FDD 22

It was Friday. Which meant it was prom night. Normally, the guy would escort the girl from her house on prom night, but since Vicky, Noah, and I weren’t in that kind relationship, we decided to meet in front of the school. After putting on my suit and fixing my hair, Mom asked,

“Luca, where are you going?”

“Prom.”

“…With who?”

“Friends. Friends you don’t know, Mom.”

“So who? You have to tell me so I know.”

Her voice became hurried; she sounded upset. I inwardly sighed.

I don’t know all of her friends, so why does she have to know all of mine?

“Vicky Washington. I have a friend named Vicky. One of Vicky’s partners got injured, so I’m going with them.”

Dad then took out his wallet and handed me some bills.

“Have fun. This is your allowance.”

I quietly accepted the money and mumbled, “I’ll be back…”

I wondered if he would have still given me allowance knowing that one of Vicky’s other partners was actually my boyfriend, but I didn’t ask.

Vicky was already standing in front of the school with a corsage tied around her wrist. She was dressed and posed as if our school was the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Noah, wearing a suit with his hair styled back, looked handsome, like a work of art. Before Vicky and Noah could spot me, I quickly checked my face with my phone camera.

Not bad.

I straightened my clothes and walked over to them. Vicky noticed me first and gracefully waved.

“V, you’ve gone full celebrity today.”

“That’s right. I’m the celebrity tonight, and you two are my bodyguards. Put these on.”

Vicky had really brought two pairs of black sunglasses. Wearing black suits and sunglasses, Noah and I looked like we belonged in Men in Black.

With one hand on her hip, Vicky said,

“Come on! Link arms!”

Noah and I linked arms with Vicky and adjusted to her shorter height. Flanked by the two of us, Vicky walked into the party with more confidence than anyone else. The venue was dark with flashy lights, but since it was a temporary setup in the school building, it wasn’t particularly glamorous. But all the students were excited.

Vicky bounced her shoulders to the rhythm. Everyone was staring at her, who stood out with her flashy outfit and two tall guys on either side. Vicky elegantly removed [Read on]the thin sheer glove from one hand and handed it to me. I accepted it with both hands like a proper bodyguard and slipped it into my pocket.

“Perfect entrance. Now you two enjoy yourselves!”

After enjoying being at the center of attention for a while, Vicky left us and headed straight to the center of the dance floor. She really was one of a kind.

Left behind with Noah, I stood there awkwardly for a moment. Everyone else was happily dancing with their partners. If I danced with Noah, it would probably look like some kind of coming out. I glanced around and spotted a bowl filled with red liquid, then tapped Noah on the shoulder.

“Noah.”

“Yeah?”

When Noah turned towards me, his face illuminated by the colorful lights in the dark space looked so stunning that I almost kissed him. Afraid I wouldn’t be able to control myself, I avoided his gaze.

“I’ll get us two cups of punch. Wait here.”

Before Noah could even reply, I quickly walked over to the punch bowl. There were a few slices of fruit floating in it, but they didn’t look particularly appetizing. I ladled punch into two disposable cups and took a sip of mine first. Ugh. It tasted like cold medicine.

I was about to bring Noah’s cup over when someone tapped me on the shoulder from behind. When I turned around, there was Chloe wearing a peach-colored dress and light makeup.

As expected, she really looked like the perfect Prom Queen. Next to her stood John, a beautiful boy who would have received patronage from countless men if he had been born in Socrates’ time. John had a pouty expression, but Chloe didn’t seem to care.

“Chloe, you look amazing today.”

“So do you. Ah, I really should have asked you to be my partner.”

Upon hearing that, John grabbed Chloe’s arm and pulled her, which annoyed Chloe. She shook him and John walked away with a hurt expression.

“Is it okay to treat him like that?”

I asked as I watched John stomp away angrily, but Chloe replied nonchalantly, “It’s fine. We already took the pictures.”

Noah must have gotten tired of waiting because he soon walked over and stood beside me. Chloe looked at the two of us standing side by side and teased,

“Oh, the couple of the century!”

I was worried someone might hear, but the party was loud. Even if someone did hear, they probably wouldn’t take it seriously. I handed Noah his punch. He took a sip and immediately spat it back into the cup. It must have tasted awful to him too.

“Ugh, it tastes like alcohol.”

“Huh? There’s alcohol in it?”

At Noah’s words, I took another sip, but it still only tasted like cold medicine to me. When I looked at him with a confused expression, Noah nodded with a serious face.

“I’m sure. Someone must have secretly spiked it. It definitely tastes like alcohol. It’s terrible.”

Noah took a bottle of water, rinsed his mouth, and spat it into the cup. Chloe also quickly tried a cup of punch and nodded.

“Hmm, it’s so tasteless that it’s hard to notice, but there’s definitely alcohol in it.”

Wondering if my tongue was broken, I drank an entire cup, but it still only tasted like awful cold medicine. As I tilted my head in confusion, a fast-beat song started playing in the party hall. Chloe shouted,

“I love this song! Let’s dance!”

I waved my hands, but Chloe grabbed both mine and Noah’s arms and dragged us to the dance floor. Noah and I ended up in the middle of the dancing crowd. At first we just awkwardly moved our shoulders to the rhythm, but as the exciting music played, we thought “whatever” and started moving our arms energetically. We weren’t good at dancing, but it was fun.

I grabbed Noah’s rather passive arm and shook it. He let himself be led at first, then gradually started dancing more actively. Noah was good at sports but terrible at dancing. That made him look even more cute. I laughed while watching him, and Noah laughed along too. I could see his mouth moving as he said something, but I couldn’t hear it.

“What?”

I brought my ear closer to Noah, but I still couldn’t hear. Only when his lips were almost touching my ear could I finally make out what he was saying.

“You look so lovable when you smile.”

Noah kissed my ear and then went back to dancing as if nothing had happened. I quickly looked around, but thankfully no one had seen. Relieved, I lowered my head. My ear burned and tickled, so I rubbed it vigorously. Noah pretended not to notice and enthusiastically sang along to the lyrics.

***

On the stage, couples were slow dancing with their hands on each other’s shoulders and waists. When the blues music started playing, Noah and I had no choice but to move to the side. I leaned against the wall, sipping the cold-medicine-like punch (it really must have had alcohol in it, my mood was gradually getting better) while watching Vicky and Andy, who were hugging each other.

“When did those two…”

Noah sounded genuinely surprised as he stood beside me. Vicky’s partners was supposed to be us, and Andy had his own partner too, but visit our sitesomehow they had ended up like this.

“So we’ve been ditched?”

I pointed at Vicky, who had her eyes closed and chin resting on Andy’s shoulder. Noah kept staring at them and muttered,

“But she looks happy. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Vicky make that kind of expression before.”

“Yeah… she does look happy…”

I answered half-heartedly while shaking the last drops from my empty punch cup into my mouth. Thanks to the punch, I was feeling more and more upbeat. I shook my body and smiled at Noah. He slightly furrowed his brows.

“Are you drunk right now?”

“No! I’m just happy because I’m looking at you!”

I pushed off the wall to go get more punch. But Noah suddenly grabbed my wrist.

“You said you were quitting drinking. Stop drinking and let’s get out of here!”

Noah walked outside, still holding my wrist.

My alcohol… I clung to the cup regretfully, but Noah snatched it away and tossed it into the trash. Right, I did decide to quit.

That’s true… but… my alcohol…

With a sullen face, I quietly followed Noah and asked,

“Where are we going?”

Maybe because the music from the speakers was too loud, Noah didn’t answer. As he pushed open the gym door and stepped out, Sam, who had been collecting Prom King votes near the entrance, called out to him.

“Noah! Where are you going? After the blues ends, it’s time to announce Prom King and Queen! You’re obviously going to be Prom King again! The main character can’t leave.”

“Just count me as abstaining.”

Noah gave Sam a bright smile and quickly walked past her. I could hear Sam calling Noah from behind, but Sam, who was only about 5.4 feet (164cm) tall, couldn’t catch up with Noah’s fast pace that I could barely keep up with. The place Noah took me to was the parking lot where his car was parked. He opened the passenger door for me, let me in, and then got into the driver’s seat.

“Where are we going?”

I asked Noah again while he buckled my seatbelt, but he only smiled and didn’t answer. So I stopped asking questions and just smiled at him. Noah kissed my lips, started the car, and drove off.

The place Noah took me to was a secluded area full of trees and grass. Thankfully the moonlight was bright, so I could follow him without tripping.

He took out his phone from his pocket and tapped on it. Then the same slow, sweet blues music that had been playing in the gym flowed from his phone. A moment later, Noah spread his arms and said,

“Ready?”

“You rushed us out here just for this?”

I looked at Noah and laughed heartily. He gestured for me to come closer. I slowly walked toward him while gazing at his face, which looked mysteriously handsome under the moonlight. Noah grew impatient.

He grabbed my waist, pulled me close, pressed the tip of his nose against mine, and whispered.

“This is our first prom together. And our last prom in high school. I didn’t want to just stand there watching. When I saw Vicky and Andy looking so happy, I wanted to see that same expression on your face too.”

“At this prom, we can kiss without worrying about photos spreading.”

I wrapped both arms around Noah’s neck and pressed my lips to his. I felt his lips move upward and his strong grip on my waist. At the same time, we both opened our mouths.

***

It would have been nice if Noah and I had danced romantically, but I couldn’t dance and Noah had zero talent for it either.

We just held each other and stumbled around. It was so ridiculous that I couldn’t hold back my laughter. I ended up laughing so hard I was almost crying, which brought our little ball to an end.

Noah and I lay on the hood of his car, looking up at the sky. The moon was bright and a few stars were visible. They were probably satellites, but I wanted to believe they were stars. It felt more romantic that way. I pulled Noah’s wrist closer and held it up to the moon.

“Ta-da! Moon corsage.”

“This the most romantic gift of my life!”

Noah pressed his wrist even closer to match perfectly.

“Right? I’m the only one who can make you a corsage out of the moon.”

I interlocked our fingers and boasted. Noah’s chest heaved as he laughed.

“Hahaha! Yeah. You’re the only one who would make me a moon corsage, Luca. So I definitely can’t let you go for the rest of my life.”

Noah took my left ring finger and held it up to the moon.

“I’ll make you a ring out of the moon. A moon couple ring is pretty good, right?”

I stared at the bright, round moon resting on my ring finger. Then I shifted my gaze to Noah. Bathed in moonlight, he smiled softly at me. It was embarrassing, but I felt like I was going to cry.

“You have to get me a real ring!”

I deliberately answered grumpily and turned my head to the side. The moon was too bright, I didn’t want to blur it with tears.

I didn’t even know why I was crying, but I felt so ashamed. When I turned my face away, Noah tried to turn it back toward him. But I stubbornly refused. I released our interlocked fingers and tried to wipe my tears without him noticing. However, Noah was paying too much attention to me, so I got caught.

“Luca, what’s wrong?”

Hearing Noah’s gentle voice made it impossible to hold back any longer, so I let the tears fall.

“No! I don’t even know why I’m crying, but… sniff the tears just keep coming……”

Noah cupped both my cheeks with his hands and wiped away the tears rolling down. I looked at him with eyes full of tears.

“I don’t want to cry, but the tears won’t stop… I’m so embarrassed I want to die right now.”

Noah silently watched me as I sobbed pathetically. My nose was running too, and I wanted to go cry alone somewhere far away, but Noah wouldn’t let me go. Instead, he pinched my cheeks. With my lips pursed in a pouty “0” shape, I was caught in his grasp. Then Noah pulled my face into his shoulder and said softly,

“You’re so cute.”

As I wiped my tears on his shoulder, I felt his back shaking. Noah Solano was laughing at me while I was crying!

“You’re laughing right now!!”

I weakly hit Noah’s back in protest. But his back kept shaking.

“Pfft, hehe…”

Now he wasn’t even trying to hide it. I wanted to pull away from his embrace, but the arms holding me were too strong.

“Hahahahaha!”

Noah laughed out loud.

“Hey! Solano! Let go! I said let go!”

My tears dried up instantly and I hit Noah’s back harder than before. Only then did he release me. But he immediately grabbed my face again with both hands.

“What’s so funny?”

He kissed my cheeks one after another and said soothingly.

“Ah, sorry. You’re just too cute…”

“So I’m only cute when I cry?”

Annoyed, I nitpicked at him. Noah grinned and kissed my forehead. Then, in a rather serious voice, he said,

“I’ll get you a real ring. With a diamond. But not right now. Can you stay by my side until I can?”

“…If you promise to get me a diamond as big as the moon.”

I stared into his dark brown eyes for a long time. Not wanting to answer too readily, I pulled my face out of his hands and replied grumpily. He smiled as brightly as the moon. That smile instantly melted my heart. I wrapped my arms around his neck and hugged him.

I hoped Noah wouldn’t be able to buy a diamond until he was 101 years old. He could buy rubies, emeralds, and pearls, but I hoped he couldn’t get a diamond until then. Then I could complain, say “A promise is a promise,” and tell him to hurry up and get me one. That way, I could stay with diamond-less Noah until we reached exactly 100 years old.

Eighteen-year-old Noah patted my back, unaware that the next 82 years of his life had just been mortgaged. I felt his body heat and patted his back in the same rhythm. The wind was cool, the trees were green, the moon was bright, and Noah was warm. It was the most perfect prom night of my life.