one thing's universal, life's no dress rehearsal

[stagemanagers]

[Prom night! The greatest night of your young lives if you watch any Western high school media from the past 60 years. The looks, the music, the copious amounts of fancy snacks, the sore feet from dancing heels and then spending the rest of the night in bare feet- it’s all part of the bigger package.

The courtyard and the roof have both been decked out in a special way for tonight, despite no one really seeing Hester or anyone/anything else decorating. There are round tables set-up in both places, covered in yellow-gold tablecloths. Some of them have platters of snacks laid out on them, one has a large punch bowl that never seems to empty no matter how many drinks are taken from it.

On the roof there’s an extra table with pencils, small slips of paper, a box wrapped in gold wrapping paper and a notecard labeled Song Requests. Just write a song, pop it in the box and within a few minutes it starts playing! Weird, there doesn’t seem to be a sound system anywhere...

Red paper lanterns have been strung around the outline of the roof and between stakes in the courtyard, granting soft romantic light for a night to remember. Put on your best costume shop formal wear, get ready to lose your shoes after an hour and sneak in liquor even though most of you are of age.

After all…tonight belongs to you.]

Comments

[brokeforgood]

You’re so lucky. I’m basically on house arrest—- getting ready was a great excuse to get the heck out of that dorm room. [Farrah makes an overly dramatic gasp of air as Per unzips her dress a little, and she moves to sit on one of the roof benches.]

Ugh. Way better. [Everything still aches, and she can’t tell if it’s fever or car accident-related. Probably the latter.] If Benj comes running up here, be sure to tell him I was good, okay?

[mayavericks]

[Maya, at least, seems distracted enough by trying to get off of Fidella (Cassandra had made it look so easy, too). She doesn't notice the one-sided bickering until she speaks again.]

I'm sure I could have managed more. [A shrug!] You look wonderful though, Farrah.

[brokeforgood]

I don’t know about anything with the word god in front of it.

How about....

[fourbutts]

[ A grimace. ]

Maybe so.

cw: suicide attempt talk

[comeandfindme]

[ Like a girl in one of those period dramas... It's almost amusing, but. Peregrine hesitates. ]

Sure. Uh... How... How're you...you know, doing? With... all that?

[ She doesn't know what to say to Farrah. To Spongebob, it'd been easy. The anger flowed out and took everything else she'd been trying to hold back with her. But, for Farrah...

Peregrine sees a lot of herself in Farrah. That's why she knows just telling her something won't work. Not with that kind of stubborn attitude. ]

[mayavericks]

Was that ever in question, Janis?

[Maya can't help but laugh. Still, despite the breezy attitude, she looks almost a little flushed. She's quick to step forward, holding out her arm as she does.]

Shall we?

[mayavericks]

[Maya places a hand on her hip.]

Are you doubting my ability to make a dancer of you, Peregrine Wells?

[fourbutts]

How about...?

[ she's in so much suspense this is the first thing that has distracted her from how maya looks since she looked at maya ]

[brokeforgood]

Thanks! My dress is hideous. [She does a little flounce, admiring the rainbow shimmers] I love it.

I really don’t think you could do much more, though.

[comeandfindme]

So...

[brokeforgood]

Satanmother.

[whatyouwant]

[Elle's symptoms have lessened to a mild fever and the occasional dizzy spell, which is good because she wants to enjoy this evening to the fullest. Not because she feels some actual desire to have a prom, no it's mostly out of spite. She knows the Wizard gave them this nice evening the same week he made them sick as some kind of cruel trick.

Well fuck him, she's going to make the most of it. Elle comes in wearing a nice pink dress she altered yesterday.

If it seems like someone has enough energy, Elle will take them by both hands and drag them on to the dance floor where she will proceed to do bad white girl dancing.]

Come on! Let's party!

[She does take frequent breaks to grab a glass of punch and sit by the flowers, reading the different plaques that identify them.]

[fourbutts]

No, but I'm really feeling it in this prom tonight.

[ Janis, only starting to come out of the Incredibly Gay Daze she's in, takes it and nods. ]

Let's.

[comeandfindme]

No! [ She yelps. Maya keeps having the ability to make her yelp. Is it the fever making her feel warm, or Maya Tendo? What a conundrum. ] No, just... They've got mud on 'em, so...if I step on your feet, it'll be kinda noticeable.

[fourbutts]

... Are we cool?

[fourbutts]

You fucking got it. Absolutely.

[comeandfindme]

[ Peregrine nods. ]

Can...we just, uh...not talk about...things, right now?

[fourbutts]

I am all for that.

[ She gestures back towards the dance with her head. ]

Wanna dive back in? Now that I am no longer inconsolably gay about our shared girlfriend who showed up to this dance in armor and on hroseback?

cw: suicide attempt talk

[brokeforgood]

Well. I’m here. [Farrah glances over at Peregrine, shrugging her shoulders.]

I’m grounded for life, I think. It wasn’t my finest hour. But it wasn’t my worst, either.

[whatyouwant]

Mr. Ben!

[Elle WILL drag him on to the dance floor.]

Show me how you danced in your time!

[comeandfindme]

Ohh, I'm not, like, super into- excuse me Maya did what?

[brokeforgood]

[That gets her. She laughs.

It feels so good to laugh. To actually laugh— not just a bitter, sarcastic huff, but a real, heavy laugh. And she can’t stop laughing.]

cw: suicide attempt talk

[comeandfindme]

[ Peregrine fights very hard to say she's not so sure about that second one. ]

...If...you're feeling like that again...however I'm feeling, whatever I'm doing... I want you to know you can talk to me. Okay? [ ... ] I...told it to Connor, and...I'm gonna tell it to you, too.

[fourbutts]

[ Janis is laughing too. It feels real fucking good right about now. ]

[fourbutts]

I'm going to have her children, I've resigned myself to it.

[ she puts a hand on per's shoulder ]

It is one of the most wildly attractive things I have ever seen, and I am including Zendaya when I say this.