Blood and Roses || Lee Taeyong

Chapter 23 | "care to dance"

Chaerin stared at herself in the mirror. It was finally the night shed been waiting for since she was a little girl and she looked absolutely stunning.

She was wearing her dream dress, the dark, rich red color contrasting against her pale skin and highlighting the gold flecks in her eyes. Her hair was left straight, flowing down to her waist and adding to the sexy elegance of her outfit.

"Hey Chae- woah you look amazing."

She turned to see Johnny leaning on her door frame, giving her an approving once over.

"Thanks Johnny, where's Taeyong?"

"Waiting for you downstairs, have fun tonight."

With a last smile, the older boy ducked out of the room. She slipped on her heels and grabbed her purse, giving herself one last look in the mirror before heading out.

Taeyong was waiting at the bottom of the stairs, clad in a sharp suit with a red tie that matched her dress. His light brown hair was left fluffy, just barely showing his eyes and giving him a handsome look of mystery.

Movement at the top of the stairs caught his attention as he looked up, his jaw dropping at the sight. His eyes were glued to Chaerin as she descended the stairs, moving with a princess like elegance and delicacy. He was floored at how beautiful she looked. He always thought she was pretty, but seeing her all done up was another level.

He walked up to her as she descended the last steps, offering her a gentle hand to help her.

"Hello, lovely, you look absolutely breathtaking." He murmured, kissing the top of her hand with a bow.

"Thanks Taeyong," she giggled out happily. "you look great too. And thanks for doing this."

"Of course, I'm here to make your night special. Speaking of which," he reached behind him and pulled out a small corsage. "Happy prom."

Her eyes lit up at the small arrangement of flowers.

"Blood Roses... my favorite." She said with a knowing smile, her hand instinctively brushing the tattoo on her neck.

"Here let me help you." He gently grasped her hand, sliding the corsage onto her wrist. "Perfect."

"It looks great. You really have an eye for this type of stuff." She said with approval as she stared at the beautiful flowers.

"Eh, Johnny helped too."

"Of course he did." She laughed out, taking the matching boutonniere from his hand. "Can I put this on you?"

"Yes please do." He watched as she delicately pinned the flower onto his jacket. "Now we're ready for a party, you're evening of excellence awaits you."

"You're such a goof, let's go!"

With that, she took his arm and the two of them set off towards the car where the other four were waiting.

- - -

When they arrived at the dance, Chaerin couldn't help but smile with pride at how everything had turned out. The decorations, lights, everything. It was just perfect.

"Well, you certainly did a pretty fantastic job planning this." Taeyong murmured into her ear.

"You think?" She asked, turning around to smile at him.

"Its amazing. I'd expect nothing less." He said with a nod, offering her a hand.

She quickly took it, allowing him to lead her over to the photo area as they waited in line with the other couples to get photographed under the flower arch.

Chaerin looked around the room, everyone looked amazing. Her eyes then landed on the couple currently taking photos ahead of them, letting out an annoyed huff and rolling her eyes.

"Of course she is..." she trailed off with a glare, seeing Hansol clutching onto Eunbi in that horrid green dress.

"Hmm?" Taeyong asked, following her gaze before rolling his eyes. "That's what he ditched you for? He really has a bad taste. You're much prettier than her."

Chaerin just giggled, hiding the blush on her face as they stepped up to take photos.

"Alright, you guys get three poses." The photographer said to them.

Taeyong stared down at her, sending her a quick wink before wrapping his arms around her waist from behind in a typical prom pose. They then switched to going side by side, his arm wrapped around her.

She paused as she tried to think of the final pose, but Taeyong already had it covered. He gently grasped her by the small of her waist and pulled her body close to his. She let out a small gasp as the felt herself tipping backwards, but he didn't let her fall, his arm secreting her close to him as she leaned backwards. He smirked down at her as the shudder went off.

"Beautiful, go ahead and have a look in the monitor. Have a fun night, kids." The photographer called with a smile.

Taeyong smiled at her, intertwining their hands and pulling her over to look at the TV monitor. She smiled at the photos, seeing the excited grins on both of their faces.

Her heart skipped a beat at the last photo, her body clutched in his arms as they stared at one another. She couldn't help but smile at the way he looked at her, a sparkle in his eyes that she'd never seen before.

"So... prom photos check?" Taeyong asked, causing her to let out a laugh.

"Absolutely."

- - -

After talking to some of her friends and introducing Taeyong, they sat down at a table together. She couldn't help but notice the way that basically every single girl in the room was staring at them, more specifically, at him. He was undeniably handsome and he'd gotten all of the girl's attention, their eyes glued to him.

"You know, I think you've grabbed the attention of quite a few of my friends. You could probably find yourself a girlfriend here." She joked, nudging his arm playfully.

"I don't care about them." He replied softly with a shake of his head. "Why would I when I have you here?"

She turned to meet his eyes, a serious but soft glimmer in them as a slight tension began to build. Just then, the music changed to a slow song and he quickly cleared his throat, breaking the moment as the playfulness returned to his expression.

"So," he said, offering her a hand and standing from his seat. "Care to dance?"