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Amaya had always hated the prom, the very concept made them uneasy, and thus they had never been. Seriously, a whole night completely dedicated to finding a romantic partner to flaunt around, more so for popularity points than anything else, what a waste of time. That was how they had always seen it anyway, the popular people would hook up with the other popular people to show how popular they were. If you were lucky and a dude, a cheerleader would pity you, if you were lucky and a girl, you would already be conventionally attractive and some guy who the mass liked would ask you out, if you were like Amaya, you didn't go.
Not that they hadn’t ever been asked, Sue had even offered that they go one year as friends, and as tantalizing as that offer was, the thought of wearing a dress to a prom still made them too queasy to accept.
However, despite all of that, there they stood, staring into their closet looking for what to wear. Honestly, the series of events that led them to this point baffled them, a couple months ago they didn't even know David was ever online, much less that he PLAYED Swordsvale. They knew he watched anime and was a bit of a nerd but they had no idea he was even close to the same level as them. He had never heard them say a word until they connected online, and they had always assumed it would stay that way, they had assumed it was better that way. After all, David was obviously occupied with other things, David was always doing something without fail, and the majority of the time those things had nothing to do with Amaya. Amaya had gotten rather used to appreciating him from afar in fact, to a point they were almost a little afraid at how well they hit it off online.
David played as a girl in Swordsvale, not using Mike’s excuse and instead just saying he wanted to play a woman. Amaya had been fiercely protective of him in the game, teaching him about the dangers of playing a woman in an RPG and threatening many a weirdo with complete and utter destruction. They played with each other a lot, and the more they played together the more David got into the game. Hell, he even got Paulo to play, which was honestly an Olympic feat, at least in Amaya’s eyes.
When the prom came, they were absolutely flabbergasted when David asked them to it, and pretty conflicted. Obviously, they wanted to go with David anywhere, because he was silly and funny and nice to them and could light up a room with his very presence. But at the same time, this was the prom they were talking about. You know, that prom? The big popularity contest gender norm fiesta? That prom? David hadn’t even been to it himself before! Why was he so insistent on asking them??
But as much as they wanted to scream and kick him and run away and hide in the past… There they were, in the present, staring into their closet looking for a single article of clothing that wouldn’t make them want to commit a war crime. Ugh, this was hopeless. The tabby plopped down on the end of their bed, peering at their closet with a hand on their forehead like they were looking over tax write-offs. Not that there were no options, technically they could wear the auburn dress their mother had picked out for them when they had to go to a wedding. At the time their mother commented on how much it complimented their eyes, objectively she wasn’t wrong, but it didn't cause Amaya to hate the dress any less. They groaned, flopping back on the bed and staring up at the ceiling, only to be ripped out of their gloomy pity party by a vibration of their phone.
Oh god it was from David, was he already there??? Was he waiting on them??! They quickly opened their messaging app, reading his message in a panic and realizing that was not what was happening, thank god.
“Did u figure out wut ur gonna wear?” The message from David, well… Davie, read. Amaya had saved him on their phone as Davie after hearing Daisy call him that at the lunch table, it was cute, and Amaya thought it fit him.
“No. All I have are dresses.” Amaya tapped back. They had never really explained in detail why they didn't like feminine clothing to David. David seemed to just be innately good at understanding and accepting people though, so it never really bothered him.
“Hmmmmmmm…. Hmmmmm…. Scratches chin…” David’s response was quick and caused Amaya to snicker as they looked down at their phone. David often spoke online as if he was roleplaying as some sort of anime caricature of himself, it pissed off Sue to no end when they were talking about something important like school. Amaya had always found his little quirks funny, the most endearing thing about them being that everything David did was usually completely genuine. “EUREKA!” David screamed over text, which made Amaya have to cover their mouth so their parents didn't wonder why they were giggling like a lunatic. “U could wear 1 of my suits! I hav a bunch!”
Amaya’s eyes widened, their face momentarily brushing over a shade of red. David’s suit…? I mean they wouldn’t complain if he offered… but when thinking about it deeper they realized that David was literally twice their height, and sighed as they tapped back.
“There’s no way that would fit me.”
“DAMN! Foiled again….. Ok thinking thinking ....” The tabby waited for a minute as no messages were sent, curling their legs into a crisscross and tilting their head to look out the window. They were expecting either excitement or dread, but not a mixture of the two. The thought of walking in there with a dress curled its fingers around their brain, causing them to clench their teeth and tense their expression. They shook their head, hoping that maybe they could physically shake the sinking miserable feeling out of their skull. It was going to be fun, David was there, and that meant it was going to be fun!
“WAIT I GOT IT!!!!” David sent suddenly, Amaya was snapped out of their pre-prom panic by the buzz and picked their phone up from where they had dropped it on the bed in front of them.
“Oh yeah? What?” The tabby tapped back,
“Just take ur dads suit! Ur dad is ur height, isn’t he?” A spike of anxiety shot through them as they read the text,
“0_0 ???? My dad would never agree to that??? I’m lucky they even let me have short hair!!!” They typed back quickly, their fingers flying across the dinky screen of the old hand-me-down phone they were given.
“So steal it! No 1 will evr kno! I know ur small and sneaky… it’s 1 of ur devious traits!”
“I don't steal!!!! DX”
“Where’s ur proof…” Amaya felt a mixture of amusement and fear, amusement at David saying things that made no sense, and fear that by the minute stealing one of their dad’s suits was looking like a better and better idea. After all, their dad had a bunch of them, most of them he never even wore, and some were too slim for him! Amaya could absolutely fit into one of those… It was senior year… they wouldn't get a chance like this again… even just for a night…
“Ugh!! Fine!! But you need to keep attention off me!” The short tabby grumbled over text, they couldn't believe they were doing this. Slowly they rose to their feet, getting one last buzz of their mobile before they put their plan into action.
“Yippeee!!!! Aye Aye El-capitan! No one shall look at you during the prom! Salutes!”
Their father was in the living room, so if they were to take the suit from his room and then change into it in the bathroom, they would have to slip out of the window in order to avoid him completely by exiting via the backyard. After that they would simply send a text to him that they were off, he would likely think nothing of this, assuming he just wasn’t paying attention when they slipped out the door, and technically he would be right.
Amaya had always made their plans quickly, it had been partly influenced by having to keep up with Sue, but they also just generally worked quickly on their own. They took a deep breath, focusing on the silliness of David’s message to calm their nerves before slipping through the door.
Amaya was quick to their father's room and knew it would be empty, and that it was. It was only down the hall from them, and without a sound, they opened up the closet. Before their eyes stood a variety of men's clothes, and even though most of them didn't interest Amaya a couple of particular outfits in the back did, specifically the collection of suits their father had not worn in god knows how long. Quickly they leafed through them, landing on one they knew wouldn't fit him, but would fit them , so off of the rack and into their arms it went. The bathroom was right down the hallway and they checked their lefts and rights for their mother as they scampered across it. Their mother was the only variable in this, if she caught them the whole plan was over, but fortunately, they were able to get into the bathroom in time.
Quickly they changed out of their normal clothes and into their new attire, they didn't have much experience with putting on a suit, but it turned out they operated very similarly to the uniform they wore at work. There they looked at themselves in the mirror, the suit fit them rather nicely in fact, and the dress shoes they stole with it matched their size, complete jackpot. Even the bow tie they loved so much seemed to match, that being said everything goes with black. But still, it contributed to making Amaya’s smile a bit wider when they looked in the mirror, something that they did not often do when they looked at themselves. Okay Amaya, only one last part of the plan.
They slipped out of the bathroom, checking their lefts and rights once more to make sure there were no signs of their mother before entering the hallway again. Quickly and silently they moved down the stairs, in the other room their father was watching TV, and they knew for a fact the minute they walked into view he would be looking at them. Instead, they made a U-turn around the banister of the staircase, walking down the hallway to the window leading into the backyard. They could use the door but that door was squeaky, while the window was silent. So out of it they slipped, careful to open it slowly and climb out of it even slower, keeping their silence perfect and pure. Once the cool air hit their fur they slowly closed the window behind them, crouching as they slipped around the back and over the fence and into the front yard.
As soon as they could they started running, they ran and ran until their house was nowhere in sight, and even then they didn't stop. They didn't stop moving until their feet would take them no farther, until they were absolutely sure they were completely safe. They hurriedly composed the text message to their father, sending it off and immediately clicking to David’s contact.
“DAVIE I DID IT!!!” Amaya typed, feeling like how out of breath they were would leak into the way the text was presented, as if it was bending over for air just as they were.
“BIG DUB!!!!” David texted back, “I picked out somethin that’ll get all eyes off o u! don worry! XP”
“What is it?” Amaya tapped back, now walking to the school at a normal pace just as the sun set. They would have to repeat that maneuver again when they got home, but they felt too fantastic right now to think about it.
“You’ll see! <3” The small fluffy tabby’s mind buzzed with thoughts the moment David’s message was sent. He sent a heart??? A heart?!?! Amaya’s head buzzed and their cheeks burned, I mean they did suppose they were on a date to prom with him already, but still! Perhaps they were farther along in this relationship than they had originally thought! Perhaps they were thinking way too much about an emoticon! Who knew?
When they had finally reached the paved courtyard of Roseville High they peered around, looking for the tall brown dog boy they had expected to arrive before them. They stood and waited for a while, various other students trickling past them into the main building, conversing with their friends and dates like it was no big deal. Thankfully, Amaya kept a pretty low profile and saw no one they recognized, leaning against a tree so the shadows would conceal their face for the most part.
“Where are you?” Amaya typed, becoming slightly anxious the longer they stood alone in the courtyard.
“I just got here!” David typed back, and it was only right then that they could see him across the courtyard, staring right at them with that big dumb smile of his. Amaya’s eyes widened and their face flashed red in a mixture of emotions. He wore a bright, sparkling red dress. A dress that fell past his knees, with matching red shoes that complimented it and everything. Amaya was stunned, and he was prepared for that reaction. He walked with complete confidence, grinning no matter how many people were looking at him, and he looked damn good in the dress too, as if it was made just for him.
In their stunned state, Amaya managed out a vague gesture of surprise, which David only answered in the form of a smile.
“So, you ready to go in, El Presidente?” He asked with excitement, grabbing their hand which sent a shiver through their spine. But as David began to pull them along they pulled back, and he stopped to turn and look at his companion, who met his gaze with big nervous eyes. The dog boy tilted his head, giving Amaya a confused expression. Their eyes flicked away from his, locking on a spot of unremarkable ground to their left, and they squeezed his hand slightly tighter, pulling him toward them. Before they only had to worry about themselves, but suddenly they were filled with worry about David, what if someone saw? What if someone really bad saw??
However, the chocolate mutt didn't seem to understand the root of Amaya’s concern, bending down a little bit to get closer to them and whispering just loud enough that both of them could hear, “What’s wrong?”
Amaya tried to gesture it out but fell short. They grumbled under their breath, before leaning forward and whispering one word into David’s ear, which was still infinitely more than most had ever heard.
“Why?” They spoke, gesturing to the dress and furrowing their brow. David’s eyes drifted down to the dress and he then understood their issue, answering with another smile and a gentle hand which fell on their shoulder.
“Well, I said I would take all eyes off you, didn't I?~” Amaya’s eyes widened a bit as David rose to his feet, tightly grabbing one of Amaya’s hands once more, “Besides, I’m doing a demonstration.”
As David pulled Amaya toward the school again they looked up at him in confusion, and the glamorous boy responded with one more smile, one much softer than any other they had seen him give before. “I’m giving a demonstration that if I can get away with this , you can be whatever the hell you want.”
Amaya’s mouth opened slightly and their eyes widened, a redness flushing over their face as the both of them truly understood each other. The tabby couldn't help but look away in a flustered shock, but as David pulled them toward the school he soon stopped needing to, as their pace quickly sped up to match his.
Perhaps, with someone like David around, being yourself wouldn’t be so bad.