Prompted by dingdongimdead on Tumblr: Senior prom, inspired He Is We's "All About Us"
This was supposed to be a drabble but I may have gotten carried away.
The gathered crowd in front of the stage continued bouncing and swaying with each and every song either played by the DJ, or performed by the glee club. It was a significant improvement on last year, considering the turn of events last prom. No fights had broken out, no one had any serious grudges on one another, no one was blackmailed, and no one was being interrogated and or threatened in an office down the hall.
Kurt had nearly come stag this year, though, after the break up with Blaine just a few weeks prior. Luckily, the two had been friends long enough before getting together that the cloud of awkward tension was soon lifted when Blaine had suggested that the two of them go to prom together, just as friends. And rather than his original plan of getting tipsy near the punch bowl all night, Kurt happily agreed.
The two had taken a break from dancing among their fellow glee clubbers, and Blaine had wandered off towards the bathrooms, leaving Kurt alone with the snacks. He'd been eyeing the chocolate dipped pretzels for quite a while when suddenly a commotion broke out near the front of the gym. It wasn't loud enough for the entire prom to cease, but Kurt and the few others scattered around the refreshments had turned their heads to catch a glimpse of what was going on.
Kurt saw a bunch of boys nudging each other, and their dates whispering to each other quickly. Attempting to crane his neck to see over the fitted-suit shoulders, Kurt eventually lost interest when all he could see was a mass of well dressed peers. He turned his back to them once again, glancing over the snacks once again as he mindlessly wondered who must have drunkenly passed out near the front door when he felt a tap on his shoulder.
He'd expected it to just be some other prom-goer trying to get to something in front of him, so Kurt quickly apologized, sidestepping for a moment before glancing up. It had taken him a moment to process who was standing in front of him, only suddenly realizing who it was when under the dim lighting, Kurt locked his gaze with a very familiar pair of hazel eyes.
"David?" Kurt squeaked, nearly double taking the suited male in front of him.
Dave cracked a smile. "No skirt this year?"
Standing completely dumbfounded for a few moments, Kurt eventually broke into laughter, moving forward to wrap his arms around his friend. Dave took no time in reciprocating the hug, letting out a huffed laugh as he squeezed Kurt. They pulled apart after a moment, Kurt letting his hands linger on Dave's shoulders.
"Wow," he started, grinning as he took in Dave's attire. "You look- What are you doing here?"
They stood for a moment, Dave opening and closing his mouth a few times as the current, up beat number ended, and a slower song began playing. Kurt watched as the light bulb finally blinked behind Dave's eyes, and his friend smiled, holding out his hand. "Paying debt."
It took a few seconds, before he raised an eyebrow playfully, taking Dave's hand. The two moved away from the refreshments, into the center of the swaying crowd of students. They had received a few odd looks on the way, and Dave had to ignore a former teammate who had wanted to stop him, asking what he was here for. Dave just brushed the boy off, and stopped, turning around to face Kurt. Kurt himself had nearly been torn from the boy as Rachel had spotted the two of them, reaching out to grab at Kurt's sleeve, thankfully to which Kurt had dodged, sending Rachel a look that he would discuss this later.
As Kurt himself stood in front of Dave, he could feel the nauseating rush of familiarity, noting that this time last year the two had been in the same position, the only difference being the lack of a very unnecessarily bright spotlight and the awkward silence between songs.
This time, Kurt stood with a friend. One who he'd significantly come to care for in the past months. It was an improvement from last year, where the only feelings Kurt could say he had for Dave were out of pity, seeing the boy so torn because of what he believed he could and couldn't be. But now they were friends. They spoke to each other, no longer just the casual nod in a hallway, or muttering of class schedules.
When Dave suddenly rested his hand on Kurt's waisted, pulling him closer with their still clasped hands, Kurt let out a small sigh, resting his free hand back onto Dave's shoulder before ultimately slipping the other out of it's hold, mirroring the other.
Dave smiled as he dropped his own free hand to the other side of Kurt's waist.
Suddenly Kurt slipped into an almost dreamlike state, where everything felt like he was floating. There was no heavy feeling in his chest this time, and he could feel the same warm feeling radiating off of David as they swayed, holding their gaze into each other's eyes.
But Kurt was ripped from his high as he caught site of a few students around them, muttering to themselves or sending looks of confusion, and the occasional glare of disgust. Kurt felt his stomach drop for a moment, hearing a few choice words among the crowd. David had recently been outed, and there was no way hearing the sudden onslaught of whispered slurs would be any good for him. Would someone speak out? Would Dave notice, and panic, and run away, just as he did last year? He knew he had his plan of baby steps, but this was more than that. Much more.
He was jolted from his thoughts as he felt a palm press against the side of his face. He tilted his head back to face Dave, who, looking the slightest bit pale, offered a small smile before dropping his hand back to Kurt's side, pulling him closer and leaning into his ear.
"I know what you're thinking" he murmured, making Kurt shiver the slightest under the sheer closeness. "I'm not stupid. I know people think I am, but I'm not. I know what I'm doing."
"I owe you this," he continued, brushing his thumb lightly against Kurt's hip. "I owe you a lot. But I promised myself the night I left you alone here, that I would make it up to you. And I thought I'd be out. Not under the circumstances, or this recent, but I knew that one day, I'd ask you to dance, and have no fear in it."
Kurt could feel himself tearing up at the words, only more so threatening to fall as he heard a particularly rude comment from behind him.
Dave had noticed it too, glancing over Kurt's shoulder for a moment before returning his attention to Kurt.
"But don't listen to them, Kurt," Dave said sincerely, fighting back his own tears. He was having flashbacks to the few months prior, where he was constantly harassed in every form. He hadn't even been lucky enough to avoid them in his own home, his safe haven.
"I can do this now. You helped me, remember?" he reminded, letting out a quiet and wet chuckle. He then grew more serious again, leaning closer into Kurt. "But this isn't about them. This isn't me fighting them, or proving that I don't care what they think. This is all about us."
Kurt let out a small, choked noise before lighting, nodding his head. Dave had pulled back, serious for a moment before grinning weakly, and continued swaying.
It was nice. And it couldn't have happened last year. Not like this, at least. Not with the feelings the two had gained for each other. There was a story between them now, a tether to some form of rare friendship, or relationship, connection, whatever it is now and may become in the future.
They danced silently, their eyes never leaving each others.
"Seriously, though," Dave eventually broke, attempting to hold an emotionless look on his face. "No skirt?"
"Please shut up," Kurt murmured, resting his head on Dave's chest. Dave shut his mouth, tilting his head so he could rest it against Kurt's.
The song was coming to an end, but neither of them were quite ready to move. However, Kurt couldn't help but smiling against Dave's chest, as he could make out the faint humming of an oh-too familiar ABBA hit.