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Max was a little annoyed, but mostly nervous. He didn't know why he decided to go to the dance without a date. He didn't even have any of his friends tonight, they all dropped out last minute, stating they had other more important things to do than go to a school dance.
Max kind of wished that he also had the foresight to skip, but this wasn't just any school dance, it was the School Ball. He just couldn't resist the glamour.
He kind of wanted to cry, or scream, or run back to the parking lot and frantically text his sister to pick him up, but it had only been ten minutes since he was dropped off by her, and he knew he had to come up with a very good excuse to make her come back other than, "My friends ditched me, and all the glitz and glam of this Ball is making me feel VERY out of place, can I go home now?"
Yeah, no, she wouldn't buy that. He didn't want to be the annoying little brother, and she was hanging out with her friends tonight. A full five hours without having to deal with his Little Brother BS™. This night was supposed to be fun, for both of them, so that meant he couldn't chicken out after only ten minutes of being there.
He sighed. He didn't even know why - this was supposed to be the biggest event of the school year! It was decided a few years ago, that regular school dances were pathetic, boring, and way too awkward, so, they decided (someone on the council?) that making an extravagant Ball was the way to go.
The school went all out for it - they rented the town hall (because school gymnasiums were too cringe-) and decorated the place in red and gold (school colors), there was always a long table set out with an assortment of finger foods, and a drink bar was set next to the food (only juice, soda, or water). There were big, fancy, chandeliers hanging from the ceiling (courtesy of the Drama Club craftsman) and big paper banners lining the walls with a red coyote on them (the school mascot), a platform set up on the opposite side of the room held the chairs.for the teachers/monitors for the event, high up like they were royalty.
The school band, at least a select few, sat in a corner playing classical music, switching off every so often with other band members so they could enjoy the Ball themselves. It sounded too good to be true - a real Ball hosted by a public school of all places - but it was too tempting for Max. A real magical place where it felt as if he were in a fairy tale - maybe Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty - really 1700s-1600s esque.
In order to keep up the illusion, all attendees, including the teachers, had to conform to a dress code - suits and ties, dresses and heels, business type, fancy. So, Max was in a suit for probably the first time in his life. It was baby blue, at the insistence of his sister, and he had a dark blue bowtie. Both were a little too tight around the joints and he was starting to regret borrowing it from his cousin. His sister, Anna, said that the suit made him look sharp, and the color made his fluffy brown hair and green eyes look soft.
She said he looked good in it, but now he was debating if looking good was even worth the pinching joint seams. If coming here alone but looking good at a fancy dance was even worth it - but he had to press on! He had to be brave! Even if his poor introverted heart was weeping in pain at having to stand alone in the middle of a ballroom without any-person, friend, or even table to hide behind.
Yeah, no, Max couldn't do this. At least - he couldn't stand in the middle of a room full of fancy people - no matter if they were his classmates and peers, so, he was going to go to the wall by the food table. He usually wears plaid shirts and blue jeans and sneakers, not any type of dress clothing. He's sure he looks so different than how he usually does that nobody in his grade even knows that the fool who showed up to a fancy party in Baby Blue is Max Willburg. Oh, this was just awful.
And so, he makes his way through crowds of people he barley recognized and the dancing couples in front of the musicians. Over by the table, Max finds a tiny plate and the smallest fork he's ever seen and fills his plate. No matter how fancy this party feels, he's reminded that it's hosted by a public school when he sees the type of food on the table. There's some expensive food, like shrimp, although that's almost all out, but most of the food looks like something you'd find at a potluck.
Though, that was probably because most of the food came from people's parents providing for it, as the budget was only so high. So, mac & cheese, pigs in a blanket, baked beans, a veggie platter, and an assortment of cheeses and pepperoni was on the table.
Max wasn't complaining, he liked everything on the table, but it sort of broke the fancy illusion everyone was trying so hard to put up. Oh, well.
He stands off to the side, back touching the wall, and makes sure there's some distance between himself and the others at the table, before turning and scanning the crowd. Since his friends weren't here, Max decided that he could just people watch until he saw someone vaguely familliar that he could just stick around for the rest of the Ball.
He did so for the next hour and fifteen minutes, he knows because he has a watch - that's another thing they banned, any type of smartphone, they wanted a full rewind of time, so no new technology - and was getting board of people watching.
He recognized some people, but they either were with a date or in a crowd of their own friends that it would feel too weird to just walk up to them and start fallowing them around like a lost duckling. The band people were all taking a break at the moment, so the room quickly filled with loud chatter from the crowd, as they had no music to dance to.
It was getting a little overwhelming again, which sucked, because Max had just barely gotten used to how this Ball was supposed to flow. He had taken to pacing between the drink bar and the food table, slowly moving away from the largest crowd of people - the popular kids.
There was a surprising amount of them, at least compared to what movies would have you believe. About fifteen of them, all straight A's, sporty, intelligent people. Y'know, intimidating people who had the whole school backing them.
They were making their way from small group to loner, all around the hall but most the refreshment tables, and asking them to dance when the music was put back on. Apparently, there wasn't enough people dancing at the moment to classify this event as a 'dance', so they were asking the people who don't usually dance to dance with one of the popular kids to help encourage others to join.
Max only knows this because on his trip to the drink bar for the third time, four people behind him got recruited to said cause. He was getting a little worried that they would approach him, because he didn't know if he would die of embarrassment it he danced with someone hot but -- oh, shit.
Oh, no, no, no, no, no, Jason Dillons did not just make direct eye contact with him, nope! Max was just making his fifth round back to the food tables, and he did not need Jason - literally the hottest boy in the whole school to ask him to dance. But, no, that was exactly who was walking up to him from behind - way too quickly! -
As subtly as he could, he stepped behind a crowd of girls in blue and bronze dresses, some with pantsuits on. They all were taller than him - all the better to hide behind! He was making his was towards the nearest corner, an easily defensible place behind multiple tiny clicks of people. All the more easy for him to spot any of the intimidating popular kids - and enough distance he could run away again if need be - and, oh crap, he's calling out to Max now -
"Hey! Wait up! You in the blue! Max right? Can I talk to you for a moment?"
Max was not running, but it was a very fast walk. Maybe if he pretended he didn't hear Jason, he would go ask someone else -
"Hey, Max! Max William?", Jason Dillons cought his arm, causing Max to turn slightly in his direction, exposing his face to Jason. And - oh, God, Max's face was FIRE, it was so hot ( he was so hot-). Jason knew Max's name, well, just his first name but still - Max was briefly mortified that maybe Jason was looking for someone else and this whole interaction would be less hot and more embarrassing in a few moments. But no, when Max turned to look into Jason's blue eyes, he knew he was looking for Max.
"Uh, hi?", God, Max was so awkward. "Um, you want to talk to me, Max Willburg?"
He had to be sure, get this out of the way before this interaction went on any longer than it already was.
"Oh! Yes, Max Willburg, I was wondering if you would like to dance with me?", Jason was grinning, eyes soft and questioning, hand still on Max's arm. "You don't have to, it's just me and my friends wanted to get some people -"
"To dance because no one else is dancing, I know.", Max interrupted Jason, and had a brief moment of panic because he just interrupted Jason Dillons, nerdiest hottie ever - before Jason blinked, eyebrows raising, looking intently still at Max.
"Uh, yeah. Have you heard this from anyone else?"
"Um, no, but I have been walking by you guys, so I kind of heard your whole schpeil in passing."
Max followed up his response with an awkward giggle because he just called Jason and idiot in between the lines, and oh no - now Jason's going to think that Max was rude and an ass on purpose.
"Oh, well that just saves me time, I guess." , Jason was still smiling at Max, so maybe he hadn't offended him too much -
"So, you didn't answer my question, do you want to dance?"
Max blinked, and said the first thing that came to his mind, through all his splintered thoughts, attempting to recover his dignity, "Yes, please."
Jason grinned widely again, slid his hand down Max's arm and to his hand, before leading him over to where there was a designated dancing space. It looked like all the other popular kids that had found their dance partners had gathered already, their hands on hips and hands in hands, waiting for the music to start again. From where Jason had led him on the dance floor, he couldn't see the band kids.
Jason positioned them between Jayclyn and Donnie, cheerleaders and debate club populars, and turned Max to face him. His hands were on his waist -
"Hey, so, um, do you know when the musics' gonna start again? It feels kind of awkward just standing here...", Max looked at Jason through his lashes, Jason was almost a whole head taller than Max. Although, that really wasn't too much of a spectacular feat, Max was only 5'4 after all.
"They should be starting soon again, they stopped to get some refreshments. I think they're also playing a piece from, like, the 1800s? I'm not sure, but Brianne is playing the violin, so it should be good.", Jason's voice was pretty well developed for a - Max was fairly certain - seventeen year old, his voice was not scratchy, or squeaky. It was rather smooth, and it made Max want to faint. Or maybe squeal, or cry, because his voice was doing things to Max.
Jason had on a classic black suit, white shirt, and shiny black shoes, but the thing that cought most of Max's attention was his frilly beige and pink liked chest scarf thing (Max didn't know what it was called, some kids just went all out on whatever -00s fashion). The pink in the scarf matched the pink on his lips - and, oh no, Max was now thinking how the plush pink petals would feel if he just leaned in -
The music started just then, startling both Max and Jason. Was Jason also staring at Max? He has been staring very intently at Max for the entire time he had been around - not important right now, they were going to dance and - oh crap, not again!
Max didn't know how to dance! At least, the last time he seriously danced, fancy waltz or boogie or whatever - he made such a mess of his dance partner they never spoke to him again! Granted, that was nearly three years ago, so hopefully he'd improved in all that time. He'd gone to his Aunt's wedding last fall, but he only really danced with his sister, and that consisted of pushing and pulling their hands back and forth. But- what was Jason going to do or think or feel about Max when he inevitably stomped on his toes or poked his eyes out with his elbow!?
Jason was the first to recover, seeing as he was apparently going to take the leading role. He took a step back, forcing Max to take a step forward, unless he wanted to fall on his face. Jason's hand was still on his waist, warm and slightly hovering over the surface of his suit, but his hand in his was firm in leading Max to the next step.
Max was just trying his hardest to not trip or stomp or fall or lean too much that either of them lost their balance. He didn't know half of what he was supposed to be doing. The dress shoes he wore didn't help either, their unfamiliar shape constricting them and making his balance feel off. They were smoother on the bottom than he was used to, making him slip and slide too much whenever Jason led him in a spin.
Jason seemed to notice, quirking his lips up to gaze with an odd affection in his eyes into Max's own. "You really don't dance much, do you?", He asked, shinning teeth on display.
"No, not really." , Max replied, stumbling his next step, almost tripping onto the people behind them before Jason tugged him closer, hand firmly placed on his waist. "Last time I danced this fancy was last fall, at my Aunt's wedding."
Jason chuckled a bit, still grinning, does he ever stop? - "Fancy? I didn't know that walking and spinning in a box was a fancy way of dancing."
Max was quite literally going to burst into flames. Jason's cheeks were pink, just like his scarf - like his lips -
"It's just, any other dance I've gone to have people do other things, like the Chicken Dance or the Macaraina. I guess this Ball is a little more fancy than them, so even the dancing has to be?" , Max's voice was kind of squeaky, curse his inability to have a normal voice when speaking to his long time crush of three years, ever since Jason gave him lunch money in ninth grade.
"You know," Jason started, "I remember when you first moved to this school, ninth grade year, right?" Was Jason reading his mind? "We didn't really share any classes, but we did share a lunch. Do you remember that?"
"Yeah, I remember. You gave me your lunch money that one time, really made my day.", Max looked off to the side. They were kind of moving in a large circle, moving towards where the band kids were located. More people had joined the dancing, some speaking loudly in Posh English Accents, conversations of all sorts drifting into Max's flushed ears as he looked anywhere than at Jason's shinning eyes.
Jason laughed again, spinning Max and catching him again when he inevitably stumbled, "You remember that too? I've always liked helping people out, so I'm glad to hear that it was appreciated!"
Max smiled a little, probably for the first time this evening - why was this dance so long? Did they just want kids to suffer? - and looked down to his feet.
"Yeah, really helped me out, my mom was struggling that month, so I ran out of money. So, thank you again for that." Max looked up at Jason again, "Do you have any siblings?" Oh boy, he was so subtle in his topic change. Max looked into Jason's eyes, and wondered if he had blinked at all since he set his eyes on Max.
"I've got two brothers and a younger sister."
"Huh," Max articulated elegantly, "that's funny, because I had an older sister and two twin brothers that are younger than me."
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The evening passed like that. Jason twirling Max until they both got motion sick and had to sit out, talking the whole while. Jason was even better than his reputation as one of the good popular kids, and Max had learned quite a bit about him.
It was nice. But, when the time came that Jason had to leave, Max felt like he was being abandoned again. To the regular party crowd or to the typical loneliness of an introverted soul, he couldn't quite tell.
"You're leaving?", Max questioned, brows drawn up and probably making his face looked like a kicked puppy.
Jason gave a sad smile, eyes soft but also mischievous as he picked up Max's hand. "Yeah, my mom is expecting me home by nine, and it's already eight thirty."
"Oh. I-I had a good night tonight, so thank you for that! And for dancing with me, I probably would have just stood off to the side the whole time otherwise -"
Max was rambling. His face flushed when he realized. Jason laughed, amusement bright in his eyes. They were reflecting the light from the interior of the town hall, glowing in the dim light of the late evening.
Jason patted his pockets for a moment, pulling a pen out, continuing to pat his pockets, looking frustrated now.
"What are you doing?", Max asked, confused and amused at Jason's actions.
"I want to give you my number, but I don't have any paper to write on.", Jason looked sadly up at Max from where he stood on the steps leading down to the parking lot. They were both even in height when Jason stood there, allowing easy eye contact to be held.
Max blushed even brighter, intrusive thoughts taking over, he acted on impulse, thrusting out his hand to Jason. "Here."
Jason still looked confused.
Max looked away from Jason's eyes," you can write your number on my hand."
Jason's face lit up, he laughed, taking his hand in his and writing his number on Max's palm. "Okay, if you're sure."
When he was done, he lifted Max's hand up to his face. Max was staring, startled when he felt Jason's lips brushing his knuckles. His blush grew even brighter. Jason had just kissed his knuckles like he was some Victorian maiden that required chivalry.
"Call me sometime, I'd like to get to know you more. And to hang out...maybe a date?", Jason's cheeks were red, he was smiling softly at Max. He slowly lowered Max's hand before letting go. All Max could do was nod at Jason, watching him smile as he walked further into the parking lot, leaving Max at the front entrance.
Max's face was red and his smile was goofy. The air outside was fresh and warm with spring blossoms and his watch vibrated with a text from his sister - she was probably there already, looking for him. Other people walked by him as he stood for a moment longer before he, too, walked towards the parking lot.
He would definitely take Jason up on that offer. He was glad Jason had cought his arm, all those hours ago. Now he just had to tell his family he liked boys. Best Ball ever.
The End.