Blue Royalty: New Blood

[benitz786]

Annoyed… surprised… both? Honestly, Jessica didn’t know exactly how she felt as she walked inside, leaving Malachi outside with no want nor need to talk to him again for the duration of the party. All Jessica wanted to do was to spend time with her kids - dancing with them and making memories. There was a promise Jessica had always made to herself… to be there for her kids. To be present in their lives - a sheer contrast to her own childhood in which she was often left alone to her own devices. While her mother or father likely would never say it: Jessica knew that both she and Anna were born simply to serve as the picture of the perfect family. Jessica was meant to be there for pictures, photoshoots, and be the model daughter as her parents took the political world by storm. Maybe… Jess had been selfish leaving Anna to do it herself when she was 8… and clearly, that toll had made an impression on her sister’s future actions but that was something of the past. Long story short - her childhood would not be the one Jess gave her babies.

Finding herself alone, even for a mere second, Jess put her head in her hands as she took a deep breath - calming herself from what occurred. Her mind was spinning… and for a moment… she found her memory going back to the last time she saw Kai in person. Sometimes she hated her brain… she hated the fact that thinking about a memory brought back the exact feelings she had during that time. She hated that the thought of Kai instantly brought back the numbing pain she felt when his 18-year-old counterpart had told her that he was using her. She hated that seeing him brought herself back to the hopeful young girl she was thinking that they could have a second… even a fcking third chance and, instead, Kai breaking her ever fcking chance he had.

As much as Jess would always keep that man in a… place in her heart… Malachi Azure was not someone she wanted around her… and he was definitely not a man she wanted around her family.

"Thank you for letting her stay and have fun for a while. She doesn’t get to be around kids her own age very often.”

And there it was again. That stupid voice bring up all the pain she had experienced over the decades. Opening her eyes, Jess moved her head - not making any effort to turn towards him as she picked up a few of Aidan’s toys from the floor and moved them towards the counter. Her kids had truly made a mess out of Jez’ house, but usually, they were pretty good at picking up after themselves. However, that was clearly neglected with the impromptu party. With that done, Jess moved to her phone - plugging the charger in so that she could… at the very least give her husband a heads up about the… well… guest.

“Right,” Jess muttered, not giving Kai any more than that. What was the point? Jess had learned her lesson that any conversation with Kai only ended with her hurt. It wasn’t worth it, and honestly, it was only making her more annoyed that he had followed her when she clearly made the notion that she didn’t want to interact with him fairly clear. Here was the issue, however. He kept talking. And not only that - his next words were one’s that only seemed to be that of convenience. I’m Sorry. Like that would do anything. Part of her felt anger at that statement… maybe it was that her mind had just recalled every bad moment between them with intense detail, but she felt frustration bubbling up within her as she let out a frustrated laugh. “Really? Kai? Sorry? I think we’ve both learned that your sorry’s mean nothing when they’re for me. A sorry doesn’t…fcking fix every time you’ve screwed me over, Kai. Fck… God.”

Yes… Jessica was angry, and she found herself slamming a stupid toy car down on the counter. “I told you one fcking thing when you saw me last time… to just keep me and my family out of it… because we were done. Because I was done taking your sht every time you were willing to serve it on a damn platter. Even if you didn’t fcking know I was here, why are you bothering Jezebel? Especially right now when she doesn’t have time to deal with it when she’s pregnant and dealing with Jordan being in the bloody hospital. Do you truly only fcking care about yourself? If you want to see Val. Call her. She has a phone… but no… instead you just decide to bloody show-up and here we are again, another useless sorry that means nothing.”

She was… to say the very least… fcking frustrated with the man standing in front of her. Frustrated that she was once again stuck in a room with him. Over the years, every time Jessica had left Kai, she hadn’t said anything to him. No words… no fcking fight. He didn’t deserve her words… he didn’t deserve to see her breaking when he shattered her heart at 18, or at 21, or even when she was 24. He didn’t deserve her sympathy when she was 27 trying to take down a corrupt dictator, however, she still gave it to him and protected him… hurting herself once again in the process.

Now here she was, a decade since the last time she saw him, feeling all the frustration she kept at bay… coming back and she couldn’t stop herself. “Just… take your daughter, Kai, and go. Leave me and my family and Paige and Kiara fcking out of it. I don’t need your sh!t and they certainly don…”

And then, Jess realized what was coming out of her mouth, and she found her lips closing… her frustration (for the most part) dissipating, and for a momentary second, Jessica just looked into his eyes realizing her mistake and searched for a way to fix it. “…just… leave me out of it. I’m going to go change and dance with my kids.”

Sh!t, Sh!t, Sh!t. For a second, her mind was once again racing - but this time for another reason as she walked up towards Jezebel’s room to look for a dress she could borrow… Sh!t.

@Littlefeets - Kai
@astxrism - Ya kids mentioned still
@CerealKiller - Mah Homie Val mentioned

[Caticorn]

---

Athena didn’t really think much of it when Luna grabbed their hand. She was their date and that’s what dates do, right? Noticing that Luna had stopped walking, Athena stopped walking as well. As she looked them in they eyes, they immediately noticed how blue hers truly were and how much of a stark contrast they were to the dark brown colour of their own. “Yeah?” They responded as she called their name and barely a second later, she kissed them. It was quick, but still enough to send them into a state of momentary perplexity and before they could say anything, she was already walking towards the bottom of her driveway. The driver, who had exited the vehicle a few moments earlier, was holding the door open for them.

“Luna, wait!” They called out to her, catching up to her before she got to the bottom of the driveway. “Why did you do that?” They asked her. “Not that it was bad or anything, I just…why?” They quickly backtracked as they realized how their first question could have come off. Stop talking, Athena. You’re just going to make it worse. They scolded themself as they bit the inside of their cheek, deciding wait until Luna spoke before they said anything else.

---

@Kristi - Luna

[Kbail]

---

“That sounds like it’s going to be an interesting storytime.” Elijah wondered why Richard said “stranger” instead of “date” but maybe he was actually uncomfortable with having another date and just didn’t tell him. After they both got in the car he started driving to Sammy’s house. “So how do you feel about, you know, being on a throuple date? It must feel weird.” He asked. Finally the car stopped in front of the house, which he had to admit, he always liked Sammy’s house. Elijah leaned back in his seat. “So, we’re here at our next dates house.” Soon after leaving the car he rang the doorbell.

@LunaticLeviTheSecond - Richard

@raviola - Sammy

[Ouijaloveletters]

Well, that was embarrassing. Maybe he was just seeing things. Tyler blushed in embarrassment when Karen laughed, lightly nudging her. “Yeah, both Mia and I surf. Our dad taught us to swim as soon as we could walk, then soon after, how to surf. We practically grew up in the water.” He nodded when she said she loved animals. “Do you have a favorite? I like stingrays. They’re cool to swim with.”
@Kbail - Karen

[Kbail]

---

What Adonis said next made her extremely irritated. “What are you talking about? Of course he’s interested in me, that’s why he’s my date.” She had to admit, it looked a bit strange that he was on the other side of the room but they mutually agreed to talk to other people. Why was Adonis judging when he barely even knew his date…okay she didn’t really know hers either. Whatever. “Maddie could you go get a snack for three of us, the person handing out the cookies hate me and probs won’t give me a thing.” Oh her name was Maddie. That’s a pretty cute name. And she was pretty. “I wonder what he wants to talk to me about.” Destiny thought, but now it seemed like Maddie was Mad y because he wanted to talk to her. She started wondering why she even came up to them again when she saw their lips meeting in a passionate way. All she could do was look away and say eww to herself. Adonis was surely doing this on purpose. I mean, of course, it was Adonis. When she looked at them again, Maddie was gone and he proceeded to ask her a question about Mason with a smug look on his face. “Mason is just a past crush.” That was not true. At all. In fact she was trying to subconsiously find him throughout the night. “And i’m doing great right now. Actually i wonder how you are doing from the party I saw you at last time. You looked really drunk.”

@Kristi

@benitz786 Mason mentioned

[raviola]

Sam was ready for prom, all dressed up at her house after forcing her little brother to help her out because their actual dress and makeup wearing sibling was getting ready with their- uh- friend. Garmie never really understood what was going on between them, partially because Hera tends to make alot of things pretty turbid. Anyway, all gar knew was that if her sibling was happy, she was too. Daiane seemed like a nice girl, a tad awkward, but nice.

Speaking of being happy for other people, Elijah seemed to be taking an interest in this new guy, Richard. Kind of a strange name in Sammy’s opinion, just because when she heard it, she imagined a CEO of an organization, or someone’s sugar d4ddy. Did their new situation make her upset? Honestly, a little. Gar’s heart told her that she and Elijah belong together, with no one else in the way. Yet, her brain reminded her that she too had a bit of conquests going on at the moment… The brush of the soft lips of another man still lingered on hers, and she could still feel the gentle tug of a minty-breathed mouth on her neck, hand on her hip to pull her closer. So maybe she shouldn’t feel that jealous!

Plus, she’d seen this Richard around a few times before, and he was hot. I mean, his stare was magnetic, she’d never been so tantalized by electric blue eyes. Sorry Elijah! Totally didn’t just say that! Actually, you like him too, so we can just gush about it together. Sammy thought as she waited impatiently for the boys to arrive. Yes, this means exactly what it implies. THROUPLE DATEEEEEEEE. Sammy could not lie. She was ecstatic. Not only one man but two? Mama likeeeeee .

“Sam, stop salivating over your prom dates, and realize that the doorbell just rung.” Atticus so rudely interrupted her train of thought, sitting on the couch like a good-for-nothing orphan who wastes space in this household. “Open the door!!” Sammy exclaimed, then rolling her eyes. “Good-for-nothing orphans, am I right?” She joked, acting as if it totally made logical sense that she was the only black person in the family, and they were raised by lesbians since as long as they could remember. “For sure, imported product of capitalism.” Atty snapped back. Danggggggg. They be wylin.

Trying to disipline the smile on her face from her brother’s dark humor, she opened the door with a colgate commercial grin. “Hello!” Her golden dress glistened in the setting sunlight, hugging her pronounced curves that brought all the boys to the yard.

@Kbail @LunaticLeviTheSecond

[astxrism]

---

This used to be something that was normal for the two - telling each other everything even if it wasn’t something they were proud of, knowing mostly everything and now… After what it felt like a lifetime, after not talking for such a long time, it didn’t feel strange. There were still things they needed to get over, Phoebe was still disappointed her sister acted in such a way and believed Phoebs would do the thing that made them fight in the first place but she missed this… She needed this. It wasn’t the same living for a few months without someone you used to spend all of your time with, not the same not talking to them at all. Of course there were times when some of them might not like what the other has to say for many different reasons and usually Phoebe would be the one to bring up something disappointing or not… appropriate, so to hear that coming from Amie was… Well, you can get it from Phoebe’s reaction.

At first, Amie’s story was not that bad… She got a recommendation letter… Good for her, at least one of them was good at life and Phoebe couldn’t help but hurt a little knowing there was not a single chance for her to go but she couldn’t express that because of what came out of Amie’s mouth next. ”You… What?” And it was one of those situations in which you didn’t know if you should laugh or be a little concerned. I mean… She broke someone’s… Maybe Phoebe would’ve been concerned if Amie didn’t tell her how it happened because she would just assume but hearing the whole story and who it happened to… How could she not burst into laughter? ”I wish there was a video of it… I could imagine he wants nothing to do with you now- But why… Did you go to a party with him?” Fair question. Doesn’t he dislike her or something? ”This whole story with Fin is just so weird because yes, you diiiiid kiss him and yes eeeeveryone saw it. I guess you’re lucky people though it was me… That’s why no one was giving you sh!t about it.”

No… Phoebe didn’t want to make Amelia feel guilty. If it was a problem she would’ve never pretended she was the one with him in that photo… No matter how much of an idiot Amie was that day and a few weeks after it, Phoebe would do anything to protect her. She also wouldn’t hide how she feels about things she does which you saw when they had a fight at the wedding and now… When she heard what her twin has been doing while she was living with Julian. And she wants Phoebe to believe that everything she revealed was a joke? Oh honey… ”God, Amie… With Quinn?” Look, there was nothing wrong with Quinn. He was a really good looking guy, that Phoebe couldn’t deny and if he wasn’t mean to her sister in the past maybe she would’ve taken her chance with him but… Amelia? After everything? ”He could’ve kidnapped you and tortured you and took advantage of you or… Or you could’ve died on that bike. What if he wanted that, huh? Isn’t he another person that for some reason doesn’t like you? How could you be soooo stupid?” She started, still angry but more concerned… Like Amie was after their first party when Phoebe got into that accident?

”WAIT… WAIT wait YOU HAD A 3SOME WITH Quinn and Julian? You- We’re done here. I-” Was that enough yelling for today? It should be, and Phoebe wanted to continue this but she also needed to let everything… Sink in. Aaaaand they need to get ready for prom but that’s not important now. Amelia didn’t only have sex with JP but she had… If it was anyone else and not because of her idiotic contract, maybe Phoebe would’ve had fun with conversation but no, this was not it. Why couldn’t she go to Eddie? Eddie is cute and nice… They are friends, it would’ve been so much better for Amelia… ”Come here,” letting out a looooooud breath, Phoebe walked back to her vanity table, shaking her head at everything she heard so far. So far… That better be all Amelia had to say and there were no surprises left. ”We need to get you all dolled up for your… lovely date.”

---

@/benitz786 - Amie

[Kbail]

---

“That sounds so fun. I was never taught how to swim despite all of the programs I went to when I was younger. I’m definitely going to learn how to swim soon though.” She wondered why her mother never took her to swimming lessons, but then again, she never asked. When Tyler said his favorite animal were stingrays, she visibly cringed a little. “Every time I hear someone say stingray, I automatically think of the explorer Steve Irwin who died from one while filming a tv show…” Her cheeks became slightly red from embarrassment. “Sorry that’s dark…But yeah, I’m more into giraffes and dolphins. You know, animals that don’t kill people.” She joked.

@Ouijaloveletters - Tyler

[raviola]

heartbeat - childish gambino

“Of course” Reuben winked with a cocky smile when Xavier asked if he was ready to go in. Ah yes, the facade of his rose again. The tough, (over)confident guy who gets all the ladies. Or in this case, Xavier, who was worth more than all of them combined. But he wouldn’t tell him that, at least, yet. For now, he just stared the man up and down, doing what he does second best. The first thing was standing right in front of him.

The two walked out to the dance floor, music getting louder as they approached the center of the dance floor. Donald Glover blared through the speakers. They took each other’s hands, beginning to dance, swinging left and right, the gymnasium singing as loud as the music. This whole moment made Reuben feel like such an American teenager. Some things just seem like they’ll only exist in the movies, but if you’re lucky, you can experience them. Drinking from red plastic cups, sitting on rooftops at three in the morning, midnight swims in August, forgetting school starts tomorrow as the leaves on trees crisp. It was all flawless until the song ended, and Xavier’s breaths sped up, placing a hand on his chest to calm himself.

Reuben froze his swaying arms for a second, then dropped them at his side when he knew this wasn’t ending soon. Quickly, Reuben pulled himself closer to the man, speaking into his ear so his words wouldn’t get drowned out by the music. “Baby, what’s wrong?” He asked, stepping back and placing his hands on Xavier’s arms, looking him in the eyes sweetly.

@Caticorn

[Littlefeets]

Malachi Azure

Kai could have not meant a word that he said when it came to Jess, and it wouldn’t bring any different result. Just if he didn’t mean any of it, maybe he wouldn’t have the guilt that came along with meaning every word he said. Nothing he would be enough to make up for what he did. Staying out of Jess’s life probably meant more, and he had. He tried to keep out of her life, to keep from hurting her over and over again, he owed her that much at least, but the universe always seemed to force him and Jess to keep coming back to each other. “Don’t you think I know that sorry can’t fix all the ways I f^^ked up? Nothing can fix even half of the things I’ve done in my life to you, or to anyone I’ve ever f^^king cared about.” Kai didn’t want the fight, but he should have known that there was no avoiding it. Perhaps he shouldn’t have tried giving an apology for the present moment, to tell her that he truly had not intended on coming and being a presence in her life again. Then he was thankful for her letting Scarlet stay and have fun when Jess’s own daughter pulled her in to play. Jess easily could have stopped the girls and made Kai take Scarlet away and leave right then, but she let the little girl stay and have fun. That was something that wasn’t about Kai, that was about Scarlet, the single most important part of Kai’s life. After all this time of not actually seeing each other, there really couldn’t have been a way to avoid a fight.

“I didn’t know Jezebel was dealing with that. I just knew that if Val wasn’t home she might be here. I don’t know anything that goes on here. Akielah would’ve told me that you were here, that Jezebel was dealing with a lot, or that Val wasn’t even in Beryl right now, but its not like she’s even f^^king allowed to have anything to do with any of you since finding out what my f^^king father did. I only came because it wasn’t something that could be done over the phone. If that would’ve been enough I would’ve just called her, but it has to be in person.” He knew he could trust Val. She was someone he knew he could count on, especially when he needed it. She was the one who helped talk him through one of his lowest points, and he knew she would be able to get the clarity he needed on what to do now. It was more than a simple phone call could fix.

Jess continued, telling him to take Scarlet and leave, but then with her next words she suddenly stopped. Her eyes met his, as if there was more going on that he didn’t know, and then suddenly was trying to run from the conversation. “Hold on one f^^king second. I don’t even know who you’re talking about. What am I missing?” She couldn’t just run from the fight at that point. This fight was too many years, with too much pain, in the making for her to just run. It wasn’t over.

@benitz786 - Jess

[Ouijaloveletters]

Tyler’s eyes widened slightly when Karen said she couldn’t swim. “Really? I’m surprised. If you want, I can help. It’ll be easier than paying for an instructor.” When she mentioned Steve Irwin, he quietly nodded. “Yeah…my parents are friends with the Irwins. My mom met Steve a couple months before he died. From what she remembers, she said he was really nice.” Tyler chuckled awkwardly. “Uh…I hate to break it to you, but they can kill you too. It’s pretty rare, though.”
@Kbail - Karen
Yeah, I thought of Steve too.

[Littlefeets]

As soon as Clara opened the door, she let him inside, and when she saw the necklace he had brought her, the smile on her face grew. Quinn gave a small smile seeing her excitement at the jewelry. “I’m glad you like it, and of course.” he said, responding to her question of if he would help her put it on. As she pulled her hair out of the way, he unclasped the necklace and placed it around her neck, where it matched well with her dress and the jewelry she already had on. “Perfect.” With the necklace on, it seemed that it was time to head to the night’s event. “Now that my lovely date’s outfit is complete, are you ready to go?” Quinn asked to be sure she was ready, and that they weren’t waiting for anything else. At least not waiting for Clara’s sister, since Quinn knew that Amanda certainly wasn’t his biggest fan after the incident when they were last around each other.

@Caticorn - Clara

[Littlefeets]

For some reason, Veronica Charlotte Parker seemed focused on the idea that her and Logan weren’t friends. What was wrong with not being close? “I’m sure I’m not the only person in our senior class that you don’t talk with, so I don’t get what the big deal is.” Logan didn’t exactly go out of her way to socialize with everyone, and she didn’t have a reason to talk to the girl, so she simply didn’t. “People can have things in common, but that doesn’t mean they have to be friends.” Logan stated, still confused by her seemingly being determined that they should be around each other. What difference should it really make if they talked or not? “Alright, have a good night Vic…” Logan said somewhat awkwardly, as she turned to try and leave the awkward situation.

@CerealKiller - VC

[Littlefeets]

“It will be fineeeeee. I promise.” Sophie assured him about the photos. Unless every single picture turned out completely blurry, or something like that, there was no way the photos would be terrible. If they weren’t modeling quality photos, it didn’t matter. There just had to be at least a couple of pictures of them in their prom attire together. Something where her parents would always be able to look back at the picture and see their daughter before she went to her senior prom. As soon as Mateo saw Sophie’s mom, he pulled her into a hug, saying it was nice to meet her, which brought a huge smile to both Sophie’s face and her mom’s face. That was something that definitely helped to put him on the good side of Sophie’s mom, which was a bonus for Sophie too. After achieving one normal prom picture, another hour was spent taking fun silly photos, which Sophie had a lot of fun doing. When they did finally end up in the back of the limo, they’d were met by Dawg, who right away found a comfortable spot snuggled up with Sophie for the ride. “My dad had to be at work, and he couldn’t get out of it. He’s a scientist. And then my uncle, he’s my mom’s brother, he lives with us too. He was working too, he’s an FBI agent. And they’re both really nice too.”

@benitz786

[Littlefeets]

To say that Amanda wasn’t pleased with the limo driver would be an understatement. The feeling of Paige’s lips on her neck just wasn’t enough. Things were just about to get a lot steamier when the driver decided it would be a good idea to say that they were there. He could’ve waited and watched, or not, Amanda didn’t care, but did he have to stop them right before they could get to the best part back there? Fine… perhaps the wait and anticipation could be a good thing. Soon after arriving inside the venue, Paige said she would be right back. For a short time, Amanda was on her own, but of course that didn’t last. Though, the person who came up to her was not her date, but instead it was one Finley Klein, who she hadn’t exactly been around since Halloween, all those months ago. Oh how much had changed in that time. That night had been just after her return to beryl, a point when her mind was still on the previous year. Now, now she was more in the swing of her old life. Amanda smirked as Fin came up to her, commenting on her looks and dress before placing his hand on her waist. “Thanks. Looks like black is your color.” she responded, looking him over as well. He then started to comment on the fact that he didn’t see her with her date, but Amanda didn’t even have the chance to respond as her date answered for her. Amanda watched the back and forth between Paige and Fin. At that point, Fin turned his back to Paige, looking back at Amanda. “I think I’m doing pretty fine with my date, Fin. Aside from some unfinished business…” she added, looking over to her date with a smirk.

@benitz786
@astxrism

[LunaticLeviTheSecond]

“Interesting?” Richard question his friend. “Not so much interesting as it is …” Richard stopped. He wanted to say explanatory, but it’s only ever been explanatory to him. Richard was happy when Elijah notcied he didn’t want to really finish that sentence, so he asked how he felt about the date. “Honestly?” Richard said “I don’t know. This is a first time. Well tonight is a big night for first times.” Richard didn’t mean it like that, but thankfully he didn’t notice how that sounds and explained what he meant anyways. “I mean this is my first time on a propper date, on a date with a guy and on a trouple date ever. So yes, I’d say I’m about as excited as somebody before a blind date.” He used this anallogy to express how he feels like on a blind date not knowing what the third person in the couple is like and if Richard will like him, but as soon as saw a beatiful dark skinned shapely woman in a stunning floorlenght tight dress his jaw dropped. Even from the tinted car window as he was getting out, she looked amazing and even more so when he peeked out and finally stepped out to greet her. However, as amazing as she looked, Richard couldn’t help but disliked her wearing it so glamorously because it made him feel left out. He looked down on his suit and he didn’t feel like it was cheap or anything, but he felt as he was insignificant and that Elijah only stood by the date he promised because he’s that nice. That’s why instead of the dress or her body, Richard gazed right into her eyes as he approached her, emotionless and when he was close enough he said in his northern english accent that turned somewhat grovely by the effect of nervousness, he said “We’ve never been introduced before have we. I would’ve remebered you if we were.” He said. He wanted to pay her a compliment, even though he meant it more as a statement. “I’m Richard.” He said as he extended his hand. He could’ve as easily stayed in the car and let Elijah introduce him, but he realized it too late for backsies so he just kept up with the pretense of confidence.

@raviola
@Kbail

[raviola]

“No, no, stop flattering me, I’ll blush” Hera spoke grandly, like an impressionist lady gaga of sorts. The act was super solid until they noticed Daiane smiled at them, melting her cancer moon just a bit. Dai mentioned posting them on their story, taking a clip of herself and sharing it! “You posted me on your story?!” They couldn’t help but sound endeared, “That’s not fair!” She nudged her friend. “You’re better at this!” Her (nickname not pronoun) raced to post one back, making it a fun little thing between them. Hmmm, what to use. They wondered since their own makeup wasn’t done yet… Oh! They’d just use the clip Dai sent them a few days ago. Done!

After Ane caked her face, Hera scurried off to change. They were close to saying some douchey, f*ck boy thing about how they didn’t have to leave because there wasn’t anything they hadn’t seen. One of those dirty pick up lines she would always roll her eyes at. But not close enough. Upon walking into the bathroom, dress in hand, everything still looked the same as it did years ago, and for a moment, it felt like time had not gone by since. Ane’s hair straightener laid flat on the sink, her rose-patterned shower curtains smiling at them sadly. For different reasons then and now. They shook the nostalgia away, stepping into their dress and pulling the loose hanging thing over their shoulders. As hard as they tried, though, they couldn’t get the zipper all the way through.

F$ck. This was going to be awkward to talk to Ane about. Hopefully. They prefered unwanted tension, discomfort, hatred, over blankness. Because at least if there’s something wrong, then they still care. You know you’ve lost someone not when they’re yelling in your face for you to change, but when they walk away for good. So, Hera hesitantly walked over to Ane’s room, trying to play it cool when they asked about the zipper. Failing. Not that much! But failing. In the end, it wasn’t even that bad, it just felt like a zipper being zipped. Nothing special about it until they looked down to the floor.

And there it laid. The famous pink, t-shirt bra that Ane wore on the night they came face to face with all of each other’s vulnerabilities. She said she would have worn lace if she knew it was going to happen. Neither of them did. Have you ever just looked at a woman with your hands on her waist and realized you have witnessed perfection? That’s exactly what Hera felt when they saw her that day.

Hera left Daiane’s room, walking out to, at last, leave the house. She chuckled down the stairs about random banter of theirs, turning to see if Daiane was laughing too. To their surprise, however, Daiane was not there. With a puzzled look, Hera stepped back up the stairs, pulling up their skirts so they wouldn’t trip and took a peek into Dai’s room, trying not to open it too much in case she was changing something under her skirt or something, grin so bright. That was until they saw the letter Ane was opening. The very envelope she had told them about, in all of it’s glory; red, pink, and white because it was meant for valentine’s day. Without realizing, their fist clenched at their side…

boyfriend - dove cameron

Embry and Daiane waltzed romantically across the ballroom floor, moonlight illuminating the pair through the rounded, glass roof. Embry dressed in a bullseye red suit made of silky material, a silver head piece adorning her head. The queen of the court. Ane wore the same dress she made for prom; twinkling like a flowing waterfall that never crashes on it’s riverbed, Cinderella blue. Did Embry’s slipper fit, princess? Or, do you want to try mine?

It was likely that she was fine without them, yet Hera couldn’t help but wonder if, when the clock struck midnight, she’d run back to her. This palace was filled with cheap small talk, elaborate gowns, thin white gloves. Everything looked perfect, but was it? At the end of the day, neither Ane nor Hera belonged here. The palace was not an objective, just a dream. Everything their dearest had ever wanted stood on the sidelines of the floor, dressed in black lace. Dark, but so alluring, and rich in a way this party could never understand. If only she’d see what they saw. In her, in this place, in them? Nothing. They were gonna change that soon, though.

The night sky further dimmed, and a spotlight shined on Hera, who had just picked up a wilted rose from the table centerpieces, and suddenly everyone realized those flowers had been dead all along. Yet, with Hera’s gentle hands running across it’s thorns, it regained it’s posture. Yet, it didn’t return to it’s bright red hue. Instead, it shined a hard crimson.

They strutted over to the center of the floor with the flower in their grasp, where Embry and Daiane were now being watched by the court as they danced alone, the star-given spotlight above Hera’s head glowing bigger once they encompassed Embry and Daiane’s area. The two ladies halted, looking to Hera as their embraced arms dropped, as if Hera had lowered them with their mind. Both of their jaws dropped seeing the individual, but only Ane’s eyes twinkled like the stars that illuminated Hera.

Hera looked over to the dull rose, tilting their head as a gesture. “Run along, now” Hera flashed a feigned smile, then took Embry’s place to face a mesmerized Daiane. As if on que, the clock struck midnight, ringing throughout the ballroom, to the palace, to the kingdom. The girl shed the skin of her light blue dress, revealing crimson red lace. A dress that matched Hera’s flawlessly.

The person placed the rose between their teeth, wrapping their fingers around Ane’s waist, pulling her closer. From there, Hera dipped her over, kissing the girl between the flower’s stem, although the flower had thorns, they did not prickle either party’s skin, rather, caressed it softly, like the petals that were each other’s lips. Ane’s dress then revealed a slit, showing off her legs, and stained glass slippers that fit like a glove flared under the once again clearing, midnight sky.

Unfortunately, none of this happened. Yet. There is a reason people refer to dreams as something you chase. It’s possible to catch up. If only Daiane weren’t so far ahead in this race, keeping herself far away from Hera. They were never a runner, the finish line was too far away, like the moon, or infinity. Not like they didn’t run out of breath, either. Cigarette smoke still haunted their lungs every time they paced a bit too fast. And if they could not run, they could not sweat; they could not become warm.

And sometimes, to get there faster, one must take a different path than they expected. Instead of asking Daiane what was wrong, playing dumb, or trying to get her to talk about it again, which would definitely ruin her makeup, Hera pretended to be blind to her friend’s unrequited love. They tiptoed back down the stairs, steps like whispers in a garden maze. “Dai!” They hollered lightheartedly from the bottom of the staircase, “We’re gonna be lateeee. And not fashionably.” Hera smiled, hoping Ane might laugh a little since she looked sad.

prom ~

Up on the dance floor, Hera couldn’t help but smirk at the blood rushing to Ane’s cheeks. Moments like these reminded H of the couple’s electrifying chemistry. “No problem,” Hera reassured, trying to ease the tension between them. Ane kept this going perfectly fine, with her cute little compliments. She even stuttered a bit. What’s wrong, Ane? Hera tried not to think out loud, keeping their hands to their sides instead of twirling her hair teasingly. “Thank you.” They sighed quietly, annoyed by this meaningless conversation.

At one point, after a decent amount of banter and small talk, a slow song began to play. How corny. It was so weird too, Cerulean High is supposed to play trap music about doing dr^gs and k^lling people, it’s more on brand. Even then, though, they had to do this every once in a while. Whether it was to rub lime juice into people’s scars, or allow them one last chance to make things right, it was about time.

As if every yesterday since before their breakup had disappeared, Ane instinctively wrapped her hands around Hera’s neck, their hands fitting perfectly in the crevice above her hips. For the first time in forever, there was no discomfort in their embrace, and they both held each other’s stare. It was not empty, and it was not sour, but sweet. If Ane still loved another, why was she here? Why did her hands melt into the back of Hera’s neck? All of this was so unreal. She’d ask the delicacy to pinch her, verifying that they were not dreaming, but that would interrupt this stilled place in time. And H never wanted it to end.

“Ane, I could not stress it enough that you are incredible.” They opened up. The girl’s response made Hera look away a bit bashfully, unable to cleverly respond. And when they looked back, the two were much closer together than before. Unknowingly, they tilted their heads, lips parting. But just as they were about to close their eyes, a loud thud rang through the gym, shifting everyone’s eyes over to the stage. Persephone.

@unsungcheerio

[Kbail]

---

When Tyler’s eyes became bigger after she mentioned how she couldn’t swim, she felt even more self conscious. Was it really that weird for her to not know how by now? I guess it was. Pretty much everyone she became friends with knew how to swim. “I think that would be great actually.” Her cheeks continued to flush with red. “It’s better than paying for classes.” Just when she didn’t think his parents could get any more interesting, Tyler then mentioned how they were friends with Steve Irwin. When he said how they saw him a few months before he died, a frown appeared on her face. “I can’t imagine how hearing the death would’ve felt for them. He seemed like he would be a great person to be around.” When Karen was younger, she would always tune into animal shows which is how she discovered that particular show he was on. It wasn’t her favorite show but she definitely enjoyed it. After some time, the car finally came to the prom venue, and she looked at Tyler with nervousness bubbling up in her stomach again. “Well, looks like we’re here.”

@Ouijaloveletters - Tyler

[Kbail]

---

As Elijah was driving to the house he listened to Richard answer his question about how he felt about the date. “Honestly?” Richard said “I don’t know. This is a first time. Well tonight is a big night for first times.” For a hardly noticable split second, his eyebrow lifted up, but he tried to pretend like his face was stone - like and he was just focusing on the road before them. “This is your first proper date?” He asked, almost in disbelief. He just found it very hard to believe that. Also, him saying that this was his first proper date with a guy made him feel intimidated. “Well, we better make this throuple date a night to remember.”

---

As soon as Sammy opened the door, he was greeted by a fluorescent, golden dress that glimmered in the moonlight. “Wow.” He said with a chuckle. “You really went all out huh?” His time with knowing Sammy, he always saw her as having good taste in fashion but he was still surprised by the dress. Richard introduced himself while extending his hand, which was no surprise considering how charming he was. Elijah wondered how this interaction was going to go and what would be their first impressions of eachother.

@raviola Werk it Sammy
@LunaticLeviTheSecond - Richard

[Littlefeets]

Up to this point, Carter had been trying to just keep a low profile and make it through senior year. School, find something to do with his day, repeat. There were a few people he knew from his childhood, but most were either new faces, or ones he barely recognized. Most of them he likely wouldn’t even see again after graduation. Perhaps that was part of why he hadn’t truly tried to make a move on someone, to have a date for prom. Though, it can only be a matter of time before one gets truly caught up in the mess that comes with being in the Cerulean high senior class. The only question is, at what moment will everything take a turn, and how? For the time being, Carter was staying to the side of the room at his senior prom, ready to simply see where the night would go.

Approachable