Ficlet: A Night to Remember
A Night to Remember
Hunger Games | Darius/Johanna | High School AU
1500 words | also here
Notes: A sequel to my ficlet Prom Season. This is for nursekelly0429, who wanted to read more about Darius, and for damndonnergirls, who can be blamed for the pairing.
Overnight, prom was everywhere. Posters covered the school walls, tickets were for sale in the quad, people chattered about it in class. It was inescapable.
The posters showed two silhouettes dancing against a blue and white forest backdrop, as if they had just waltzed out into the moonlight or something. In curly letters that someone probably thought were elegant, the words A Night to Remember hovered over the couple's heads.
"A night to remember," Johanna snorted. "Unlike the rest of our forgettable time in this shitty school." She picked a chunk of tomato off of her pizza and flicked it at the poster, hitting the cartoon girl right in the head with an audible splat.
"Not going to prom, then?" Darius asked mildly, trying his best to act like he didn't care about the answer.
Johanna pretended to gag. "Does that look like my idea of a good time?" She pointed at the poster.
Darius pretended to consider for a moment. "Moonlight, ball gowns and tiaras?" he asked. "Probably not."
"No way," she agreed. "Though for the record, I could totally rock a tiara. With combat boots."
"I'm sure you could," he said. There was a smile on his face, but it didn't match the pang of disappointment in his stomach. He knew it was a stupid, cliched thing that wouldn't even matter in a year, but he couldn't help it: he wanted to go to the prom. And he wanted to go with Jo: someone he'd actually have fun with, someone who'd dance and spike the punch and snark about the whole thing with him. His best friend. Maybe more than that.
Obviously, she didn't agree.
- - - - -
"Can I borrow a pencil?" Madge Undersee asked, at the beginning of math class. She was digging through her bag with one hand, her pale eyebrows scrunched up in a frown that could only be described as cute.
"Sure." Darius grabbed one from the pocket in his backpack and handed it to her.
"Thanks," she whispered with a lopsided smile, as Mr. Latier started trying to get their attention. "Wouldn't want to miss a single equation."
Darius looked at the poster on the classroom wall, where the couple danced arm in arm. Madge's blonde hair caught the light as she bent over her notebook and copied down numbers with his pencil. He thought about how it would feel to slow-dance with his arms around Jo, and the way she'd pretended to gag.
When the bell rang, he waited for Madge to turn around and return the pencil. "Thanks," she said.
"No problem," he replied. Then, before he could try to talk himself out of it, he asked quickly, "Hey, wanna go to prom with me?" The words hung there in the air for a second, and so he added, "I think it'd be fun."
A smile stretched gradually across her face. "It would be fun," she agreed. "Yeah, let's do it."
- - - - -
"So, as it turns out..." Madge said, looking down at her hands. "I mean, the thing is--"
The entire school was talking about Madge and Gale Hawthorne snuggling up together in the middle of the cafeteria, so Darius had a pretty good idea of where this was going.
"I feel really bad about this, but well--" Madge started again, and Darius finally took pity on her.
"But you have a boyfriend now and you want to go to prom with him." The words came out sounding a little bitter, even though he didn't really blame her.
"Yeah." Madge finally looked him in the eye. "I really am sorry."
"I know," Darius said. "It's okay." He didn't want a date who'd be pining for someone else all night anyway. The idea made him feel tired.
"It would've been fun," Madge said, but her shoulders were already turning away.
"Yeah," Darius agreed. He just needed this conversation to be over already. "I'll see you, Madge."
- - - - -
"What a fucking bitch," Jo said. She was stretched out on the hood of Darius's faded red Volvo, a cigarette hanging unlit between her lips.
Darius shrugged and said nothing, leaning back against the windshield. He didn't turn his head, but he didn't need to. He could hear Jo's glare.
"She got a boyfriend. That kinda takes priority over a friendly prom date."
The click of Jo's lighter sounded louder than it should have in the silence. She puffed on the cigarette a couple of times and then exhaled before finally speaking. "Friendly, huh?"
Darius rolled his eyes. "You're the one who thinks everyone in a skirt is irresistible, not me."
"I'm equal opportunity," Jo declared, and then her voice grew softer. "I thought you had the hots for her or something."
"Nah. Just wanted to go to prom." Above them, the sky was beginning to fade to a lighter blue, preparing for sunset.
"You know it'll be lame," she said.
"I know." It would be the same kids they saw every day, only dressed in designer knockoffs and drunk on cheap champagne. Still, even if it sucked, he wanted to be a part of something for once. He couldn't just sit at home and watch horror movies while everyone else experienced things.
Darius rolled to his side so he could face Johanna, propping his head on one arm. She blew a stream of smoke away from him, then turned her face back and met his eyes. "I want to see it for myself," he said. "How can I look back on this and laugh, if I don't even go?"
Jo carefully stubbed out her cigarette on the bottom of her shoe and blew the ash off the end before slipping the stub back inside her pack. She looked at her hands for a long moment and then finally said, "So let's go, then."
Darius waited for her to say something about how they were just friends and it wouldn't be a real date, but she never did. "Will I get to see you rock a tiara and combat boots?" he asked.
"Hell, yes," she said.
- - - - -
They hadn't agreed on anything, hadn't made any promises. Serious relationship discussions were not exactly Johanna's style.
Then again, neither was prom.
He pulled the Volvo up to the curb and retrieved the little box from the front seat of the car. Before he could even make his way up the walk, Jo stepped out the door.
Darius's breath caught in his throat. Her dress looked more like a nightgown or maybe a slip than a prom dress. Black satin draped smoothly across her torso, hugging her slim waist. The neckline and hem were edged with scraps of black lace, and the whole thing was held up by two delicate ribbons over her shoulders. Acres of pale, smooth skin were visible across her shoulders and above her clunky black boots. Her hair was twisted up into some kind of spiky topknot, and although the promised tiara was nowhere in sight, a delicate silver necklace dangled in the hollow of her throat.
"Hey," Jo said, as if this were any other day of the week and they were meeting up for a normal trip to the coffee shop or the record store. They really hadn't discussed it at all, what this night meant, but Darius was determined to make it mean something.
He tried to speak, but the words got caught in his throat. With a cough, he tried again. "Hi," he said. "You look--" She scoffed, but he pressed on. "Amazing."
"You're not so bad yourself," she said. Her eyes were very green behind her dark makeup.
He tucked his fingers in the black-bordered lapels of his dark blue jacket and felt pleased. The feeling superseded his nervousness for a moment, and he pressed on. This was his chance. Right now. Tonight.
"I know you don't like flowers, so I got you--" He held out the box, and she took it from him. He saw the light glint off the sharp silver points of the earrings inside. Jo was totally still, not even a breath moving through her lips.
Flowers would have been part of the prom package. Flowers were expected. He would have gotten flowers for Madge, if she hadn't broken their date, and never thought twice about it.
Johanna Mason was different. She wasn't part of the package. And this wasn't just about the prom experience any more.
"D," she said finally, her voice softer than he'd ever heard it.
"You don't have to-" wear them, he was going to say.
She cut him off by stepping closer and pressing a surprisingly gentle kiss to his cheek. For a moment, his breath stopped completely.
"Let's do this," she said against his ear. "Prom waits for no one."
Hunger Games | Darius/Johanna | High School AU
1500 words | also here
Notes: A sequel to my ficlet Prom Season. This is for nursekelly0429, who wanted to read more about Darius, and for damndonnergirls, who can be blamed for the pairing.
Overnight, prom was everywhere. Posters covered the school walls, tickets were for sale in the quad, people chattered about it in class. It was inescapable.
The posters showed two silhouettes dancing against a blue and white forest backdrop, as if they had just waltzed out into the moonlight or something. In curly letters that someone probably thought were elegant, the words A Night to Remember hovered over the couple's heads.
"A night to remember," Johanna snorted. "Unlike the rest of our forgettable time in this shitty school." She picked a chunk of tomato off of her pizza and flicked it at the poster, hitting the cartoon girl right in the head with an audible splat.
"Not going to prom, then?" Darius asked mildly, trying his best to act like he didn't care about the answer.
Johanna pretended to gag. "Does that look like my idea of a good time?" She pointed at the poster.
Darius pretended to consider for a moment. "Moonlight, ball gowns and tiaras?" he asked. "Probably not."
"No way," she agreed. "Though for the record, I could totally rock a tiara. With combat boots."
"I'm sure you could," he said. There was a smile on his face, but it didn't match the pang of disappointment in his stomach. He knew it was a stupid, cliched thing that wouldn't even matter in a year, but he couldn't help it: he wanted to go to the prom. And he wanted to go with Jo: someone he'd actually have fun with, someone who'd dance and spike the punch and snark about the whole thing with him. His best friend. Maybe more than that.
Obviously, she didn't agree.
- - - - -
"Can I borrow a pencil?" Madge Undersee asked, at the beginning of math class. She was digging through her bag with one hand, her pale eyebrows scrunched up in a frown that could only be described as cute.
"Sure." Darius grabbed one from the pocket in his backpack and handed it to her.
"Thanks," she whispered with a lopsided smile, as Mr. Latier started trying to get their attention. "Wouldn't want to miss a single equation."
Darius looked at the poster on the classroom wall, where the couple danced arm in arm. Madge's blonde hair caught the light as she bent over her notebook and copied down numbers with his pencil. He thought about how it would feel to slow-dance with his arms around Jo, and the way she'd pretended to gag.
When the bell rang, he waited for Madge to turn around and return the pencil. "Thanks," she said.
"No problem," he replied. Then, before he could try to talk himself out of it, he asked quickly, "Hey, wanna go to prom with me?" The words hung there in the air for a second, and so he added, "I think it'd be fun."
A smile stretched gradually across her face. "It would be fun," she agreed. "Yeah, let's do it."
- - - - -
"So, as it turns out..." Madge said, looking down at her hands. "I mean, the thing is--"
The entire school was talking about Madge and Gale Hawthorne snuggling up together in the middle of the cafeteria, so Darius had a pretty good idea of where this was going.
"I feel really bad about this, but well--" Madge started again, and Darius finally took pity on her.
"But you have a boyfriend now and you want to go to prom with him." The words came out sounding a little bitter, even though he didn't really blame her.
"Yeah." Madge finally looked him in the eye. "I really am sorry."
"I know," Darius said. "It's okay." He didn't want a date who'd be pining for someone else all night anyway. The idea made him feel tired.
"It would've been fun," Madge said, but her shoulders were already turning away.
"Yeah," Darius agreed. He just needed this conversation to be over already. "I'll see you, Madge."
- - - - -
"What a fucking bitch," Jo said. She was stretched out on the hood of Darius's faded red Volvo, a cigarette hanging unlit between her lips.
Darius shrugged and said nothing, leaning back against the windshield. He didn't turn his head, but he didn't need to. He could hear Jo's glare.
"She got a boyfriend. That kinda takes priority over a friendly prom date."
The click of Jo's lighter sounded louder than it should have in the silence. She puffed on the cigarette a couple of times and then exhaled before finally speaking. "Friendly, huh?"
Darius rolled his eyes. "You're the one who thinks everyone in a skirt is irresistible, not me."
"I'm equal opportunity," Jo declared, and then her voice grew softer. "I thought you had the hots for her or something."
"Nah. Just wanted to go to prom." Above them, the sky was beginning to fade to a lighter blue, preparing for sunset.
"You know it'll be lame," she said.
"I know." It would be the same kids they saw every day, only dressed in designer knockoffs and drunk on cheap champagne. Still, even if it sucked, he wanted to be a part of something for once. He couldn't just sit at home and watch horror movies while everyone else experienced things.
Darius rolled to his side so he could face Johanna, propping his head on one arm. She blew a stream of smoke away from him, then turned her face back and met his eyes. "I want to see it for myself," he said. "How can I look back on this and laugh, if I don't even go?"
Jo carefully stubbed out her cigarette on the bottom of her shoe and blew the ash off the end before slipping the stub back inside her pack. She looked at her hands for a long moment and then finally said, "So let's go, then."
Darius waited for her to say something about how they were just friends and it wouldn't be a real date, but she never did. "Will I get to see you rock a tiara and combat boots?" he asked.
"Hell, yes," she said.
- - - - -
They hadn't agreed on anything, hadn't made any promises. Serious relationship discussions were not exactly Johanna's style.
Then again, neither was prom.
He pulled the Volvo up to the curb and retrieved the little box from the front seat of the car. Before he could even make his way up the walk, Jo stepped out the door.
Darius's breath caught in his throat. Her dress looked more like a nightgown or maybe a slip than a prom dress. Black satin draped smoothly across her torso, hugging her slim waist. The neckline and hem were edged with scraps of black lace, and the whole thing was held up by two delicate ribbons over her shoulders. Acres of pale, smooth skin were visible across her shoulders and above her clunky black boots. Her hair was twisted up into some kind of spiky topknot, and although the promised tiara was nowhere in sight, a delicate silver necklace dangled in the hollow of her throat.
"Hey," Jo said, as if this were any other day of the week and they were meeting up for a normal trip to the coffee shop or the record store. They really hadn't discussed it at all, what this night meant, but Darius was determined to make it mean something.
He tried to speak, but the words got caught in his throat. With a cough, he tried again. "Hi," he said. "You look--" She scoffed, but he pressed on. "Amazing."
"You're not so bad yourself," she said. Her eyes were very green behind her dark makeup.
He tucked his fingers in the black-bordered lapels of his dark blue jacket and felt pleased. The feeling superseded his nervousness for a moment, and he pressed on. This was his chance. Right now. Tonight.
"I know you don't like flowers, so I got you--" He held out the box, and she took it from him. He saw the light glint off the sharp silver points of the earrings inside. Jo was totally still, not even a breath moving through her lips.
Flowers would have been part of the prom package. Flowers were expected. He would have gotten flowers for Madge, if she hadn't broken their date, and never thought twice about it.
Johanna Mason was different. She wasn't part of the package. And this wasn't just about the prom experience any more.
"D," she said finally, her voice softer than he'd ever heard it.
"You don't have to-" wear them, he was going to say.
She cut him off by stepping closer and pressing a surprisingly gentle kiss to his cheek. For a moment, his breath stopped completely.
"Let's do this," she said against his ear. "Prom waits for no one."