 

He held two envelopes above his head, one blue, one pink, with the stereotypical term color matched to it.  Ashe didn’t care much about the presentation, and was simply eager to get to the next stage of the night and start putting her plan into motion. 

“Right, so queen first,” Kevin said, tearing the pink envelope open.  “I’ll admit, this one was spoiled for me, for reasons that are soon to become clear.  Jessica Stockton, who’s missing person’s case remains unsolved.  Someone will be accepting the crown for her and giving a short speech, but before that, the King announcement.” 

Jessica was already moving towards the front, Rachel not far behind her when Kevin ripped open the blue envelope and pulled out the paper inside. 

“And the title of prom king goes to…  Dustin Hamilton!” 

…What?

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