𝒿𝓊𝓈𝓉 𝓂𝑒 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝓎𝑜𝓊
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ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴏᴍᴇᴄᴏᴍɪɴɢ ᴅᴀɴᴄᴇ was supposed to be fun when you were at the dance, but for Aubrey, the fun parts weren't even at the dance.
Two things were the best parts about the homecoming dance. The first was before, when she asked Kel to go with her. Her dumb crush on him was getting too big, and she thought that asking him to the homecoming dance would have him rejecting her and forcing her to move on. She wasn't expecting him to actually say yes and reciprocate her feelings, but she wasn't complaining at all.
The second was the night of the dance, but not that the actual dance was fun. Aubrey and Kel spent the first hour at the dance, but she got bored and joked to him about ditching. He didn't take it as a joke and told her they could leave now if she wanted. At the moment, she felt excited to ditch the homecoming dance with him, but now that they actually left...
"Do you think we're allowed to do this?" he asked her as they left the school building. "What happens if we get caught?"
"Then we run for it," she decided, ignoring the way her stomach twisted from ditching the homecoming dance when he probably would have had a lot more fun at it. The pink dress she was wearing wasn't the best option for running, but she could make it work.
Besides, if they did get caught, at least Kel would have fun. He always enjoyed running around, getting messy not being a fear he had. He was dressed up tonight in a clean suit with no tie, his brown hair tied back in a neat, low ponytail. Even though he looked handsome, she knew he would have the most fun if his suit ended up with dirt on it.
"So, where are we going?" he asked as they walked away from their high school. "I'm down for anything."
What could they do? They could go back and get that uncomfortable feeling in her stomach away, but they already left. Faraway Town wasn't too far away, but it was quicker to get there on the bus. They could still make it there, but then what? Not a lot of other people would be out, and the stars were starting to come out...
"Do you wanna just watch the stars?" she asked.
Kel looked up at the night sky, the gentle moonlight hitting his face in just the right angle. "Sure. But not here. We won't see anything here."
He took her hand, and she could feel her heart beat faster. Despite it being somewhat cold outside, she prayed her hand wasn't sweaty.
As they walked, their conversation was of random topics focusing on school. Homework, teachers, schoolmates... She liked seeing how animated he got when talking.
They were passing by an ice cream parlor when Kel stopped them. "Aubs, can we get some ice cream?"
Aubrey resisted a scowl but still frowned. "Don't call me that."
"Aubrey, can we get some ice cream?"
She didn't feel like eating anything, let alone ice cream, when her stomach was still tied in knots, She could easily tell him no, especially since he wasn't doing those puppy eyes that shouldn't work so well on her, but she found herself agreeing before she realized it. It wasn't like she minded, though; seeing him so happy with his vanilla ice cream was worth it.
She let herself get convinced by him to get something and bought herself strawberry ice cream. She had thought about getting chocolate ice cream just because he thought vanilla was better than chocolate. They would have their usual argument—she actually liked vanilla and chocolate equally but just wanted to see him riled up—but it was the night of homecoming; he should be happy, even if he wasn't at the homecoming dance. Maybe he would be happier at the dance...
"Since we're close to Faraway, let's go to our secret hangout spot," he was telling her. "No one should be there, and we can see tons of stars there!"
He led her through the path to the area they both remembered off by heart. It was quiet, no one else around them. Maybe in one scenario, it would be creepy, but she trusted him.
When she couldn't sleep, she would come there late at night to get away from her alcoholic mother. The peacefulness of the area calmed her down, the lake bringing her the most. She hadn't ever been there at night with someone else before, but she wouldn't mind going there with Kel now.
They sat on the wooden dock and ate their ice creams. The lake formed small waves from the wind, giving quiet noises for them to relax to. It was such a difference from the loud music and all the people at the homecoming dance, but she didn't miss it. Aubrey sneaked a glance at Kel to see if he did, but his face was unreadable. Why did they leave when he could be having so much fun there?
"I'm glad you decided to go with me to the dance," she told him to think of something else, "even if we're not actually at the dance."
"I'm glad you asked me," he told her. "I was starting to think I would have to be the one to ask."
"Really?" A smile tainted her lips. "If I knew that, I'd've let you ask me."
She could hear the smile in his voice when he said, "Too late for that now."
Kel stayed silent for a second before asking, "Is this how you wanted your first homecoming after our friend group all made up to go?"
Aubrey shrugged. She didn't mind it at all, but she would if he didn't like it. "Remember how I used to dream of romantic scenarios when we were younger?"
"I remember. I used to tease you all the time because of it. You know, I thought you still did all that daydreaming stuff. Or maybe that's just Sunny."
She looked away, hoping it was dark enough for him to be unable to see her blush. She did still imagine romantic scenarios, but unlike in the past, these ones had a definite person in them. It would be too embarrassing to admit to that same person that she was imagining them going on dates.
She forced her voice to not give her away. "When I was younger, I used to imagine scenarios for homecoming. It wasn't something I imagined a lot compared to my other scenarios, but I still had some. Like, one of them was that I'd go to homecoming alone, and I would see my crush with their date. They'd find out their date was cheating on them—"
"Their date was what?"
"Cheating on them. They would find that out by seeing them kiss someone else, and they would be heartbroken. They'd be outside of the bathrooms, and I'd comfort them. Then, they'd kiss me, and we would have the best time at homecoming by ourselves."
"But what happened to your crush's ex-date?"
"I don't know. I just focused on myself and my crush."
"But you can't just end it there! What happens to the ex-date? Who were they kissing? What happens after homecoming?"
Aubrey smiled at Kel. He always said he wasn't a romance fan and wasn't interested in drama at all, but sometimes, he acted like one more than she did.
"I have tons of other scenarios too," she said. "But all I can say is that younger me would've never thought I'd ditch the dance in an hour. I also would've never thought I'd go with you."
She laughed at thinking what her younger self would say. She would be horrified at that alone, and probably even more when she found out she asked him.
Kel smiled. "I would. I mean, not a lot, but I wouldn't be surprised."
Aubrey playfully elbowed him, careful not to knock over his ice cream. "You would not guess that."
"Not guess, but I wouldn't be surprised that I accepted. Well, I'd actually probably be surprised that my feelings didn't go away—"
"You liked me back then?"
Kel stared into her eyes for a second before looking away, his face becoming warmer. "It wasn't a huge crush or anything. Just a dumb childhood crush."
Aubrey adjusted her position to face him, making it obvious that this topic wasn't done with. "When did you realize you had a crush on me?"
"Like, when I was 14. I'm pretty sure I had one since we were 10 though, after you introduced Basil to us." He smiled. "I remember it perfectly. Me, you, and Sunny were at Basil's house for the first time. You and Sunny were super awkward, but I made myself right at home.
"So, Basil was showing us some plants he grew. He didn't have a lot of them back then, remember? Just some in his room. One of them was a sunflower. Basil joked about it being the prettiest flower, and you said it was just like you. You picked it up and posed with it while Basil took an imaginary photo and Sunny clapped for you, and that's the first time I ever thought you were cute. My feelings just grew from there."
Aubrey leaned a little forward. "How did I look to you?"
His face flushed slightly darker. "You held it with your right hand and made a peace sign over your left eye with your left hand. The sunflower covered your right eye, but I could tell you were winking. You had a little smile that held the perfect amount of mischievousness and cuteness, and the light from the window was perfect. Your hair only looks brown in the sunlight, and it made your hair look brown with the perfect amount of black mixed in. It didn't go into your eyes, but that made it better. They stood out so much...
"And I'm pretty sure it was your eyes that made me think you were cute. I tried to forget about it, but you're always getting cuter every day and making that impossible." Kel playfully pinched her cheek.
Aubrey's smile grew wider. "So that's why you teased me so much? Because you had a crush on me?"
"No, I teased you because you were annoying."
Instead of starting a petty argument like usual, she asked, "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"Because I didn't wanna hurt Sunny. He had a crush on you too, you know."
"He did?" How many people had a crush on her when she was younger that she didn't know about?
Kel frowned. "You didn't know? I thought it was obvious. I think everyone thought it was obvious—everyone except you, apparently. He always asked Basil to see any photo he took of you, he always sided with you whenever we argued, he always got shyer than normal whenever you were around... It was so painfully obvious! But I guess it doesn't matter now since he moved on a couple of years ago."
"So...you didn't try to make a move on me because Sunny had a crush on me?"
"Obviously! He's my first friend! I want him to be happy, and he deserves that, you know? I always thought you liked him back anyways."
"Really? I never thought of him as more than a friend."
"Huh. I always saw you giving him a lot of attention... And I guess that's part of the reason why we argued a lot, because I wanted some of the attention you gave Sunny so easily." He sighed with a smile that had a hint of sadness in it. "I used to be so jealous of Sunny when I was younger..."
"Just because I gave him more attention?"
"For a lot of reasons."
Aubrey waited for him to continue, but he didn't say anything. Maybe it was her cue to switch the topic.
She looked up at the sky where the stars twinkled down at them. "Do you ever feel small when you're looking at the stars?"
"I think you're just small." Kel laughed as she elbowed him again, this time not as careful to spill his ice cream.
Aubrey sat in angry silence, eating her ice cream without looking at him. She didn't know exactly how long they sat in silence when she felt his head leaning on top of hers.
Maybe she should push him off and keep her anger, but she didn't. The weight of his head was comforting, in a way. She could feel the anger leaving her, but she didn't care. She didn't want to leave this moment where it was just the two of them. Nothing else in the world mattered.
"Thanks for agreeing to come with me to homecoming," she told him, her voice so quiet that it was barely a whisper. "Sorry I dragged you away from your friends and had us come here..."
His voice was just as quiet. "Are you having fun?"
"Yeah," she said after she stopped herself from nodding. His head was still on hers.
"Then that's all that matters."
"Are you having fun? You sure you don't want to go back?"
"We're already here, so we might as well spend the rest of the night here. And yeah, I'm having fun. It's nice being out here with you."
"Are you sure?"
"Why do you think I'm not?"
"I just...feel bad about forcing you to leave..."
"You didn't force me to do anything. I ditched homecoming with you on my own free will."
"I know, but..." The knots in her stomach felt as tight as ever. "I still think you'd have more fun at the dance than here. More people, more food, more music... I wasn't that serious about ditching, you know. Now that we're here, I feel like you're missing a lot..."
"Then doesn't that mean you're missing stuff too?"
"That doesn't matter."
"Yes it does." Kel lifted his head and cupped her cheek with one hand to look at him. "Aubrey, you should have fun too. I'm not the only one going to high school out of the both of us. Besides, there's only four years of high school, so you should enjoy them too. Don't worry if I'm enjoying myself, because I am.
"And really, don't feel bad about ditching the dance with me. You got bored, and to be honest, I was staring to get bored too. And even if I wasn't bored, I don't care if I'm there or not. Honestly, Aubrey, I'd follow you to the end of the world if you just asked me to. Going to our secret hangout spot is nothing."
The seriousness on his face, the brightness of his eyes, the night sky sending its gentle light on him, his clothes that were still neat but more wrinkled, his hair still held back... He was perfect. She knew what she wanted to do then.
Aubrey had daydreamed some romantic scenarios with Kel about their first kiss. One of the earliest ones were that they were hanging out with their friends, but they all went home except for them. It was getting late, but they both silently agreed that they didn't want to leave each other just yet. They went to their secret hangout spot and goofed around, but as it was getting later, it started to feel more romantic. Everything about him would look so perfect, and she would kiss him. He would kiss back, and it would be just them and the stars peeking out from the sky.
It wasn't exactly like the scenario, but it was the closest she had. She wasn't complaining though; she wouldn't give anything to never have this moment happen. Kel's lips were slightly chapped, it took a while for him to fully relax, and it was just their lips touching with his hand still cupping her cheek, but she wouldn't have it any other way.
The situation alone felt romantic enough, and it was so much better than any romantic scenario Aubrey could come up with. Who needed the homecoming dance when they could have this?
- - - -
𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚙𝚘𝚜𝚝𝚎𝚍 𝚘𝚗 𝙰𝙾𝟹 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝙰𝚞𝚋𝚛𝚎𝚢'𝚜 𝚋𝚒𝚛𝚝𝚑𝚍𝚊𝚢 (𝙸'𝚖 @/𝚎𝚢𝚒𝚝𝚣𝚖𝚎 𝚘𝚗 𝙰𝙾𝟹. 𝙽𝚘, 𝙸 𝚠𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚙 𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚏-𝚊𝚍𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚝𝚒𝚜𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙼𝚈 𝚊𝚌𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝𝚜 𝚘𝚗 𝙼𝚈 𝚏𝚊𝚗𝚏𝚒𝚌), 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚎 𝚋𝚒𝚛𝚝𝚑𝚍𝚊𝚢 𝚒𝚜 𝚒𝚝 𝚘𝚗 𝙾𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝟷𝟶ᵀᴴ? 𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝'𝚜 𝚛𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝, 𝚒𝚝'𝚜 𝚖𝚒𝚗𝚎! 𝙸'𝚖 𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝟷𝟺 𝚒𝚗 𝚕𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗 𝚊 𝚠𝚎𝚎𝚔! 𝙴𝚟𝚎𝚛𝚢𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚘𝚠𝚎𝚜 𝚖𝚎 $𝟻 𝚘𝚗 𝚖𝚢 𝚋𝚒𝚛𝚝𝚑𝚍𝚊𝚢! 𝙸 𝚐𝚞𝚎𝚜𝚜 𝚊 "𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚢 (𝚎𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚢) 𝚋𝚒𝚛𝚝𝚑𝚍𝚊𝚢" 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚒𝚗𝚎 𝚝𝚘𝚘... 𝙱𝚞𝚝 𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚗𝚝 𝚖𝚢 $𝟻!
𝚆𝚘𝚛𝚍 𝙲𝚘𝚞𝚗𝚝 (𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚕𝚞𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙰/𝙽): 𝟸𝟼𝟸𝟹