Prom Dreams Side Story
Volume 2: Randy Goodwin - “Friendship”

by QZProductions

August 2014

"Hey, Randy! You gonna help run the yearbook club again this year?"

With a grin, Randy looked up from his tray of spaghetti and meatballs. "You bet!" He stuffed a forkful of pasta into his mouth, swallowing before continuing. "As long as there's a yearbook to be made, Ol' Randy's gonna put his magic touch to it!"

One of the boys sitting at the table chuckled. "Good to know! You did great job on last year's, after all."

"Happy to be of service!" Randy took another bite. "...But it's way too early to be talking about the yearbook, don't you think? Right now, I'm more concerned with catching up on the juicy scoops I've missed over the summer!"

The first boy cocked an eyebrow. "And by 'scoops', you mean 'gossip', right?"

Randy shrugged. "I guess you could call it that, yeah." He reached underneath his chair and pulled out a notepad before removing the pencil that had been tucked away behind his ear. "...Speaking of which, you boys don't happen to have anything good to give me, would you? Any scandalous secrets? Any new girlfriends - or boyfriends, I won't judge - I need to be aware of?"

The other boys at the table groaned. "Seriously, Randy?" the second boy said with a roll of his eyes, "It's not even the second day of school, and you're already going full paparazzi on us...!"

Just then, a series of giggles from a nearby table caught the three students' attention. Turning their heads, they saw a group of about four of their female classmates huddled around - something, apparently - and that something was apparently interesting enough to completely capture their fancy, if the way they were running at the mouth was any indication. Intrigued, Randy grinned once more.

"...Hold that thought," he said as he rose from his seat, "we may just have a story unfolding right in front of us!"

The first boy grimaced slightly. "Come on, man, don't be a weir... " However, Randy was already on his way over to the other table before he could finish. "...do..."

The second boy sighed and shook his head. "Give it up, dude. He's a lost cause." He returned his attention to his spaghetti.

---

"What!? You transferred from East City!?"

"No way! How'd you wind up here from a dump like that?"

Squirming in his seat, a dark-haired boy gulped as he found himself barraged with questions from his fellow students - a gaggle of girls, no less. "Uh, um, well, I guess I just..."

"Hee hee, he's kinda cute, getting all flustered like that," whispered a brunette girl to her red-haired friend.

"I know, right?" replied the red-head, "You should totally ask him if he's single."

"Hey, no fair!" cried a girl with blonde hair who had overheard their mutterings, "I was gonna ask him that!"

"Well, tough, I'm gonna ask him first!" The brunette lightly shoved the blonde girl aside and leaned over the new boy. "So tell us - you have a girlfriend back at East City? Huh? Huh?"

At this, the transfer student appeared to grow pale, and his blue eyes widened nervously. "...I... uh..." His gaze lowered to the ground. "I... um... I don't... I don't really want to talk about -- "

"Aww, come on, why not?" whined a girl with braided hair. "We just wanna get to know you better, that's all!"

"Yeah, tell us!" said the red-head excitedly. "I'm dying to know!"

The boy sank deeper in his chair, his body tensing and his arms beginning to shake. "I... I..."

"Whoa, hey, ladies, lay off, will you?" called a voice from nearby, "He said he didn't want to talk about it, didn't he?"

All eyes, including the mortified new boy's, shot over to Randy, who looked over the group with a look of disapproval. The blonde girl let out a sigh of annoyance.

"Geez, Randy, way to ruin our fun," she said huffily.

"Yeah, way to call the kettle black!" added the brunette, placing a hand on her hip. "Everyone knows you're the nosiest out of all of us!"

Randy smirked and adjusted his glasses. "True, but here's the thing - I know when to stop prying into other people's business." He moved closer to the group, causing the girls to back away slightly. "Now how about you all give the poor guy some room to breathe? I dunno if you've noticed, but he looks like he's about to pass out."

The four girls looked back towards their new classmate, finally appearing to notice his discomfort. Then, with a hint of shame, they shuffled back to their own table, muttering to each other along the way. When they had left, the dark-haired boy sighed deeply, slumping over in his seat.

"Thank God," he said, "I thought they'd never leave..."

"You're welcome, buddy!" Randy walked to the seat beside him. "Mind if I sit here?"

"Are you gonna start asking me stuff, too?"

"Eventually! ...But I'll wait until you're up for it. Promise."

The new boy cracked a smile at that. "Heh... thanks for that." He looked up at Randy. "Go ahead and have a seat, I guess."

"All right, then!" Randy pulled out the chair and sat down. "Since you're new, I guess I ought to introduce myself, huh?" He extended his hand. "The name's Randy. Randy Goodwin. I've been here a while, so if you need help settling in, I'm your guy to go to."

The transfer student blinked, as though surprised by Randy's hospitality. Then, with another small smile, he took his hand and shook it.

"...I'm Kyle," he said. "Kyle Mason."

---

November 2015

Randy removed the lid of his coffee cup, watching as the steam rose into the frigid autumn air. He tore open a few cups of creamer, added them to the drink, and began to stir. Once the coffee had reached a color he was satisfied with, he began replacing the lid; however, he stopped as he caught a glance of his friend's sullen face at the other end of the table.

"...Kyle?" he asked, his brow furrowed into a look of concern. "Are you gonna drink your coffee, or what?"

Kyle startled a bit, blinking at Randy before taking his own drink in a gloved hand. He shook his head and smiled wearily. "...Sorry, Randy, I kinda spaced out for a second there."

The younger boy finished replacing his drink's lid. "You've been doing that a lot lately," he said with a slight laugh. "...But I guess I can't blame you. You've got a lot on your mind lately."

Kyle scoffed in amusement. "Wow, really? What makes you think that?" He took a sip of his coffee, then let out a heavy sigh. "In all seriousness, though, having you around helps a ton. It's nice having a friendly face pick me up from the police station every damn week."

"You're exaggerating, dude," said Randy. "It's more like every other week. But - you know I don't mind doing it, right?" He took a drink. "I know you'd do the same for me if I was in your shoes."

For a moment, Kyle remained silent, pondering his words a bit. Finally, he spoke again. "Randy... if you still feel guilty about all of this, I -- "

"Kyle, that's not what I'm trying to say." He adjusted his glasses, then leaned onto the table. "I'm trying to get past this in my own way. You were the one who survived that night - you've got a hell of a lot more to work through than I ever will." He smiled. "So you worry about you, all right?"

"...Mm." Kyle shifted uncomfortably, his gaze fixed on his drink. "Thanks, Randy. You're a better friend than I deserve."

Randy frowned. "Whoa, what's this 'deserve' business about? You're the victim here! If anyone 'deserves' a helping hand, it's you, man!"

The older boy's expression suddenly darkened, as though a shadow of dread had been cast over his very being. "How can I deserve your help," he said quietly, "when I can't even be honest with you about all of this...?"

At his friend's sudden change in mood, Randy's eyes widened. "W-What?" He leaned closer to Kyle. "Hey, what are you talking about? How haven't you been honest with me?" He inhaled sharply at a disturbing realization. "Kyle... you're not hiding something from the police, are you?"

"Even if I told them, they wouldn't believe me." Kyle's cup began to shake slightly in his hand. "Randy... what if... what if I told you that everyone - Maggie, Neela, Brooke, Dolores, all of them - that they all died because of something we can't explain...?"

"S...Something we..." Randy shook his head, growing agitated. "Kyle, you're not making any sense! The hell are you saying, that magic was involved!?"

"If I was," Kyle shot a glare at him, his blue eyes narrowed into an expression that was deathly serious, "would you call me crazy?"

For once, Randy found himself at a loss for words. Truth be told, he was terrified - it wasn't like Kyle to spout off nonsense like this, not even after his brush with a trauma that would drive anyone mad. To him, it could only mean one of two things: he had either finally had some sort of psychotic break... or something unnatural really did happen that fateful prom night.

Noticing his friend's nervous expression, Kyle shut his eyes, relaxing his tense body and shaking his head. "...I'm sorry. I - I didn't mean to scare you, Randy." He glanced back at him. "You're probably worried that I really am going crazy, but - I swear I'm not."

After a moment of awkward silence, Randy sat back in his seat again. "I believe you, Kyle. Don't worry." He took another drink of his coffee. "I know you're traumatized, but I don't think you're crazy."

"Randy..."

"The important thing is that the police know you didn't do it - that I know you didn't do it. Whatever else may have happened that night doesn't change that fact - even if it was something as unbelievable as magic." He smiled. "...All that to say, I'll try to keep an open mind, whatever you decide to tell me."

Kyle blinked, as though in disbelief. Then, relieved, he laid his elbow on the table and buried his face in his arm.

"I was right," he said, his voice muffled by the table, "I really don't deserve a friend like you, haha..."

"Yes you do, shut up." Randy stood, then, in an attempt to lighten the mood once more, flicked his friend's ear. "Come on, it's getting late - let's get you home, okay?"

"Ow!" Kyle shot up. "Okay, okay, I'm coming, geez..."

"And don't worry about spilling the details right now, all right? You tell me on your own time!"

Kyle scratched the back of his head. "...Yeah, all right." He then followed his friend to his car, wondering just how much he was going to owe him this time.