LGBT Youth Prom 2014: The Arrival (Open)

[Kamillia Engel]

Kamillia wasn’t too excited for the dance, well she was excited but not excited… She was too afraid of all the things that could go wrong… She had asked Adam to the dance, and he surprisingly said yes, she had really thought that he would say no, but he hadn’t and that scared her a bit. She drove to the youth center on her own, she was straight, but did that really mean she couldn’t go to the dance? It was her prom too… But she wasn’t going to think too much about that. What she was thinking too much about was what the evening was going to hold.

The things she was thinking about slowly started to get bigger and bigger and she felt like she was going to have a panic attack as she parked her car in the parking lot of the youth center. She took a deep breath as she got out of the car. This was going to be her first date… Pretty pathetic for the girl who was about to graduate, granted she wouldn’t tell anyone that. Did Adam think this was a date? Was he okay with that? She guessed if he was he wouldn’t have said yes.. Maybe she was just thinking too much about it.

She walked into the room that held the dance, dressed as Kida from Atlantis the lost empire. She wore a tube top shirt, instead of the bikini thing Kida wore in the movie, and her skirt was longer, it went down to mid calf. She was also wearing a good looking wig that was styled to look like Kida’s hair. She was also wearing tan sandals, because she couldn’t go barefoot. Her jewelry consists of the necklace, and anklet Kida wore, and some bracelets she wore.She also put face paint on her face to match the markings Kida has. Because she was afraid that Adam wouldn’t notice her, she had texted him before she left telling him who she was going as.

Now all there was left to do was to see if he would show… She went to the punch bowl and poured herself a drink and went to sit down. Usually she would have started to dance, but she needed to calm her nerves a bit before she tempted to dance with other people. She looked around to see if she knew anyone at the dance, she saw George? The girl that was friends with Axelle, speaking of Axelle she didn’t see the girl anywhere, and she forget to ask if she was going. She totally should have. Other than George, she spotted Phoenix, at least she thought it was phoenix, she couldn’t help but roll her eyes at the gender bent costume. Not that she had anything wrong with it, but it just showed that he had changed a lot from the time where… well from the time he actually came around to talk to her. She was actually glad she chose the costume that she had to wear a wig for, maybe Phoenix wouldn’t even notice her, but was that really something she wanted? She rubbed her arms as a chill went down her spine; it got a little cold in the room. She looked toward the doors, forgetting about Phoenix to look for Adam.

[Deleted]

Oriel enjoyed extensive public displays of affection, especially towards the one he’d more-or-less promised his future to. After their fight a few weeks ago, Oriel had promptly replaced the tattoo onto his wrist as close to exactly how it’d been before. It tickled him to see the same thing on Phoenix. That symbol, even more than his chronic PDAs, showed even more just how much Phoenix belonged solely to him and nobody else.

“Of course, of course,” he mocked his little fairy, leaning in close once again. “And I’m going to enjoy even more taking it off of you tonight,” he whispered into Phoenix’s ear. With a haughty snicker, Oriel backed off again. He rose a hand to ruffle (gently) through Phoenix’s now blonde hair. “Fuck, that shit don’t matter. Think I’d still like you even if you were bald and fat.”

Seemed the two boys shared their nervousness of crowds still. And they could, theoretically, support each other from that. They’d go out there and dance…eventually. First, may as well get comfortable and have a bite or two or three. Oriel hadn’t noticed the dragon-girl until they actually arrived at the table. He exchanged a glare with her before turning away, growling, and focusing more on the spread than the people taking from it. Silently, he pulled Phoenix to stand on the opposite side of him, away from the she-demon. “You want a sandwich?” he asked Phoenix, pointedly looking away from the dragon-bitch.

[Georgina Speer]

George was random and fabulous and had sweets in her hair - of course she could totally own the dancing up in this hizzle~! In all honesty, though, she was no expert, but she wasn't bad, and it didn't look terrible.

Her own reason for being there wasn't exactly to kiss anyone or anything (hello~, she hadn't even had her first kiss yet, she didn't know how to do that chiz), but she went for the most obvious reasons - fun, food and folks. She could've just said people, but she wanted to use another f-word. And not the f-word. Not that she hadn't used that before... what did it matter, she was feeling fabby.

There were loads of people and costumes, like the genderbent Frozen duo, and the fabulous Kingdom Hearts fans, and Aladdin.

Wait, nope. That was Aladdinjamin. Otherwise known as Benji.

She gave him a cheeky grin and danced like the second-best dancer in the room. Because he clearly knew what he was doing better than she did. "I didn't expect to see you, either." She admitted. The English girl stuck her tongue out, "Your face isn't too bad." She said, jumping about a bit.

George snorted, doing some weird butt shuffle thing, "Oh, this isn't dancing. This could easily be compared to the flailings of a turtle stuck on its back." Despite the genuineness that Ben seemed to show towards the end of the last conversation they had, George still had her guard up. This was the same guy who approached her like, 'Eyy, babe.' and called her 'sweetheart'. She wasn't about to push away his company, though, he was far from unbearable.

"You're Aladdin, I see?" She commented. "Don't try to get me on your carpet any time soon." She muttered, giving a twirl and making her skirt twirl with her. Party party party~!

[Amelia Zhao]

Unknow to Mia Amelia was unsure just like she was what to call this either. When Mia had asked her to go she didn't really think to ask her if she meant like as a date or did she just not have anyone else to with and it was a friend thing. Of, course she rented a limo and all like they were on a date, but Mel loved to spoil her friends to not just her dates so there was that. Plus it was prom! Go big or go home, right? Whatever they were calling this she would make sure Mia had a good time. That way if Mia did think of it as a date it would be a good first date and  if not they would have a nice outing.

"It's okay," she said as she entered after her. She looked around at all the other outfits people was wearing. "Looks like I'm not the only one who decide to wear a gender-bent outfit" she noted. Mel had decided to dress up like the gender swap version of Aladdin wedding outfit. One because she already had made the outfit before as a cosplay and two she just love the movie and this was a perfect excuse to wear it. Her hair wasn't really long  like a picture she based it off of, but she really didn't care. "So shall I escort you to the dance floor or for punch and snacks first my lady? " she asked linking her arm with Mia's.

[Gryphon Matsuoka]

It had kinda gone over Gryph's head a little, but the thing was, Phen's wings would've been obviously unnatural in any situation other than this one. In this setting (and with what he was wearing, as weird as Gryphon personally found it), they just... blended in. As much as a guy in a dress could blend in. "If he's happy, then he can do what he wants." Gryph said. It wasn't like he himself would actually go around in public with his wings out, but it wasn't like he would stop others.

He raised his eyebrows suspiciously at his boyfriend, before laughing along, "Alright then, you delinquent." He teased. Gryphon twisted his fingers around Kodi's hand and smirked at the kiss, "You do too, love." Even if he hadn't really attempted at an outfit of sorts. Gryph gave him a short kiss on the lips. Fake scars were sexy.

Gryphon watched as Kodi began to walk away, positively amused by the idea of anyone making out with a lamppost. How would that even be possible... eh, it was probably done before, somewhere on this crazy planet. Gryph's hands slid in his pocket for a moment as he regarded Kodi. He rolled his eyes a little - it was like he didn't understand that the point of a social gathering like this was to socially gather.

Not that he had a problem with making out. That sounded good too. He trailed up behind the younger boy and smiled, "You really aren't subtle, are you?" He stated, grinning. Because he wasn't. And that was fine.

[Greg Mackenzie]

He should’ve known that calling his best friend wouldn’t resolve his situation. Or even shed light onto it. If anything, Harrison had made everything worse. On purpose.

“Oh fuck you,” he said as he began their goodbyes, “May your dick wither and fall off because of the lack of action you’d be getting.” Shaking his head as he ended the call, he saw that in the fifteen minutes he’d been gone, Stephen’s sent him seven text messages, starting with the innocuous asking him where he was, when he’d be back, and going as far as to say that he’s being hit on by five, six, seven different guys and if Greg didn’t come back soon he’s not sure he can control himself any longer.

What have he gotten himself into really.

Walking back, he stopped by the alley where he saw Mr. Snow Fairy and was a little disappointed that the blonde wasn’t there anymore. “Would’ve been a great distraction,” he caught himself saying as he continued his not-so-determined trek back to the Centre.

People were still filing in as he entered the Centre, and was a little surprised at the number of genderbent costume. Well, he should’ve expected it, given the circumstances. Deciding he’d take another half hour away from Stephen for a bit more, he flexed his mental tendrils a bit and locked onto Stephen, using the tracking aspect of his power to, well, avoid the boy. In his search he stumbled upon a few familiar mental signatures, one of which stood out not just ‘cause of familiarity, but also ‘cause of how crazy it was.

“Sweet mother of all things holy and pure. Gigi?” he said with glee as he approached the Brit from behind, eyes wide with mischief, smile to his ears, “Are you? No way. Am I dreaming? Is that a legit skirt? Oh. My. God.” In true Greg fashion, without much warning, the boy held on to the hem of George’s skirt and began playing with it, threatening to lift it up way too much every five seconds or so.

“Oh hi. I’m Greg, Gigi’s life partner,” Greg said when he saw that, well, she’s already been talking to someone else. A cute someone else.

[Benjamin Park]

Well.... Alright then. Benji watched the girl jump around with a small smirk on his face, quite amused with the way George was dancing. "Well, thanks for that, I guess," he replied with a small chuckle as he danced himself, trying to get a rhythm despite the unusual music that was playing. It just wasn't good for dancing, in his opinion, but he was doing his best.

"A turtle... On it's back... Right," he slowly agreed, raising an eyebrow. He supposed he could see it, if he tried hard enough to use his imagination. "That's quite the moves you've got, though. I can't say I've ever seen anything quite like it." Whether that was a good thing or not, Benji didn't say. He just smiled cheekily to himself.

"Yep, the one and only," he replied with a flair of his purple vest (although in reality he'd seen at least one other Aladdin there... Oh well). "And you're, um..." Okay, to be honest, Benji had no idea what George was supposed to be.

But fortunately, it was at that moment that some guy came up and started squealing at the girl, saying something about her skirt and other nonsense Benji didn't really pick up. He didn't say anything until the guy spoke towards him... And what he said made Ben laugh. "Life partner... Uh-huh, okay," he replied with mock seriousness. Benjamin wasn't the best at picking up people's sexualities, but this guy had homosexual written all over. "I'm Benji, George's... Magic carpet ride, apparently," he smirked, shooting a glance at the girl. "Don't worry, babe, my carpet doesn't bite." The dancer busted out a sick move that totally didn't go with the music, but whatever, he could make his own.

[Georgina Speer]

The idea that her metaphor was possibly strange and difficult to comprehend was... well, strange and difficult to comprehend. It was perfectly normal to her. Like her dancing. It was, like, her just jumping on the spot, even if that was generally what it was. She also occasionally moved her arms. Exciting times. But she took his comment as a compliment, even if it wasn't fully intended that way, "I totally have the moves like Jagger." Eeehhhh, not so much. Keep trying, George.

She was astounded that Benji seemed to be struggling for a name. Had he not seen Wreck-It Ralph? Shame on his genie-lovin' butt.

Oh, but then the fun began. She could recognize that accent so easily, it was painful. And she probably would have been hiding behind Ben, if he was anyone but... him. Instead, she stopped 'dancing' and slowly Abd stiffly turned around, pretty certain of what was to come. "Hey, Canada," she greeted him with a smile of 'stop squealing honey, the neighbours will ask questions'.

"No, it's a bloody bra, I'm just wearing it around my waist-- of course it's a skirt!" And it was totally normal for her to be wearing a skirt. *cough* Yeah. Her eyebrows pulled together at Greg's wandering hands - see, this was exactly what she had been talking to Carleigh about, even if that was ages ago. She flicked his hand, "Gerroff, you buggering peeper." Aha, yup. "I know I'm not a skirt expert, but I'm not wearing it so you can pull it up and show my fucking underwear to the world."

Well, that was an introduction, if there ever was one. And it was so blatantly ironic as... hah, George, or Gigi, had never been on a date. A 'life partner' would be a pretty huge step from 'forever alone'. She muttered something about him not being her life partner if he kept touching her skirt. Then she would get the title of 'forever alone murderer'.

'Magic carpet ride'? 'Kay, no, that was totally twisting her words. She raised her eyebrows at the dancer boy. Freaking flirter. And she was quite aware that carpets didn't have the ability to bite. But that wasn't the focus here. He kind of put on a little show or whatever and George tilted her head, "I'm sure it doesn't, but I'm also pretty certain that many others have ridden it." This metaphor was taking leaps and bounds into the realms of possible misunderstandings, so she... well, she z-snapped, "I am an independent woman," Even if a real, actual carpet ride would be pretty amazing. "And I can totes dance better than you." Pfffffttttttt, where the hell had that come from? She looked at Greg with a look of 'I blame you for this' written all across her face.

[Deleted]

Phoenix would likely never forget the time that Oriel ripped off his promise tattoo in his fit of rage – and he’d never forgive himself if he ever drove Oriel to do it again. Because he was completely convinced that that fight had been entirely his own fault and it never would have happened if he’d just behaved. He’d do so much more than just wear a silly leash if that’s what made Oriel feel that Phoenix was safe.

“Oh you are, are you?” he replied as sassily as he could in his sick state; it wasn’t much. “Whad if I fly off t’Neverland with my preddy fairy wings?” Still, he shivered slightly at the breath against his ear, resisting the urge to just pull his lover aside and find a corner to spend the rest of the evening in. “Aw, you’re so romandig,” he giggled, nuzzling his face into his boyfriend’s side. “I hobe I don’t end ub the firsd, though, and doubd I will ever be the segond.” Unless his metabolism dramatically decreased and his appetite increased, or something.

He blinked and stumbled slightly as Oriel pulled him to his other side. “Whad did you do thad for?” he asked with a confused furrow of his brow. Safia had smiled at him, at least, but he hadn’t realized the deathly glare she’d given Oriel. “Um, ogay…” he agreed slowly, turning his attention away from his bewilderment. He gingerly picked up a slice of what looked like a roast beef sub and sat it on a plate, daintily picking out a few grapes and strawberries from a fruit platter. It wasn’t a lot, but he’d probably eat no more than half of it anyway. “Led’s go, um…. Over there,” he suggested after Oriel had gotten his own food, pointing at a semi-empty corner… That he only now realized Gryphon and Kodi were walking past. Phoenix squeaked and hid his face against Oriel’s arm, as though that could hide him from the affection being shared between those two. “Nevermind, led’s go this way,” he stammered, pulling Oriel in the opposite direction towards an, admittedly, more crowded area.

[Mia Bell]

Maybe they should unknowingly go by the rule ‘if we kiss it’s a date, if we don’t it’s not a date..’ thing? Wouldn’t that settle everything… But for that to be a rule, they would both have to agree on it, and for them to agree on it they would have to talk about it. If they talked about it, they would be right back where they started… Just instead of wondering if it’s a date or not, they would be wondering if they were going to kiss or not, just wasn’t any different really.

“hey, You’re the handsomest gender bent one in the room.” Was that a back handed compliment? She hadn’t meant it to be offensive… gosh, she hated herself right now… “I think it’s nice really…” She waved to Salem, who she shopped with, “I actually helped him pick out his costume.” Yes, Mel should be amazed at how well amazing Mia was, but nah, Mia didn’t think she helped much. “Let’s get some punch…” She really wasn’t ready to dance yet… Because that meant getting closer to Mel, and she wasn’t ready for that, well she didn’t think she really would ever be ready for it… Except that one time where they cuddled… While pouring herself and Mel a drink she spotted Oriel, with whom she assumed was Phoenix, she waved to Oriel, and to Phoenix, considering they were near each other.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean was gladdened to see how many teenagers had come to this year’s youth prom. Hammel had no prom, which had not changed since the psychiatrist’s years as a student over four decades ago. What had changed was the visibility of LGBT people.

When he had been a student, there had been no LGBT Youth Center. There had certainly not been an alternative prom to accommodate non-heterosexual and non-cisgendered teenagers. Not that Sean would have availed himself of such a resource if it had existed, as he had identified as straight until his senior year of college. Still, times had changed for the better.

Sean’s first year at Hammel began only months after Stonewall. In the forty-five years since then, the LGBT movement had made great strides in many respects; same-sex relationships were no longer grounds for prison or psychiatric commitment, for instance. There remained work to be done, but this evening the psychiatrist was proud to be here with the youth, enjoying the night with them. And with his partner.

In the spirit of the theme, he had dressed as Carl from Up. He had borrowed a pair of glasses from James Campbell, since his lenses had no prescription, and he had whitened his hair and taken a cane from storage. Distressingly, he would probably look like this in twenty-five years.

When other adults or when teenagers came towards the back for snacks and punch, he greeted them. Otherwise, he left them to dance and to mingle.

[Deleted]

Oriel wouldn’t do the leash thing again….probably. Maybe. Actually, Oriel had gotten quite the kick out of doing it, it was very likely he’d do it again just for fun. Or if Phoenix did something stupid like he’d been doing at that time again…though if that happened, Oriel would need to think up a different form of punishment, because no way was the same thing going to be as effective the second time. Maybe lock him up in a closet for a week? Nah, that’d be going too far…

Why was Oriel even contemplating new ways to discipline his lover anyway? Did he really expect to have to do something like that again.

Simple answer: yes.

If Phoenix wasn’t such a damn flake all the time, then maybe Oriel wouldn’t feel like he had to put him on a leash or in a closet all just to keep him…safe…

Oriel gave Phoenix a quick glance over his back. “You can fly with those things? I though they were just for decoration.” Oriel’d only seen him fly with them once, after all. And that had ended with the all three of the boys(Gryph was there too) tripping off their asses. Oriel smirked down at Phoenix and his attempt at sass. Sass with a stuffy nose. Oriel kissed it.

Oriel wasn’t going to give an explanation for his sudden protectiveness of his lover, especially not on a night that was supposed to be nice. The two of them, he and that man-hating whore, could at least try to be civil for one night, right? Oriel had more important things to think about than the she-devil incarnate. He plopped some extra fruit and a huge slab of sandwich meat onto a plate before looking up briefly and spotted Mia, who was offering the pair a friendly wave. Oriel smiled and returned it, sticking his tongue out in an ornery manner before turning to follow beside his Phoenix to the corner the other boy pointed out….until he was very deliberately pulled away in the opposite direction. Oriel looked ahead and saw the other two boys, Kodi and Gryph. “Really?” he asked of his boyfriend. “What, you don’t want to see your bird-bestie on a date?” He snorted. Despite this, he still followed the pixie to the other end of the room.

[Deleted]

Phoenix was too busy being confused over Oriel's behavior to notice Dr. Neville at first, but when he did, he smiled and offered a shy wave. He still didn't feel like he knew the man well, but he'd helped a lot already. And that meant a lot to Phoenix.

It would be interesting to know what the man thought of Oriel's ideas of 'keeping Phoenix safe'. If Phen knew more about what his boyfriend was thinking and the actual problems behind that logic (because, let's be honest, Phoenix as a whipped man and didn't question things anymore), then he might be worried.

As it was, he remained blissfully unaware as they went about their business.

Phen snorted at Oriel's comments about his wings. "Careful, or I mighd end ub dusding everyone here on accidend," he warned at the teasing with a smile. "You seen me fly with them, dorg." Not well, granted, but...

Phoenix decided to ignore the issue for the time being and stole a piece of fruit off of his Squishy's plate as he glanced up to see... What was her name? Mia? waving to the two of them. He clutched Oriel's arm and shyly waved back.

It wasn't until he saw the other gay couple that his mood dropped. And dropped a lot, irrationally. ".... Nooo...." Phoenix whined, humphing and standing in a bit of space in the corner, looking pointedly away from the other two. ".... Maybe...." He pouted at Oriel as he picked dejectedly at his sandwich. "I just... Don'd wanna thing about it now, is all...." Phoenix tugged his boyfriend against the wall and nuzzled against his side. "I don'd feel hungry anymore." What a surprise.

[Rain Tseung]

Rain was pretty giddy tonight, mostly because it was prom, she was dressed as Mulan (she just had really short hair) and she was with the two most amazing people ever. Well two most amazing people after her family of course, she loved her family. However, she found that she also loved JJ, maybe just as much as any of her family. She hoped, even if it was incredibly unrealistic, she wanted them to be together forever, no matter what happened. She even dreamed of having their babies, she wondered if she would have twins, she read somewhere that twins could be biological.

Either way, they were at the dance, and she wondered if this would be as awkward as the valentine dance. Granted they had just gone as friends that time, and wait, weren’t they going as just friends now? The twins had only asked her, they didn’t say if it was a date or not… Maybe she shouldn’t assume it was a date, even though she wanted it to be…

She stood in-between the twins and tugged on both of their sleeves, “You guys look so cute!”

[Kamillia Engel]

Kamillia looked around, and looked at all the couples that were around. She rubbed her arms, feelings really uncomfortable, shouldn’t Adam be here by now? Did something happen to him? She didn’t have her phone on her to see if he called or texted… Maybe she had been such an idiot for even wanting to go to this dance, she didn’t usually do school dances… This was just like the valentine’s dance where some idiot spilled their drink on her dress…

Sighing Kam got up and walked over to the punch table. Getting more juice, maybe if she waited just a little longer… Or maybe it was just false hope she was giving herself… What guy would want to even go out with her? Was it too much to ask for just one boy to… Just one… Even just one date… She could live with one date…

She looked to her side and saw the short hair of what she thought was a boy, Amelia’s back was turned to her. What could hurt? If Adam showed up maybe she could get away with it.. She hadn’t realized the boy was with someone though. She taped his shoulder, “hey, I really like the highlights in your hair.”