Title: A Prom Night Surprise (sequel to "May I Have This Dance?")
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Carter receives a big surprise the night of her junior prom.
Pairing(s): Rosie/Carter
Disclaimer: Rosie and Carter belong to Princess Protection Program which is the property of Annie DeYoung and Disney Channel.
Genre(s): Friendship/Romance
Note(s): This is the sequel to my story "May I Have This Dance?" However, it can be read as a stand-alone story.
A Prom Night Surprise
"I'm sorry I can't be there tonight, Carter," Rosie apologized softly. "Please remind Major Mason to take as many pictures as he possibly can of you in that beautiful dress. I am going to have copies made and framed for my suite."
"Okay," Carter whispered into the phone.
"I will see you soon," Rosie murmured. "You will be here in only one week, and you will be staying for three months. Enjoy tonight with all of your American friends."
"I will," Carter said. "Still wish you were here."
"I do, too," Rosie said. "Must I apologize again?"
"No," Carter chuckled, smiling. "You've made up for it enough, trust me. I'll call you after?"
"I may be sleeping. But I will talk to you in the morning, all right?"
"'Kay," Carter said. "Love you, Rose."
"And I love you," Rosie said warmly. "Have a good time." A quiet click echoed in Carter's ear and she flipped her cell phone shut.
Tonight was the night of Carter's junior prom. Though she had wanted to attend with her best friend, Rosie was unable to escape her duties to fly back to America. Instead, Carter had been invited to attend with her group of friends, including Ed and Margaret. Rosie, however, had felt guilty that she was unable to be there with Carter and had made it up to Carter quite…extravagantly. The Princess had paid for a stretch limo to take Carter and her friends to the hall prom would be held in, and a lavish meal at a well-known, expensive gourmet restaurant Carter was fond of.
"That is too much," Carter remembered telling Rosie, when the Princess had made her offer during one of their late-night phone calls.
"It is the least I can do to make up for missing this prom," Rosie had countered firmly. "I will handle everything." And she had.
The dress Carter was now admiring in the mirror was, of course, custom-made by Mr. Elegante. The Royal Designer and Rosie's closest advisor had been only too happy to create a beautiful, almost wedding-like dress for Carter. The moment the package had arrived, Carter had called Rosie and thanked her profusely, exclaiming over how beautiful it was and telling her to give Mr. Elegante a big hug for her.
The night was finally here, and though Carter was still somewhat disappointed that Rosie wouldn't be there, she found herself actually excited to spend the night with all of her friends, dancing, talking and snacking on whatever was put out for them.
"Carter!" Joe Mason called. "Come out here so I can take those pictures for Rosie!" Carter smiled and checked her make-up in the mirror one last time. She didn't care how she looked at prom, but she was determined to look good for Rosie's pictures – it was the only request her best friend had made of her, and she'd be damned if she screwed that up.
"Coming!" she called, sweeping toward her bedroom door.
--
Princess Rosalinda Maria Montoya Fioré had received some rather startling news on April 24th, 2009 – a date that would she would forever remember. Now nearing the age of seventeen, her mother had informed her of one of the conditions set before she could take on her full royal duties. Her father had wanted her to marry. The partner Rosalinda chose could be absolutely anyone. The choice was completely Rosalinda's; her father had been firm about that.
Rosalinda was surprised to learn that her father, who had been very in touch with modern times, had handed down such an old-fashioned edict. Rosalinda was to marry by her twentieth birthday. That gave her more than enough time to choose a suitable partner, but it had been strange to even think about. That is, until she figured out just who she would choose.
In New Orleans, Louisiana on the night of Carter's junior prom, Rosalinda was seated on the couch across from the television set in her hotel suite. She had a book spread across her lap and was reading intently when her cell phone began ringing. After reading the name on the caller ID, she quickly pressed the 'Accept' button.
"Carter? Is something wrong?" Rosalinda questioned. "You should be preparing for your prom."
"I just miss you," Carter said softly.
Rosalinda frowned. She didn't like hearing Carter sounding so sad. She wished briefly that she could reveal all of her plans to Carter over the phone. But she wouldn't. She wanted it to be a surprise.
"I'm sorry I can't be there tonight, Carter," Rosalinda apologized softly, touching the mouthpiece of the phone, as if she could touch Carter through it. "Please remind Major Mason to take as many pictures as he possibly can of you in that beautiful dress. I am going to have copies made and framed for my suite."
"Okay." Carter's voice was barely heard, a mere whisper in Rosie's ear.
"I will see you soon," Rosalinda murmured. "You will be here in only one week, and you will be staying for three months. Enjoy tonight with all of your American friends."
"I will," Carter said. "Still wish you were here."
"I do, too," Rosalinda said. "Must I apologize again?"
"No," Carter chuckled. "You've made up for it enough, trust me. I'll call you after?"
"I may be sleeping," Rosalinda fibbed. She would not be sleeping, but there would be no need for a phone call. "But I will talk to you in the morning, all right?"
"'Kay," Carter said. "Love you, Rose."
"And I love you," Rosalinda said warmly, closing her eyes and imagining kissing Carter sweetly on the lips after whispering those words in her ear. "Have a good time." Before Carter could respond, if she even chose to, Rosalinda clicked the 'End' button and set the phone on the table.
A knock came at the door adjoining Rosalinda's room to that of her escort, Mr. Elegante.
"Come in!" Rosalinda called, and the designer stepped in, buzzing with energy.
"Are you ready to dress for the dance, princesa?" he asked, gesturing into his own suite. "Your beautiful – if I do say so myself – gown awaits you."
"Yes," Rosalinda agreed, giggling at Mr. Elegante's attempt at modesty. She didn't mind it in the slightest; the man simply knew his strengths. She set her book aside and rose, following Mr. Elegante into his suite.
****
Dinner was excellent. After the limo had picked up all of Carter's friends from their houses, it had driven them straight to the restaurant Rosie had booked for them. Carter was thrilled to be there; it was an expensive venue, so she was only treated to a meal there very rarely.
The limo was only five minutes away from the hall prom was to be held in. Carter was growing steadily more nervous, though she didn't really understand why. The rest of the night was going to be just like dinner had been, albeit with hours of dancing. She was hanging out with her friends tonight and for the rest of the week, and then – then – she would be in her best friend's arms again. She could hardly wait to taste those sweet lips against hers again. The very thought made her grin like the Cheshire Cat.
"Carter, we're here!" Ed announced, gently shaking Carter's shoulder. They had finally made it to the doors, after waiting out the line of cars and limos ahead of them. Glancing behind her as she stepped out the door, she noticed quite a long line still waiting behind them. Carter walked toward the huge doors that would lead into this terrifying event with Ed by her side. Ed reached past her and pulled the door open for her in a gentlemanly fashion, gesturing for Carter and the rest of the ladies to enter.
The junior prom looked amazing, Carter had to admit. She was sure the senior prom – which had been a week previous – had been slightly grander, but the junior prom committee looked like they had definitely gone all out. The theme was "Black and White Ball," meaning every member of the junior class in attendance was dressed in one or both of these colors. When Carter had revealed the theme to Rosie, she hadn't expected to receive the white dress that was made for her. But it was just so amazing that she hadn't been able to help falling for it.
Ed paused at a table and found his and Carter's name cards. They were seated at the same table, but the others were scattered all over the place. Carter sighed; she had forgotten that they would have to be seated for the nearly hour-long awards ceremony. She wondered why the committee had chosen this night to make her suffer through the yawn-worthy awards.
With a sigh, Carter folded herself into the chair to Ed's left and watched as others entered, chatting merrily about who-knew-what. Carter certainly couldn't bring herself to care. She joked with Ed for a while, but when the ceremony began, she found more entertainment in her daydreams. She wondered what Rosie was doing at this very moment…
--
In fact, the object of Carter's thoughts was seated in a limo outside the hall. She was nervous, very nervous. She read the time on the limo's clock once more. The awards would be over by now, and she was certain the students would be dancing.
"I should go inside now," Rosalinda said firmly. "I will talk to you later, Mr. Elegante."
"Good luck, princesa," Mr. Elegante replied kindly, as the limo driver rushed out of the car to open Rosalinda's door. "Do not worry. She cannot deny you." The designer winked and Rosalinda giggled as she stepped out of the limo and walked through the hall doors.
The hall was decorated elegantly for the "Black and White Ball" theme. Rosalinda smoothed her hand over the skirt of her black dress nervously; she was unused to wearing black. She much preferred the color pink, and she loved the color red. Still, she had dressed for the theme, and her make-up was darker than usual as well, to show off her eyes and match her dress. Music was thumping through the room when she entered, and she quickly spotted Carter – she was hard to miss with the unusually tall Edwin dancing beside her, both of them singing loudly along with the music.
Rosie stood in the dark corner, watching her best friend dance. When the fast song ended and a slow song began to play, Carter's face fell and Rosalinda's smile dropped. She saw her best friend make her way across the floor to a circular table. She took a seat and propped her elbows up on the table. She rested her cheeks against her fists and turned her head away from the floor.
Quietly, Rosalinda swept past the slowly dancing couples and stepped up to Carter's table. She pulled out the chair beside her best friend and gently touched Carter's arm. The other girl didn't turn around; she only sighed.
"I'm fine, Ed. I just don't feel like dancing. Go dance with Brooke."
Rosalinda nodded, but she didn't move or respond. She stroked Carter's soft skin and leaned in closer, so her lips were mere centimeters from Carter's ear. "May I have this dance?" she breathed.
Carter's entire body seemed to stiffen before she slowly turned toward the Princess. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open in a comical manner. Rosalinda almost laughed.
"Rosie," Carter whispered. "Rosie?"
Rosalinda smiled at the familiarity of the nickname and the sound of it coming from those adorable lips. Carter didn't say another word. Her hands found Rosie's cheeks and their lips smashed together.
"I missed you so damn much!" Carter muttered, slipping her tongue into Rosie's mouth. She wasn't sure how to feel: part of her wanted to be angry at Rosie for not telling her she'd be there; the other part of her just wanted to enjoy the moment and keep kissing her best friend, the girl she loved with all her heart. "You really want that dance?"
"We can dance later," Rosie gasped, when Carter's lips left hers. She rested her forehead against Carter's, grinning widely. "I have missed you, too, darling…"
Carter smiled but didn't say a word. She slowly ran her thumbs over Rosie's lips, gazing straight into her best friend's eyes. She caressed Rosie's jaw line, the shape of her lips, the gentle lines around her eyes. She was still trying to convince herself this was real – Rosie was really here, sitting beside her, leaning in close to kiss her again. She smiled and closed her eyes, stomach doing flip-flops every time Rosie's tongue touched hers.
****
Rosalinda, once again simply Rosie, lay contentedly in bed with her best friend in her arms. The hotel suite was a nice quiet place they had escaped to at prom's end to catch up – in more ways than one. Carter remembered Ed's grin and sly wink when the two rushed out goodbyes, hands joined together before running off to Rosie's limo, leaving Ed and the girls to their own devices in the limo the group had arrived in earlier that evening. Carter had not expected to see Mr. Elegante waiting in the car and was forced to keep her hands and lips mostly to herself until they arrived at Rosie's hotel.
Rosie stroked Carter's long, dark hair and gently kissed the older girl's forehead. They were a complete contrast to each other tonight: Rosie in her black dress and dark make-up; Carter in her white dress and light make-up. Still, their differences were obsolete; their bodies curved together as if they had always been meant to fit like this.
"So…" Carter said slowly. "Have you chosen the guy you're gonna…marry yet?"
Rosie took a deep breath. She and Carter had talked about everything under the sun since she'd shown up at the prom only three hours ago. They fell back into an old, familiar pattern. Carter told Rosie everything she'd been thinking – tossing in an "I love you" and soft kisses during the comfortable pauses before a subject change. They hadn't discussed Rosie's marriage issue; it wasn't a subject Carter was fond of. But now, Rosie realized, was the right time.
"Yes," she said, "I have."
Carter closed her eyes and swallowed hard, mentally berating herself for asking such a question. Now Rosie was going to tell her who she was engaged to when all Carter really wanted was for that person to be her.
"Let me answer before you jump to conclusions," Rosie said sternly. Carter sighed and nodded slowly. Rosie kissed her, slowly, deliberately. Carter wondered if it was the last kiss they would ever share. "Carter Mason," Rosie breathed, "will you do me the honor of being…my wife?" She bit her bottom lip, eyes meeting Carter's as she awaited the other girl's response.
Carter's eyes widened and she felt literally frozen from shock. She had been expecting such a different outcome that, for a good minute, she couldn't say anything. Her mind raced, mentally writing a pro-con list. She shook her head after a few seconds; what need was there for a pro-con list when the girl she was so in love with had just proposed to her? When Rosie's eyebrows wrinkled and she hesitantly touched Carter's cheek, the older girl spoke. "Yes," she whispered. "Yes, I'll be your wife."
Rosie's smile stretched across her entire face. The wide smile was infectious, and soon Carter was grinning, too, leaning in and kissing Rosie again and again. She was overcome with a happiness she hadn't felt in a very long time. She'd had many happy times with Ed and the gang, but it was nothing compared to this very moment with her Rosie.
"I thought you were gonna marry some boy," Carter murmured, wrapping her arms tightly around Rosie's waist. "That's why I didn't wanna ask…"
"Never," Rosie assured her. "You are the only one I want to marry, Carter Mason. I love you."
"I love you, too," Carter whispered. She kissed Rosie again and smiled, reveling in her fairy tale happy ending.