A/N: This is my take on the upcoming prom episode at McKinley! There're no spoilers, as far as I know. Some of the girl's dresses are based on things I've heard, as is Kurt's. The story is in two parts. The first part is pre-prom and the second is prom. There's not much Klaine in the first part, but most of the second part (which will be posted soon) is Klaine-centred.
Pairings are: Kurt/Blaine, Tina/Mike, Mercedes/Anthony, Finn/Quinn, Artie/Brittany, Brittany/Santana, Finn/Rachel, Lauren/Puck, Rachel/Jesse, Sam/OC. (I cater for all :P)
Enjoy!
It was prom season at William McKinley High School. Those words alone were enough to cause delight for the girls of the school and strike fear into the males attendants. For weeks all everyone had been talking about were dresses, shoes, make up, limos, who had a date and who didn't. It was like a plague that had taken over the school. Every day a guy could be seen plucking up the courage to ask the girl of his dream, occasionally a girl could be seen going to ask a guy too. It was plain to see that prom was at the forefront of everyone's mind in McKinley High.
Kurt Hummel was no exception. Ever since he'd returned to the school all he could think of was prom and, of course his gorgeous boyfriend who still, unfortunately, attended Dalton Academy. Kurt had asked Blaine to the prom a couple of weeks ago and Blaine had immediately said yes. Now, Kurt was so excited at the prospect of showing off his gorgeous boyfriend to all those who bullied and teased him in the past.
While for many, finding the right person was a problem, Kurt's prom-problem was clearly not the date, oh no. He still hadn't decided what to wear even though prom was in two weeks. He had been shopping more times than he could remember and he still hadn't found what he was looking for. He wanted something that would make Blaine's jaw drop when he saw him walking down the stairs, something that would make him feel like a million dollars, something that made him feel special. Kurt always loved to stand out from the crowd, why should prom be any different? This was his chance to show everyone at McKinley he was back with a bang.
Quinn Fabray had made it no secret that she coveted the title of Prom Queen dearly. Her campaign had started earlier than most, putting up posters, giving out candy. She had even convinced her mom to let her throw a massive party in order to swing votes. Even though she wasn't head cheerleader anymore, Quinn was determined. She had the star quarterback on her arm and she knew that Finn could win this title for her, so she was determined to hold onto him no matter what.
Finn wasn't so sure about this plan. Ever since he and Quinn had gotten back together she had been acting more and more crazy by the day. All she seemed to talk about was prom. Finn was getting really worried, not only by that, but by the fact that he found himself looking at Rachel a lot more than normal recently. Ever since they had had a heart to heart after their performance of Born This Way, Finn was slowly realising that it was Rachel who he was in love with, not Quinn. He honestly didn't know what to do though. He felt that he had damaged his relationship beyond repair with Rachel. Even if he didn't love Quinn in the same way, they still made each other happy. For fear of his life, Finn decided that he was better off leaving things as they were until prom was over.
****
There was only one person Santana Lopez wanted to ask to the prom and there was only one thing stopping her. Surprisingly it wasn't the boyfriend of said person, but fear. Fear of being rejected, of having her heart broken. Fear of what others might say or do if they did go together. Fear of what her parents might say if she brought a girl to the prom. She was torn on the inside, and it was breaking her more and more every day.
Standing at her locker Santana saw Brittany sitting on Artie's lap laughing. "That should be me making her laugh like that," she thought to herself. She stared openly, not caring if anyone noticed.
One person had noticed though, and that person was Dave Karofsky. A few months ago, he would have slushied her if he had realised she was in love with Brittany, but now he could understand the pain of having feelings for the wrong person. He walked up to Santana, which startled the girl.
"Ask her."
"Ask who?" Sanatana asked, genuinely wondering what he meant because there was no way Karaofsky could mean what she thought he meant.
"Ask her to the prom. Brittany. I know you want to."
Santana's face was a mask of shock.
"I don't want to ask her. Why would you think that?" Santana snapped.
Dave looked at her with sad eyes.
"I can see the way you're staring at her. I know that look." Dave replied softly.
Santana looked at the taller boy. Karofsky used to be a big jerk, but lately he'd been acting out of character. Acting much nicer. She couldn't remember the last time he had thrown a slushie at a glee club member. In fact ever since Kurt had come back-
"Oh my god. Karofsky are you-" she hushed her tone, bringing it down to a whisper. "Are you gay?"
He looked at her with those same sad eyes. He didn't want to be but it was so painfully obvious to him now that he was. He didn't reply, he didn't need to. That look was all Santana needed to realise why Karofsky had been so hard on Kurt all those months ago.
"Come to prom with me." Sanatana said plainly. It wasn't a question.
"Alright." Karofsky replied with a smile. The two shared an unspoken bond. Both silently promised to keep the other's secret. On this day a new friendship was born.
*****
Ten days before prom, the entire Junior class was called to an assembly by Principal Figgins. Everyone thought it would simply be a warning to them not to bring in or drink alcohol and to make sure they stayed out of trouble for the night. It wasn't a shock then, when Figgins went on one of his long, monotonous speeches about the dangers of alcohol and drugs. What shocked some people was the next part of his speech.
"Also, I've had many parents calling me over the last number of days requesting that I put a ban on same-sex couples going to prom together. So unless one of you is wearing a dress and the other a suit, you will be refused entry at the door. Thank you."
Most people didn't react to the last part of the speech, which was because it didn't affect most people. But Kurt Hummel looked as if he was about to burst into tears. That was it, his prom dreams over in a couple of sentences. He didn't know if he should feel sad or angry. All he wanted to do right now is go home to bed and curl up with Blaine.
Mercedes turned to her best friend.
"Oh hell to the no!" she exclaimed. "We can not let him away with this! Just because some stupid bigoted parents have a problem with it, you can't bring your boy to prom? Uh-ah, I don't think so."
"Just leave it, Mercedes. There's nothing we can do." Kurt sounded defeated, which scared Mercedes. She knew how much he was looking forward to this, and to see him giving up like that worried her. She knew she had to do something to help out her best friend.
****
Will stormed into Principal Figgins office in a rage.
"What was that?" he shouted.
"What was what, William?" Figgins replied in a tone of innocence, clearly pretending not to know what he was so angry about.
"You know what Figgins. How dare you deny some of the kids the right to bring who they want to their prom. It's their prom, not the parents."
"William, some of those parents who called have a very big say in how the school is run. They have connections much higher up than me. There's nothing I can do to help."
Will picked something fragile off Figgins' desk and threw it against the wall.
"This affects one of my glee kids and I'm not gonna stop fighting for them. We're done here, but this is far from over."
Will stormed out the office and headed back to his office. He had to do something to sort this out.
What he didn't see was Sue standing at the staircase facing Figgins' office. She had heard the entire conversation and decided that she was going to help her sweet Porcelain.
*****
Kurt needed to tell Blaine that they weren't going to prom. He knew he needed to, but he just didn't have the heart to do it. Blaine was even more excited than Kurt was to go, he'd looked like a little puppy when Kurt asked him. It would break his heart and Kurt really didn't want to do that to him. He stood at his locker and stared at the "Courage" collage that he'd put back up when he moved back, except now the photo of Blaine was replaced with a photograph of the two of them that Blaine had taken. It was taken during a weekend so Blaine's hair was free from its usual prison of gel and he looked absolutely adorable. He was so lost in thinking about Blaine that he didn't even hear Becky come up to him.
"Coach wants you to meet her in her office now." she said. She didn't wait for a reply and turned back in the direction she had come from.
Kurt couldn't think of what she could possibly want except to get him to rejoin Cheerios. Sure, he had considered it when he had moved back, but he hardly got to spend much time with Blaine as it was, so he had decided against it.
Outside her office, Kurt knocked on the door tentatively. He heard her call him in, so he opened the door slowly. He saw her sitting at her desk, glasses perched on her face, writing into what was presumably her journal. She looked up from her writing and motioned for him to sit down. She closed her journal and took off her glasses, placing them beside it.
"So I was at the assembly today and I heard what Figgins proposed," she said, looking at Kurt with a softer expression than usual.
"And I have to say, I don't agree with it. I think people should be allowed to bring who they want to the prom. Even if you are planning to bring a Hobbit."
Normally Kurt would defend Blaine, after all, he was the only one allowed to make fun of his height. But he felt so defeated today he really didn't care, and Sue noticed this.
"Look Porcelain, I know how much prom means to teen gays, so I've figured out a way you and Triangle-Brows can go together."
Kurt instantly perked up, looking up at Sue, searching for any sign of malice but he found none.
"Go on." Kurt finally spoke. Sue swore she could detect a hint of hope in his voice. )
"Figgins said that one of you has to wear a dress and the other a suit."
Kurt still looked confused, too tired to pick up what Sue was trying to imply.
"Wear a dress Porcelain. Or a kilt or something. Problem solved. You can thank me by making sure that boyfriend of yours doesn't put so much product in his hair it could rival Schuester's raging locks."
Kurt couldn't believe he hadn't thought of it himself. The perfect loophole! He was so happy he considered getting up and hugging Coach Sylvester, but then he considered that might not be the best of thing to do. Instead he simply thanked her with a huge grin on his face, promised he'd make Blaine cut down on the gel and ran out the door. At least know he had an idea of what he was wearing to prom.
As Sue watched Kurt leave a small grin toyed on her face. She had always had a soft spot for him, ever since he'd joined the Cheerios. She was pleased with herself that she was able to make him happy after all the torture he'd been put through earlier in the year.
*****
Even though Mike and Tina had been dating for months now, Mike still hadn't asked Tina to the prom. This worried her. She had her dress and everything organised and even though she had a boyfriend, she didn't have a date. She expressed her worries to Mercedes and Rachel, but they just told her to hold on and everything would be fine. But that certainly didn't calm Tina's fears. There was only five days left until prom and she still didn't know if she had a date.
She needn't have worried though. One day in Glee club, everyone was there except for Mike. Tina was confused because Mike was always the one first there, saving them their usual seats. At that moment Mike walked in, wearing a black suit, holding a single red rose with a tag on it. He walked over to Tina, bowed and extended her hand as if to ask her to dance. She accepted, blushing, and walked over to the centre of the room with him. The two started slow dancing to no music while the girls of the glee club held in their "awws". Mike handed her the rose and Tina read the tag which said:
Will you go to prom with me?
Tina pulled Mike into a big hug and a kiss.
"How could I saw no to that?" she practically screamed when they pulled apart. Mr Schuester then walked in, giving Mike an odd look for his choice of clothing and the two sat down hand in hand.
Tina should have known not to worry.
****
Sam was running through the halls as he was running late for Glee club. He got caught up in the gym and lost track of time. He was running around the corner then - CRASH. He collided with something but he didn't quite know what. He stood up to see what had happened and saw a girl with fire red hair trying to get up off the floor.
"Oh, I'm so sorry!" Sam offered his hand to help the girl up. He didn't think he'd seen her before, but he thought she was really cute.
"Let me help you with those." Sam started helping her pick up all the books and pages he had knocked out of her hand.
"Thanks." She said coyly, the first words she spoke.
"I'm Sam." He offered, not really sure what to say.
"I'm Amy." The girl replied, with a soft smile on her face. She may have even been blushing, but Sam found it hard to tell.
Then he saw them. About half a dozen sheets lay on the floor covered in doodles of Star Wars, Avatar and even Doctor Who characters. Sam couldn't believe it. He never thought he'd find someone as nerdy as him. Amy noticed that Sam had seen her drawings and immediately tried to hide them. She always tried to keep her nerdy side hidden because no one at school seemed to understand.
She was trying to take all the sheets when she felt Sam grab her wrist, not in a tight grip, but enough to make her stop what she was doing.
"Ayfo txan. Tsun oe tse'a ?" Sam asked, curious and wanting to see the drawings in more detail. Amy couldn't believe it. One of the stars of the football club spoke Na'vi and was a total nerd. She handed her drawing for him to look at, so glad she found someone who wouldn't judge her. She walked him to glee club and they swapped emails. He promised he'd talk to her later so they could discuss the Tenth versus the Eleventh Doctor in greater detail. Sam didn't know it then, but he had finally found his date to the prom.
******
Rachel Berry wasn't looking forward to prom like most of the other girls. She didn't have a date. After all, why would anyone at the school ask her? Still, she didn't want to go by herself, so she had decided not to go at all. She couldn't bear the stares and the whispers, people judging and laughing at her because she couldn't get a date. She decided to save herself from that and have a night in with her dads instead.
That was, until she got a knock at her door.
"I'll get it!" Rachel screamed as she ran downstairs. She'd never admit it to anyone, but every time someone was at the door she fantasised that it was Finn there to admit his stupidity and take her back.
Who really was at the door was a much bigger shock. Rachel opened the door and was stunned to see Jesse St James leaning against the door frame with his trademark grin on his face. Her jaw dropped. She hadn't seen her ex-boyfriend since New Directions had lost at Regionals last year. Memories of what happened before came flooding back to her and she snapped out of her trance.
"What are you doing here?" she said, with as much gusto as she could manage.
"Well, I was in the neighbourhood and I decided to come visit you." Jesse said, still smiling, hoping to melt away Rachel's evident anger.
"Don't lie to me, your parents live an hour from here and last I heard you were going to UCLA." Rachel snapped.
"Ok, ok. I've been doing a lot of thinking since I've gone to college. About my past and what I had done. Then I thought about how much I hurt you last year and I realised that I needed to apologise to you. In person. So, here I am." He dropped the show facade and grabbed Rachel's hands in his own.
"I'm sorry for everything I did to you last year, all the times I hurt you and made you cry. You deserve better than that and I hope you get better than that. Also, I'm sorry for cracking an egg on your head even though you're a was wrong of me."
Rachel looked into his eyes, searching for deception and dishonesty. Instead she saw truth. She knew he was truly here to apologise to her and maybe build some bridges.
"Thank you." She said softly, letting her wall fall down. "Come inside, we can catch up."
They talked about everything, Finn, Sectionals, Kurt leaving, Finn and Santana, Regionals, Finn and Quinn, and of course prom. Jesse asked her if she was going and she told him her story.
"Take me." He said simply.
"What?" Rachel asked, her voice filled with shock.
"Take me to prom. You can't miss your Junior Prom, Rachel. Look I'm in town tonight, I'm sure I could borrow a tux from one of your dads and I know for a fact that you have your dress upstairs. I know you, Rachel."
"Ok." Rachel beamed. This was her chance, her chance to go to prom and show Finn Hudson what he was missing.
She jumped into Jesse's arms and hugged him tightly. He picked her up off the floor, secretly delighted at the possibilities of having a second chance with his ex. After they broke apart, she swiftly ran up the stairs shouting something along the lines of "I've only six hours to get ready".
"It's going to be a long night" Jesse mumbled to himself, before wandering aimlessly into the kitchen in search of one of her dads.
TBC