Happy 4th birthday to this story, I type as I start this chapter in January 2021.

Anyways, we're finally at the arc with the school dance where we will see the results of the poll I've been asking about for the past two years. The outcome isn't what anyone expected, making it even better.

Don't come after me about the arc name. It'll make sense later. (Jacin and Kai's names are the hardest to work with.) Without the name pun, it reads as "Adjacent to You." I really tried for this one.

Ad-Jacin-t to You: Part One

"That's so cute!" Winter nearly screeches, grabbing Cress's phone.

With the dance around the corner and confirmation from all parties that they will be attending, all that was left to do was prepare and wait for the big night. The girls were hanging out in Winter's room, going over their gowns and glam for the night, more so Winter and Cress. Scarlet and Cinder were scrolling through social media posts while sitting on Winter's bed.

"Thorne will die when he sees you in this!" Winter says, pinching on the screen to zoom in on the dress's details. "I have heels that could go with it perfectly."

"Oh no…" Cress mutters, taking her phone back. Her cheeks redden at the idea of heels so she can't imagine standing and walking in them. "I'm not wearing heels."

"It's not like you'll be taller than Thorne in them," Scarlet scoffs, getting nudged by Cinder who laughs in agreement.

Winter and Cress, despite agreeing since Scarlet's not wrong, ignore her and continue looking at their phone while chatting about shoes, hairstyles, and makeup looks for their dresses.

"Ah well…" Scarlet mutters.

"So!" Cinder exclaims in a fake chipper voice, smacking her hands on Scarlet's knee to get her attention. "Tell me about your dress!"

Scarlet bounces her shoulders in excitement as she plasters an oversized grin on her face. "Well, my package arrives Monday since I couldn't be bothered to shop in person."

"Same!" Cinder drops her fake persona but can't stop smiling about it. She and Jacin browsed through bougie boutiques when she picked him up from the airport but they both wanted to leave the moment they walked into the perfume-scented shops so she resorted to shopping online with Iko (who was more than excited to help Cinder with fashion).

"What about you?" Scarlet asks. "Are you even wearing a dress?"

Cinder scoffs since she knows Scarlet knows the answer. "Not a chance."

Winter leaps on the bed, starting them. "It's actually a really cute pantsuit-jumper dress but not-dress that Iko found. Show them!"

"I was about to."

Cinder shoves her excited cousin off as she picks up her phone again. She pulls up her order information to show off the dress to Scarlet and Cress who obsess over it, even Winter who acts like she wasn't a part of the shopping process.

"Best part about this is the pockets," Scarlet says.

"Right?" Cinder exclaims. "That was the selling point!"

-o-

"You didn't bring a suit?" Wolf asks Jacin in disbelief as they along with Thorne and Kai walk through the freshly plowed town on a chilly afternoon after class. The three except Jacin were still in their school uniforms. "You could wear that white shirt you made me bring home. I haven't touched it. I think it's still in my suitcase so it'd be wrinkled at most."

"Kinney and I said you could use that for your wedding," Jacin says.

"What?" Thorne and Kai said as they turn around since they were walking ahead of the other two. They don't remember a wedding being mentioned from the stories of their recent trip to Luna.

"Ignore him," Wolf says, glaring at Jacin who's grinning.

"I packed my military uniform," Jacin says, "it has badges and everything."

"I'm not even going to ask why you brought your school uniform when you weren't even going to school and not a suit when you knew you were coming to a dance."

"Homesick." Jacin looks down dramatically but really because he stepped on a rock as he continued walking. "Cinder asked but didn't ask the same thing when she got me."

"Spades…" Kai mutters when he realizes Jacin would be the only guy at the dance in a military uniform when he and the others will be in black tie. "He'll steal all the votes for Star King."

Thorne scoffs. "Please, we all know that title is mine and I will tear it from his head."

"I will vote for Jacin just to watch that," Wolf says, laughing at the thought of Thorne even trying to get close to Star King Jacin.

Jacin nods. "I'd vote for myself too just to see that. Do I even get a vote?"

"I think you can vote at the dance since you're Winter's plus-one," Kai says.

"Nice." The plan to win solely for Thorne's reaction has commenced. In reality, he won't do anything.

"How do you know the rules?" Thorne asks Kai. "What are you, school president?"

-o-

Once the others had to go home, Jacin returned to the Blackburn mansion. Thorne dropped him off since it was along the way despite him wanting to walk, but he didn't regret it when he walked up the driveway to see a delivery man about to knock on the door. Jacin waves him down to spare him the knocking and signs for the package. He isn't sure what it is but is intrigued when he sees that it's for Cinder.

Jacin walks inside and isn't sure if he should call Cinder if she's even home. Still, what would it be? Jacin lightly shakes a box. It's nothing fragile or heavy.

Jacin heads into the kitchen to put it on the island and tell Cinder about it later. As he places it on the marble countertop, he notices Levana look up from her phone at the mysterious package. He can tell by the pointed eyes darted on the box combined with the slim silence between them.

"When did that get here?" Levana asks.

"As I was walking up the driveway," Jacin responds. He takes a breath, eyes not leaving the box. "I signed it though so does that count as a claim of ownership?"

"I don't know the specific criteria for federal law with the postal service," Levana mutters, pursing her lips, "but once it's on our property, it's ours, right?"

"You were the one who went to law school."

Levana rolls her eyes. "Barely, and there was no chapter on the postal service."

"You know, in the time we spent on this conversation, we could've opened it."

As if on cue, Cinder stampedes down the stairs and charges for her package, snatching it from the counter and hugging it in her arms. Winter saunters down behind her, wrapping her arms around Jacin once she approaches him. He kisses the side of her head as he looks at Cinder glaring at him and Levana while being protective over her mysterious package.

"I got the notification someone signed for it, you vultures," Cinder says.

"I thought it was coming next week," Winter says.

"So. Did. I." Her gaze still sharp on Levana and Jacin.

"Open it!"

Cinder tears through the cardboard and tosses the perfume-scented tissue paper, throwing it in the air like confetti. Once she has the package in her hands, she tosses the box on the ground and unravels what she bought. Winter cheers as Cinder holds up a form-fitting black bodice jumpsuit with cut-off ankles, and a lacy sheen top that make up the sleeves.

Levana eyes it when Cinder turns to show her what she plans on wearing to the dance and she nods approvingly. When she turns to Jacin, he fails to process how Cinder with the messy ponytail and dirty sneakers would ever pull that look.

"I love it!" Winter exclaims.

"At least Kai won't have to worry about matching," Jacin says.

"Only breathing!" Winter starts taking photos of Cinder and her bodice.

"Don't send that to the boys!" Cinder yells, trying to swat Winter's phone away.

"Relax, it's only going to Cress and Scarlet. If they send it out, then that's beyond me."

"Winter!"

There may have been a hint at a season 3 arc in there.

I'm happy to announce that I have two arcs banked so we'll be updating weekly again! I'll post the next chapter this coming Saturday since that became our Selfie Day. The school dance won't be the last chapter of this arc. I won't make you wait ten weeks for it. The dance starts in part three.