Chapter 2.41 Prom

Melody had found a solution to her lack of a prom date problem.

It wasn't like she would mind going stag, her cousin Elvie was going stag, but she would much prefer to have a date. And she was rather confident she had found one, in the shape of the drummer for Belle's boyfriend's band. She didn't quite know his name however (and was rather certain she couldn't call him Drummer-boy McNiceAss).

Melody only heard the sound of her sister "You know Mel, you could really help set up." Belle narrowed her eyes. The only reason why the two of them were there was because Belle's boyfriend had asked for her help setting up the stage, and Melody tagged along to check out the other guys in the band (and she was doing her job perfectly.)

"Who's the guy with Axel?" She asked, grinning, ignoring Belle's suggestion.

Belle narrowed her eyes more. "I would probably prefer it if you were checking out my boyfriend rather than that womanizing horndog." She rolled her eyes.

"Oh come on, I doubt he's that bad." Melody shook her head, thinking her sister was just exaggerating. How bad could he be?

"You don't know the egotistical mess that is Alder Kahekili." Belle grumbled, not noticing Melody's eyes lighting up. So Drummer-boy McNiceAss now had a name...

"I think you might be being a bit harsh on Alder." She grinned, showing off about how she knew his name now,

Belle sighed. "Look, I just don't want to see you fall for a guy like that and get hurt." She frowned. "Yes, you may find him cute, but he's the kind of guy that sees sex and relationships as nothing." She shook her head.

"You're not exactly a saint Little Miss 'Bought new underwear just for tonight'." Melody raised an eyebrow, whereas Belle just widened her eyes at her. "That's right, I saw the bag under your bed that had a whip design on it." She folded her arms, making her point. 

"In my defense, I didn't ask for a bag like that. They didn't have any discreet ones." Belle frowned. "And alright, you've found a way of blackmailing me, but if anyone else finds it, they'll feel too awkward to talk about it, so checkmate." Belle smirked.

"If mom finds it, or gets told by a certain someone who you happen to be talking to that you're thinking of that kind of thing, she'll probably give you the birds and the bees talk." Melody grinned, knowing she would win this.

Belle sighed. "Fine. But you're not going over there and being all crazy over him. If he makes a move first, then you can flirt with him." She reasoned. "I'd be alright with that, and then you won't need to tell mom about... Y'know." 

"Knowing mom, she'd probably give you advice or something." Melody shook her head, laughing lightly.

"Well, you'd need all the advice if you go after a guy like that. You should see the girls around him, they fall at his feet and all he has to do is simply smile their way." Belle rolled her eyes, not noticing that she caught Alder's attention.
"Belle, Belle, Belle..." He shook his head, grinning as he walked over to the two sisters. "You know I can't help the way others feel."

Belle kept a blank expression, simply raising an eyebrow at him. He sighed, his fingertips brushing against her jawline and following it through. "Ah, Belle. My French beauty. The more you push me away, the more I want you." And he winked before flashing his classic boyish grin. Belle simply just didn't see the appeal, unlike her sister.
Belle moved his hand away, not amused. Melody had no clue how her sister could just do something like that. It wasn't fair, why did her sister always get the guys? "How many times do I have to tell you? I'm not stupid." She rolled her eyes. "So, give up the act. I know you're just trying to get me to fall at your feet." She then put on her best French accent, decided to humor him "Besides, mon cher, I would much prefer a guitarist over a drummer any day." She smiled bitterly at him.

"As much as I enjoy our flirting, Belle-" Alder started, but was soon interrupted.
"You were flirting, I was rejecting." She noted, narrowing her eyes at him.
"-You've not yet introduced me to the cutie you're standing next to." He grinned at Melody, and she grinned in response.
"She's my sister." Belle noticed his confused look at her and Melody, so she explained. "Half-sisters. Same mom, different dads."

Alder then grinned at Melody, who smiled in return. "So, half sister," he paused briefly, not knowing her name. "You're not as much of a heart breaker as Belle is, are you?" He asked.
Melody grinned in response, letting out a little laugh. "Melody. I'm Melody." She smiled, discreetly rubbing her hands on her shorts. Her hands were really sweaty, and she didn't want him thinking she had some weird sweaty hand disorder or something. "I'm not a heart breaker, actually, I've never had a boyfriend before. Most people think I'm weird because I'm a-" She stopped herself, and grinned awkwardly. Lord, she felt like she was making a mess of this. Why were cute boys so difficult to talk to? Her sister could do it easily! Maybe Belle has some sort of super power being able to talk to boys.

Luckily for her though, he didn't seem to notice how nervous she was nor how embarrassing she thought she was being. "Melody is a beautiful name. It suits you."
She smiled at the floor, trying to hide the fact she was blushing. "T-Thanks." She stuttered, looking back up at him.
"He says that to pretty much every girl." Belle interjected, realizing that the two of them probably forgot she was even there.
Melody frowned at Alder, and he narrowed his eyes at Belle before looking back at Melody. "I only mean it with you though." He promised Melody, then suggested. "How about you and I go get some of the amps from one of the music rooms? Where we'll be away from prying eyes."
Melody was back grinning. "Okay!" She agreed happily, and despite Belle's protests, the two of them went off.

"You know, he's only trying to get on your nerves. He's not got something against you or anything." Axel pointed out, getting off the stage and going over to Belle.

"That doesn't make me like him or even appreciate him.." She frowned, glaring at the door they walked out of. "I don't want someone like that with my little sister." She frowned, and sighed.

"Melody knows how to look after herself." He got her attention back to him. "I don't want us to get into an argument over them." He sighed, taking her hands with his thumb running over her knuckles.

"I don't either." She agreed, smiling at him. "We're going to have a great time tonight. How long are you playing for?" She asked, hoping it wasn't all too long. His band was going to play at prom so he had practice playing in front of an audience. She knew he was good playing just in front of her, but she had never actually seen him play in front of an audience
"Only the first few songs, I promise. We'll still have most of the night with it just being us." He grinned at her, kissing her softly.

She smiled back at him, resting her forehead on his. "As long as you're not spending the whole night on the stage. The roof'll be waiting for us." She grinned, laughing a little. They had agreed earlier to spend most of their time up on the roof and away from most other people at their school. It wasn't like either of them were loners or anything like that, they just figured it would be more romantic on their own, under the stars instead of in the gym where it'll be overly hot.

"I won't be too long up on stage, I promise. You come first." He promised, smiling back at her.

"Do you think it looks okay down? Or maybe it looks better up." Melody was fussing over the way her hair looked. The girls had decided to get ready in Belle's room. She had a whole mirror wall in her room, so it made more sense, rather than Melody trying to see how she looked in her tiny mirror.
"I like it down. How come you've never-" She trailed off, then raised an eyebrow. "You're extra dressing up for Alder, aren't you?" Belle asked.

"Well, some of us aren't pretty much settled down." Melody pointed out, a little harsher than intended. She sighed. "Sorry. I didn't mean it." She mumbled.

"It's alright." Belle looked at the floor, then back at Melody. "Do you think I'm making a mistake? Wanting to do what I'm going to do?" She asked.
"Its not really my choice to make, Belle. Do you want to do it?" She asked, still mostly focused on her reflection. She looked at Belle through the mirror.
"Well, yeah. I trust Axel, and who knows what's going to happen and if I'm ever going to trust someone so much?" 

"Then what's the problem?" Melody asked, a little muddled.

Belle sighed. "I don't know. I think I'm just being a little neurotic. I'm just worried that there is going to be... a repercussion from it." She frowned.
Melody shook her head slightly. "You've been listening too much in health class. I know it may seem like it with mom's record, but sex doesn't automatically mean a repercussion. Even unprotected, it doesn't always equal one." She shrugged simply, hopefully putting her sister's mind at rest. "You just need to not think about  it too much, otherwise you won't be able to have any fun at all tonight and you'll regret it." She half smiled.
Belle gave a small smile in return. "Yeah, you're right." She agreed. She's always played on the safe side... Maybe this time could be different.

Alyssa was determined to get a picture of four of her five kids who were going to prom, but she did feel a little bit sorry for Juniper who was being left out of all the prom excitement. Juniper was feeling rather sorry for herself also. It wasn't fair how her sisters and her brother's dates got to dress up and she didn't. Not fair. The only upside was that her bedtime was a little bit later tonight. She still had to get ready for bed early though. She got to watch as all her siblings and their dates had fun while she just got to go to bed. Ah well, she knew that she would have her own, better, prom when she was older.

When they got to the school, Faye couldn't help but feel out of place. Fairies didn't really believe in school; not seeing what the point behind it was. She had a bad feeling that people would ask her who she was and why they hadn't seen her around before. It wasn't that she was ashamed of being a fairy, she just didn't know what to tell people if they asked. She was thankful that she had found out how to temporarily hide her wings, otherwise she would be worried about getting unwanted attention.

"Prom's an odd occasion." Faye noted, frowning as she looked around the gym. "All the people you know from school are all gathered in the same room after dressing up and then the most popular person is given a crown and people get into fights and they try and put alcohol in the drinks despite the fact they can get it at home..." She shook her head. She was glad fairies didn't really believe in school. The social events were too complex for someone who doesn't really know what they mean.

"I guess in that case, you could call anything weird if you think about it too much." Ashton shrugged lightly. "And how do you know what happens at Proms anyway?" He asked her.
Faye grinned, "Well, it's always best to do a bit of research, right?" She looked up at him. "I've actually learned quite a lot about prom, and coming home? I think it's called that," She smiled.

"Almost, home coming." He corrected, grinning back at her. "So, what have you learned about school dances?"

"Well, I've learned that home coming usually references around the football team's victories and the welcoming back of students also it isn't as formal as prom is. Homecoming isn't as big of a deal as prom, and you don't get big and poofy dressed for homecoming but I don't like big poofy dresses anyway so." She shrugged.

He nodded, "Okay, so you know the differences between the two, anything else?" He grinned at her.

She smiled in return. "Well, I learned that on prom night, most teenagers have a nice and civilized-ish time at school, but when they go to an after party, they get drunk, loud, party and they end up losing their virginity." She frowned. "I don't think I really want to go to an after party." She confessed, looking worried. "I don't feel like doing any of those things."

"We're not going to an after party, don't worry." He couldn't help but find it cute how she got rather panicked.

She sighed, relieved. "Good. I really don't fancy it." She smiled slightly, and she wrapped her arms around the back of his neck. "I also learned that it's protocol for us to dance at the slow songs, have our pictures taken and have a magical evening." She grinned at him, taking one of his and resting her hand on his shoulder after moving one of his hands on to her waist.

"It's a protocol?" He raised an eyebrow at the choice of her words as he put his hands on her waist.

"It's a non-optional social convention." She explained, grinning. "Besides, it's a nice break away from everything going on. Since Mother Dearest died, everything's been left to me and because she was Queen and left for a long time..." She sighed. "Everything's been rather stressful."

"Well, perhaps for tonight, you could pretend to be a completely ordinary and boring high school student." He suggested.

She laughed a little. "Sounds perfect," She grinned. "I can be a completely mundane high school student. No one has to know that I'm a fairy nor that I'm going to be the queen of them soon." She smiled.

"You do realize that when I'm Queen, you'll have to bow down to me and call me 'Your Highness' right?" She grinned, teasing.
"Or what'll happen if I don't? Off with my head?" Ashton asked, teasing back.
Faye shrugged simply. "That depends. I'm going to be a nice one though, don't worry." She smiled at him.

Unlike majority of girls, Melody knew how to go to the bathroom on her own. She didn't quite understand why so many girls had to go in twos or threes. She was a little miffed about having to go to the ones on the other side of the school, but the ones near the gym smelt rather 'earthy' and a lot of people were laughing in them and smoke was lingering around the crack beneath the door. She knew if she went home smelling like that smoke, she'd never be allowed out again.

She was about to leave but someone entered just as she was going to leave. She knew who the girl was, Sophie Knott, possibly the biggest bitch ever to have lived. Melody tried to get past her, but then she stopped her.
"I didn't come in here to check my makeup, Sweetie, I came in here to have a little talk." She frowned, narrowing her eyes at Melody.

"Okay, then talk." Melody rolled her eyes and glared back at Sophie. The two girls had never had a conversation, but it was just the way the high school pyramid worked, You hate anyone who's not on the same level as you.

"Well, word's going around that you're Alder's date." She raised an eyebrow. This girl really didn't seem like his type.

"So what if I am?" She asked, narrowing her eyes. "Why? You jealous?" She grinned.

Sophie rolled her eyes, smirking while looking Melody up and down. "Why would I be jealous of some flat chested, ugly haired, half dog?" She snickered. She then had a straight face, and growled. "For some reason, you being with him is making you seem popular and putting you as a last minute running for prom queen."

Her eyes widened slightly, more at the prom queen thing than the poorly based insult. "At least I don't stuff my bras, and what do you mean I'm in the running? I didn't get voted for nor did I intend to have some cheap plastic crown put on my head in front of the whole school." She scoffed, although she would quite like the plastic crown, only so Sophie couldn't get it.

"Well, because you're on a pity date and this school has an obsession with making couples win, you're getting more popular and in the line of getting my crown." She raised her arms, annoyed.

Melody gave her the look. "It's not your crown. The school probably bought it from that crappy party store from down the road." She shrugged.

Sophie narrowed her eyes, glaring. If looks could burn, Melody knew she'd probably be on fire by now. "Listen, bitch, you take my crown, and you will regret it. You understand?" She asked, then huffed and walked out.
Melody couldn't help but grin, kind of hoping she did win now. She stayed in the toilets a little bit longer, before returning back to the gym.

When she got to the gym, she went straight over to where Alder was. The band had finished playing on the stage, and a different one was up now. She had no clue where Belle had gone, figuring she had gone off somewhere with Axel.

Alder looked down at Melody as she came over to him. "Hey, where did you go? One minute you were-" He was cut off when she kissed him.

When she pulled away, she was grinning. "Rumor has it, we're going to be Prom King and Queen." She looked up at him. Part of Melody wasn't all too fussed if she won it or not, she wasn't expecting to anyway, but she certainly didn't want the bitch winning it.

"You're a really good dancer." Callie smiled at Nathaniel, wondering if he had learned how to or something. She didn't recall him ever mentioning anything about dance lessons... The two of them mainly stayed towards the edge, both not so sure about being in such large crowds.

"Thanks. I was kinda just winging it." He laughed, and she joined in. "Maybe that's something I could do when I'm older." He smiled slightly, honestly not having a clue what he wanted to be.

Callie shook her head. "Not trying to dictate, but I see you doing something smarter, like becoming a doctor or something." She smiled at him. "Rather than some jazzed up womanizing dancer."

"Are you just saying that because you'd feel threatened I'd replace you?" He asked, teasing.

She laughed a little. "I don't think you could replace me exactly." She smiled at him. "But seriously, I see you being a doctor. Dr Matthews." She grinned at him.

"Dr Matthews... That has a ring to it." Nathaniel smiled slightly. "But what are you going to do when you're older?" He asked.

Callie thought about it for a while, then she simply shrugged. "I have no clue." She sighed softly, then mumbled. "You know when sometimes you can picture what would happen? I kinda can't do that with when I'm older." She sighed, and looked at the floor.

He gave her a concerned look. "Just because you can't picture things doesn't mean they're not going to happen. Not a lot of people can see into the future." Aside from his little sister, of course.
She hummed in agreement, but not very enthusiastically. "Look, there's something I've been meaning to tell you." She looked up at him, serious.

"You know you can tell me anything." Nathaniel smiled reassuringly at her. He did notice that Callie was acting rather strange around him lately, and he found it odd how she always had such a strict time to go home.
She bit her lower lip, not so sure how exactly to say it. It wasn't like she needed to tell him, he wouldn't know if she never said anything, but she felt bad keeping part of her from him. "It isn't easy to say..."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." He shrugged simply, smiling at her. "Or you could just tell me another time. It doesn't matter all too much."
"I feel as if I should." Callie sighed. "Well, you know how my..." She started, then gave up. She tried again with. "I've never been..." And she stopped again.
"You don't have to." He assured her, taking her hands in his. "Besides, I think they're going to announce Prom King and Queen soon."

Belle's phone was buzzing like crazy with Melody and Elvie both texting her like crazy. Both of them were asking where she was and that Melody had won Prom Queen. She was surprised, sure, but after a while, she turned off her phone. She was still waiting for Axel to come up. They had figured it would look less suspicious if they came up separately. 

"So, do we have time alone now?" Axel asked, grinning. "Because it kinda looks like someone else is fending for your attention.

Belle grinned, and went over to him when she heard him come up. "Sorry, my sister's apparently won Prom Queen and my cousin is going nuts with texting me and wondering where I am." She murmured, turning her phone off. 

"Your sister won the plastic crown? Was she even running?" He asked, rather confused.

Belle shrugged simply. "Not that I'm aware of." She then started to laugh. "Imagine if we won King and Queen." She laughed.

"I think we'd be a great King and Queen. We've been together for a long time, and I think we're prom royalty material." He grinned at her.

She grinned in response, "Okay, so tell me King Axel, what would be your first royal decree?"

He thought about it, then smirked. "For my Queen to walk around topless." He teased, then Belle narrowed her eyes at him and he laughed. "I'm kidding, there's no need to give me a death stare. What's yours?"

"Mine would be for you to walk around topless too." She folded her arms, grinning. "If I'm going shirtless, you are too."

He laughed. "A shirtless King and a topless Queen, we'd be memorable, wouldn't we?" He grinned, wrapping his arm around her and kissing her.

"Very much so." Belle grinned, pulling away for just a second to go over to the boom box she 'borrowed' and brought up here. She turned it on, and smiled. "We can't dance without music, can we?" She went over to him.

"We can't." He agreed, taking one of her hands and resting his other hand on her hip. "Do you have any idea how to dance?" He asked.

"I've read books about characters who have danced?" She tried, grinning uneasily.

"So, we're winging it." He smiled at her.

"It's not like anyone can see us anyway." Belle smiled at him. She stayed quiet for a little while before asking in a low voice. "When does your scholarship start?"

He sighed, looking down at her "A few days before my adult birthday so-"

"-Soon." She finished off his sentence, frowning, She was happy for him, of course she was. It was the opportunity of a lifetime and she knew he deserved it, but it was all the way over in Bridgeport. She stopped dancing, and sat on the half wall, a little disheartened

"But it's not like I'm going away right now, we still have time together before I have to go, and we'll still be together, We can make long distance work." He smiled at her.

Belle frowned. "But what if we can't?" She mumbled. The last thing she wanted to do was lose him, but who knows what might happen?

"Because I promise that we'll be together." He gave her a serious look, and she noticed that he was trying to find something in one of his pockets.

Belle's eyes widened when Axel pulled out a ring box. "Not an engagement ring but a promise ring. I know I want to be with you, and I know that whatever happens I'll always love you and I know you'll always love me. I think we're a bit too young to get married right now, but I know I want to spend the rest of my life with you. So, I promise that when I come back home once we're both adults, we'll be the same as if I've never left. Will you promise me the same?" He asked.

Belle smiled widely, and hugged him tightly. "I promise." She pulled away just enough so she could kiss him.

She let him put the promise ring on her, and both of them grinned before kissing again, this time it felt more passionate though, more urgent. Right then, Belle's phobia about intimacy and having sex were seemingly non-existent. The fact that it escalated rather quickly didn't really seem to bother her all too much.
She was breathless when she pulled away. "How about we go back to mine?" She suggested, grinning. As romantic as the rooftop could be, she really didn't feel like doing it in one of the plants.
"Are you sure?" He asked, knowing how she could be with these kinds of things. She kissed him quickly once more, meaning that she was sure.

The cab ride home felt like an eternity, and the two teenagers had to make sure they were quiet. Belle didn't want the awkward encounter of waking someone up. Luckily they managed to get in without waking anyone up, and managed to get upstairs and into her room.

Pretty soon, their clothes were just a mess on her floor. The next thing they knew, they were on her bed, him on top, her underneath and making out in their underwear. Her heart was beating quickly, nervous. Never she had done something like this before, but if not now, then when would she? She couldn't be one of those people who waited until they were old. 

That being said though, she wasn't too caught up in the moment to remember something important. "Do you have protection?" She asked, breaking away for a second.
He tried to remember, but then sighed. "No, I don't." He got off of her, and sat up. He figured that if she was asking, she didn't have any either.
Belle sat up, frowning a little. She felt rather stupid for just assuming he would have one, but didn't most guys have them in their wallets? Then again, he wouldn't really need his wallet...

There was a really long an awkward silence after that. Whenever she did think about having sex, she honestly didn't picture it to be like this. She pictured it as being something special, and memorable and for it to be that kind of fun that you feel nervous about though, almost like a roller coaster. She certainly didn't picture it having to stop because neither of them were all too prepared.
But then she started to think, would it really be the end of the world if they risked it just this once? She didn't think so.
"Risk it?" She asked, looking over at him. "And before you ask, I'm sure." She didn't want her supposedly magic prom night to end in an awkward attempt at sex but then having to stop because of no protection.

"Risk it." He repeated in confirmation. She laid back down and he got back on top of her. They started kissing again. Hands started roaming and kisses turned from merely soft to passionate and urgent. The situation started to get hot and heavy, and instead of over-thinking and being rather cautious, Belle decided to just let her urges take control, just this once.
After all, what's the worst that could happen?

Chapter 2.40 Prolonged Secrets

Chapter 2.42

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AN: Okay, this was about 2.5-3 (lets call it 2.75) times the size of my regular chapter length, but I didn't want to split it up nor not pay attention to all of the teenagers nor have that intro bit.

So, I'm going to take this in order.

First of all, thank you Nirar for letting me borrow Alder. He was very fun to write for. If you are for some reason unaware of her legacy, you can find it here. And I apologize on behalf of Belle and her insults. She can be rather mean sometimes. Melody liked him though, very much so.

Next note, the bag Melody and Belle were talking about was this one from Ann Summers (warning, dirty). My mum once dragged me in there, and all I can say is that some of you adults... Tsk tsk tsk. That wasn't what handcuffs and whips were designed for, you kinky people you *shakes head*.

Third note I'm not sure if I like Melody's hair down or not... Hm... She's never actually had it down before *fun fact* Seriously, when she  was a toddler she had side buns, child was pigtails and teen was normal bun. She's never had her hair down and has had a fringe her whole life.

Note numbero cuarto (number four for my non-Spanish speaking readers) Faye is technically fairy queen now (story wise) as her mom was queen but is now dead and y'know how the throne linage works (well, her's is simple. She's the only child so it gets passed to her.)

Funf (that's right, I know my numbers in German too): Those things Faye was saying about prom was what I had found out through research about prom and homecoming. Fun not sure if it is a fact fact, but prom originally used to be an event where the women were sold to the highest bidder. Weird, huh? Again, not sure if it's true.

Sei (Italian, I googled that. You would not believe in how many languages where six is sex (although, seems appropriate)) Belle's pretty promise ring is a claddagh ring, just like what Rosie had. It's one of the only rings I can get that works with teenagers, and doesn't look all too unrealistic-y expensive. Belle didn't steal her aunt's ring, don't worry. And to do with that scene, Axel and Belle kept standing on each other's toes. Seriously. I was surprised one of them didn't just throw a hissy fit and stop dancing at some point.

Sept (French, can't believe I forgot French also this note is about Belle and she's half French (unsure if top half or bottom half *badum tss*)): Belle and Axel have known each other longer than Nathaniel has been alive, seriously. Belle and Axel met in chapter 2.12 and Nate was born in chapter 2.19/2.20. They've almost known each other for as long as Mel and Ash have been alive but not quite. The twins were babies when Belle and Axel met.

Åtte (Norwegian I believe (at least that's what google said) and this was chosen because the snow queen Elsa came and made my town all snowy and Elsa is from Norway I think):  The gym was a pain in the butt to make, seriously, this would have been out so much simpler if it just cooperated. *sigh* *shrug* Not much to be done, I'll never have to use it again. That school just wasn't cooperating. The downstairs is literally all underwater. No clue why, but it just is.

Deväť(Slovakian. I was friends with a girl who was from Slovakia. Not anymore. She's annoying and all big headed because she can ice skate really well.): I think what Belle and Axel did by risking it was stupid, personally, but teenagers make stupid mistakes. Being one, I am aware of this fact. There's a reason why that happened however *cough*Visions*cough*

Deich(Irish): Thank you for reading and thank you for reading this very long and rather pointless AN of me finding out how to count to ten in a vary of languages. And yay me for getting to ten and getting over my fear of writing romance!