"I think I might be the only girl that isn't dying to go to prom" Florence sighed, taking a seat on one of the chairs in the choir room, "I'm not even sure I'm going. Sam doesn't really want to go either, and I would much rather stay home and watch TV"
"That's too bad, because you are going" Quinn smiled, taking a seat next to her friend. "I'm afraid you don't have a say in this. If you aren't there I will personally come pick you up"
Florence pouted and crossed her arms, looking around in her mind for a reason not to go. "I don't even have a dress" she reasoned.
Quinn smiled, already expecting this answer. She grabbed her tablet and searched around in her photo gallery. "Kurt and I already chose one for you" she smiled, handing Florence the device.
"I don't have a date" Florence sighed, too proud to say a word about the beautiful dress on the tablet's lit up screen.
"Someone will ask you, trust me" Quinn smiled, looking at Sam who had just entered the room.
"Alright, guys. Prom" Mr. Schuester announced, spinning around to face the New Directions. The teens were not as exited as he had hoped, except for Rachel who was happily clapping her hands.
"Please tell me were not doing songs about prom" Sam sighed, leaning back on his chair.
"Nope. We are the prom" the teacher spoke, "Figgins asked us to perform" he smiled, walking towards the students to see their reactions. "Now, I know this isn't ideal with Nationals coming up, but we really don't have a choice. And we could really use the money. But I know prom is a special rite of passage, so I'm gonna make sure that all of you guys get a chance to enjoy the dance too"
The New Directions were slightly warming up to the idea, leaving only a few people who still weren't thrilled. When Mr. Schuester mentioned the word dates yet another time, Mercedes loudly sighed and stood up, excusing herself from Glee Club.
"Is she okay?" Florence worriedly asked, looking at the door Mercedes had exited through a few seconds ago.
"She doesn't have a date to the prom" Quinn aswered.
"I don't have a date either" Brittany and Florence said in perfect harmony. They both cocked their head to the side, an amazed smile on both their faces.
"I'll go talk to Mercedes" Kurt sighed, grabbing his vintage designer bag as he stood up.
"No, let me" Rachel said, stopping him in his tracks
Brittany hopped off her chair, taking a seat on the floor before Florence. "Florence, why don't we go to prom together?" She smiled, twirling with her hair as she stared up at her.
"Well... I wasn't planning on going" Florence mumbled,
"Yes, you were" Quinn coughed.
"I just found out that I am going. So if Sam doesn't mind I would be honored to go with you" She smiled, turning around to face her boyfriend.
"Well, I'm really not going, so you have my blessing" Sam replied, smiling brightly.
"Told you someone was going to ask you" Quinn whispered
ꕥ
Rachel had led Sam away from his girlfriend, and lured him with her into the auditorium. Sam had no clue what was going on, and looked around the room like he expected someone to jump out from behind one of the curtains.
"Is this a surprise party or something?" He asked, looking at Rachel as he awaited her answer. He noticed Mercedes was also in the room and he briefly smiled at her. "Because my birthday was last week"
"It was?" Rachel asked, not aware of Sam's personal life in the slightest, "Mercedes and I have a proposition for you"
"We were wondering if you'd like to go to prom with us?" Mercedes continued.
"Sort of like a three-way date" Rachel spoke, realizing how weird that sounded, she quickly mumbled "but not the dirty kind"
"It sounds great, but I can't afford to take anyone the prom... If I could, I would have asked Florence right away" Sam sighed. He had been looking forward to prom ever since they started dating, and it had been quite a big disappointment when he found out he couldn't take her.
"You don't have to worry about the money" Rachel spoke, handing Sam a few ten dollar bills. She explained the idea she and Mercedes had come up with, and Sam felt a smile creep onto his face.
"I have a question" he spoke after Rachel had explained every detail of their plan, "I totally want to come with you, but would it be cool if I asked Florence and Britt too? I wanted to go with Florence in the first place, and this way we could go as one big group"
Rachel and Mercedes looked at each other, silently having a conversation no one understood but them.
"Sounds like a plan" Rachel smiled
ꕥ
Finn, Burt, Blaine and both Hummel siblings were gathered in the living room of the Hummel-Hudson home. Blaine and Finn were there to have Kurt judge their tuxedos, and Florence just happened to be around.
"So you guys think it's cool if jam with you guys at prom?" Blaine asked.
"Yeah, totally" Finn spoke. He seemed slightly uncomfortable for some mysterious reason, and Blaine was not picking up on it.
The door opened revealing a smiling Burt Hummel "Good news, boys" he spoke when he saw the kids on his couch. "My buddy Enzo from the tux rental shop is giving you half off"
A smile appeared on Finn's face at the sound of discount. And he looked up at Burt "Sweet" he whispered
"I'm going simple. Black, thin lapel collar... very discreet" Blaine spoke, a picture of his tuxedo in mind.
"Know what I wore to my prom?" Burt asked, taking a seat on one of the soft chairs. "I wore a powder blue tux with a ruffled shirt and a big velour bowtie. Looked like Tony Orlando"
Kurt slid into the room, wearing yet another tux. He quickly flattened the hem and smiled brightly. "No need for half off for my outfit" he smiled, showing his audience all sides of his suit.
"Why, because half of it is already off?" Burt joked. He looked around the room in hopes of earning some laughs.
"My ensemble is a homage to the recent royal wedding and the late Alexander McQueen" Kurt explained, waiting for some feedback on the outfit
"Alexander McQueen... isn't that the guy from Cars?" Florence whispered
As Kurt further explained the roots of his clothes, Blaine turned to his sister.
"Florence, explain to me one more time who your date to the prom is" he said.
"Well...Brittany asked me to go with her and I said yes because Sam wasn't going. Then, Berry and Mercedes came up with what they call prom on a budget. They asked Sam to be their date and he said yes, but he secretly still wanted to go with me -I don't blame him, I'm really awesome- so he asked Mercedes and Berry if I could come with them. I'm not letting Brittany down, so she's going with us as well. And lastly, Rachel asked her ex-boyfriend Jesse to come with us, so he's tagging along too" Florence explained, proud of herself that she remembered everything.
A small discussion had developed between Kurt and Burt about his choice of clothes for the prom. Kurt was currently lecturing everyone in the room on being yourself and about the true meaning of prom, the lecture ending on him dramatically exiting the room when Blaine told him to not wear a skirt to prom, because it would give the bullies yet another reason to harass him.
"Touchy subject" Florence whispered
ꕥ
Florence was being dragged into the school's gym, which had been turned into a sparky venue for the night. "Don't be a baby, come on. You look beautiful" Quinn encouraged her as she yanked her onto the dance floor.
"I know. That's the problem" Florence dramatically sighed, "I'm not used to people looking at me like they are doing now. I would much rather be at home in a hoodie"
"Look who's there!" Quinn changed the subject, spinning Florence around and pushing her into Sam without a warning.
"I know I look amazing, but that's not a reason to tackle me" Sam smiled. Florence smiled back at him and took a step back to look at his outfit.
Sam, who was doing the same, was just now realizing Florence was also dressed up, looked her up and down. "Wow, Flo... you look beautiful" he gushed
"I know" Florence smiled, "But my eyes are up here" she teased him.
"I wasn't looking there!" Sam defensively spoke.
"You were, but I don't blame you. They look amazing" Puck said, appearing next to Sam.
"I would appreciate it if you wouldn't look at my girlfriend's... things" Sam spoke, struggling at the last word.
"Classy" Florence mumbled. Sam expanded his arm, holding his hand in front of Florence.
"May I have this dance, my dear?" he asked, a strong British accent forming halfway through the sentence.
Florence reached out her hand, ready to grab Sam's. Suddenly Brittany appeared, smiling widely as she stood between Florence and Sam.
"Florence, do you wanna dance?" She yelled, still on a sugar-high from the seven bowls of ice cream she had eaten at breadstix.
"You dance with Brit, I'll go fix my hair" Sam smiled. He was having the time of his life and nothing could ruin his mood, not even Puckerman hitting on his girlfriend could bring him down.
Florence and Brittany walked onto the dance floor. Brittany being an amazing dancer, showed Florence some moves as she happily danced around the room.
As the night progressed, Florence had danced with almost all of her friends. Still wanting to dance with Sam, she ran around the room looking for him. Finally noticing Sam at the other side of the room, she raced all the way over there, smiling brightly as she approached him.
"There you are! I've been looking for you for like-
Sam interrupted her, using one hand to softly cup her face and placing the other on her waist he slowly planted a kiss on her lips. When they broke apart, Florence had a curious smile on her face.
"What was that for?" She chuckled, wiping some lipstick from Sam's lip with her thumb.
"Puckerman was staring at you again" Sam replied, staring at the guy with the Mohawk that was watching them from across the room.
"I don't mind... it's probably because of the dress I'm wearing" Florence sighed. She did mind, but she was in no mood to tell Puckerman off, it was prom night after all.
"The dress you're wearing doesn't give him the right to ogle you like that" Sam huffed. Being around Quinn and Florence most of the time had taught him a lot about how girls were perceived in the world, and he was now a full on feminist.
"I'm gonna go find my locker, I still have a sweater in there and I would feel much more comfortable in a hoodie than in this dress" Florence smiled
"It's technically my sweater. You stole it from me" Sam mumbled.
Florence placed her hand on her mouth, pretending to be shocked. "That's not true. I borrowed it" she reasoned, not ready to give up her favorite sweater.
"The idea of borrowing is that you give it back to me someday. You've had my sweater for eight months" Sam explained as he walked Florence towards her locker. As they strolled through the dark halls, still playfully arguing about the sweater, Florence suddenly realized something.
"It's in your locker. I put it in there the other day and I never took it out" she sighed, looking around the halls for Sam's locker, "I can't see a thing, where is your locker?"
"It's here" Sam replied, pointing towards a locker on the left side of the hallway, "But I don't remember my combination, it's in my phone..."
A smirk crept onto Florence's face as she walked towards the locker. She placed her hand a few inches higher above the lock and smacked her hand flat onto the iron door. It jumped open, revealing the blue sweater and a load of chapsticks.
"How did you do that?" Sam gushed, not sure whether to be impressed or scared by the girl's weird talent.
"I watched spy kids like nine times" Florence bragged, taking the sweater out of the locker and quickly putting it on. She smiled as she felt her body warm up immediately.
"Okay... well, anyways... Let's head back inside, they're going to announce the prom king and queen and Quinn will murder you if you aren't there" Sam said, intertwining his hand with Florence's as they walked back into the room.
The room had a weird vibe, totally different from how it had been a few minutes earlier. Sensing something was off, Florence looked around. noticing Quinn alone in the middle of the dance floor she hurried her way, mentally cursing at how hard the dress was making it for her to run. The space around Quinn was empty, like people were afraid of her.
"What happened? Where did Finn go?" Florence whispered. From the corner of her eye she saw two boys being escorted out of the room by coach Sylvester, but due to the fact that she had forgotten her lenses, she couldn't really make out who they were.
"Finn and that douchebag Jesse got into a fight and Sue made them leave. I'm freaking out, I need Finn to be here, otherwise he can't be crowned as king!" Quinn yelled, forgetting all about her makeup as she let her tears flow.
"Seriously? Who won the fight?" Florence asked, meanwhile trying her best to dry Quinn's tears with the sleeve of her sweater. Quinn stared at her like she was crazy and Florence quickly corrected herself. "Right, not important. You can tell me everything later, but right now you have to go collect that crown you've been working your ass off for!" she spoke, directing Quinn towards the stage.
"Attention, students" Principal Figgins spoke, tapping the microphone to silence the dancing teens. "Will the candidates for king and queen gather on the stage. The votes are in"
Several girls in colorful dresses got together on the stage, Quinn was the first one on stage, and it wasn't even noticeable that she had been crying just moments before.
"This is the moment you've all been waiting for. Where we announce our Junior Prom King and also Prom Queen" Figgins continued, a shiny envelope in his hands.
Finn was still nowhere to be found but Quinn was masking her stress perfectly. She stood on stage, smiling like there was nothing but some slight nerves on her mind.
"This year's Junior Prom King is..." Figgins said, building up the tension with a brief drumroll from the band. "David Karofsky!"
The students started cheering but Florence was far from pleased. "I can't believe he actually won..." she sighed. Sam wrapped his arm around her shoulder, softly pulling her close.
"I know right" He replied, playing with the drawstrings from Florence's sweater. "But look at it on the bright side, I think we can confirm we've made it through tonights drama"
Florence chuckled as she looked at the scene in front of her. She was especially amused by the disappointed look on Puck's face as he seemed to realize he hadn't won. "No more drama" she whispered.
"And now, our 2011 McKinley High Prom Queen with an overwhelming number of write-in votes is... Kurt Hummel"
The crowd went quiet for the first time that night as the spotlight was focused on Kurt. He was standing next to Blaine, at loss for what to do.
"You've got to be shitting me" Florence muttered, burying her face in Sam's chest. Finn had disappeared, Quinn was a wreck and now Kurt had won Prom Queen. Basically, the night that started so promising had worked itself to hell.
Kurt seemed to have defrosted and ran out of the room, leaving the students more confused than they already were. Sam tapped Florence's shoulder mumbling something in her ear.
"I think you should go after him" He suggested, slowly pushing her off of himself. He sent her an encouraging smile and she sighed.
"Obviously" she sighed, "Go to prom, they said. It will be fun, they said" she mumbled, walking into the hallway to find her brother. Blaine seemed to have had the same idea and sprinted after her, quickly catching up with her in the halls.
"Florence!" Blaine yelled, "Why don't you go home, inform Burt about what happened. I'll go comfort Kurt, okay?" He sighed, tired from running after Kurt.
"Sounds like a plan" Florence smiled. She walked back to the room, running into Sam halfway. He gave her a confused look, wondering why she wasn't with her brother. "We've had a slight change of plans" Florence informed him, "I'm going home to tell dad what happened, Blaine is handling the Kurt situation"
Sam seemed to understand and nodded. "I'll go with you" he smiled, "I'm gonna go get our coats, I'll meet you outside in five minutes"
"You're the best" Florence smiled. She grabbed a few things from her locker and headed towards the exit of the school. When she walked outside she could see Sam leaning against the car. She felt a smile come onto her face as she watched him fix his hair in the car's mirror.
"I'm afraid we've had yet another change of plans" Sam whispered, reaching out his hand for Florence to grab. "You still owe me a dance"
Florence smiled as she stared at the blonde boy. She felt her cheeks glow red but it didn't matter, it wasn't like anyone could see them. The only light source was the cracked lamp in the middle of the parking lot.
"But what about Kurt and Finn... and what about Quinn" she whispered. Sam smiled at her, admiring her features.
"They'll be fine, this is about us for now" he whispered, motioning towards his hand. Florence placed her hand in his and he twirled her around. They danced to the soft music that was coming from the school and for a moment it was like they were the only ones on the world. They laughed at each others dance moves, which were far from great, even after the multiple bootycamp classes they had participated in this year.
There was a lot changing in their lives and there was a lot of change yet to come. But that didn't matter right now, because right now they had each other.