happy wednesday friends! here's a quick little thing about cadnis' senior prom. enjoy!
-
"Jan, calm down, you'll think of something," Damian comforts, patting her back gently as Janis lies face-down on her bed and lets out a groan.
"Damian, prom is in a month! And it has to be perfect, it's our senior year," Janis huffs into her pillow.
"You'll think of something perfect. You could... fill her locker with ping pong balls that say 'prom' and then when she opens it and they all fall out say 'I finally got the balls to ask you to prom'?" Damian suggests.
Janis chuckles at that, finally poking her head out. "Is that how Elijah asked you?"
"Maybe," Damian mumbles. "I thought it would at least make you smile."
"You got me, then," Janis says. "Ugh, why is this so hard? I had an easier time with the ACT."
"Feelings."
"Gross. I don't want 'em anymore," Janis sighs.
"Just think of stuff she's into. Like animals or math. You can borrow Pippa if you need to." Damian says as Janis leans against his shoulder.
"Animals... math... I can probably work with that," Janis says, a hint of a plan forming in her mind.
"There's my Janjan. You go Janjan. Ask the girl you're already dating to prom," Damian teases.
"Shut up! You know Caddy loves those tacky promposal things you see on YouTube, I gotta do something dorky," Janis says. Cady really does love them, she gets so excited every time someone at school gets promposed to, the tackier the better.
"And you'll think of something perfectly sappy and gross. I have faith."
"Thanks, D."
————-
On Monday, Janis uses her study hall period to hunt down Kevin G. Cady is in English on the other side of the building, so unless she goes really out of her way to go to the bathroom there's no chance of her finding out what Janis is up to.
She finds Kevin in the library, reading what appears to be a math textbook cover to cover. Janis puts on some fake confidence and marches her way up to his table, sliding into the chair across from him.
"Yo, Sarkisian, how ya been?" Kevin asks, closing the book and looking up at her.
"Um... fine. Listen, can you help me with something?" Janis says hastily.
"Depends," Kevin responds. "What do you need and what do I get out of it?"
"I'm trying to think of a way to ask Caddy to prom, is there any sort of, like, equation or something that would spell out prom if she solved it or something? Something math related I could do?" Janis pleads. She had decided getting animals involved was a little more risky than she was willing to try.
"Oh. Uh, I don't... actually know about that. I can check with Norbury and get back to you?" Kevin says.
"Sure. Just, would you be able to do it soon? Like, sometime this week? I wanna give her time to get everything prepared, and prom is less than a month away."
"Sure thing, Sarks. Don't stress, Africa never shuts up about you. She'll say yes."
"Thanks, Kevin. I really appreciate it." Janis says, relieved.
"Anything for Heron. We'd be a fuckin' wreck without her."
—————
On Wednesday, Janis is sitting in art when none other than Kevin comes barreling through the door, making a beeline for her.
"Yo, Picasso, Norbury and I have somethin' for ya," He calls.
"Really?" Janis asks, tucking her paintbrush behind her ear.
"Yeah. Um, Norbury got really excited when I told her you were trying to think of a good way to ask Africa and did a lot of research. They have a strange relationship. Anyway. She found this dope series of equations that spells 'prom' once it's graphed. Norbury said you can ask her during Mathletes practice on Friday using it, if you're into that." Kevin says.
"Oh, that's perfect. I'll talk to Ms. Norbury, I have a free next. Thank you, thank you, thank you," Janis says. "I owe you big time."
"You wanna design a new logo for my DJ business?" He asks with a slightly creepy wink.
"Sure. Uh, how long do I have?" Janis asks, pulling out her sketchbook to get going.
"As long as you need, I... um. Don't get many gigs. Also, don't fuck it up with Heron, please." Kevin begs.
"I'll do my best," Janis says, determined not to.
-
Janis heads to Ms. Norbury's classroom next, knocking on the doorframe. This is her plan period, so there's nobody else there.
"Oh, Janis, hello. Kevin told me you might come by," She says once she looks up.
"Um, yeah. He said you found something I could use to ask Cady to prom?" Janis says nervously. Ms. Norbury is one of the sweetest teachers at their school, but Janis always gets anxious when she talks to adults.
"I do indeed," Ms. Norbury says, pulling out a sheet of very complicated looking numbers and letters. "This looks like this, once it's been graphed." She flips the page over to reveal a graph with what looks like 'prom ?' in cursive.
"This is perfect. Can Caddy really solve this kind of stuff?" Janis asks, looking at the equations again.
"She can," Ms. Norbury confirms. "She's my MVP, so to speak. If you'd like, we have practice this Friday after school, we can squeeze this in at the end."
"That would be great," Janis breathes with relief.
They decide that Janis would drop by on Friday morning to drop off a few supplies, and then show up before Cady in the afternoon. She would hide in the classroom storage closet until Cady solved her graph, and then pop out with prom balloons and some flowers.
It's just tacky enough for Cady to love, and not quite tacky enough for Janis to hate. It's perfect.
———
Friday rolls around quicker than Janis is quite ready for. She wakes up two hours early to head to the party store and get the balloons, and then to the convenience store next door to grab a bouquet of pink roses, one of Cady's favorite flowers.
Ms. Norbury looks rather startled when she comes barreling into the room in a frenzy, but shoots her a wink as she stuffs everything into the closet and dashes back out the door to meet Cady like normal.
She's just barely gotten her breath back under control when Cady comes bouncing through the doors, auburn curls in a ponytail today. As always, she looks for Janis by her locker, smiling as she spies her and comes up for a hug.
"Hi, Jayjay," She says, wrapping Janis up tightly.
"Hi Peanut," Janis says back, kissing her forehead. "Did you take your medicines today?"
"Mmhmm! Did you take yours?" Cady answers. Cady almost always remembers, Janis almost always forgets.
"No," Janis answers, looking around as she pulls the bottle from her backpack as if she's committing a felony. She's not, but they're technically not allowed to carry their own medications. "Did you have breakfast?"
"No," Cady mumbles. She struggles sometimes to recognize physical sensations, occasionally forgoing a meal or forgetting to stay hydrated, especially if she's sucked into an activity or a routine.
"Eat one of your Kälteens, then," Janis says once her pills are down and the bottle hidden away in her bag again. Cady does, offering one to her too. "Thanks, babe."
"Are you okay, mpenzi? You look nervous," Cady says worriedly. Shit.
"Yeah I'm fine, everything's fine! All good," Janis says rapidly, shoving a large bite of her bar into her mouth and grinning at her like a chipmunk.
"Okay..." Cady says, clearly not believing her even slightly but also recognizing it's not something Janis wants to talk about.
The warning bell rings then, Cady pouting as she hugs Janis goodbye. "Bye, Butterfly. Have a good day," Janis says, pecking her lips gently.
"Bye, Bluejay. I love you," Cady says, blowing her another kiss as she walks away.
"I love you too!" Janis calls after her. And that makes this afternoon much easier, she thinks to herself.
-
Janis is almost relieved when school finally ends, the nerves having been building inside her as the day went on. Luckily Janis has study hall in the science wing directly above the math wing, allowing her to rush down and get to Ms. Norbury's room before anyone else. Cady has English on the other side of the building, so she's commonly the last one to arrive at practice.
She opens the cupboard where she'll be spending the next hour or so, luckily spotting an outlet so she can charge her phone to keep herself busy. Ms. Norbury agreed to film for her, so she has that covered. She makes sure no light shines out and sits on the ground, peeking under the doorframe as Cady enters, calling a hello to everyone else.
They all mill around and chat for a while before Ms. Norbury enters again with their practice problems for the day. Sometimes they practice competition style and other days they just make sure their problem solving skills are still up to snuff. Today is the latter. Cady greets Ms. Norbury as well, asking about her day and complimenting her blouse.
The boys all sit down first, having been informed of the plan, leaving Cady the seat with the best view of the cabinet Janis is in so she'll be able to see the reveal right away.
Janis watches her work for a while, having to hold on a chuckle as Cady's brows furrow in concentration and she taps away furiously on her calculator. She's so cute. She finishes first, taking the time to double check her work before going to Ms. Norbury for the answer key.
"You finished, Cady?" Ms. Norbury asks, taking her worksheet to check over it.
"Yeah, I'm not sure about number eight though," Cady says, rubbing her sleeve against her lips nervously.
"You got it correct, Cady. We've talked about this. Confidence," their teacher chides gently. "I have some bonus things for you to work on now, we need to work on graphing practice more. Here you go."
Janis perks up at that, standing quietly and grabbing hold of her balloons and flowers. There's just a big enough gap between the door and its frame that she can still peek and see what Cady's up to.
Cady taps away on her calculator again, plotting all the points down with her pencil carefully. Her brow gets progressively lower with her confusion as she goes, starting to realize something might be up here.
Her head snaps up when she finishes connecting all the points and sees what it spells, Janis taking that as her cue to step out of the closet. That's a hell of a metaphor, she thinks, bracing herself for Cady's reaction.
Cady gives an excited gasp when she sees her, scrambling out of her chair and rushing to leap into her arms. Janis drops the balloons and flowers to catch her, glad she had the foresight to go for a balloon weight. "Cady Heron, will you go to prom with me?"
"Of course I will, goofy," Cady says, sounding a little choked up. "This was perfect."
"Good," Janis says, setting her down gently and pressing their lips together. She forgets they're not alone until the other Mathletes start whistling and cheering, and Ms. Norbury gives an audible coo. They both break apart, blushing violently. "I love you."
"I love you too. How long were you in there?" Cady asks, pointing to the cupboard as she bends over to pick up the abandoned roses.
"I dunno. About ten minutes before you got here, I think. I wasn't paying attention to the time."
"You hid in a closet for an hour just to ask me to prom?" Cady asks, hugging her tightly again.
"Apparently I did, yes."
"You're such a dork, I love you. I'm so excited! We get to match this year," Cady squeals, bouncing up and down.
"Treat that one right, Africa! She's committed," Kevin hollers from behind them.
"Oh, I absolutely will," Cady purrs, leaning in for another sweet kiss.
————-
Damian insists on taking them both shopping, individually of course, so as not to ruin the reveal. Cady gets to go first, since she didn't get to pick an outfit for Spring Fling last year. Cady would decide the color scheme, and Damian would pass that information to Janis when it was her turn.
"This is fun!" Cady cheers, lugging him around the mall happily.
"We haven't even gotten to the store yet, Cads," Damian says, huffing slightly. For how small she is, Cady moves very quickly. He can't tell if it's the autism, the bisexuality, or some leftover instinct from Kenya, but he's exhausted.
"I know, but I like hanging out with you! You're fun," Cady says as she swings their arms back and forth happily.
"Aww. You're fun too, Cads." Damian responds, touched. "So, do you have any ideas of what kind of dress you want? Wait, do you even want a dress?"
"I want a dress, yes," Cady giggles. "I think a suit could be fun, but I didn't get to wear a dress last year. I think I want a long one? But I don't like when they have long sleeves, they're usually lace and it's too itchy." She looks at him questioningly, as if asking his approval for her opinions.
"Okay, we can work with that," Damian says as they enter.
"Whoa," Cady blurts, immediately slightly overwhelmed by all the colors and big poofy skirts.
"Yeah, it's a lot," Damian chuckles. "Do you wanna split up and look or stick together?"
"Stick together," Cady says hastily, pressing closer. "I trust your fashion sense more than my own anyway."
Damian thinks that's probably a fair assessment. "Okay, I think your sizes are over here." He starts flicking through a rack, and she roots through the one next to it. They have to be a bit more particular due to Cady's sensitivity to certain fabrics, but they get several good options.
"Oh, this is great," Cady says as Damian hands her a gown. "My cousin had some Broadway star take her shopping for her prom last year and it didn't go very well. Turns out a future Broadway star is much better."
"Wait, your cousin had a Broadway actor take her prom shopping? How did she swing that?" Damian asks.
"Oh, her school turned their prom into some big civil rights thing, they wouldn't let her go since she's a lesbian and wanted to take her girlfriend. They came down from New York to bring attention to it and stuff, I think. Her name is Emma." Cady says, grabbing another dress from the rack.
"Emma? Wait, does she live in Indiana?" Damian asks, excitement building.
"Yeah, why?"
"Emma Nolan is your cousin?! Janis and I each watched her video, like, fifty times. We donated to her campaign thing for the inclusive prom," Damian says.
"Oh, really? That's so sweet, I'll tell her. She'd love to meet you guys. I've told her a lot about you," Cady says, now weighed down by a mountain of heavy dresses.
"Oh my god, yes please, she's such an icon. Anyway, give me these, I can't even see your face anymore. Let's go pick your dress!" And with that, the pile is transferred to Damian and they head towards the changing rooms.
The first dress she tries is an amethyst color, and mermaid style. She likes how it looks in the mirror, but it's so tight around her legs that she almost falls flat on her face when she goes to show it off. Damian catches her and immediately turns her around to go try something else.
The second one is an emerald green, with a shorter skirt and long (but thankfully not itchy) sleeves. She's more into the length than she thought she would be, and the color suits her. Damian takes a photo so they can compare it to her other options.
The third dress is a beautiful yellow color, and has a sweetheart neckline and thin straps. It reminds her of her costume from Beauty and the Beast. She absolutely loves it, but it turns out to be way too large and her whole chest is pretty much exposed. Oh well.
Her fourth option is a periwinkle two-piece contraption with a very complicated top piece and a long poofy skirt. She likes the color and the way it fits, but the neckline makes her feel like she's choking and the material of the skirt is very itchy. Damian claps when he sees her in it, though, so she decides to keep it as an option.
The fifth time turns out to be the charm. It's a royal blue gown, the bodice tight and embroidered with a large flower pattern, and a skirt that flares out at her waist. The short sleeves hang just off her shoulders, and it makes her feel like a princess. This might be the one.
Damian's eyes go wide as he spies her coming from behind the curtain, gasping at the beauty of it. "This one this one this one," he repeats excitedly, clapping his hands in between. "What do you think?"
"I really like it," Cady says, turning to look at herself in another mirror. "The material is really nice. And the color is so pretty."
"It makes your eyes pop. And it goes so well with your hair," Damian says as he comes up behind her, laughing as she starts moving her hips to see how the skirt swishes.
"The swish is good," Cady giggles. "Do you think Janis will like it?"
"She would love anything you feel good in, you know that," Damian says. "But yes, I think we'll be lucky if she doesn't pass out when she sees you. You look gorgeous, Little Slice."
"Thank you. Oh, wait, can you take a picture to show my mom? She wanted to come with us but she got stuck with a work thing," Cady asks. "I think she said someone brought in a sick elephant and they had to decide what to do with it."
"An eleph- okay, sure. Smile," He responds, taking her phone and snapping a few photos. "There you go. Wanna go get some boba?"
"Ooh, yes!" Cady squeals.
————-
The week after is Janis' turn, Damian taking her shopping along with both of their mothers and Juliana. It's much easier shopping for suits. There's less variety, so they don't have to decide from as many options.
Damian goes first, he and his date Elijah having decided on an emerald color scheme for their outfits. He tries on two options, a slate grey suit with a green button up underneath, and a fully green suit with a black button up.
He looks great in both, but Julie in her typical brutally honest fashion says he looks rather like a tree in the full green one. Janis' mom whacks her on the back of the head and tells her to be polite, but Damian just laughs and agrees with her, going with the grey ensemble.
Janis' turn. Damian tells her that Cady's dress is a royal blue, and that's all the detail she gets. She grins, trying to imagine what her girlfriend will look like on the night, wondering what style of dress she chose. Janis does love Cady in blue.
Their group wanders aimlessly for a minute until Janis finds a black pantsuit in her size, Damian grabbing a soft blue crew neck t-shirt as an option to go under it, as well as a white button down and cobalt skinny tie as an alternate.
She heads to the changing room, tugging the curtain closed and staring at her pieces for a second. She decides to try the more traditional button down and tie first, fumbling with it for a second before giving up and heading out, asking her mom to tie it for her.
Janis looks in the mirror once her mom loops it around her neck correctly, grinning at what she sees. She looks hot. The thin legs of the pants make her look even taller than she already is. They're a little long, so she'll have to get it tailored a bit, but the fit other than that is perfect. The dark blazer accentuates her shoulders, and the length of the sleeves makes her feel like a boss bitch.
She turns around to see what her little crew thinks, finding Julie already in Damian's lap and wide grins on everyone's faces.
"You look beautiful, hon. Very sophisticated," Ms. Hubbard says, her own mom sneakily wiping a tear away and nodding in agreement.
"Go see what you look like with the t-shirt instead," her sister demands. She does, heading back to change before pulling the blazer back on. She looks in the mirror again. The t-shirt is a little less formal, but she still looks very dapper.
"Which do you like better, baby girl?" Her mom asks. She has to think for a moment. The shirt allows her to match more with Cady, and is more comfortable. But if she wore a tie, Cady could use it to pull her into kisses, which she's always wanted to do.
She decides they'll be doing plenty of kissing anyway, and goes with what she feels more comfortable in. "I like this. I think once I have my accessories and makeup on and stuff it'll still be fancy enough."
"I think so too," Damian says, removing her sister from his lap to stand. He heads to change back into his so their moms can take pictures of them together.
Janis' phone pings right as she's about to hand it over for a photo. She pulls it back to check, grinning a little when she sees a message from Cady.
Caddy Cakes: Hi lovey!!!! 🥰😘 Did you pick an outfit yet??
Jellybean: hi baby
Jellybean: i just picked my suit, no you can't see it yet
Caddy Cakes: D:
Caddy Cakes: Just kidding, I know. I have a request
Jellybean: 🤨
Caddy Cakes: Can I see you in heels????? Pleeeeeeaase?? Just for prom night and then I'll never make you wear them again 🥺🥺
Caddy Cakes: Sent a picture: Pwease?
Jellybean: you gotta stop doing the puppy eyes
Jellybean: fine. i'll talk to damian
Caddy Cakes: Oh yay!!! Ok I'll let you go now. I love you!!!!! Mwah!
Jellybean: i love you too baby 😘😘
She clicks her phone off and stares at it for a second, realizing what she's just gotten herself into.
"What happened?" Damian asks, concerned something is seriously wrong.
"Caddy wants me to wear heels," Janis whines as she buries her face in his blazer.
"You are so fucking whipped," Damian teases. "We'll find something."
Their moms finally finish taking photos and they head to the shoe store, Janis looking longingly at the flat men's dress shoes Damian chooses from. Once his are picked, they head over to the high heels. Janis stares incredulously at the height of some of them, very glad she escaped the Plastics before the heels got this high.
Juliana suddenly comes running at her holding a box, nearly tripping over her own feet and falling on her face until Janis reaches out to steady her. Julie shoves the box at her, Janis taking it curiously and looking to see what her sister has found.
She pulls back the tissue paper to find a pair of stiletto heels (which concerns her, thin heels are not a good way to introduce yourself to them), about four or five inches high and the same royal blue as their color scheme.
"These are huge, Jules," Janis says incredulously. "Pretty, but... damn."
"They're the only ones that match," Juliana pants, still out of breath from dashing around the store. "I checked everywhere."
Janis looks at them again. Maybe if she practiced wearing them she could do it. "I'll try them. You gotta help me, though, or I'm gonna fall on my ass."
Juliana giggles at that but nods as Janis heads over to a bench to sit, tugging off her comfortable boots. She immediately regrets agreeing to this, but does kind of understand the appeal once she stands up for the first time.
With the height of the heel she's roughly six and a half feet tall and feeling like she can grind the patriarchy to a pulp under her foot. Of course, it all flies out the window when she tries to take a step, since her entire gait has to shift.
Julie grabs her hands to steady her, guiding her slowly down the aisle like she's teaching a baby how to walk. Unfortunately, Damian and their mothers come back at this point, all of them immediately bursting out laughing at the sight.
"Oh, baby girl, you'll have to practice," her mom giggles.
"Those shoes are perfect, though," Damian says excitedly.
"I picked 'em!" Juliana says proudly.
Damian looks impressed. "Nice, squirt. You have a knack for that." Juliana beams proudly as Janis messes up her hair, immediately losing her balance.
"Who fucking invented these," she grumbles crankily under her breath.
"Language, Janny," her mom chides warningly, despite knowing she swears all the time.
Janis looks sheepish, turning away. "Sorry Mama."
"Alright, let's go get you kids fed and head home," Ms. Hubbard says.
"God, yes please," Janis breathes, yanking the shoes off her feet and stuffing them
back in the box.
————-
The day before the dance, Cady insists on all three art freaks (plus Juliana, who had her own middle school dance on the same night) going to the spa together.
It's a lovely place, very clean and bright. Janis decides to get her nails all painted the same royal blue shade to match their outfits, Cady gets a glittery silver, and Juliana gets a purple to match the dress she had picked. Damian felt left out and decides to get his painted green.
Since they're not getting any kind of fancy processes done, they're all led back to sit next to one another in massage chairs to wait for their nail technicians. The hostess offers them a drink of their choice, Damian and Julie choose a cola, Cady gets water and Janis asks for a Sprite.
While they wait for their drinks, their nail techs come to get to work on them. It turns out that part of the package is hot stone massages on their legs, and warm lotion massages on their arms while they get their nails painted. Janis nearly falls asleep in her chair, lulled by the soothing warmth of the lotion and the repetitive motion of the chair.
She's startled back awake by the lady returning with their drinks, learning that they had run out of Sprite and offered a Mountain Dew instead. She says it's fine and takes it, finding the contrast of the drink and the sensations she's experiencing very funny.
Once their nails are all painted, they're led over to a drying station in the middle of the room, sitting on benches and sticking their hands and feet under fans to blow their nails dry. Cady leans her head on Janis' shoulder while they wait, Janis kissing her hair and pressing her cheek against the top of her head.
"I can't wait to see you tomorrow," Cady whispers. "I'm so excited."
"I can't wait either, Peanut. You're going to look so beautiful," Janis responds softly, pulling her into a sweet kiss once her nails are finished and safe to use again.
Cady looks sad to see Janis go once they have to pay and leave, but cheers up a bit when she's reminded that they get to spend the whole night together tomorrow.
————
On the day, Janis' mom helps her get ready. The dance doesn't start until nine, but she and Cady are going out to dinner with Damian and Elijah first, so she has to be ready early.
She's lucky that her mom appreciates her style. She applies some natural looking makeup around her eyes, which is a bit different than Janis normally does, but she does have to admit it's a nice look. She's surprised when her mom gets to the lips, pulling out a blue lipstick, so dark it's almost black. It's perfect.
Janis thinks she looks sort of like a model when she looks in the mirror as her mom starts working on her hair.
"I've missed doing this for you," her mom says as she starts brushing out her hair.
"You can anytime, Mama. I hate doing it," Janis huffs.
"You always did, baby girl, you always did," her mother replies. Once she finishes brushing it, she applies a few products to get her natural wave back into it, and then starts slicking it to the side with some gel. Once it's finished, all her hair is resting over her shoulder. It's a very elegant look. "There."
"Mama, are you crying?" Janis asks, turning around to hug her.
"No," her mom sniffs. "Yes. You've just... grown into such a beautiful young lady. Feels like the years have gotten away from me. Won't be too much longer before I'm doing this on your wedding day."
Janis laughs at that. "You've got a while, I'm nowhere near ready to be married yet. I love you."
Her mom squeezes her, brushing a hand against her cheek as she lets her go. "I love you too, baby girl. Go put your suit on, I've got to help your sister now."
-
Janis heads to her room, tugging on her now perfectly tailored suit pants, then her royal blue t-shirt, her blazer, and necklaces. She decides to forgo the shoes for as long as she can, leaving them resting on her bed. She slides her fanciest rings on as a finishing touch and heads to look at herself in the mirror.
It's strange. She's wearing a suit, but she looks more feminine than she has in a long time. Even in comparison to her suit from last year's Spring Fling where she wore a skirt, it's a more feminine look. She decides she's into it. She looks good.
-
She heads downstairs right as Damian and his date pull up outside. Juliana goes rushing up to hug him, looking beautiful in her lavender dress. Janis is glad her sister and best friend get along so well.
"Looking good, guys," she says as her sister finally releases him. Elijah wound up choosing the option Damian didn't, looking quite handsome in his green ensemble. He's shorter than Damian, so he looks less like a tree.
"So do you! You look so good, Jan," Damian says, pulling her into a gentle hug so he doesn't mess anything up.
"Thanks," Janis says shyly, spinning around to show off with her shoes still in her hand. "When's Caddy coming? I wanna see her."
"She texted me and said she's gonna be a couple minutes late, she shouldn't be too much longer," Damian responds, checking the time on his phone. "Oh, speak of the devil."
Cady's parents pull up then, Cady's door opening before the car even comes to a complete stop. Janis gasps when she sees her girlfriend in her dress for the first time.
Before she even has time to fully process it, her jaw hanging open, her girlfriend is in her arms, hugging her tightly. "Janis, oh my god! You look incredible!"
"So do you," Janis says, pulling back for a second to see her. "You look like a princess."
Cady really does, her long auburn hair has been braided into a thick crown around her head, the remaining strands tied in a bun on top of her head and two little pieces hanging out to frame her face. Her makeup is heavy around her eyes, silver shadow on her lids and eyelashes dark. She looks very ethereal. Her lipstick is more natural, and Janis likes that she can still see her freckles through her face makeup.
"You look so hot! Very, um, sexy businesswoman going to a fancy thing," Cady says, reaching out to feel her blazer. Janis realizes when she doesn't have to reach as far that their height balance is off, thrown by Cady's shoes.
"Thanks," Janis laughs. "I think."
"Put your shoes on, I wanna see," Cady demands, pointing to the heels Janis is still holding in her hand.
"Fine," Janis pouts as she rests them
on the ground and steps into them carefully. Cady reaches out to steady her at first before letting go once she's more stable. Janis has been wearing them around the house all month to get used to them.
"Jesus, you're tall," Cady giggles, looking up at her. "Oh, wait, I have your-um. Thingy."
"Boutonnière, baby. Thank you," Janis laughs as Cady tenderly pins it on. "Here's your corsage."
"Why thank you," Cady says as Janis slides it on her wrist and kisses her knuckles. "Now come on, we gotta take pictures. I want to kiss you but I can't mess up your makeup until those are done."
"Okay, Peanut, let's go," Janis chuckles, taking her hand and stumbling slightly as she heads over to Damian, Elijah, and their parents.
They take every cliché prom photo in the book, all awkward poses and cheesy smiles. Janis nearly breaks her ankle trying to do their jump shot in those shoes, but Cady somehow does and lands it perfectly, reaching out to steady Janis with a chuckle.
They take one more jokey shot of each other with the wrong dates, Cady with Damian and Janis with Elijah looking at each other confusedly before switching back to who they're meant to be with.
"Alright, you crazy kids, get out of here," Damian's mom demands, shoving them towards their Uber that had pulled up. None of them were into the idea of renting a limo, but none of them wanted to drive either.
"Be safe!" Janis' mom adds.
"Make good choices!" Cady's mom pipes up. Her dad and Cady both roll their eyes lovingly.
————-
As they pull up to the restaurant, everyone clambers out quickly. Damian and Elijah head in first, Janis and Cady following hand in hand a few paces behind them. Just before they reach the doors, Cady tugs on Janis' hand, hauling her backwards.
"Wha- oh, okay," Janis stutters, gasping as Cady looks around quickly before fisting a hand in her t-shirt and pulling her down for a hot mess of a kiss. Turns out the shirt works just fine. Janis kisses her back just as hard, wrapping her arms around Cady's waist to pull her closer.
When they finally break apart, their lipsticks have fully blended together. "Glad we made it to the dance before we ruined our makeup," Cady chuckles breathlessly, pulling two makeup wipes out of her clutch to get rid of the evidence. Damian looks at them knowingly when they walk in several minutes late suddenly missing lipstick, but neither of them care.
-
It's a fancy restaurant, and their table is next to a water feature. Janis immediately sticks her hand in it, causing water to splash everywhere for a second until she pulls it out.
"Janis, what? Why did you do that?" Cady asks in exasperation as she grabs a napkin from their table to dry Janis' hand.
Janis looks down sheepishly. "I wanted to see if it was real."
"Well now you know," Cady says, dabbing at the splash marks on her suit and wondering how a fountain could be fake. "And I'm sitting next to that. You get the outside."
"Sorry, Caddy."
"Don't be sorry, my love. I just worry about your regard for social norms and sense of self preservation sometimes." Cady comforts, kissing her cheek gently to cheer her up.
"Oh, speaking of which, I got a great idea for senior pranks," Janis says excitedly. Damian and Elijah both lean in across the table, as if they're plotting something for the mafia. "I'm gonna get a cow and stick it on the second floor, and then put chickens in the elevator. Cows don't go down stairs, so they'll try to put it in the elevator and find the chickens."
"Where are you going to get any of these things?" Elijah asks. It's a fair question.
"My mom knows a guy, one of her old classmates is a farmer and he said I could borrow some of his livestock," Janis explains.
"I- wh-" Cady stutters, trying to find a response to this. "If you get expelled before you can graduate I'm not gonna help you." Her own plan was just to stick a bunch of plastic forks in the football field. Gretchen and Karen had already agreed to help, too.
"I won't get caught. It'll be fine," Janis says, sounding as if she already knows it won't.
"That's actually kind of genius, Jan," Damian says. "I'm gonna put a speaker in the gym playing the chorus to It's a Small World on repeat and then put a bunch of cups full of water in the way of it."
"Nice!" Janis cheers, high-fiving him.
"You guys," Cady pleads, looking as if she's witnessing a murder plot. "You're gonna get in trouble."
"That's the fun of it, Peanut! The risk," Janis says boldly. "Plus, Regina knows how to hack the security cameras so there won't be any proof. Unless someone rats me out."
Cady thinks she might, just to save herself the headache. She feels as if she's gotten a very telling taste of her future. "Jesus Christ."
Cady and Elijah make exhausted eye contact periodically throughout their meal, exasperated with their respective partners. Once they finally finish eating, Cady has to haul Janis away from the fountain by the tail of her blazer to stop her from reaching into it again.
"Come on, Jayjay. No fountain or I'm revoking your little spoon rights for a week."
"Fine."
————-
A few minutes after nine, their group strolls into the school. Janis and Cady head to the bathroom to reapply their respective lipsticks before going into the main dance.
Janis stops Cady before she can put hers back on, pressing her against the wall gently and kissing her soundly again. Cady grips the fabric of her blazer at her waist, having to restrain herself from messing up Janis' hair.
Janis checks under the doors to make sure they're alone before coming back, pulling Cady flush against her and sucking on her lower lip. Cady groans softly, making Janis want to fast forward through the dance and take her home.
Cady gives her one last good smooch before pulling back, both of them panting slightly. "We should go in," She breathes, ghosting the words over Janis' lips. "We have time for this later, we only get one senior prom."
"Fine," Janis pouts, kissing her gently one more time before heading to a mirror to finally put her lipstick back on.
They head hand in hand into the gym, looking around at how it's been transformed. The theme this year is a Night Under the Stars, so they're surrounded by dark balloons, gold decorations, and glow in the dark stars stuck to the ceiling. Janis is reminded of Cady's speech from last year's dance. Maybe that served as the inspiration.
"Whoa," Cady says excitedly. The school puts much more funding into prom than Spring Fling, since it's supposed to be a kind of final memory for the seniors. It actually looks quite nice. "I'm gonna go say hi to Regina and Gretchen and Karen really quick, I'll be right back."
"Okay, Butterfly. I want punch, I'll be over there." Janis kisses her quickly and sends her on her way.
She people-watches as she sips slowly from her cup, wanting to get as much punch as she can before someone inevitably spikes it. Damian and Elijah have already been lost to the mob of dancers, but she can spy them just across the way. Regina looks strangely nervous in her baby pink dress. She's been wary of large crowds since the bus incident. Gretchen and Karen look adorable as ever together, in royal purple dresses that are slightly different styles.
Janis is working on her third cup of punch when the DJ announces a request for Born This Way by Lady Gaga. She and Damian lock eyes from across the room, nodding slightly. Damian sometimes choreographs dances to his favorite songs, and almost always drags Janis into learning them. They both have backgrounds in dance, and can do them quite well. Janis figures they might as well go out with a bang.
They meet in the middle of the floor and start their routine. Damian is a talented choreographer, having spent hours studying for his various shows. The routine is actually very well put together.
People gradually start realizing what's happening and stop dancing themselves, surrounding them to watch and cheer them on. It's a nice feeling, if a bit strange for them. She spots Cady with the former Plastics watching her excitedly, and shoots her a cheeky wink before continuing her moves.
When the song finally ends, they pause in their ending pose for a split second before standing and blushing scarlet. Everyone claps for a short while, looking rather stunned as they head back to their friends. "Well damn," the DJ says into his microphone. "Did not expect that. Uh, here's the Macarena."
Cady wraps Janis in a tight hug once she finally reaches her, yelling, "Janis, what the hell?! I had no idea you could dance like that, that was incredible!"
"Thanks," Janis pants. "I'll teach you sometime."
"I'm such a klutz, good look with that," Cady giggles. "You need more to drink, you must be exhausted."
She leads Janis over to the table, pouring them both one more glass of punch. "We should go see who the prom court is, too."
Prom court worked a bit differently than Spring Fling, in that it was a secret until the night of the dance. Student council made nominations, which allowed some of the less popular students to make the ballot, and then whoever attended the event got to vote.
"There's two winners of each this year? That's different," Janis mumbles on seeing the sign at the voting table.
"Regina said it's because there's a lot more LGBT+ couples that are out and coming to events together now, and should both be able to win. They're doing it from now on," Cady says. "And look at who's on the ballot."
Janis does, surprised to see her own name listed, along with Cady's and the three former Plastics. "I'm an option?"
"You are," Cady chuckles. "And Damian is up for Prom King, too." Sure enough, Damian and Elijah are both listed along with all the Mathletes.
Janis is stunned. It doesn't make up for the years of torment they faced at the hands of these kids, and she doesn't think for a second that she's going to win, but it's a nice gesture at least. A start.
They're each allowed to vote for two people for each category. Janis votes Cady and Karen for queen and Damian and Elijah for king. Cady votes Janis and Gretchen as queen and also votes Damian and Elijah as king.
Once they slip their papers into the boxes, the DJ announces a slow song. "May I have this dance?" Janis asks in a suave voice, reaching out a hand for her girlfriend.
"You may," Cady giggles, taking her hand and following her onto the dance floor. Janis kisses Cady's knuckles gently before letting go to hold her by the waist, Cady grinning up at her as she holds onto Janis' neck.
"I love you," Janis murmurs as they start swaying softly to the rhythm of the song. Cady pushes up briefly to brush their lips together.
"I love you too," she whispers when she pulls away again. "I'm so glad we got this night together."
"I am too. We've come so far in a year, it's crazy," Janis responds.
"Crazy indeed," Cady chuckles. "I'm so lucky."
"I'm the lucky one, baby," Janis says, surprising Cady by dipping her. She squeals and clings tighter to her neck, but giggles when Janis kisses her quickly and pulls her back up.
"You're so smooth," Cady teases as the song ends.
"Thanks," Janis responds as she kisses her again. "God, my feet are killing me."
"Take your shoes off then, Jellybean. The ticket lady will hold them for you," Cady says. "Mine kind of hurt too, we can just walk around barefoot."
They both sit on the bleachers to take their heels off, breathing a sigh of relief once they're back to their normal height. Now that they're free, they meet back up with Damian and Elijah, letting loose and dancing crazily to the loud music, jumping up and down as they laugh. It's freeing, dancing like nobody's watching in a room packed with people.
After several songs, the DJ announces that it's time to reveal the winners of prom king and queen. All the nominees head up on stage next to him, Janis and Cady holding hands as they make their way up.
They announce the kings first. "Your nominees for prom king are: Damian Hubbard, Elijah French, Kevin Gnapoor, Marwan Jitla, and Tyler Kimble!" The DJ calls dramatically. "And your kings for tonight are... Damian and Elijah!"
Janis and Cady both cheer happily as their friends receive their crowns, clapping for them excitedly.
"Moving to your nominees for prom queen! Caddy Heron, Janis Sarkisian, Regina George, Gretchen Wieners, and Karen Smith!" Cady pouts a little at the mispronunciation of her name. "And your prom queens tonight are... Caddy and Janis!"
Janis blinks rapidly, stunned. They're handed the tiaras to put on each other, Cady having to pop up on her tippy toes to reach that high. Janis places the crown tenderly on Cady's head, sliding it in place around her updo. Cady bravely decides to pull her down into a brief, sweet kiss. A few people clap for them then, which is nice.
They're led off stage after that, Janis still in shock. How the hell did I win? These people all hated me. If Cady finds out later that Regina had threatened everyone into voting for them, she'd take that secret to her grave.
-
They decide to stick around for one more slow song, this time with Cady leading. Janis leans down and presses their foreheads together, looking into Cady's clear blue eyes happily.
Cady tries to dip her, too, nearly dropping her on the ground until Janis barely manages to pull herself back up at the last second. Cady looks very sheepish, until Janis kisses her cheek gently to make her smile.
"Can we go home?" Cady asks quietly once the song is finished, pressing close to Janis. "I feel buzzy."
'Buzzy' is how Cady had taken to describing the feeling of being overstimulated. She surprisingly isn't feeling too overloaded, given the amount of noise and the lights, but knows it will get to be too much for her soon.
"Of course, baby. Go get our stuff, I'll go tell Damian," Janis answers, kissing her sweetly and pushing her towards the door.
She heads to fetch Damian, who is deep in conversation with Elijah. She doesn't want to interrupt, but he spies her lurking and waves her over. "Caddy and I are going home, she's tired."
"Okay, I'll come say bye," Damian says, kissing Elijah on the cheek and standing to follow her. Janis leads him over to where Cady is waiting with her bag and both pairs of their shoes.
"Bye, little slice," Damian says, wrapping her in a hug. "See you later."
"Bye, Dame," Cady responds, leaning into his embrace as best she can. Damian heads back to his date then, Janis leading Cady by the arm out the doors gently. She taps into her phone to order their Uber home before sitting down on a bench and pulling Cady into her lap.
"Did you have fun, Peanut?" She asks, kissing Cady's forehead as she squeezes her tightly to help with the sensory overload. Cady nods against her shoulder, too overwhelmed to speak unless she absolutely has to. "Good."
It's a cold night for springtime, and Janis notices Cady start shivering slightly in her embrace. She pulls away for a second to tug off her blazer, wrapping it gently around her girlfriend and pulling her back in. Cady kisses her jaw a few times in thanks.
————
Once they get back to Janis' house, Cady leads Janis quickly up towards her bedroom, desperate to get out of her now heavy and uncomfortable gown. Janis hands her some makeup wipes as she pulls out Cady's emergency sleepover pjs from her dresser, as well as some shorts and a sweatshirt for herself.
Cady takes the pjs once all her itchy makeup has been removed, but tugs gently on the hem of Janis' sweatshirt, silently asking for one too. Janis goes to fetch another one, kissing her cheek as Cady heads to get changed.
Cady is scratching at her head when she returns, trying to relieve some of the ache caused by her hairstyle. "Help?" She asks quietly, barely above a whisper. Talking takes energy she doesn't have to spare at the moment.
Janis nods, gesturing for her to sit between her legs as she removes the crown, starting to unravel the mess of pins and ties holding up her hair. Cady breathes a sigh of relief once her long curls are flowing down her back again, and her eyes flutter shut as Janis starts stroking a brush through them gently to remove any excess product.
Once she's finished, Cady ties her hair up loosely so it's not in her face before turning to face Janis. "Now you."
Janis switches spots with her, taking a wipe to take off her own makeup as Cady starts gently brushing the gel and hairspray out. They'd still have to shower tomorrow, but that can wait. They're both exhausted.
Once Janis' hair is sufficiently soft, Cady lies down and pulls Janis to lie on top of her. Janis was worried about squishing her the first few times, since Cady is so much smaller, but Cady had explained that the pressure didn't hurt and actually was very helpful when she was upset.
Janis tugs the duvet over them gently, kissing Cady goodnight before tucking her face into her shoulder and closing her eyes.
"I love you." Cady mutters quietly, rubbing Janis' back.
"I love you too, baby. Sweet dreams." Janis says back, popping an eye open to look at the two tiaras resting on her nightstand. She grins happily before shutting her eyes once more and drifting off to dreamland.
Tonight belonged to us.
-
hope you enjoyed!
here are some photos i based descriptions off of:
cady's dress (i imagined the skirt a touch less poofy, but this was the closest i could find)
janis' suit (just imagine the shirt as blue and the suit itself just a little more fancy. google was wildly unhelpful for this one.)
cady's hairstyle (from erika henningsen's instagram. i couldn't find any images that look quite like the way i imagined janis', or any photos for either of their makeup looks. sorry.)
and last but not least, janis' shoes. ta da!
requests are still open!please leave them either here, on my ao3, or on my tumblr. all are the same handle, maybeimamuppet. i've been getting quite a few lately (thank you all!) so it may take a few weeks for yours to be complete, but i am doing my damndest to crank these out and i will get to everyone's eventually.
thanks for reading!
lots of love,
ezzy