"Come on! Come on come on come on! I've never seen you in so much as a skirt before, I want to at least see this!"

"Oh man, that's right, you really haven't. The only kind of skirts she wears are those like... calf-length, flowy hippie skirts. And it's the cutest."

"How have I never been able to witness this? Nona, I'm a little upset with you now."

Somehow, it seemed that letting this embarrassing conversation go on any longer would be far worse than just going through with this already. So Nona grasped at the skirts of her potential prom dress and stepped out in front of them with a nervous smile. Of course, they were all smiles and gasps and exactly what she had been expecting. And that should have been a good thing. And it was! But also kind of not. Nona wasn't the hugest fan of being center-stage. Ever.

More often than not, Nona was a leggings-and-Uggs kinda girl. She never wore dresses if she could help it. But then again, it was hard to not feel like a major princess in this get-up. "I'm confused. How come it's a big magical deal getting me in a dress. But Alex has never worn a skirt either and she's going to prom in a freaking suit?"

"Because," purred Clarissa as she stood before her and began playing with her hair just a little bit, "Alex has that whole butch tomboy thing on lock. But you are too precious for words. Besides, I like seeing you get all bashful and girly from time to time."

With a clear head, Nona might have been able to make sense of that, to come up with some kind of counter-argument or whatever. But Clarissa could do this thing where she got all sultry and charming and it completely fried Nona's brain into mush. It was tough to complain about that, though. It was the kind of thing that drew you in and didn't let you go and you loved it that way. "Christ, alright, it's... it's a great dress and I'm totally gonna wear it. Now go, it's your turn!" Nona pushed Clarissa away and took her seat on the little couch thingy next to Alex where they could wait for their girlfriend to try on her own dress. "So it really looks okay? I mean, the color's not too bizarre or whatever?"

Alex linked arms with her and smiled that usual cheeky Alex smile. "We keep telling you, orange is your color! Well, in this case, kinda tangerine sherbet. Whatever. You just gotta learn to own it."

"Yeah, it's important to be confident in yourself when you're doing something strange. For example, taking your two girlfriends to prom?" Clarissa chimed in from her own dressing room before opening it up dramatically and strutting out, full of pride. Her own dress was much sleeker and sexy than Nona's, in a stunning shade of dark blue, and she instantly felt an awkward combination of jealous and turned on. Because she sometimes wanted to be the gorgeous homecoming queen type. But she was dating her instead, which was amazing, and it meant she didn't have to deal with everyone watching her all the time. As if to prove her point and remind her she was already plenty lucky, Clarissa plucked her from the couch up to her feet and twirled her experimentally. "Yeah. Yeah, this is gonna go perfectly. We're awesome. And how are things on your end, Alex?"

The other girl grinned and tilted her head slightly. "It's being tailored as we speak and it'll be ready in plenty of time. Ren's gonna meet all of us at my place, we go get dinner together, and then hit the dance. It's going to be magical!"

Magical was one word. Nona might have gone for 'hectic' instead. There was the three of them, most notably Alex in a finely tailored tux that Michael had left behind. While Nona had been doubtful at first, the moment Alex actually showed up with the fancy suit, everyone agreed wholeheartedly that it was a perfect look. And Clarissa was especially appreciative of the significance behind wearing the same suit that her brother had worn.

Jonas was there, of course, dateless and planning on going stag. He had become popular around school, and by his last count, he had at least five different people he owed dances to. Ren, meanwhile, thoroughly shocked everyone by turning up with his actually-super-real Canadian girlfriend on his arm. She was pretty and articulate and not made up. No one could really seem to wrap their heads around the fact that this was real.

Alex's mom and Jonas' dad had to take like a million pictures. With six of them all needing to get around, they had to climb into two separate cars. Nona didn't really feel like she could catch a proper breath of fresh air until they got to the restaurant. But even then, it was a fancy joint, and they weren't the only ones there for prom night dinner. It was busy with conversation and delicious smells and she and Clarissa and Alex got caught up in flirting. Like when Clarissa extended a piece of marinated chicken to her, or the hunk of chocolate cake she tried and kind of failed to feed to Alex.

All that was merely a prelude to the dance itself, of course. Not one of them had exceptional rhythm by any means, but they knew how to have fun. Even when all they had was hip-swaying and teasing touches, the important part was that they were giggling with delight and enjoying themselves. The first time a slow jam came on, there were a few pairs of eyes on them daring them to figure out how to dance to it. They didn't miss a beat as Alex gently wrapped around Nona from behind and Clarissa wrapped around them both from the other side. It was the best slow-dance she'd ever had. If anyone was as-yet unaware that they were together, there was no question any longer.

Wheelchair girl, as Clarissa had called her (though in fact her real name was Melanie Mars) recognized that Clarissa had effectively stepped down and made room for her as the prom queen. So she felt it was only fair to give best couple "or whatever" to her, Nona, and Alex. The applause they got was impressive, and perhaps for the first time in a while, Nona felt like a kind of normal human being again. But more importantly, the thing that changed, the thing she thought would mark them as freaks, was actually welcomed rather warmly. Clarissa insisted on giving the 'queen' crown to Nona, and the 'king' crown to Alex, which was pretty fitting. She liked doting.

The night wore on and everyone was pretty visibly exhausted. Not only had Alex planned out their night, but she had also gotten them a hotel room. It wasn't fancy, but it was enough for three tired girls on prom night. They had procured themselves some wine – Clarissa refused to say how – and were now undressed, in bed, and drinking. Pretty much like always, Nona was in the middle of the other two, since that was the most convenient and comfortable, and frankly she still had trouble sleeping if she didn't have at least one of her girlfriends with her.

This amount of intimacy was new but not exactly unwanted. The fact that it was prom night and she was drunk were helping Nona to cope a great deal. And it wasn't as if she didn't think about it! It just hadn't come up.

When the wine was gone and there was nothing else to entertain or distract, both Alex and Clarissa turned their attention fully on Nona with wicked grins. She didn't even have long to contemplate precisely what they were planning. One moment they were all just snuggling, the next she had fingers in her hair, a hand at her breast, another hand between her thighs, one pair of lips kissing her, and another at her neck.

Nona was thankful for the kiss, because it helped to cut off what would have otherwise been a rather loud, surprised moan. She did eventually manage to get some air and see that Clarissa was the one kissing her and caressing her chest, meaning that Alex was the one currently... oh... She squirmed and was drawn into another playful kiss as her girlfriends kept right on playing with her for... an impressive amount of time. While she did eventually start to get fuzzy-headed and lose track of time and reality, she was still certain she would remember her prom night for quite a while.