Chapter 17

Mortal prom was nothing like any event at the Academy. For one thing, no one was naked. Some of the dresses the teenage girls wore came close, but still extremely far from the leather corset bound witches of the Academy of the Unseen Arts. Then there was the theme. Witches and warlocks had "themes," but nearly every dance or ceremony within the coven was about one of two things: sex or death. Tonight, Baxter High was celebrating "Under the Stars." The concept was a bit lost on Nick. The irony that they would be celebrating inside a hall decorated to simulate a night sky when they could just walk outside and be under a starry sky did not go unnoticed, but Nick kept his mouth shut. It was his friends' rite of passage, much like the Lupricalia was for his kind.

He would give it to the mortals, they did a pretty good job decorating. Black drapes covered the ceiling. Fiber fillings spray painted black and blue on the bottom and wrapped in fairy lights hung from the drapes, mimicking a cloudy, yet starry twilight. Dark blue, white and gold balloons were tied together and wrapped columns as you entered. The tables were draped in a black tablecloth with chairs in a white seat covers tied with a gold ribbon surrounding each table. White plates sat on a larger gold plate on the table with a folded black napkin on each setting and a name card in front of each setting. Little confetti stars were tossed on the tables. The centerpieces were small lanterns with tea candles burning inside of them. A long card holder rose just above the lanterns, holding a white card with a number written on them.

The numerous other details told Nick that this senior class wanted this dance to be as memorable as possible. When the group found their table, the men pulled out the chairs for their dates, waiting for them to sit before taking their own seats. That's when it became painfully obvious to everyone that there was an odd number of people at the table, one dateless person.

"Well, if no one noticed I was the fifth wheel before, they will now," Theo half-joked.

"Theo, you are not a fifth wheel. We're all here to have fun," Sabrina smiled as she put her hand on Theo's.

"Yea, and I'm sure there are a lot of people going stag tonight," Roz added.

"And you know Roz and I each want a dance with you tonight. I'm sure these guys will get tired of us and need a break at some point." Roz nodded in agreement with their friend.

"Guys, really, it's fine," Theo insisted. "You guys should be having fun with your boyfriends tonight. I'll be fine. Who knows, maybe whoever is sitting with us will wanna hang out and dance." He reached over to pick up the namecard in front of the setting beside him and his face immediately dropped.

"What's wrong?" Nick asked.

Theo held out the namecard to Harvey. When he saw the name, he started to frown as well. "Aw man," Harvey sighed.

Before they could tell their friends who was on the namecard, a group of guys on the wrestling team started to pass. Among them was the owner of the sixth chair at their table - Billy Marlin. He was laughing and playfully shoving his friends as he approached the table. His playful mood quickly vanished when he realized where he was being seated. Everyone at the table looked up at Billy. He mostly received angry glares, except from Theo who gave almost a sad look and Nick who looked at the larger man knowingly.

"Dude, they stuck you with the Losers Club," Carl laughed.

Harvey moved to get to his feet, anger filling him and prepared to fight if he needed to. Nick reached over the table and pulled him back into his seat.

"Harvey, let it go," Nick said calmly. "They're not worth it."

"We aren't worth it?" another one of Billy's friends snapped. "Who is this jackass?"

Nick just glared at the group. "Billy, maybe you and your friends should find somewhere else to sit. We don't want anyone saying anything we'd regret."

Billy looked at Nick quizzically at first, but panic quickly rose to his face. "Let's get outta here," he said, motioning for his friends to head to another table.

"What the heaven was that about?" Sabrina asked.

Billy looked over his shoulder and back at the warlock. Nick just stared right back, almost daring the athlete to come back and say something. "Nothing," Nick replied. "Sometimes we play chicken to see who will flinch first."


Sabrina couldn't help but laugh as she and Nick danced to Walk the Moon's "Shut Up and Dance". She hadn't seen him have this much fun in months. Perhaps even before he was dragged to Hell. But today, Nick was all smiles and full of laughter as moved to the music with his girlfriend. Today they were a couple of kids living a normal life.

"I can't believe you know this song!" she shouted over the music.

"I don't live under a rock, Spellman," Nick laughed. "I own an iPod."

She rolled her eyes. "I know you do. I'm just saying, this isn't something I thought you would be into."

Nick just shrugged. "It's just a fun song. Call it a guilty pleasure."

Sabrina laughed as she rolled her eyes at her boyfriend. The song came to an end and the next song started to play, she watched his face for a reaction. Nick made a face as the crowd of teenagers erupted in cheers. He looked down at Sabrina as if asking her to let him in on some secret the mortals were in on.

"Ok, you can't tell me that you know Walk the Moon, but not One Direction," she said in disbelief. He just shook his head. "Nick!"

"IT WASN'T ON THE LIST!" he laughed out loud.

Sabrina shook her head with a smile as she grabbed his hand and continued to dance with him as "What Makes You Beautiful" played through the speakers. Nick loved watching her as she excitedly danced to the song. He looked around confused when everyone started jumping and shouting the lyrics as the course came about.

"Come on, Nick. This is just as fun as the last song." Nick took a deep breath and let out a long sigh as he took Sabrina's hand and spun her into his arms, dancing with her to the pop music. "You don't like it, do you?"

Na-na-na, na-na-na, na, na, na

Na-na-na, na-na-na

Na-na-na, na-na-na, na, na, na

Na-na-na, na-na-na

Nick just smiled at Sabrina. "Honestly? I don't care. All that matters to me is that I'm here. With you. Everything else is background noise."

Baby, you light up my world like nobody else

The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed

Sabrina smiled up at her boyfriend as tears started to fill her eyes. Some people would feel overwhelmed by the things Nick did to prove his love - not there was a need to. Sabrina knew how much he loved her. She felt his love in the depth of her soul and she never wanted to let that feeling go.

But when you smile at the ground, it ain't hard to tell

(You don't know, oh-oh)

Nick could stare at her for hours. She had been all he wanted for the last few years and he knew she would be all he wanted…all he needed for the rest of his life. He reached down toward her face, tucking her hair behind her ear before leaning down to kiss her.

You don't know you're beautiful

The crowd around them erupted once more, singing at the top of their lungs and jumping up and down, but Nick and Sabrina didn't notice any of it. The music was a sound in the distance. Time stopped as they poured every emotion they had into the kiss they shared. When they finally pulled apart, all they could do was smile. Nick held Sabrina close, pressing his forehead against hers as the song came to an end.


Theo watched his friends on the dance floor from their table. He had been dancing as well, but decided to take a break after a few songs. The two couples unintentionally started to split off from the group of five, leaving Theo on his own. He wanted to think that it didn't bother him, but it was hard. He was still figuring things out in his life. He knew who he was, but it didn't mean he knew what he wanted. Did he want to have a girlfriend or a boyfriend?

If he was being honest, he had interest in both men and women. Nick had told him once that sexuality was fluid and in a town like Greendale, that concept was not only foreign, but not spoken about. The warlock encouraged Theo to be open about it.

"Date women. Date men. I have," Nick said casually. "Theo, you won't know what you want or enjoy until you try it."

"It's not that simple. Especially not in Greendale," Theo sighed.

"Then go outside of Greendale. You have your entire life ahead of you. Don't let this place define who you are. Don't let it trap you."

"Are you? Trapped, I mean. Do you feel trapped in Greendale?"

"Hey," a voice called, snapping Theo from his thoughts. He looked up to see Billy standing in front of him. "You ok? You looked a little lost."

"I'm fine," Theo snapped back.

Billy nodded. "Do you mind if I sit here?" he asked, pointing to the chair beside Theo.

"Aren't you worried your friends will see you?" The smaller boy's voice was dripping with sarcasm.

The blonde looked behind him at the dance floor. "Nah, they're all out there." Theo huffed in disgust. "Oh, wait…no. That's not what I meant."

"Do what you want, Billy. I don't care." Theo got up from his chair and pushed past Billy as he headed for the exit.

"Wait, Theo wait!" Billy started to follow after his friend, staying several steps behind.

"Go away, Billy!"

"Can we just talk? Please?"

"No. I'm not interested in being friends with someone that doesn't want people to know that they're friends with me."

"Theo, it isn't that simple."

Theo stopped in his tracks, turning so quickly on his heel Billy almost ran into him. "But it is Billy. You don't care if people see you hanging out with Carl or Harvey or anyone else on the basketball team."

"Theo…"

"Stop saying my name! You, Billy Marlin, do not deserve to say my name. You tormented me when I was Susie. You made my life hell."

Billy looked around nervously, noticing people were starting to stare. "Hey, take it easy."

"Why? Because you can't have people seeing you talk to me? You know, I thought you changed when you broke your leg. I thought he's not that bad, but deep down inside, you're still a homophobic, transphobic JERK!"

The subtle sound of whispers surrounded Billy's ears. There was a crowd forming now, waiting to see what he would do next. He was not just hurt by Theo's words, he was pissed off. His blood started to boil as he clenched his jaw and one of his fists at his side. Before he knew it, he was closing the gap between him and Theo. What he did next would have ramifications that would turn his life upside down. But there was no stopping now. He was already on course. Good or bad, he was going to have to face the consequences.


Sabrina smiled to herself as she stared out to the dance floor. Nick had said he needed to use the restroom, so she took the opportunity to sit and rest her feet. Tonight had been everything she thought it would be and more. She was having an amazing time with her friends and boyfriend. She was hoping to talk to Theo and apologize for drifting from their group to be with Nick. She thought she had seen him at their table, but that was some time ago and now the table was empty.

Honestly, she hadn't really had a chance to talk to Theo the last few weeks. With her Aunt Hilda's wedding quickly approaching and between classes at Baxter High and the Academy, what little free time she had was spent with Nick. She spent a lot of time with Harvey and Roz as well since Nick lived with Harvey, but Theo wasn't always too keen on hanging out with the two couples as they made out. She made a mental note to be sure that they hung out more this summer before everyone went off to college.

Sabrina suddenly noticed Roz pushing through the crowd as she ran toward the exit. Her face was distressed and she could tell her best friend was on the verge of tears.

"Roz!" Sabrina could faintly hear Harvey call. He was trapped in the sea of people on the dance floor, unable to get to his girlfriend.

Sabrina rose to her feet and made her way toward her best friend, falling behind quickly as other people blocked her path. She stepped outside into the hall and looked around for Roz. She couldn't have gotten too far. She finally spotted her down the long corridor in the direction of the bathroom. But she wasn't alone.

Even from where she stood, Sabrina could tell Roz was in hysterics. She was making hand motions frantically as she spoke. Nick stood in front of her, listening to whatever it was she was saying with a face full of concern mixed with sympathy. Suddenly, his expression changed. He looked shocked, questioning whatever Roz had just said. Sabrina could make out the next words that escaped Nick's mouth: Are you sure?

Roz covered her face and nodded. Nick stood there in shock as Roz moved forward and cried into his shoulder. Confused or shocked, Nick slowly put his arms around her to comfort her.

Sabrina wasn't sure what she was feeling. She wasn't even sure what was going on, but whatever it was, it couldn't be good.

"Brina!" Sabrina turned to see Harvey running in her direction. He stood by her with his back to Nick and Roz. "Hey, Brina, have you seen Roz?"

She stared blankly for a moment before shutting her eyes for a moment. "Is everything ok?"

"I don't know. One minute we were dancing and having fun, then she just ran off. I tried to catch up with her, but I lost her in that crowd." Harvey noticed that she wasn't paying attention to him and just stared past him. "Sabrina?" He started to turn to see what she was looking at, but suddenly stopped when something else caught his eye. "Theo!"

Harvey moved Sabrina out of the way and took off running. When Harvey shouted, Nick's head snapped up. Fear spread across his face, he said something to Roz and just like Harvey, took off running. He turned his head as he passed Sabrina, unsure if or how much of his interaction with Roz he had seen. He looked as if he wanted to say something, but he didn't have the time. He had to get to where Harvey was running. She turned as he passed, keeping her eyes on him as long as she could.

"Sabrina!" Roz called as she ran up to her friend's side. Her eyes were still a little red from crying. Sabrina couldn't help but just stare at her friend, wondering what had just happened between her and her boyfriend. "What's going on?"

"I'm not sure," Sabrina managed to reply. "Harvey and Nick just took off in that direct…"

That's when she saw Theo on the ground with a group of jocks hovering over him.


***Author's Note: Sorry guys, I know this segment is kinda long. It'll be done in another chapter or two. Let me know if you guys are still interested in this story and if I should continue. Welp, til the next chapter!