Rachel had this kooky idea to do a fairytale theme for prom this year, and somehow it got around school that it DIDN'T come from her, so it actually went over really well. Once I'd convinced Brittany that last year's Tinkerbell-esque dress was yes, a great one, but not one that needed repeating, we'd had a blast running through ideas. The only problem is that Britt really wanted to do a Disney theme for our outfits. Given that there aren't any two princesses fall in love stories in Disney, we'd ended up going with the Sleeping Beauty dress, modified of course - who wants to wear long sleeves in Ohio in May? She got blue, I got pink. And the moment she stepped into my view, I knew that it didn't matter how I looked tonight, it was all about her.
Soft curls drifted over sun-kissed bare shoulders. The main blue of the dress matched her eyes perfectly (it better, I hounded that dressmaker for weeks to make sure of it). But all I could see was her smile. The smile of my happy and loving girlfriend. The smile that got me through the drama of coming out in high school. The smile that sustained me when my parents got divorced over their inability to agree on whether or not I should be disowned. The smile that made life better just for being. God, I've turned into such a sap.
Somehow, after we'd come out around Nationals last year, the summer let people kind of forget about us being different. School wasn't great this year, but we'd maintained our popularity, or really brought it back I guess. With the two hottest girls being out as gay and bi, more kids felt able to come out, leading to the school being less intolerant than it had been when poor Kurt transferred away. And when nominations were going up for prom royalty, somehow, we both got in. They'd changed the format this year, after Rachel and her dads threatened to sue if they didn't make it gender neutral. So while two winners would be announced, they could be two queens, two kings, or one of each. All of us who were nominated were automatically named prince or princess (with the option to choose our preferred title).
But back to Brittany. Because really, I can't go for more than a few moments without thinking about her anyway. I disgust myself sometimes, but really, it's more fun to disgust Quinn with how cute we are. She seems happy dating Sam again, but I'm not sure if it will last. They're in the court, too, and we'd all decided to ride together in the biggest, baddest limo we could find. Unfortunately, Lima is a small town, so biggest and baddest was still not that big. At least we got the only white one, so we stood out.
You really shouldn't let me get sidetracked like that. We'll never finish this story if I keep wandering off and giving you background you don't care about. Brittany... she loved the corsage I got for her. We decided on white rosebuds, rather than going for color specific flowers, with the ribbons matching our dresses instead. And now she was sliding mine on, grinning all the while as her parents snapped picture after picture after picture. I love a good photoshoot as much as the next girly girl, but they took it to extremes. I was so glad she'd worn her favorite heels, because that meant that even with mine on, she still towered over me, making us look just as hot as could be. At last it was time for us to leave.
The limo had picked up Quinn and Sam first, who were going as Cinderella and Prince Charming (never have I ever been so happy to see a haircut as the day he came in with his mop chopped off), and as we slipped into the car, they sprung apart from where they'd been (predictably I might add) necking in the corner. Which of course meant that Britt and I had to help Quinn do a fast redo of her makeup, which took up the entire ride. Oh well, we didn't need the alcohol in the limo. This year was going to be good, and I for one wanted to enjoy it totally sober. As we pulled up, Brittany looked at me and laced our fingers together. "Ready to win Prom Queens?" she asked me.
"You know it honey," I answered, inwardly cringing at once again the sappiness in my voice. You'd think after nearly a year I'd be used to it. Oh well.
"In your dreams Lopez, we're a shoo-in for King and Queen," Quinn fired back good naturedly. I'd honestly been worried when we came out how Quinn would react. The whole Jesus freak thing she had going on before could have led to some serious drama, but apparently she was just as okay with us as she had been with Kurt. So I took her words with the grin she meant to include.
"All in good time, Q, all in good time. For now, let's go make people jealous." Brittany was closest to the door, so the driver handed her out, but when I reached out my hand to step onto the pavement, it was thin, soft fingers grasping mine. She pulled me in for a quick kiss that probably would have turned out to be longer if Quinn hadn't swatted my ass to get out of the way. We laughed and broke apart, and they quickly followed behind.
The gym looked good, as I recall. I wasn't really paying attention. When you had a girl like my Brittany to look at, there wasn't much else you needed to see. The room was crowded with all of our friends, and the music was already blaring. Brittany in her normal fashion made a beeline for the dancefloor, with me in tow. I knew we only had a few dances before we needed to be back outside for the presenting of the royal court, but I couldn't turn her down. It was really kind of wrong how our dresses had these convenient slits that allowed us to be as raunchy as an old-school fairytale, while still managing to look demure like our Disney counterpart.
But now it was time. Those of us in the court slipped back out and lined up with our dates. Rachel had once again somehow pushed her idea through and I had to roll my eyes at the line that Principal Figgins read in all the wrong cadence to announce us. "The sun has set. Make ready to welcome your princess... es. And prince.. s" The whole gym laughed, but as we each stepped into the room and were announced individually, we really did feel like princesses. The lighting had been changed to fairy lights, soft music playing, and each girl that stepped into the spotlight seemed to glow. Each guy grinned and preened, even the straight ones. Then we were all onstage and waiting.
Brittany and I held hands, and I reached out and took Quinn's hand from where she stood on my right, knowing that it didn't really matter who won. We'd made it through the darkest hours so far, and gotten our biggest fairytale endings before the night even began.
"And the winners are..."