The Manor was filled with flowers. If Mrs. Carmichael's budget on flowers for the Winter Ball was excessive, her budget for the Great Spring Gala was obscene. As a general rule, after the fact, a good portion of these flowers were planted back in the garden, while others would be distributed throughout the neighborhood and into surrounding neighborhoods to brighten up people's days.
Often, Mrs. Carmichael would take the flowers down to a nearby senior home hoping to add just a little bit more color into their lives. It was a good day and a half before the gala yet the preparations were well underway. The good news was, with Tyler in Military School, it was unlikely there would be any sort of hideous annoyance ruining everything like last time, Damien thought. Of course, he supposed it hadn't been all bad. He had gotten to dance with Oliver in the snow, and that had been magical. But if he could avoid being punched in the face again, he would gladly take it.
"You boys all ready for the gala?" Damien's father asked as Oliver and Damien made their way toward the staircase.
"Yep," Damien said. This was mostly true. He was ready in the sense that he knew what outfit he planned to wear, but he wasn't ready in the sense that he didn't particularly want to think about it in great detail at present.
"Your mother really outdid herself this year," his father said.
Damien grinned, didn't she always? He thought but wisely didn't say. After a moment, his father merely nodded and Damien all but ran up the stairs with Oliver close behind him, and collapsed onto his bed with a sigh.
"He seems excited," Oliver said with a chuckle, hopping onto the bed beside him.
"Father is nothing if not supportive of my mother to a fault."
"So I've noticed. It's cute," Oliver said. Damien hummed, he suppoesd it would be to an outsider. For him, it was more or less exhausting.
He hadn't intended to fall asleep, but no sooner had he closed his eyes, than he was being nudged awake by Oliver with the promise of lunch. Damien blinked, looking around his room. "Already?"
Oliver nodded. Damien wasn't about to refuse lunch, especially considering the fact he and Oliver had skipped breakfast. Hopping out of bed, Damien adjusted his trousers and his button-down and slipped on a pair of trainers before the two made their way into the dining room for lunch.
Three days later found Oliver, Damien, Carrie, and Phi once more standing in the Carmichael's ballroom dressed to the nines.
"What happened to your girlfriend Benson?" Phi asked, eying the unaccompanied Carrie.
Carrie sighed, "Turns out she just wanted to get close to Damien," she said with a huff.
"I'm sorry," Damien said with a frown. She didn't deserve that, he thought. Carrie merely shrugged, though Damien suspected it had upset her far more than she was willing to let on.
"Can you believe this is our last Spring Gala before college?" Phi said after a moment. Damien hadn't considered that. It was hard to believe. "And then Prom is in a few weeks," she added.
"I don't think I'm going," Carrie said.
"Yeah, I'm right there with you," Damien replied.
"Oh?" Oliver asked, clearly surprised.
"I mean, I didn't go last year because it was just too difficult, and this year, I don't know, after this Gala aren't you just danced out?"
Oliver gave him a look then. "Damien, it's your senior prom, and you have a boyfriend. Don't you owe it to yourself to go?"
Damien huffed, "I don't know," he said quietly. The truth was, on some level Damien had always wanted to go to the Prom, especially since he'd begun dating Oliver, but prior to now, it had never felt like a possibility before and he hadn't even wanted to get his hopes up.
"Well, I want to go with you," Oliver said. "If you'll have me of course."
Damien blushed despite himself, as he stared at Oliver, how could he possibly even consider saying no? "Alright, fine. If we must," he said with a grin.
Oliver smiled, "You'll see, it's going to be the best prom ever," he promised.
Damien chuckled, it wasn't that he doubted Oliver, he had already worked so hard to make everything great for Damien, it was just a lot to live up to. Especially after the year, they'd had.
The gala itself was splendid, Damien thought, even if he was exhausted throughout most of it, and longing to sneak away to his room to write. In the end, his mother announced that the gala had raised over $200,000 for the charity, which the Carmichael's would match dollar for dollar. Damien smiled, applauding along with everyone else.