Multifandom (mostly 80s/90s) Preferences and Imagines

Winter Formal - Joey Trotta (Toy Soldiers)

(First request! :D Requested by: @80s_and_outsiders , I hope this is fine, I think I got a little carried away lmao)

Regis High School was never known for their bonding activities, letting the "boys only" label go just a year before you were enrolled. These treatments gave them a bad image, though, which meant they needed to change.

And what better way to show that they care about their students than by letting them organize a Winter Ball?

On the day the dance was announced you were asked out by one of your classmates. His name was Ace and he was in your English class. You did not know him well but he seemed nice, so you said yes in fear of not getting invited by anyone else.

As your English class came to an end you could see one of your closest friends, Hank, standing outside of your classroom. It was your last class of the day, so you knew that meant he was going to take you with the others. The boys usually took turns when picking you up from class. You and Ace said goodbye to each other as you exited the room. Hank immediately smiled over to you.

"Hey, everyone else is in Billy and Joey's room, let's go."

You followed him quickly, already wondering about what all of you would do that day. They were all your best friends, and though you had to admit Joey had caught your eye since you met him, you were okay with being seen as the "one of the boys" girl of the group.

As soon as you entered, all of the boys seemed to perk up. You did not even get a chance to speak before Billy jumped in front of you.

"Hey there, go to the dance with me!" He asked in his usual cheery/slightly mischievous tone before different sounds of surprise went off in the room. What.

"Man, what are you doing?! I already told everyone I was going to ask (Y/N) out!" Joey immediately stepped in between Billy and you.

You opened your mouth to answer to the both of them but got interrupted by Snuffy.

"Yeah! And we all said it was unfair! You hang out with (Y/N) all the time! We're a group!" He pushed Joey aside before Ricardo did the same to him.

"We never agreed on anything!" You looked over at Hank, expecting him to be the voice of reason as always, but were met with another yell.

"You made me go out to plan this without me?!"

As everyone yelled at each other, you contemplated if it was the right moment to tell the boys about your date. How would they react? They all seemed determined to invite you to the dance, but you had already said yes to Ace.

"I...already have a date." You said, not as convinced as you would have liked, but still loud enough for them to hear. A chorus of "what"s and "huh"s was heard as the boys stopped arguing and an awkward silence took over the room.

"Oh...Um, who is it?" Joey asked with a strange sadness in his voice. He somehow seems the most disappointed out of all of them.

"Uh, a classmate- I think his name is Ace." You felt uncomfortable being stared at by all your friends, but you knew they understood that you had already chosen who you would go with.

"Ah...And now we made ourselves look like idiots..." Hank muttered, clearly frustrated with their lack of tact.

You told them it was fine as they apologized for getting too ahead of themselves, trying to lighten the mood by talking about asking other people out and joking about how they would spy on you during the winter formal. Joey was awfully quiet, though, but you did not know if you should ask what was wrong just in case it was something he did not want to talk about.

As the days went by, you all hung out as always, the dance soon being forgotten until some hours before. Everyone was freaking out about what they were wearing and how they looked.

As the group voiced their concerns and expectations, the only one who had not spoken was Joey. Billy turned to look at him smugly.

"And who are you taking to the dance, Joey? You haven't said anything since we got here." He nudged his friend, wanting to tease him.

"No one. I'm not even going, actually." Joey answered calmly. As everyone quieted down, he continued. "We have a paper due tomorrow and if I finish it I'd like to sketch for a bit."

"Aww Joey...If you change your mind I'll let you crash my date." Snuffy rubbed his nose and patted him on the shoulder, with the conversation going back to normal after.

You went back to your dorm to change and waited for Ace. He showed up right on time with a suit that did not really match your dress, but he seemed pretty eager to have you accompany him.

You both walked towards the school's gymnasium until he made a turn for the door. You followed him, not really knowing what he was doing or where he was going. You ended up outside of the gym.

"Ace...Why are we here?" You asked as he wrapped his arms around your waist, you did not know if it was on purpose but you swore you felt him grab your dress.

"I thought it would be better if we left that dance behind and spent some time alone." He tried to speak in a sultry tone but it just seemed scary to you. You pulled away from him until he was not touching you anymore.

"I don't think so...I'd prefer going to the actual dance." You tried to keep your calm and seem confident, maybe you could convince him to leave you alone and go back to your friends.

"And be a bore? In that case, you can go alone. I didn't even want to come to this stupid dance anyways." He stormed off before you could say anything else and left you leaning against the gym's wall alone.

When you were sure he was gone you let out a small sob, still shocked at what had just happened. He didn't even wanna take me to the dance...He was just using me.

Before you could process what you were doing, you found yourself in front of Billy and Joey's door, knowing fully well that your best friend/maybe crush would be there. You hugged yourself as you waited for an answer, but none came. The door swung open by a tired Joey rubbing his eyes.

"(Y/N)? What-?" He stopped asking as he took a good look at you. Your clothes looked disheveled, your hair was tousled, and there were tears in your eyes. Joey quickly brought you close to him and hugged you tightly.

"I...He didn't want to go to the dance..." You spoke softly as you held onto his back. He patted your head, breathing heavily.

"I'm gonna kill that-" You interrupted him before he could continue his threats.

"Could you...just stay with me right now?...Please?" He looked back at you before staring intently at the hall, as if contemplating what to do. He sighed and looked down.

"Did he hurt you?" Emotionally. You were safe, thankfully; he did get too close for your liking and for a moment you feared he would, but perhaps the worst had been his words. You felt used.

"He only grabbed my waist and said I was a bore...I don't-...I don't know." He shook his head, definitely planning to at least give Ace a piece of his mind next time he saw him. He gestured you to come into the room and closed the door behind you.

"You can stay here tonight, I'll sleep on Billy's bed." You hugged him before he could move away and asked if he could just hold you.

He hugged you back and sat on the bed beside you, kissing your forehead softly. You cuddled into his chest, thanking whoever could hear your thoughts that you had Joey with you.

"Just know that when you're with me you never need to do anything you don't want to, right? You can always count on me." Joey whispered while stroking your hair. You nodded and smiled slightly, making the corners of his mouth turn up.

Some time into the night, you fell asleep, still holding onto Joey and still hearing his loving words. Being with him made you feel safe, like a weight had been lifted off your shoulders. Because you had someone who cared about you, and who you cared about.