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

[tailor_made]

[:|]

Farrah, I don't know how to tell you this but you're the one who's going to dehydrate here.

[brokeforgood]

At least I’ll dehydrate while not listening to you.

[Yeah. Real… Mature, Farrah.]

Besides. You’re the one who made us all sick, and then threw a prom!

[tailor_made]

[...yeah, that tracks.]

What are you talking about? I didn't put this together, I thought you guys did.

[brokeforgood]

Uh, no. Kindof not really in a prom throwing mindset right now.

[tailor_made]

I don't know, I assumed you'd started planning on Monday or something. I just saw the posters everywhere.

[brokeforgood]

… Those aren’t our posters, H. [She forgets for a minute, that she’s supposed to be mad at Hester, slipping back into the find use of the nickname that she had used before her dad had died.]

Are you… okay?

[tailor_made]

I- yeah, I feel great. Better than I have in a while. [She does look very worried all of the sudden though.] I couldn't have been making posters and not known...right?

[brokeforgood]

Are you… missing any time? [She’s just gonna. Ease herself off that bench, wincing as she does so.]

Fuck, Ow. [And… step to Hester’s side.]

It’s have taken a lot today, to set this up.

[tailor_made]

Careful, whiplash can hurt like hell. [She says it absentmindedly, quietly counting off hours on her fingers. If Farrah is paying even a lick of attention she'll probably notice Hester's nails, painted a soft pink to match her dress, are an uneven mess under the polish.]

I don't...think I'm missing anything? I think.

[brokeforgood]

[Farrah’s unfortunately, paying a lot of attention to Hester now, which creates a lot of mixed feelings. Especially when she mentions the whiplash.]

Yeah, I know. Thanks, by the way. [She snaps that last part, and almost instantly regrets it.

It’s not like Hester made Farrah get into the car, or wrecked it. Hester didn’t enter a fucked up pact with Spongebob. It was Farrah, who got Farrah there.

But she can’t help but blame Hester for it, still. For the loss of her dads. For dragging her here. For bringing her back to life, giving her a chance to love and be built back up again, only to have it ripped from her again.

She glares at Hester’s uneven fingernails. But she doesn’t ask.]

Well, I’m glad you’re doing great.

[tailor_made]

That's not what I- [Hester flinches. She'd meant she'd been able to sleep. She'd meant she feels more clear-headed, more energized. That she can actually think straight for the first time in 2 weeks to look for-.

But Farrah doesn't want to hear that. Farrah wants to be angry and Hester doesn't fault her for that in the slightest.]

...I'm sorry. I am glad you and Spongebob are okay though.

cw: suicide attempt

[brokeforgood]

I'm actually not fine, Hester. I tried to trick Spongebob Squarepants into a suicide pact with me, because I'm fucking miserable, and like, basically everyone I love is dead!

So like, have fun at prom or whatever, but don't tell me to drink water like you fucking care.

Don't talk to me again, until you're done with your wizard bullshit. [And... She's turning, to get the fuck out of here.]

[tailor_made]

[Hester starts to reach out to her when her back is turned but she lets her drop back down to her side while a black hole sinks to the bottom of her stomach. She quietly sidesteps around a corner of the school, pressing her back against the brick to wallflower in private for just a few minutes to be out of sight and out of sound.]

Am I doing what's best for you?
Please forgive me for trying to
Make this easier
I'll always be on your team
But am I nothing?
Would I have nothing
Without him?