By My Side

"Oh Daddy, don't be such a fussy old man! This is what prom dresses are supposed to look like these days," Marlene scolded her father. She looked at Gary and her smile dropped just a little. "Why are you dressed as a butler?"

"It's my grandpa's tuxedo," Gary said a little defensively.

"At least take off those silly gloves," she sighed.

He tugged them off and tucked them back into the pocket as he was shown to do.

"That's a little better. Let's get going. Don't wait up daddy." Marlene said and took Gary's arm to get them out the door.

"Goodnight sir," Gary said and Wayland felt a little better seeing his daughter on the arm of a gentleman.

"Be careful out there," the father called out and Marlene flicked a wave at him over her shoulder.

She sighed again as they approached the old pickup truck.

"Humble beginnings," she said to herself.

"What?" he asked as he helped her in, dazed by her ass in the shimmering dress. He rushed around to the other side of the truck and got in.

Marlene gestured around the interior of the truck. "Take a look around and remember this as your past. Soon you'll be sitting in the back of stretched limousines being driven to stadiums filled with screaming fans."

Gary got them on their way and glanced over at her in puzzlement. "What are you talking about?" he asked.

"Your music Gary! Keep up with me! You have enormous talent! The world is just waiting for you to take it!" she gushed, already imagining the luxury condos they'd stay in on their world tour with the rock and roll lifestyle they'd have, including the drugs she'd have access to. She licked her lips sensually.

He was more than a little distracted by her tongue and turned to face the road as he throbbed in his pants. Geezus, Marlene looked like sex personified and he was getting caught up in her excitement. The difference was, that wasn't his dream. It was the opposite of it.

"Marlene, who said I wanted to be a musician? I'm going to be an accountant," he explained.

"Gary, why are you setting your sights so low! You're destined for greatness!" she gasped.

He frowned at her briefly. "There are loads of musicians out there who are better than me and they'll never reach the heights you're talking about. The music industry is controlled by the big studios, the star makers who decide who they are going to promote. It has less to do with talent and more to do with marketability and chasing the fickle desires of the fans. There's no financial security in that!"

It was Marlene's turn to frown. "You're underestimating your skills! You just need a business manager to ensure you are presented properly to these star makers to make them understand how much of a money maker you could be!"

Gary blinked. He understood now. "A business manager such as yourself."

Marlene smiled broadly. "Now you're up to speed!"

He pulled the truck into the school parking lot and shut off the engine.

He sighed and turned to look at her. "Could we just enjoy ourselves tonight?"

She smiled and leaned over to kiss him. Her mouth was so soft and inviting it made his head spin.

"I don't understand your reluctance to accept your destiny," she sighed as she pulled back from the kiss.

"Because it's not my dream. It seems to be yours," Gary replied as he struggled to get his thinking back to his big head. He got out of the truck, went around to open Marlene's door and helped her out.

She pressed her body against his and sighed. "My dreams are big enough for the both of us and they are wonderful!"

Gary saw arguing with her was just going to turn the evening sour so he walked them to the door and they went inside.

Marlene spotted Mr. Devon, one of the younger teachers. She'd scored some weed from him a few months back. He was leaning against the hallway wall by himself looking at his phone. Likely making a buy. She'd had to blow him for a joint but he'd proven to have a short dick and a shorter fuse so it had been minimal effort for a really good high. She wondered if he had any more on him tonight.

"Gary, I'll meet you inside in a minute ok? I need to speak to Mr. Devon about the grade on my last assignment."

He looked at her curiously then nodded as he was distracted by a friend calling out to him.

She watched him move to the entrance of the gym to shake some dweeb's hand before she turned her attention to her target.

She walked up to him and noticed his eyes darting nervously at her then down the hall towards a group of teachers.

"Good evening, Mr. Devon!"

"G-good evening to you Ms. Fitzgerald. You look... lovely tonight," he said, his eyes never leaving her tits.

"I was wondering if you had any of that lovely African Black."

"Geezus! Keep your voice down!" he hissed as his eyes scanned the empty hallway.

She noted his paranoia was in full swing. She waited with her hands on her hips.

He finally settled down and looked back at her nervously. "You've caused me quite enough grief. My wife left me when she saw your lip gloss on my dick. She shacked up with my best source who refuses to do business with me. There aren't a lot of... options in this town as you know. I'm still trying to find another one. Discretely."

"So you're saying..."

He looked at her in exasperation. "No. I'm saying no. I have nothing." He looked up and saw the principal approaching. He gave Marlene a big fake smile. "Enjoy the prom!" he said loudly as he walked away, past Wayans and nodding to him.

Marlene put a fake smile on her own face and nodded to the principal as she made her way into the gym. Her mood was seriously turning foul.

First Gary was proving to be tedious and resistant to the wonderful life plan she was laying out for him.

Now that little creep Mr. Devon turned out to be a dead end when she was aching for a fix of something!

She looked around and spotted Gary dancing with Gwennie, one of her crew. She'd have to take the girl down a peg for cutting in without asking permission first.

Marlene walked over to the punch table hoping someone had spiked it but it was just punch. She saw Todd Gramby having words with a hot redhead- damn! That was Emma Patricks! Shit, she cleaned up nicely! She couldn't hear the words but the expressions were just as good so she settle back against the table to watch.

"You do not get to paw my ass on the dancefloor in front of my friends while grinding against me!" Emma barked at the big man.

"Dammit Emma! It was just a little squeeze! What's the big deal? You're my girlfriend aren't you? Shouldn't you start acting like it?" he growled back.

Her mouth dropped open. "What are you talking about? I am acting like your girlfriend! I hold your hand, we kiss, I defend you when you do stupid things like beat people up for mistaken impressions."

He scowled when she said he was stupid. He leaned closer. "What about going beyond the teasing and letting me get a little action?"

She blinked in surprise and leaned back from the smell of alcohol on his breath. He was drinking and she hadn't seen him do it. "Action?"

"You know what I mean! You've been touching my body all night and rubbing me with your ass getting me all stiff and excited. Now you act like you have no idea how much of a cock tease you are!"

Emma's face clouded over with barely suppressed rage. "You take that back! I am not... one of those!"

He smirked at her. "Yes, you are darlin'. Nothing but a cock tease! Look how big you've made me!" He opened his jacket to show her the bulge in his pants. "The least you could do is suck me off! Your pretty mouth would look amazing full of my cock!"

Her rage was breaking free and she was suddenly frightened of the violence she wanted to do to him. Instead she spun and rushed off to leave the gym.

"Bitch. Fuck her," Todd grumbled sourly.

He looked at his cup and saw it was empty. He needed to put more punch into it so the gin he was adding wasn't so obvious.

He made his way to the refreshment table and spotted Marlene standing there watching him. He smiled as he approached.

"Good evening Marlene. You look gorgeous, as usual," Todd said with his smoothest voice.

She smirked at him. "Good evening Todd. It looks like your girlfriend just dumped you," she said bluntly.

He shrugged it off. "Not much of a girlfriend. Too... innocent."

"Really." The smirk was back in full force.

Todd reined in his annoyance at her smug look. He darted his eyes around and saw the coast was clear. He poured himself half a cup of punch and deliberately topped it up from his pocket flask. He noted definite interest in her eyes then. "Oh, would you like some? The punch is awful without it."

This got a real smile from her at last and Todd allowed himself to feel optimistic. He poured a second cup of spiked punch and tucked his flask away nonchalantly before handing her the cup.

"Where's guitar boy?" he asked calmly.

Sipping from her cup she gestured to the dancefloor where Gary could be seen dancing with another of Marlene's posse.

"You loaned him out to your girls?" Todd asked in surprise.

This drew a frown from Marlene and Todd tried to think of a way to get back into her good graces. Luckily he had just the thing. He took a sip and sighed.

"Spiked punch is fine and all but I'm feeling the need to expand my mind a little more... dramatically," he said and saw her eyes swing back to him with definite interest. Yes, he could see his night improving.

He looked at Gary in his ridiculous suit then scanned the gym counting the number of teachers present. "This is no place to do it though. I think I'll find someplace... private to pop the X."

"You have X?" Marlene blurted in surprise. She hadn't tried Ecstasy yet and was very curious about it. Her night was looking up.

"You want some too?" he asked.

"You have enough for two?" she returned.

He nodded with a smile.

"Lead the way," she said returning his smile.

With a nod and a final contemptuous look at Gary, Todd made his way out of the gym with Marlene following at his heel.

Emma gripped the edge of the sink while she tried to calm herself. She was so disappointed in Todd. She was also disappointed in herself. Gary had been right about him after all. Thank god he wasn't the type to rub her nose in her mistakes. She felt better thinking about him then her mood turned as she recalled he was with Marlene. She wasn't wrong about Marlene as Gary hadn't been wrong about Todd but she couldn't tell him that.

She sighed. There was nothing to benefit from hiding in the bathroom. She had to get out there and enjoy the rest of the night. While avoiding Todd.

She walked back to the gym and listened to the music. That made her feel a little better.

Her friend Francis rushed over to her squealing in delight at her outfit.

"Emma! You look amazing!" Francis gushed.

"So do you!" Emma smiled.

"Come on! Let's get out there and dance!" her friend cheered and pulled her out onto the dancefloor.

Emma danced with her friend and other members of her gang, mostly the track team, joined them until it was very crowded. She gave herself over to the music and just let it make her happy.

After a while she started looking around to see if she could spot Gary. White gloved hands stood out in the crowd and she gasped in laughter at his moves which were comically exaggerated. She was surprised to see he wasn't dancing with Marlene. It was Jenny, another one of the princess' friends.

She danced her way over and Gary grinned at her smiling face. Jenny turned to dance with someone else. He turned and danced with Emma making her grin widely.

"Where's Marlene?" she yelled above the noise.

Gary looked around and an annoyed look crossed his face. He looked back and shrugged.

"Where's Todd?" he called back.

She shook her head with a sad look and his expression immediately became sympathetic. He gestured towards the exit and they left the dancefloor and the gym. In the hall it was easier to talk.

"What happened?" Gary asked gently.

Emma cast her eyes downwards. "Todd is drinking and acting up. He said some very vulgar things to me. You were right about him." She saw the anger on Gary's face but he throttled it down and took a deep breath.

"How has your night been?" Emma asked with a small smile.

"Well, I'm doing a lot of dancing but I seem to have lost my girlfriend somewhere in there," he said gesturing towards the gym with his thumb.

"She's not in there."

Gary and Emma looked towards the voice and saw Gwen Richardson walking back from the girls room to the gym entrance. She was part of Marlene's group.

"Where is she?" Gary asked.

Gwen paused and looked at the two of them. She seemed to come to a decision. "She followed Todd upstairs." She gave Gary a sympathetic look then walked back to the gym.

He watched her leave then immediately headed for the stairs. Emma rushed after him. When they reached the base of the stairs a voice called out.

"Stop! That floor is off limits," Principal Wayans called out. Mrs. Kennedy was standing next to him with a stern look and her arms crossed.

"Sorry Principal Wayans. We were told our dates were last seen heading upstairs. We just want to find out where they went," Gary said.

The man gave Gary an assessing look then nodded. "We'll go with you and split into two groups to cover more ground. Emma, you're with me."

They climbed the stairs and listened. They could hear noises from both directions and shared a look. The principal and Emma turned right and headed off down the hall.

Gary went left with Mrs. Kennedy at his elbow. The lights were dimmed upstairs and they checked the classroom doors on the way down the hallway, each taking a side. The doors were all locked. They reached the end of the corridor and turned right at the corner. There were only a few more doors before the corridor turned right again and headed back to close the square.

While Mrs. Kennedy was checking the doors on the outside wall, Gary was checking the doors to the supply rooms and stopped before the janitor's room. He heard grunting inside. He opened the door and froze.

Marlene was on her hands and knees, her big tits swinging freely as Todd fucked her from behind, slapping her ass with his pelvis roughly. Her eyes were closed in bliss and drool dripped from her lips as she grunted and forced herself back on his cock. Gary's eyes went to Todd's and saw he was grinning victoriously at him. He started to drive his cock into Marlene faster and harder and she moaned loudly.

"Gary, you fucking loser! I took your fucking bitch from you and she's a wild one! She has such a hot, tight little pussy!" Todd growled.

Marlene moaned and pushed back harder when she heard his vulgar words.

That proved to be too much for Todd. He closed his eyes and made a weird braying noise as he pulled her hips back against his legs. "I'm cumming! Take it bitch! Take it all!"

Marlene's eyes flew open when she felt the heat pouring into her body. She saw Gary standing in the doorway and grinned at him. "Whassa matter Gary? Sad you couldn't be the one doing this? Take out your cock and I'll suck it for you as a consolation prize," she said and burst into giggles as Todd howled with laughter.

Then she saw Mrs. Kennedy watching from behind Gary and she froze.

The door was pulled open further and Emma looked inside with a shocked expression.

Todd's eyes opened and locked onto Emma's who was looking at him in shock. He barked a drunken laugh and thrust a few more times into Marlene's dripping pussy. "This could have been you, you stupid bitch!"

Mrs. Kennedy and Principal Wayans grabbed Gary's shoulders to keep him from lunging inside the small room.

With the Principal now visible in the doorway as well, the situation was finally sinking into Marlene's drugged mind and she saw only one outlet.

"RAPE! He raped me! Drugged and raped me!" she wailed as she struggled to pull free of Todd's grip. He refused to let go of her hips and her struggling became frantic.

The principal physically moved Gary and Emma away from the door and looked them both in the eye. "You two need to leave. We'll take it from here. I'm very sorry you had to see this."

Gary nodded and turned to walk away. He looked back and saw Emma seemed lost. He gently took her hand and led her down the hallway.

When they got back down to the ground floor they heard the school's social committee up on stage making announcements. Emma suddenly couldn't bear the thought of facing anyone. She stopped and Gary looked back at her in concern.

"Gary, would you mind terribly just taking me home?" she said looking at him hopefully.

He saw her nervous glance towards the party and immediately led her to the front door and out to his truck.

Once more he opened her door for her and helped her inside. He gave her a gentle smile as he closed her door.

As they pulled away from the parking lot a police car and an ambulance were arriving. Emma turned to look back with a worried expression but Gary didn't spare them a second glance.

They drove in silence, once more lost in their thoughts.

Gary pulled up to Emma's house and shut the engine. He looked over at his best friend and was once more dazzled by how beautiful she looked tonight. She smiled at him.

He got out and went around the front of the truck to open her door and helped her down. As they walked up to her front door she slipped her arm through his offered elbow and she couldn't stop the smile from blossoming on her face at his genteel manners.

"You are the consummate gentleman, Mr. Truman!" she said as they stood before her door.

"You deserve nothing less, Ms. Patricks," he returned with a smile then it faltered a little. "I'm so sorry the night ended up like this, Emma. You look absolutely radiant tonight and you deserved a fabulous prom night."

"I'm radiant?" she asked quietly in surprise.

He nodded with a serious expression. "You were the most beautiful woman at the prom tonight!"

Emma was blushing strongly as she smiled at Gary.

He suddenly began worrying he'd put his foot in his mouth and embarrassed her..

"Well, I should get home. I- I had a really good time dancing earlier! See you tomorrow?" he said and she just nodded, not trusting herself to speak.

He caught himself leaning towards her then grinned self-consciously as her eyes widened in surprise. He walked back to his truck and waved to her as he backed up and headed off.

Emma watched his tail lights moving away and trembled slightly at the realization that he'd almost kissed her.

More surprising to her was that she wanted him to.

Chapter 5

When Gary and Emma walked into the school the following day they were immediately grabbed by their friends who begged them for details on what happened the night before. They discovered they'd been named the Prom King and Queen but no one had been able to find them. Then the police and ambulance crews had arrived. High drama, indeed!

The little news their friends had discovered of what happened next was stunning.

Marlene had filed rape charges against Todd and while no one really believed it wasn't consensual, she did test positive for drugs and the rape kit proved he'd had sex with her as did the witness statements from the principal and teacher. Her father was furious with the school for letting this happen and wanted her rapist prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

Todd was in jail as his parents refused to bail him out. With this charge on his record it was highly likely that his football career was over before it truly began. Nor would there be any football based scholarship offers.

Being the last day of school, the day was more of a social get-together for the senior classes to say their goodbyes, sign year books, and make promises for the future. This passed quickly and the graduation ceremony that followed flashed by as well. Only Gary's mom came to celebrate with him though the whole Patrick's brood were there to cheer for Emma.