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

[comeandfindme]

[ In the late morning, Peregrine had lost her wits completely and found herself convinced that a blizzard had struck the school. She'd worked herself to exhaustion in her sickness, thinking her dear friend Lexy was beside her. And then, maybe half an hour after the start of prom, she woke in her dorm, believing it all to be a horrible fever dream.

It's honestly Peregrine's intention to stay there. To get herself something to eat and try to spend the night sleeping off the...everything. Truthfully, she hates the idea of a prom. The last time she ever saw her brother, he'd rushed into her room for last minute assistance with his bow-tie for his own senior prom. She thought she'd see him again when she woke up the next day, after he'd crash into bed at some ungodly hour. She thought nothing of it.

That hadn't been the case. Peregrine hates prom.

Except—

Except there's a little something that changes that. When she wakes and sits up fully, putting a hand to her head, she finds herself, her cloak all covered in dirt. She finds a jacket slipping off her bunk where it'd been laid across her like a blanket. It's a jacket she recognizes, and—

Well. A few things click into place pretty fast.

Peregrine rushes to prom maybe forty minutes late, tracking mud from her boots. Unlike everyone else, she's not dressed up. Her hair's messy but at least brushed, and her cloak's in desperate need of a wash. Under it, she's wearing...one of Janis's jackets. That's the only real change to her appearance. Instantly she looks and feels out of place. She's gasping slightly from running, but overall she looks better than she has the last few days. She's not even shivering.

She looks around, for someone specific— oh, who're we kidding? She's looking for Janis.

As the night goes on, she does seem to settle in. Still awkward, even if someone (Elle, LSP, probably one of them) has descended upon her and tried to make her look a little more presentable. Mostly she stays off by the edges, getting some nourishment and some water. She watches the punch bowl pretty intently, mostly to make sure no one's trying to spike it.

And— at some point, while taking some time on the roof, to get a little air away from most people, she goes still.

"Found you." ]

...I know. [ Her voice is quiet. She's talking to someone not there, as most of them have been. ] Would you've...hated this too?

[ Despite that...she's smiling, very sadly. ]

Still... Maybe it would've...been nice.

[ If she could've danced with him. ]

roof

[brokeforgood]

[Farrah needs to get away for just a little bit, too— especially after her trip down to the Garden. But she hadn’t expected to walk up on this.

What she’s seeing feels… weirdly personal. Almost like she shouldn’t be seeing it. So, she just lingers, a little bit away, staring up at the sky.]

[comeandfindme]

[ Peregrine doesn't notice Farrah. At least, not at first. She's actually...she's laughing? Under her breath, eyes closed, listening. ]

Even a thousand miles can't keep us apart...

[ There's no music. No melody. ]

'Cause my heart is wherever you are.

[ Another soft, breathy laugh. ]

I wish you'd been there, I was- I was just awful. I can't believe I didn't step on Maya or Janis's feet. I wish you were here, I... I wish you could hear this.

[brokeforgood]

[Well... As she keeps talking, it keeps getting weirder and weirder that Farrah’s eavesdropping, and while the smart thing to do here would be to very stealthily bolt away, Farrah’s... Farrah.

So after a few moments, she heads over, closer to Peregrine.]

Per?

[comeandfindme]

[ And Peregrine turns, startled. She'd let herself get a little too lost, hadn't she? ]

F- Farrah! Oh- shoot. I'm...sorry, I didn't know...anyone else was up here.

[ She glances back to where she was looking and— yeah. Yeah, it figures. She doesn't even get to see him walk away. ]

[brokeforgood]

Sorry! [She cringes as Peregrine looks back, at that expression on her face— She can sort of piece together what probably happened there.]

I scared him off, didn’t I? I’m sorry— I didn’t mean to.

[comeandfindme]

[ Peregrine quickly shakes her head. ]

No, it's— don't. He... It's not...even really him. I should just try and remember that.

forty minutes late

[fourbutts]

[ Janis spots her jacket in the crowd and, under the assumption that there's no way Per would do that, just wear her jacket like they might be cool, it takes her a second to attach the face to it.

But she's not exactly dressed to hide in her red sequin jacket, so she just sort of. Gently tries to catch Peregrine's attention and wave her over. ]

[comeandfindme]

[ There she is, there's—

oh god this is a lot more awkward than she thought it would be when she decided to do this ten whole minutes ago.

Peregrine hesitates for but a moment. ]

Janis, uh— hey, can we- maybe somewhere a little more...?

[fourbutts]

[ Yeah, it's... definitely not the least awkward conversation they've ever had. ]

Right, right, uh... where do you want to...?

[comeandfindme]

Just... Like, there's no one- the stairs, the ones to the—

[ She gestures over toward the stairs leading to the parking lot. Just a little ways away from the courtyard, just a little privacy. ]

[fourbutts]

[ Janis nods. ]

Yeah, uh... sounds good.

[ Time to just sort of... head over there! ]

[comeandfindme]

[ And so they do!

...Heck! Now they have to actually do the talking!! ]

I, uh... You... Your jacket...?

Late

[whatyouwant]

Peregrin!

[Elle swoops over with two cups of punch.]

Did you see my note under the prom poster? We can still find you something to wear if you want!

[comeandfindme]

[ This is after she knows she's going to be staying, so. She kind of winces awkwardly. Fancy clothes aren't really her thing... ]

Uhh, I- sort of wasn't planning on coming. ...And overslept. A lot.

[whatyouwant]

That's cool! I will totally help you find something more promtastic, it won't take any time at all. Skirt or pants?

[comeandfindme]

I don't have to wear a dress? Oh thank god. Uhhh. I don't...know, um— ...can...I keep my cloak?

[ It's messy. She meant to wash it, but... ]

[whatyouwant]

Of course! It's the statement piece! We can even do a bit of spot cleaning on it. [Nothing fancy, they DO NOT have time to let it dry.]

Maybe a princely look like Maya's got going on? [Elle knows what's going on here.]

[comeandfindme]

[ Peregrine's face colors, and it's surprisingly not from the fever. ]

Oh, uh— well, then Janis would look a little out of place... [ The girls are no longer fighting!! ]

by the edges

[inaclearing]

[It was nearly three years ago now that Jacob Wells went missing after his own senior prom. It was a party not unlike this in theme - if not in size. Even Whitetail's high school has more students in it than this tiny gathering. There's not many people left here.

Three years ago, and now, here we are. Peregrine hears a voice from her right, close and yet at the same time, strangely distant.]

Peregrine...?

[comeandfindme]

[ In the time she's known Brett, Peregrine's never really had reason to dress up. Even at the annual New Year's Party, she just sort of went with a comfortable sweater and pants. It was fortuitous, on account of the bear. She's never been a very dressy girl, which is why even a skirt and a vest under her dirt-stained cloak is still a bit of a change. She already felt out of place around these people she's known and come to love in the last several weeks. Someone she already knew, however...?

She turns in surprise. This isn't a voice she's heard yet, this week. ]

Brett? What- ...you're...another one. Another voice.

[inaclearing]

[She turns, but there's nothing there. Maybe she's feeling better tonight. Or, here in the light, with people around, maybe it's harder for the mind to fool itself. He's not exactly a Howl, anyway.]

I'm...what do you mean, by another voice? [His own voice seems...tense.]

[comeandfindme]

[ She tries to keep it down, because...because she doesn't actually want to stop hearing his voice. Still, she wraps her arms around herself.

(Incidentally I could've edited this but forgot- she is absolutely wearing a dress instead with her cloak and boots.)

If there's no one physically there to talk to, then she'll look at the ground. ]

I'm hearing things. Seeing things. It's— you're not...really here.

[inaclearing]

...no, no, you're right. This isn't how it happened.

[There's a vague shift in the air. It's not unlike someone coming closer, or even reaching out - but of course no one is there.]

Per, where are you?

[comeandfindme]

How...what happened?

[ What is that? It's— she'd think it's the fever, or something, but— but it's like the opposite of a chill. Almost experimentally, Peregrine reaches out to try and grab at the air. It's stupid to give a response, a real answer, but... ]

I'm— ...Gershwin High School Academy, Uni... Name doesn't matter. I don't know. I can't figure it out.

[ He's not real. He's not here. She still doesn't want him to leave. So she keeps talking. ]

I was kidnapped. I can't find a way out.