War Paint Chapter 30: Senior Prom, a fosters fanfic

Chapter 30: Senior Prom.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Fosters.

AN: Okay, so somebody sent me a PM asking me if I was still gonna end the story at chapter 30. No. I am not. I know I once said I wanted to make this thirty chapters, but I have rough outlines for the next five chapters at least. Oh, and their senior year will be ending in August in this universe, because of the shooting. Also for the purpose of this story, the dance in last night's episode was moved to their sophomore year, and was just a school dance instead of an LGBTQA prom, and there was none of the drama that happened in the episode.

Connor's POV (The usual):

I knocked on the front door of the Adams Foster house, my dad and mom standing behind me. I was dressed in a black tuxedo with a blue tie and vest, carrying a small box that contained Jude's corsage. This is the first time I've actually got him one. It's a sort of tradition of ours to buy each other gag gifts for big occasions. For example, for our first dance, way back in sophomore year, I bought him a t-shirt with a really bad joke on the front of it. I decided that since it was senior prom, I wanted to do it properly. The night of our senior prom had finally arrived, and I was the most excited man on the face of the Earth. I could see Jax and Daria hadn't arrived yet. Tonight was going to be an epic night. I had a special surprise for Jude.

Our band had been given permission to perform three songs at the dance.

It would be the first time Cold Embrace would perform in front of an audience.

And Jude had no clue we were doing it.

Jax and Daria were meeting us at Jude's house, and we were all going to ride to the prom in Jude's Aston Martin Rapide. It would be the first time since regaining the use of his legs that Jax would walk in view of our classmates. As soon as he was at home, or mine or Jude's house, he would walk. For the last two weeks since the reveal, he had stuck to his wheel chair at school and in public, because he was not strong enough to walk much more than he would at home on a normal day. Even that wasn't easy for him. Since he had spent years in the wheel chair, he had lost a lot of muscle strength in his legs, and as a result he was still weakened, and it would take a lot of time and hard work to build that muscle back up again. He still moved slowly, wobbly, and he had a lot of trouble going up and down stairs, and he had to rest frequently.

After the prom, everybody in the group had rented rooms for the night at the hotel the dance was being held at, the reason for which is obvious. Jude and I rented a room as well, after a lot of discussion with each other and our parents, and decided that we would order room service and just have dinner and watch a movie and cuddle. I didn't expect it to go beyond that, and I was perfectly fine with that.

Jude answered the door, already dressed in his matching tux. I let my eyes wander.

"Wow." I said, "You look great, JJ."

"Thanks." He said, "So do you."

I laughed and bowed my head, staring at him through my eyelashes.

"Even after all these years," He said smiling, "I can still make you blush with just a compliment."

I laughed.

"I hope that never changes." I said.

Jude moved to the side and allowed us entrance. In the living room, Stef and Lena were already lying in wait with the camera to ambush us for photos, which they did immediately. Then my mom and dad started taking pictures. Jude and I grinned and posed for the camera for ten full minutes, before we were rescued by the ringing of the doorbell. Lena went to answer it, and a minute later, Daria entered, her arm around Jax, who shuffled slowly into the room, leaning on a cane in his other hand, with a massive smile on his face. He was so happy that he was crying softly.

I gave my best friend a hug.

"How do you feel Jaxxy?" I asked him.

"I feel like I'm in a dream." I said, wiping the tears from his eyes but the grin never leaving his face, "I can't believe I'm gonna be able to dance at my senior prom. This is a dream come true for me, Cass."

I flicked him the ear for using that name.

"Only Jude can call me that." I said sternly, but with laughter in my eyes.

Cass was the pet name that Jude came up with for me. Since I called him JJ, because his birth name was Jude Jacobs, he called me Cass, since CAS are the initials for Connor Alexander Stevens. I laughed at it at first, and was a bit skeptical since I thought Cass was only a girl's name, but after Jude listed off a bunch of famous guys who had the name, I yielded and eventually grew to like it.

Jax put his hands up in mock surrender, but quickly abandoned the act as he wobbled unsteadily on his feet, and rebalanced himself on his cane. He gave me a sheepish smile.

"All right," Stef said, "All four of you together now."

We stood next to each other as they snapped more pictures.

Ten more minutes of photos followed before we were finally allowed to leave for the prom.

It only took twenty minutes to get to the hotel.

As we walked into the ballroom of the hotel, everybody was milling around. The whole group slipped off to get our prom pictures taken. Ten minutes later, after we were finished, I motioned for everybody in the band to join me on the small stage that had been erected. We walked onto the stage, being led by Jax in his wheelchair.

Jax wheeled himself to the middle of the stage, four feet away from where his guitar stood on its stand. Slowly, he rose from the chair to thunderous applause. I could see some of the girls in the audience, and some of the guys, with tears in their eyes. Jax approached the microphone and leaned in.

"I'm back."

The place exploded.

Jax gave a small bow and picked up his guitar, and I approached the microphone. Jude was standing in front of the stage, looking a bit confused.

"Okay, so. Everybody gonna have a good time tonight?" I asked into the microphone.

Everybody cheered.

"Okay, that's good." I said, "We're gonna start the dance with some live music. This song, is dedicated to my wonderful boyfriend Jude."

Some people in the audience aww'ed, and everybody smiled. In the crowd, I could see Jude watching me with a sappy grin on his face.

"Without you, Jude, I wouldn't be alive right now to be standing up here." I continued, "I love you so much. I tell you this every day. We both have, since about a month into being a couple. We've been through a lot. We've been through the fire and flames, through hate crimes and hails of bullets, and we're still here. We've made it, we've won, and this song's lyrics really reminded me of all we've been through. You've already heard it once, because we covered it a couple of months ago for the second demo, but I wanted to sing it to you tonight. This is 'My Demons' by Starset."

The violins started, and were soon joined by an electronic pulsing sound as I started singing.

"Mayday! Mayday!
The ship is slowly sinking.
They think I'm crazy but they don't know the feeling.
They're all around me,
Circling like vultures
They wanna break me and wash away my colors
Wash away my colors."

The music changed to a more anthemic sound as I charged into the chorus.

"Take me high and I'll sing
Oh you make everything okay, okay, okay
'Kay, Okay, Okay
We are one in the same
Oh you take all of the pain away, away, away
'Way, away, away
Save me if I become
My demons." I sang.

The music slowed back down and I looked out over the crowd to see people bobbing their heads to the music. Jude was quickly making his way onstage to stand by me as I sang. Just as he reached my side, I started singing again.

"I cannot stop this sickness taking over
It takes control and drags me into nowhere
I need your help, I can't fight this forever
I know you're watching,
I can feel you out there!" I sang.

The guitars kicked back in and the drums thundered as the chorus began anew, this time with the audience singing along.

Jude put an arm around my shoulder and nodded towards the microphone, an unspoken question if he could join in on singing. I nodded.

"Take me over the walls below
Fly forever
Don't let me go
I need a savior to heal my pain
When I become my worst enemy
The enemy." Jude and I sang in harmony.

"Take me high and I'll sing
Oh you make everything okay
We are one in the same
Oh you take all of the pain away.

"Isang quietly into the microphone as I stared into Jude's eyes.

We grabbed each other's hands as we sang the last chorus.

As the crowd went crazy, Jude grabbed me in a fierce hug.

"How did you guys get permission for this?" Jude asked.

"Your mom." I said simply, waving to Lena where she stood at the door to the gymnasium, "She even made a request."

"Really? For what?" He asked.

"You'll see. I'm singing it next. I gotta occupy the crowd while they retune the instruments for it." I said, returning to the microphone, "So, how was it?"

The audience responded with applause.

"That's good to hear man." I said, "This next song is a bit different. It was requested by our Vice Principal, Mrs. Adams Foster."

Everybody cheered for her.

"This next one is a slow song, so pull your significant others close." I said, "This a song, that a lot of you might know. This is the Metallica classic, Nothing Else Matters."

Lena walked on stage to give Jude and I microphones that attached to the collars of our shirts. Jax played us in, and I dance with Jude as I sang.

"So close no matter how far
Couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
And nothing else matters

Never opened myself this way
Life is ours, we live it our way
All these words I don't just say
And nothing else matters." I sang, staring into Jude's eyes.

"Trust I seek and I find in you
Every day for us something new
Open mind for a different view
And nothing else matters.

Never cared for what they do
Never cared for what they know
But I know." Jude and I sang together.

"So close no matter how far
Couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
And nothing else matters." Jude sang.

"Never cared for what they do
Never cared for what they know
But I know." We sang together, and we danced together as Austin played the acoustic solo.

"Never opened myself this way
Life is ours, we live it our way
All these words I don't just say
And nothing else matters

"Trust I seek and I find in you
Every day for us something new
Open mind for a different view
And nothing else matters." I sang.

"Never cared for what they say
Never cared for games they play
Never cared for what they do
Never cared for what they know
And I knooooooow, YEAH!" Jude and I sang, before Jax started the final guitar solo. He wasn't moving much, in fact he was standing in front of his wheelchair, and his knees were wobbling as he finished the solo.

"So close no matter how far
Couldn't be much more from the heart
Forever trusting who we are
No nothing else matters." I sang.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jax sit down in his wheelchair, breathing heavily as the song came to an end and the audience started clapping and cheering.

"You okay, brother?" I asked him.

"Fine." He said, out of breath, "Just winded. Haven't stood for that long at a time yet."

"Take it easy bro." I said, before turning back to the crowd, "Okay, HOW WAS THAT?"

Cheers.

"Yeah, you liked that huh?" I said, "That songs a classic, and so is the next one. We're gonna end on a rockin' note tonight. Sung by Mr. Jude Adams Foster, this is Rock and Roll by Led Zeppelin."

Jude let a grin stretch across his face as the drums that introduce his favorite song started thumping and the legendary riff kicked in. He grabbed the microphone by the chord and swung it in a circle, before starting to sing.

"It's been a long time since I rock and rolled,
It's been a long time since I did the Stroll.
Ooh, let me get it back, let me get it back,
Let me get it back, baby, where I come from.
It's been a long time, been a long time,
Been a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time. Yes it has." Jude sang into the microphone, a wide smile on his face as he did.

"It's been a long time since the book of love,
I can't count the tears of a life with no love.
Carry me back, carry me back,
Carry me back, baby, where I come from.
It's been a long time, been a long time,
Been a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time."

Jax was back on his feet as he played the solo, bobbing his head as he did, his long hair flying all over the place.

"Seems so long since we walked in the moonlight,
Making vows that just can't work right.
Open your arms, opens your arms,
Open your arms, baby, let my love come running in.
It's been a long time, been a long time,
Been a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time." Jude sang.

As Castor did the drum fill, and Austin did the guitar part that ended the song, the crowd was cheering, and Jude was laughing.

I stepped back up to the microphone.

"Alright. That's all we got for tonight. We're turn the music to our DJ. Enjoy the rest of the dance."

We all stepped off the stage to applause and cheers.

We danced for hours, Jude and I. We danced wildly on the fast songs, and held each other close as the slow songs played.

The final song we danced to was also the first song we ever danced to. An acoustic cover of 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody". I pulled him close, and we rested our heads on the other's shoulders just like we had that night in sophomore year.

"I remember this song." He said.

"So do I." I said, "This was the song for our first dance."

I kissed the side of his head.

"How far we've come since then, huh?" I asked.

"Yeah." He said, "We've been through the fire, and we've fought and won everything we've got. Tonight, I'm the happiest man alive."

As the dance came to an end, Jude went and got our change of clothes from the trunk of his car before we get off for the elevator to head upstairs. We walked out of the elevator and walked down the hall to the room. I inserted the key card into the door, and pushed it open.

It was a nice room. Nothing like the one we shared in Vegas, but a nice room nonetheless. The first thing we did was change out our tuxedos and into our more comfortable cloths. We decided to forgo room service, since neither of us really felt hungry. Instead, we curled up on the bed and held each other. My eyes were closed, and his head rested on my chest.

"Connor."

"Yeah Jude?" I asked.

"I... I think..." He started to say, but had trouble getting the words out.

"What is it JJ?" I asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He said, "Nothing is wrong."

"Then what is it?" I asked, caressing his hair.

"I... I think I'm ready."

"Huh? What do you mean?" I asked him.

"I'm... I wanna... I wanna have sex."

My eyes flew open and I sat up and stared at him in unabashed shock.

My mind was blank. I couldn't have heard that. Jude did not just say that, he couldn't have.

"What?" I asked dumbly, not believing my ears.

"I wanna have sex." He said.

"Tonight?" I squeaked.

"Yeah."

"As in, right now?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sure?" I asked him, "We don't have to if you don't want to."

"I do." He said softly, "I've been thinking a lot about it since Vegas. And I think I'm finally ready. The thought doesn't scare me anymore. As long as it's with you... I'm ready."

I wrapped him in a hug, and a few tears fell.

"Why are you crying?" He asked me gently.

"It's just..." I said, sniffling, "This means you've finally put what happened behind you. It means you've recovered. I'm happy for you, Jude."

He smiled a small smile.

"Yeah." He said, "Any hold that slime had over me is broken."

"Are you sure about this?" I asked him again.

"Yeah. I am." He said.

"Did... did you bring anything with you?" I asked, now nervous, "Like, protection and stuff?"

"I brought some condoms." He said, blushing heavily, "And, uh, lube."

"Okay." I said, blushing even harder than him, "Um, how do you wanna do this? Do you wanna... bottom? Or top?"

I could feel my face burning from the intensity of the blush that painted my features.

"Um... top, at first at least..." He whispered, his blush intensifying as well, "If that's okay with you."

"Yeah. That's... that's fine." I said, "Whatever you want. We go at your pace. Like we always have."

I stared into his eyes, the pupils of which almost eclipsed the brown of his eyes.

"Are you absolutely sure about this?" I asked him again.

He nodded, taking a breath, before leaning in and kissing me.

After a few moments, he pulled away.

"It's with you." He said, "And with you, I know I have nothing to be scared of. I never will have to be scared again. I want to do this. It's not just sex, it's making love. And there is nobody on Earth that I love more than you."

He gave me another kiss.

"I'm ready." He said.

And so he was.

And so, we finally made love.

And it was perfect.

AN#2: And Jude's rape arc finally, truly, comes to a complete close. As usual, please leave lots of reviews. I've only been getting one or two for the last two chapters, it's kind of disappointing. Oh, and the songs used in this chapter. The first song is Starset's "My Demons", a song which was recommended to me by the user narutokid16, and is a song that I have fallen absolutely in love with. Look it up on YouTube, it is definitely worth the listen. The second song is Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters". The final song is the Led Zeppelin classic, "Rock And Roll".