Alice's parents insisted on taking tons of pictures when Aaron showed up at her house in his family's limo.
He strapped on the corsage made of white roses and blue hydrangeas that matched his date's dress beforehand and she made sure to show it off in a bunch of different poses.
She smiled dazzlingly for the camera but Aaron's expression was stone cold. How many pictures did two people need? He was tired already and they hadn't even left yet.
"Do you have sparkling cider?" Alice asked after stretching and settling into the limo.
"Yes, it's in the cooler to your left."
She thanked him and spent the rest of the ride sipping her glass in silence.
This was exactly why Aaron had chosen her twice. She was easy to please and had zero interest in him.
It was annoying that he had to live such a dull night over again though. Alice would socialize with her friends and he would sit off to the side of the room alone with nothing to do.
Maybe he could text Keeley as he sat there instead of after the dance like he planned.
They arrived at the hotel and ascended the grand staircase to get to the ballroom.
The prom's theme was 'A Night in Hollywood' so a red carpet was rolled out at the entrance with a backdrop of the Hollywood sign where students could get their pictures taken.
After walking down the red carpet, Alice snaked her arm around his waist and struck yet another pose as the flash went off in their faces.
She released him immediately afterward and gestured for him to follow her so she could show off her date to her friends.
Aaron was in for a long night. Small talk was second nature to him after two lifetimes of dealing with the rich and famous but that didn't mean he had to like it.
He played his part well, which pleased Alice. Aaron's job was to be her arm candy so other girls—and more importantly, the fiancé that had been arranged for her since she was twelve—would be jealous.
Apparently he didn't care for the arrangement and had a girlfriend on the side.
Alice appeared nonchalant about it so Aaron couldn't tell if she cared about her fiancé or if it was simply a case of wounded pride.
It didn't really matter to him one way or another. He was here and he would survive the next few tedious hours just like he had before.
===
Max was right not to worry about the extraction. Keeley had been knocked out and changed into a cheap magenta gown that looked like something an engineer's daughter would buy hours ago.
The tranquilizer would be wearing off soon so all they had to do was give her the drugs he purchased off the black market.
She would be as high as a kite—there was a decent chance she wouldn't have a clue what was going on the entire time.
Lacy sipped a glass of strawberry lemonade, disinterested in the catchy music playing. He approached her and reported in after reading the update from the mercenary.
"She's waiting in room 522. When do you want to go?"
"We need to establish our presence here first. Let's go talk to some more people and dance to a few songs. We can slip away one at a time when no one's looking later."
Max admired her logic. She may be obsessive but her cunning was second to none.
He nodded and they set to work, waving at or stopping to chat with various acquaintances for the next thirty minutes.
They even greeted Aaron and Alice to deflect suspicion, acting like everything was normal.
He was colder than ever towards Lacy, barely acknowledging her existence at all, and Max could feel her blood boiling next to him. Keeley was really in for it.
He actually felt sorry for the girl. If only she hadn't attracted Aaron's attention, incurring Lacy's wrath.
From everything he had seen it wasn't even her fault. She tried to stay away but Aaron kept coming onto her no matter what avoidance tactics she used.
Unfortunately, Max had to sacrifice her if he was going to get Lacy to give up on her fruitless obsession and be with him.
After four songs of dancing right in middle of the mosh pit where everyone could see them, Max and Lacy moved to the refreshment table and snuck out a few minutes apart.
She knocked on the door of room 522 and Max yanked her inside abruptly before anyone else could see.
She rubbed her wrist and pulled a face. "You didn't have to be so rough."
"Sorry, I didn't want to risk anyone seeing inside. I relieved the mercenary when I came up. She's totally out of it but you might want to disguise your voice and put on this mask to be safe."
Max handed her what looked like a masquerade mask and put on a clown mask of his own.
"What on earth are you wearing?!"
"This drug is a doozy. First it's a hallucinogen, then once the visions wear off it makes the user feverish before finally knocking them out. The mask is to scare her. Her memories will probably be really hazy after this and it'll be easier if she thinks it's all just a nightmare. I don't want her to think of us as part of it in case she gets suspicious," Max explained. "Smart, right?"
He wanted to get the pictures taken and have them leave quickly because he wasn't sure how long the visions lasted before the aphrodisiac component kicked in.
He needed enough time to get Lacy back downstairs and out of the way before sending Aaron a text with a burner phone.
Max was willing to bet he would run up right away and happily comply with the drugged girl's wishes. Based on everything he had seen Aaron do when Keeley was involved, there was no way he'd ever let her go once they had sex.
Lacy, unaware of the second half of his plan, was impressed.
"You're surprisingly thorough."
He briefly lifted the mask to flash a grin at her.
"I try. Here, you take the camera. I'll scatter some pills and put the bottle on the bedside table so it looks more realistic."
Keeley stirred on the bed. It was show time.