daybreakacademy | End-of-Year Prom

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End-of-Year Prom

END OF YEAR PROM

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Every year, as the school year comes to a close, Daybreak Academy holds its Prom, an immense gala for the students to dress in their finest clothing, dance, mingle, and make merry. This year’s prom theme, selected by the outgoing student council, is “The Unyielding Spirit of Man”. Held in Soleil’s performance center, the enormous stage has been pulled out to make a huge dance floor, with the seating rearranged around the floor on all sides for onlookers to mingle, eat, and enjoy the festivities.

In keeping with the theme, the hall is decorated with tributes to mankind’s ingenuity, with various exhibits tastefully marked with museum-like plaques surrounding it. Exhibits celebrating all manner of inventions from fire, to the written word, to spellcraft, runecraft, and flight, all are commemorated here.

Of course, no prom, or indeed any Daybreak event would be complete without food. While each exhibit serves as an educational tribute to mankind’s accomplishments, each station is also a themed food dish. The tribute to fire, for example, hosts a variety of roasts and barbecued meat of the finest cuts, while the agriculture exhibit holds a bevy of fresh fruits, vegetables, and salads. Some of these pairings are a bit of a stretch (the tribute to flight, for example, holds sandwiches and peanuts, a reference, perhaps to airline food) but all are made with the finest of ingredients.

A - So about that airline food?
Mingling at the banquet table is a good way to be social without worrying about stepping on anyone’s toes. While proms and the herald may dull the appetite for some, it would be a waste to let all the food go untouched.

While there are Faculty and Grad students volunteering to keep these particular drinks spike-free, they cannot be watching it the whole time. However, if one plans to do this - do not get caught.

B - Dance! Boogie Wonderland!
As part of the theme, the variety of music has expanded greatly from the usual prom fare - long as it’s danceable, it’s being played, and sometimes the results are jarring going from a disco classic to a regal waltz, or a crooner love song to a bouncy k-pop chart topper that will get stuck in one’s head. Can you keep up with the mad pace? It’s enough to get even the most seasoned dancer hopping mad.

Or will it be viva la music revolution to get some sanity on the dance floor?

C - A Collection of Wallflowers
Maybe socializing isn’t your thing, or dancing isn’t the kind of activity you enjoy. There’s plenty of seating around the room for you to shuffle into a corner and spend the evening holed up with a plate of food. And for those more interested in poking and prodding at the exhibits, there’s a few little themed trinkets and prizes hidden away for the keen-eyed. Elegant wands that produce sparkles, bubbles and smoke, miniscule instruments, sparklers and colorful torches that never go out (and notably can’t set anything on fire) - all made to produce flashy effects, to spice up your experience on the dance floor - or someone’s experience, anyway.

D - Wine and Beer
As is typical of Daybreak, there’s an open bar with rich, well-aged ales and wines from all over Europe. And it is, of course, open to just about everyone. After all, this is France! For those who want to take a bit of an edge off the night, their worries about what is to come, or just generally be more sociable, there is plenty of libation to help you get there. Just be careful, nobody’s going to be counting your drinks but you.

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[There's a small huff of amusement, then a sip.]

Dunno if I can. You know I've always wanted to expose you for being a fraud.

I think your standards for fraud are a little low if 'uses empty turns of phrases sometimes' qualifies.

[ Not like everyone else in clase couldn't simply do the same. James takes some of his drink as well. He's not feeling at all seriously argumentative about this. Really, he's beginning to relax for the first time in days. ]

[That's getting a shrug.]

I seem to recall you just having said something about only going up from here.

Ouch. Using my own words against me already.

[ Not that James is sure how he'd bullshit and fraud his way like this through literally anything but an English paper, but... ]

Maybe I should ask you to dance before you obliverate me.

[ Some things are easier to say in half-jest. ]

[He pauses for a second, tensing and then forcing himself to relax.]

Maybe? Good luck figuring that one out then.

You... really won't make anything easy on me, huh...

[ Not that he expected Keith to, but... Well. It's awkward and he doesn't like being nervous. So instead of dwelling on it too much he finishes his drink and sets the glass aside. ]

Would you like to dance with me, just once?

[Though this question had been easy enough to anticipate, it still makes Keith bite his lip for a few seconds before replying. His eyes stay on the dance floor, rather than looking at James.]

You already know I'll never make anything easy for you.

[Just reminding James of this first because that's easier. He lets out a breath, holding onto his punch glass a bit tighter than needed,]

...I still don't know how to dance real well. [....] And no, I don't want lessons. Already tried that.

You--

[ James catches himself before questioning this lessons thing further. He's seen Bowser advertise those on the network, he just didn't think Keith would... Just like with the suit earlier, he is floored by how much effort Keith put in. ]

I don't want to dance to be flashy anyway, I just want to dance with you. I'd prefer a slow song myself.

[That's getting another short silence. If he wasn't already holding a cup, he'd be fidgeting with his sleeves. Moment of truth, huh? Well, in truth, it does make him relax a little, knowing that the dance can be whatever mess it ends up being. I just want to dance with you is....

Awkward as all hell, given the sheer number of people around. He can't deny that at all. But he sets the glass down on the table.]

Seem to recall telling you that I don't want to dance.

[Just. Putting that out there. Despite all the weird magical shenanigans going on all around them, the concept of going to prom and dancing still rings of normalcy. The kind of normalcy that they're not gonna see for a while because of the Herald. Keit Keith glances at James with a faint-ish smile.]

One slow dance sounds okay though.

[ This evening is going too well and James briefly wonders if he should be bracing himself for some major disaster later in the night. Worrying about such things is pointless however and he might as well enjoy the moment while it lasts. And what a moment it is. ]

Thank you. Let's hope the playlist has mercy with the next song then. This is... really unconventional prom music.

[Well given that this is the current song....]

Yeah, I gathered as much.

[He'll be glancing away from the dance floor to the stage where the playlist is being formulated then sighs. He'll cover the ear that's closer to a speaker, actually.]

Yeah, I'm... a little disturbed, to be honest. Some people seem to enjoy it at least.

[ Some people just also happen to be weirdos, in James' opinion. The Bollywood tunes might be funny but they're actively aggravating to listen to when you're waiting for your chance to slowdance.

James is basically holding his breath by the time the next song starts with soft piano keys. ]

... oh thank god.

[ Alright. So this is it then. James straightens up and holds his hand out to Keith wordlessly. ]

[The Bollywood track is a blessing and a curse. As much as it gives him a headache, the second it's over and the next song is something much slower and gentler, a nervous tension slowly starts to flood his body.

Keith watches James move away from the wall, his hand outstretched and waiting like it's as natural as breathing. Again, it's hard not to feel like the world has become a fundamentally different place from what it was a year ago, despite the fact that every year millions of people his age go through this exact moment.

The cliches like sweaty palms and butterflies in stomachs exist for a reason though, even if Keith never really anticipated feeling anything like that over one fucking dance. Breathing out, he peels himself off the wall and grabs James' hand, decisively. It's just a dance. He's been nervous about much, much worse.]

....let's go over there.

[There being a slightly less crowded spot on the dance floor, partly obscured by the main stage.]

[ The second time they've held hands in public now, and James' heart definitely still flutters at it. His attraction to Keith had been a difficult thing, confusing and untamed and not entirely founded in sanity - or so he'd thought. But looking at Keith in his suit, with his flower and his dance lessons.... James is not hard-pressed to say he made a wrong choice in asking him out. Keith's willingness to try so hard for this even when it might not be an actual date... That means something, something optimistic and warm.

They reach the corner in silence and James doesn't waste any words either when he wraps his arm around Keith's waist. He's never danced with a boy before, but he assumes he should lead here, simply because he's got more experience with prom dances. ]

[The silence is oddly more suffocating with the soft music playing. His grip tightens on James' hand, partly out of worsening nervousness, partly because he doesn't want to get separated in the crowd. When they reach the corner and James steps in close, his eyes widen a little with surprise.]

Oh...

[It's stated softly. easily lost in the background noise of music and other people at the dance. He thought maybe this would just be a hand on waist deal, rather than a half embrace, and it makes him look away from the other boy's face immediately. That's... really close, isn't it. Swallowing dryly, he tentatively puts his hand on James' shoulder,]

Edited 2019-06-28 22:33 (UTC)

[ Keith isn't pushing him away, so this is truly happening. About half of James' running monologue just consists of convincing himself of this fact. Who would have ever thought they'd ever be here? All those proms that James went to and never missed Keith at even once, and now they're taking their first few shaky steps to a melodramatic love song playing.

How the tables have turned, really.

James isn't exactly a great dancer either, but he's secure in a simple slow waltz that he's now leading Keith into. Keeping the step order in mind does very little to distract him from how close together he has drawn them. It really is a first crush all over again. Dating seems all new with Keith and all of James' experience fades into meaninglessness. ]

[As James leads them into the waltz, Keith isn't sure where to put his focus on when everything feels like it might just blow up in his face. He never went to prom back when they were in Arizona, never had even the slightest inkling to be curious about it, even when it was the only thing everyone else in class could talk about. Girls sending each other pictures of their prom dresses, talking qbout how they were going to style their hair, guys talking about who they were going to ask to prom, arranging limos all while Keith himself would be staring out the window wishing he was somewhere else.

And now he is somewhere else. In Soleil, a continent away and with a whole new perspective on the nature of the world. He's no longer fighting the other kids at the home for use of the internet, no longer going through any and every webbsite he could for information on secret cryptids like himself.

He's found a new place for himself here at Daybreak, a new space to call 'home' and for better or for worse, someone new to share that space with. No wonder James wanted to go to prom, huh? It's something that's in his definition of normal -- something soothing, and it's a moment before Keith realizes he's been staring at his smiling face for... for probably too long now, and he looks away again. When the orange flower proves to not be an easy place to look either, Keith bites his lip.

The chorus of the song begins to play though, and the romantic nature of him has him wanting to flinch away, but the soft, swaying movements of the waltz are soothing in a strange kind of way. He should have expected that. People like to dance for a reason. Moving together, being close enough to feel the warmth of another person. It's...

Is all this what being a normal teen must feel like?

His fingers tighten a little around James' shoulder.]

[ James isn't sure why Keith is putting his fingers into a harder grip, but he squeezes his hand in response. Reassuring, he hopes. What is or isn't reassuring for Keith is always a bit of a mystery.

Part of James just really wants to pull Keith in for a full embrace, lean his head on his shoulder and disappear in him for a moment. The harmony between them is fragile at best and false at worst, he knows that. Tomorrow, they'll be back to preparing for certain war. Tomorrow, they'll be back to having clashing moral opinions, tomorrow they'll be terrified for each other all over again and express it in all the wrong ways.

Prom is saccharine by comparison. A world for the two of them on the dance floor. Their selves all fixed up, outward and inward. The perfect sweet Keith who'd slow-dance at a school ball is not a Keith who's ever existed before James prompted him to. A fleeting creature. James is proud of it, yet a little scared as well. He wants to hold onto him a little longer and a little tighter.

But he doesn't. He just keeps smiling and dancing, gently spinning in their private little corner. Only a long few moments later, he dares to lean his head forward, gently bringing their foreheads together. ]

Thanks, really.

[ Only a whisper under the music. ]

[When James presses his forehead against Keith's, he stops moving his feet entirely. It only occurs to him a moment later that he's holding his breath while standing still, looking up at James. He breathes in and out slowly, trying to get used to this new breach of his personal space, this new form of intimacy, but his mind is already spinning, tripping and trying to pick itself back up.]

...Cosmo.

[His voice comes out a little choked. He clears his throat to try and get it back to normal. The song isn't over, and Keith hates that it isn't. He wants to have been able to keep it together for just one damn song, but James is just so smooth and polished, and it's just all too easy to feel out of place for it.]

I owe you for the wolf.

Edited 2019-06-29 00:42 (UTC)

[ And with that they're standing still, half in an embrace, heads close together. James immediately misses the distracting movement of his feet, marvels at how much more nervous this static positioning makes him feel. ]

I know, but this... is more than you owed. [ Not just the dance, but also all the efforts Keith had gone through in preparing for this night. ] I'm really happy.

[ In theory, he just told Keith that his debt is paid off, James knows. He simply hopes that, after all they'd said to one another earlier, this has become more than a depth for Keith as well. ]

[Time seems to distort and slow down with them as they stand still.

I'm really happy.

It's hard not to wonder many times James has said that to people back in their "normal" lives in this kind of context. Even harder not to wonder how effortless it must've been for the person who caused it. Keith lets go of James' hand, needing just one less point of contact.]

I can't keep doing this forever, you know.

I know.

[ James' smile doesn't falter as he says this, even though he can tell the mood is shifting for Keith. The giddiness still doesn't fade as easily. ]

This was always meant to be a one night deal. I just cherish that you did it at all.

[ The song fades out into something else in the background and that is just as well. Those two minutes dancing with each other are a memory James won't ever let go of. Just as he is reluctant to let go of Keith's waist just yet. ]

If you want to go home now, that's fine by me.

[There's a deep breath.]

Yeah. I need to get to get out of here.

[He takes his hand off James' shoulder.]

You can stay if you want.

[ Now, finally, James also lets go of Keith. ]

No, I'm coming with you. We did say we were going early and I've done all I wanted.

Might be your last prom.

[It's stated a little quietly. The reminder is equally as applicable to him, and it makes the fact that they never made it through to the end of a single song feel all the more ridiculous. Keith looks away, starting to feel frustrated with himself.]

... just enjoy it.

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