Pyrope's Place: Dave Strider (Short Story)

Chapter 8 - A Disco Ball Pinata

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Ooh! Lookie! More music! How fun.

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"Dave? There you are!" Jade said happily, running over to him and enveloping him in a big bear hug.

"Hi Jade." Dave said, hugging her back.

She was wearing a long, black dress made of silk. On it were thousands of tiny mirrors that twinkled whenever light hit them. The mirrors scratched Dave slightly, but he didn't care. What he cared most about was the fact that Jade was here, in this red, freezing shithole and she wasn't complaining. He knew that she liked adventure and the rugged outdoors, but this was ridiculous.

He led Jade over to the stairwell. "Aren't you cold?" He asked, putting his arm around her shoulder.

"Actually, I'm freezing my ass off!" Jade said happily. "But I'm used to it!" Dave laughed.

"Anyway, lets go up to my room and finish off that poem." Dave said, and started to ascend the stairs. "But we've got to be done by eight o'clock."

"Why?"

"I've been forced by that slave driver Redglare - owner of this place - to sing tonight."

"Oh!"

...

By quarter to eight, the poem was finished. There wasn't much in the way of comic relief, but Dave was just happy it was done and over with. He was also very happy that Jade didn't mind the horrible hotel. God, how he loved her.

Latula had come up a while earlier to give Dave his pressed suit, which was slightly burnt on the back, as was everything else Latula made. Quickly Dave got dressed, linked arms with Jade and led her to the dining room.

As they came back into the room, Dave saw that it was absolutely packed. All of the trolls and their older siblings were there, including Vriska, who had apparently straightened out things with Terezi, as well as John and Rose and their sisters. Dave wondered how they knew about it, but one glance at Jade told all. He remembered her secretly texting some people on the phone in his room, and now understood the reason.

Terezi and Latula were running around, giving out party hats and cups of juice. Somehow, they had even rigged up a disco-ball in the center of the room, which threw rays of colored light on the waiting audience.

Soon after his presence was known, the crowd quietened down. Terezi came over to him, tripping over a few stray cups. "Go on Dave! Musn't keep the audience waiting! Or Redglare." She said, lowering her voice to an almost inaudible whisper. "I don't know where she is, but I do know that she's watching somewhere." And with that, Terezi poked her cane into Dave's back and pushed him to the stage. Jade sat at a seat Karkat set up for her in the front.

Dave walked cautiously over to the microphone. "Uh, hey everyone-"

"Just sing already!" Terezi said loudly. Dave looked at Jade and she pressed a few buttons on the jukebox.

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I HEREBY DECREE THAT THIS TEXT IS BOLD AND YOU SHOULD START THE VIDEO THANK YOU

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Dave recognized the tune immediately. Jade smiled at him and he smiled back. Latula started making out with Mituna on the floor. Someone by the doorway turned off the lights, and a spotlight came on over Dave, which was actually Karkat holding a flashlight. Gamzee bopped Terezi over the head with an empty Faygo bottle, and she retaliated by setting his hair on fire. Then came Dave's cue.

"You; and your beautiful eyes,"

"That tell such beautiful lies..."

The crowd started clapping to the beat and Terezi cackled over them all.

"Oh, when; you start that hocus-pocus - Boy! Things get out of focus!"

"You, and the way that you kiss; why they oughta give you a prize,"

"Baby, you could make a statue come to life just by looking at you-"

"You and your beautiful eyes!"

Terezi and Latula started doing that outlandish square-dance of theirs again, and Meenah shot a spit-ball at the disco-ball, which was randomly filled with confetti that rained down on the excited crowd.

Vriska glanced around quickly to see if anyone was looking, and threw Latula's iron into the fire, high-fiving John. The two pranksters then absconded the fuck out of there.

Dave looked at Jade's gorgeous green eyes and smiled at her. She got up, grabbed another microphone and stood on the stage with Dave.

Dave took off his very rad shades and hooked them onto his breast pocket. Everyone could see his ruby-red eyes. They cheered more after the instrumental ended and Dave took a deep breath before starting with the last verse.

"You!"

"You're so observant!" Jade sang.

"And your beautiful eyes; that tell-"

"These lies you're selling-"

"Such beautiful lies!"

"May start my head a-swelling!"

"When!"

"Tell me some more!"

"You start that hocus-pocus-"

"Jumping Jiminy crickets!"

"BOY!" They sang together, "Things get out of focus!"

"Well talk about you!"

"Well honey please do!"

"And the way that you kiss-" "Do it like this!"

"You oughta stage a big parade to give you a prize-"

"Your lips let's try them on for size - come on baby, you could make a statue; come to life just by looking at you-"

"Don't stop!"

"Gee, but you're beautiful-"

"Don't stop!"

"Oh, but they're beautiful-"

"Oh, you and your beautiful eyes!"

"Yes you! And your beautiful eyes!" They ended together.

Then Dave pulled Jade in for a passionate kiss as the crowd went wild. Gamzee started trying to climb up the wall, Terezi bit Aranea's arm and Kankri started to lecture her on personal space while Karkat tried to gag him with a washcloth, Cronus was drooling over the jukebox while his younger brother sulked on the floor, Feferi and Nepeta were trying to do flips off the mantelpiece, Latula was out cold with Mituna sprawled on top of her, Damara was saying something lewd to Rufioh, Horuss and Equius were giving each other STRONG handshakes, Porrim and Kanaya were all lit up and blinding Tavros, Rose was drunk as a lord and arguing with her reflection in a shard of shattered disco-ball, Sollux and Aradia were dancing to no song in particular, Jane and Roxy were taking shots, Meulin was scratching a picture of Jade and Dave holding hands on the wall, Kurloz was meditating on a table and Meenah was selling some highly desirable merchandise to some weird squash-colored man peeking out from the fireplace, which had exploded after the iron fell in it.

Dave pulled reluctantly away from Jade as they both panted for air. He looked around the room.

Then Dave realized he wanted to stay here forever. He, Dave Strider, the cool kid, wanted to live in Pyrope's Place. Forever. The place that looked so unstable it would probably collapse under a snowball. The place that beared no difference to a walk-in freezer. The place that looked like some one had come in with a nose-bleed and a severe sneeze.

The place that he loved.

Jade hugged him as they both stood on the stage, watching everyone else.

Then Dave made a decision.