The moment I made the doc for this chapter, I thought, "God, I'm really writing another school dance."
Ad-Jacin-t to You: Part Four
The moment everyone met at school and saw each other in their glam, it was endless selfie-taking with the glitzy setting of their school gymnasium. Stars littered the ceiling, looking like a night sky in the dark lighting with few light beams from the ground to help. Painted above the stage where the Star Kings and/or Queens will be announced. Some parts of the wall off to the back were painted in various shades of blues, pinks, reds, greens, golds.
Never did anyone think nebulas would make great photo backgrounds. Poses, hugs, and kisses. Stories, boomerangs, highlights. Couple shots and group photos when they managed to drag someone over to take it. Dropping photos in the group chat. Early discussions on whose posting which photos despite still having a night of dancing and crowning later.
Iko and Kinney definitely got a spam of photos from Winter and Cinder, mostly Winter. Scarlet even sent some to Émilie. All got excited praise and a stream of emojis (not from Kinney who only gave a solid thumbs up).
"Do you know what we need right now?" Winter asks, lowering her phone. "Group hug!"
"Aces, can we?" Cress begs.
"I should've stayed home…" Jacin mutters.
-o-
The boys weren't surprised that Jacin was the most talked about within their classmates. They knew that would happen since he didn't go to the school and was Winter's date and long-distance boyfriend from Luna. However, as they knew, he showed up in his cadet uniform. The fancy Andromeda Academy uniform. Sharp tie and fancy medals on the chest pocket, mostly school achievements since he didn't actually serve (yet). That didn't matter to anyone in Commonwealth since medals are medals and they just look accomplished and important. They ressemble a couple at a military ball.
"He and Winter look unbelievably good together that they couldn't be real people," Thorne states.
He, Kai, and Wolf are off to the side by the punch bowl. Scarlet and Cress went to the bathroom to freshen up before dancing and Cinder felt obligated to join them. Winter was chatting with some classmates with Jacin by her side.
"I thought we agreed that Lunars aren't real," Kai jokes, glancing at Wolf who's standing right next to him. "You included."
"Then have fun dancing with your invisible girlfriends," Wolf says.
"Stupid military suit," Thorne mutters, glaring at Jacin. "He'll win this for sure. It's like everyone forgot I went to that school for a year."
"We did."
Thorne mocks him which makes Wolf laugh.
"He'll probably be written in as Winter's Hot Boyfriend," Kai says, "or Cadet Stud, as I've heard people address him."
"He doesn't even go here!" Thorne yells.
-o-
Andromeda Academy didn't have school dances like this since they didn't fit in the military school curriculum. It's not that Jacin really minded. He couldn't picture himself going, especially since Winter wouldn't be there. Like stars, he'd go alone or under Iko's orders. Dances are kind of lame. The music is way too loud to hear anyone talking, and everyone is killing time until the after-parties, where they can let loose without teachers watching them.
May the stars help him if Winter wants to go to an after-party. Stars help him indeed.
All he's liked so far about the dance was holding Winter's hand and seeing her in her gorgeous dress. In that order. They'd send each other selfies and pictures over the course of their long-distance relationship cursed with time differences and an ocean in between, but physical contact and intimacy don't come often. When they do, he never wants to let go.
When he feels Winter's hand slip out of his from behind, he reaches back to grasp it. She holds on for a second before letting go. Jacin turns around to see what's going on only to see her grinning on the dance floor.
"I just wanted to see what'd you do," Winter says, linking arms with him before holding his hand again.
"I thought someone was taking you from me," Jacin says. "I'm not being possessive but I didn't fly here to watch you dance with someone else."
"I wanted to see if you noticed and if you didn't, to see how long it would've taken for you to notice that I vanished."
"So this was an experiment to test my love for you?"
"A success."
"In that case," Jacin holds her hand up as if he's about to kiss it. He rubs his thumb over her empty ring finger. "I won't be asking for your hand in anything."
"Please," Winter says with a sly grin. She switches the way their hands are locked so that it's like she's about to kiss his. "You'll stay by my side the whole time, aren't you?"
He switches their hands again. "You're my date, Trouble, I'll always remain adjacent to you … and I don't know or care much for anyone else here but you."
Jacin kisses her fingers, right on her empty ring finger with a teasing grin as he kept eye contact.
"Don't forget to vote for your Star Kings or Queens!"
Winter jumps a little at the sudden announcement. Still holding Jacin's hand, he didn't break character but isn't amused at the interruption.
"Oh my stars…" Winter mutters, taking a breath. "Did we vote?"
Jacin shrugs. "I don't know about you but I was busy participating in selfies at your request."
Winter nudges him. "Oh, stop."
"Not a chance, Trouble. I'll vote for you."
"Well, who else would you vote for? Maybe Cinder just so you could see her be all embarrassed and annoyed as they put a crown on her head."
"You know me so well. I'm voting for you and Cinder."
"I love you too."
As of now, they didn't care about Star King or Star Queen. They never spoke about the far future, barely the near future, but they knew that one day, they'll be husband and wife.
Ah, yes, our sweet Jacinter. We get a lot of that in this arc.
So the results of my long-awaited poll for the Star Kings and/or Queens will be announced in two chapters. A lot of people voted and I will happily give a small story of the vote progression when we get there. For now, let me know who you think won because I guarantee you that you won't guess correctly.