"Oh, good. You guys are finally here." Mary smiled brightly at you and Troy as the two of you walked over to the table that her and Mark were sitting at. "You guys were taking so long that I was just getting ready to call you to see what the hell was going on." Somehow, her smile grew as she stood up and walked over to Troy. Even though she was wearing heels, she was still quite shorter than him, but she didn't seem to mind one bit.

You covered your mouth and held back a laugh as you watched as Troy's eyes widened as he dropped the bouquet onto the ground.
"Holy shit." He whispered after staring at Mary for a few moments. "You look absolutely beautiful." He then looked down and realized that he had dropped the bouquet onto the ground. When he noticed this, he bent down and carefully picked it up. He cleared his throat and ran a hand through his hair before holding the bouquet out towards Mary.
"I got these for you." Troy smiled sheepishly as he blushed, something he rarely ever even did. In fact, it had been so long since you last saw him that you were convinced that he didn't have the ability to blush until this very moment.
"Aw, thank you. They're beautiful." Mary smiled back at him as she carefully took the bouquet from him. "I have something for you too."
"What is it?" Troy asked, clearly surprised as he watched Mary turn and walk back to her seat. Once she was standing next to it, she carefully placed the bouquet down on the ground before she picked up her purse and began fumbling through it. After a few moments, she pulled out the same medium sized box that she had showed you earlier. Holding the box in her hand, she practically threw her purse down next to the bouquet as she made it back over to where Troy was standing in record time when you took the fact that she was wearing heels into consideration.
"Open it up!" Mary exclaimed excitedly as she placed the box into Troy's hands.
Troy didn't waste any time and did what he was told, his eyes widening when he saw what was inside.
"Do you like it?" Mary asked, sounding like her earlier excitement and confidence about Troy's gift and him liking it had faded away almost instantly.
"No, I don't like it." Troy replied with both a serious tone to his voice and an equally serious look on his face. Barely even a moment had passed before his expression and tone changed from serious to ecstatic. "I love it."
"Don't do that to me." Mary laughed as she shoved him lightly. "You seriously had me believing that you didn't like it."
Troy laughed as well as he began taking off the bow tie that he was already wearing. "Of course I like it. We get to color coordinate now."
"Let me do it." Mary smiled softly as she moved Troy's hands away from his bow tie and removed it. She placed it down on the table along with the box that the other bow tie was in and grabbed it before she began putting it on Troy.
"You know, I was really upset about you not telling me what color your dress was, but now I'm happy because this was a very nice surprise." Troy smiled as he watched his Prom date put on his bow tie more than likely faster than he did this morning when he had gotten ready.
"I'm glad you think so." Mary smiled back at him as she tugged on the jacket of his tuxedo, pulling him close to her. "Tonight's going to be a very fun night. I just know it."
Knowing what was about to happen, you turned away and instead focused your attention on the person that you should've been interacting with instead of focusing on what Troy and Mary were doing.
Mark.

Almost as soon as you looked over at him, Mark got up and walked over to you. Almost immediately, you noticed that he was holding a bouquet in his arms and that he wasn't wearing his flower crown. You frowned a bit since you had worn the flower crown he had given you not only because you really loved it, but also because you were looking forward to matching with him. Nonetheless, Mark remained silent as always and smiled shyly as he held out the bouquet, which consisted of nothing but purple roses, towards you once he was standing close to you.
"Thank you." You whispered, smiling as you took the bouquet from him. "They're really beautiful."
You're really beautiful. Mark seemed to move his hands without a second thought. He started blushing when he realized what he said and he began moving his hands very quickly. I mean, you look really beautiful tonight. Not that you don't look beautiful any other day, of course. I mean-
You smiled and laughed a little as you carefully placed the bouquet down next to you and grabbed ahold of his hands. "You look very nice tonight too, just like you always do."
Mark blushed even more as he held your hands for a few moments before letting go and reaching into his pocket. A moment later, he pulled out a (F/C) tie and held it up so that you could see it.
"So, that's why you asked me what color my dress was." You felt your face growing hot as you gave him a sheepish smile, knowing that a blush was beginning to form on your face.
Mark nodded as he began taking off the red and black tie he was already wearing and allowed the (F/C) tie to fall to the ground as he did so.
"Here, let me do it." You smirked slightly as you grabbed ahold of his hands once more and placed them down to his sides, just like Mary had done to Troy. You then began removing the tie, stuffing it into his pocket after you had done so. Afterwards, you bent down, picked up the (F/C) tie, and began putting it on Mark. After a few moments, you smiled up at him and slowly let go of the (F/C) tie.
"Are you excited for what's to come?" You asked, unable to contain your excitement as you picked up the bouquet of purple roses that Mark had given you earlier.
Mark smiled and nodded as he grabbed ahold of your hand and led you over to the seat that was across from his before he let go of your hand and pulled the chair down, gesturing for you to sit down on it.
"Wow, what a gentleman you are." You smiled, teasing him slightly as you slowly and carefully sat down. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Mark walk over to his seat and pick two things up. Before you could ask him what he was doing, he walked back over to you so that he was now standing behind you. He wasted no time and removed the flower crown that you were wearing and placed what felt like a different flower crown on your head.
"Mark, what did you just put on my head?" You asked the pretty boy as you looked up at him.
Like always, he didn't say a word and instead reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. After a moment, he put it in front of you while the camera app was open. Looking at yourself through the camera, you could see that Mark had put a flower crown with (F/C) (F/FL)s on your head.
"You got me another one?" You asked, smiling slightly as you continued to look at yourself through the camera app on Mark's phone.
He put his phone into his pocket and nodded as he started moving his hands around. Yeah, of course I got you another one. I wanted you to have one that would match your dress.
"I like it." You continued to smile as you adjusted it ever so slightly.
I'm glad to hear that. Mark smiled as he placed an identical flower crown on your lap. Because I got one for myself too. I was hoping that we could match. His eyes slowly trailed down to his feet as he began blushing again.
"I would love to match with you, Mark." You picked up the flower crown from your lap and stood up without even a moment's hesitation. Seeing that his head was down, you took that as an opportunity to get up and place the flower crown on his head. You laughed a little as you placed your hand underneath his chin and gently lifted his head up so that he was looking up at you.
"Have I told you that you look very handsome tonight?" You asked, laughing slightly as you adjusted his flower crown.
Mark simply nodded as he slowly stood up and pulled your chair back. He then gestured for you to sit down, his eyes looking you up and down the entire time.
You smiled brightly as you sat down once more and watched as Mark made his way back over to his chair and sat down. He smiled sheepishly as he quickly opened his menu and used it to both cover his face and figure out what he wanted to eat. You laughed softly to yourself as you did the same thing since you were starting to feel your blush growing as well.

"Hey, Mark, what do you want to eat?" You quickly asked the red-and-black-haired pretty boy as you saw the waiter approaching your table out of the corner of your eye.
Whatever you're getting. Mark panickingly waved his hands around, more than likely because he had also saw the waiter coming over to the table too. I'm not picky, so I'll more than likely eat it.
You sighed in relief, knowing that things wouldn't become awkward when it was Mark's turn to order since you would be the one ordering for him.

After you, Mark, Mary, and Troy all were served the food that each of you ordered, Troy and Mary focused all of their attention towards each other and you and Mark did the same thing. In fact, everyone became so immersed into their significant other (Or Prom date, in the case of you and Mark) that they forgot that the other two were even there.
"So, what do you think?" You asked Mark once he had taken a couple bites of his food. "Do you regret ordering the same thing I did?"
No, it's really good. Mark shook his head as he used sign language with one hand and ate with the other. I'm glad I just went with what you were getting, mostly because I probably wouldn't have chosen this.
"Really? It's just (F/F)." You shrugged slightly as you continued to eat. "Nothing too special, really."
I guess not. Mark shrugged as well as he also continued to eat. After a few moments, he stopped eating and moved both of his hands around as he looked directly into your eyes. So, what do you want to do after Prom's over? I still have to talk to my mom about the whole not wanting to pretend to date Mary anymore thing, but I was wondering if you wanted to spend the night at my house tonight. It's okay if you don't want to. I understand that we're still slowly easing back into being friends again...
"I would love to spend the night with you tonight, Mark." You smiled brightly as thoughts of cuddling with Mark after a long night of fun at Prom flooded your mind.
I'm glad we're on the same page. Mark smiled back at you as his panicked expression faded away and turned into an extremely happy and excited one. Because I would love to spend the night with you too.

*****

After the four of you finished eating dinner and dessert and paying the two separate bills, it was obvious to you that Troy and Mary were definitely not sober. Little did you know, Troy had ordered beer four times and shared it with Mary all four of those times. You sighed, knowing that you would have to be the one to drive to and from Prom since you really didn't want to risk getting into an accident.
"Well, I guess I'll see you at Prom then." You sighed again as you looked over at Mark, whom you really didn't want to part with, even though you knew the two of you wouldn't be separated for that long.
See you then. Mark rolled his eyes slightly as he grabbed ahold of Mary and the bouquet he had gotten for you that would temporarily pose as Mary's bouquet so that Mark's mother wouldn't be suspicious about anything and began pulling the drunken girl out of the restaurant as she mumbled incoherently about how it wasn't right that she was being taken away from her boyfriend or something along those lines.
"Okay, so, there's no way that I'm letting you drive so I'm just going to go ahead and take these." You said to Troy and reached into his right pocket, which is where he always kept his car keys, and grabbed the keys to his car.
"Why can't I drive?" Troy mumbled drunkenly, managing to be, unlike Mary, coherent when he spoke, but that was most likely due to the fact that he was less drunk than she was since his alcohol tolerance was higher.
"Because you're drunk off your ass." You replied as you grabbed ahold of his arm and began dragging him out of the restaurant. "Now, come on. It's time to go."
"But I can drive!" Troy protested as he fought against you, making it more difficult for you to pull him. "I can prove it! Ask me anything!"
"What color was your girlfriend's hair before she dyed it?"
"I have a girlfriend?" Troy asked as a huge grin formed on his face and he looked at you like he was a little kid who had just found out he was going to Disneyland.
You sighed as you proceeded to open the door before yanking him out of the restaurant. "Yes, you have a girlfriend. While I still question whether or not I tolerate you two being together every now and again, regardless of what I think, you do indeed have a girlfriend."
"Is she pretty?" Troy asked with a drunken grin on his face as he stumbled and nearly fell as the two of you approached the car.
"I don't know." You rolled your eyes as you basically shoved Troy into the passenger seat and buckled his seatbelt like he was child rather than a twenty-two year old college student whose graduation was less than two months from now. "She's your girlfriend. Shouldn't that answer your question?"
Without waiting for a response, you slammed the door and wasted no time in getting into the driver's side of the car, shutting the door behind you, buckling in your seatbelt, and driving to Prom.

*****

"Come on, Troy." You sighed as you honked the horn after parking your car. "We're here. Time to get up."
"What?!" Troy shouted as he jolted awake at the sound of the car horn. "What the hell is going on?"
"It's time for Prom." You sighed again, becoming increasingly more annoyed as each moment passed. You could handle Troy when he was high, but not when he was drunk.
"Oh, I see!" The twenty-two year old exclaimed. "We're going to a party! I like parties! Parties are fun!"
"Yes, yes, can you just get your ass out of the car?" You snapped slightly, feeling yourself reaching your breaking point, but purposefully holding yourself back since you didn't want to get angry. Tonight was supposed to be a fun night, and you intended on keeping it that way.
"Uh, yeah, of course I can." Troy scoffed as he unbuckled his seatbelt and opened the door before he proceeded to take one step out of the car and fall flat on his face.
"Uh huh, sure you can." You mumbled sarcastically as you got out of the car and, unlike Troy, not fall on your face or even stumble.
"Little did you know, that was part of my plan all along." Troy smirked as he slowly stood up, stumbling and almost falling over again as he did so.
"How much did you drink tonight?" You asked him, even though you already knew.
"I only had two, thank you very much." Troy attempted to roll his eyes as he held up four fingers rather than two.
"Oh, really? Because your fingers say otherwise." You huffed as you grabbed ahold of his arm and began dragging him up to the entrance. "I don't have time for you. We're meeting up with Mark and Mary at the entrance and they're probably already there wondering where the hell we're at."

*****

Thank goodness you're here. Mark's face sank with relief when he saw you walking up the entrance with Troy stumbling behind you. Mary's been driving me crazy ever since we left the restaurant.
"I know how you feel." You sighed and rolled your eyes slightly as the all of the events from the last twenty minutes or so replayed in your mind. "Troy's been driving me crazy too. Hopefully now that him and Mary are together again, they'll leave us alone and just do their own thing like we plan on doing."
Almost immediately after you said this, Mary proceeded to practically throw herself onto Troy. When she did this, the two of them fell over and let out drunken laughs as they laid on the ground. After what seemed like an eternity, they finally got up, stumbling along the way as they did so. They then proceeded to walk away while holding onto each other as Mary constantly fell down due to the fact that she was both drunk and wearing high heels.
Do you think we should stop them? Mark asked with a look of concern on his face.
You shook his head as you continued to watch the drunk couple slowly disappear from your line of sight. "I have Troy's keys and Mary came here with you so the possibility of them drunk driving is eliminated. Besides, tonight's not supposed to be about them. It's supposed to be about us."
Mark smiled as he blushed for the umpteenth time and grabbed your hand before practically dragging you inside with confidence that seem to come and go. Nonetheless, you didn't protest as he yanked your Prom ticket out of your hand and slammed it on the ticket table right next to his before walking into the area where Prom was being held, an area so large and so lavishly decorated that it almost seemed like a ballroom rather than just another room of a building where things such as birthday and graduation parties were held.

"I'm really glad that student council decided to go with a Paris theme for this year because it looks really good." You said as you looked around at all of the decorations student council had put together for Prom's theme this year. Everything from a giant Eiffel Tower near a photographer who was ready to take photos of couples or a group of friends in front of it to the various French phrases were plastered all over the place came together to prove that a theme that you first thought was too cheesy turned out to work very well.
"So, uh, what do you want to do first?" You asked Mark as you awkwardly looked over at him. "I know we just ate, but-"
I want food. Within a couple of seconds, Mark was quickly making his way over to the snack table as if someone was going to take all of the food if he didn't make it over there quickly enough.
I should've known he was going to choose the food. If you offer a teenage boy the opportunity to get food, nine times out of ten, they're going to take it.

Everyone keeps staring at me. Mark's brown eyes darted around the room as he ate the chocolate cupcake that he had picked up upon reaching the snack table. You think that I would be used to it by now since people stare at me all the time, but I'm really not. You would also think that people would be too occupied with their own business to not stare at me and worry about what I'm doing, but apparently they're not.
"You shouldn't worry about what everyone else thinks." You replied after taking a sip of the fruit punch that you had grabbed. "As long as you're having fun tonight, people's opinion about you shouldn't matter."
Yeah, I guess you're right. Mark shrugged as he finished eating his cupcake before he threw the wrapper into a nearby trash can. Anyway, there's a photo booth at the end of the hallway and we could go over there and take some pictures if you want. Or we could go over to the giant Eiffel Tower display and get our picture taken. Or we could do both. I don't really care as long as I'm with you. His eyes slowly started to shift from directly looking at you to looking down at the ground, more than likely due to the fact that he realized that what he had just said was extremely cheesy.
"You know, normally, I don't really like cheesy lines like those." You smirked ever so slightly as you placed your hand underneath Mark's chin and gently lifted his head up so that he was looking at you once more. "But when you say them, I can't help but like them, and I don't really know why."
Stop making me blush! Mark gently pushed your hand away as he smiled sheepishly for, what you felt like, at least, the millionth time today. I swear, if I had a dollar for every time you've made me blush tonight, I wouldn't even have to save money and get scholarships in order to attend my dream school.
"What's your dream school?" You asked him as you finished drinking your fruit punch and threw away your cup before you began walking to the photo booth with Mark almost immediately following behind you.
It's a secret. He replied almost immediately with a look on his face that seemed to say that he was hoping that you wouldn't ask him that. You'll find out when we graduate.
"Aw, man." You pouted. "I was hoping that you would tell me because I have no idea where I want to go to college. Besides, I was genuinely curious."
Well, it's a secret. Mark smiled as he approached the photo booth, but it didn't look like a real smile. Instead, it looked like it was forced, although you weren't sure why it would be. But, then again, you weren't sure why he was keeping where he wanted to go to college a secret. Was it because he thought that you would be upset about his choice?
No, that can't be it. I wouldn't be upset about where he wants to go to college. That's his own choice, and he deserves to go to a college that will make him happy.
"Yeah, okay, whatever you say." You forced out a laugh as you watched Mark put some money into the photo booth before he pulled back the curtain and stepped inside.
"Hey, um, what exactly are we going to do for the pictures?" You asked Mark as you also stepped inside of the photo booth before you sat down next to him. "We never discussed what we were going to do."
Just follow along with what I do. Mark moved his hands so quickly that you wondered how on earth you managed to figure out what he was saying. Nonetheless, you did what you were told and wrapped your arm around Mark's waist when he wrapped his arm around your shoulders. The two of you then smiled at the camera and Mark quickly changed his pose after the picture was taken from having his arm wrapped around you to resting his head on your shoulder and smiling up at you. You responded by looking down at him and smiling back at him, resisting the urge to blink when the camera flashed as it took another picture of the two of you as you did so. Then, as soon as the picture was finished being taken, Mark quickly shifted positions once more by lifting his head up and taking off both yours and his flower crown. Before you had the chance to ask him what he was doing, he placed his flower crown on top of your head and placed your flower crown on top of his head, using the lens of the camera as a mirror so that he could adjust the flower crown. But, as he was gazing into the lens, the flash went off. You let out a laugh as the unexpected event caused Mark to jump back and rapidly blink his eyes as he looked around the photo booth in almost complete disorientation.

Suddenly, an idea for a pose for the very last photo came into your mind and you instructed Mark to put his head down so that you could go through with said idea. Like you expected, he did what he was told to do and smiled slightly when he did so. Once his head was down, you placed your hands on either side of the flower crown like you were adjusting it. But instead of making an adjustment, you kept your hands in place and allowed a soft smile to form on your face as you kept your eyes on the flower crown, waiting for the picture to be taken. After a few moments, the flash of the camera temporarily filled your vision as you took back your flower crown and gave Mak's flower crown back to him.
"That was really fun." You said to the pretty boy as you put your flower crown back onto your head and properly adjusted it before you got out of the photo booth. "I'm really glad that we did that."
Me too. Mark agreed as he went over to where the two strips of photos that the two of you had just taken together were and picked them up. He handed one of the photo strips to you and upon seeing the pictures, a huge smile formed on your face.
"These are all so good." You laughed as you saw the second to last picture where Mark was cutely staring into the camera and adjusting your flower crown so that it would fit properly on his head. "Even the one where you weren't expecting the picture to be taken."
Yeah, I suppose they're alright. Mark shrugged as he gently placed his photo strip into his pocket. But only because they have you in it.
"Shut up." You smiled, lightly shoving him as you began walking back to the room where Prom was being held in. "Now, come on. We still have to get our picture taken in front of the giant Eiffel Tower."

*****

After you and Mark had gotten your picture taken in front of the giant Eiffel Tower, you nearly leapt out of your skin when you saw an all too familiar red and black dress and an equally all too familiar tuxedo that was paired with a red and black tuxedo out of the corner of your eye.
"No fucking way." You muttered to yourself as you quickly approached the food and drink table, which is where you had spotted the two people you were supposed to be attending with, had they not decided to get wasted and run off together upon arriving at Prom.

"What the fuck are you two doing here?" You snapped at the drunk couple, almost immediately becoming pissed off. "You two aren't supposed to be here. You're too fucking shitfaced to even think straight! I'm really surprised that you were allowed in here, you know."
"Of course we were allowed in here." Mary, who seemed to have, although very slightly, sobered up in the time between when she and Troy had run off to do their own thing to this very moment. "We have tickets."
"Yeah, but you two are also still drunk off your asses." You crossed your arms as you realized that you might have to deal with their drunk antics for the rest of the night. "You're lucky that Troy has a baby face and looks like he's sixteen rather than twenty-two and that the people taking tickets slowly start to not give a shit as time goes by."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Mary rolled her eyes and giggled as she grabbed ahold of Troy's arm. "We're going to go dance now, so you two can do your own thing, I guess."
You sighed in frustration as you watched the two of them stumble over to the very center of the room, which is where a large circle of widely spread out dancing people had formed. You watched as both Troy and Mary and two other people disappeared into the circle, and after a few moments of watching the group to see if either of them would come out, you realized why exactly that large circle of dancing people had been formed and what exactly was going on in the middle of that circle.
"It happens at Prom too?" You asked yourself more than you asked Mark. "I mean, I guess I really shouldn't be surprised, but I was really hoping that it was just a stupid Homecoming thing."
Of course it happens at Prom. Mark looked at you like he couldn't believe that you were surprised of the behavior people were engaging in. It may be a different dance, but the same people attend it.
"Yeah, you're right." You sighed as you watched more and more people disappear into the circle, which caused it to become more and more spread out. "I shouldn't have even gotten my hopes up in the first place." You sighed again. "I just hope that they play a slow song soon."
Then, as if someone had heard your request, the lights dimmed as the music began to slow down. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw the circle of people didn't even disassemble when the music slowed down, not even in the slightest. You rolled your eyes as you came to the realization that it would be best to just ignore all of them and just focus on Mark.
May I have this dance? The red-and-black-haired boy moved his hands nervously before he held out his right hand towards you.
"Of course you can." You smiled as you reached out, grabbed ahold of his hand, and allowed him to drag you close to the center of the room so that the two of you could have quite a lot of distance between the two of you and the large circle of people that had congregated quite some time ago. Then, you instinctively found yourself wrapping your arms around Mark's shoulders and pulling him close to you. As you did that, he wrapped his arms around your waist and began slowly swaying back and forth. Giving him a bright smile, you also began swaying back and forth, looking directly into his eyes, which were as brown as milk chocolate, as you studied every detail about him. You studied how his eyes crinkled when he smiled, how his smile finally, after all this time, seemed genuine, how his ever-changing hair colors complimented each other very well, and how content he seemed sharing a dance with you.

Suddenly, Mark released his grip on you and grabbed ahold of your hand before he flawlessly spun you around before he wrapped his arms around you once more and dipped you down towards the ground.
"Wow, Mark, I'm impressed." You whispered breathlessly as he slowly pulled you back up. "I didn't think that you were so good at this."
Mark simply smiled as he closed his eyes and began to slowly lean towards you, time seeming to move in slow motion when he did so. Out of pure instinct, you closed your eyes and began slowly leaning in towards him as well, your heart pounding like crazy all the while.
"This music is so fucking lame! Can you play something that's faster?"
Just as you were about to finally receive something that you've been wanting for quite a while (Although you would never admit it to anyone), the song that was currently playing was cut short, and the person's request of playing a faster song was promptly followed. The sudden change in song caused you and Mark to pull away from each other at the very last second.

After experiencing in the most awkward silence you've ever experience in your entire life for a few moments, you had decided to finally put it to an end when Mark seized the opportunity from you before you could even open your mouth.
I'll be back. Mark's hands moved slowly and his face had a sad expression on it. Stay here, and don't follow me. I'll be back eventually.
"Mark, what's wrong?" You asked, concern lacing your tone as you gently grabbed ahold of his arm. But almost as soon as you grabbed ahold of his arm, he forcefully wiggled out of your grasp, and walked away without even telling you where he was going. As you watched him walk away, you thought about following him, but that thought quickly faded away when you realized that following him would only make him even more upset, and that was the last thing that you wanted to do.

Sighing in pure defeat, you began making your way to the snack table partly because you didn't have anything better to do and partly because the cookies that were being served looked like they were extremely good. Nonetheless, after a couple of moments had passed by, you found yourself holding a cookie with one hand and holding a plastic cup filled with fruit punch in the other.
Mark, I sure hope you come back soon.