Title::..Let's Dance
Spoilers::..Sectionals
Rating::..PG for alcohol consumption
Genre::..Drama
Characters::..Quinn, Kurt, Mercedes, Tina, Mike, Rachel, Finn, Artie, Will, Emma, Matt, Rachel's Dads, Figgins, Brittany and Santana
Pairings::..Mercedes/Matt, Tina/Mike, Rachel/Finn and Will/Emma
Author's Note::..I wrote this five days before Hell-O was aired so these were all my hopes for the cast in the new nine episodes. The only prediction that seemed to kind of come true was Rachel and Finn (kinda), the rest is just wishful thinking. I'm not a big Tartie fan so I kind of pushed them away from each other and shoved Mike on Tina. I made up names/characters for Rachel's Dads. Plus, more Quinn angst!
The title of the fic and the lyrics included come from the song Let's Dance by David Bowie so you can imagine Will singing it to Emma as they're getting ready at her apartment :D The prom king's last name 'Shermer' was taken from the name of the high school in the 80's teen classic The Breakfast Club while the prom queen takes her name from the character in Stephen King's epic Under the Dome. And of course there is a mention to Stephen King's Carrie because, in my opinion, it is simply the best book ever written!
Summary::..Let's dance, put on your red shoes and dance the blues, the Glee clubbers are gearing up for prom.
'Prom', the word was written in black marker, with bold, carefully spaced letters. In case this wasn't enough to grab Quinn's attention it was circled. Colourful pieces of confetti were drawn, hovering around the word in a muted party. For the past seven days it had been staring at her, overshadowing every other day on the calendar.
It was a day Quinn would rather forget. Five months ago when she had written it on the July page she couldn't have been more excited. Five months ago it had felt she would wait an age until the prom finally arrived. The long wait hadn't stopped her from buying a dress, great new shoes and the perfect accessories. She had told Finn which corsage she wanted and helped him fill out the order form. It all seemed pointless now.
The dress was a waste of money. She hadn't thought to keep the receipt because she hadn't thought she wouldn't fit into the dress five months down the line. It remained in its plastic and probably always would. She kept it pushed to the side, away from her day-to-day clothes. Finn would never pin the corsage to the front of it. The fantasies of the magical night would live only in her head. Nobody wanted to take a pregnant chick to the prom.
She told herself to count her blessings. Her parents had allowed her to return home. They had taken away her car and laptop. Of course they never spoke of her pregnancy. They hardly spoke about anything. But she was home and that was what mattered. She didn't have any stress from Cheerios. No one had any expectations of her anymore. She had already failed as much as she possibly could.
School was a good distraction, as opposed to sitting at home all day, looking at her baby bump, feeling sorry for herself, and at the end of every day there was Glee Club. Aside from Finn, Santana and Puck they were all willing to be friends with her. She doubted she would ever wish to have Rachel Berry as a friend. But it was nice to have some people who still accepted her.
Through her bedroom window she saw Kurt's car came to a stop in front of her house. She shouldered her schoolbag and picked up her prom dress. She left the house, as insignificant to her mother as a floating speck of dust. She opened the back door and climbed in. Selecting which song they should listen to preoccupied Mercedes. Meanwhile Kurt's eyes seemed unable to move from the dress that lie on the seat beside Quinn.
"Is that here to tease me?" He asked.
"What?" Mercedes' eyes grew wide when she turned around and saw the dress. "Oh wow." She pulled her sunglasses down her nose to give Quinn a skeptical look. "You realize you're way too early for prom?"
"The dress isn't for me; it was for me when it actually fit me five months ago. But now it's for Tina." Quinn explained.
"You're giving your dress to Tina? That's so nice." Mercedes commented.
Kurt turned back to the road, putting the car into drive. "I didn't know Tina was going to prom."
"She will be with that dress." Mercedes stated.
"This means you're definitely not going to prom?" Kurt asked, looking at Quinn in the review mirror.
She turned to face the window. "There's no point in going. I'll rent rom-coms and eat chocolate." There was silence from the front. She knew she had bummed them out. "It's okay. Tina has a beautiful dress to wear now and I don't have to worry about starving myself to look good in photos."
The silence stretched on. Until Mercedes let out a sigh. "I don't think I'm gonna go either."
"I wonder if the man who invented prom meant for it to be such torture." Kurt said.
"What makes you think a man invented it? Why couldn't a woman have come up with it?" Mercedes asked, causing Quinn to chuckle while Kurt had no comeback.
The other students had become somewhat used to Quinn's baby bump. There were some days when she could almost disappear into the background. But today was not one of those days. All of their eyes followed her as she carried the dress to Tina's locker. The dress caught everyone's eye. She kept her hands on the plastic, not allowing herself to touch the dress. She knew if she felt the material she would remember how it had felt when she had tried it on. She would fantasize how amazing it would be to wear the dress and be on Finn's arm, under the bright prom lights.
It wasn't her dress. The fantasy did not belong to her. It was Tina's dress. She reached the locker and instantly held it out. "I figure we're pretty close to the same size."
Tina was so surprised she reverted back to stuttering. "W-w-w-what?"
"I want you to wear the dress, to the prom." Quinn clarified.
With uncertain hands Tina reached out and took the dress. "You don't have to do this."
"Yes I do." Quinn said. "A dress this beautiful shouldn't go to waste."
Tina smiled, a genuinely grateful smile, which lifted Quinn's mood instantly. "Thank you so much Quinn."
"Don't mention it." She said.
Tina had a free period at the end of the day. She had fifty-five minutes until Glee Club began. There was studying she had to do, homework she could get out of the way. But after Quinn's dress had been hanging in her locker all day there was nothing else she could think about. She removed it and almost put it back out of embarrassment. It was too tempting. She must try it on.
She took it into the empty choir room, her happy place. She had thought about prom for a long time. What she would wear, who she would go with. She had visualized her dress many times. But she had never imagined herself wearing something so beautiful, so daring.
It fit as well as if it had been picked especially for her. The dress was an eye-catching, bright orange. It was the dress of a pretty girl. Nothing that Tina would ever pick for herself. She hid behind the dark colours. This dress would draw attention to her. She should have shied away from it.
The dress she would have picked for herself would have been black, long and simple. This dress was not the normal Tina. But she liked the Tina she was in the dress. She didn't take it off instantly. She looked at herself in the mirror, from every possible angle. She took a few steps away then returned. She couldn't take the smile off of her face. She felt so unlike herself, so great. She was pretty.
She was trying to decide which way she should wear her hair when the door opened. She spun around to find Mike standing in the doorway. He was frozen on the spot, his mouth slightly open and his eyes wide. She raised her arms to cover the revealed tops of her breasts. She stood as frozen as him.
"I didn't think anyone would be in here." He said awkwardly.
"Me either." She replied.
He took a few cautious steps into the room. "I was gonna hang out in here until Glee starts."
"Oh." She began to back away, seeking a corner to hide in.
"Is that your prom dress?" He asked.
She paused. "Yeah. I just got it today."
"It's pretty." He told her.
"Thank you." She grinned. As she turned and left her cheeks burnt incredibly hot. She really liked this dress.
Prom was a mere two weeks away. More-and-more posters were springing up around the school. Breeding like rabbits, each day there were at least ten new ones. Rachel enjoyed the change from the team spirit flyers that were often the wallpaper of the school halls. It also provided her with an excuse to bring it up with Finn.
It had been three months since the Sectionals drama with Quinn. Rachel suspected it had been even longer since Finn had talked about prom with her. There was really no reason why he would take Quinn. After three months she felt certain he was over Quinn. So why couldn't now be Rachel's turn with him?
Their lockers were conveniently close to each other. She took one of the posters from a different location in the school and stuck it on the front of her locker. So when the break before period three arrived, when she knew Finn would be at his locker, she could take it off with a sigh as if another student had placed it there.
"These prom posters are really starting to get out of hand." She commented.
"Yeah. I'm getting pretty sick of seeing them." He said.
"Me too." She lied, discarding the flyer as she pulled her English notebook out, moving as slowly as possible. She glanced over to where he was changing over the books in his pack. "Are you going?"
He looked up with a furrowed brow. "What?"
"Prom, do you think you'll go?" She asked.
"Oh. I don't know." He replied. "I haven't thought about prom much now that I don't have Quinn reminding me of it all the time."
She turned her attention back to the locker, why hadn't he thought about taking her? Did she have to make the first move with him every single time? "I don't think I'm going."
"Really? I thought girls were all prom-crazy." He stated.
"We are, but we need someone to take us." She said.
"No one's taking you?" He asked, sounding surprised.
"Be realistic Finn." She instructed. "Who would want to take me?"
He didn't seem to know what to say to that. It was obvious he could think of nobody. He finished re-filling his bag silently and closed his locker. She had closed her locker at almost the same instant so they could walk together. "Maybe we could go together?"
She looked up at him, hardly able to believe it to be true. "Really? You'd want to go with me?"
"Sure." He shrugged. "You shouldn't have to miss out and we're friends, we could go and have a good night together."
"Yeah, definitely." She replied enthusiastically. A friend wasn't what she'd had in mind. But it was good enough for now.
Here lies the fork in the hallway. While she stopped he hardly paused. "I'll see you in Glee."
"Okay." She grinned. Spinning on her heel she began in the direction of her English class. She had a date to the prom. Not just any old date. It was Finn. Finn Hudson was taking her to the prom. No one could rob her of the smile on her face.
Although the Slushie that exploded in her face dimmed her smile slightly.
The grumble emitted from Mercedes stomach was loud enough to halt all conversation around the lunch table. The topic had been homework, how much everyone had and from which teachers. Everything stopped immediately. Their eyes gradually moved from their lunch trays up to Mercedes. She looked up at them with wide eyes and burning cheeks.
"Whoa." Artie breathed.
"That was a little scary." Tina commented.
Mercedes self-consciously cast her eyes down. "Sorry."
"You're probably hungry; you haven't touched your food yet." Kurt said.
She shook her head. "I don't think I'm hungry."
Kurt glanced up at Artie and Tina. It was a look they could easily read. They turned to each other and quickly reassumed their conversation. Kurt bowed his head closer to Mercedes. "Why aren't you eating?"
"I don't feel like it." She told him.
"You haven't been eating properly for a while." He said.
"So?" She challenged.
"So, I'm worried about you." He stated.
She turned to him. "I'm trying to lose weight, for prom."
"Sweet Grey's Anatomy, why?" He asked.
"I wanna look good, for prom." She stated, although it seemed like the kind of thing she didn't have to say it was so obvious.
"You do look good, you always look good Mercedes." He told her.
"Well then I want to look amazing, so that when people see me there with Matt they won't be surprised and think that I'm his charity case." She added.
His mouth fell open slightly. "You're going to the prom with Matt?"
She shrugged, appearing shy. "I was helping him out with some choreography for Glee and he asked me. Naturally I said yes."
He pushed the tray full of food toward her. "Well Matt asked you because he wants to go with you not some stick insect, there are absolutely no reasons for you not to be eating."
"I dunno." She mumbled.
"Well I do. Now you better hurry up and eat that pudding before I take it off of you." He threatened.
Will entered the teacher's lounge and found Emma as she always was at lunch hour. He was slightly late so she was already set up. The plastic gloves were on her hands and the clip-lock containers were situated in an order only she could understand. Today it was watermelon, perfectly square and jabbed with a sparklingly clean fork.
The conversation died down in the room and curious eyes followed his movement to the table where Emma was seated. Ever since Ken's exit from the school Will and Emma had been the target of many rumours. The other teachers watched them, discussing them in hushed voices. Will had begun to feel that he and Emma were the Brangelina of William McKinley High.
The others always glanced sideways at them from across the room, before school, recess and at lunch. But Will wasn't going to be made to feel guilty about his friendship with Emma. He often wished another teacher would make a mistake to draw some attention away from him and Emma. Beginning on a relationship together was awkward, everyone watching their every move only made the situation worse.
"Is this seat taken Miss Pillsbury?" He asked, pulling out the empty chair opposite hers.
"Sit down Will." She instructed.
He had the sandwich he had made for himself. Poorly cut off crusts and the consistency between the peanut butter and jelly was uneven. "So I was talking to Figgins…"
"You're not in trouble, are you?" She asked, with a hint of a flirtatious smile.
"No, he actually wanted me to be one of the chaperones at the prom." He stated.
"What did you tell him?" She inquired.
"I told him yes." He said as she clipped the watermelon container closed and bought a new one to her. "I thought it might be a good night. Maybe you could come with me."
She had unclipped the lid but it remained on top of the container as she looked up at him. "What?"
"We've chaperoned together before." He reminded her.
"But that wasn't at prom." She stated.
"So you don't want to go to prom with me?" He asked.
"What would I wear?" She asked, smiling shyly.
He grinned and raised his sandwich to his mouth. Before biting into it he paused and glanced up at Emma. Grapes. Grapes she would have to clean one-by-one, before she could put them in her mouth. He broke off some of his sandwich and extended it to her. "PB and J."
Slowly she reached across the table and timidly took the piece. "Oh thank you, that's very sweet." She held it in front of her, nowhere near her mouth. She looked up at him and nodded, smiling.
He took a bite of the sandwich, watching as she remained still. "Are you gonna eat it?"
"Um…" She looked down at it then back up to him. "Okay." She watched it being brought closer-and-closer to her mouth. She closed her eyes and took the smallest possible bite. "Mmm, thanks."
"Not too bad, huh?" He asked proudly.
"Not bad at all." She agreed, taking another bite.
Tina was concentrating on getting the choreography right. At first she didn't notice Mike standing beside her. Her eyes were focused on Mr Schuester's feet; she didn't have time to look beside her. She needed to get these moves right now so she could practice them later. Stomp, stomp. Shuffle to the left. Two claps.
She raised her arm to the right. She looked over to check she was holding her arm correctly. There had been no one beside her before. Now she found Mike, watching her. She smiled awkwardly, directing her attention back to Schuester. She could feel her cheeks burning. She tried to concentrate on the steps again, but she couldn't get her rhythm back, her feet kept fumbling.
"Take five guys." Schuester announced, relieving Tina from stumbling over her feet any longer.
She went to the back of the room and made herself appear busy with her mobile phone. There were no new messages so she scanned over the old messages remaining in her inbox. She needed a reason not to look up and see Mike. She kept her head down, waiting for her cheeks to return to normal temperature.
"Hey Tina…"
She looked up, nervously smiling to Mike. "Hi."
"I guess you're going to prom with Artie." He assumed.
She was caught off guard, gaping at him for a moment. Before she replied she checked around to find there was no one else near them, listening. "What?"
"Prom." He repeated. "Artie's taking you, yeah?"
"No." She replied.
"Really?" He seemed surprised. "I thought you two were like a couple."
"No, Artie only liked me when I was a stuttering freak." She said.
"Does that mean you're not going?" He asked.
"Actually Kurt asked me. He wanted to go with Mercedes but Matt already asked her, so I guess I'm a pretty good consolation prize." She explained.
He nodded. "Oh, that's good. I was just checking to see if you were going or not. You looked really pretty in your dress; it would be a real waste if you didn't go."
"Thanks." She smiled bashfully. When he fell silent she trained her eyes away, to the cluster of the others gathered around the piano. Mercedes was glancing over her shoulder at them, trying to appear less curious than she was.
"I guess I'll see you there." He said.
"I'll see you at five." Finn had confirmed.
Now Rachel stood in the foyer, by herself as the clock struck to exactly two minutes past five. She held her hands together tightly as they trembled with anxiety. She watched as the second hand slowly began to make its way around the face of the clock. Her chest felt very tight, she was struggling to draw in a proper breath.
She had rushed to get ready. Now she was waiting, like the desperate loser all of the kids at school knew her to be. She looked out the window, watching for a car that might never arrive. Her dads waited behind her, almost as anxious as her. All three of them were too afraid to move or make a sound.
The clock told her Finn was eight minutes tardy. She closed her eyes and worked to properly fill her lungs. When she released the breath it shook with uncertainty. She couldn't make herself open her eyes. They had begun to burn. She curled her hands into fists and forced herself not to cry. She couldn't ruin her make-up.
Both fathers rejoiced behind her. This allowed her to open her eyes and find Finn's car parked in front of her house. She exhaled deeply, grinning. She relaxed her fists and drummed her fingers along the sides of her legs. She stood frozen on the spot, the car door opened and Finn climbed out.
"Why aren't you moving?" LeRoy asked. "Go get him sweetie."
Rachel lifted her foot off of the ground and moved it forward. Hiram stopped her before she could place it down. "Stop right there Rachel. Make him wait for you. Go upstairs and wait until you hear him ask if you're ready, count to ten, then you can come down."
"That's a good idea." LeRoy commented, as Rachel turned to them. "Do that."
"Really?" Rachel asked breathlessly.
"Yes, now go." Hiram instructed. "Go!"
She dashed up the stairs and hid herself behind a wall the same second the doorbell rang. She heard LeRoy answer the door and greet Finn. She couldn't help worrying they would embarrass her. A boy had never come to the house for her. This was uncharted territory for her dads. She hoped they could see the line and knew how close they were to it.
Finn sounded awkward, more so than usual. "Is Rachel ready yet?"
One. Silence.
Two. "Uh…"
Three. "…I don't think so." Hiram lied.
Four. "Maybe." He said.
Five. "But then again, maybe not." LeRoy added.
Six. "Oh." Finn sounded horribly nervous. Rachel wasn't sure she could wait much longer.
Seven. "You know what girls are like…"
Eight. "…they take forever to get ready." LeRoy commented.
Nine. "Yeah." Finn agreed stiffly.
Ten. Rachel drew in a deep breath and began to move toward the staircase. She placed her hand on the runner and made her way down the steps. Finn's eyes moved to her and a grin exploded onto her face. His mouth fell open. She would have been disappointed with any other reaction. He was in awe; all of her work had been worth it. "Hey Finn."
"Rachel…" He breathed.
Her heart fluttered, it took all of her energy to keep herself calm. "A little different from sequined leg-warmers?"
"Yeah."
She stood in front of him. He obviously hadn't gone to as much trouble as her. There was no change in his hair and he wore a simple suit. A pair of Converse sneakers was on his feet. He didn't have much flair. But he was here and that was the only thing that mattered. He was here, with her and that made her the luckiest girl in the whole, entire world.
He released a breath he had been holding. His breath didn't smell too attractive. "So, are you ready to go?"
She beamed up at him. "I was born ready." She linked her arm around his.
"Wait." LeRoy ordered as they were heading to the door. "I need to take photos."
"Dad." She laughed, embarrassed. She put on her best smile and posed her body next to Finn's as the camera began to flash. She felt like a princess.
Will twiddled his thumbs as a distraction from his nerves. He was becoming impatient. He got up from the couch and strolled over to the closed bedroom door. "I know you're trying to create hype by making me wait. But if you're gonna take much longer I think I might just give up and go to prom without you."
"Slam on the breaks Will, I'm almost ready." Emma replied through the door.
He took a few steps back, wishing there were more to look at in her apartment. But it was so clean. "They're gonna start without us." He turned to look out the tiny window. As he was looking at the flowerbed he heard the bedroom door click open.
And there she was. Her hair was tied back into a messy bun. She wore a strapless black dress, which reached only to her knees. He stopped moving so as to admire her properly. She looked more beautiful now than she had when wearing the wedding gown, because this time she was his.
"Emma…you look…"
"Thanks." She smiled, crossing the floor to the mirror, a necklace in her hands. "My first prom was an unfortunate event…" She spread the chain across her chest then held the two ends up over her shoulders. He stepped forward to close the latch for her. "…and I can remember all of it, very clearly."
He closed the latch, running his hand down her smooth back. "I'd rather forget about my first prom, keep this one as my key memory."
"Yeah, good memories tonight." She agreed turning to him with a smile. "You will dance and look great and have fun, and I will…watch you and have a really great time."
He returned to the couch to collect the plastic box. He presented it to her with a bashful smile. "You're not allowed to make fun of me because it cost me a lot."
"A corsage. Wow." She marveled. "You really went all out. It's flattering."
"Not dorky?" He asked.
She shrugged as he slipped it onto his wrist. "A little, but you don't have to worry because the little amount of dorky is over-shadowed by the large amount of romantic." Once it had fit snugly onto her wrist they both looked up at the same time, their eyes locking. He noticed how close they were standing to each other for the first time. "This is already better than my first prom."
He leant in, closing the gap between them. "Mine too."
Matt couldn't keep up with Mercedes. He didn't share her passion for dancing. He had boogied with her for two songs before deciding he was tired. She wasn't ready to stop so she had stayed on her feet with Kurt, Tina and Mike. It had been awesome being on Matt's arm. He was a jock, one of the few members of Glee still accepted by the other students. For the time that she had been beside him she had been accepted and border lining cool. It was a feeling she hadn't experienced before, no nervously looking over her shoulder, worrying over a Slushie facial to be administered.
But feeling popular wasn't important compared to having fun with her friends. She was having more fun with Kurt than her actual date. Maybe instead she should have linked her arm with Kurt. What was the point of going with Matt if he was going to spend the night leaning up against a wall, being dull? This was not the Matt who made her smile so often during Glee.
Mike was trying to teach Kurt some 'basic' pop-and-lock moves when Mr Schuester slid over to them. He stood beside Kurt, swinging his hips. "Lookin' good guys. Did you get these moves from Glee?"
Excluding Schuester they shared a laugh. "Good one Mr Schue." Mike chuckled.
Schuester's smile faded. "That wasn't a joke."
Mercedes was beginning to feel guilty as Matt stood by himself. "I'm gonna go get some punch, I'm dehydrated." She squeezed her way through the crowd to the wall Matt leant against. "Hey."
He offered a half-hearted smile. "Hey. Are you havin' a good time?"
"Yeah." She replied enthusiastically. "You?"
"I guess." He shrugged.
"You wanna get some punch?" She offered.
He smiled. "You don't wanna do that."
"Why not?" She asked.
"Puck spiked the punch." He told her.
She rolled her eyes. "Puck." He nodded as she stood beside him. Leaning up against the wall allowed her to catch her breath. She looked out to where Kurt, Tina and Mike were still dancing together. Tina had begun to laugh, which caused Mike's smile to increase. The dance song faded into a slow, romantic song. She turned to Matt. "You wanna dance with me?"
"Yeah." He agreed.
They joined the crowd of couples, their arms linked around each other as they stared into their eyes. Rachel had pressed her front up against Finn. Mike had taken the opportunity to steal a moment with Tina, leaving Kurt to refresh his hair product in the men's room. Emma shyly took Will's hand and allowed him to lead her onto the floor.
Mercedes slowly looked over and met Matt's eyes. They shared an uncomfortable smile. "Are you okay? You seem kind of tense."
He shrugged, his eyes skipping around the room. "Well, it's prom, it's a lot of pressure."
She could feel his palm sweating against hers. His panicking was making her paranoid and she began to look at the other couples, who was looking at them, what were they saying? "Is it something I did?"
"No, it's not you, it's me." He said. "You're so cool and fun. But I can't be like that; I don't have confidence like you."
"You seem fine when in Glee." She pointed out.
"That's different." He disagreed. "There's no stage separating us from them tonight. They're still watching us though."
She glanced over, people were looking at them, but it was hardly to the extent Mercedes was used to. "You're too scared to be yourself while they can see us?" He nodded. "You shouldn't worry; you should just do what you want." He didn't seem convinced so she leant in and pushed her lips against his.
When she withdrew she found him staring at her with wide, stunned eyes. "Wow that was pretty cool."
The slow song drew to a close but Mike didn't let go of Tina. He kept his arm around her and held onto her left hand. He was smiling softly. "You look really beautiful tonight Tina."
"Thank you." She smiled bashfully. "I like your suit."
"I feel kinda goofy in it." He shrugged.
"You look great." She convinced him.
He smiled, seeming more confident. The couples around them had separated, bopping about to the quick beat. Mike and Tina continued to sway, exchanging their weight from foot-to-foot. Neither could hear the new song. "You know how I asked about you and Artie?"
She glanced away, feeling awkward with the choice of conversation. "Yeah…"
"I wanted to know if you were going out with Artie or not because I wanted to ask you out." He explained.
She quickly looked back to him. "Really?"
"Yeah."
"So why didn't you?" She asked.
He smiled shyly. "I was afraid you'd turn me down."
"No way. You're an awesome guy; I'd be crazy to reject you." She stated.
He laughed in a relieved way. "Oh man, if I'd known that I could've asked you out."
"So why don't you ask me out now?" She suggested. They dropped their arms from around each other. She beamed up at him, preparing to say yes.
Rachel had lost track of Finn again. This was the eighth time he had wandered off without letting her know where he was going. When he was a tangible being beside her it hardly seemed he was there. His mind was elsewhere and had been ever since they had arrived. The only time he had been truly with her had been while they were in her house. Ever since they had left he could hardly make himself pay attention to her.
She was growing tiresome at his lack of interest. This was supposed to be the most important night of her life. He was ruining the night that should have been perfect. The Prom King and Queen were announced – Charlie Shermer and Rita Shumway. At least Rachel could breathe easy knowing her night would not become as terrible as Carrie White's prom night. The humiliation of Finn's rejection was her own private shame.
Charlie and Rita were taking to the stage when Rachel finally discovered him. He was standing by the wall, refilling his glass with punch. She began striding over to him. As she was drawing closer the roof opened and over five hundred inflated balloons came drifting to the floor. She had lost sight of Finn in the rainbow of balloons.
Kurt was surprised to find Mercedes sitting by herself outside the hall. He had come out here to get away from the happy couples. He wasn't having as much fun as he had hoped. But he couldn't leave, not without knowing if he needed to take Tina home or not. He supposed he may have had a better night at home, watching Jersey Shore, even though prom had seemed like the perfect reason to get dressed up.
"Hey Mercedes." He said, announcing his presence.
She turned to face him, smiling. "Hey Kurt, what are you doing here?"
"Would you believe me if I said I was looking for you?" He asked.
"Not really." She said as he sat down beside her. "So why are you out here? How come you're not with Tina?"
He flicked one leg over the other and folded his fingers over his knee. "Tina is being entertained by Mike."
Excited, she shoved him. "They finally hooked up? You better not be playin' me."
"It's the truth." He replied. "My date bailed on me for someone else. Please tell me the same did not happen to you."
She giggled, light-heartedly. "No, of course not. I just decided to give Matt a break, he couldn't really keep up with me on the dance floor so I thought I'd come out here while he catches his breath."
"You're too much woman for him." Kurt stated. "So other than that the night has gone well?"
"After I drew him out of his shell he turned out to be a good date." She told him. She bumped her shoulder against his. "I even kissed him."
"Bravo." He congratulated her.
She considered his expression, her smile wearing off. She put her arm around her shoulders. "There is a guy out there waiting for you, to kiss you and make you feel great. He'll wanna spend all this time with you and you'll be so in love you won't be able to think about anything else. So then I'll have to call you up and beg you to hang out with me."
"Can you tell him to hurry up and get here already?" He joked.
She smiled reassuringly to him. "I don't have to go back in if you want company."
He gently removed her arm. "I would be selfish to take you away from your date."
"It's gonna happen for you one day, I know it is." She stated.
"But right now it's happening for you, so go." He encouraged. He sat in silence, listening to the clicking of her shoes along the concrete.
Rachel stormed out of the hall with Finn stumbling around behind her. "I demand you take me home and end my suffering this instant."
"I can't really do that." He mumbled.
She spun around to face him. "Why not?"
"Because I'm drunk." He informed her.
"Drunk." She groaned. "How did you manage that?"
He had stopped walking, but now he was swaying. "The punch was spiked. I'm pretty sure Puck did it."
She placed her hands on her hips. "If you knew the punch was spiked why did you keep drinking it?"
"You're too much for me." He sighed. "You intimidate me with your high standards. I kept drinking so I could relax; you put too much pressure on me. We were supposed to come as friends but you're acting like we're getting married."
"Who doesn't know that I'm high maintenance?" She asked.
"I'm sorry Rachel but you're a lot to handle and I don't think I'm ready for the kind of commitment you want." He explained.
She swiped furiously at the tears threatening her cheeks. "I guess I should appreciate your honesty."
"Yeah, you totally should." He enthused. "So did I totally ruin your night?"
She shrugged, beginning to walk to his car. "It wasn't the prom of my dreams but it was the prom, I didn't miss out."
He furrowed his brow. "So are you happy or sad?"
"Somewhere in the middle." She supplied.
"I would kiss you if that'd make you feel better." He offered.
"That's not necessary." She answered immediately. "I'll just drive you home, okay?"
He grinned. "Yeah, that'd be cool."
She had to remove her high-heeled shoes before placing her foot on the gas pedal. After climbing into the car he apologized a further nine times. She asked him how to work the radio but this was answered only by a snore.
"I'm paying you over-time to help clean up, not to slow dance." Figgins interrupted.
Laughing Will released Emma from his embrace and stepped back. "Talk about ruining a moment, huh?"
"Yeah." Emma agreed as she collected her broom from its resting place against the wall.
The last of the teenagers had floated out of the hall. Puck had been suspended from school, along with a handful of other football players, for spiking the punch. His mother had been called to collect him, she hadn't seemed too surprised. Other intoxicated teenagers needed to be picked up by their parents. The majority of the balloons had been popped and those that had survived were taken away by enthusiastic teens. Mike and Tina had left hand-in-hand before the lights had been switched on – returning the room to reality.
Will was pushing around trampled-on confetti. But he found sweeping didn't hold his attention. "It was a great night, don't you think?"
"Yeah it really was." Emma said.
He swept over to her side. "Maybe it doesn't have to end."
"Oh my..." She whispered, sweeping away from him.
"No good?" He asked.
She shook her head. "I think prom is enough for tonight."
He nodded. "Okay. I'll drive you home."
"Thank you." She smiled.
When showing Quinn the photos from the prom Mercedes and Tina knew what to say. They knew to point out how trashy Santana's dress was. They didn't show her any photos of Rachel and Finn together. All of the time they down-graded the event. 'It wasn't that great' they said, so as she didn't feel she had missed out on anything special.
The laptop sat on Mercedes lap with Quinn leaning against her shoulder and Tina on her other side. They were sitting against the wall in Glee club. Mr Schuester didn't seem to mind. He was too busy coaching Rachel and Finn to be concerned of what the three girls were looking at.
"Oh, there's me and Mike again." Tina blushed.
"It wasn't that great, huh?" Quinn asked skeptically.
Tina grinned. "Well that part was pretty great."
"Uh-huh..." She agreed. "I'm happy for you guys, it went well for you."
"There was some drama but there are no photos of that." Mercedes pointed out. "It makes the whole thing look really great."
Quinn looked at the photo displayed on the screen – Brittany and Santana standing together, smiling. If she hadn't slept with Puck she could be standing in the photo with them, wearing the orange dress. The next photo displayed Charlie and Rita up on stage, receiving their crowns. Below them was a sea of applauding students who knew this was the closest they would ever come to real royalty. Five months ago Quinn had been drafting her Prom Queen Acceptance Speech in her mind. But it wasn't meant to be. This was a fact she had become acquainted with. Tomorrow the calendar would display a different month and she could forget about prom.
"The Chastity Ball is next month; I totally have to get those adjustments on my dress finished." Santana commented from her seat two rows ahead of Quinn.
"Oh yeah. Do you take a date to that kind of thing?" Brittany asked.
"You have to take a date." Santana stated. "There's the Chastity Ball King and Queen, remember?"
After a moment of reflection Brittany replied. "Oh, right. I guess we have a chance of winning now Quinn is out."
'It never ends' Quinn thought, placing a hand over her eyes.
The End.