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After having a drug ring exposed at prom by two undercover cops and sending a teacher and a student to jail, most high schools would duck their heads in shame. Most would try to pretend it never happened, send off their graduating class quietly, and wait until the fall to launch some sort of school-wide anti-drug campaign.
Most schools, however, are not like Sagan High School.
Because when Sagan High School hosts a couple undercover cops who bust open a drug ring, Sagan High School celebrates by throwing a second prom.
Or that’s what they call it, anyway. New Prom. As if the first one hadn’t raged for several hours before the bust, which didn’t even happen within the prom itself. No, the school decides they need to throw another to make things up to their students, and to celebrate the hard work of the two undercover cops that solved the whole thing.
Zack isn’t really looking forward to it.
Not because he didn’t have a good time at the first prom. He’d actually had a blast at a school dance, for the first time in his life, with his buddies around him and the women that Brad and Doug had hired for the evening to keep them company. The problem is that New Prom isn’t going to be anything like the last prom. They’re hosting it in the school gym, not a hotel ballroom, and it’s not going to be anywhere near as fancy. They aren’t serving a full meal this time, either.
And he has a funny feeling that, at this prom, Brad - Jenko, he needs to remember to call him Jenko – won’t want anything to do with him.
Because why would he? He’s older than Zack, older than all the other high school students, and Zack can’t imagine it’ll matter that they’d spent a month hanging out together. The guy is massive, obviously some sort of jock. It was hard enough to believe that Jenko would be interested in science and hanging with their group of friends the first time around, but now? Now that he doesn’t have to, for his job?
Not a chance.
But Zack goes anyway, because he’s promised Roman and Delroy that he will. The three of them show up together, in Roman’s dad’s Prius instead of in a limo, and there are no doves flying around them or girls on their arms. There’s nothing that makes them stand out, nothing that makes them special at all.
Or at least that’s what Zack thinks until they step inside the gym and Brad - Jenko - spots them.
“Dude!”
Jenko barrels towards them, practically leaping on top of all three of them in some sort of bear attack-slash-hug. He’s grinning from ear to ear, wearing a black tux this time instead of white, and his hands smack all their shoulders eagerly.
“This is awesome!” Jenko cries. “They threw us a fucking party!”
And somehow, all of Zack’s reluctance melts away. Because this – Jenko beaming at him – is really all he needs.
“You deserve it, man!” Zack yells, reaching up and clapping Jenko’s shoulder. “You caught drug dealers!”
“We caught drug dealers!”
Zack sort of feels like he’s flying.
As the night wears on, it really does feel like nothing’s changed, for Zack. He might be calling Brad by a different name, but they’re still buddies – still hanging out together, goofing off on the dance floor, drinking the spiked punch and laughing with their friends. He sees Jenko wave across the room to Doug - Schmidt - a couple of times, where he’s dancing every dance with Molly, but Jenko doesn’t go over to him. He stays here, with Zack and with their friends, laughing at Zack’s dumb science jokes and busting the most ridiculous dance moves he can think of. And Zack’s starting to think he’s never been happier.
That is, until the Year In Review video starts playing.
They’ve set up a big screen for it, just like at the first prom, and everyone stops dancing to watch a montage of photo set to Vitamin C lyrics. It’s fun, seeing his friends up there, getting to reminisce. Or it is until Zack starts to notice a pattern.
In every photo of Jenko, he’s grinning at the camera. In each of these photos, Zack is staring right at him.
And the look in Zack’s eyes is the most lovesick thing he’s ever seen.
Zack can feel his cheeks heat up. He keeps his gaze straight ahead, doesn’t even think about turning to see if Jenko’s noticed. He knows exactly what that look in his eyes means, can see his feelings spelled out clear as day on the screen in front of them, but maybe Jenko can’t. Maybe Jenko’s too busy looking at everything else in the photos to notice Zack in the background.
It certainly wouldn’t be the first time.
The montage winds down, the last few lines of the Vitamin C song playing through the speakers, and it’s on the very last picture when he feels Delroy sling a heavy arm around his shoulders.
“Dude,” Delroy yells, right in his ear, his speech slurred as he leans into him. “This was such a good year! An’ we got to go to prom with girls! The first prom, I mean. It was so fun! An’ Brad never even found out about your big gay crush on him! We survived high school, dude!”
That’s when Zack realizes how quiet the room has become.
The montage is over, the DJ’s setting back up, and Delroy’s just told the entire room about his crush on Greg Jenko.
Zack can feel the blood drain from his face in horror. Delroy stares at him, eyes wide, and then stumbles backwards.
“Shit!” he cries. “I wasn’ s’posed to say anything! Shit! I’m sorry!”
And, from behind Delroy’s flailing form, Zack can see Jenko staring right at him.
Shit.
There’s no doubt that he’s heard. Delroy, in all his misguided, alcohol-fueled glory, has chosen the absolute worst time to mention the little detail of Zack’s crush. Zack hasn’t told anyone but Delroy and Roman, has sworn them both to secrecy, because he never intended for that information to get out. He never wanted to tell Jenko, especially not after finding out who he really is. Not now that he knows that Jenko is older, and cooler, and so much more than Zack has ever been.
And now, what, he’s supposed to actually talk to the guy about his crush?
Yeah, no, he’s not putting himself through that. No way in hell.
So he cracks a smile and tries to laugh, hoping it doesn’t sound as pathetic as he thinks it does. “Drunk guys, am I right?” he says with a shrug.
But everyone’s still looking at him, Roman and Delroy with pained expressions on their faces, and Jenko’s brow is furrowed in confusion. He takes a step forwards, and Zack automatically jumps backwards a little. In desperation, he tugs his cell phone out of his pants pocket and jams it against his ear.
“Hello? Hello!” he cries into the silent phone, and grins as if he’s thrilled to be talking to the non-existent person on the other end. “Oh, god, I was wondering when you’d call!” He grins apologetically to the small group of people around him, shrugging and waving them away before turning and high-tailing it out of the room on the pretense of taking a call. It’s not the least bit coordinated and there is more flailing of limbs than he’d have liked, but it gets him away from the stares. He’s always hated the stares.
When Zack finally makes it outside the front doors of the school, he leans against the cool brick and tilts his head back, closing his eyes in frustration. He’s pretty sure that’s the least smooth thing he’s ever done.
And, given that his entire life has been built upon awkward moments, that’s saying something.
He’s pretty sure everyone’s going to leave him alone - Roman and Delroy know him so well by now that he knows they won’t come after him, despite all the booze in Delroy’s system. They’ll give him half an hour or so to calm down and regain his sanity, and they’ll meet up with him once New Prom is done and they’ll all go out for burgers, or something. And Jenko will probably hook up with Ms. Griggs, because Zack isn’t an idiot - he’s seen the way she falls all over herself around him - and he’ll never see the guy again.
Because it doesn’t matter how much fun they were having inside, now that Delroy’s let the cat out of the bag. Zack and Jenko might have been buddies at school, but this adds a whole new layer of messiness to the whole thing. Jenko’s in his twenties. He’s not a high school senior, he isn’t some secret nerd with a good heart like Zack had thought. He’s a strong, older undercover cop. They have virtually nothing in common. And, really, he was only hanging out with Zack to spy on fucking Eric Molson. Tonight has probably just been one last hurrah, a thanks on Jenko’s behalf for the help with solving his case. God. Even in the science room, Zack somehow gets thrown around by the popular kids.
Developing a crush on Brad McQuaid - on Greg Jenko - is, hands down, the dumbest thing Zack’s ever done.
When Zack hears the front doors of the school being pushed open, he stares at his feet, trying his hardest to be invisible. Maybe it’s a couple people sneaking off to start the after-party early, he hopes. Maybe they’ll leave me alone.
The shoes that stop beside him don’t give him much hope of that, though.
“You okay?”
It’s Jenko’s voice.
Zack’s eyes fall shut for a moment as he steels himself, forces himself to put a smile on his face when he looks up at him. The last thing he wants is this dude - this twenty-something, undercover-cop, not-at-all-a-peer dude - to think he’s crumbling apart because of what happened inside. The last thing he wants is to look like a weakling.
“Yeah, man, I’m cool,” he says, shrugging his shoulders. “I just needed some air, you know? After that phone call.” He wiggles his head, trying to mime being dizzy.
Jenko nods, leaning against the wall next to him. Not too close, but not miles apart, either. It doesn’t look like he’s repulsed by him, which Zack is taking as a good sign. Jenko may be older and there may be no chance that they’re actually going to be friends, not after all this, but Zack would like to part with the guy on at least slightly decent terms.
“I think someone spiked the punch, inside,” Jenko said, jerking his head back towards the doors. “We did drink a lot of that.”
“Yeah, true,” Zack agrees, and the two fall silent.
It’s not terrible, standing there in silence with Jenko, Zack realizes. He’s never actually spent much time around the guy while being quiet. They were usually working on homework, or poking around with a computer, or blowing shit up. Laughing and joking and doing weird, sciency stuff. The kinds of things that buddies do. Zack’s not normally great with silence and usually tries to fill it with aimless chatter, but right now, he doesn’t really feel a need to do that. Being quiet with Jenko isn’t all that bad.
Maybe this night hasn’t been the end of the world, after all.
“So…” Jenko begins finally, and Zack’s suddenly on high alert again. “You had a crush on me this year?” Zack feels the panic bubbling in his chest again, any calm from the previous moment completely gone. Oh god, he thinks. Abort, abort!
He does the first thing that comes into his head: crack a joke.
“Yeah, I had a crush on you,” he says with a wide grin, sarcasm dripping from every word. Jenko tilts his head.
“So you did.”
“Yeah, I totally did.”
“Are you… being sarcastic right now?”
All Zack can do is push him more, rolling his eyes and keeping his tone playful. “No, man, I didn’t have a crush on you.”
Jenko blinks. “You did or you didn’t?”
“I totally didn’t have a crush on you.”
Zack’s done this to Jenko before, and remembers all too well the confused look on his face as he’d tried to sort things out that time. It’s the same look he’s wearing now, forehead creased as he tries to figure out what Zack’s trying to say. Zack’s seconds away from being in the clear, and all his nerves are thrumming, eager for him to make his escape.
Finally, Jenko shakes his head. “I don’t get you, man.”
And he pushes himself away from the wall, shoves his hands in his pockets, and heads back toward the doors of the school.
All of a sudden, Zack feels himself panic. He’s always prided himself on his brain, on being able to dance around uncomfortable topics with confusing wordplay or sarcasm. It’s been his shield for as long as he can remember - not the best defense mechanism, but one that works. It’s been a good way to hide.
But… somehow, he doesn’t want to hide this time, after all.
“I do have a crush on you!” he pipes up, and immediately wants the ground surrounding him to open up and swallow him whole.
Jenko pauses in front of the doors and turns, his brows furrowed again. “You do like me,” he says.
“Yeah,” Zack replies, ducking his head. Maybe if he looks at his feet long enough, he won’t have to look up at Jenko’s face when he inevitably rejects him. “Sorry.”
“Why are you sorry?”
“Because you’re…” Zack sighs, flailing his hands and trying to articulate himself without sounding foolish. “Look at you! You’re strong and you’re handsome and you’re funny. And you’re older. You’re way, way out of my league.”
Zack doesn’t dare take his eyes off his shoes, especially when he doesn’t get an answer from Jenko right away. He’s pretty sure he’s doing nothing but sounding like a grade-A moron, at this point.
“You know, there’s nothing that pisses me off more than that answer,” Jenko says finally, and Zack jerks his head up.
“What?”
“Think about it,” Jenko says, starting back towards him. “You’ve got me all built up in your head. You’re making me sound like some damn Greek god or something. How the hell am I supposed to live up to that? I’m kind of dumb, dude. I’m not great at a lot of things.”
“You’re not dumb,” Zack says immediately. “You got an A on your final.”
“I’m not smart like you,” Jenko says. “Just like you’re not big like me. Nobody’s perfect, dude. Nobody’s out of anybody’s reach.”
Zack can’t help but smile a little at that. “What are you, a motivational speaker?”
“Nah.” Jenko shakes his head. “But sometimes I know what I’m talking about.”
And before Zack knows it, before he can panic or freeze up, Jenko’s got his hands on his waist, and his lips come down on his own.
The kiss isn’t long - it’s not big and sweeping, and Zack doesn’t hear movie violins and see stars. But he feels warm and safe, pressed against Jenko’s chest, and the way Jenko’s large hands slide along his hips and rest on the small of his back make him shiver. There’s a hint of stubble brushing against Zack’s cheek and Jenko’s tongue slides across his own, just for a moment. When Jenko pulls back from the kiss, his lips brush over Zack’s nose, too, and it’s so sweet and caring that Zack thinks he might melt.
Jenko grins down at him, and Zack feels himself turn bright pink again. His arms are big and strong around his body, holding onto him with no sign of letting go, and Zack sort of wants to just burrow into his chest and stay there forever with a smile on his face. His head is spinning and this is easily the last thing he’d have ever expected after his mortification inside at New Prom.
The last thing, and the best thing.
“You really thought I was gonna reject you?” Jenko asks.
“I’m one hundred and thirty-eight pounds of flailing limbs,” Zack says, poking Jenko’s chest and trying not to let out a little squeak at the hard muscle he feels there. Yeah, he’s going to need to spend some time investigating that one. “And, you know. I’m in high school.”
“Not anymore, you're not," Jenko says. "It's prom. New Prom, even."
Zack grins up at him. “I like the way you think.”
“Not too dumb for you?” Jenko asks. “Even though I’m like, seven years older than you?” And Zack laughs.
“Not even a little.”
And he reaches up on his tiptoes to kiss him once more.
end.