"Are you ready to go?" Sarah's voice called down from the upper floor. John stood in the main hallway by the front door next to the staircase, nervously pulling on the lapel of his suit. He was keeping his eyes trained in his feet to avoid the rest of the Hart family's curious stares. Since the days of freshmen and sophomore year plus a horrible relationship with Mark James, Junior Class "Sweet-Hart" Sarah Hart hasn't been to a school dance with a boy so naturally her parents were curious. He seemed well dressed enough, with his navy blue suit, freshly cut hair, and a brand new pair of dress shoes. His prom look might be worth more than his college tuition.
However, her parents didn't seem to know the second half of the story.
"Just a few final touches." She added, her voice echoing off of the walls of the stairway. John looked up at the sound of her words and smiled tightly. He trained his eyes on the chandelier that hung near the top stair, still trying to keep any talk with Sarah's family limited. He didn't want to ruin anything, especially since they had their reasons to be wary of him.
John knew the stories of Mark's abuse. He was possessive, manipulative, and single-handedly changed her so much that it almost drove all of her close childhood friends away. The two were inseparable at school, so much so that Mark chased away any other guys who so much so as looked up at the wrong time. Sarah stopped taking art classes, stopped writing short stories, and spent her time conforming her classwork to fit Mark's agendas. There was no Sarah Hart, there had only Mark James' girlfriend then. There were dances he had refused to share a slow song with her yet insisted she couldn't ditch him for her old circle around his teammates. Suddenly, Mark's friends were her only friends and they could barely be called such. When she finally saw what her life shattered into, on a night he'd left her behind in Paradise and went to a college party near Ohio State that was called in, Sarah had dumped him as painfully as she could. According to her, the first month was the worst. She felt as though she did the wrong thing and misjudged the situation entirely. But, with the help of a few friends who stuck around despite Mark's protests, she stuck to her gut. Sarah threw herself into her old love for art and for hunting. She found herself again after the second month without him. Within the next few months of viciously turning down desperate pleas and exploring her love for art once again, Sarah Hart was back. Then, a certain John Smith walked into Paradise High School.
"Yeah, I'm ready whenever you want to go. I wouldn't mind missing group pictures, to be honest." John called back up, staring straight at the top stair so his eyes didn't risk meeting one of the two parents.
"So John, Sarah tells me you and your Uncle moved up because of work." Mrs Hart begins. John had no choice but to turn and face her now. "I remember showing you two the house but your Uncle wasn't much of a talker."
"Henri likes to keep his life and work quiet," John replies simply, his voice a little tense. It was small talk, as long as Sarah was down in ten minutes, he could make this last. At least she didn't try to call him Jonathan; his name was flat John, his birth certificate even said so. "He has a big software project for his boss due soon. He works for Chimera Coding, if you've heard of it."
"That explains how he could afford such a nice house then," Sarah's Mom mused. Her father, in the other hand, crossed his arms.
"He chose to move to Ohio for software work?" He asked pointedly.
"I swear! He's from Cincinnati, he's been wanting to come back to his home state forever and packed up immediately when he got the 'ok' to work entirely from home. Do you want me to call him to prove it?" John replied a little too quickly. He then smiled when Mr. Hart only cocked an eyebrow and shrugged. He didn't have a response.
Henri moved around a lot for his job and John had a hard time explaining exactly why. He just claimed to work on coding design better in rural areas despite his job being considered more of a "white collar" career. John has been moving from place to place with his adoptive uncle for as long as he can remember. His actual parents died when he was very young but he never bothered asking what exactly happened. Until around age five, he lived with his grandfather until the poor man became unable to take care of him any longer. So, without a list of blood uncles and aunts, he went straight to the next liable person and that was Henri. Henri was a close family friend that John's parents trusted with things as serious as his social security number and his inherited college fund even far before their deaths. Henri was merely a salesperson when he first adopted John, so the moving from city to city then made sense. Thanks to a life long friend, Henri got a better job working with something he was good at, computers and software code. When he was given a promotion inside of the company after two years of hard work, he was allowed to move wherever he pleased so naturally, the first place he thought of was as close to Cincinnati, Ohio as possible that had a recognizable high school.
The town of Paradise then became their own little paradise. No more beaches, no more two hour car rides out to cities for meetings, no more aggravated Henri too.
"Coming down!" All eyes turned to see Sarah as she carefully walked down the stairs in her high heeled shoes. She wore a navy blue dress that followed the curves of her body perfectly. Had it not been for her shoes, the fabric would be dragging against the floor it was so long. The neckline was bedazzled in small gold covered rhinestones across the front. Sarah's hair fell down around her neck and across her back in long, beautiful blonde curls, while her dark brown makeup only further enhanced her blue eyes like the dress did. John smiled while her Mom clapped her hands together in excitement.
"My little girl is all grown up," John could hear the crack in Mrs. Hart's voice and felt a wave of dismay. The Harts were thinking here was this nice boy(finally, a nice one!) taking their perfect daughter, the prom queen of Paradise High, out for the best dance of her life. John felt a hard slap on his shoulder and turned to see Mr. Hart. His eyes were in his daughter as Sarah hugged her Mom with a big smile.
"You take good care of her, alright kid?" He whispered.
"Believe me sir, if she needed me to, I would," John grinned, earning a smile from Mr. Hart in return.
Sarah turned to John finally. "Shall we? Sam won't want us running too late."
"Yeah yeah, I'll try to go over speed limit."
"You two are not leaving without at least one picture," Sarah's Mom cut in, phone out and already in portrait mode.
"Mom, turn the camera on its side, it'll turn out better in this lighting." Sarah's reply told John she was fighting the urge to roll her eyes at her parents. Once a photographer, always one. The two quickly stood next to each other in front of the stairs. John carefully wrapped his arm around her back and held her waist while she turned into him. The actual taking of the picture itself, however, took an extra two minutes.
At least her brothers weren't home, otherwise he'd have the "you better not mess with my big sister" talk.
A little dizzy from smiling and linking their arms, the pair was off for the longest night of their high school career.
—-
Maybe five minutes into the car ride to the picture spot, one of the many parks by John's home, he had to ask Sarah the one question that has been on his mind all morning.
"So do they… know?"
"About you? No, why would I tell them that?"
"No, about you."
Sarah paused, then shrugged. "They wouldn't care if they did know, honestly."
John gripped the wheel, feeling his nerves once again kick in. The two of them became instant friends during John's first week at Paradise High School. With her Mom being the area real estate agent, Sarah knew the names of all of the new kids that moved in and she made it her mission to befriend each and every one. John lucked out, earning a spot as a much closer friend than a mutual to smile at and talk to in the halls. On the same day John met Sarah, he also bumped into their shared friend Sam Goode, met up with his friend group, and felt the cold surface of his locker against his face thanks to the sports jocks all in the same day. Mark's gnarly, sweaty palms had pressed against the back of his neck and shoved him into the metal face first. He doesn't remember how Mark was pulled off of him honestly, just the overwhelming "oooh" when John could still talk and said "isn't locker stuffing is out of style."
He was already getting pushed around, what did he have to lose at that point? Though John will always conveniently leave out the "let me say the gay slur for you" part.
What was so offensive about a quick gay joke, especially when the bullied was the one making it?
He was the gay one after all.
Maybe not fully gay, but pretty close to gay though. Bisexual, and split somewhere around the three-fourths mark. He did find both Sarah and her childhood friend, the only one who remained through Mark's episodes, Maren very attractive after all. He also found out that Sarah wasn't as straight as she appeared either but that's another story. For John, he just found someone else, someone male, in school more his… "type", if you could even call him that. His taste in men was particular and a bit more personality based versus first appearance. He loved a man with strong drive, someone with a stubbornness to achieve that it rivaled his own. It was hard to find one.
Though, he was lying if he said his current 'crush' didn't start with appearance.
"The only person I worry about knowing too soon is Maren, I've had a huuuuge crush on her for ever but I let Mark take me out instead." Sarah sighed. She was leaning on her head, her elbow resting in the side of the door. "She was almost my first kiss that same night, I swear."
Sarah told him the story after John and Maren had gotten into a heated debate after the first month of school. He blocked out most of it and could only remember it had to do with football. Maren didn't come off as a sports fan but there were some teams she would cut someone over. Maren was put into their sixth grade class during the second month of the school year. Sarah was attracted to her attitude and the way she held her ground around everyone. Maren didn't let anyone tell her what to do, she inspired a lot of the little girls in the school to say no and chase what they wanted. Her feelings to Maren only grew until one fateful night when Sarah met Mark. The same night Mark asked her out, Maren and Sarah had took on the town around Christmas time when downtown Paradise was light up like no other. Mark surprised her by the large Christmas tree at city square though his being there had nothing to do with Maren. He whisked her away for a carriage ride even though Sarah had tipped the driver for her and her almost then girl-friend. She was caught up in the night, with how special it felt and during the same week, the two were dating though Sarah never lost her close connection with Maren.
She must have kept her girl crush a pretty big secret if Mark never suspected it.
"Well, we're pulling into the park so you might want to make your proposal fast," John teases, putting his(Henri's) truck into park and killing the engine.
"You idiot, I'm going with you tonight and I couldn't do that to Sammy, he already doesn't think he stands a chance with anyone." Sarah grins, then adds, "do you think Sam's covering for her?"
"I'm losing track of who's actually straight in this friend group anymore." John jokes, opening the door and quickly jumping out of his car to help Sarah out of her side. He offers her his hand as an added bonus. When she raises a brow, he gives her his best fake smile. "Your dad would be so proud of me."
"I'm going to leave you here," she laughs. They hurry and walk into the park. John held back a biting comment when, after doing a brief head count of the group ahead, he found they were in fact the last to arrive.
John softly grabs her arm to hold her from walking towards the group. He had to say this now or never.
"Sarah, wait just a sec. Please, don't worry about me tonight, ok? Just worry about having fun," he says instead. He knows her well enough to know when she gets into her overprotective friend mode. Sarah looks him in the eye and smiles. She nods once, but doesn't add anything.
"Finally! What took you guys so long?" Sam was the first to call out to them, waving both of his arms drastically. Sam and Maren wore matching colors of course, with both of them in dark red. Maren's dress was gradient, starting it as faded red into dark crimson around her feet. It clung to her form perfectly, much like Sarah's. John was more amazed Maren wore a dress at all; this opened up his entire night to tease her about it.
Naveen and Marina, the only real couple of their friend group, wore matching emerald green. Marina, like Sarah, had made prom court, with her tiara visible proudly amongst her brown hair. Her dress was more of a ball gown style, surrounding her in layers of emerald fabric, ribbons, and gemstones. Naveen was the only one to wear a white suit, accenting the green colors beneath of his vest and tie more than a black would have.
A little distance away stood Cody, the kid from the neighborhood who only became a friend of everyone else because he lived close by. In recent years, according to Naveen and Sam, Cody hasn't necessarily been a good friend, letting down the rest of them when he promises to hangout or even talk to them. Cody tried hard last year to fit in with the jocks, but only because they drank. A run in with, shocker, Mark James and another certain star athlete ruffled him up enough to drive him back their way. Whereas Mark uses fists and physical abuse, he has a friend(somehow, he still has some of these, John thought) that uses words to knock sense around and they can hurt.
To make up for his absence, Cody asked the youngest of the friend group, Ella, out to prom as a friend. Being a freshmen, she wouldn't have been able to go and she's the only one of them who is required to go back home later tonight; her father Crayton is very protective but her step-mother Lexa told her she could stay out until after post prom. She stood in front of him, clearly joking about something. Her dress was lavender, with fabric that fluffed out around her as soon as the corset hit the waist. Ella was the only girl out of their group who wore high heels out of necessity, as she had yet to hit her growth spurt. John could actually see Cody smiling along, possibly laughing. Ella turned toward John and waved before running over, the other boy following with a small smile.
Cody liked John somehow, he didn't get it either.
"Sarah had to give her Mom a fancy picture taker lesson," John replied when he met up with Sam. "We're still crashing at my place afterwards, right?"
"From what I know, yeah. Do you have Netflix?"
"Henri should."
"With or without chill?"
"Sam, please shut up."
"Are we ordering in? Prom food is great and all but I've been craving a Topper's pizza for the last two weeks." Naveen chimed in. He brought up his love affair with pizza as much as possible to get under Marina's skin playfully. He swung his head around and gave her a big smile when she rolled her eyes, returning the grin. She locked her arm with his and softly kissed his cheek.
"Are we even taking pictures anymore because we really don't have to," Maren groaned, not leaving her spot near Sam. She kept her back to most of the group, almost as though she was hiding herself from them.
"Duh, I need proof you're actually a girl and not a raging, alien lifeform, Mare." John teases.
"Fuck off, Smith, who invited you anyway," she snapped back, but she was fighting a smile. Every barb tonight was going to be all in good fun.
"Myself? Sarah might have actually," he retorted. "I didn't even want to go."
"What could have possibly changed your mind to come eat overpriced pasta and dance to Kanye West," Cody asked dryly. A smile replaced his thoughtful pout immediately. "Do we get to meet your boyfriend finally then? That took you long enough," Cody added. John gave him the best stank eye he could muster. None of the group seemed to pay Cody's second comment any note, however.
The thing with Cody was that he actually meant it. Cody somehow didn't need John coming out to know his sexuality.
"Come on, while we still have sunlight!" Sam snapped impatiently. He took his opportunity to walk over and smile at Maren. She returned his smile, but John knew it wouldn't as hopeful and loving as Sam's ever. Sam then turned around and waved his arms around to call the few adults who came along over. It was picture time now.
John looked to Sarah.
"Proof enough for you?" He asked. In the end, the thing that mattered most to John was that his first and best friend was happiest. If he ended up alone, it was his sacrifice to make.
Sarah shrugged, taking his hand. "We'll sure find out." She grins and pulls her date towards the group shot.
—-
The Prom ballroom was large but the actual dance floor was not. The room was littered with eight seat tables(how convenient, they wouldn't have to deck some of the drama club or swim team kids around them for more chairs) with a small tile floor in the middle of them. That, was their dance floor. Good luck. The walls were bordered with tables, with the longest ones closest to the doorways holding bowls of punch and candy that were constantly refilled throughout the night. Over winter break, one of the group's older friends Adam joked that the punch always being laced. The wait staff pulled in the buffet of pasta, potatoes, and desserts as soon as the remaining seniors finished the grand march and their five seconds of stardom.
Dinner and the Grand March took up maybe two hours of the five hour event. It had been far too much time to go through the entirely of the Junior and Senior classes of Paradise High School, not to mention the special announcement of the court during the last minutes of dinner. Each member kicked off the dancing act, starting with the king and queen. John and the group cheered and clapped widely when Sarah went out but they didn't pay much attention to her date. They were just thankful it wasn't Mark. The group did the same thing for when Marina and Naveen both ran up during the all court slow dance to the school song but John and Maren both had to hold back booing when Mark James was finally called up to join the couples.
The moment was sweet while it lasted until the rest of the crowd charged the tiled floor to start hip thrusting to blaring lights and overplayed pop music after the last chords. The amount of fake twerking and uncensored grinding in the first five minutes was enough to remind anyone why Prom was a one time deal for most people. John wasn't much of a dancer and he didn't even really listen to pop music in general. Prom, like Homecoming, consisted of one extensive playlist that was full of hip-hop or upbeat radio music broken into thirty minute chunks by occasional slow songs for the few couples.
After their popular friends came back and before the entire junior class surged the floor, Sam and Naveen had run off into to the dance crowd to bust a move, with Marina and Ella following in tow with excitement. Cody just went along with them; he'd rather be seen in a crowd versus alone. Sarah tried to pull him along but eventually gave up when she realized who was talking to. John and Maren were going to be hard to convince. Maren was just bitter she was here to begin with; John expected her to ditch and change into sweats and boxing gloves when everyone turned their back so she could beat up on everyone that talked to her about how beautiful she looked. Sarah had begun to go off after them but got pulled into another dance circle of old cheerleader friends from her sophomore year. Maren had sat with him at first.
"Looks like it's just you and me, Smith," she drawls, leaving her head in her palm while her elbow rests on the table they ate at.
"My favorite time is the time I spend with you, Maren," he turns to her and grins but drops it immediately when he sees her expression. "What's up?"
"I'm trying to be a good date for Sam and it's hard, I hate dances, why did I even say yes," she frowns and drops her head onto the table with a sudden thud that startles John. He thinks about what Sarah mentioned in the car over to the group picture spot.
"Who would you want to be here with," he asks cautiously. He has no idea where this will go.
She lifts her head up a little and looks from one side to another. She turns her cold stare at him and sits up entirely before crossing her arms.
"What makes you think there even is another person?"
"Just guessing, don't need to gun me down for it," John defends himself, putting his hands out in front of him.
Maren rolls her eyes and slicks back to laying her head against her arms on the table. She stares off into the crowd, not even bothering to respond to him. Against his better judgment, John turns to follow where her eyes ended up.
She was staring at Sarah.
So it was true.
The prom queen was in the middle of a large group of people, smiling and dancing along to the current song. She was laughing and smiling, and she honestly looked the best she's been in a long time. Her dress sways with her movement and the array of light hits every jewel perfectly.
"Our lives are sure dumb, huh?" Maren turns to him and narrows her eyes in suspicion.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You're staring at the prom queen, Maren."
She sat up instantly.
"I was not."
"Well not anymore, now you're staring at this hot piece."
"I'd sooner kiss Stanley Worthington than you, John." He swallowed nervously.
She had to say that name of course. Everyone in the city knew just how much the pair despised each other. There was a constant competition between them over who had more metals, more honors, and more varsity letters. John didn't know what started it but according to everyone else in the group, it's been going on since the moment the two met. Maren considered having Sam tutor her in chess just so she could get another starting team member title under her belt over the state famous jock sensation. The thing that sickened Maren the most about their little game was the fact that baseball was a man's sport in high school so Stanley could always dangle that letter in her face.
"Most people would," he softly replies without thinking. Luckily, all she did was raise a brow and shake her head as though to clear the image.
"Yeah, I've had a big crush on Sarah since freshmen year but then the Mark James incident happened," she lamented. John almost felt bad. Almost. He still wasn't over the October fall festival prank. But hearing her voice grow very sour with every word did hit a spot.
"She's right there, Mare. You can always talk to her."
"Can you imagine the look on her face if I told her 'hey, I have had a big, gay crush on you for two years, let's dance'?" She laughs darkly but it had no effect on John.
Yes, he could picture it far too well. He could already picture the shine in Sarah's eyes and the warm embrace that would soon follow when Maren confessed to her.
"Are you going to let a little crush scare you," John asked with a smirk. He had to at least try. For Sarah and for Maren, even if the other girl didn't act like she cared so much.
"No, of course not. It doesn't scare me at all. I still came tonight," she snapped back at him.
"Then why are you sitting over here with me," he asked pointedly.
Maren didn't respond, just turned away from him.
"Fuck you," she sighed sharply at him as she stood up abruptly and started walking away.
"All you have to do is be honest, she'll appreciate it," John called after her.
"Whatever," she growled, stalking out of his earshot from the table. She payed no attention to her dress as she walked, clearly having forgotten about the blasted thing. That was Maren alright, she didn't give a shit about anything else so long as her mind was set somewhere else.
John watched as she walked towards Sarah, taking her by the arm and pulling her away from the circle of JV jocks and their dates that she had moved over towards.
Almost on cue, the booming rhythm of whatever hip hop song had been playing began to die down and the first chords of the night's first, true slow song started. John could not have timed that better if he had tried.
He looked through the crowd, trying to spot the rest of his group. It didn't take long to spy Naveen's white suit amongst the hoards of flashy fabric and guys in undershirts with ties around their heads. In moments, Maren and Sarah came back into view and immediately joined them.
Maren was holding Sarah's hand. John smiled at his seat.
Maren turned and spoke something to Sarah, and when the other girl nodded, let go of her hand and walked over to where Sam stood. Maren offered Sam a hand and the two slowly moved into a position to dance together.
She was giving him at least one dance. She would always have that soft spot for Sam.
John took his eyes off of his group of friends and left them take in the rest of the guests and the dance floor itself. He wasn't going to be seen staring(reluctantly) off at his friends who he could easily get up and join. Without a dance partner, he would be a little left out, even though he and Sarah technically came here together. He wanted Sarah to have the night of her life and to be with people who, a year ago, were shoved out of her life without consent. This was her night, not the new kid's, even if he felt completely left out.
It was a recent bad habit he picked up; John started passing his own happiness off for everyone else. His friends had years of experience and stories he would be bitterly hearing about so he's started giving them unnecessary space.
When John looked back over at his friends in the midst of the loving dance, he was mildly surprised but far more delighted to see Maren now in Sarah's embrace and Sam swaying next to them with a soft grin on his face. Everything worked out for them after all. Maybe it was Maren's first true dance since she avoided them like poison until tonight. Next to them Marina had her arms locked tightly around Naveen's neck with her face buried into his shoulder while the pair rocked back and forth to the rhythm. Ella and Cody were not too far away from the small dance circle, at an arm's length away from each other but had both hands planted firmly on the others shoulders. They're clearly demonstrating the "we're really just friends, stop asking" dance form for everyone else who might see them.
While everything felt like it was magic out on the floor, John tried to bury that he felt far from mystical. After all, he was sitting alone. Even once outlawed Cody had a dance partner that he seemed glad to sway with after all. Not that John wouldn't mind dancing with Sarah or Sam, there was also someone else on his mind.
He should be here.
John could have sworn he'd seen that certain name on the Prom Court list earlier in the school week but he didn't see the one face he was kind of hoping for. Someone else he wasn't very sure would be spending a lot of time shaking his shit around to middle school hits. Not that he'd admit it to his friends that he was looking for this guy anyway since he knew they'd definitely make fun of him.
But then again, a lot of the well known Paradise students went to Prom. It was their red carpet event only no one cared about them anymore than usual. He had to be here somewhere. Maybe he would see him later on in the night. Maybe John needed to get on the floor and chance bumping into him, but he didn't want to come off as desperate.
Being overly "needy" was the last thing John's big gay crush needed.
John stood up and quickly cut out of the large ballroom during the final notes of the slow song into the hall for some clean, cool air. He didn't bother looking back. Even if one weren't dancing, prom was usually sticky and humid with the violent flailing of everyone else. He took in the hallway for a moment, admiring the chandeliers decorating the tall ceiling and large glass windows covering the walls in front of him. Even in the darkness of the night, he could see a large water fountain in the circle of the courtyard and the delicate silk banner decor set up for tonight. John let out a long sigh. This was relaxing, a well needed brief moment of quiet with nothing but the cold kiss of night air as it crept through the glass panes and the gentle shake of bass with the next pop song.
Amongst the pounding of the music, John suddenly heard someone yelling.
"I wanted to be done with you after you dumped me, asshole!" John recognized the voice as a girl from one of his classes. What was her name again? Megan? Miranda? Something with an M he felt.
"And now I'm remembering why we broke up! Don't pull your fake shit, you pushed your ass against me first! I dumped you, you're right. So leave me the fuck alone!"
"Your friends said you were ready to take me back!"
"Don't fucking call them that. They're nothing and you're still nothing."
John recognized the angry tone instantly. There. It was him. The boy he was looking for.
Stanley Worthington.
John took a step, sliding against the wall like he was staring in a Bond movie, and caught enough of a glimpse to confirm it was him. And his "date" Maddy(that was her name! He had a class with her first semester but couldn't remember which one) was on her tiptoes and in his face, spitting her venom. John bit his lip and peered around the corner of the hall again. The arguing couple was right around the other side of the wall, he was almost certain they saw him. He leaned against the rough drywall, waiting for one or the other to storm off and call him out for eavesdropping. He gulped, waiting to get pulled into drama.
"They're more than you ever were, Stanley! Some fucking man you turned out to be!"
"Just listen to me for a fucking second. I know that's new for you and all but shut your goddamn mouth. Your insults don't hurt me. Go back inside and find someone who gives a damn about you because clearly I don't anymore." Stanley snarled. His words have John chill.
A few seconds later he heard the stomp of feet as one of the two stormed off. He couldn't tell which, just trained his head straight and closed his eyes, acting as though he hadn't heard a thing. The rough snag of dress shoes brushing against the carpet grows louder, though it's not as pronounced as the stomps from seconds before. It sounded as though the steps were heading right towards where John was acting hidden. He panicked immediately, inching down the wall towards the other entrance into the dance hall.
"Did you hear that shit?"
So much for the inching. John looked up straight into the dark eyes of one of the most beautiful guys he has ever seen. He had a pained, crooked smile as he walked towards him. John opened his mouth to say something, anything to make his snooping better but Stanley waved him off. "I think the whole dance heard us, don't even bother lying. Girls, dude, I just don't get them. I broke up with her a few months ago, right? We all remember that. I think it made the 4-1-1. Christ, it takes until prom night to get my point across, can you believe that shit? I don't like being grinded on unless I actually like the person doing it. Believe it or not, I'm pretty damn respectful."
"I think girls really don't get us all too well either, to be fair," John replies quietly. Stanley leans against the wall, directly next to him of course, and drops to the floor. John looks around the hall, still seeing no one else, and follows suit. The moment of silence between them is heavy, mainly because John has no idea where to begin a conversation with one of the most known high school boys in all of Ohio. It wasn't his status that scared him, it was the effect he had on John that took the blonde boy every time.
"So, you'd… be ok with me grinding on you?" John added after a brief silence to lighten up the scene. It took every bit of himself to say it after the stupid remark popped into his thoughts.
"Shut the fuck up," Stanley cackled loudly. "I mean I guess, that's not the point you idiot."
"You wanted a dance partner, I just offered," John laughed along with him. The jock, he realized, brought out his best jokes and his best comebacks. The best in him. John always felt the need to argue and bicker with him, and not because he hated the guy by any means.
Beat.
"Don't you have friends to go, you know, pop and lock with," the other boy asks suddenly. He looked slumped all of a sudden, almost crestfallen just because he asked. That interested John. Stanley Worthington was one of the most, if not the most popular guy in school. Cliche to fall for him the way he did of course, John knew how romantic comedy it sounded to admit that, but still. A starting varsity member of every big male sport the school offered, runner up Prom King(since John didn't pay attention to who was actually crowned, Stan's lack of one told him he must have lost it), and everyone knew his name. Everyone knew his "parents" too, the pop sensation Devektra(did anyone know her real name?) and the big time programming CEO Sandor Worthington.
Ironically, Sandor was actually Henri's boss but they treated each other far more like long lost brothers. John remembers meeting Sandor back when he and Henri lived in Florida. The only thing he could remember Sandor saying was "I'm the future. I'm way better than Steve Jobs."
"I needed some air. Dancing isn't really my thing but… I was going to be the only one who wasn't going and Sarah wanted someone to tag along with her that might help chase off Mark," John sighed. Stanley and Mark might be friends(to a point, it seemed), but at least he could admit James' flaws and agree when he went too far. "She carries mace but the smell might linger."
"At least you only need the air, I need so much more," his friend said bitterly, ignoring the quip entirely.
"What do you mean by that?" John asks cautiously. He didn't like where this talk was starting to go.
Stanley hits the back of his head against the wall and turns his attention on John. His eyes reflect an emotion too quick for John to pick up. He smiles small. "Just… a lot more, dude. It's a long story."
Here was the part of his life that his regular friends didn't know a lot about. John had quite a few friends outside of his group; of course he did, he was the new kid so naturally he had some traction in the beginning of the year. There was Daniela, one of the volleyball captains with Maren, who appreciated his occasional, snide side comments about Mark. There was Bertrand, the shy sophomore who was also new this year, that John befriended on his second or third week when he found the boy still struggling with his class schedule. There was the exchange boy from England (John couldn't remember his name, probably because their first encounter hadn't been very pleasant) that was stuck to John as a group member in an American Lit class. John, to be honest, just calls him a friend because they still say hi to each other once in awhile. Through Sarah, he met a girl named Emily, an old friend who was Sam's first big crush before Maren joined their class in the sixth grade, and Emily was nice enough to him.
His friend group strayed away from the acclaimed, incredibly athletic, upper class men and did their own thing, it was a bit of a surprise for a boy like John to make a friend like Stanley. The only other person in his circle that considered Stanley kind of a friend was Naveen.
Yeah, John and Stanley have been friends for quite some time. He remembers meeting a boy who could have been Stanley back when he was four and they lived in Wyoming. Sandor brought a boy with him when he came to talk about some coding and shoot the shit. Ironically, the two officially met around the same time Stan and Maddy had supposedly broken up at the beginning of the year. John when from hopelessly admiring from afar to being able to sit next to and actually engage with the dangerously handsome boy. When Stanley redirected his eyes out in front of him, John's eyes slipped down his body quickly, just for a taste.
Bad habits were very hard to break. The black and white suit, the classic look that must be inspired by his Uncle(believe it or not, that's the common ground that got them talking in the first place) was undone down the middle. Despite that, it still molded around his muscular torso as though it was handcrafted for him. The suit jacket was ready to be thrown off at any moment as it dripped off of his arms, with his tie gradually unraveling itself around his neck. Stanley's long, black hair was clinging to his forehead and neck with sweat from the heat of the dance floor.
"My life is pretty damn fake, Johnny boy." John pulled his eyes back up immediately.
"I knew it was impossible for someone to look like you, Stan."
"Shut up and listen," Stanley snorted. John could get away with calling him just Stan, he was the only one who could. The only one who dared. At least he could get a small snort out of him, John thought. It warmed him a little. "Mark James is a piece of shit who can't let go of jack shit, Maddy is a little girl who has had everything fed to her on a spoon her entire life, and the rest of that crowd doesn't know a single thing about me except where the mansion is and when Vek's world tour starts." Beat. "My life isn't real because no one in it feels… real. I'm sick of being used up for all of the shit I have versus the person I am."
John frowned. He didn't know what to add. From his spot on the bench, Stanley had looked like he enjoyed his life of endless friends, sporting awards and honors, and every person wanting to be him. There were probably hoards of people who 'wanted' him too. He winces internally, having not been able to realize his friend's darkness. John can still remember finding the gruff boy punching the hell out of the one remaining sandbags in the weight room after school hours. He can still feel the cool rush of the fan in the workout room hitting his face as he had stepped past it. Stanley had caught the bag as soon as John's feet walked near the door frame itself.
"The fuck do you want?" He can still remember the cold sneer in his voice. The way sweat had dripped over every perfectly sculpted muscle on his back.
"The fuck is wrong with you," He had countered. Back then, his feelings for Stanley were a passing crush on his good looks and charming smile. John wasn't that shy, he could talk to someone good looking without a too big of a problem. Seeing him in the locker room, in the weight room, talking like a regular teenage boy, that made Stanley touchable. It reminded John he was in fact still human. From that day on, they started talking. John realized he shared AP Chemistry and Calculus with him(Stanley wasn't good at Calc but he always found a way to make every experiment in Chem go successful) and they started talking during hours. The little crush feeling developed into something far bigger after that. John fell hard for the confident, daring, witty boy underneath the status and honors.
"Well, you're real."
John blinked. He turned slowly into those dark eyes once again. "I left the dance about twenty minutes ago, then Maddy found me, we argued, and no one else came after me to check. Then I found you." Stanley smiled. A genuine smile, not a quick passing smirk, not a toothy, snarky grin, an actual smile. John felt his face begin to heat up. "You haven't left yet either."
"You're my friend, w-why would I," John stammers, cursing internally at his fluster. It suddenly was hard to talk to his attractive friend and also having to be brotherly all at the same time.
"Finally someone else says it," Stanley laughs, then stands up and offers a hand to John. He raises a brow in response. "We've been hiding for too long and I just heard Trap Queen start, I'm fucking dancing." John smiles tightly and grabs Nine's hand. It's surprisingly soft but John can't tell if that's him just hoping it's soft and making it so. He pulls himself to his feet, then follows the other boy into the ballroom. But not without looking at his butt first of course.
Shameful? Shameless. He was in far too deep.
—-
Nothing could replace the surprise and glee on Sarah and Sam's faces when John resurfaced and actually joined their circle in a dark corner away from the floor. However, he did also see the wide eyed looks from Naveen and Maren when they saw who he came back in with.
"Everyone has their tastes, I guess," Cody wondered out loud from his place between Ella and Sam but no one gave him any reaction. Well, John hopes no one did anyway.
"It's not like I'm the worst guy ever," Stanley smirked, answering John's brief moment of horror and slinging an arm around the blonde boy's shoulder. He flinched slightly, and tried to shove him off. "Hey come on, you like me, Johnny boy."
"Keep telling yourself that," John laughed. He couldn't let Stanley know that easily. Unless he already knew. Somehow.
"I don't need to, I know you do," Stanley shoves him lightly.
"Right."
"You offered to grind on me, dude. I might be down for that in a bit," Stanley winked, very aware John's friends were listening.
"Hey, uh, Stanley, come walk with me for a sec," Naveen suddenly walked up to the two and pointed with his thumb to a table on the far side of the room.
"As long as it's away from the loser's circle," he groaned, letting go of John and walking off. John frowned with confusion, missing his friend's warmth. At least it saved him from having to continue that conversation in front of the rest of his friends.
"I just want to grab Marina some more punch," he grins and when Stanley's back is to John, Naveen turns around and gives him a smug smile. John feels heat rise to his cheeks instantly. If Naveen caught on so quickly, he was done.
"So… he's cute," Sarah appeared next to his side and nudged John's shoulder. "He's one of the only cute jocks anymore."
"It's, really not like that…"
"Your little smile says otherwise, 'Johnny Boy'," Maren smirks. The corners of John's mouth drop and the warmth in his face and neck now only festers.
"Come on John, we're your friends, you can tell us anything," Marina added.
"And if it doesn't work out, you can go ahead and introduce him to me," Ella piped up with a sly smile. They all stared at her for a moment as she put a fist to her chest before refocusing back to John.
"Hold on, you told him you would do WHAT?!" Cody raised his head up from where he had it resting face down in his palms and gasped. "Oh you poor thing. You do know who you were talking to, right?"
"Hey, I'm not the one who drunk texted everyone a dick pic at Homecoming!"
"That was completely different!"
"Homecoming and Prom are not all that different, Cody…" Sam trailed off uncomfortably. He tugged on one of his lapels at the memory.
"Homecoming season has a lot of football, Prom night has a lot bad decisions," Cody crossed his arms obnoxiously like a toddler losing an argument.
"Because sexting is always such a good idea," John replied with a grin. He was just glad the spotlight was off of him for the moment.
"You guys are so embarrassing, people can hear us," Marina laughed, holding her sides. She was lucky not to see the photographic evidence, but she was in the room when Naveen had gotten it. Oddly, only the boys got the penis pictures. "Knock it off guys, we can do this later."
"Cody, please shut up. John, you have some explaining to do," Sam then appeared on the other side of him, completely forgetting about the conversation and propping one of his elbows on John's shoulder. Here they go again. "But first, why don't we see what we can do for you."
"You guys don't have to do anything, I've got it under control," John stammered, shaking Sam off of him. He nervously looked off towards where Naveen and Stanley vanished off to. The two were still at the table, both with hands full of punch glasses. They seemed to be talking in depth about something, but Naveen was the one doing most of the talking. Stanley had his signature (and handsome) crooked smirk as he nodded along once in awhile.
"Under control? Your eyes light up all blue and shiny when he's even near you," Sarah teased him.
"You are staring at him," Marina pointed out, snappy John's attention back to the group.
"Is he coming over later? Do I have to hide my emotional scarring?" Cody asks, over exaggerating the dread in his voice.
"Well you better be quick, Naveen might just be warming him up for you," Marina replied sweetly. John was sure his face was closer to the color of the red strobe light by now.
"He's doing what?!" John cuts in before anyone else can speak.
Maren took her place next to Sarah and put an arm around her waist and guided her off while Sam crossed his own arms and followed suit. Cody looked off before tugging on Ella's arm and pulling her away from the circle. Marina was last to leave as she waited for Naveen to walk up and hand her a glass of the red juice. He kissed her on the cheek, and gently passed her the glass before he turned to John and rapidly raised both of his eyebrows briefly before the couple walked off.
"Where are you guys going?!" He called after his friends. With them, anyone who was standing near the circle dispersed around the dance floor, finding places to squeeze in and dance during the beats of the next slow number. It had to be coming up soon.
"Yeah, slow dances just don't do it for me. The next one is in a few minutes," Stanley's voice echos John's thoughts and catches him off guard even though he was expecting him back any second. "Punch?" He offered John the glass with the sweet liquid. It appeared to have a touch more than Stanley's glass did.
"Uh, sure, thanks," John took the cup from his friend and drank a quick sip. "What did you slip in it?"
"Fuck off," Stanley snorted, taking a quick taste of his drink. "But yeah, I never have the right dance partner. Like, I'm a big guy, I'm six-three and, well, Maddy was five-one." He laughed a little more awkwardly. His raised his own punch to his lips again and took a bigger gulp.
"Was she really… your only girlfriend?" John asked. "You seem like you would have a lot more stories to tell."
"The only real one, yeah," he shrugged, putting his now empty glass on the table. John sat his down as well though he only took another sip or two out of it. He blinked, examining their two glasses together side by side for a moment. Naveen, a boy in a committed three year relationship with a girl, had gone off and brought back his beloved girlfriend punch and showed her a brief touch of affection. Stanley, a boy who has spent the last thirty minutes or so with him, has offered him a hand, wrapped his arm around him, and also gave him punch. Not only that, his punch glass had more than Stanley's did.
Was he reading too far into it?
"I've never actually had a real relationship," John admitted absentmindedly.
"That's hard to believe," Stanley snorts. John frowns, turning to his friend. Stanley's dark eyes were focused on the large crowd of people as they swayed to the upbeat rhythm of some kind of electronic hit.
"Not really, I just don't date," John defends himself, assuming he said something wrong. His frown deepens and he shuffles his feet uncomfortably. "Not everyone dates, Stanley. For me there just hasn't been the… right person, I guess."
"Not even Hart?" Stanley's sour question takes John off guard. Even though Sarah and Sam knew of his sexuality(well, the rest of his friends knew now too), John wasn't sure he was ready to tell his athletic friend about it just yet.
"We're just friends."
"That's usually where it starts. You want to be 'close friends' and then one cute, friends only night just happens to go too far and you two start dating," he growls lowly.
"Sarah isn't like that and neither am I," John snaps. "Look, I'm just… particular, alright? I don't just like… someone, based on one or two things. Or just because they're my friend." His words shook a little as he tried to imply that his interests went beyond just women in his comeback.
"A 'someone', huh? You're a good looking guy, surely you've been asked out before."
"Maybe I'm not so good looking then," John jokes with a stale tone. There was the one girl back in Florida but he asked her and she rejected him anyway.
"Your opinion," Stanley shrugged. "You're good looking, you're thoughtful, you listen, you're practically cut out of a sappy romance. I don't know, you just love too much."
"I just like to be a nice guy," John stammered. Maybe he had a reason to read too far into his friend now that he was listing off all of his positive traits.
"Most girls like a nice guy," Stanley teases, nudging John in the side.
"Most girls don't need a nice guy though, they don't need any guy," John argues.
"Anyone would be lucky to have you as a guy though," Stanley continues to egg him on. John makes the mistake of turning to look at his friend. His smile is gentle and his dark eyes glow with an unreadable emotion. Under the light of the dance floor's strobe, Stanley Worthington was incredibly handsome, with the way the blue and red lights dapple the chiseled features of his face and ignite his dark eyes. Stanley had lost the jacket of his suit somewhere, his white collared shirt clinging tightly to his muscular body. For the first time since the first day he'd seen the boy, John was caught off guard entirely by how good he looked.
"You know some guys also, like nice guys."
"I know that," John says slowly, trying to hide his raising fluster. Stan just had to say that right after he thought about how amazing his friend looked under the multicolored lights.
The second slow song of the night then starts, catches John's attention as it begins to play. Couples quickly swing into position, draping arms around necks and pulling girlfriends and boyfriends closer as they sway to the slow beat.
Stanley slapped a hand on his shoulder and spoke up again.
"John Smith, may I have this next dance?"
To add onto all of the cliches that made up his Junior year of Paradise High School, here was his year long crush asking him for a dance on the most magical night of the school career.
He could also be hearing it wrong.
"You want to do what? You can go out and dance, yeah, I have no say," John replies far too quickly. He wasn't even sure Stanley heard a word he said.
"No, as in with you, idiot."
This wasn't happening to him. He refused to believe it. He opened his mouth to speak but Stanley puts a finger to his mouth quickly. The feeling of his friend's fingertip brushing against his lip made him tingle.
"Shut up and dance with me."
"B-but you-" John pushes his hand away and stutters, trying to find the words to turn him down. He couldn't say yes.
"Look John," Stanley interrupts him, leaning closer to his face. His hands cup both sides of John's face to hold him in place and keep him focused. John is stunned. His eyes widened and he lost all words. "I find you very attractive and I want my chance before someone else gets it. Even if it's just once, let me have this one dance with you tonight."
"Alright," John agreed quietly, not breaking eye contact. Stanley smiles widely and lets go of his friend's face with a soft sigh. He moves his hands down to John's waist and pulls him a little closer. John hesitates before wrapping his arms around his friend's neck but keeping himself from completely collapsing into him.
This wasn't happening, he thought.
"It's been a few months," Stanley said quietly, his eyes never leaving John's face.
"Two months of what?"
"Of wanting… to do this," he admits a little quieter, and even under the strobes John could see the blush beginning to form on his cheek and the tip of his nose. He finally looked down. "I don't know what it is about you, Johnny, but you're hard to pass up."
John forced himself to laugh a little. He still couldn't really find his voice. He looked over towards his friends but the only ones he could see were Naveen and Marina. The two were once again deep into each other's embrace. Naveen's smile was visible as he held Marina close to his body and swayed with her.
Three years.
The two had gotten together in the eighth grade John was told. Naveen had gradually joined their friend group after leaving the school's band for the drama club and branching out. Sam mentioned how he was taken back when a surprisingly popular boy started talking to him in his Technology Education class. Naveen, like Sarah only earlier on, went on a self discovery journey of his own. With his father coming home maybe once a week and his mother absent, Naveen was very good at taking care of himself at a young age. But, an empty home meant he wanted to spend as much time at school around other people as possible. With some of the theater practices lasting until 9:30 at night, his comedic timing and his need to cheer up other people was the perfect fit.
Naveen had found Marina painting after class when he was on break from a play practice on a half of day of school. She was one of the featured painters at the State Fair every year and he told John just how talented she was even at such a younger age. He recalled knocking politely on the art door and letting himself in to see her work but Marina hadn't turned him away. She had asked him for a critique and truth be told, Naveen couldn't find a single thing wrong with the landscape painting.
John at this point, regretted asking how they met when Naveen had begun to gush over how her eyes lit up with swirls of colors that no art piece anywhere could rival. Naveen said he had instantly recruited her to paint backdrops for the class' big production that year but he also mentioned how it took a week of trying and stopping by the art room every day after school. The two grew closer after having to spending hours on end together after class trying to perfectly capture each scene of the production. On the last night of the play's run, Naveen asked her out after curtain call on stage in front of everyone with a large bouquet of roses(he was assuming there was flowers, after all Naveen was not only romantic but as thoughtful as some boys got) and she had obviously agreed. Within her friend group, Naveen fit in immediately with his quick jokes and gentle personality. He's the one boyfriend Maren hasn't had to chase off or personally investigate in order to approve of. A relationship like theirs was perfect, planned out since the beginning and no doubt with the power to last forever.
John swallowed. Who knew where this night or this entire situation was going after now. He was going to go for it. Months of admiring the other boy and building to a close moment like this was not going to be wasted when the stars practically aligned for it to happen.
"Stanley-" he started, turning his attention back to his dancing partner but was met with the soft, damp skin of his friend's lips.
Stanley Worthington was kissing him in front of everyone.
John realizes slowly as his feelings melt around the damp, velvet skin that he'd never been kissed by anyone before either. To Stanley, this might turn into a disaster but John was willing to take that leap. He closes his eyes, opening himself up to the kiss.
Stanley's tongue delicately glided along John's bottom lip as his palm laid against the side of John's face, cupping his face. The touch sent a shiver through him. He felt himself finally let go; he was ready to give everything he had to his boy. John wrapping his arms around Stanley's neck and drew himself closer, what he hoped would be a sign that he was allowing the kiss to continue. His fingers threaded into Stanley's long, dark hair as his friend deepened the kiss a little and pushed the tip of his tongue slowly into the blonde boy's mouth
Frenching in front of the entire world, the John from about two minutes ago would be making fun of them.
Nothing else mattered to them. At least John wanted to convince himself of that. He was still nervous, continuing the kiss as he felt it was supposed to be. Did he have to move his lips more? Did he have to use his tongue too? The tongue part seemed weird. Wasn't there supposed to be groaning, why weren't either of them making any noise?
Maybe the music was blocking it out. Even in the midst of his doubt, John could still practically taste the sparks.
He then heard the slow song hit it's last notes. Surely it was too soon? The rest of his friends would be back shortly and who knew who else could walk past them like this. The doubting was too much for John as he forced himself to pull back from the kiss. He breathed, hoping he didn't ruin everything by cutting it off so abruptly. He opened his eyes slowly, living in the remaining seconds of the embrace. Stanley met his eyes soon after, still holding him close enough to go for a second one. The dark blue eyes told John everything he needed to know and that was Stanley meant every bit of that moment. His friend was panting, the corners of his lips perking up slowly into a satisfied smile.
"Sorry, I just… I had to," his friend breathed, releasing John all together as soon as the next hip hop song began to blare from the speakers. He stepped back and scratched the back of his head. "It was just the way the lights caught you, I don't know dude . What were you going to say before?" He quickly added to cover up the small confession.
John could still feel the touch of the kiss as he tried to find his words once more. What WAS he going to say? It wasn't like he had any of his romantic thoughts organized. He could barely think this far ahead in a daydream much less facing it in real life. What he did know was how much he already missed the closeness. He wanted the feeling of being held onto and kissed like there was no one else in the world who could matter. He wanted Stanley's embrace, he wanted every bit of the boy in front of him. Absolutely sappy. But still, John couldn't think. His breath felt as though it was still in recovery. He didn't want to make anything worse and his words were weak.
Maybe, a moment like this didn't require words. He did, after all, have too much to say.
Maybe it… required an action.
John took a deep breath, stepped forward, grabbed Stanley's shirt with both hands, and pulled him into another kiss. He caught Stanley be complete surprise but the satisfaction in the moment didn't last long. Stanley's hands found their ways on his hips and pulled him in closer. Suddenly, their fire had just melted together. John felt as though the raw need in his kiss told his partner everything he needed to know. The delightful tingle and brush of soft skin was once again on his lips and he savored every bit of it. He let go of Stanley's shirt and wrapped his hands around the other boy's neck once again, weaving his fingers through the long hair. The rest of the night no longer mattered again just so long as as his lips were crashed against his friend's.
Were they still friends? Did this make them even more now? John didn't know what to ask or where to go from there.
He was still really unsure about using tongue.
They moved once again in sync to the natural rhythm of the kiss. John wanted this to last forever, but he also couldn't help but wish it was somewhere a lot more private.
This time, Stanley was the one to pull away. John kept his eyes closed, and despite the loud music, listened to the other boy laugh. To be honest, he kept his eyes closed because he was scared. The other boy kissed him first, he had nothing to fear and yet it was still there. He was waiting for the regret, the rejection. He was waiting to be called an experiment(though the extremity of the thought helped make him realize how ridiculous his fears were) or worse, an incredibly bad kisser. It was a quick, quiet chuckle that left Stanley's mouth.
"Alright," he breathed. "I think I get it."
"I could always do it again," John replied. His words shook a little at first. His confidence would have to gradually rebuild. He opened his eyes "You know, for added bonus."
"Maybe later, Johnny," Stanley smirked, leaning in and planting a quick kiss on John's lips. A sweet gesture from his quick tempered friend that took John entirely by surprise. "We should probably find your group."
"But… Do you actually want to," John asked before he could change his mind. He swallowed nervously. "It's not like you're too close to any of them. They're also going to drill us."
"Like I said earlier, the rest of my group just doesn't care about me. I'll go wherever anymore." Stanley released John and took a step back. His shirt was ruffled from where John pulled on it and his hair was crinkled. His eyes were still beautiful, with a passion that could rival the blaring lights. John felt lost. "Are you ok?"
"Yeah just… Processing," he stuttered. The other boy laughed a little. "This is new to me, ok?"
"Being kissed or being kissed by a guy?"
"A bit of both."
"There's nothing really different except, well, the obvious," Stanley waggled his eyebrows once and John could have sworn he could see the other boy's eyes fighting the urge to look straight down.
"Not on the first night," John snapped, feeling his fluster rise immediately to his cheeks. The amount of head took him by surprise, surely the kissing hadn't overheated him that bad?
"Please, I haven't gotten laid in forever, yeah but I am damn respectful," Stanley matched his tone and stared him in the eye. A begrudging smile broke on his face and he took a step closer. "I see where your mind goes though, Johnny boy."
"It does not!"
"Well unlucky for you, I don't send dick pics."
"I really don't want one," John laughed, pushing his friend(boyfriend?) backwards a little.
"Can we please stop talking about the pictures? It was one time," Cody suddenly cut in, pushing past the two with a hard sigh. Stanley turned and watched the smaller boy storm off, then turned back to John with a single brow raised in question.
"Long story," John grins.
"A story I'm going to need to hear later, especially since it involves that whiny piece of shit," Stanley chuckles, putting his arm around John's shoulder. The two had a deep history and John only knew a third of it. The third of it he did know was because of Cody's fleety nature to jump from group to group for his own benefit as he had a habit of using people. Stanley was the one to call him out and discredit Cody in front of everyone, the shame which ultimately led him back to where he started.
"Looks like we don't have to go off and find your friends anymore though, " Stanley added, looking behind his other shoulder.
John turns his attention in the opposite direction of where Cody went and saw six familiar faces. Sam and Ella's mouths were gaped open, though were as Sam's was a smile, Ella's materialized shock. Maybe it was a smudge of jealously. Who knew what that little girl thought honestly. Sarah had her arms crossed and a proud grin across her face while Maren wore her signature crooked smile.
They saw everything.
"I knew Stanley was going in for it but I didn't expect you to tag in too, John," Naveen spoke up from behind him and slapped him hard on the back. John ducked under Stanley's arm and turned to face him.
"How long have you been-"
"Like I said, I knew it was going to happen," Naveen interrupted him. "In fact, I told him to give it a shot in the first place and see what would happen."
"Of course you did."
"Finally, the two guys with no chance just get together. Truly it's a love story," Maren pipes in as she walks past the two. John rolls his eyes and Stanley next to him appears to have ignored her entirely. She won't like that.
"Well I'm happy for you two and all, but I have to borrow this," Sarah says, pulling John away from his spot. When they're at least a couple of dinner tables away, she speaks up again. "You could have told me who, you know."
"I had no idea where to begin, honestly," he admits, gazing off to find something that wasn't Sarah to look at.
"Well I'm glad you didn't throw away your night just for me and everyone else," she squeezes his arm gently. John decides to just gave her and turns his attention on his friend. She has a kind, beautiful smile as always. Her makeup has remained in tact despite heat of the dance floor. He returned the smile.
"Is it that obvious?"
"You do that a lot, John. Remember Valentine's Day?"
"Don't remind me," he laughs softly. A night that would live on in his lonely embarrassment only. The two stood in a comfortable silence briefly, both reflecting on the night which was far from over. The dance had at least another hour and a half of dancing and awkwardly running into people they semi hate to go. Honestly, to John, it was actually kind of nice.
"Well, I'm happy we're all having fun them," he added warmly.
"We don't want to stay over here too long though," Sarah looks behind her back, "our dates might kill each other."
"I completely forgot about that," John says as he quickly turns in the same direction. Stanley and Maren weren't in each other faces, but they were definitely conflicting. Maren had her arms crossed and her ugliest glare while Stanley spoke, returning her look with the same heat. "We should probably break that up."
"Wait." John began to walk back before Sarah caught his arm and dragged him back towards her.
"What's up?"
"Just… Can we have one dance? For my parents," she smiled. A picture perfect moment, something Sarah can use to make the conversation easier. "And also just for us. We did come together after all."
"Of course Sarah," John agreed, before turning back and returning to his group. Stanley and Maren were now in each others faces though Stanley just smirked while she spat at him.
The pair rejoined their friends just as the notes of one of the night's last few slow songs started, almost on cue. This song was one of few John for sure knew, it played the night John and Henri drove into paradise to their new home from the hotel. It also played on the same drive home from school when he officially met Stanley. Now would be a good time, he decided. John put a hand on Stanley's shoulder and gestured to Sarah.
"She gets at least one."
"Yeah dude, whatever you have to do. So long as I don't get sloppy seconds."
"Please, you heard Maren."
"And you've heard everyone else about me. Go on, shoo," Stanley waved him off, even shoved him towards where Sarah was standing with Maren. "Think of it as a "what if", ya get me?"
"I get it," John shakes his head and walks across their friend group's sudden makeshift circle to the two girls.
"If I may cut in, just this once," he smiled as genuine as his cheekbones would allow him while facing Maren. She eyed him then nodded slowly.
"Once, you can't have a kiss from everyone," Maren scoffed.
"You would be able to say you were the only one not kissed then," John counters, shrugging his shoulders up as soon as Maren landed a playful punch on his bicep. She shakes her head, grinning, before walking away towards Sam, Cody, and Ella.
John turns back to Sarah and offers a hand, trying to stay as traditional as possible. It wasn't like he knew traditional, but he did want to be as respectful to Sarah Hart as possible. She raises a brow and takes his hand, pulling herself into his loose embrace. Though they weren't an arm's length away, John and Sarah still had a comfortable amount of space between them.
"Thanks John."
"For what?" He asked immediately.
"Thank you for tonight," Sarah leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. He blinked, feeling a tingle of heat rising to his cheeks.
John, as he swayed back and forth to the beat of the familiar song with his date, couldn't believe he hadn't wanted to come tonight at all. He had assumed it was going to be all slow songs, bland food, and stories he had no context for. But, in fact it turned into so much more. His friends were here, and they were going to stay until the late hours of the morning doing only the stars know what. Here was his first contact crush dancing with him, something first week of school John Smith could have never fathomed.
And to add onto everything, he was kissed tonight. Twice. There was the kiss he just got from Sarah, a gentle thank you, and the one from Stanley. He can't help but cast a look towards where the other boy stood close to where Maren had strolled over. They seemed civil, both turned with interest in something Ella was saying though her eyes sparkled as she directed her conversation at Stanley. As though he felt John's eyes on him, Stanley turned and met his eyes with a smile. He then shrugged.
"Is he coming back with us," Sarah's question redirected his attention back to their dance. The song was hitting the end of its turn and soon another pop song was about to blare through the speakers.
"You know, I have no idea but I'm sure I can ask him."
"Just so I can warn Maren and Cody."
John laughed quietly to himself; he was ready for where this night was about to go next.