This is for Us

Of Course It's Prom

prom,
a night of laughter, love, and eventual laryngitis
it's not prom yet, it's only a few hours before.
it's dinner.
i'm in a new suit. jet black, accents of grey, and a pure white boutonnière.
she is wearing gold, tule, glitter, and curls.
i can only imagine what you wore.
something blue? having the night sky hug your body?
was it red? the embodiment of the sun waving around you?
maybe black, mysterious and unknown.
i try not to think of it, knowing i would become lost in those thoughts.

then i get a text.
dinner was at kendall's home, with alexa, rebecca, maia, and andy.
we had just finished and i was going to keep my parents updated on where we are going.
but there is a text from an unknown number.
it's long, at first glance i assume it's a school trying to send me to it.
i glance, ignore it and text my parents.

but then i go back to read it. it starts like any college text does.
"Hey Victor, this is Kassie,"
but instantly, my face falls, and everyone at the table notices.
Some joke, saying things like 'Oh hey, no phones at the dinner table!', something i had said all night,
or 'What, did God text you?'
but i'm silent. trying to process what i had read.
i'm shaking, just writing this.
"one of Hossana's friends."
i was so scared. i wasn't ready.
why was she texting me?
what happened?
i knew their prom was tonight, but that thought didn't come to mind.
'what happened to her? is she okay? is she anxious? is she hurt?'
we're the only thoughts that came to mind.

she was okay. she was safe.
she saw people from my school, and wanted to know where i was.
i explained i wasn't there, but thought about calling.
i didn't voice it, afraid i wouldn't know what to say.
then she called me and i found out i was completely right.

i didn't know what to say because i didn't believe it.
i almost didn't want to.
the fact there was an opportunity that i missed out on.
to see her.
to hold her.

but, i did what i could with our time, and i said what needed to be said.

"enjoy tonight. don't focus on me.
enjoy your friends, because we can both be happy
without each other when we need to."
or something to that effect.

i haven't read what you wrote,
but i'm sure we were both able to enjoy that night
even if we didn't see each other.

last night, i danced, laughed, loved, and enjoyed every moment,
but there was one that was the best.

they played 'Can I Have this Dance' from High School Musical 3.
i was talking with a few friends during the song before that, but as the song began, with the words 'Take my hand...'
i ran, and held out my hand. she laughed and we began.
a poor start, but practice and consistency improved my technique.
the dance was wonderful. but best of all,
i caught of glance of sthefanny silva and justin harris dancing.
smiling, holding each other close.
and she looked exactly like you, and i realized. that night,
we lived vicariously through them.
they were inseparable. and i was happy for them.

at the end of the night, i said a sad goodbye to people like victoria locks, mckensize vandenbreckle, and taylor stephens. and a few juniors went to menchies at the end. the party from dinner, without andy, but adding liberty and chris.
i drove kendall home and the night was over.

today i slept until 2pm, catching up on immense sleep debt from this week.

but in the end,
it was an amazing prom night.

Can I Have this Dance - Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron
I Wanna Dance(With Somebody) - Whitney Houston
Rockabye - Clean Bandit