Well here we are! Something I've had kicking about in my head for a looong time. I decided to put this little author's note at the beginning because I want the end to hit hard. This chapter was definitely my favorite to write by far. I only cried like a million times. I hope you enjoy it and that it makes you as happy as it made me. Also keep in mind that the story does not end here. To be honest, I've already written some of my next little season portion that'll go up soon and I'm so excited for that. And really, this whole story really has been so extremely satisfying to write and a great escape and the kind things you people have said about it have made me even happier. I love all the reviews and reactions and theories! So thank you all for everything. And I hope you've enjoyed the story so far. I hope you all stay healthy and happy and I'll be sure to update soon! Thanks!
"Have I told you yet that you look beautiful?" Catra asked Adora as they pulled into the high school parking lot. It was already filled with cars and there were students walking to the school and entering the gymnasium doors.
"About twenty times, yeah," Adora answered with an elated smile. She turned from the window and looked to Catra. "And I told you, every time you compliment me I'm just gonna throw it right back! So you're looking pretty gorgeous yourself."
"Gorgeous? That's a new one. I'll have to use that next time," she said with a toothy grin.
Catra flipped down the overhead mirror and examined herself, adjusting her black bowtie. Adora saw her fiddling with it and reached over to her seat, grasping the tie on either side with her hands.
They made eye contact as Adora straightened it for the girl. The air between them tonight felt charged. Even more charged than it usually did.
Adora drew her hands back and looked Catra over. She was wearing a rich crimson suit that was perfectly tailored for her. She wore a black dress shirt under the suit jacket and a black bow tie. It looked incredible in her and Adora found it hard not to stare, a problem she had been having all night.
"Perfect," Adora said softly.
Catra didn't often get flustered, but this got her and she looked away. "Thanks. And you look perfect too. Of course."
Adora snorted and briefly checked herself out in the mirror as well. She was wearing the dress she had picked out with Bow at the mall. The color she had picked perfectly matched with Catra's suit and Adora felt an immediate and unfamiliar rush of confidence as she saw herself. The dress was simple and not very flashy, which made Adora feel better about it. It also showed off her arms and her back, where she was proud of the muscle definition she had been building. Adora was still shocked by the fact that a dress of all things could make her feel so much more confident.
Adora turned back to Catra and smiled. Catra didn't have any makeup on, and Adora would honestly have been a little weirded out if she had. Adora had learned a while back that Catra hated the stuff and hadn't worn it ever as far back as she could remember. But Catra didn't need it. Her features all looked perfect to Adora without any modifications.
Adora sighed contentedly as she stared at her date.
Catra stared back and shook her head, a goofy smile creeping across her face. "Should we just sit in here and stare and call each other beautiful all night or should we actually go in?"
"Hmmmmmm," Adora said thoughtfully, still staring at Catra. "I guess we can go in."
Catra laughed in her usual raspy way. "I mean, just because we're in there doesn't mean we have to stop staring."
"This is true."
"And you're feeling alright about being in there?"
"Yes," Adora answered honestly. "It's a lot of people, but I have you and my friends and it's a familiar environment. Plus it's a very different vibe than the party at Mermista's place."
"Definitely," Catra agreed, nodding her head and staring out at the school. "But if you wanna leave at any point, let me know and we'll blow this joint."
Adora chuckled, glad that Catra was so considerate. "I'll let you know."
Catra looked satisfied and took a deep breath, resting her hand on the door handle. "You ready?"
"As I'll ever be," Adora replied.
Both girls got out of the car and felt the setting sun on their skin. It was warmer outside than it had been in a while, almost as if the weather had made an exception just for the Fall Formal.
Adora placed her feet onto the pavement below her and was glad that she had opted for wearing flats instead of heels. Glimmer and her had practiced the other night and Adora had tried very hard to get the hang of walking in a heel, but after what felt like a thousand falls and way too much discomfort, Adora decided that heels weren't for her.
Adora walked around the back of the car and met up with Catra, who admired her again now that they were out of the car.
"We really can't stop staring, huh?" Adora asked, amused.
"Yeah this is gonna be a very distracting night," Catra replied.
Catra sidled up to Adora and the pair made their way to the gym doors.
"So you've been to these before?" Adora asked as they walked through the parking lot.
"Yeah like one or two. It was kinda fun, but also lame. But I'm sure that with you it'll be better!"
"Well at the very least we'll be together even if it's lame," Adora reasoned.
"That's fine by me."
The girls approached the doors and Catra took a few quick steps ahead to grab the door for Adora. She gestured inside with her free hand. "After you."
"What a gentleman," Adora said, laughing.
The girls entered the school and walked up to the check-in table outside the entrance to the gymnasium that was being run by Mrs. Weaver and Ms. Huntara.
"Hey, girls!" Ms. Huntara greeted them loudly as they approached. "Welcome to the dance!"
Mrs. Weaver lurched away and covered the ear that Huntara was practically yelling into. She rubbed at her temples as if nursing a headache.
"Good evening," she said bluntly as she picked up a clipboard and handed it to them to sign in.
The girls were finding their names on the sheet of paper when Mr. Hordak walked out from the gym doors, the sound of music pulsing out from the room behind him. He spotted Adora and Catra and couldn't hide his displeasure.
He walked up to the table and stood behind Ms. Huntara and Mrs. Weaver.
"Welcome, you two," he greeted the girls in a sour tone, a scowl seemingly stuck on his face.
"Sup, Mr. H," Catra replied casually as she signed her initials next to her name. She knew her disrespectful attitude would bug the vice principal and she took great joy in this.
Mr. Hordak grimaced and glared at Catra. "I think we'll start our breathalyzing tests now." He held up a strange looking mechanism in his hand.
"What?" Catra asked, annoyed. "We weren't drinking."
"Well then it shouldn't bother you if I test that," Hordak said sternly.
Adora put a supportive hand on Catra's shoulder and the girl glowered at the man and opened her mouth to complain again when Mrs. Weaver cleared her throat.
She stood up from her chair and turned to face Hordak. "Mr. Hordak, I am simply not in the mood for your pathetic profiling and general immaturity tonight. I'll kindly ask that you leave these girls alone and get out of here before I make a call to my wife and request for the hundredth time that we get a new vice principal."
Mr. Hordak's eyes widened in shock and his mouth formed various shapes as he fumbled to come up with a response. He looked back to Adora and Catra, then to Ms. Huntara who was shaking her head at him, and finally to Mrs. Weaver who was giving him a deadly glare.
Hordak, flustered and embarrassed, turned his eyes from her gaze and walked away, opening the gym doors again and leaving without speaking another word.
Mrs. Weaver sighed and rubbed at her head again as she slumped back into her chair, a grumpy expression on her face. "Sorry about that, girls. Enjoy your night."
Catra and Adora were frozen in shock at the whole event and stared for a moment before collecting themselves.
"Thanks, Mrs. Weaver," Catra said sincerely. Catra was pretty sure it was the first time she had ever said anything nice to the overbearing teacher.
Mrs. Weaver waved a hand. "I was just doing my job."
Ms. Huntara smiled at Mrs. Weaver's response and waved the girls off. "Have fun!"
Catra and Adora walked past the table and entered the gym doors. They instantly heard the pop music playing loudly and looked over to where Mr. Hawk was manning a DJ booth with massive speakers. The lights were all dimmed and the room was mostly lit with pretty fairy lights that hung from the ceiling and were mounted on the walls.
One portion of the bleachers was extended for students to sit on and the majority of the floor was an open space for dancing and mingling. The dance had just started not long ago, so there weren't a ton of people there yet, but there were still quite a lot of their classmates already having a good time. A table along one side had various snacks and treats, including a small chocolate fountain and a punch bowl.
"Woah," Adora said as she took it in.
"Like, 'woah' to what just happened or 'woah' to this place?" Catra asked.
"Both! That was crazy!"
"I know!" Catra exclaimed. "I mean, I thought Mrs. Weaver hated my guts!"
"I guess she just hates Mr. Hordak even more," Adora reasoned. "Hey. Who is she married to?"
"Oh. Her and Principal Hope are married. You didn't know that?"
"I...had no idea," Adora answered thoughtfully, trying to imagine the two of them together.
"Yeah they're a whole family of evil," Catra said with a chuckle. "Except now...I feel like Mrs. Weaver might actually be kinda...sorta...not too bad maybe."
"Well maybe now you'll stop getting detentions in her class," Adora joked.
"Hey, it's been a while since my last! I'm going clean!"
"We'll see," Adora said joyfully. She looked around the gym again, a little overwhelmed.
Catra saw this and took Adora's hand. "How about we go get some punch?"
"I like punch," Adora decided.
"C'mon," Catra said with a giggle as she pulled Adora along. They walked over to the concessions table and Catra began to ladle out some punch.
"What if this stuff is spiked or something?" Adora questioned.
"That only happens in movies," Catra countered. She handed the cup to Adora and went to fill another. Adora sniffed it just in case before sipping from it slowly.
She looked around the gym a bit and got accustomed to her surroundings. She was looking out at the dance floor when she saw two familiar figures heading towards her speedily.
Adora laughed and elbowed Catra, who had just finished filling her cup. "Here comes trouble."
Catra turned and chuckled as Bow and Scorpia caught up to them.
Bow walked up and instantly pointed at Catra's head. "Girl! Your hair looks so good!"
Catra tried to hide how happy this compliment made her, but she couldn't conceal her smile.
"Thanks, Bow."
Scorpia stared at Catra for a moment and then smiled genuinely. "You look really great Catra. And Adora, you look so pretty."
"Thanks, Scorpia. You look great too. You both do," Adora replied.
Bow did a little twirl and showed off his outfit. He had a pink suit on with a lavender dress shirt underneath. He had the top buttons of his collar undone and a red rose corsage rested on his chest. He had also done a little makeup on himself, bringing out his eyes and his lips.
"I swear I was this close to chopping off the torso of this sucker and making it a crop suit. But my dads would have killed me."
"Yeah I don't often see you with so little skin revealed," Adora joked.
"My skin needs to breathe!" Bow proclaimed.
Scorpia chuckled next to him. She had on a long black dress that cut off just below her arms. It was made of a dark satin fabric and glistened a little in the light. Her makeup was all black as well and it contrasted nicely with her silver hair.
"You guys have some killer contrast going," Catra pointed out. "It's, like, jacked goth babe and adorable flower boy."
"That's us," Bow said proudly, holding a fist up.
Scorpia bumped it and laughed. "Yeah this night has actually been pretty great. We went to IHOP."
"Yeah it was great!" Bow said excitedly. "We had a pancake eating competition and I almost threw up!"
"He did. It was hard to watch actually," Scorpia said, a sad look on her face as she relived the memory.
"Well I'm glad you two are having fun," Adora said happily.
"And how was your dinner?" Bow asked. "Was it as dreamy as I pictured it?"
Adora giggled and Catra rolled her eyes.
"It was perfect," Catra answered. "And Adora is an excellent chef."
"Well I hope you liked it cuz I never wanna cook again," Adora said decisively.
"Well I'll just have to cook for you next time," Catra suggested.
Adora looked to Catra and smiled, brushing some hair out of her face. Catra stared back at her.
"Oooohhh, should Scorpia and I give you two a moment?" Bow said childishly.
"Shut up," Catra said with a grin.
Adora enjoyed this moment with her friends and looked around the room. "So what exactly do you do at these things?"
Catra snorted. "You sound like an old lady. You just kinda dance and chill. Or just drink punch and watch other people dance and chill."
"Wow," Scorpia said, whistling softly. "That really does sum it up, huh?"
"Pretty much," Bow agreed. "And I'm one heck of a dancer too. Glimmer and I used to have this routine, right? It was like a co-op dance we made in middle school. It killed at dances."
"I'm sure it did," Catra said with a doubtful expression.
"No really!" Bow exclaimed. "A circle formed around us one time! It was a highlight in my life."
Adora laughed. "Well I'd love to see that."
"I'm not sure I remember it anymore," Bow said disappointedly. "But Glimmer probably does. I'll see what I can do."
"Hey, speaking of," Scorpia said, raising a hand and gesturing towards the doors of the gym.
The group all turned and looked to see Glimmer and Mermista walking towards them. Glimmer looked extremely excited and also like she wanted to scream at the same time. Mermista looked as chill as she usually did.
"Wow," Bow said in admiration. "Our girl looks pretty good, huh?"
"Yeah," Scorpia answered fondly.
Adora nodded in agreement and waved at Glimmer as she walked up to join them.
"Hey guys," Glimmer greeted them. "You all look great."
"You do too!" Bow exclaimed, reaching out and hugging her tightly. "How was dinner?"
"It was really good," Glimmer said excitedly. She looked to Mermista.
"It was, like, really good," Mermista agreed. "And Glimmer's a great date."
"You hear that?" Glimmer asked excitedly. "I'm a great date!"
"Well we coulda told you that," Adora said with a smile, hitting Glimmer in the arm playfully. "And now that you're here, Bow was just telling us about a certain dance routine you two made?"
Glimmer's eyes widened. "You mean the Crack n' Whack?" She turned to Bow. "Is it time to bring it back?"
Bow laughed. "I'm game if you are."
"Oh man, let's go figure it out again! Well...shoot... Mermista are you okay if Bow and I go an…"
"Glimmer," Mermista said, cutting her off. "Go have fun. I'll be here all night." Mermista smiled down at Glimmer and everyone watched as Glimmer practically melted.
"Oh...okay," Glimmer said, a goofy smile on her face. "I'll be back for you! We're gonna dance!"
"I'm counting on it," Mermista said suavely.
Glimmer gave her one last glance and then turned to go to the dance floor with Bow. She stopped after taking a few steps and turned back to where Adora and Catra were standing.
"You guys both look real….uh...cute together...so...that's all." She turned away quickly and hurried off.
Bow smiled at her words and waved to the group before following her.
"Look at that," Adora said, nudging Catra. "Maybe you two will be able to get along after all."
Catra shrugged and took a strawberry from the table behind her.
Adora smiled at Catra endearingly and then noticed Scorpia standing awkwardly off to the side, jamming her fingers together. Adora thought to herself for a moment.
"Hey, I think I'm gonna go talk with Mermista for a while. Do you mind?"
"Of course not," Catra said quickly. "You go have fun. And then come back and we'll eat our weight in this chocolate."
"Well don't eat too much," Adora said with a grin. "I may have plans for dessert after this."
Catra looked both confused and excited. "Well now I'm just excited. You're the best."
Adora just chuckled and squeezed Catra's arm before walking a few feet down the table where Mermista had gone to get some water, leaving Scorpia and Catra alone together.
Adora hoped that the two of them would have an easier time talking things out if she was somewhere else. And she also just wanted to talk with Mermista about Glimmer.
"Hey, Mermista," Adora said as she approached.
"Sup."
"So just between you and me. What do you think of Glimmer. Like, actually." Adora asked, leaning up against the table behind her.
Mermista looked over to the dance floor where Glimmer was currently guiding Bow through some moves. "I don't know, Adora," Mermista said slowly. "I, like... didn't know what to expect at first, but she's...so nice and funny and really cute. And I like her...spunk or whatever. Sorry, is that weird for me to talk about your foster sister like that?
"No, you're fine," Adora assured her. If anything, she was overjoyed that Mermista and Glimmer were getting along so well.
"But yeah," Mermista continued. "I hate talking about feelings and stuff, but basically... I'm surprised by how fun she is. She can get me to laugh which is a genuine challenge. I dunno...I just think she's cool."
Adora smiled up at Mermista as she sipped her water and stared out at Glimmer. "Well that's good to hear."
"So…" Catra said, clearing her throat and stepping a bit closer to Scorpia. "IHOP, huh?"
"Yeah," Scorpia said awkwardly. "I like how they put the little fruit on the pancakes and you can make the face out of it."
Catra snorted. "Yeah. That's... that's cool."
The two stood beside each other for a prolonged moment of silence, both sensing the nerves from the other.
"Um," Scorpia said slowly. "Do you know if Kyle and Rogelio are coming? I meant to ask but, y'know."
"Nah. Dances are too mainstream for them. They said they're having a nice date night at home making s'mores and cuddling and stuff."
"Oh. That's cute."
"Yup," Catra said quickly. She shuffled her feet nervously and began to look around the gym. She wished it wasn't so hard to talk to Scorpia now as she sipped slowly at her punch.
"Cat, look," Scorpia said suddenly, drawing Catra's attention. "I'm sorry."
Catra cocked her head. "Sorry for what?"
"For the whole...thing. For being into you. And just making everything weird."
"Wh…" Catra said in disbelief. "Quit that!"
"What?" Scorpia asked, looking surprised by Catra's sudden outburst.
"You don't have to be sorry for that!" Catra exclaimed. "You didn't make anything weird between us!"
"Well, but I…"
"You can't go blaming yourself for being attracted to someone," Catra said, staring at Scorpia intently. The girl lowered her head in shame. "Sometimes you just meet someone and fall hard. Even if they're not...the most viable option." Catra thought back to meeting Adora and the challenges that had come with that.
Scorpia sighed. "I mean, that's true I guess. I just wish we could go back to how things were. Before... y'know." Scorpia waved her arms, gesturing at everything around them.
"That's super impossible," Catra answered honestly and Scorpia's shoulders sagged. "But...we can always, like, make something better, right?"
Scorpia looked over to her, doubt in her eyes. "But everything is so weird now."
"Well screw that then," Catra said defiantly. "Let's just make it not weird."
"How do we do that?"
"Well...we could start by getting whatever that is off of your dress." Catra pointed her finger to a spot on Scorpia's chest.
"What?" Scorpia asked as she looked down to inspect her dress and immediately got flicked in the nose as Catra swiped her finger up quickly.
Scorpia looked dumbfounded and put a hand to the tip of her nose.
Catra cackled and drew her hand back. "At least that hasn't changed."
Scorpia's shock slowly transformed into a big smile and she began to laugh slowly.
Hearing Scorpia's goofy laugh had always made Catra laugh too and she began to chuckle along.
And then, in a matter of seconds, they were just two idiots, laughing loudly over apparently nothing like the old friends that they were.
"Is it the hand on the waist and then the wiggle or the other way around?" Bow asked Glimmer as they pieced through their old dance routine. The students around them were staring at them like they were crazy, but neither of them cared.
Glimmer put a hand on her waist and did a wiggle. "Oh yeah, that felt right. That was definitely next."
Bow laughed. "Alright so the wiggle. And I know I busted out that worm somewhere in there!"
"I definitely remember you convulsing on the floor, yeah," Glimmer said thoughtfully. "Maybe at the end?"
"That sounds about right. And maybe I can…" Bow trailed off and looked over Glimmer's shoulder distractedly.
Glimmer curiously followed his gaze and spotted Dani Reyes wandering around the gym. Glimmer had never talked to him much, but she did know that Bow seemed to have a thing for him.
Glimmer looked back at Bow with an impish grin. "Whatcha looking at?" She asked tauntingly.
"Nothing," Bow said unconvincingly.
"Sure. Come here," Glimmer grabbed Bow's wrist and began dragging him across the dance floor and over towards Dani.
Bow half-heartedly resisted, but he knew he stood no chance. Glimmer was stronger than him and also a part of him really did want to talk to Dani.
"Gliiiiim, I don't know what to saaaay," Bow whined as Glimmer weaved him through the crowd of dancing students.
"Oh just say something cheesy and sweet like usual," Glimmer said excitedly.
Bow pouted right up until Glimmer stopped and they were face to face with Dani, who greeted both of them.
He had a nice black suit on and he smiled as he looked at Bow. "Hey, guys. What's up?"
"Oh you know, just dance things," Glimmer said excitedly. "Do you guys want punch? I'm gonna go get us some punch!" Glimmer rushed off, leaving Bow behind.
"Oh I already have some…" Dani called after her helplessly as he raised a cup in his other hand, but Glimmer was already long gone.
Bow tittered nervously. "Well, you never know with her. She'll just...up and get you punch. Just outta nowhere."
Dani gave Bow a glance. "So how's your night been?"
"Good! Real good. I'm here with my friend Scorpia. You met her the other day when we interrogated you."
"Yeah that's hard to forget," Dani recalled the event fondly. "That sounds fun, though!"
"Yeah, y'know," Bow said, waving a hand. "So...are you, like, here with anyone or…"
Dani shook his head. "No, I uh…look...don't laugh at me, okay?"
"I don't even know how to laugh," Bow answered quickly.
Dani cracked a smile and then continued. "When you texted and asked if I was going...I wasn't even actually planning on going. I was just watching Netflix. But then you asked and I...I said I was. So I had to throw this outfit together and now I'm here!"
"Woah," Bow said quietly. "Well I'm sorry if I made you feel like you had to come."
"No," Dani clarified. "I wanted to."
"Oh," Bow said, staring at Dani. "Well it's good to see you."
"It's good to see you too, Bow," Dani said with a smile.
"And the fact that you just 'threw together' your whole look right now? I mean props to you," Bow complimented the boy.
Dani laughed. "Well thanks. It's nothing compared to how good you look right now, but it worked in a pinch."
Bow felt his cheeks grow a little hot and he looked to see if Glimmer was on her way back.
"Hey, do you wanna dance?" Dani asked.
Bow inhaled sharply. "You know what? Yes. Yes I do."
Dani smiled and led Bow over to the dance floor.
Watching from the punch table, Glimmer congratulated herself.
Adora eventually caught up with Frosta and saw that she was hanging around with her new friend Holly and a couple of other freshman.
Frosta was clutching a big bottle of soda and Adora could've sworn she was twitching slightly as she greeted her.
"Hey, Frosta! How many of those have you had?"
"Oh hey! Um…" Frosta stared at the half-empty bottle in her hands. "At least three. At least."
"Geez, take it easy!" Adora laughed.
"Adora, I don't think you understand. My parents never let me drink soda. They say it'll rot my mind. That doesn't even make sense! This is my one night. My one night, Adora!" Frosta threw back the bottle and took a big swig of cola.
Adora shook her head. "Well I won't get in the way of your night on the town. How are things going with Holly and her friends?"
Frosta looked over the group, who were dancing nearby. "Better than I thought. I was sorta worried at first and I didn't know any of those people, but Holly introduced me and she's spending way more time with me than those dummies so it's going pretty well."
"Well Holly sounds like a good friend. And y'know, just a little tip, but I think that if you didn't call them dummies you might get along better," Adora advised with a wry smile.
Frosta shrugged. "Hey, man. If someone's a dummy I'm gonna call 'em on it."
"Never change, Frosta."
"Oh I don't plan on it," Frosta said joyfully, taking another gulp of her soda. "Have you made out with Catra yet?"
Adora sighed. "No not yet...er...no. I mean no I haven't."
Frosta grinned devilishly. "You said yet! You said yet!"
"Oh god," Adora muttered as she held a hand to her head, embarrassed.
Frosta did a little happy dance and then patted Adora on the back. "Oh man, you make it too easy. But really, have fun tonight, kid. I'll see ya Monday."
Adora stared in disbelief at the ball of chaotic energy that was Frosta. "I'll see you then, you little punk."
Frosta seemed to like this and smiled before running over to join Holly and her group of friends.
Adora watched after Frosta for a few seconds and was happy to see her getting along with the other kids. Adora was sure it was difficult for Frosta to make friends with her... attitude. But Holly seemed to be a good fit for her. Neither of them took each other too seriously.
Adora felt a gentle tap on her shoulder and turned around to see Catra, a suave look on her face.
"Good evening milady," Catra said with a little bow. "May I take your hand?" Catra stretched out her open palm slowly.
Adora chuckled and placed her hand on Catra's. Catra gingerly wrapped her fingers around Adora's and led her across the dance floor, over to a less populated area. Eventually Catra stopped and turned to face Adora.
"What are we over here for?" Adora asked.
"Well…" Catra said, listening to the upbeat pop song that was playing over the speakers. "Give it a moment." She waited a few moments. "Just a little longer."
Then, after the final note of the song wore out, there was a moment of silence before a slower, more romantic song began to play. Adora noticed people around them finding dance partners and heading to the dance floor.
Adora bit at her lip. "Catra, I... I've never slow danced before. I'm gonna be falling all over."
Catra tugged at Adora's arm and pulled her in close, until their faces were about half a foot from each other. "Not if I hold you close enough."
Adora stared with wide eyes, absolutely transfixed, as Catra grinned.
"You just put your hands up on my shoulders," Catra said slowly, not breaking eye contact.
Adora slowly brought her hands up to Catra's shoulders. Catra placed her own hands on Adora's waist and Adora shivered slightly at the contact.
"And now...we dance," Catra said as she stared into Adora's eyes.
Adora stared right back and began to step with Catra as she swayed back and to the side. Adora wasn't even worried about messing up or looking dumb. The only thing she could think about was Catra. Pressed up against her so tightly. The smell of her cologne filling up Adora's nose.
Adora's breath left her as she marveled at the intensity of her feelings towards Catra right now. Catra spotted the emotions running through Adora's eyes and smiled.
"You're a pretty good dancer for your first time."
"Well...I...have a good partner," Adora said softly.
"Or you're just a natural," Catra countered.
The music played on as the girls moved in small circles, swaying to the beat.
"How did you know this song was coming up?" Adora asked.
"Oh, I asked Mr. Hawk when the next slow song was. Then I stalked you and waited for you to stop talking to Frosta. Then I swept you up and here we are."
Adora laughed lightly. "Well your timing was perfect. And I'm enjoying this much more than I thought I would."
"I thought you'd warm up to it," Catra said with a smile.
They danced a little longer as the music wound on and began to reach its end.
"You ready for an advanced move?" Catra asked.
"What? I don't think so."
Catra smirked. "Just follow my lead."
Adora began to object, but decided just to go with it. As the music built up to a strong finish, Catra pulled Adora even closer to her and then slightly sidestepped. Adora let herself be guided and she felt Catra's hand on her back as Catra lowered her, supporting her back and dipping her down until she was angled and held in place by Catra's grasp. Catra leaned down over her and smiled, the pride flaring in her eyes. The music stopped.
Catra pulled her back up onto her feet and slowly removed her hands from Adora's waist and back.
"Where did you learn that?" Adora asked, impressed that Catra had done it so gracefully.
"Uh...do you want the honest answer or the cool answer?" Catra asked, straightening out her suit.
"Honest."
"YouTube. Learned it last night."
Adora smiled. "Well you learned it really well for such a short amount of time! And you held me like that for a while! We really are building up your muscles."
Catra flexed with both arms and struck a pose. "I could probably flex and rip through this whole suit if I wanted to."
"I would love to see that."
"Oh you would?" Catra asked, raising an eyebrow suggestively.
"I…" Adora felt her face grow red. "I mean...I meant I…"
Catra laughed at Adora's flubbering and was about to harass the girl further when she saw Scorpia running up to them.
"Hey!" She exclaimed, walking up to the two and looking between them.
"Oh no," Scorpia said as she saw the two of them and read their faces. "Did I interrupt a moment? Oh wow, I'm sorry. I really should have, like, approached slower or something. Maybe we should have, like, a system where if you guys are having you time and I'm coming, you just flash me a hand signal. Or maybe we can…"
"Scorpia, you can stop," Catra said with a grin. "You didn't interrupt us."
"Oh that's a relief," Scorpia said with a sigh. "Well Bow and Glimmer wanted me to tell you that they have the dance ready and they're gonna bust it out during the next song. They requested it and everything."
"Well we can't miss that," Adora said excitedly. "Lead the way!"
Scorpia led them through all the students, clearing a path easily with her height and size. She brought them to a space in the middle of the whole dance floor. Glimmer was there talking to Mermista and Bow was talking to a boy Adora had never seen before, but quickly realized must be the Dani she had heard so much about.
As Scorpia walked up to them with Catra and Adora in tow, Bow greeted them excitedly. "Hey guys! You ready for the best dance you're ever gonna see?"
Glimmer slid in beside him. "Yeah, not to toot our own horns, but it is kind of the best dance ever made."
Mermista chuckled at this. "You two are like each other's hype men."
"They do this a lot," Adora pointed out. "It can be a very dangerous thing when they set their minds to something."
"We're unstoppable together!" Bow exclaimed. "Oh and also, guys, this is Dani."
Dani waved and Catra and Adora greeted him.
Catra hadn't been there when Bow was talking about Dani earlier, but she looked between the two boys a few times and smirked knowingly. She shot Bow a wink and a nod of approval and he smiled back at her.
Then the song that was playing began to end and Bow and Glimmer looked to each other and nodded. They moved to the middle of the makeshift circle that their friends had formed.
"This is probably the single most dorky thing I'll ever see," Catra whispered to Adora.
"Aw, I think it's cute," Adora objected with a grin.
Glimmer and Bow both got into position, standing shoulder to shoulder. They waited a few moments for the song to stop and then a new song began to play. It was a hip-hop song that had been big back when Bow and Glimmer had first made this dance.
Bow and Glimmer looked at each other for a moment, waiting for the song to ramp up. Then, the second the song hit its first big bass drop, Glimmer and Bow exploded into action.
They weaved around one another in a fluid motion, before splitting and moving their bodies with the beat of the song. They gyrated their hips and extended their arms in timed motions as they spun back around and switched sides again.
Their movements were actually pretty synced up considering they had just relearned it, and Adora was genuinely surprised at how good they were doing.
She turned to Catra, surprised, and saw that Catra was surprised as well. She slowly began to clap her hands to the beat and Adora smiled and clapped along as well. Scorpia caught on and enthusiastically clapped and cheered them on as the duo continued to dance.
Mermista had a big smile on her face and was watching Glimmer intently as the girl began to pop and lock with Bow.
All the noise brought more students over to watch and soon there was a whole mob of students surrounding a small circle where Bow and Glimmer were still going at it.
The music peaked and Bow dropped to the floor and began to wiggle his body in a decent attempt at doing the worm. Glimmer, above him, whipped her head to one side and began to smoothly moonwalk backwards.
Everyone watching cheered loudly and the rhythmic clapping turned into applause. Adora laughed at the ridiculousness of all this and clapped for her friends.
After a few moments, Bow went limp on the floor and then slowly got up, Glimmer having to help him to his feet. They were both breathing heavily and Bow was clutching his side. Then they both smiled and did goofy little bows.
The small crowd that had formed clapped and dissipated as Bow and Glimmer moved out of the circle.
"Guys that was awesome!" Adora exclaimed. "I genuinely thought it would suck, but it was really fun!"
The two tired dancers shot Adora a grin.
Bow patted his side and winced. "Yeah I wormed a little too hard there at the end, but it was worth it."
Dani came up beside him and put a hand on his shoulder and Bow smiled over at him.
"And, Glim!" Scorpia yelled over the music. "That moonwalk was awesome! How'd you even move like that?"
A cocky smile consumed Glimmer's face. "Oh it's no big deal really. All in the ankles. I could teach you sometime if you want."
"I do very much want that," Scorpia said quickly.
Glimmer smiled and felt a hand clap her on the back. She turned and saw Mermista, who was admiring her proudly.
"That was, like, so cool. The least cringey dance routine I've ever seen at a school dance by far."
Glimmer beamed up at her. "Thanks. We should dance too. But...maybe after Bow and I get some water."
"Definitely," Bow agreed.
At this point, Adora pulled Catra away from the group slowly.
"What's up?" Catra asked.
"Well it's getting kinda late and...I kinda maybe have one more plan for the night if you wanna leave a little early."
Catra squinted her eyes thoughtfully as if she was weighing something out in her head. "Well...hmm...maybe we should have, like, collaborated more, but I may have had a surprise plan as well."
"Really?" Adora asked. "Shoot. Well...what's yours?"
Catra looked horrified at the question. "I can't just tell you! That'd ruin it!"
Adora laughed. "Okay good point. Well mine involves going somewhere. What about yours?"
"Oh this is a fun game," Catra cooed. "Mine involves, like, doing a thing. So how about we go to your place and do my thing?"
"Now that's teamwork," Adora said proudly.
"Heck yeah," Catra agreed. "Now, you wanna get outta here or what?"
"Let's do it."
"Holy cow, my feet are gonna be so sore tomorrow," Adora complained, rubbing her feet in Catra's car as they drove. They were on their way to Catra's house first so that Catra could drop by and grab something.
Catra glanced over to Adora, massaging her bare feet up on the dash, and shook her head. "You absolute animal. Getting your foot juice everywhere."
Adora gasped. "I do not have foot juice!"
Catra laughed petulantly. "Tell that to my dad when I give him the car back and he's like, 'What's all this juice on the dashboard?'"
"Stoooop!" Adora whined as she playfully hit at Catra's arm. "You're such a little jerk."
Catra grinned at this. "Only for you, dear."
Catra pulled into her driveway and parked the car. "But really though, your feet are fine."
"Well it's too late, now I'm self conscious about them," Adora said, feigning annoyance as she put her shoes back on again.
Catra sighed contentedly, enjoying their banter. "Well you can stay in the car and do whatever you want with your feet. I'm gonna grab something. Or several things! Who knows?"
"Wow you're really selling the surprise part of it," Adora said, amused.
"That's the plan. Actually, you should close your eyes until I get back."
"Oh fine," Adora said as she covered her face with her hands.
Catra snickered at the sight of her. "Okay I'll be back."
Catra hopped out and shut the door and Adora was left in the car.
A few moments later, she heard quick footsteps approaching the car again and then heard the trunk open and close.
Adora opened her eyes as Catra opened the door and sat back down. "Did you peek?"
"Of course not," Adora answered. "But I was tempted."
"Well you'll see soon enough anyway. So...where are we going?"
Adora smiled. "Well just follow my directions and you'll figure it out."
"You're real mysterious tonight, you know that?"
"Says the one who made me close my eyes so they could throw something in the trunk."
"Touché," Catra said as she backed out of her driveway and pulled out onto the street.
Adora directed her on where to go and Catra was confused for quite a while as Adora led her through town. Then, when Adora had her turn down a familiar dirt road, Catra suddenly realized where they were headed.
"Are...are we going to the sunflower field?" Catra asked.
"Yup," Adora answered. "I wanted to end the night somewhere special. And where we could be alone."
Catra's expression softened as she looked over at Adora, whose eyes were trained on the road ahead.
"That sounds perfect," Catra said softly. She drove the now familiar route and stopped when her headlights illuminated a hill ahead of them. A single tree graced the top of the incline and it overlooked a long stretch of sunflower fields. It was one of Catra's favorite places in the world, and the fact that Adora had brought her here made it even more special.
Adora popped open the glovebox and pulled out the bag that she had stashed in there when they had left for the dance earlier that evening.
"So the mystery bag is revealed at last," Catra said contentedly.
"Yup. I'll grab those blankets I threw in the back seat."
"Oh that does make sense now," Catra said thoughtfully as she hopped out of the car and helped Adora grab the handful of blankets.
Luckily, the moon was bright tonight so the girls didn't have any trouble making their way around. They walked up the hill and Adora laid out the blanket right in the spot where they had sat last time. The girls sat down beside one another and Adora wrapped the second blanket around the two of them. Their combined body heat warmed them both and Catra pulled her end tightly around her.
"Is it too cold?" Adora asked. "I was worried it'd be too cold for here, but it's so pretty and everything."
"I'm a little chilly," Catra admitted. "But…I'm sure if you scooted a little closer I'd be warmer."
Adora smiled at her comment and obliged happily, scooting closer to Catra until both of their shoulders were touching and the blanket was wrapped all around them like a loose cocoon.
"Much better," Catra said with a happy sigh as she snuggled in closer.
"Definitely better," Adora replied. "Look at the field. It's so pretty in the moonlight."
Catra looked out at the field and saw that it was, indeed, beautiful tonight. The tops of all the flowers were lit up, and while the yellow color didn't show as it did in the day time, they were all covered in a soft blue light. The wind blew and made them all sway in different directions.
They sat and watched the flowers for a while and then Adora pulled over her bag. "Now I did promise you some dessert."
"I was hoping that'd be what was in there," Catra said as she peered over into the bag. Adora pulled out a small cupcake tray that had 6 cupcakes sitting in it.
Catra sat up excitedly at the sight of cupcakes and Adora laughed.
"Now it's really not much," Adora insisted. "But see, I remembered from our detention that you love lemon cake and I thought that was both endearing and gross. So half of these are lemon and then I made the other half chocolate for the normal people. That's me."
Catra laughed, her dimples showing as she smiled up at Adora. "Normally I'd argue with you about this, but I'm just too happy that you actually made cupcakes for me."
"Well it really isn't much," Adora said bashfully. "But I did manage not to burn them!"
Catra grabbed one out of the tin and took a big bite, eating about half of it. She pulled back from the cupcake happily and Adora laughed as she saw a huge glob of yellow frosting on the tip of Catra's nose.
Catra quickly rubbed it off and looked embarrassed.
Adora, seeing her embarrassment, took a cupcake of her own and did exactly what Catra had done, taking a big bite and getting frosting all over her nose.
Catra smiled warmly. "Well it just looks cute when you do it."
"Trust me," Adora said through a mouthful of cupcake. "It looks cute when you do it too."
Catra felt herself practically melt from Adora's words and suddenly felt such a strong surge of passion for Adora. She just had to get it out in some way.
"Adora," Catra said suddenly.
Adora cocked her head and Catra continued.
"Can I do my thing now? I think I'm ready."
Adora nodded. "Yeah of course. Is it the thing in the trunk?"
"Yeah I'm gonna go grab it," Catra said. "You wait here and don't let me talk myself out of it!" Catra got up and started off down the hill towards the car.
"I won't!" Adora called after her. She was excited to see what Catra had planned. She was feeling the strongest mixture of nerves and attraction tonight. Especially now that they were here. This was where Adora wanted to tell Catra how much she meant to her. How badly she wanted to be more than just friends.
Now that it was closer to her having to do it, she was actually super nervous. She didn't think Catra would reject her and they had been flirting back and forth all night, but something about making it all official felt so nerve-wracking.
But just thinking back to Catra holding her so tightly at the dance made her realize that she didn't want anything more than to be with Catra. Really with Catra. She wanted to hold hands in the hallways and have pet names and do all that corny relationship stuff.
Adora made up her mind to open up to Catra right after whatever she was about to do. Then she'd tell her how she really felt.
Adora heard the sound of footsteps behind her and turned to see Catra coming up the hill, still in her suit, but with the bowtie untied and dangling from her neck. She was carrying a big, black bag in her arms and Adora struggled to make out what it was.
Catra reached the top of the hill and sat back down on the blanket, facing Adora and laying the bag down on the ground. Then she unzipped the bag and pulled out her acoustic guitar from inside.
Adora's mouth fell open and she stared at Catra in surprise. "Are you gonna play something?"
"Well that is the plan," Catra said with a grin. She pulled out a pick and began to tune it. "I'm more nervous than I thought I'd be."
"Well it's just me," Adora said comfortingly.
"That's why I'm nervous," Catra said, looking into her eyes. She finished tuning the strings and strummed a few times as warm up. Adora watched on as Catra sat cross-legged and rested the guitar across her lap.
"You can't laugh, okay?" Catra said, pointing a finger at Adora.
"I would never laugh at you! I mean...I do a lot. But not for this!" Adora ensured. "Plus you play so beautifully!"
"Yeah, well…" Catra said uneasily as she shifted the guitar in her arms. "I'm kinda...maybe...adding some words to it this time."
Adora's jaw dropped. "Y... you're gonna sing? You said you never sing!"
"Well not in front of others," Catra said nervously. "And I'm not very good."
"Catra," Adora said, shaking her head. "You could literally sing anything and no matter how bad it was I would love it." She scooted closer and put a hand on Catra's. "It's gonna be great."
Catra smiled at the encouraging words and nodded to herself. "Okay. Okay then. Here we go. Fair warning, it's pretty uh...I mean it's…ah, you'll see."
Catra turned her attention to the guitar in her hands. She couldn't see the strings too well in just the moonlight, but she had played this so many times in her bedroom that her fingers knew what to do on their own. She gave one last look to Adora, who was watching excitedly, a delighted grin on her face.
Then she began to strum slowly on the guitar. Starting quiet and getting louder in a nice sounding chord. She moved her fingers a bit and played out a nice little repeating melody.
Adora watched and listened to the beautiful music as Catra's trained fingers strummed at the strings slowly. Adora thought she recognized it and then remembered it was the same tune that Catra had played for her when she had first listened to her. Just the sound brought back good memories.
And then Catra cleared her throat. Adora watched in silent anticipation as Catra continued to strum the melody. And then she closed her eyes and opened her mouth and began to sing softly, her voice deep and raspy and beautiful as it harmonized perfectly with the notes she played.
"I've always hated love songs
They made it seem unreal
The idealistic romance
And the way it made them feel
Oh, I've always hated love songs
They're ridiculous at best
From the constant fantasizing
To the flutter in their chests
But now I've been thinking
That I didn't understand
Because I had not experienced
The touch of your hand"
Catra paused here and continued to strum the chorus as she opened her eyes for the first time since she had started singing. She locked eyes with Adora and was surprised to see tears flowing from Adora's eyes. The moon glinted off of the tear streams on her cheeks and made them look like little silver rivers running down her face. Catra felt tears well up in her own eyes as she maintained eye contact with Adora and started into the next verses.
"And the sound of your laughter
It could bring me to tears
And the way you're always there for me
To help me through my fears
And all the times I tried to sleep
And all I thought about was you
I know that sounds so cheesy
But I swear to God it's true
The feeling when you look at me
Makes those love songs all sound true
I used to hate love songs
But now I've made one for you"
Catra sang the last line softly and stared into Adora's eyes. They were both crying now as Catra slowly ended the song on a final, beautiful note.
Catra stared at Adora, who almost seemed to be frozen in place and felt such an urge to comfort her. She hoped that her song had somehow conveyed how she felt.
"Adora, you're...I mean you're just so…" Catra stuttered. "I mean...I'm not great with my words, but…"
Adora suddenly leapt forward and grabbed the sides of Catra's face with cold, trembling hands. Catra's eyes widened and as they stared at each other and time stood still, Adora could see the moon reflected in Catra's beautiful eyes.
"I love you, Catra," Adora said softly.
And then she pulled Catra's face towards her own and crashed her lips into Catra's. Catra let out a surprised sound that turned into a quiet whimper and then into a pleasured rumble that sounded almost like a purr.
Their tears, still wet on their faces, combined and soaked their cheeks as Catra pushed aside her guitar carelessly and wrapped her arms around Adora, pulling her even closer and deepening the kiss.
Adora let out a small sound at this and Catra felt her soften in her arms. Adora ran her hands through Catra's hair and felt her brain go fuzzy with desire as all she could think about was the feeling of Catra's lips on hers.
They kissed long and passionately. They didn't feel time pass or even the cold around them. They were only aware of each other and their need to be close.
And then after what felt like an eternity, the kissing slowed and both girls leaned their heads back slightly, breathing heavily and looking at each other with months of unspoken passion burning in their eyes.
"I love you too," Catra said softly.
Adora's face weakened and she helplessly pulled Catra in for another kiss before letting her go again.
They stared into each other's eyes then. Just as they had back when they had first met in Mrs. Weaver's classroom. They thought about how far they had come.
Catra grabbed the blanket and wrapped them both up again like one big caterpillar. This time, they held each other as closely as they could. Then they laid back on the blanket and looked up at the stars together.
"Well, I wanted to say this earlier," Catra said softly, running her fingers through Adora's hair. "But you kinda cut me off."
Adora laughed gently. "I'm sorry. I really couldn't help myself."
"I'm glad you couldn't. I mean that was...wow. But what I wanted to say is just... you're incredible, Adora. I just haven't ever felt like this for anyone before. Not anywhere near like how I feel for you. Since the first time I saw you I just...I felt like there was something there. Between us. And it seemed...I mean it seemed…"
"Crazy?" Adora added and Catra chuckled.
"Yeah, exactly. It's all been so crazy. Every single day since I met you. Crazy but...so, so amazing. And I just...I've wanted to tell you how beautiful you are since I first got to know you. And now I never wanna stop."
"You don't have to," Adora said softly and turned to face Catra as they laid bound up in their blanket together. "Because I wanna be with you for as long as I possibly can. You're so...incredible. I mean, you made this town a home for me. You stood up for me and helped me through so many rough patches. And you wrote me a freaking song!" Adora wiped a few tears from her eye as she remembered the song and Catra laughed contentedly.
"It was all true," Catra said softly. "You turn me into a big sap. A big, cheesy sap. I used to be cool before you showed up."
"Oh sure," Adora said with a laugh as she nuzzled her head into the crook of Catra's arm.
"I was!" Catra protested, laughing heartily. Adora loved feeling the laughs reverberate from Catra's chest against her head.
Catra wrapped her other arm around Adora and they stayed clutching each other tightly.
They laid like that and lost track of time. Reminiscing about how they had met and all the times they had wanted to confess their love to one another. They recollected it all. How they had started as bitter enemies and wound up as friends and then became so much more.
Bundled up together on that hill under the glowing moon surrounded by a sea of flowers, they held each other and marveled over how their love for one other had slowly grown within them. Days at a time.