"He asked you to homecoming?!" Hana gushed. Aradia had never seen her stepmother so excited about anything, while Damara simply glared at her from across the table. Aradia assumed nobody had asked her yet, which, while it was understandable for her to be upset to not have a date to her last homecoming, Aradia thought was not worth being a poor sport over. Homecoming was not a big deal to Aradia, and she probably would not have gone at all had Sollux not asked her out. Hana was utterly beaming. "Aradia, Damz, we're going dress shopping!" Daniel groaned from the other room, hiding himself behind a newspaper in his lounge chair. It was rare that he heard the girls talk about "girly shit", but when it did happen, he shut every word of it out.
"Um, yeah, we can go dress shopping," Aradia agreed, her lack of enthusiasm hardly dampering Hana's. Damara groaned.
"Okāsan wa, watashi wa doresu no kaimononiiku shitakunai. Dare demo damu dansu ni watashi o tazuneta," she pleaded.
"Damara, don't be silly. Go to the dance and spend time with your friends." Damara responded with a roll of her eyes. "Now let's go! We have to get you girls looking nice!"
"Wait, we're going right now?" Aradia quipped. "Can I bring Feferi along? I'm sure she's looking for a dress as well."
Hana glanced at Aradia, still donning a giant smile. "Of course! The more, the merrier!" As kind as it seemed, Aradia felt there was something about the Peixeses that Hana didn't care for. The three girls climbed into the car, Aradia taking the back seat behind Damara, who kept her earbuds in the whole time. It was unclear whether she was actually listening to music or feigning it to eavesdrop, but for once, Aradia didn't care. Aradia texted Feferi the situation as they pulled out of the driveway, and she said she'd be ready whenever they arrived. For the first time in a while, Aradia felt pretty damn happy about something. It was exciting that Hana was taking them shopping. It was exciting that Aradia would get to spend the afternoon with Feferi as well, and it was exciting to be going to the dance with her friends, but mostly that Sollux had asked her in a very date-like manner, even if that meant he'd have to deal with her father.
Hana pulled in to Feferi's driveway, and the tan girl hopped into the car with them.
"Hey Aradia!" she exclaimed, pulling her friend into a hug. That was the thing everybody liked about Feferi. She was always full of bubbly happiness, and it drew lots of people towards her. "Hi Damara, hi, Miss Megido!" Aradia gave a small laugh of a sigh and leaned back in her seat.
When the four girls arrived at the mall, it was with excitement and smiles. Even Damara seemed to perk up a bit at the prospect of finding a nice dress to wear to homecoming. Feferi grabbed Aradia by the hand and darted around the mall walkways, oozing happiness at all the window displays.
"Ho my gosh, Aradia, that would look so pretty on you!" Feferi exclaimed, pointing at a stylized bomber jacket in the window of Forever 21. Aradia felt her face flush a bit.
"You think so?"
"Duhhhh. You're like, super-pretty, Aradia. No wonder-" Feferi seemed to catch herself saying something she wasn't supposed to, and swallowed the trailing thought back. Aradia furrowed her brow, but gave it no further thought.
"Alright, girls, we came for homecoming dresses," Hana said, putting a hand on each of their shoulders. She steered them towards a specialty dress shop, Damara trailing behind her. The store was astounding, dresses of all cuts and shapes hanging from the walls and racks, organized by color. Once again, Feferi was overcome with joy at the sight of all the frills and gems and genuinely gorgeous dresses, though she focused mainly on the bright pink ones. Within ten or fifteen minutes, Feferi had gathered several dozen dresses to try on, while Aradia mulled over some red ones more slowly. Most of the dresses were on the shorter side, and while that felt appropriate for a dance like homecoming, at least in Aradia's perspective, she wasn't quite comfortable enough with herself to wear dresses quite that short. With an overwhelming amount of hesitation, Aradia pulled a longer dress off the rack, and mulled over a few others. Damara also lingered among the red dresses, though she'd already pulled a few off for herself. She glanced towards her stepsister, who was clearly having a hard time deciding on a dress. Damara grabbed a couple longer dresses, then tapped Aradia on the shoulder.
"You try these," she muttered, thrusting the dresses towards Aradia.
"Um. Thanks…" Aradia murmured, before both girls proceeded towards the fitting room, where Feferi had been for quite a while.
"Aradia, I can't decide!" Feferi shouted. Aradia stifled a laugh.
"Well, I can't really, either," Aradia answered. "How about we show each other the next ones?"
"Alright. I'll be ready in a minute."
"Okay. Um, Damara, did you want an opinion on anything?"
"Yes, I come out too."
Aradia took a small breath as she stepped into her next option. It was one she'd picked up herself, though it didn't look fantastic on the rack, but as she pulled it on, Aradia fell in love with the dress. It had a single thick shoulder strap that fell into an asymmetrical neckline, and the skirt that attached at the waist was slightly pleated, with a waving pattern that fell to the floor. In a split second, Aradia had made up her mind, stepping out of the dressing room.
"Feferi, you have to see this," she said, her voice weighted with happiness. Feferi stepped out of her own room, her eyes lighting up.
"Aradia! Get that dress! Please!"
"Only if you get that one," Aradia agreed, nodding at Feferi's current choice. It was a short, strapless pink dress with its top bejeweled and its bottom covered by poofy tule twirled into giant flowers. It showed off Feferi's legs, which were not only long but also muscular, in an incredibly flattering way. Feferi smiled at her friend.
"If you insist!"
Damara then also stepped out of her fitting room, a pleased smile plastered across her face.
"I get this one," she said, showing off a tight strapless black dress. Its skirt puffed out a bit beneath the red sash tied around the middle.
Once the three girls had decided on their dresses, and shown their selections off to Hana, they paid for them and left, heading to the food court for lunch. Feferi waved her mother's credit card around like it was nothing, and bought herself an expensive few sushi rolls, which she offered Damara a few bites of, while Aradia, Damara and Hana just got Hot Dog on A Stick. It wasn't a favorite to any of them, but Aradia didn't mind. At least the fries were good. As they all sat around a small table, Feferi began talking about her homecoming plans.
"Aradia, I'm having everyone come to my house before Homecoming to take pictures. You should come too! I mean, Sollux said he would ask you if you wanted to, but I'd really like you to go as well!"
"Wait, the dance is this Saturday, right?" Aradia asked. "As in, a week from yesterday?" Feferi nodded.
"Yeah, and we're all getting dinner before too. Or at least, that was the plan, but I think everybody is okay with that."
"Who's all going?"
"Tavros, and I think he invited this girl Jade. He meant it as a date, but you know how he is, and then she asked if her other friends could come along so… Tavros, Jade, and John, Rose and Dave I think? Then Sollux and you, I hope, and Karkat, who I think is 'going' with Terezi. Nepeta and Equius, Kanaya, Vriska, Eridan's coming with me, and Gamzee. The whole gang!"
"Wow. Sounds… fun," Aradia said. It did, but the sheer number of people would make pictures a damn nightmare.
"So you'll go?!"
"Of course, Fef. If you insist."
"Yay! Damara, you should come too! My sister is having everyone from your guys'es class come over beforehand, too, but we're eating at different restaurants."
"Include Horuss and Rufioh? Pass," Damara snarled. Hana nudged her shoulder, and Damara let out a loud groan. "Fine. I go. Though not a fan of Meenah either. Feferi shrugged the second comment off, knowing her sister could be a bit brash.
Aradia drudged her way through another week of school, but for once she did so with cheer. Jade and her friends had slowly drifted towards Aradia's own friends during lunch, and the 12 integrated to become 16, and occasionally, 19, with the addition of a Jake, a Jane, and a Dirk. She thought it odd how all her friends somehow had siblings that were also all the same age, but it wasn't an important detail to dwell on. Soon, Saturday came, and Aradia spent a good two or three hours just prepping herself. It was rare that Aradia wore makeup, but this was a special occasion. Hana helped her arrange her thick mess of hair into a wide braid that flowed down her shoulder, and another, smaller braid that laid across the top of her head like a hairband. She shaded her eyes with a red eyeshadow that faded to brown on the outside, and applied a thin amount of eyeliner. The finishing touch, in Aradia's eyes, was a bright red lipstick. It made her eyes pop, or at least that was what Hana said. Finally, in her new dress and a borrowed pair of small, black heels, Aradia was ready to go. She waited for Damara to finish getting ready so they could both go to the Peixes' house at the same time, even if that meant suffering through Damara's driving.
Aradia sat at the kitchen table waiting for Damara to finish herself when her father entered the room. He saw her as she looked up at him, and a soft smile fell upon his face.
"That's my girl," he muttered. Never one to get emotional, Daniel excused himself into the other room as Hana came down the stairs with her camera. She began buzzing around Aradia like a fly, the camera flash going off every few seconds before Damara came running down the stairs after her. Aradia thought her stepsister looked gorgeous, keeping a red theme throughout her makeup, but also embracing her ethnicity with the style of it. Her hair was twisted into a small bun at the back of her head, but other than that, kept perfectly straight.
"Mama, stop with the camera," Damara said, Hana playing keep-away-the-camera with her. Damara rolled her eyes, then turned and slipped an elbow around Aradia's, pulling her backwards towards the door. "Fine, come. We late."
"Wait!" Hana called, "I want a picture of you two together." Damara turned around and gave a plainly fake smile long enough to satisfy Hana's photo-taking itch, then drug Aradia out to the car. It was clear Damara wasn't thrilled about the situation at all, but she knew she could handle it. She always handled it, though the quality of her "handling" varied. It usually depended on who you asked.
Luckily for Aradia, Feferi didn't live very far away. Damara's haphazard driving skills and disregard for basic safety always resulted in quite unpleasant drives. Aradia leapt out of the car as quickly as she could manage to, and darted to the front door, which had been left slightly open. Aradia let herself in, quickly spotting her friends in the backyard. They were carefully arranged a safe distance from the large pool, so Aradia slipped out the glass door separating inside from outside and joined them, creeping in next to Sollux.
"Hey you," she said, gripping his hand with a bit of a smirk. Sollux jumped.
"Oh, Aradia! I didn't see you come in," he said. He smiled widely at her, his eyes shining with happiness. Aradia smiled back for a brief moment, before noticing his eyes, a surprisingly dull brown when compared to his usual dynamic, oddly-colored eyes. Her smile vanished.
"Sollux, are you wearing colored contacts?"
"Um… yeah. Do you like them?"
She couldn't answer right away, trying to formulate an answer before opening her mouth.
"I… always like your eyes, Sollux," Aradia said, looking away to prevent him from seeing her blush.
"Oh…" was all he managed to spurt out before both of them focused back on the horde of parents taking pictures. So many pictures. Pictures of the group as a whole, pictures of those going as a date, pictures of siblings together, pictures of the boys and pictures of the girls, an hour and a half just of pictures. When it was finally said and done, Feferi and her friends split off from her sister and her friends, each group caravanning to the restaurant of their choosing. Naturally, Feferi chose a seafood place.
Dinner was loud and crowded, but Aradia managed to have enough fun, though she still wasn't driven to talk to any of her new 'friends'. Sitting between Tavros and Sollux was just fine with her, though Tavros was distracted by Vriska most of the evening. Before too long, the group headed over to the high school for the dance itself. Aradia thought it was a bit lame to have the dance in the high school gym, but the school didn't have enough funding, or enough that was allocated for anything other than athletics, so it was what it was.
Aradia had never seen anything like it. A mob of students jumping and throbbing to the beat of the music echoing through the room, the floor vibrating, pumping with the bass. A small smile came across her face as she pulled Sollux by the hand into the mosh of people. The two danced to the beat for hours, occasionally being joined by the others, bumping and jumping. While Sollux took a break, Terezi jokingly grinded on Aradia and the two laughed once the song ended, Vriska cackling somewhere nearby. Everyone came and went, having a good time as they did so.
Aradia rejoined Sollux after that song, taking a break with him and sitting in the chairs. There was a glass of punch waiting for her.
"Did you get this for me?" she asked Sollux as she took a seat next to him.
"Mhm. Thought you might be thirsty after all that dancing."
"It is pretty warm out there."
"Mhm…" Sollux's voice trailed off, his gaze focused on Aradia. He struggled to keep his toothy smile hidden, attempting to keep his braces out of sight. Aradia giggled.
The two of them just sat and talked for a while, enjoying each other's presence. Eventually, Aradia cleared her throat.
"Do you want to go dance again?" she asked.
Sollux let out a small sigh. "Nah, I'm all good on the crowd-surfing front," he muttered. "A little too busy out there for me. I think I'm done dancing for the night."
"If that's the case," a gruff voice came from behind Aradia. She saw Sollux's distinct grimace, "might I enjoy a dance with the lady?" Aradia turned. Standing behind her in a deep blue dress shirt and slim black jacket was none other than the frighteningly tall Equius Zahhak. She tilted her head sideways. Sure, she and Equius were friends, or at the very least, shared friends, but this seemed really out of character for the boy. Disregarding this, Aradia gave a small nod and took to the dance floor with him, looking back at Sollux, now in a disgruntled slump in his chair, and mouthed, 'I'll be back soon' to him.
Equius was surprisingly graceful for his size, twirling Aradia to the pop music. She spun and whirled and laughed with him, finding herself having an unexpectedly good time.
"I couldn't help but notice you tonight," he said in his low voice. Aradia looked up at him. "You look quite stunning in that dress, if I may say so, Miss Megido."
"Wow. Um, thanks," she said. It was a nice compliment, but Aradia found it a bit off-putting nonetheless. Perhaps that was because she found Equius a bit off-putting. Their dancing only lasted a few minutes, and when the song ended, Equius gave a gracious 'thank you', and stalked off into the crowd, presumably to find Nepeta. Aradia returned to the table where she and Sollux had been sitting, as the DJ announced he'd soon be playing a song suitable for a slow-dance. As nervous as she was, Aradia wanted Sollux to slow-dance with her, but he wasn't at their seats. She furrowed her brow for a moment, but decided to sit and wait. He was easily the person she had the most fun with, and she thought it silly to get lost on the dance floor with everyone else and make him look for her among the crowd when she returned.
Footsteps came behind her. Aradia stood, expecting it to be Sollux. Instead, when she turned, she saw the angry face of Damara. Before she even had a moment to react, a harsh hand struck her face, leaving it stinging.
"You dance with Zahhak boy?! Stay away from Zahhaks…they bad news," Damara shouted over the pounding music, and stormed off without another word. Aradia stood by the table alone, holding a hand to her wounded cheek with tears forming in her eyes. Everything seemed to fall to silence around her until she felt a hand on her shoulder and was shaken back to reality.
"Aradia? Aradia, are you okay?" Sollux said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "Did something happen? Come on, let's go sit outside." Her legs moved stiffly as he tried to walk her towards the door, and then the tears overflowed. Through her own crying, she managed to stammer out a few short sentences.
"Damara just… Sollux, sorry, I- I have to go."
