Author's Note: And now we're to part 2 of my new-found AV High Prom Obsession. Enjoy!
Also, I'm so sorry I forgot to post on Friday! School has gotten really crazy lately and it just completely slipped my mind. But I figured I post today because it's Valentine's Day and this is romance central! :D
"You see the advertisement in the school newspaper?" Diggle mentioned casually to Oliver as they sat buried in SAT Prep books on Friday afternoon.
Oliver laughed. "You read the school newspaper?"
"I do," Diggle replied, unashamed. "I find that it's a great source of what's going on currently at our school. I'm not like your sister. I wasn't born just automatically knowing everything about everyone."
"She was born like that," Oliver agreed vehemently. "I remember this one time when she was seven and she came home on the first day of school and basically gave mom the life story of every single person in her class."
Diggle snickered. "Anyway," he said after a moment. "I just asked because the ad was about Thea. And Iris and Sara. They're going to be holding these... free prom consultations so that guys struggling with what to do for their girlfriends or crushes or whoever can get some help. And I was just wondering if you saw because I thought that you might need that help."
Oliver sat up, his mouth falling open. "Hey!" he cried, affronted. "I don't- I don't need romantic help from my sister." He paused. "I get it from you."
"True," Diggle agreed. "So you've figured out how you're promposing? I don't mean to put Felicity into a box, but she seems like the kind of girl who'd want her man to put some work in."
"I know," Oliver said with a faint groan, resting his head back against the side of his bed. "I've... thought about it, definitely. Looked up a lot of ideas online. I just don't know how to make it special to us. I mean, I really like Felicity, Dig, but our relationship has been kind of... slow. We're both pretty focused on other things."
"And that's fine," Diggle reminded him. "As long as you're both okay with that."
"We are," Oliver replied. "But it means that, even though we've been together for quite a few months, we haven't had all that many experiences together. I mean sure, we go on dates and stuff but we haven't really had a defining moment that I can draw from for a promposal."
"So... maybe just do some romantic stuff?" Diggle suggested. "Roses, write a poem..."
Oliver made a face. "Dude, you want me to write a poem? You've seen my attempts at poems. I would burn her eyes out."
"It was either that or I suggested you write her a song."
"Yeah, then I'd burn her ears," Oliver rejoined. He let out a groan. "Man, if I mess this up it could end up ending very badly for me. Maybe I should ask my sister for help after all?"
"I'd pay to see that," Diggle grinned. "I mean, I'm sure that Thea would actually be overjoyed to help you. She's really rooting for you and Felicity."
Oliver made another face. "You guys talk about my relationship with Felicity? That's not weird at all."
"Oh, we talk about you two all the time," Diggle told him. "With Laurel sometimes, too. Your ship name is Olicity, in case you were wondering."
"It's all I've ever wanted to know," Oliver deadpanned.
They were silent for a moment, then he spoke up again. "So, who're you going with?"
"Liyla," Diggle replied casually.
Oliver's eyes bulged. "Like... Liyla, the object of your romantic attractions for two years, Liyla?"
"That's the very one," Diggle answered, still very casual. "And I'll have you know that I already asked, and she already said yes. And she's gotten her dress."
"That's early."
"Girls have a thing about that," Diggle said with shrugging. "I don't think anyone really knows why."
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James and Winn had their almost-weekly video game hangout that weekend, but Winn immediately noticed how quiet James was being.
"Hey man, what's up?" he asked, pausing the game so neither of them died (that is to say, virtually died), while they were talking. "You're not yelling at the screen like you normally do."
"Nothing, I'm fine," James deflected. "Could we just... not play a fighting game right now?"
"A- huh?" Winn wrinkled his nose, bewildered. "Man, we always play fighting games. What else do you wanna do? Just Dance?"
James lips twitched, but he sobered up quickly. "I don't know, Winn," he said, throwing his controller down on the cushion beside him and resting his head back against the couch. "I just... I don't really want to think about wars right now."
It finally clicked in Winn's brain, and he promptly shut off the video game. "Is this about your dad?" he asked in concern. "Is everything okay?"
"No," James admitted and glanced over at him with a sigh. "He found out from his commander that he's not going to be home for my graduation." He reached up and rubbed at his face with his hands. "I guess I wasn't really expecting him to be able to, but it's just... it just sucks, you know? This is probably one of the biggest moments of my teenaged life, and he's not going to be there."
"Man, I'm so sorry," Winn muttered, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"I shouldn't be complaining though," James said with a strained laugh. "At least my dad isn't, well..."
"A psychopathic killer?" Winn supplied.
"Yeah."
"Yeah," Winn echoed, pushing his hand through his hair. "Then again, maybe he really has changed. If he doesn't manage to get himself locked up again, he might actually be at my graduation." He paused, considering. "Honestly, I don't know if that's a good thing or not."
James blew out a breath. "It's just... it's hard, you know? Not just him not being home. And not coming home for so long. I mean, he's not in a super dangerous spot right now but things... things happen. My mom and I have to sit at home waiting for the day when a random guy from the military shows up and says that my dad is dead. It could happen, Winn. It does happen."
"I know man, I know," Winn said, his face falling.
They were silent for a moment.
"Sorry to bring down the mood like that," James said with a sigh.
"Hey, no worries," Winn reassured him, shaking his head. "I know that a lot of times, high school friendships -especially between guys- are all about goofing off and joking around and talking about, like, girls and the gym and stuff. But I dunno... I think that, for a real friendship, you need to be able to talk about serious stuff sometimes. Stuff that you don't talk about with just everyone."
"Stuff like your dad being in jail or possibly dying out in Afghanistan?" James supplied, the corners of his mouth lifting.
"Exactly," Winn agreed. "I mean, you were only the second person I ever told about my dad being in prison. The first was Kara, because she's... well, she's Kara. But I dunno, man. You're my best friend."
James looked incredibly touched. "Thanks man," he replied. "And, for the record, you're my best friend, too."
Winn grinned. "Good," he said. "I'm glad to hear that."
"And with that said..." James went on. "I do need some girl advice."
"Ooh, I love these conversations, too," Winn admitted, repositioning on the couch so he was more comfortable. "Hit me with it."
"So, Prom is coming up," James said. "And everyone's been buzzing about promposals. Obviously, Kara Danvers is a thing of the past for me-"
"Mood."
"Yeah," James laughed. "But I've been getting to know this other girl, lately, who I'm considering asking to be my date."
"Who?" Winn demanded.
James took a breath. "Lena Luthor," he said, and awaited Winn's reaction.
It took him a second. "Ohhh- oh! Like that girl who runs the school newspaper? I think she's a friend of Kara's and Brainy's."
"Yeah," James agreed. "We've been... getting closer, lately. I do the photography for the newspaper, as you know, and so we've had to work together. I really like her, Winn. She's focused and down-to-Earth and brilliant, not to mention absolutely gorgeous. But I already made things in the newspaper room seriously awkward by telling Kara I liked her... what if the same thing happens with Lena?"
"It's always possible," Winn said, shrugging. "I mean, everyone's like, 'fall in love with your best friend' but in reality that means you'll always be worrying about whether you'll ruin your friendship by taking things to a romantic level."
James frowned. "I think it's... marry your best friend, Winn."
"Yeah, well nobody's marrying anyone right now so I was adapting it to high school," Winn explained.
"Gotcha," James said. "So, what's your answer? Do you risk the friendship?"
"Here's how I see it," Winn replied. "If you have feelings for your friend and you don't act on them, you are going to spend your entire friendship wondering if if you made a mistake. You are going to second guess every decision and regret your choice because you'll never know what could have happened. So I'd say be honest with Lena. if you think you could have a relationship and that the logistics would work and everything... tell her how you feel and just... see what happens."
James nodded, stealing himself. "Okay," he decided. "I guess I better think about how I'm going to do this."
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"LADIESSS!" Thea squealed into the phone as soon as Iris and Sara joined the group FaceTime call she had started.
"THEAAAAAA!" Sara mimicked in an almost-perfect impression. "Wussup?"
"We have our very first applicant for our how-to-prompose assistance!" Thea replied excitedly.
"Who?" Iris demanded, peering into the camera on her phone. "Who who who?"
"Mon-El," Thea answered, glee in her voice. "Mon-El wants help to plan the perfect promposal for Kara. Are we in?"
"Is that even a question?" Iris asked incredulously. "Of course we're in! So how're we doing this?"
"I'm going to set up an after-school meeting. We can talk over a snack at Jitters and help Mon-El generate some ideas," Thea said. "You guys free Monday afternoon after school?"
"Yep," Sara replied, and Iris confirmed her availability, too.
Before long, more requests for promposal assistance were coming in. So far, Thea, Iris and Sara would be meeting with Mon-El on Monday, Maggie on Thursday, Oliver (to Thea's absolute hilarity) on Saturday, and Brainy on Sunday.
Mon-El was early to his appointment and already had a table and a croissant when the girls arrived. They quickly crowded around the table and took their chairs, laying down bags and notebooks and jackets.
"Let us begin," Thea said, folding her hands in front of her. "Do you have any ideas on exactly where you want to begin, Mon-El?"
"Yes," Mon-El replied, looking a little awkward. He picked off a flake of his croissant and ate it. "Um... do you guys want to get something to eat first, though?"
"We're fine," Iris said, answering for all three of them. "Go on?"
Sara, who had the best handwriting, raised her pencil and readied herself to take notes.
"I want to do something Beauty and the Beast themed," Mon-El began. "You know, she was Belle in the school play and then we've also watched the new live-action movie on dates like, multiple times. That's about all I got, though. See, if I was a girl then I'd dress up like Belle and hold a sign but there is no way I'm doing that. And having Kara dress up like Belle wouldn't make any sense. So... ideas?"
"Let's look up the songs in Beauty and the Beast," Thea suggested, pulling out her phone.
"You don't even need to look them up," Iris countered. "The only ones that would make any sense is Something There or Tale as Old as Time. I mean, our other options are basically Belle's introduction song, Be Our Guest -which the Beast isn't even in-, that one with Gaston, the one from the movie where the Beast sings about losing Belle, and... yeah. Those don't make any sense."
"Fine," Thea relented. "I'll look up lyrics, then. Either of those jump out at you as preferable, Mon-El?"
"Guhhh..." Mon-El floundered. "Probably Tale as Old as Time, right? I mean, we're not starting a new relationship."
"True," Sara agreed.
Iris looked thoughtful. "Mon-El... how's your singing voice?"
"My- my what?"
"Your singing voice," Thea repeated, catching on to what her friend was saying. "How would you feel about a good old-fashioned hallway serenade for Miss Kara Danvers?"
Mon-El gulped. "I dunno, guys..." he said, looking anxious. "What if I, like, voice crack? Or forget the words?"
"I can almost 100% guarantee that Kara would find that adorable," Sara told him.
"And what about everyone else in the hallway?" Mon-El asked, wrinkling his nose.
"You don't have to do it if you're not comfortable," Iris told him. "But, personally, I think it'd be really sweet. Unless you're tone-deaf."
"I'm... not," Mon-El winced. "But I'm not really a singer. I mean, my shower head has been supporting my musical career for years, but..."
Sara let out a laugh. "Same," she said, grinning. "For the record, I think it's a great idea. And I think Kara may just die. In a good way, of course."
"Alright, alright," Mon-El said, letting out a deep sigh. "I do kind of like the idea. I'll make a sign this weekend and do some practicing and then I'll make a complete fool out of myself on Monday."
The girls' next meeting was with Maggie. Thea, Iris and Sara got there first that time, and actually got some snacks while they waited.
"Thanks for meeting me, guys," Maggie said with a smile once they were all settled. "Normally I'd come up with this kind of thing on my own, but Alex deserves a solid display of romance and... that's not really my forte."
Thea nodded her understanding. "We're happy to help," she told Maggie, with complete honesty. In truth, this little side-gig was the highlight of her life at the moment. "We always begin by asking our clients if they have anything specific in mind already. So... any ideas?"
Sara hid her grin behind the notebook, trying not to laugh outright at the impression Thea was giving off that they'd done this more than once already.
"Ummm..." Maggie looked around her for inspiration. "I don't know... I mean, our relationship really started when I came to her house after the school shooting and told her how I felt-"
"I'VE GOT IT!" Thea cried. "What if you don't do your promposal in school? What if you recreate the moment you told Alex about your feelings for her? Like, show up at the same time, throw pebbles at her window, the whole shebang? And then she goes outside and you're standing there with a sign asking her to prom."
"Love ittttt..." Iris groaned.
"That's really good," Maggie admitted. "As long as her mom doesn't kill me for showing up in the wee hours of the morning. Again."
Sara laughed.
"What should I do for a sign?" Maggie wondered. "We both love Bare Naked Ladies, so maybe something with that?"
"Gotta say, I have never listened to them before," Thea admitted. "But I'm sure anything you come up with will be great... just as long as you don't show up at her house as a literal bare naked lady."
"Thea!" Iris cried, scandalized.
"I'll keep that in mind," Maggie told her, smirking.
Oliver came next. Iris and Sara just ended up coming to the Queen's mansion, where they were met with a delighted Thea and a sullen Oliver sitting in the living room.
"This is going to be interesting," Iris muttered to Sara as they took their seats.
"True that," Sara snickered.
"Hi girls," Thea said, barely sparing her friends a glance. "I was just trying to get Ollie here to tell us if he already has anything in mind for his promposal."
"And I was just trying to tell Speedy here that no, I don't, or why would I have wanted to do this?" Oliver replied moodily. "Not that I actually wanted to do this. Diggle just thought that it was a... good idea."
"Yeah, you don't want to mess this up," Iris agreed bluntly. "Well, when we talked to Maggie and Mon-El, they both went with things that had a lot of meaning to their relationship. What's something that comes to mind when you think of your and Felicity's relationship? For example, I always think of hot cocoa when I think of Barry and me, because we've happened to have that drink during so many of the big moments in our relationship, like our first kiss."
"That's the problem," Oliver groaned. "I can't think of a single thing. We don't have a- a theme like everyone else does. I get her roses, I guess, but that's so- so-"
"Basic?" Thea supplied.
"Yeah," Oliver sighed. "I mean, even our dates are kind of just... random. We usually watch movies or go to lunch or something. We decorated cookies and went skiing once."
"If it makes you feel any better," Thea said. "Roy and I don't really have a thing, either. The most monumental moment in our relationship was that time that he saved my life and broke his wrist. If he tries to recreate that for a promposal... I'm going to be very concerned."
"Len and I's thing is that I'm an assassin or a ninja and he's a crook," Sara said with a grin. "Because we've called each other that ever since we went as those things for Halloween."
They were all quiet for a moment, considering. Then Thea let out a sigh. "I really don't know, Ollie. I'm sorry."
"I thought you guys were supposed to be helpful!" Oliver cried, throwing his hands in the air.
"Well I'm sorry if you and Felicity don't have anything in your relationship that I can work with!" Thea rejoined angrily.
Sara winced. "Uh oh."
Oliver got to his feet, glaring at Thea. Then, without a word, he turned and strode off to his room.
Thea crossed her arms. "Jerk," she muttered. "Let's hope Brainy goes better than that."
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Brainy met them at Noonans for his consultation, mostly because Thea, Iris and Sara were sick of Jitters (until next week, when they'd be craving scones again). He looked surprisingly calm when he joined the girls at their table, and neatly folded his hands in front of him.
"I have been doing copious internet research on how to properly execute a promposal," Brainy said. "That being said, I haven't yet found something that fits Nia perfectly."
Sara took her turn in leading the discussion. "What's special to Nia and your relationship?" she asked. "That's what we've been asking everyone. Is there anything specific, like an inside... something that you think of when you think Brainia?"
Brainy smiled. "That is our ship name, correct?"
"Nailed it in one," Sara replied. "So, what do you think?"
Brainy looked thoughtful. "Well, there have been multiple times in our relationship that I've become so flustered that I automatically start speaking in Spanish. I'm worried that that may happen when I try to... prompose, and am wondering if I should just incorporate that."
Iris frowned quizzically. "How so? Like, ask her to prom in Spanish?"
"Indeed," Brainy agreed.
"What if she doesn't know what you mean?" Thea asked, her lips twitching a little.
"Then I will translate, of course."
Sara laughed a little. "I don't know why you need us," she said. "You seem to have this all figured out."
"It just... doesn't quite feel like enough," Brainy replied dejectedly. "To create a sign with "will you go to prom with me" in Spanish? Mon-El told me that he's planning on putting on a full musical rendition of Tale as Old as Time for Kara's promposal."
"My idea," Iris said, holding up her hand smugly.
"I see what you're saying," Sara told him. "I think you just need to ask yourself... is Nia the kind of girl that needs something big? That wants something big? Like, if my boyfriend Leonard did this grand gesture it would honestly make me uncomfortable. Some girls might just want to be asked. I'm not saying Nia is definitely one of those girls, but I think you need to figure out whether she is or not."
Brainy nodded. "Understood," he confirmed, looking thoughtful. "Thank you for your help, Promposal Queens."
Author's Note: AHH THAT WAS FUN!
Also if anyone knows why girls need to get their prom dresses so early please lmk because I'm a girl and I went to prom and I still do know why XD