"So I'm finally down to two options," Jemma told Miren as she placed two dresses on top of Jeno's comforter. The cheerleader then stood back to examine the gowns as if she hadn't looked at them a million times already. In a fleeting moment her eyes found Miren's. "Well?"
Miren pursed her lips, but it wasn't in contemplation. The two dresses existed on polar spectrums: one was a sleeveless v-cut black midi dress with mesh tulle, and could best be described as a classy but sexy take on a little black dress. The other was a floor length leg-slit dress, with a cascading ombre of rich purples that alluded sex appeal and confidence.
"Do I even have to say it?" Miren then replied, folding her arms.
"Good, you passed," Jemma announced, clasping her hands. "The black dress is for you. Try it on."
Miren's eyes widened. "What? No."
"Come on," Jemma said, before walking toward her backpack and pulling out a pair of matching black heels and a bedazzled mask. "I didn't push for the prom theme to be Masquerade Mystery for no reason." She proceeded to push said accessories into Miren's hands. "You still have that performance with Axel's band. You can't go on stage like a dude - or in subpar attire."
"Don't remind me," Miren mumbled, rubbing her fingers along the black mask. It had a metallic finish and a maroon rose detail on the top border and was silky to the touch. It also covered the entire upper half of the face, making it both beautiful and practical. She looked up at Jemma is admiration. "Thank you so much."
"With Penelope and Olive suspended, you don't have to worry about them ruining the night," Jemma said proudly with her hands on her hips. "And you're welcome - now put it on! I'm not leaving until you dazzle me!"
With a playful groan, Miren marched to the bathroom with the dress, shoes and mask in tow. Although the dress was easy enough to put on, it was hard not to be overwhelmed with emotion. Here Jemma was, like the older sister she had always wanted, helping her get ready for prom - she was going to prom!
Although the Miren of yesteryear probably would have cared less about the idea, if not dreaded it, something resembling excitement bubbled inside her stomach. Sure she had to perform a few songs with BANG!, but it suddenly seemed like an epically small price to pay.
Once she zipped up her dress, she took a deep breath before slipping on the heels and stepping back into the room. "How does it look--"
"I think I'm going to cry," Jemma said, her face shriveling as she fake sniffled. "You look so good!"
"You really think so?" Miren said, twisting her torso in the gown and flexing her toes in the heels as if to test how the ensemble would hold up in sport. Or running away from an angry mob should her identity be revealed. A girl had to be prepared.
But the grown did look great on her. Although the fabric was black, it looked radiant against her dark brown skin. Her figure was slim but strong, and it hugged her curves the right way. She was red carpet ready, and they hadn't even discussed make-up options yet.
Before Jemma could respond, the doorknob began to turn, and Jeno, dressed in sweaty athletic wear, emerged. When his eyes landed on his girlfriend, however, it was hard for him not to stare. Miren rolled her eyes.
"Well, he obviously hates it."
Without missing a beat he dropped his tennis bag on the floor and moved in front of Miren. He swiftly cupped her cheeks and kissed her. Miren just blinked, before her eyes briefly touched Jemma, who looked equally offended and disgusted.
"Ew, I'll take this as my cue to leave." Jemma collected her gown and backpack. "I'll be back for the rest of the accessories." As the door slammed, Jeno deepened the kiss, his hands firm against her neck now, his lips soft but urgent against her unsuspecting ones before he tilted her head upwards, closer to his. She could taste the salt of sweat against his face, her mouth widening against his as her hands rubbed against his pecs. She felt his chest rise against her fingertips and smirked.
"You're going to get my dress sweaty," she said against his lips, before kissing him harder. "Unless you want me to take it off."
"Don't tempt me." His lips shifted to her neck now, his teeth lightly grazing against her supple flesh. She sucked in a breath, her eyes closing. "You look absolutely stunning."
"You should see me with the mask," she humored, her hands shifting to his back, feeling his muscles beneath the dampened fabric of his shirt before pulling it off. She tossed it to the ground, and started kissing his neck, his collarbone. "Go shower. You're going to be late for your student council meeting."
"I might have to miss it." He stroked her cheeks with his thumbs, before kissing her again. "Priorities."
"Tell me about it," she said, rubbing his arms now and stepping backward. Every moment with him was bliss, at least until her conscience poked its ugly head in. And then she remembered what Ben said about the thing she was very much trying to forget.
"I can't believe there's only two weeks left in the school year," Jeno went on, shaking his head. "Of highschool."
"I know," Miren said, smiling. "And then you'll be off to Columbia. This school year will be behind us forever."
"Before we talk summer plans, I thought we'd take a trip." He peeled himself away to pull out a pamphlet from his night stand drawer. "The orchestra director at Columbia gave me tickets to see the Chamber Orchestra at Martha's Vineyard. Complimentary airfare and lodging for two."
Miren beamed. "When?"
"The Saturday following prom." He wove the tickets in the air. "It's a morning flight so we can't get drunk at prom, I'm afraid. Roger excused me for Monday and I hacked into his computer and excused you too."
And just like that, she crashed back down into reality.
"Sounds great," she said with another grin. "Now go shower and go to your meeting. We'll talk more after."
"Just talk?" He had a devious look in his eyes.
"Mhmm." She kissed his nose, before playfully pushing him toward the bathroom. "Go."
As he entered the space, the grin on her lips melted. The only thing standing between her and (hopefully) a lifetime of happiness with Jeno was the truth. Did she want the boy or retribution?
It was a simple choice, but she was a difficult girl. And old habits were hard to kill.
***
"Remind me why we have to have prom at Soren's haunted mansion?" Levi frowned as he kicked his feet up on the conference table. The Prom Committee Meeting was in full throttle, and the executive members of the school didn't seem particularly excited. St. Rosemunde's vice-president rolled her eyes.
"Prom is literally in two minutes and this is what you want to talk about?" The senior vice-president, who's name naturally escaped everyone, then said with daggers in her eyes. "It's your school's fault that Dr. Edsel canceled prom in the first place and we couldn't get a better venue on time."
"Last I checked, Princess Pen-Pen and Olivia Pope are the ones in exile - not Rinzen's world class students," Levi rebutted. "Now hurry up and talk about whatever dumb prom details you felt an email couldn't cover."
"Fine." It was Jemma this time, the senior class president. "How do we prevent another scandal from happening? I swear to God if anything goes wrong on the night I'm announced prom queen, I'm going to burn Soren's house to the ground."
"You're acting like I don't have six other nicer homes," Soren rolled his eyes. "And you should feel grateful that my parents were kind enough to offer our estate for prom. Plus there will be personal security and retired FBI agents, the whole nine yards. After you all blamed me for releasing Penelope's sex tape you should thank me for doing this."
"Whatever. Your sad ploy for Prom King is accepted," Jemma said, before turning to the rest of the group. "Actually, please vote for him over my brother. It would be gross if we both won."
"For once I agree with Jemma. " It was Jeno who said this. "Well, if that's it, I'm adjourning the meeting."
"Hey, I'm senior class president now that Parker's gone," Soren said. "You're just student government president."
"Which means I govern over the entire Rinzen student body." He rose from his chair. "And if you want to continue to discuss party favors and streamers, be my guess."
"Don't belittle all the hard work we've put into decorating for the event," it was Theodora, junior government vice-president, that said this. Unsurprisingly, the junior class president - Artemis - was nowhere to be seen. Apparently, she wasn't the only one who was sick of high school formalities.
"I'd apologize but you don't deserve it." He moved to the door. "Great meeting, everyone. See you at prom."
Jeno was halfway through the hallway when Theodora's hand latched onto his from behind.
"Wait," she said, slightly panting as he stopped in place. "What were you talking about earlier? What did I do wrong?"
"You know what you did," he replied almost passively, before removing himself from her grip and resuming his pace. "And I have no interest in discussing it further with you."
Theodora's face spoiled, the type of way that indicated she was one insult away from breaking down completely. "I know what I did to Miren at the Rising Scholar Assembly was wrong, but is that why you broke up with me?"
"If you equate ruining someone's one moment in the spotlight as a harmless misstep, then we were never compatible in the first place."
"Or maybe you had feelings for Miren - maybe you were even seeing her when we were together!" Theodora argued, tears now lining her eyes. "Admit it - just like you did at Olive's video showing. You liked her."
"And you killed her."
Okay, so he knew he was wrong for saying this, and he wasn't pretending to be Mr. Righteous by any means, but what the hell was wrong with humanity?
"Look, I'm sorry," he then said, frowning. "But I never want to speak to you again."
Theodora just brushed a hand through her ginger locks, shaking her head. "I also know that Miles was the one who was attacked in the woods. Not Wallace."
"Sounds like you should be telling him this," Jeno replied, although he wasn't quite sure how long he could maintain his composure. He had mastered the poker face, but Theodora was the worst type of person: rich and unpredictable. And he simply couldn't afford to lose any leverage.
"Lucky for you, I actually like Miles and Wallace, and I wouldn't compromise whatever it is they're hiding. But I am sorry for what I did to Miren. And although I don't deserve anyone's forgiveness, I do know something that you might want to as well."
"Then spit it out," Jeno said through his teeth. Theodora just pursed her lips before nodding.
"I know who's responsible for arranging the attack."
"And who is that?"
She looked over her shoulder. The rest of the student council were beginning to exit the conference room, but they were still some fifty or so feet away. Her brown eyes, genuinely devastated, locked on to his.
"Dr. Edsel."