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“Oh my God, Janey, check this one out.”
Jane turned to her girlfriend, who was holding up an exceptionally frilly dress in a particularly eye-searing shade of hot pink. “Whaddaya think?” Roxy continued, grinning widely at first, then turning serious. “Be honest.”
“I can’t say I’m much of a fan,” Jane admitted. “I much preferred the one you tried on earlier.”
“Which one? I’ve tried on, like, hella dresses, yo. It ain’t my fault that you’re better at choosing shit than I am.” Roxy paused. “Okay, it kinda is my fault, but meh. Seriously, which one didja mean?”
“The purple one.”
“Which purple one?”
“You know, the off-the-shoulder one with the beads and the pink brooch in the middle. It really suited you!”
Roxy smiled. “Heh, that one was pretty cute, yeah. Think I should go for it?”
Jane nodded. “Absolutely!”
“And ya don’t think it clashes with yours? Style-wise, I mean.”
Jane patted Roxy’s shoulder. “Does it really matter that much?”
“Eh, I s’pose not really. We’re both gonna look cute as fuck either way.”
Jane laughed at that. Her girlfriend was so wonderful, and she was so lucky to have her.
Even if, as far as her dad knew, they were just best friends.
---
Roxy, unlike Jane, had a car of her own, so naturally she had been the one who drove them to the mall, and thus the one who dropped Jane off at her house, giving her a little peck on the cheek before she headed home herself.
“Dad might see!” Jane protested.
Roxy rolled her eyes in response. “Ya know he’s not gonna give a damn that you like girls, right? Your dad’s chill as fuck. He’ll probably, I dunno, bake you a cake when he finds out. A rainbow one. Or maybe one with the bi flag colors ‘cause ya also like dudes? Fuck if I know, but there’s sure as hell gonna be a fuckton of support and probably cake.”
“Ugh, you keep telling me that, but...I just don’t know! I’m really nervous about this!”
Roxy’s expression softened. “I know. I was too. But I mean...I know your dad, ‘kay? It’s not like I don’t hang out at your place all the time. He’ll be cool with it. And if he’s not for some dumbass reason, which is super fucking unlikely, you can crash at my place.”
Jane thought it over. Roxy was probably right--her dad had never been anything but supportive of her and her twin brother, and he certainly hadn’t expressed any bigoted attitudes, at least not around her. And John knew she was bi, and had also assured her that their dad would be fine with it…
It was just so nerve-wracking, though! There was always that tiny possibility that John and Roxy were both wrong and that he’d be upset, and Jane didn’t want to chance it.
And yet he had to know about it someday. She and Roxy had been going steady for over a year now, and it certainly didn't look like things were gonna go south between them anytime soon.
Jane sighed. “Okay. I’ll tell him on prom night, on one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“I want you to be there too.”
Roxy grinned. “No prob, babe.”
---
“Ey, Janey, can ya zip me up?”
Jane looked up at Roxy, who was currently fumbling with her prom dress. “Sure thing.”
As she zipped the dress up the back (and cursed whoever had decided that putting zippers in unreachable places was a good idea), she thought about what was to come later that night. She couldn’t deny that her dad knowing about her girlfriend would probably be a good thing, but there was still a bit of worry lingering in the back of her mind, nagging her, telling her to just back out of the situation.
She waved it away. No, he had to know. He’d find out sooner or later anyway.
“How do I look?” Roxy asked.
Jane looked her over, nodding in approval. “Stunning. I kinda wish I could pull off that look, actually!”
“Psh, you so could!”
“Not the dress.”
“Why not?”
“You don’t require the kind of... support I do, Ro-Lal.”
“Ya do know strapless bras are a thing, right?”
“They’re a pain in the ass.”
“Okay, okay, that’s fair. But your dress is hella cute too, so there.”
Jane supposed that was true. She’d picked out a floor-length blue gown with short puffy sleeves, and was rather satisfied with it (as was Roxy--”Oh my God, you look like the cutest goddamn princess ,” she’d exclaimed). Sure, it didn’t match Roxy’s short beaded number, but as Roxy had noted, it didn’t matter that much.
“So you ready?”
“...As ready as I’ll ever be, I guess.”
“Great, let’s go!”
Roxy practically dragged Jane down the stairs--Jane was continually impressed by her girlfriend’s ability to run in high heels, and continually amazed that she had yet to break anything doing so. Mr. Crocker-Egbert was waiting downstairs, watching the news. Perfect.
“Hey, Dad!”
He turned towards the girls with a smile. “Good evening, ladies.” He shook his head, still smiling. “I can’t believe it, my little girl’s going off to her senior prom. I’m so proud of you, Jane.”
“I know, Dad. But, um...there’s something you should know about that.”
She sat down next to her father, and took a deep breath. “I’m not actually going stag like I told you. Roxy is...Roxy is actually my girlfriend, Dad. We’ve been dating for a while now. I like girls. And I like boys, too, but...I like girls , Dad.”
He chuckled. “I was waiting for you to tell me that.”
Jane’s eyes widened. “Wait, what?”
“Honey, I had figured you and Roxy were an item for a very long time. I wasn’t certain, but I had a hunch. I just wanted for you to bring it up yourself instead of me asking you about it.”
“So...you’re not mad?”
Mr. Crocker-Egbert patted his daughter on the shoulder. “How could I ever be mad about you being happy?”
“Called it!” Roxy shouted, flopping onto the couch next to Jane. Jane blushed.
“You’re okay with it?”
“Of course I am. I’m proud that you’ve found someone, Jane. I am so, so proud of you.”
He looked over at Roxy. “Now, Roxy, you seem like a nice girl. So I trust you’ll be good to my little girl, yes?”
“‘Course I will!”
“Good. Remember that you’re welcome to come over at any time. In fact, if you’d like, you could spend the night here instead of having to drive home alone so late at night.”
“That’d be awesome, Mr. Crocker-Egbert.”
“Really?” Jane exclaimed.
“Of course.” Mr. Crocker-Egbert stood up. “Now, stay safe, okay? I’d like to see both of you come back in one piece.”
“Sure thing, Dad.”
“Oh, and one more thing.”
“Yeah?”
He pulled his phone out with a grin. “Mind if I take a picture of the happy couple?”
---
The picture came out horribly, in Jane’s opinion, and she was a bit embarrassed when she saw a glossy print-out of it hanging on the fridge when they got home early the next morning. But at the same time, she couldn’t help but smile when she read the note her dad had left on the back.
JANE,
IF YOU ARE READING THIS, IT MEANS YOU AND YOUR GIRLFRIEND GOT HOME SAFELY FROM YOUR SENIOR PROM.
I AM SO PROUD OF BOTH OF YOU.
-DAD
(And there on the kitchen table, waiting for them, sat a cake frosted in blue, purple, and pink.)