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Nic was always somewhat envious of the way that Tyson carried herself. Instead of letting herself be mocked for her masculine name (“Five generations of first born Ritters have been named Tyson, fuck you very much!”) and short cropped hair (“Gender norms were made to be shoved up your ass”), her confidence demanded respect. She was tall and beautiful, with sharp jawlines and cheekbones, and eyes so blue that you could drown in them. Every guy seemed to have a crush on her, but she just wasn’t interested.
Her sexuality was never a secret between them, Ty had known she was gay ever since she could remember, but they did live in a small, western town after all. Despite this, Tyson had never been quiet about her liberal views, especially during debates in their government class.
Nic sort of wished that she had that kind of spunk - that she could walk across the cafeteria, completely covered in paint and still smirk at every stare she received.
“Hey, Nicky,” Ty greeted her with a smile and slid into the seat across from Nic.
“Hey,” Nic smiled, trying very hard not to stare at the paint splattered all over Ty’s tank top, particularly a purple spot over the swell of her small breasts, or the flecks of green on her collarbone.
“What’s with the,” Nic waved her hand in Tyson’s general direction.
Tyson laughed, “A mishap in my painting class. It’s a long story and extremely unimportant right now.” She smirked and her tone dropped low and suggestive, “We have more important matters to discuss. Guess what I heard in bio?”
School gossip really didn’t interest Nic in the slightest, but her tone sure did. She decided to humor Tyson, “What?”
“Jake Sumners wants to ask you to prom!” Tyson went from sultry to a hushed shriek in about five seconds.
“Um, okay?” Nic said, going back to her bagel.
“Well, what are you going to tell him?” Tyson asked, earnestly, pushing her tray of food out of the way to lean forwards and put her chin in her hands.
Nic sighed, “First of all, he hasn’t even asked me! Second, I don’t even know if I want to go.”
Tyson almost looked offended, “But you have to go, Nicky! It’s your senior prom!”
“Yeah, and it’s in four months, I think it’s a little early to start planning,” Nic pointed out, really wishing that they could just drop the entire conversation together. She really did not want to go with that guy. Or with any guy, really.
“This town is tiny. Everyone has started making restaurant reservations and everything!”
Nic shook her head. “That’s ridiculous. Anyways,I thought you didn’t care about ‘trite high school rituals.’”
“Whatever,” Tyson waved off her comment. “I’m living vicariously through you.” She gave Nic a look, “You really should go. It’s an experience you’ll never get to repeat.”
Nic really couldn’t outright say no when Tyson was looking at her like that. She couldn’t even form a vague protest. “I’ll think about it,” she conceded, hoping the grin on Tyson’s face didn’t mean that Tyson counted it as a win.
---
Not even a week after their conversation, Jake Sumners cornered Nic by her locker. He threw an arm up against the top of the lockers that might have been an attempt at sexy, or maybe at caging her in so she couldn’t escape, but whatever it was, it just made her feel intimidated. He wasn’t that much taller than Tyson, but his cologne was strong enough to make her choke.
“Hey, babe,” he greeted with a coy grin. Tyson’s feminist rant about calling women ‘babe’ or ‘baby’ began running through her head, but she forced herself to concentrate on what Jake was saying. “I know we don’t know each other very well, but I would be honored if you would attend prom with me,” He spoke in a lofty voice, probably trying to sound suave or some shit, Nic thought.
“Um,” Nic said, completely at a loss of what to say. She hadn’t thought about it much after her conversation with Ty. Tyson was right, it was her senior prom. And she’d rather go with a guy she barely knew than no one.
(Really, she could have asked Tyson as friends - underclassmen were allowed if their date was an upperclassman, but she seemed so excited at the prospect of Jake asking Nic to the prom, it was kind of disheartening.)
“Sure, I’d love to.” Nic forced herself to smile at him, and he grinned in return.
“That’s great. I’ll see you around, Nicole.”
Nic resisted the urge to shout “It’s Nic!” after him and instead turned back to her locker and rolled her eyes, completely missing the dismayed look on Tyson’s face across the hallway.
---
“How about this one?” Tyson snickered.The dress that she had pulled off the rack looked more like it would fit a Barbie than an actual human being.
"I'm gonna have to veto that one, Ty. Along with most of these, too. This is ridiculous." Nic sighed, wanting to just give up.
Ty laughed, “Okay, okay. but this is just the first store we’ve been to! We haven’t even made it through, you can’t be discouraged now!”
It really was helpful having Tyson there with her. Despite her tendency to just throw on whatever clean thrift store clothes she could find, Ty did know a thing or two about fashion. More that Nic did at least – her wardrobe consisted of jeans and t-shirts and maybe a sundress or two that her mom picked out.
She also kept Nic from getting too bored, and provided her with an entertaining scale of sluttiness: wanna-get-laid to prostitute.
It took them six hours and four different stores to find the dress.
Tyson spotted it, methodically moving through the store, rack by rack. "Holy shit, you would look gorgeous in this," Ty breathed. Nic’s head snapped up, expecting another high-class prostitute rating. Instead, she was pleasantly surprised with the dress that Ty was holding.
“That... is really pretty,” Nic said, taking the dress from Ty.
Tyson grinned, “Try it on! Do it! Doooooo it!”
Nic laughed, and nodded, biting her lip and hoping that it would support her chest enough. She locked herself into the dressing room and stripped, wincing at the cold air blowing out of the vent above her.
As much as she struggled with the zipper, she could not wrestle it up her back, and poked her head out of the door of the dressing room. “Hey Ty. I can’t get this zipper up?” She said. It was almost a question.
Ty slipped inside to help, and they both admired the dress in the mirror.
It was extremely elegant: dark red with an empire waist that flowed to her knees. The two small straps that held it up cut across her collarbones. It was not a typical prom dress because of the length, but Nic couldn’t bring herself to care, she loved it. The fabric held her in the right places and flowed with her movements.
"Wow," Tyson breathed, not even pretending not to stare. Nic grinned, and knew that this dress was the one, if Ty’s reaction was anything to go by.
Tyson had an odd look on her face, and for the life of her, Nic couldn’t place it. She suddenly felt self-conscious, and watched Tyson’s face closely in the mirror. Ty reached out a reverent hand, brushing it gently over Nick's bare shoulder blade, sending a shiver through Nic. Tyson started and snatched her hand back.
Their gazes met in the mirror. "You okay?" Ty asked, genuinely concerned.
"Cold hands," Nic explained hastily, hoping that Tyson wouldn’t notice the heat spreading across her cheeks.
“Sorry!” Tyson said, bouncing back to her normal, hyperactive self. She grinned at Nic, “Is this the dress?”
Nic smiled in return, “It is.”
---
“Alright Nicole, now turn to your left and clasp your hands in front of you,” Nic’s mother commanded, snapping three more pictures.
“Mom, my face hurts, how much more of this?” Nic whined, playing with the fancy corsage on her wrist. It had tiny lilies on it, a signature of her parent’s shop.
“Quit complaining, this is prom tradition!” Ty laughed at her, earning a glare from Nic.
Her mother sighed resignedly. “How about one of you and Tyson, and then we’ll be done?”
Tyson grinned, and bounced over to Nic, slinging an arm around her shoulders and pulling a goofy pose. Nic placed one hand on Tyson’s lower back, and lacking anything better to do with the other, she stuck it behind her back.
Her mother snapped a few more pictures, and then released them.
“So when’s your date supposed to get here?” Nic’s mom asked, capping the camera lens and setting it aside.
“I don’t know, soon?” Nic replied absently. Really, Jake was late, which was unfortunate, but she didn’t want her mom and dad knowing that.
The sound of a car horn sent Nic running, nearly tripping over everything in her impractical heels. She ignored her father’s muttered, “Rude, teenagers,” and grabbed her clutch, trying her best not to break an ankle in the process.
“Nicky,” Tyson said, halting Nic’s rush.
“What, Ty?” Nick asked, adjusting the strap on her shoe.
Ty opened her mouth, but shut it again. A car horn sounded again, startling them both. “Nevermind, have fun.” Ty smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes.
“Are you okay-” Nic started to ask, but a third horn interrupted her, and she was gone.
---
Dinner was an awkward affair because her prom group was made up of Jake’s friends and their dates. While she had technically known these kids since they were in diapers, she had no idea how to talk to any of them. After a few stilted conversations about English class, and one about the marching band, their food arrived, interrupting their discussion.
By the time they actually arrived at the dance, Nic was ready to hunt down the chocolate fountain and escape their company. They hadn’t discussed anything particularly upsetting, but the fact that Nic held absolutely no interest in who knocked up Susan Peters (who was apparently showing despite the high waist of her dress) or who won the Superbowl (four months after the fact) made friendly conversation difficult.
The chocolate fountain was everything Nic had dreamed of and more. She was on her fourth strawberry by the time Jake found her.
“Let’s dance,” he said, and Nic glanced doubtfully at the couples dry humping each other to the fast-paced beat of the music.
“Um, could we wait for a slow song? I don’t dance very well,” she laughed, thankful that he didn’t press.
They made small talk through the fast song and a hoe-down country song before the DJ finally settled on a slow song. Jake took her hand and led her out onto the dance floor.
Apparently her idea of a slow dance was terribly old fashioned, because Jake pulled her flush against his body when she expected to be held waltz-style (with a good foot between them). She had no idea what to do and considered making an excuse to escape, but Jake had bought her dinner and her prom ticket. The least she could do was dance with him for a bit.
It wasn’t that she disliked Jake – when they sat together in class, they always had good conversations. But she felt no draw to him, and dancing like they were only felt awkward when it was supposed to be alluring, if the countless couples sharing saliva were anything to go by.
Realistically, the song couldn’t have lasted more than three minutes, but to Nic it felt like a year. As the music picked up again, Jake looked like he wanted to continue dancing, but Nic had no desire to subject herself to the wild thrusting that her peers were enthralled with.
She and Jake sat down at one of the round tables on either side of the dance floor. Jake kept moving closer, and Nic had no idea how to stop the touches to her knee, lower back, and neck.
“So after we get out of here,” Jake said, leaning in and speaking as low as he could over the pounding music, “I think we should go back to my place.” He ran a finger under a strap of Nic’s dress, “And maybe get you outta this.”
Nic’s eyes flew wide, and she knocked his hand away. “What?!” She snapped, even though she was sure of what she heard. The music was loud, but not loud enough to mask his intent.
He grinned. “My brother got me some booze, and my parents are out all night.”
Nic knew she definitely didn’t miss that. Jake’s hand moved back to her, this time to play with her hair, and she pushed it away again. “I’m not going to your house after this!”
The easy grin slid off of Jake’s face. That was clearly not how he had expected Nic to react.
“But, baby. It’s prom.” He seemed at a loss as to why Nic was not ready to jump in bed with him. “I thought-”
“What exactly did you think? That I would dance with you and at the end of the night, I was just spread my legs for you? Here’s a hint: stop objectifying women.” Nic’s cheeks burned, and she told herself to calm down, but every negative feeling from that night kept pushing into her brain. She ran a distressed hand through her hair and stood up, needing space.
“Nicole-” he tried.
“It’s Nic, for the last fucking time,” she snapped, whirling to face him.
His demeanor suddenly changed. “Nick?” He seemed to come to a realization, “What are you, a lesbian? That would make a whole lot of sense, actually.” He leered cockily. It did nothing but infuriate Nic even more.
“Why the hell would you assume that I’m a lesbian just because I don’t want to sleep with you. You’re not that special.” She kept herself from shouting, the last thing she needed was a scene or something. It would feed the school’s gossip mill, just like last year when a couple was caught having sex on the dance floor.
Jake didn’t seem to have the same sense of propriety and shouted, “Fuck you, Wheeler, any girl who turns me down is a fucking dyke.”
“Or they just see that you’re an asshole,” she snapped, eyes starting to water in spite of herself. She hated crying when she was angry, it did nothing but weaken her argument.
His grin turned plain mean, “You’re probably fucking Ritter, aren’t you? Everyone knows she’s a fag.”
Nic found herself choking with speechlessness. Nothing she said could adequately defend Ty and herself, not a single dammed thing. She was helpless against his prejudice.
“I’ll fix you, baby,” he crooned, grabbing her shoulders. “One night with me and you’ll forget about pussies, I promise.”
Nic punched him in the gut as hard as she could, but it didn’t seem to faze him at all. Helpless, she wrenched herself out of his grip and ran for the door, his shouted insults lost in the beat of the music.
---
Nic had been holding her tears back fairly well, but the minute Tyson picked up her house phone, Nic lost it. “Ty, I need you to come and pick me up. Please.” She choked.
Tyson sounded breathless, as words spilled out of her mouth. “I’ll be there in five. Calm down, it’ll be okay, I promise. Where are you?”
Nick felt trapped by the school, the pounding music reaching out to her and trying to drown her in the phone booth. She had to get farther away.
“The playground, by the school,” Nick sniffed. She hoped that the easy landmark would speed up Tyson’s trip.
“I’m on my way, Nicky.”
Nic walked across the street to the playground, drying her face on her wrists and arms. She sat down on the bottom of the slide and wrapped her arms around herself.
Tyson said five minutes, but she was tearing into the parking lot only two minutes later. Had the police been patrolling instead of chaperoning prom, she probably would have lost her brand new license.
Nic watched as Ty jumped out of the truck and ran towards her, stuffing the keys in her pocket as she went.
Ty hesitated in front of Nic. At a loss of what to say to help her best friend, she sunk down next to Nic and wrapped her arms around her, pulling a fresh round of tears out of Nic.
“Wanna talk about it?” Ty asked once Nick’s sobbing had subsided.
Nic took a deep breath. “He wanted me to go home with him. And have sex. A-And when I said no, he accused me of being a lesbian, and said that he would f-fix me,” her voice broke off, and Ty hugged her closer.
“I’m going to fucking kill him,” Ty said, voice hard.
“No! I just want to forget about it,” Nic said, too quickly.
Ty picked up on it, and narrowed her eyes. “What else did he say to you?”
Nic wouldn’t meet Ty’s eyes. “He said that you and I were probably fucking,” she finished in a whisper. “And half the gym heard, and everyone’s going to think-” she broke off. It hurt too much to picture Tyson leaving her, drawing away because of the rumors.
“Hey,” Tyson said gently, nudging Nic’s chin up so that she could meet her eyes. “Jake is an asshole. All of those people are. They thrive off of other people’s misery because they’re going nowhere. Don’t let their stupidity keep you from going anywhere, either.”
Ty pulled Nic into a hug, and Nic’s heart only broke. “He’s right, though.” She whispered, voice breaking.
Tyson narrowed her eyes, “Right about what?”
Nic looked down again, and Tyson had to lean forward to catch what she said next, “I am a lesbian.”
Ty choked a bitter laugh. “And you’re just going to let those assholes put you down for it?” At Nic’s miserable expression, her face softened. “Nicky, why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t want you to know,” she whispered. When Tyson looked like she was about to object, she rushed to add, “Because I like you, and I didn’t want to lose you.” Her eyes were squeezed shut, as if expecting Tyson to mock her as her classmates did.
A huge, gleeful grin broke out onto Tyson’s face, and she nearly laughed. “Nicky, Nicky, Nicky,” she said, wrapping her arms around Nick’s neck. Nic’s eyes opened in confusion as Ty pushed herself farther into Nic’s space, not hesitating at all as she climbed onto Nic’s lap and straddled her hips. She gently pushed Nick down against the slide.
Nic’s eyes were wide and shiny, not quite trusting her own eyes. Ty beamed and leaned down, aligning their lips and kissing the confusion away.
Their position made it awkward, and Nick’s face was still damp, but it felt like the best thing ever. At first it was a chaste peck, but then Nic leaned up for more, hungrily moving her lips against Tyson’s soft ones. Nic arched and moaned into the kiss when Tyson bit her bottom lip, sucking it into her mouth. Nic ran her hands through Tyson’s short hair, enjoying the feeling of Tyson’s weight pressed against her.
Ty was the one to break the kiss, and she stared down at Nic – slightly panting – with a big grin on her face.
“I wish I could have taken /you/ to prom,” Nic sighed, and the awful evening didn’t seem quite so terrible anymore.
Ty laughed and kissed her once more, then pulled Nic to her feet. She took Nic’s hand and pulled them together (even with her heels, Nic was still a little shorter than Tyson, Nic noticed). Their embrace wasn’t awkward, as it felt with Jake, and Nick easily wrapped her arms around Ty’s waist and leaned into her chest.
Faint music drifted towards them from the gym, and they moved back and forth to the melody, basking in each other’s company and healing the wounds from earlier in the evening.
Nick didn’t feel the need to look away like she had with Jake, and she held Tyson’s gaze, their eyes filled with the light from the streetlamps giving them a warm glow.
And when they kissed again, Nic never wanted to stop.