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"So what was yours like?"
Leslie and Ben were curled on the couch watching the News, Ben absentmindedly running his fingers through Leslie’s hair.
"Hmm?" he answered.
"Your prom. I told you about mine, so what was yours like?"
"Oh." He frowned briefly. "Uhm, well, I didn’t have one. I mean, my school had one, but I didn’t go. My parents tried to throw me my own, but that was a disaster. So, yeah. No prom."
During his rambling, his hands stopped stroking her hair, moving to his lap to pick invisible threads on his pants.
"You didn’t go to prom?"
“Nah. Uhm, it was a few months after I got impeached, so I wasn’t exactly up for Prom King.” He chuckled. “I wasn’t up for much of anything, actually.”
Leslie stared at him as though he just told her his dog died. “Oh my God, Ben-“
"Hey, I mean it’s not that big of a deal." He gave a halfhearted shrug. "Lots of people don’t go to prom. I think what messed me up more was my parents’ poor attempt at giving me my own."
Leslie moved from her seat on the couch to straddle Ben’s lap, his hands automatically moving to her waist. She placed her hands on either side of his face, forcing him to look her in the eye.
“It really sucks that you weren’t able to experience something as special as your prom because of your crap town. But you know what? Screw it, because this prom is gonna be the greatest ever.”
He gave her a grateful smile. “Thanks. But I don’t know how good of a date I’m gonna be since I’m co-DJing.”
"That’s alright. I’ll probably be busy running around that night anyway. Besides," she leaned forward seductively, grinding her hips into his pelvis, "the best part of prom is always the after party."
"Yeah?"
"Oh, yeah. Have I ever told you how much a man in headphones turns me on? Why do you think I went with A.V.Club Harvey?"
Ben moved his fingers under the hem of her shirt, stroking the bare skin of her ribs beneath her bra. “I bet my headphones are bigger than his.”
"Hey, you and I both know that it’s not the size of the headphones that counts, but how well you use them. And you really don’t need to be jealous of Harvey. He barely got past second base that night." She brushed her lips against his. "You, on the other hand, just might hit a home run."
"Oh. I’ve always wondered what it would be like to get lucky on prom night."
~~~~~
"Hey, man, is Leslie okay? She’s sportin’ her ‘crazier than normal’ crazy eyes."
Ben looked over at Tom before moving his gaze to follow Leslie as she got pulled from the stage.
"I’m honestly not 100% sure what’s happening right now. I guess I’ve been so caught up in the moment. Just losing myself in the music, ya know?"
Tom rolled his eyes and went back to tweeting on his iPhone.
"Hey, man, do you take requests? There’s a song that my girlfriend really wants to hear," a young kid asked coming up to the booth.
"You bet, Broseph. You just tell me what sick beats you want me to throw down."
As he rifled through his collection of albums, an idea struck him. He just had to wait for Leslie to come back.
It was almost a half hour before he saw her again, a loud crash from across the gymnasium catching his attention. He started a new song and quickly ran over to her.
"Leslie? You okay? What happened?" he asked, seeing a table cloth now attached to her dress.
"Pikitis, that’s what happened."
"Pikitis? That kid you told me about that used to prank you guys?"
"Yes. UGH! I can’t believe he got me again. Look at this mess.”
"Hey, it’s okay. I’ll go find someone to clean this up, and you get yourself cleaned up, okay? When you come back I have a surprise for you."
Leslie stopped trying to remove the staples from her dress and looked up at him excitedly. “You have a surprise for me? What is it?”
"It’s not a surprise if I tell you," he laughed. "You gonna be okay to fix your dress?"
"Yeah, I’ll be fine. Just have to remove a few strategically placed staples. I’ll be back." She leaned up to kiss him and made her way to the bathroom while Ben found someone to clean the mess.
Ben was back at his booth 15 minutes later when Leslie walked into the gym. He felt like the lead in one of those 80’s teen angst films, seeing the girl of his dreams walk into prom from across the room. She looked towards the booth and waved at him, a goofy smile spreading across his face as he waved back.
Grabbing the microphone, he faded out the music.
"How we doing, Pawnee High?!"
A round of applause and shouts answered back.
"Now, I know we’ve been jamming pretty hard, but right now I think it’s time for a little change of pace. This next song is dedicated to the woman who helped make tonight possible, Deputy Director of the Parks Department and my amazing wife, Leslie Knope."
He pointed towards her at the back of the gym, and the students erupted into another round of applause as Leslie smiled and waved back at them.
"So," Ben continued, "Now’s the time to grab someone special and hold on tight because we are about to be transported to 1981. Fun fact: this song, although recorded in 1981, reached it’s zenith in 1987 when it was featured in several episodes of Family Ties-“
“Ugh, Ben, no one cares,” Tom groaned.
"Well, anyway. Here’s At This Moment by Billy Vera and the Beaters.”
As the familiar piano melody began to play, Ben left the turntables and made his way over to Leslie. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close while her fingers laced behind his neck, and they swayed to the music.
"Everything okay now?" Ben asked her as they danced.
"Yeah," she sighed. "I just got a bit overzealous in my attempts to convince Allison to take the Summer Internship instead of working for Ron’s friend."
"Ah, so that’s what that whole announcement was about."
"Exactly. I don’t know, I guess I’m still hung up on this job offer. If I do take it, I want to make sure the department will be fine without me, and she seemed like a perfect fit."
"I’m not gonna lie. She definitely reminds me of how I’d picture you at that age, with your school spirit and back channel Mexican office supplies."
"Well, we were both wrong. She has terrible taste and it would be a mistake to have her work with us."
"Okay, now I am definitely confused.”
"She’s dating Greg Pikitis. I can’t trust the judgement of someone who would stoop so low as to date that juvenile delinquent and stain on Pawnee’s legacy."
Ben started laughing softly.
"How is this at all funny, Ben?"
”Nothing. It’s just, she’s seventeen. She’s allowed to have a little judgement error every now and then. Obviously the choice is up to you, but she still seems like a good match. We can’t all be judged forever by the stupid stuff we did when we were teenagers. I mean, my judgement error was bankrupting an entire city.”
"Well, that’s almost as bad as dating Pikitis."
He laughed again and pulled her closer, resting his forehead against hers.
"Well, whatever happens, it will all work out. Just enjoy the rest of the night. It’s prom."
"And how has prom been for you? Everything Benji Wyatt dreamed it would be?"
"Well, it’s not exactly how I pictured prom, but I got to live out some of my DJ dreams, and I’m dancing with the most amazing girl in school. Plus, the best part is that I have no curfew. So, yeah, I’d say my prom checklist is almost complete.”
"I’m glad. Might I add that you look so incredibly sexy up there in those headphones." Leslie tilted her head up and pressed a seductive kiss to Ben’s lips. "And when we get home, you’ll be able to cross that last item off of your list."
He smiled and looked down at her.
"Leslie Knope, will you go steady with me?"
"Why, Benji Wyatt, I’m honored. Give me your varsity jacket, and I’m all yours."
"Would you settle for my Model UN lapel pin?"
"Even better."
Oh yeah, Ben thought to himself. Definitely the best prom ever.