"We've been looking for you guys everywhere!" Eugene said, waving to them from the entrance. He wore an overly ornate tuxedo and Teddy trailed not far behind, wearing his red hoodie underneath a more casual suit.
"You guys are late," Gerard said. He sipped on his juice, seemingly deciding whether he wanted to comment further. "Nice corsages, by the way."
Eugene proudly looked down at the white carnation on his suit while Teddy quickly crushed the flower in his hand, letting the petals fall to the floor. "My aunt drove us here and she was late because she ordered a whole basket of flowers! They're in her car but I can go get them so we can all match."
He took off to collect the box before any of them could say anything. Gerard nudged Teddy. "His aunt drove you?"
"She insisted," Teddy grumbled. "I don't want to hear it, especially from you."
Gerard's grin doubled. "But--"
"Leave him alone," Lily said, exchanging knowing looks with Jimmy. Jimmy shrugged, pretending he didn't know what they were talking about.
Teddy was looking anywhere but his smug club members before his stare lingered on Jimmy's hair and darted to Lily's. He smirked, likely thrilled to have something else scandalous to talk about aside from himself. "Oh good, you two are finally dating." Lily startled and Jimmy's hand automatically went up to smooth down his hair. Gerard and Teddy were the ones exchanging looks now.
"About time," a voice said behind Jimmy. He whirled around to see Gray doing his usual jumpscare and appearing by Jimmy's side out of thin air. Their eyes met and for once, it wasn't immediate, mutual hatred. Gray had no reason to attack Jimmy and knowing exactly what happened to Gray, Jimmy couldn't bring himself to judge the guy. He almost had a type of pity, but Gray's subtle, mirthless smile didn't invite any.
Gray turned around and sighed at someone in the crowd. "I told him not to get caught up in the middle of the floor."
Of course that "him" was Stephen, looking lost amidst the cloud of students dancing to the song blaring from the speakers. He looked strange, trying to walk and dance away at the same time. Lily came to his rescue, and he looked relieved as she directed him to the rest of the group.
"Hi guys!" he said brightly, leaving Lily's hold and gravitating to Gray's. "Everyone's here." He looked around. "Actually, where's Eugene?"
"Right here--oof!" Eugene, knocking into someone, dropping the basket of corsages he'd been holding. Teddy immediately sprinted to his aid, picking the flowers off the floor and telling the boy who'd pushed Eugene to watch where he was going.
Still kneeling on the floor, Eugene thanked Teddy for his help and Teddy squinted, wordless. Eugene noticed the lack of white carnation on Teddy's lapel. "Did you lose yours?" he asked. Teddy hesitated but Eugene cut him off. "It's okay, I have extra."
They got up and Eugene made several ill-fated attempts to pin a new corsage to Teddy's suit, fumbling with the pin's mechanics while Teddy stood there, looking utterly mortified. They were situated right where they blocked the flow of traffic the most, and while Eugene didn't seem to notice anything was wrong, Teddy's hackles rose each second until he shoved Eugene away.
"I-I was just figuring it out," Eugene stuttered, his embarrassment now on par with Teddy's.
"It's not that big a deal," Teddy tried. "I don't mind if you can't do it."
Eugene shook his head. "My aunt taught me how, I just need to remember."
"Maybe we should let Lily do this," Teddy forced out.
"But--"
Teddy grabbed the flower from Eugene's hand and chucked it to the floor. "Quit with the flowers! I barely wanna be here, let it go!"
Then he stormed out of the room, probably on the run from all the crickets he left behind. Jimmy wished Julia was there to lend him some of her popcorn.
Eugene stood there listlessly, letting himself get bumped into. The basket hung from his hand, like he'd forgotten what its purpose was.
Everyone exchanged awkwards looks before Lily took action and walked up to Eugene. "I'll hand these out. You should catch up with him," she said, graciously taking the basket from the geek.
"But he looked mad," Eugene said, shifting uncomfortably.
Jimmy groaned loudly, drawing their attention. "Are you stupid? Didn't you hear what the cat boy said? Stop being a goober and go after him!"
"Alright, I think he gets the point," Lily said, giving Jimmy a look that told him to chill out. She turned back to Eugene. "Jimmy's right. You guys should talk and you can see how he feels about the flowers." It was the unspoken "and everything else" that made Jimmy tune out and leave the nerds to their drama. He'd come for Lily, not the textbook miscommunication of the two cosplay geeks.
Eugene took her advice and went off after Teddy.
"Subtlety was never your specialty," Lily said, coming from behind Jimmy and poking him in the ribs. The basket hung from her other hand, likely destined to sit on the sidelines of the floor. They really were too fancy for homecoming.
"I just think if you've got something to say, you should say it," he said.
"Because you're the expert at saying what you mean at all times?" she joked, grinning when he angrily gobbled down a miniature sandwich instead of answering her.
Teddy came back a few minutes later with Eugene, folding his arms when he noticed they were all talking in the spot as when he'd left. "Hey, did you guys stand here waiting for us this entire time? Aren't dances for dancing?"
"Dunno, I thought they were," Gerard said teasingly.
Teddy turned red and Eugene patted him on the back. "Let's just dance and forget what happened."
"Good idea! I love this song!" Lily exclaimed, pulling Gray into a spontaneous waltz.
Gerard followed suit and snatched Eugene away from Teddy, to the complaints of both. Jimmy stepped out of their way, not wanting to get involved.
Teddy held his hands up. "I'm not going to rise to your B.S." He grit his teeth. "I'm not going to rise to your level of B.S." Gerard only laughed in his face and led a clumsy Eugene away to the center of the dance floor to participate in the jump rave some other kids had started.
Jimmy had wanted to dance with Lily but since that was no longer an option, he opted to stick with Teddy, and Stephen, who likely wasn't going to be jumping any time soon.
Stephen watched Lily twirl Gray into a dip. "I wish I could get this on camera."
"For blackmail?" Teddy asked.
"No, just to keep."
"That's a waste if you ask me."
Jimmy re-remembered his run-in with Timothy. "Do y--" He was cut off by Lily dragging Gray back to the group and brushing off some sweat. It had been like two minutes, how hard could she have possibly went? Jimmy's mind immediately took a nosedive into the gutter and he looked up at the yellow lights on the ceiling instead of her face.
"I'm going to get some water!" Lily chirped, and Gray staggered away from her grip with a sort of relief Jimmy didn't think Gray could exaggerate.
"Could someone please tell her this is just a school dance," Gray whined, exhaling laboriously.
"And risk getting my arm pulled?" Stephen said. "No thanks."
"Speaking of risks, somebody told me Timothy was looking for his flash drive with the prank footage," Gerard brought up. "He's convinced Jimmy stole it." Gerard slid him a questioning glance.
Jimmy shook his head. "Don't look at me." He hadn't even asked Julia to steal it from Timothy. He'd been too bummed about Lily not being his date to remember to request the favor.
"It's too bad. Timothy was probably waiting to spring out the footage as soon as he could bother the closest chaperone," Teddy said, though there was something weird about the way he said it.
Stephen smiled and looked at Jimmy. "What do you think, Jimmy?"
Jimmy made an exasperated noise. "What is there to think about? He said he lost it."
"Lost is a broad word, don't you think? Lots of ways for things to get lost."
It took Jimmy a moment.
He whirled around and pointed at Stephen. "You...!"
The corners of Stephen's eyes wrinkled, though he gestured to Teddy. "Didn't Teddy tell you? He never gets caught."
Teddy coughed into his fist, and Stephen kept the same benign smile. Then Gray sighed, giving Jimmy the distinct impression stealing Timothy's flash drive hadn't been Teddy's idea.
He stuck out his hand to Stephen. "I owe you one, tallass."
Stephen shook it sincerely. "We can't let the bad guys win."
"Damn straight."
Lily came back and grabbed Jimmy's hands. "Your turn!" He didn't fight her as she led him to a spot with other couples dancing, well-lit enough that the sequins in her hair sparkled and the yellow spotlights made the golden-brown in her eyes glow. He was barely aware of what his legs were doing as she spun him around, and dipped him down, and effortlessly lifted him into the air.
His face flamed up and he felt a weird giggle thing erupt from his mouth. "Are you trying to flex, dude?"
"No, I just like seeing you flustered," she said. She put him down, and her hands rested dangerously low on his hips.
Well, he was definitely flustered.
~!~
A senior stood on the steps of the small stage, tapping the mic. "Excuse me everyone! It's time to announce the members of our homecoming court!"
Jimmy could see the collective question mark floating above the others' heads. He'd seen a couple of posters campaigning, but he could only be bothered to pay attention to Lily's pin ups. The rest of the attendants seemed to care though, so it must've been a big deal.
"We've tallied up votes from the last week and we're going to unveil our princess, prince, Queen and King!"
"It's just a popularity contest," one student muttered to her friend. "We all know who's going to win."
To Jimmy's knowledge, he was the most popular person at their school.
"If it's about popularity, I'm gonna be surprised if Lily's not the queen," Eugene said.
Lily waved her hands frantically. "Oh, nono. I forgot about the court voting. I didn't even campaign."
Teddy scoffed. "You don't call dragging your classmates into spirit week and tacking up your artwork literally everywhere campaigning?"
"Yeah, you're probably going to win this one," Stephen agreed.
"Just accept your win gracefully, madam president," Gerard added, giving Lily an encouraging smile.
She giggled nervously. "W-well, okay. I mean, if I win."
"We're both going to win," Jimmy assured her. He reached for her hand and she took it, squeezing gratefully.
The boy on stage cleared his throat. "As is the tradition, our princess and prince will be selected entirely by student ballots, while the king and queen will be selected through a combination of votes by the student body and nominations by staff and the student council."
Oh, well then he'd be the prince. There was no way anyone on the staff had nominated Jimmy. It wasn't looking too good for Lily either, who orchestrated the defacement debacle. It was bound to be fresh on their minds.
"So, first up is our homecoming princess."
Jimmy held his breath, hoping they'd announce Lily's name so the two of them could be prince and princess together.
He and the others clapped loud enough when the name of a different girl was picked and though Lily was trying to hide it, he could tell she was a little disappointed.
He ruffled her hair. "It's okay. I'll let you wear the crown when I win."
She raised an eyebrow. "What makes you so sure you'll win?"
"Name one person who goes to more parties than me."
Lily wrinkled her nose in thought before giving up. "I've got nothing."
Satisfied, Jimmy patiently waited for the next title to be announced. The girl voted princess chose a duchess, another girl Jimmy only vaguely recognized.
"Now, for our student-voted homecoming prince!"
Jimmy adjusted his tie. Smoothed down his hair one last time.
"Your homecoming prince...
Jimmy inhaled sharply.
"...Harper Ha!"
Helmet?!
Jimmy's jaw dropped and Lily nearly bowled herself over laughing. She grabbed onto him for support, crying laughing, and he literally staggered back, barely able to support the weight of his own shock. The rest of their friends politely clapped while Helmet's buddies whooped from the back of the room.
The prince bounded up the steps, wearing a shiny blue suit and a white bow tie. He snatched the mic and thanked all his friends for voting him to the top. Jimmy looked around in dismay as what seemed like everyone cheered for him. When had Helmet, of all people, become so popular? No, the better question was: how on god's green earth had he become less popular than the human pillbug accepting his crown and squeezing up next to the princess, who actually looked happy to have his attention?? Jimmy was about to have an aneurysm.
Helmet pointed into the crowd. "And for my duke, I choose Sam Lee."
Jimmy watched numbly as Grape weaved through the crowd and went up to the stage. He had on a spiffy suit and a smile hindered by the bandages on his face. Helmet yanked Grape's arm into the air up and they basked in their victory, and all Jimmy could do was stare.
"I think he's gone catatonic," Gray said.
"Someone help Lily before she sucks up all the oxygen in the room laughing," Teddy snickered.
Gerard shook Jimmy's shoulders, forcing him back to, and Gray gave Lily a hand up from her position hunched over, telling her to calm down.
"Now to announce our homecoming queen and king!" The crowd clapped, and Lily wiped away a tear, looking up at Jimmy and shrugging. They'd have to go along with whoever won. With any of Jimmy's luck that night, Gray would somehow be chosen King. Eh. Whatever. Jimmy didn't care anymore, not after seeing his two of his least favorite people be crowned prince and duke.
"Drumroll please," the announcer requested. The attendants stomped their feet and the rumble vibrated through Jimmy's limbs. "Your homecoming queen is..."
"...Lily Nam!"
Lily froze and the crowd burst into robust applause, stronger than any of the last positions announced. Jimmy shook her shoulder and she looked up at him with a wide, unbelieving gaze. He grinned down at her and it seemed the realization she won finally dawned on her as she broke into a humongous smile. The boys all playfully pattered her on the back, encouraging her to go up on the stage. She weaved in between the other kids and traipsed up the stairs, being careful not to trip on the steps and looking more princess-like for it.
"Any words for your people?" the announcer asked, eagerly shoving the microphone to her face.
Lily's blush was visible even under the harsh yellow-white lighting. She took the mic and tapped it. "T-thank you for voting for me. I wasn't expecting this, though now that I'm up here, it's pretty nice." She stiffened, but relaxed when people actually laughed instead of materializing tomatoes out of thin air to throw at her.
"Well said, well said," the announcer chuckled, taking great pleasure in playing up his role. He waved up a girl standing on the side of the stage, just behind the curtains. She emerged with a tall shimmery crystal crown that turned the ceiling of the place into a kaleidoscope. It sat atop a velvet pillow and engraved on its plastic sides was the title "Homecoming Queen".
Lily looked like she was about to burst into tears at the mere sight of it. Figures. That was the exact sort of thing she'd get excited about.
Jimmy didn't bother holding in his proud smile as she kneeled and had the crown placed on her hair. Gerard whispered to him "you're staring, Monsieur Hot Stuff" and Jimmy jabbed him on the side. She arose and a new wave of applause filled the room, Jimmy probably clapping the loudest.
The announcer cleared his throat, preparing to reveal the final member of the court. Jimmy had his fingers crossed it would somehow, miraculously, be him. He was definitely more popular than Helmet and if Lily had won, it was only fair that he should win something.
A few cards were shuffled and the boy on stage cleared his throat again. "A member from the student council wants to say on the behalf of the entire voting committee that this individual has won the hearts and minds of everyone on campus. Your homecoming king is..."
Jimmy uncrossed his fingers, not holding onto that thread any longer.
"...Stephen Ahn!"
The audience roared and Gray squeezed Stephen's arm. Stephen himself looked a little shell-shocked and Jimmy couldn't blame him. But...the nerd was definitely one of the good ones. He deserved the win. Based on the visceral reaction, everyone else felt the same. The art nerds whistled sharply, taking a needle to Jimmy's ear drums.
Stephen went the long way around to hobble up the stage ramp, accepting the helping hand of the announcer and laughing when Lily smothered him in a giant hug. The girl with the pillow brought in a paint-spray gold thing laden with plastic gems and bearing the title of homecoming king. Stephen couldn't kneel (he probably wouldn't get back up) so a stagehand went to the back and dragged a small classroom chair to the stage. The announcer, considerably shorter than the new king, stood on it and finally crowned Stephen, eliciting what felt like congratulations and collective relief from the audience. Gray exhaled within the group. "I told him to bring his cane to this thing."
Strangely enough, Jimmy didn't feel any jealousy as Lily sidled up next to Stephen, posing for pictures with their matching plastic crowns. Stephen had on a giant, ridiculous grin, and without looking, Jimmy knew Gray likely had one that matched it.
After a round of pictures, the announcer asked Lily to pick her duke or duchess.
She pointed straight at him, not a second wasted. "I elect Jimmy Bae as my duke."
Jimmy's heart swelled and it took Teddy and Gerard poking him before he caught up to the fact he actually had to go up, not just gaze in awe at the way Lily was looking at him with absolute certainty. She wasn't dating him because she felt sorry for him. Everything they'd felt during their kiss was real. Jimmy could've turned into a puddle right then and there.
Jimmy allowed the stagehand to pin a dinky purple ribbon onto his suit, a far cry from the opulent crowns. Their budget must not've stretched that far.
The stagehand retreated to the back and Lily was bouncing on her toes, thrilled Jimmy was up there with her. Not caring who was watching or how many phones were encasing that moment in stone, she threw her arms around his shoulders and kissed him full on the mouth.
It was quick, but plenty of cameras had the moment captured. Jimmy didn't really care. All he could think about was how glad he was the duke to Lily's queen. They separated and he grinned. "You've got a lot of nerve, Goldilocks."
"Just wanted everyone to know you're taken," she replied coolly, facing the audience with more grace and bravado than she had any right to.
"Moving on from that wonderful display of affection, let's find out who Stephen chooses as his duke or duchess," the announcer transitioned smoothly. The mic was brought to Stephen's face and the nerd looked a little lost before his eyes lit up with an obvious "ah-ha".
"I choose Gray Yeon."
Jimmy smirked to himself. Predictable dorks.
Gray went up to the stage, maintaining his stolid calm, though Jimmy knew well enough Gray probably wanted to hug Stephen.
The art nerds were clapping harder than any of them as they all crammed together to take pictures. It wasn't horrible, but Jimmy barely held in his chips when they had to take pictures with Helmet and Grape. Unless it was his friends, he didn't want a soul so much as breathing on him. And of course, he was placed right next to Grape, who was inhaling and exhaling through his mouth like he needed a damn tracheotomy or something.
He endured for the few seconds it took to take the group picture, then distanced himself as quickly as possible. "Hey, don't make me drag you to the hospital."
Grape started to stutter until Helmet came around and threw an arm around Sam's shoulder. "Is someone talking trash about you? Let me at 'em."
Sam pointed at Jimmy and Jimmy glared at Helmet, who suddenly looked nervous. "Oy, Haiba. Tell your duke to take care of himself." It was the nicest thing he'd ever say to Sam and hopefully, the last thing. Grape had walked himself out, he could stay out.
The homecoming court descended from the steps and Jimmy's friends rejoined the general audience. Gerard, Teddy, and Eugene clapped for the four of them, shaking their heads.
"We kind of swept this thing," Gerard said. "4/6 isn't a bad number."
"Does this make us your subjects?" Eugene joked.
"Then nothing's changed," Lily said, earning a knowing laugh from the rest of them. She pressed below her collarbones. "Geez, I thought my heart was going to explode up there."
"It didn't look like it," Stephen assured her.
Gerard looked at the watch on his wrist. "This thing is almost over, so how's about a hurrah?" he asked. He nudged Lily. "One for the new couple?"
Eugene lit up. "Are you going to play a song?"
"Yep," Gerard nodded. "One of the admins heard me play at a wedding and asked me to do the final song of the night."
The group led the crowd's applause as Gerard climbed up the stage and picked up his guitar from the side, setting up the microphone. Some girls whistled and Gerard waved at them, seemingly familiar with his fans at the school. Jimmy couldn't keep a surprised frown of approval off his face when Gerard started singing, and he actually sounded decent. Better than decent. Maybe it'd pay to stay on friendly terms with the guy, in case he blew up and ended up on Jimmy's television.
Gerard played his sappy love song, and the couples paired up for one last dance. Eugene and Teddy fled to concessions. Gray took up with Stephen and they gently swayed together.
Lily turned to Jimmy. "Can I tell you something?" She covered her mouth with a fist, eyes peeking up at him. "And don't laugh, okay?"
Jimmy ruffled her hair. "No promises."
"Back when we were both in that closet, hiding from the security guard," she started. "A-and you touched my face."
Her face heated up and Jimmy tried not to laugh since she'd told him not to. "What about it?"
Her eyes looked anywhere but his face. "I was so sure you were going to kiss me then. I was kind of disappointed when you didn't."
"Well, the situation was dire, I'm sorry," he said, grinning. "Should I kiss you right now to make up for it?"
Her expression was so unimaginably frazzled and cute, Jimmy wanted to crush her into a hug. And since they were finally, finally a thing, he did just that, enveloping her in his height and arms, and leaning his head on her shoulder. At the last second, he realized it might make him seem needy, but she squeezed him back, not judging him anyway.
Hah. It was cheesy as hell just thinking it, but Jimmy guessed he kind of loved her. He didn't know diddly squat about what love actually was or anything, but whatever he was feeling right then had to be close.
He let go when his phone buzzed in his suit pocket. It was Jack.
Jack: having fun?
Jimmy looked at Lily in her giant crystal crown, then Gerard on stage, then Stephen and Gray, then the geeks clearing out the snack table.
Jimmy: yeah.
He was.