Work Text:
Grace didn't know what went wrong.
This was prom night. She dreamed about this night for so long. She made sure everything was perfect. It was supposed to be perfect, it had to be perfect.
And now… She was there. Sitting in the benches at the back of the gym, with her makeup ruined by her tears. The gym trashed, some tables turned, the lights out, the music turned off. Most people had already left. The place was almost deserted.
"Grace?" Came the careful whisper.
Grace lifted her head carefully. There she was. Ari. Looking at Grace with those big and shinning eyes, with such care.
Care she didn't deserve. Hadn't for some months now.
Grace still remembers their fight. The horrible, horrible things she screamed at Ari. The nights she spend crying in her bathroom hidden from her grandma. It haunts her nights at least once a week.
"Ari?" She said the only thing she could, in a small trembly voice. The name fell from her mouth with a million feelings. Sadness, regret, sorrow, and more. Grace said it like a small prayer to times before.
Ari extended her arm, offering the cup in her hand. "You need to drink water." She whispered. Grace could only blink owlishly. "You always get a headache after crying because you never drink enough water. So I brought you some.", again she motioned the cup in her hand. Slowly, Grace reached for it, and took a small sip.
Ari just plopped herself next to Grace. Her blue checked dress slowly falling to the side. She leaned back, staring at the decorations still in the ceiling.
For a while the two of them just stayed there in silence, lost in thought. Grace desperately whished she could read Ari's thoughts again, like she did so long ago.
Grace saw the hurt the second the words were uttered. She couldn't believed she just said that. She could see the pieces of Ari's heart shattered in the ground.
"Did you really said that?"
"I… I-" she choked in her words. She had. She knew it would hurt to say that. How could she have said that? "I did." She whispered.
"You know…" Ari broke the silence, she was playing with her hair, using it to partially hide her face. "What he did was super messed up. I can ask someone to mess him up later, if you want."
Grace giggled in her hands, sniffing a little. She finished her water, before setting the cup in the side. Grace knew it was a serious offer. "There is no need to… I…" She took a deep breath. "I imagined that something like that would happen, just didn't think that he would do it in front of everyone."
"Really?"
"Yeah. He talked about that boy a lot. So it wasn't a surprise. He was here as a favor for my grandma.", she internally winced for mentioning the woman.
"Oh."
Again the silence stretched.
"I know, I know! But things are just better that way!" Grace exclaimed.
"You know damn well those are your grandma words! Not yours!" Ari replied, she was so so angry, but also so so right.
"What difference does it make?"
"ALL OF IT! Unless you're trying to tell me you agree with her!"
"Maybe I am! Maybe you really are a freak!"
"How did she roped him into it?", Ari asked, her eyes glimmering with curiosity, but still not looking at Grace.
"He stepped in her flowers."
"What?" Ari turned her head so fast, Grace was surprised that she didn't had whiplash.
"Yeah! It was quite funny actually. She berated him for like, an hour! He looked like he was almost crying for half of it.", what wasn't funny was her grandma berating her as well after she protested going with him to prom. "I think he looks like my grandpa used to look at that age, too." She added, playing with her fingers.
Ari laughed, throwing her head back, almost bumping in the bench beside. Gods how Grace missed that sound.
"This mess makes so much more sense now." She said after calming down.
"I know, right?" Grace exclaimed exasperated. She threw her hands up, before ungraciously slumping in the bench.
This night was carefully planned. Her grandma made sure to review everything. And all that, for nothing.
Grace heard Ari take a deep breath. "So… You want to go somewhere else? Take your mind off of everything…"
"Really? She is controlling even us now?" Ari voice was dripping with annoyance at Grace's request.
"It's not control… She just want things a certain way." Grace grimaced, that excuse was lame, even for her.
"That's literally what control means!" The taller girl exclaimed "You seriously cannot be asking me to not go with you? We've dream this day our whole lives!"
Grace was getting annoyed as well. Why wasn't Ari understanding why she was asking this?
"I… I'd love too." Everything was too much right now. Ari stood up, and went down one step, before turning and extending a hand to Grace.
She hesitated before carefully accepting. Ari smiled, and begun to pull Grace towards the exit.
Trailing behind her, Grace noticed that even if her heels were taller than Ari's platforms, she still was smaller than the other girl. It made her remember before. Before their fight, before her grandmother started to really push her. Before she always followed Ari around. The girl always knew how to find a good adventure. Her best friend always knew how to make her feel better.
As they approached the entrance, Grace stopped.
Ari also stopped. She let go of Grace's hand, and Grace almost wanted to cry again due to the loss of the touch. Ari face contorted in confusion. Again, she look at Grace with sad eyes. Grace hated how she is the cause of that expression again. Grace looked down.
"Before… Before we go-" Her breath hitched, she took a deep breath, closing her eyes. "Before we go, I- I have to apologize." She heard Ari's faint breath. She opened her eyes, she had to look in her eyes. "What I did, was horrible. I should never said those things to you. And you were right, it was all things I heard my grandma say. I- I was just so angry. At, at- at her, at m-me, at you! I thought it was unfair, today was supposed to be ours, but she kept saying it would be the last thing she would ask of me, that after today I could do whatever I wanted, and I felt like I owed it to her because of all she had done for me, and- and I thought it would be fine after! B-but then you weren't listening to me! And why would you? It was unfair to ask you that, but I just needed today to be perfect and then it would be good for us, but it was not good and I hurt you, and I'm so sorry Ari."
Grace once again had tears going down her face. Before she could even blink, Ari was hugging her. "You're an idiot. A very beautiful, very intelligent idiot." Grace chuckled, before hugging her back. "I forgave you like, a week after. I- I'm not going to lie. It hurt so much hearing you say those things. But it's not like your grandma made things easy for you. I know, or at least I hope I know, why you said that. What matter now is that you apologized. And I'm also sorry you had to deal with all that."
Grace was full crying again, holding Ari like she dreamed for the past couple of months.
"Now let's go somewhere else, my queen." The taller said before pulling back, and holding Grace's hands.
Grace laughed "Really? Queen?"
"I mean, yeah, you won Prom Queen, didn't you?"
"I did. What would that you make you then?"
"Queen consort?"
"Queen consort don't rule alongside their spouse, so not that fitting."
Ari snorted. "Fine, I'll think something else later. Now let's go, we're losing moonlight!" Again she started to pull the smaller along.
They ran together towards the parking lot in the back of the school, near the mountain side, laughing like they hadn't done in a while.
Grace almost couldn't remember the last time she felt so light.
Now, it was just them and the stars in the sky.
"So, my queen… I think I'm owed at least the pleasure of dancing with you." Ari said with an exaggerated bow, extending her hand towards Grace, who laughed even more.
"I'm in agreement, my queen."
As Grace accepted Ari's hand, Ari pulled Grace into a embrace. One hand in her waist, and another holding the smaller hand.
Slowly, they started the dance they both knew by heart, for they dreamed about this moment for so long. The only necessary beat was their hearts, finally content in being together again. They twisted each other, did silly movements, and lived their moment, as they dreamed for so long.
But one part of the dream was still unaccounted for.
"You know…" Grace started "One of the reasons what today was this… shit show" Ari snorted "Was that, my Grandma's own prom was ruined… She wanted, another chance or something like that. But one thing she always remember fondly was my grandpa asking her to marry him."
"Are you asking me to marry you?"
"Maybe in the future. But for now, just being my girlfriend would be more than enough, though."
"Well, who am I to deny a queen whishes."