His Safety Net

Chapter 46

       "Yeah, and so are you and Alan," Orchid said. "Yet both of you are going."

       "Then do what they're doing," Mom said. "Get yourself a senior boyfriend and then you can go."

       "I'm not dumping Atticus for a senior."

       "Then you can wait until you have prom."

       "Are you done with the pictures yet?" I asked.

       Mom chuckled. "Yes, I'm done. I promise, I won't take anymore pictures of you until your prom."

       So I just had to make sure not to go to prom so Mom wouldn't be able to take any pictures of me. Or I would sneak out my window, despite being up three floors. But hey, it would be a lot better than having my pictures taken.

       Since Mom was, finally, done taking pictures of me and Jerome, the two of us were able to leave the house and head to Jerome's prom. Thankfully, the prom wasn't being held at the school. I had enough of that place during the week. Instead, the prom was actually going to be held in the ballroom at the city hall.

       While Jerome was driving us to the city hall, I couldn't help but notice that he was constantly adjusting his suit jacket whenever we were at a stoplight, and even when he was driving he was trying to by squirming in his seat.

       "Is everything okay?" I asked.

       "Yeah, of course," Jerome said. "Why do you ask?"

       "You're still adjusting your suit jacket," I said. "Does it really not fit? Because it looks like it does..."

       "Oh, no, sorry, I wasn't adjusting it," Jerome said. "My dress shirt is just a bit itchy."

       I wasn't sure if I believed him, but I wasn't going to push him to tell me what was going on. He clearly didn't want to talk about it, and I knew how it felt to not want to be pressured into talking about something I clearly didn't want to talk about. Jerome always respected my boundaries, so I should do the same for him.

       Jerome soon pulled into the parking lot of the city hall. Once he parked his car, the two of us got out and headed into the building. Before we even went to the ballroom, Jerome pulled me over to the mural. "Jerome, prom isn't over here," I said.

       "I know," Jerome said. "I just want to look at this first. I never got to tell you how proud I am of you for painting this. It's just... so amazing."

       I smiled at him. "Thanks. And thank you, for taking me to that place in the first place that allowed the mayor to see my painting. I'd want to go there again but last time I was there..." I didn't finish my sentence, and I didn't need to for Jerome to realize what I was talking about.

       "We can always find another place like that for you to paint," Jerome said. 

       "Like my bedroom walls," I said. "I'm allowed to paint them and I am now just realizing I have never thought about doing that."

       "That would be cool," Jerome said. "Having your own little mural in your room."

       "Yeah, but you won't be allowed to touch the paint," I said. "I can't afford to get into a paint war with you in my room."

       "Awe, but it would be fun."

       "And messy."

       "But fun."

       "Yet messy."

       "...Okay, fair enough," Jerome said. "Alright, let's head to prom and have the time of our lives."

       Jerome and I headed to the ballroom where the prom was being held. The theme was 'Enchanted Forest', and I honestly loved the decorations. It just seemed so mystical and whimsical, something I've always loved. Fantasy has always been one of my favourite genres to read, and write a few times, because for once, I was able to escape the harsh realities of life, even if it was temporarily. 

       Honestly, the first thing I did when we entered the room, apart from looking at the decorations, was see if I could spot Jerome's old friends. They haven't once tried to do anything to me and Jerome ever since they outed as, but that never stopped me from feeling uneasy around them.

       I couldn't see them yet. 

       Jerome must have noticed me looking around for them. "Yeah, I don't see those jerks either."

       "Are you talking about Anita, Dirk, and Cheryl?" Brandon asked suddenly as he and Alan walked over.

       "Yeah," Jerome said. "I'm surprised they're not here yet. They've always talked about prom and how they couldn't wait for it."

       "Yeah, I'm surprised too," Brandon said.

       "Oh, they got banned from coming to prom," Alan said.

       "What?" Jerome asked. "Why? I mean, I'm glad, but why?"

       "Well, Atticus and I were able to convince Mrs. Goth that their suspension was too light of a punishment after not only outing two students to the school, but also showing an act of homophobia," Alan said. "Like, she was about to expel you just for starting a fight, yet she only suspended those jackasses."

       "I technically didn't even start the fight," Jerome said. "I may have thrown the first punch, but Dirk was running his mouth."

       "Exactly why Atticus and I went to talk to Mrs. Goth," Alan said. "And she was told about... what Nolan went through afterwards, by Mom and Dad because they had to pick up his school work for those two weeks, so she agreed that suspension wasn't enough. Thus, the prom ban."

       "Really?" I asked. "I don't want to say that's great because I don't want to be mean..."

       "I will," Jerome said. "That's great! Now, I could actually enjoy this night without seeing them glaring at me." He looked at me. "Shall we go dance?"

       "But I see food," I said.

       "We'll eat food after we dance," Jerome said, pulling me towards the dance floor. Like the spring dance, it took me a while to be comfortable dancing with Jerome, but I was eventually having a lot of fun with him.

       I always had fun with him.

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oof i wonder what's going on with jerome??? (this is actually hinting towards his storyline in the sequel)

anyway stan jerlan and stream kid krow