Prequel to the Big Night

[Jolie Reynolds]

Date: April 26th, 2008
Time: 3:30PM
ISO: Caleb
Song: Sara Bareilles - Love Song

"I'm not gonna write you a love song, cause you asked for it, cause you need one, you see..!" Jolie and Angela sang in unison as they drove down the road in her boxter with the hood up. After all, they couldn't risk messing up Jolie's hair. They were a few minutes away from the Drakes and the girls had a lot of fun, considering it was prom day and Angela was going to meet Caleb's parents. Dimitri was going to prom, as was Jolie, and of course Dad was MIA, so Jolie was faced with the possibility of not even getting to go. Upon hearing this from Caleb, Mrs. Drake called the girl and insisted that Jolie bring her sister to stay over while they were all at prom. To make things less awkward, she even offered to go dress shopping with Jolie and Angela so the little girl could get to know the woman better.

Mrs. Drake was incredibly accommodating, and Jolie was immensely grateful for it. She and the woman were becoming close, which was nice, seeing as Jolie had no mother figure in her life to speak of. As much as she wanted to be reluctant about getting close to someone else's parents, she couldn't help it. Especially after the three of them bonded while shopping for Jolie's prom dress. The three of them ended up picking out a stunning dress and things to go along with it, then they went out to dinner and had girl talk, which mostly consisted of the eight year old and Mrs. Drake gushing about how cute Jolie and Caleb were.

Angela looked down at Jolie's phone, which was alerting them of a text message. The little girl flipped open the phone and stopped singing to speak up. "Caleb wants to know if we're here yet."

"Again?" Jolie said, stopping singing. That was, no lie, the twentieth text message she'd gotten from the blonde that day. What, did he think she was going to stand him up? No, she knew what the reason was. Caleb had no idea what Jolie's dress looked like, and he was insanely worried because his mother and an eight year old had apparently picked it out for her. He knew the color, so he could get the flowers and his suit to match accordingly, but not knowing what the dress even looked like was driving him insane, and everyone knew it. He made sure of that.

"Tell him....tell him we'll be there in..." Jolie looked around. "Three minutes."

"Gotcha. Caleb-" the little brunette said aloud as she was texting. "Almost there, keep your pants on." Jolie smirked at that. Angela hit the send button and looked up at her sister. "D'ya know that he even tried to get details out of your dress from me? I didn't tell him though, I said I wanted it to be a surprise."

Jolie laughed. "I'm sure that went over well with him. He's been grilling me AND Mrs. Drake for details on it too." They stopped at a red light and Jolie frowned. Traffic was bad, so they'd be sitting there for a bit. "Thank's Angie, for doing this for me. I know they're strangers, but-"

"Oh shush," the little girl said, waving her hand. "It's my big sisters junior prom, I'm going to be the reason you miss that. Plus, I really like Mrs. Drake. She's nice and pretty. Everything a Mom should be." Jolie frowned a bit at that, but not in a disapproving manner. "Yeah, she really is." Jolie looked down at her dress, then examined her hair in the rear view mirror before glancing back down at the girl. "Do I look okay?"

"Are you kidding me?!" Angela replied, looking at her sister like she was insane. "You look beautiful Jolie."

Jolie blushed a bit at that. "Thank you." She glanced down at her dress. It was a deep indigo color with off white lace decorating small sections of it in the back and near the bust. The dress was form fitting, but Jolie had the figure for it, so it worked out. Normally she wouldn't go for anything form fitting, as she was self conscious over the fact that she was a teenager with a woman's body, but it really was a beautiful dress that was classy enough to pull off the form fitting thing without looking trashy. There was a daring little slit going up the front right side of it, that ended mid-thigh. At first, Jolie had hated it, but it was making driving in it a hell of a lot easier, so now it was her favorite part of it. The silver strappy shoes were originally her favorite part, but after driving in them, she wanted to toss them out the window. In fact, she'd taken them off a few hours back, just because it was too painful to drive in them.

It wasn't strapless, which was another selling point for Jolie. The straps had little lace designs on them and went over her shoulders, then crossed in the back. It was an open back dress that ended at the lowest part of her lower back, which drove the brunette insane. She never showed this much skin, ever. Her tattoo was covered with magic, as it would have been exposed due to the design of the dress, though the back of the dress had pretty much sold her on it. It had such a beautiful design and she looked so good in it that not getting it would be a crime. It had a very small train in the back, which was held in place by a lace design that rounded out the bottom of the daringly low cut back of the dress. Okay, maybe she did look okay.

Make up and hair hadn't been an issue for Jolie. She went out and had it all professionally done, not trusting herself, with her nerves, to make herself look good. The women there were amazing, though they insisted that with her features and the dress, Jolie couldn't make herself look younger. She hadn't needed a lot of make up, and was thankful the women also agreed with her. After all, she didn't want to look like a clown, and blue eyeshadow was incredibly difficult to pull off. They went with light browns and sheer neutral colors, done just so they brightened Jolie's complexion without giving her a raccoon mask. To finish off, they lined her eyes, making their blue color just pop out all the more without looking too overdone. Her lips were finished off with a nude colored lip liner and gloss. Honestly, it didn't look like she had that much make up on at all, but it was certainly a different look for her. It was more grown up....and way more sexy than she'd ever done before.

The ladies there loved her hair, and while Jolie had wanted an up do, they talked her out of it, saying that trapping her hair with bobby pins and hairspray would be criminal. So she wore it long with loose curls. Normally, when it came to her appearance, Jolie didn't listen to anyone, but after letting them try new things and checking herself out in the mirror, she had to say it wasn't as bad as she envisioned. She was just nervous because it was a new look for her; much more daring and with no downplaying of her adult appearance to speak of.

Once they pulled into the driveway, Jolie's knuckles were bone white from clutching the wheel so hard. God she was nervous. So very very nervous. Angela was oblivious to this, and she hopped out of the car and grabbed her overnight bag from the back seat. Angela glanced over at her sister, who was fumbling with putting on her shoes and sighed, climbing back to the front of the car to help her.

"Calm down sis," Angela said with a smile. "Remember those pictures of mom you showed me? You look just like her, and she was beautiful too. Caleb will love you AND the dress, and you're going to have a blast."

God, their Mom. Jolie had been trying not to think about her for weeks now. Mothers and daughters were supposed to do this sort of thing together; dress shopping and being girly. Jolie forced a smile. "You're right, it's time to have fun. And shock Caleb, I guess." Angela smiled brightly up at her sister as she finished buckling the straps of her shoes for her. "So lets go surprise him then! Come on!" Angela hopped out of the car, bolting for the front door. Jolie made a surprised noise, opening her car door hastily to follow being Angela. She stooped, half way, then smiled. Ah, she knew how to calm herself down. She pulled her wand out and waved it at the front passengers seat, then deliberately left her purse and overnight bag in the car.

"Payback for laughing at me when I burned your brother," Jolie said softly to herself, then got out of the car. She bolted, as Angela opened the front door after knocking once.

"WE'RE HERE!!!" the girl announced excitedly. Luckily, everyone was in the room when she entered, but Jolie didn't know that.

"Ang-!" She stopped dead in her tracks in the doorway, noting Caleb was halfway down the stairs and staring at her, eyes wide. Was that good or bad? "Um..." Jolie paused, looking around the room at the Drakes. "Hi."

[Caleb Drake]

Caleb hadn't gone to quite the extent of preparation as Jolie, but he certainly did more than most other boys would. Caleb was always one to make sure he looked good, especially when going out to pick up girls. Now he was desperately trying to keep the one he had. He knew she would look gorgeous, so he had to measure up. He started with the underwear, silk boxers. He pulled on a pair of black slacks, zipping and buttoning them. Then he took a break to look at himself in the mirror and flex. Damn he looked good. He grinned and looked over at the rest of his suit, resting comfortably across his bed. The shirt was colored to match Jolie's dress, his mother had made sure of it. He found himself wondering what it looked like again, though no one would tell him.

He picked up his phone and typed a text message to Jolie, asking how far away she was and trying yet again to get more information about the dress. After it finished sending he went back to dressing. He pulled on black socks and shoes, surprisingly comfortable for dress shoes. As he pulled the shirt on his phone beeped to say he had a response to his text. He finished threading his arms through the sleeves and picked it up, flipping it open to read the response.

"Damn." He set it back down. No dice.

Finally he pulled on his favorite part of the suit. The jacket was black to match the pants and shoes, and was in a Mandarin style. Both he and Lance had always liked the look. The length along a mandarin collar is straight, with either straight or rounded edges at top of the centre front. The edges of the collar either barely meet at the centre front or overlap slightly. You don't wear a tie with it, but it is still considered formalwear. (picture http://www.suitaly.com/images/thumbnail/image127.jpg). He studied himself in the mirror, spraying cologne on himself. He looked good, she would definitely like it. He styled his hair, taking time to try different styles. Finally he decided on his typical messy style, after all Jolie liked him for who he was.

He finished and heard a car pull up. He peeked out his window and saw it was Jolie's. He didn't wait to check her out, instead he made for the stairs, scooping up her corsage along the way. His mother called to him, telling him to hurry along. Caleb called back that he was hurrying as best as he could. He made it halfway down the stairs when the door opened and a goddess walked into his living room. Caleb stood stock still on the stairs, staring hard at her. He had seen her naked before, but somehow this was much sexier. She looked absolutely gorgeous, totally perfect. For once, he was completely speechless.

His father, however, was not.

"Holy shit." He commented from his armchair near the television. Mrs. Drake slapped him on the arm and he grinned bashfully. For his part, Lance definitely seemed to admire her look, even giving her a brief smile from his own seat. He was dressed similar to Caleb, but with a white shirt underneath. He would be taking Nessa to prom, and whereas he knew they would be fine friends there would be nothing else. He envied Caleb and Jolie, and this perfect love they had found. Wasn't it his turn? He sighed and wondered if he was going to be Prom King. It would either be James or himself. He had no idea who the queen would be, but maybe he can meet someone at the dance. Who knows, the queen might be a girl that he is destined to be with. If only he could meet someone that could make him get over Phoebe, or someone that even made him WANT to get over Phoebe.

Caleb just stared for a moment, not responding to Jolie's response. He slowly walked down the stairs, tripping more than once as his eyes refused to leave her. He walked across the room and stepped in front of Jolie, holding the corsage out blankly. "For you. Y'know."

[Jolie Reynolds]

"Holy shit."

Jolie winced as Mr. Drake spoke up. His wife his his arm as Jolie slowly straightened up in the doorway. She noted Lance giving her a small smile, but she really couldn't respond to that as she could feel Caleb staring holes into her. She met his gaze, her eyes exposing her uncertainty. Honestly, she didn't know how to take Caleb being stunned into silence, and as much as she wanted to take it as a good thing, she was worried doing so would be the wrong thing to do.

She took in Caleb's suit briefly marveling at how the color complemented her own dress and how nice the suit looked on him. Mrs. Drake had done a great job in matching them. Jolie winced a bit as Caleb half stumbled down the stairs, almost going over to him to help him, but his staring was really unnerving and had her cemented in place for the most part. Angela had place her bags down near the couch and smiled brightly over at the Drakes before looking back over at Jolie. By that time, Caleb had made it down the stairs, alive, and over to his date.

"For you. Y'know."

His blank look unnerved Jolie even more, but at least the corsage was pretty. She gingerly took the flower from his hands, looking even more unsure of herself than she had been abruptly entering their house like she did.

"Thanks," she said, frowning a bit. The door was still hanging open, so Jolie stepped aside and thoughtfully closed it behind her, locking herself in the lion's den, so to speak. Or at least that's what it felt like. Jolie leaned forward, speaking so only Caleb heard her. "You're kind of making me nervous, so if you could say something or...do anything that didn't involve staring blankly at me, I'd really appreciate it right about now."

[Caleb Drake]

Caleb as so busy staring at her as he handed her the corsage that it never occurred to him that she might be self-conscious about her appearance. How COULD she?! She looked perfect. She looked beyond perfect. His family was happily chattering to each other when she whispered to him, giving him a moment to say whatever he wished. He looked at her in surprise, genuinely shocked that she seemed so nervous. He licked his lips and grinned.

“Sorry. I was just trying to figure out how you look hotter with that dress on than when you do when you’re naked.” He whispered it and leaned in, stealing a quick kiss. He reached down with one hand and squeezed hers.

“You look so beautiful. Seriously. I don’t know what to say beyond that.” He grinned and stole another kiss before turning back to his family. His dad gave him a thumbs up and a cheesy smile. His mother slapped her husband’s hand down and rolled her eyes.

“Sometimes I wonder why I keep you around.”

He smiled to her and patted her arm. “Cause I love you strong.”

Caleb hung his head in shame as his mother smirked and produced a camera. She quickly diverted the conversation from that dangerous direction it was heading. “Picture time!”

She spent the next several minutes posing them in front of the fireplace and the stairs. She clicked away happily, then gestured for individual pics of each of them. Then she suggested Lance and Jolie take a picture together.

Lance approached shyly, standing a foot away from Jolie. His mother would have none of that.

“Come on Lance. Stand closer to her.”

Over her right shoulder, her husband laughed and added. “Besides, she’s already seen you naked. There’s nothing to be worried about.”

Caleb was over her left shoulder and laughed with his father. “Yeah she’s already seen you naked . . . Wait what?!”

Lance blushed deeply as the viewfinder clicked and Caleb tried to shake the information out of his father, who quickly explained it was a bad joke.

[Jolie Reynolds]

Caleb's words made her blush a little bit, but honestly eased her nerves. At least he thought she looked pretty, and he was the only person she was trying to impress. She thought to mention her bag in the car, but Mrs. Drake announced it was picture time, so she figured her bag could wait a few more minutes. She didn't really like being photographed, but made an exception seeing as it was a formal dance. After all, she might want to look back on these pictures, if only to make fun of her dress, seeing as it might be completely out of style by the time she was older.

Posing with Caleb proved to be a tad difficult, and the boy was quite animated and seemed not to want to sit still for the two seconds snapping a photo did. Still, that was something she liked about him. He was a performer through and through, which she firmly believed had little to do with his histrionics. He just liked to have fun and express himself. She ended up forcing him to hold her a bit in the pictures, as that was the only time he stopped fidgeting around.

When Mrs. Drake suggested her and Lance get pictures together, Jolie sighed a bit in relief. Lance didn't wiggle around like a crazy person, so it would be a refreshing change of pace. He stood away from her and Jolie held up her hands, as if to gesture that she was unarmed. "I won't give you cooties, I promise."

“Come on Lance. Stand closer to her.”

“Besides, she’s already seen you naked. There’s nothing to be worried about.”

“Yeah she’s already seen you naked . . . Wait what?!”

Jolie's face matched the color of Lance's as the pair blushed in unison. Yeah, she hadn't talked to Caleb about that. Really, she didn't feel the need to. That whole start of the day had been horrifying enough for her, telling Caleb she'd seen her brother in his birthday suit would have just made it worse. Still, it was far enough behind her that she recovered quickly enough, sparing Mr. Drake a half hearted glare before grabbing Lance's hand and dragging him over to her.

"Come on, we're both clothed, you've already had your shower, and I'm not feeling nauseated. No worries." Jolie spoke in a low voice so only Lance would hear. They'd been friends since before she'd started dating Caleb, so despite seeing him naked, she was pretty sure they could handle it not being awkward. She let go of Lance's hand and stood close to him, smiling for the camera.

"Why was he naked?" Jolie's sister asked innocently enough. After all, Jolie hadn't given her the sex talk yet. She hadn't even gotten her first period yet. No need for it.

"Let it go Angie," Jolie said through a smile. Ever the professional.

[Caleb Drake]

Caleb looked extremely confused and just shook the thought away. His father had a really twisted sense of humor, sometimes if even surprised Caleb. Caleb didn’t even think that it could be true, how could Jolie have seen Lance naked? It wasn’t like the Newspaper had locker rooms. This, of course, led him to start thinking about Jolie naked. Any thoughts of the controversy was gone from his mind and he smiled to himself.

Meanwhile his mother convinced Lance to be more comfortable and the two took several really good photos. She stowed the camera and made Lance promise to get pictures with Nessa at the prom. He nodded his agreement and then announced it was time for him to head out. He apparated away with a crack, leaving the Drake parents with Caleb, Jolie, and Jolie’s sister.

Meghan rolled over to Angela and held her arms out, a bright smile on her face.

“It's so good to see you again Angela.” She beamed and introduced her husband as well. He waved to her forgoing a handshake but responding with a bright smile. “Once these two are out of here, we can show you around some more. We have a pool in the backyard and it’s just warm enough to swim finally.” She smiled warmly again. Meghan had always wanted a daughter, and she might get to pretend to have one for a single night.

Caleb turned to Jolie, smirking. He had the perfect night planned. They were going to go to prom, then he had a hotel room just for the two of them. He had paid extra for one with a kitchen so he could make her breakfast, taken his collector’s edition of Casablanca, and lots of chocolate. This was going to be perfect for the two of them.

“I guess its time to go. Have we got everything?” He asked her, briefly touching his nose to hers playfully.

[Jolie Reynolds]

“I guess its time to go. Have we got everything?”

Caleb touched his nose to hers and Jolie smiled, having a mini-moment of turning into a puddle. She was about to suggest they get out of there when she remembered her prank in the car with the strategically placed bag.

"Oh, my purse," she said thoughtfully. "It's in the car." Caleb had already saw to it that she had clothes at the hotel (he'd grabbed her a pair of clothes and pajama's to change into and thrown them in with his things while they were at school. "Once we get that, we can leave."

She lead him outside and opened the passenger door for him. "Can you reach over and grab it? The bag and my wand are on the floor, it's just hard to maneuver in this dress." Like the gentleman he was, Caleb did as she asked, but the second his weight was on the chair, a long, drawn out farting noise was heard coming from underneath him. Caleb looked a bit horrified and confused, and Jolie gave him a mildly offended look. She knew it wasn't him, so it wasn't long until she started laughing despite herself.

"Oh man, the look on your face," she said, holding her sides a bit as she stood near the open car door. "Absolutely priceless and totally worth it." She wasn't one to play pranks often, but when she did, they were always completely out of left field and utterly amusing.

[Caleb Drake]

Caleb followed Jolie out to the car obediently, briefly thinking that she wanted a pre-prom fling in the front seat. That would be exactly what the doctor ordered. He followed her out, grinning like an idiot. He wondered if he should just take his pants off behind her back when she revealed that her reason for going out to the car was legitimate (or so he thought). Oh well, he could wait until after prom. The waiting would make it even better. Besides, it might mess up her hair. He did as he as asked , climbing over to grab her purse.

Brrrrrupppp.

Caleb paused, shock crossing his face. He knew it wasn’t him, but it came from in the car. She would definitely think it was him and this lessened his chances of getting laid tonight. He tried to stammer out an explanation, seeing the shocked look in her eyes. Just as words finally found him, she began laughing hysterically. It took him a moment to realize what had happened. She had tricked him, she had played a joke on him. And damn, it was a good one. He couldn’t even laugh, that’s how shocked he was. As her laughter died down he smiled weakly at her and spoke.

“Wow. That was actually really good.” He fake glared at her and fetched her purse and wand, casting them in her direction. “as far as fart jokes go, of course.” He had to throw that in, belittle it a little bit for his own ego. He smirked and crawled fully out of the car, leaning in extremely close to his date. His lips were just an inch from hers when he spoke again.

“Oh. And you’ll pay. It’s on now.”